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Lenawee County, Mich,, 

CONTAINING 

Full Page Portraits and Biographical Sketches of Prominent 
and Representative Citizens of the County, 

TOGETHER WITH 

PORTRAITS AND BIOGRAPHIES OF ALL THE GOVERNORS OF MICHIGAN, AND 
OF THE PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. 



CHICAGO; 

CHAPMAN BROTHERS 

1888. 



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HAVE completed our labors in writing and compiling the Portrait and Bio- 
f I \PHICAL Album of this county, and wish, in presenting it to our patrons, to speak 
1 iiefly of the importance of local works of this nature. It is certainly the duty 
of the present to commemorate the past, to perpetuatethe names of the pioneers, 
to furnish a record of their eady setdement, and to relate the story of their progress. 
The civilization of our day, the enlightenment of the age, and this solemn duty which 
men of the present time owe to their ancestors, to themselves and to their posterity, 
demand ti,at a record of their lives and deeds should be made. In local history is found a pmvei 
to instruct man by precedent, to enliven the mental faculties, and to waft down the vivd uf time a safe 
vessel in which the names and actions of the people who contributed to raise this region from its 
primitive state may be preserved. Surely and rapidly tlie nolile men, who in their vigor and prime 
came early to the county and claiuied the virgin soil as their heiitage, are passing to their 
graves. The number remaining who can relate the history of tjie first days of settlement is 
becoming small indeed, so that an actual necessity exists tor the collection and preservation of his- 
torical matter without delay, before the settlers of tlie wilderness are cut down by time. Not only 
is itofthegreatestimportance to render history of pioneer tiuics full and ai curate, Init it is also essen- 



lat the history of the county, from its settlement to the ni 



l.iy, should bctteated through its various 
phases, so that a record, complete and impartial, may be handed down to ihe futuie. The present the age 
of progress, is reviewed, standing out in bold relief over the quiet, unostentatious oklcn times; it is a brilliant 
record, which is destined to live in the future; the good works of men, their magnificent enterprises, ijieii 
lives, whether commercial or military, do not sink into oblivion, i)Ut, on the contrary, grow brighter with age, 
and contribute to build up a record which carries with it pieredenls and princiiiles that ivill be advanced and 
observed when the acts of soulless men will be forgotten and their very names hidden in obscurity. 

In the preparation of the personal sketches contained in this volume, unusual care and pains were 
taken to have them accurate, even in the smallest detail. Indeed, nothing was ])assed lightly over or treated 
indifferently; and we flatter ourselves that it is one of the most accurate works of its nature ever published. 

As one of the most interesting features of this work, we present the portraits of numerous represent- 
ative citizens. It has been our aim to have the prominent men of to-day, as well as the pioneers, represented 
in this department; and we congratulate ourselves on the uniformly high character of the gendemen whose 
portraits we present. They are in the strictest sense representative men, and are selected from all the call- 
ings and professions worthy to be given. There are others, it is true, who claim equal piominence with 
those given ; but of course it was imposfible for us to give portraits of all the leading men and pioneers 
of the county. We are under great obligation to many of the noble and generous people of this county 
for kindly and material assistance in the preparation of this Album. 



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CHAPMAN BROTHERS. 



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1 1 E Father of our Country was 
luni in Westmorland Co., Va., 
-'' I'eb. 22, 1732. His parents 
weie Augustine and Mary 
(Ball) Washington. The family 
to which he belonged has not 
been satisfactorily traced in 
England. His great-grand- 
father, John Washington, em- 
igrated to Virginia about 1657, 
and became a prosperous 
planter. He had two sons, 
Lawrence and John. The 
former married Mildred Warner 
and had three children, John, 
Augustine and Mildred. Augus- 
tine, the father of George, first 
married Jane Butler, who bore 
him four children, two of whom, 
Lawrence and Augustine, reached 
maturity. Of six children by his 
second marriage, George was the 
eldest, the others being Betty, 
Samuel, John Augustine, Charles 
and Mildred. 
Augustine Washington, the father of George, died 
in 1743, leaving a large landed property. To his 
eldest son, Lawrence, he bequeathed an estate on 
the Patomac, afterwards known as Mount Vernon, 
and to George he left the parental residence. George 
received only such education as the neighborhood 
schools afforded, save for a short time after he left 
sciiool, when he received private instruction in 
mathematics. His spelling v,fas rather defective. 
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Remarkable stories are told of his great physical 
strength and development at an early age. He was 
an acknowledged leader among his companions, and 
was early noted for that nobleness of character, fair- 
ness and veracity which characterized his whole life. 

When George was 14 years old he had a desire to go to 
sea, and a midshipman's warrant was secured for him, 
but through the opposition of his mother the idea was 
abandoned. Two years later he was appointed 
surveyor to the immense estate of Lord Fairfax. In 
this business he spent three years in a rough frontier 
life, gaining experience which afterwards proved very 
essential to him. In 1751, though only 19 years of 
age, he was appointed adjutant with the rank of 
major in the Virginia militia, then being trained for 
active service against the French and Indians. Soon 
after this he sailed to the West Indies with his brother 
Lawrence, who went there to restore his health. They 
soon returned, and in the summer of t752 Lawrence 
died, leaving a large fortune to an infant daughter 
who did not long survive him. On her demise the 
estate of Mount Vernon was given to George. 

Upon the arrival of Robert Dinwiddle, as Lieuten- 
ant-Governor of Virginia, in 1752, the militia was 
reorganized, and the province divided into four mili- 
tary districts, of which the northern was assigned to 
Washington as adjutant general. Shortly after this 
a very perilous mission was assigned him and ac- 
cepted, which others had refused. This was to pro- 
ceed to the French post near Lake Erie in North- 
western Pennsylvania. The distance to be traversed 
was lietween 500 and 600 miles. Winter was at hand, 
and the journey was to be made without military 
escort, through a territpiy occupied by Indians. Thq 
■> 



GEORGE WASHINGTON. 



trip was a perilous one, and several limes he came near 
losing his life, yet he returned in safety and furnished 
a full and useful report of his expedition. A regiment 
of 300 men was raised in Virginia and put in com- 
mand of Col. Joshua Fry, and Major Washington was 
commissioned lieutenant-colonel. Active war was 
then begun against the French and Indians, in which 
Washington took a most imiwrtant part. In the 
memorable event of July 9, 1755, known as Brad- 
dock's defeat, Washington was almost the only officer 
of distinction who escaped from the calamities of the 
day with life and honor. The other aids of Braddock 
were disabled early in the action, and Washington 
alone was left in that capacity on the field. In a letter 
to his brother he says : " I had four bullets through 
my coat, and two horses shot under me, yet I escaped 
unhurt, though death was leveling, my companions 
on every side." An Indian sharpshooter said he was 
not born to be killed by a bullet, for he had taken 
direct aim at him seventeen times,- and failed to hit 
him. 

After having been five years in the military service, 
and vainly sought promotion in the royal army, he 
look advantage of the fall of Fort Duquesnc and the 
expulsion of the French from the valley of the Ohio, 
to resign his commission. Soon after he entered the 
Legislature, where, although not a leader, he took an 
active and important part. January 17, 1759, he 
married Mrs. Martha (Dandridge) Custis, the wealthy 
widow of John Parke Custis. 

When the British Parliament had closed the port 
'jf Boston, the cry went up throughout the provinces 
that "The cause of Boston is the cause of us all." 
It was then, at the suggestion of Virginia, that a Con- 
gress of all the colonies was called to meet at Phila- 
delphia,Sept. 5, 1774, to secure their common liberties, 
peaceably if possible. To this Congress Col. Wash- 
ington was sent as a delegate. On May 10, 1775, the 
Congress re-assembled, when the hostile intentions of 
England were plainly apparent. The battles of Con- 
cord and Lexington had been fought. Among the 
first acts of this Congress was the election of a com- 
mander-in-chief of the colonial forces. This high and 
responsible office was conferred upon Washington, 
who was still a memberof the Congress. He accepted 
it on June 19, but upon the express condition that he 
receive no salary. He would keep an exact account 
of expenses and expect Congress to pay them and 
nothing more. It is not the object of this sketch to 
trace the military acts of Washington, to whom the 
fortunes and liberties of the people of this country 
were so long confided. The war was conducted by 
him under ever}' possible disadvantage, and while his 
forces often met with reverses, yet he overcame every 
obstacle, and after seven years of heroic devotion 
and matchless skill he gained liberty for the greatest 
nation of earth. On Dec. 23, 1783, Washington, in 
a parting address of surpassing beauty, resigned his 
A* 



commission as commander-in-chief of the army to 
to the Continental Congress sitting at Annaixjlis. He 
retired immediately to Mount Vernon and resumed 
his occupation as a farmer and planter, shunning all 
connection with public life. 

In February, 1 7 89, Washington was unanimously 
elected President. In his presidential career he was 
subject to the peculiar trials incidental to a new 
government ; trials from lack of confidence on the part 
of other governments; trials from want of harmony 
between the different sections of our own country; 
trials from the impoverished condition of the country, 
owing to the war and want of credit; trials from the 
beginnings of party strife. He was no partisan. His 
clear judgment could discern the golden mean; and 
while perhaps this alone kept our government from 
sinking at the very outset, it left him exposed to 
attacks from both sides, which were often bitter and 
very annoying. 

At the expiration of his first term he was unani- 
mously re-elected. At the end of this term many 
were anxious that he be re-elected, but he absolutely 
refused a third nomination. On the fourth of March, 
1797, at the expiraton of his second term as Presi- 
dent, he returned to his home, hoping to pass there 
his few remaining yeais free from the annoyances of 
public life. Later in the year, however, his repose 
seemed likely to be interrupted by war with France. 
At the prospect of such a war he was again urged to 
take command of the armies. He chose his sub- 
ordinate officers and left to them the charge of mat- 
ters in the field, which he superintended from his 
home. In accepting the command he made the 
reservation that he was not to be in the field until 
it was necessary. In the midst of tiiese preparations 
his life was suddenly cut off. December 12, he took 
a seveie cold from a ride in the rain, which, settling 
ill his throat, produced inflammation, and terminated 
fatally on the night of the fourteenth. On the eigh- 
teenth his body was liorne wi'h military honors to its 
final resting place, and interred in the family vault at 
Mount Vernon. 

Of the character of Washington it is impossible to 
speak but in terms of the highest respect and ad- 
miration. The more we see of the operations of 
our government, and the more deeply we feel the 
difficulty of uniting all opinions in a common interest, 
the more highly we must estimate the force of his tal- 
ent and character, which have been able to challenge 
the reverence of all parties, and principles, and na- 
tions, and to win a fame as extended as the limits 
of the globe, and which we cannot but believe will 
be as lasting as the existence of man. 

The person of Washington was unusally tan, erect 
and well proportioned. His muscular strength was 
great. His features were of a beautiful symmetry. 
He commanded respect without any appearance of 
haughtiness, and ever serious without being dull 



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SECOND PRESIDENT. 



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OHN ADAMS, the second 
I'lesident and the first Vice- 
'rcsident of the United States, 
w IS born in Braintree ( now 
( Uiincy),Mass., and about ten 
miles from Boston, Oct. 19, 
jj^ 1735. His great-grandfather, Henry 
ffl^ Adams, emigrated from England 
about 1 640, with a family of eight 
, sons, and settled at Braintree. The 
parents of John were John and 
Susannah (Boylston) Adams. His 
father was a farmer of limited 
means, to which he added the bus- 
iness of shoemaking. He gave his 
eldest son, John, a classical educa- 
I tion at Harvard College. John 

graduated in 1755, and at once took charge of the 
school in Worcester, Mass. This he found but a 
"school of affliction," from which he endeavored to 
gain relief by devoting himself, in addition, to the 
study of law. For this purix)se he placed himself 
under the tuition of the only lawyer in the town. He 
had thought seriously of the clerical profession 
but seems to have been turned from this l)y what he 
termed " the frightful engines of ecclesiastical coun- 
cils, of diabolical malice, and Calvanistic good nature," 
of the operations of which he had been a witness in 
his native town. He was well fitted for the legal 
profession, possessing a clear, sonorous voice, being 
ready and fluent of speech, and having quick percep- 
tive powers. He gradually gained practice, and in 
1764 married Abigail Smith, a daughter of a minister, 
and a lady of superior intelligence. Shortly after his 
marriage, (1765), the attempt of ParHamentary taxa- 
tion turned him from law to p litics. He took initial 
gteps toward holding a town meeting, and the resolu- 



tions he offered on the subject became very popular 
throughout the Proviaice, and were adopted word for 
word by over forty different towns. He moved to Bos- 
ton in 1768, and became one of the most courageous 
and prominent advocatesof the popular cause, and 
was chosen a member of the General Court (the Leg- 
lislature) in 1770. 

Mr. Adams was chosen one of the first delegates 
from Massachusetts to the first Continental Congress, 
which met in 1774. Here he distinguished himself 
by his capacity for business and for debate, and ad- 
vocated the movement for independence against the 
majority of the members. In May, 1776, he moved 
and carried a resolution in Congress that the Colonies 
should assume the duties of self-government. He 
was a prominent member of the committee of five 
appointed June 11, to prepare a declaration of inde- 
pendence. This article was drawn by Jefferson, but 
on Adams devolved the task of battling it through 
Congress in a three days debate. 

On the day after the Declaration of Independence 
was passed, while his soul was yet warm with the 
glow of excited feeling, he wrote a letter to his wife, 
which, as we read it now, seems to have been dictated 
by the spirit of proiJhecy. "Yesterday," he says, "the 
greatest question was decided that ever was debated 
in America; and greater, perhaps, never was or will 
be decided among men. A resolution was passed 
without one dissenting colony, ' that these United 
States are, and of right ought to be, free and inde- 
pendent states.' The day is passed. The fourth of 
July, 1776, will be a memorable epoch in the history 
of America. I am apt to believe it will be celebrated 
by succeeding generations, as the great anniversary 
festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of 
deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to Almighty 
God. It ought to be solemnized with pomp, shows, 

. ♦- 



t- 



24 



JOHN ADAMS. 



games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations 
from one end of the continent to the other, from this 
time forward for ever. You will think me transported 
with enthusiasm, but I am not. I am well aware of 
the toil, and blood and treasure, that it will cost to 
maintain this declaration, and support and defend 
these States; yet, through all tiie gloom, I can seethe 
rays of light and glory. I can see that the end is 
worth more than all the means; and that posterity 
will triumph, although you and I may rue, which I 
hoi)e we shall not." 

In November, 1777, Mr. Adams was appointed a 
delegate to France and to co-operate with Bemjamin 
Franklin and Arthur Lee, who were then in Paris, in 
the endeavor to obtain assistance in arms and money 
from the French Government. This was a severe trial 
to his patriotism, as it separated him from his home, 
compelled him to cross the ocean in winter, and ex- 
posed him to great peril of capture by the British cruis- 
ers, who were seeking him. He left France June 17, 
1779. In September of the same year he was again 
chosen to go to Paris, and there hold himself in readi- 
ness to negotiate a treaty of peace and of commerce 
with Great Britian, as soon as the British Cabinet 
might be found willing to listen to such pioposels. He 
sailed for France in November, from there he went to 
Holland, where he negotiated important loans and 
formed important commercial treaties. 

Finally a treaty of peace with England was signed 
Jan. 21, 1783. The re-action from the excitement, 
toil and an.xiety through which Mr. Adams had passed 
threw him into a fever. After suffering from a con- 
tinued fever and becoming feeble and emaciated he 
was advised to goto England to drink the waters of 
Bath. A\'hile in England, still drooping and desjxjnd- 
ing, he received dispatches from his own government 
urging the necessity of his going to Amsterdam to 
negotiate another loan. It was winter, his health was 
delicate, yet he immediately set out, and through 
storm, on sea, on horseback and foot, he made the trip. 

February 24, 1785. Congress appointed Mr. Adams 
envoy to the Court of St. James. Here he met face 
to face the King of England, who had so long re- 
garded him as a traitor. As England did not 
condescend to appoint a minister to the United 
States, and as Mr. Adams felt that he was accom- 
plishing but little, he sought permission to return to 
his own country, where he arrived in June, 1788. 

When Washington was first chosen President, John 
Adams, rendered illustiious by his signal services at 
home and abroad, was chosen Vice President, .\gain 
at the second election of Washington as President, 
Adams was chosen Vice President. In 1796, Wash- 
ington retired from public life, and Mr. Adams was 
elected President,though not without much opposition. 
Serving in this office four years, he was succeeded by 
Mr. Jefferson, his opponent in politics. 

While Mr. .4dam5 was Vic§ President the great 



French Revolution shook the continent of Europe, 
and it was upon this point which he was at issue with 
the majority of his countrymen led by Mr. Jefferson. 
Mr. Adams felt no sympathy with the French people 
in their struggle, for he had no confidence in their 
power of self-government, and he utterly abhored the 
classof atheist philosophers who he claimed caused it. 
On the other hand Jefferson's sympathies were strongly 
enlisted in behalf of the French people. Hence or- 
iginated the alienation between these distinguished 
men, and two powerful parties were thus soon organ- 
ized, Adams at the head of the one whose sympathies 
were with England and Jefferson led the other in 
sympathy with France. 

The world has seldom seen a spectacle of more 
moral beauty and grandeur, than was presented by the 
old age of Mr. Adams. The violence of party feeling 
had died away, and he had begun to receive that just 
appreciation which, to most men, is not accorded till 
after death. No one could look upon his venerable 
form, and think of what he had done and suffered, 
and how he had given up all the prime and strength 
of his life to the public good, without the deepest 
emotion of gratitude and respect. It was his peculiar 
good fortune to witness the complete success of the 
institution which he had been so active in creating and 
supiMrting. In 1824, his cup of happiness was filled 
to the brim, by seeing his son elevated to the highest 
station in the gift of the people. 

The fourth of July, 1826, which completed the half 
century since the signing of the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, arrived, and there were but three of the 
signers of that immortal instrument left upon the 
earth to hail its morning light. And, as it is 
well known, on that day two of these finished their 
earthly pilgrimage, a coincidence so remarkable as 
to seem miraculous. For a few days before Mr. 
Adams had been rapidly failing, and on the morning 
of the fourth he found himself too weak to rise from 
his bed. On being requested to name a toast for the 
customary celebration of the day, he exclaimed " In- 
dependence FOREVER." When the day was ushered 
in, by the ringing of bells and the firing of cannons, 
he was asked by one of his attendants if he knew 
what day it was? He replied, "O yes ; it is the glor- 
ious fourth of July — God bless it — God bless you all." 
In the course of the day he said, "It is a great and 
glorious day." The last words he uttered were, 
"Jefferson survives." But he had, at one o'clock, re- 
signed his spirit into the hands of his God. 

The personal appearance and manners of Mr. 
Adams were not particularly prejwssessing. His face, 
as his portrait manifests.was intellectual ard expres- 
sive, but his figure was low and ungraceful, and his 
manners were frequently abrupt and uncourteous. 
He had neither the lofty dignity of Washington, nor 
the engaging elegance and gracefulness which marked 
the manner? 3nd address of Jefferson, 



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THIRD PRESIDENT. 



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THOMAS JEPPEHi^OW, 





HOMAS JEFFERSON was 
born Ai)ril 2, i743) *t Sliad- 
iell, Albermarle county, Va. 
Hib i)arents were Peter and 
lane ( Randolph) Jefferson, 
tliL former a native of Wales, 
and the latter born in Lon- 
djn To them were born six 
daughters and two sons, of 
whom Thomas was the elder. 
When 14 years of age his 
father died. He received a 
most liberal education, hav- 
ing been kept diligently at school 
from the time he was five years of 
age. In 1760 he entered William 
and Mary College. Williamsburg was then the seat 
of the Colonial Court, and it was the obode of fashion 
a.id splendor. Young Jefferson, who was then 17 
years old, lived somewhat expensively, keeping fine 
horses, and much caressed by gay society, yet he 
was earnestly devoted to his studies, andirreproacha- 
able in his morals. It is strange, however, under 
such influences.that he was not ruined. In the sec- 
ond year of his college course, moved by some un- 
exjilained inward impulse, he discarded his horses, 
society, and even his favorite violin, to which he had 
previously given much time. He often devoted fifteen 
hours a day to haid study, allowing himself for ex- 
ercise only a run in the evening twilight of a mile out 
of the city and back again. He thus attained very 
high intellectual culture, alike excellence in philoso- 
phy and the languages. The most difincult Latin and 
Greek authors he read with facility. A more finished 
scholar has seldom gone forth from college halls; and 



there was not to be found, perhaps, in all Virginia, a 
more pureminded, upright, gentlemanly young man. 

Imiiiediately upon leaving college he began the 
study of law. For the short time he continued in the 
practice of his profession he rose ra|)idly and distin- 
guished himself by his energy and accuteness as a 
lawyer. But the times called for greater action. 
The policy of England had awakened the spirit of 
resistance of the American Colonies, and the enlarged 
views which Jefferson had ever entertained, soon led 
him into active political life. In 1769 he was chosen 
a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses. !n 
1772 he married Mrs. Martha Skelton, a very beauti- 
ful, wealthy and highly accomplished young widow. 

Upon Mr. Jefferson's large estate at Shadwell, there 
was a majestic swell of land, called Monticello, which 
commanded a prospect of wonderful extent and 
beauty. This spot Mr. Jefferson selected lor his new 
home; and here he reared a mansion of modest yet 
elegant architecture, which, next to "Mount Vernon, 
became the most distinguished resort in our land. 

In 1775 he was sent to the Colonial Congress, 
where, though a silent member, his abilities as a 
writer and a reasoner soon become known, and he 
was placed upon a number of important committees, 
and was chairman of the one appointed for the draw- 
ing up of a declaration of independence. This com- 
mittee consisted of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, 
Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert R. 
Livingston. Jefferson, as chairman, was appointed 
to draw up the paper. Franklin and Adams suggested 
a few verbal changes before it was submitted to Con- 
gress. On June 28, a few slight changes were made 
in it by Congress, and it was passed and signed July 
4, 1776. What must have been the feelings of that 



■•► 



-^*- 



THOMAS JEFFERSON. 



man — what the emotions that swelled his breast — ■ 
who was charged with the preparation of that Dec- 
laration, which, while it made known the wrongs of 
America, was also to publish her to the world, free, 
soverign and independent. It is one of the most re- 
markable papers ever written ; and did no other effort 
of tiie mind of its author exist, that alone would be 
sufficient to stamj) his name with immortality. 

In 1779 Mr. Jefferson was elected successor to 
Patrick Henry, i.s (Governor of Virginia. At one time 
the British officer, Tarleton, sent a secret expedition to 
Monlicello, to cai)ture the Governor. Scarcely five 
minutes elapsed after the hurried escape of Mr. Jef- 
ferson and his family, ere his mansion was in posses- 
sion of the Bridsh troops. His wife's health, never 
very good, was much injured by this excitement, and 
in the summer of 1782 she died. 

Mr. Jeff'erson was elected to Congress in 1783. 
Two years later he was appointed Minister Pleniiio- 
tentiary to France. Returning to the United States 
in September, 1789, he became Secretary of State 
in Washington's cabinet. This position he resigned 
Jan. r, 1794. In 1797, he was chosen Vice Presi- 
dent, and four years later was elected President over 
Mr. Adams, with Aaron Burr as Vice President. In 
1804 he was re-elected with wonderful unanimity, 
and George Clinton, Vice President. 

The eady part of Mr. Jefferson's second adminstra- 
tion was disturbed by an event which threatened the 
tranquility and peace of the Union; this was the con- 
spiracy of Aaron Burr. Defeated in the late election 
to the Vice Presidency, andled,on by an unprincipled 
ambition, this extraordinary man formed the plan of a 
military expedition into the Spanish territories on our 
southwestern frontier, for the pur[X)se of forming there 
a new republic. This has been generally supposed 
was a mere pretext ; and althougli it has not been 
generally known what his real plans were, there is no 
doubt that they were of a far more dangerous 
character. 

In 1809, at the expiration of the second term for 
which Mr. Jefferson had lieen elected, he determined 
to retire from political life. For a period of nearly 
forty years, he had been continually before the pub- 
lic, and all that time had been employed in offices of 
the greatest trust and responsibility. Having tliiis de- 
voted the best part of his life to the service of his 
country, he now felt desirous of that rest which his 
declining years required, and upon the organization of 
the new administration, in March, 1809, he bid fare- 
well forever to public life, and retired to Monticello. 

Mr. Jefferson was profuse in his hospitality. Whole 
families came in their coaches with their horses, — 
fathers and mothers, boys and girls, babies and 
nurses, — and remained three and even six months. 
Life at Mondcello, for years, resembled that at a 
fashionable watering-place. 

The fourth of July, 1826, being the fiftieth anniver- 



sary of the Declaration of American Independence, 
great preparations were made in every part of the 
Union for its celebration, as the nation's jubilee, and 
the citizens of Washington, to add to the solemnity 
of the occasion, invited Mr. Jefferson, as the framer. 
and one of the few surviving signers of the Declara- 
tion, to participate in their festivities. But an ill- 
ness, which had been of several weeks duration, and 
had been continually increasing, compelled him to 
decline the invitation. 

On the second of July, the disease under which 
he was laboring left him, but in such a reduced 
state that his medical attendants, entertained no 
hope of his recovery. From this time he was perfectly 
sensible that his last hour was at hand. On the next 
d:iy, which was Monday, he asked of those around 
him, the day of the month, and on being told it was 
the third of July, he expresjed the earnest wish that 
he might be permitted to breathe the airof the fiftieth 
anniversary. His prayer was heard — that day, whose 
dawn was hailed with such rapture through our land, 
burst upon his eyes, and then they were closed for- 
ever. And what a noble consummation of a noble 
life ! To die on that day, — the birthday of a nation,- - 
the day which his own name and his own act had 
rendered glorious; to die amidst the rejoicings and 
festivities of a whole nation, who looked up to him, 
as the author, under God, of their greatest blessings, 
was all that was wanting to fill up the record his life. 

Almost at the same hour of his death, the kin- 
dred spirit of the venerable Adams, as if to bear 
him company, left the scene of his earthly honors. 
Hand in hand they had stood forth, the champions of 
freedom ; hand in hand, during the dark and desper- 
ate struggle of the Revolution, they had cheered and 
animated their desponding countrymen; for half a 
century they had labored together for the good of 
the country; and now hand in hand they depart. 
In their lives they had been united in the same great 
cause of liberty, and in their deaths they were not 
divided. 

In person Mr. Jefferson was tall and thin, rather 
above six feet in height, but well formed; his eyes 
were light, his hair originally red, in after life became 
white and silvery; his complexion was fair, his fore- 
head broad, and his whole countenance intelligent and 
thoughtful. He possessed great fortitude of mind as 
well as personal courage; and his command of tem- 
per was such that his oldest and most intimate friends 
never recollected to have seen him in a passion. 
His manners, though dignified, were simple and un- 
affected, and his hospitality was so unbounded that 
all found at his house a ready welcome. In conver- 
sation he was fluent, eloquent and enthusiastic ; and 
his language was remarkably pure and correct. He 
was a finished classical scholar, and in his writings is 
discernable the care with which he formed his style 
upon the best models of antiquity. 




^?>-o^''^ ^C^ ec^<^cc <r^ 



FOURTH PRESIDENT. 




^prriES ni:flDisoi].«i^ 




AMES MADISON, "Father 
of the Constitution," and fourth 
^' 1 resident of the United States, 
\\ IS born March i6, 1757, and 
died at his home in Virginia, 
The name of 
James Madison is inseparably con- 
nected with most of the important 
events in that heroic period of our 
country during which the founda- 
tions of this great repubHc were 
lain. He was the last of the founders 
of the Constitution of the United 
States to be called to his eternal 
reward. 

The Madison family were among 
the early emigrants to the New World, 
landing uixjn the shores of the Chesa- 
peake but 15 years after the settle- 
ment of Jamestown. The father of 
James Madison was an opulent 
planter, residing upon a very fine es- 
tate called "Montpelier," Orange Co., 
Va. The mansion was situated in 
the midst of scenery highly pictur- 
i esque and romantic, on the west side 
of South-west Mountain, at the foot of 
Blue Ridge. It was but 25 miles from the home of 
Jefferson at Monticello. The closest personal and 
political attachment existed between these illustrious 
men, from their early youth until death. 

The early education of Mr. Madison was conducted 
mostly at home under a private tutor. At the age of 
18 he was sent to Princeton College, in New Jersey. 
Here lie applied himself to study with the most im- 



prudent zeal; allowing himself, for months, but tliree 
hours' sleep out of the 24. His health tlius became so 
seriously impaired that he never recovered any vigor 
of constitution. He graduated in 177 i, with a feeble 
body, with a character of utmost purity, and with a 
mind highly disciplined and richly stored with learning 
which embellished and gave proficiency to his subsf 
quent career. 

Returning to Virginia, he commenced the study of 
law and a course of extensive and systematic reading. 
This educational course, the spirit of the times in 
which he lived, and the society with which he asso- 
ciated, all combined to inspire Iiim with a strong 
love of liberty, and to train him for his life-woik of 
a statesman. Being naturally of a religious turn of 
mind, and his frail health leading him to think that 
his life was not to be long, he directed especial atten- 
tion to theological studies. Endowed with a mind 
singularly free from passion and prejudice, and with 
almost unequalled powers of reasoning, he weighed 
all the arguments for and against revealed religion, 
until his faith became so established as never to 
be shaken. 

In the spring of 1776, when 26 years of age, he 
was elected a member of the Virginia Convention, to 
frame the constitution of the State. The next year 
(1777), he was a candidate for the General Assembly. 
He refused to treat the whisky-lovir.g voters, and 
consequently lost his election ; but those who had 
witnessed the talent, energy and public spirit of the 
modest young man, enlisted themselves in his behalf, 
and he was appointed to the Executive Council. 

Both Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson were 
Governors of Virginia while Mr. Madison remained 
member of the Council ; and their appreciation of his 



*r 



JAMES MADISON. 



intellectual, social and moral worth, contributed not 
a little to his subsecjuent eminence. In the year 
1780, he was elected a' member of the Continental 
Congress. Here he met the most illustrious men in 
our land, and he was immediately assigned to one of 
the most conspicuous positions among them. 

For three years Mr. Madison continued in Con- 
gress, one of its most active and influential members. 
In the year 1784, his term having expired, he was 
elected a member of the Virginia Legislature. 

No man felt more deeply than Mr. Madison the 
utter inefficiency of the old confederacy, with no na- 
tional government, with no power to form treaties 
which would be binding, or to enforce law. There 
was not any State more prominent than Virginia in 
the declaration, that an efficient national government 
must be formed. In January, 1786, Mr. Madison 
carried a resolution through the General Assembly of 
Virginia, inviting the other States to appoint commis- 
sioners to meet in convention at Annapolis to discuss 
this subject. Five States only were represented. The 
convention, however, issued another call, drawn up 
by Mr. Madison, urging all the States to send their 
delegates to Philadelphia, in May, 1787, to draft 
a Constitution for the United States, to take the place 
of that Confederate League. The delegates met at 
the time appointed. Every State but Rhode Island 
was represented. George Washington was chosen 
president of the convention; and the present Consti- 
tution of the United States was then and there formed. 
There was, perhaps, no mind and no pen more ac- 
tive in framing this immortal document than the mind 
and the pen of James Madison. 

The Constitution, adopted liy a vote 81 to 79, was 
to be presented to tlie several States for acceptance. 
But grave solicitude was felt. Should it be rejected 
we should be left but a conglomeration of independent 
States, with but little jxiwer at home and little respect 
abroad. Mr. Madison was selected by the conven- 
tion to draw up an address to the people of the United 
States, expounding the principles of the Constitution, 
and urging its adoption. There was great opposition 
to it at first, but it at length triumphed over all, and 
went into effect in 1789. 

Mr. Madison was elected to the House of Repre- 
sentatives in the first Congress, and soon became the 
avowed leader of the Reiniblican party. While in 
New York attending Congress, he met Mrs. Todd, a 
young widow of remarkable jiower of fascination, 
whom he married. She was in person and character 
queenly, and probably no lady has thus far occupied 
so prominent a position in the very peculiar society 
which has constituted our rcpulilican court as Mrs. 
Madison. 

Mr. Madison served as Secretary of State under 
Jefferson, and at the close of his administiation 
was chosen President. At this time the encroach- 
ments of England had brought us to the verge of war. 



^IH 



British orders in council destroyed our commerce, and 
our flag was exposed to constant insult. Mr. Madison 
was a man of peace. Scholarly in his taste, retiring 
in his disposition, war had no charms for him. But the 
meekest spirit can be roused. It makes one's blood 
boil, even now, to think of an American ship brought 
to, upon the ocean, by the guns of an English cruiser. 
A young lieutenant steps on board and orders the 
crew to be paraded before him. With great nonchal- 
ance he selects any number whom he may please to 
designate as British subjects ; orders them down the 
ship's side into his boat; and places them on the gun- 
deck of his man-of-war, to fight, by compulsion, the 
battles of England. This right of search and im- 
pressment, no efforts of our Government could induce 
the British cabinet to relinquish. 

On the i8th of June, r8i2. President Madison gave 
his approval to an act of Congress declaring war 
against Great Britain. Notwithstanding the bitter 
hostility of the Federal party to the war, the country 
in general approved; and Mr. Madison, on the 4th 
of March, i8i3i was re-elected by a large majority, 
and entered upon his second term of office. This is 
not the place to describe the various adventures of 
this war on the land and on the water. Our infant 
navy then laid the foundations of its renown in grap- 
pling with the most formidable power which ever 
swept the seas. The contest commenced in earnest 
by the appearance of a British fleet, early in February, 
1813, in Chesapeake Bay, declaring nearly the whole 
coast of the United States under blockade. 

Tiie Emperor of Russia offered his services as me 
ditator. America accepted ; England refused. A Brit- 
ish force of five thousand men landed on the banks 
of the Patuxet River, near its entrance into Chesa- 
peake Bay, and marched rapidly, by way of Bladens- 
burg, upon Washington. 

The straggling little city of Washington was thrown 
into consternation. The cannon of the brief conflict 
at Bladensburg echoed through the streets of the 
metropolis. The whole population fled from the city. 
The President, leaving Mrs. Madison in the White 
House, with her carriage drawn up at the door to 
await his speedy return, hurried to meet the officers 
in a council of war. He met our troops utterly routed, 
and he could not go back without danger of being 
captured. But few hours elapsed ere the Presidential 
Mansion, the Capitol, and all the public buildings in 
Washington were in flames. 

The war closed after two years of fighting, and on 
Feb. 13, i8i5,the treaty of peace was signed at Ghent. 

On the 4th of March, 1817, his second term of 
office expired, and he resigned the Presidential chair 
to his friend, James Monroe. He retired to his beau- 
tiful home at Montpelier, and there passed the re- 
mainder of his days. On June 28, 1836, then at the 
age of 85 years, he fell asleep in (Jeath, Mrs. Macji- 
sondied July 12, 1849. 



t 




^"^ 



FIFTH PRESIDENT. 



t 




pr]QESn]OI]ROE.^K 








VMES MONROE, the fifth 
esidentof The United States, 
I'j born in Westmoreland Co., 
I , April 28, 1758. His early 
lie was passed at the place of 
nativity His ancestors had for 
many yeais resided in the prov- 
ince in which he was born. When, 
at 17 years of age, in the jtrocess 
of completing his education at 
William and Mary College, the Co- 
lonial Congress assembled at Phila- 
delphia lo deliberate upon the un- 
just and manifold oppressions of 
(Ireat Britian, declared the separa- 
tion of the Colonies, and iiromul- 
I . 

gated the iJeclaration of Indepen- 
dence. Had he been born ten years before it is highly 
probalile that he would have been one of the signers 
of that celebrated instrument. At this time he left 
school and enlisted among the patriots. 

He joined the army when everything looked hope- 
less and gloomy. The number of deserters increased 
from day to day. The invading armies came pouring 
in ; and the tories not only favored the cause of the 
mother country, but disheartened the new recruits, 
who were sulificiently terrified at the prospect of con- 
tending with an enemy whom they had been taught 
to deem invincible. To such brave spirits as James 
Monroe, who went right onward, undismayed through 
difficulty and danger, the United States owe their 
political emancipation. The young cadet joined the 
ranks, and espoused the cause of his injured country, 
with a firm determination to live or die with her strife 



for liberty. Firmly yet sadly he shared in tlie mel- 
ancholy retreat from Harleam Heights and White 
Plains, and accompanied the dispirited army as it fled 
before its foes through New Jersey. In four months 
after the Declaration of Independence, the patriots 
had been beaten in seven battles. At the battle of 
Trenton he led the vanguard, and, in the act of charg- 
ing upon the enemy he received a wound in the left 
shoulder. 

As a reward for his bravery, Mr. Monroe was \no- 
moted a captain of infantry ; and, having recovered 
from his wound, he rejoined the army. He, however, 
receded from the line of promotion, by iiecoming an 
officer in the staff of Lord Sterling. During the cam- 
paigns of 1777 and 1778, in the actions of Brandy 
wine, (lermantown and Monmouth, he continued 
aid-de-canip; but becoming desirous to regain his 
position in the army, he exerted himself to collect a 
regiment for the Virginia line. This scheme failed 
owing to the exhausted condition of the State. Upon 
this failure he entered the office of Mr. Jefferson, at 
that period Governor, and pursued, with considerable 
ardor, the study of common law. He did not, however, 
entirely lay aside the knapsack for the green bag; 
but on the invasions of the enemy, served as a volun- 
teer, during the two years of his legal pursuits. 

In 1782, he was elected from King George county, 
a member of the Leglislature of Virginia, and by tliat 
body he was elevated to a seat in the Executive 
Council. He was thus honored with the confidence 
of his fellow citizens at 23 years of age ; and having 
at this early period displayed some of that ability 
and aptitude for legislation, which were afterwards 
employed with unremitting energy for the public good 



»► ■ <• 



■•► 



JAMES MONROE. 



he was in the succeeding year chosen a member of 
the Congress of the United States. 

Deeply as Mr. Monroe felt the imperfections of the old 
^Confederacy, he was opposed to the new Constitution, 
thinking, with many others of the Republican party, 
that it gave too much power to the Central Government, 
and not enough to the individual Slates. Still he re- 
tained the esteem of his friends who were its warm 
supporters, and who, notwithstanding his opposition 
secured its adoption. In 1789, he became a member 
of the United States Senate; which office he held for 
four years. Every month the line of distinction be- 
tween the two great parties which divided the nation, 
the Federal and the Republican, was growing more 
distinct. The two prominent ideas which now sep- 
arated them were, that the Republican party was in 
sympathy with France, and also in favor of such a 
strict construction of the Constitution as to give the 
Central Government as little power, and the State 
Governments as much ix)wer, as the Constitution would 
warrant. The Federalists sympathized with England, 
and were in favor of a liberal construction of the Con- 
stitution, which would give as much power to the 
Central Government as that document could possibly 
authorize. 

The leading Federalists and Republicans were 
alike noble men, consecrating all their energies to the 
good of the nation. Two more honest men or more 
pure patriots than John Adams the Federalist, and 
James Monroe the Republican, never breathed. In 
building up this majestic nation, which is destined 
to eclipse all Grecian and Assyrian greatness, the com- 
bination of their antagonism was needed to create the 
light equilibrium. And yet each in his day was de- 
nounced as almost a demon. 

Washington was then President. England had es- 
poused the cause of the Bourbons against the princi- 
ples of the French Revolution. All Europe was drawn 
into the conflict. We were feeble and far away. 
Washington issued a proclamation of neutrality be- 
tween these contending powers. France had helped 
us in the struggle for our liberties. All the despotisms 
of Europe were now combined to prevent the French 
from escaping from a tyranny a thousand-fold worse 
than that which we had endured. Col. Monroe, more 
magnanimous than prudent, was anxious that, at 
whatever hazard, we should help our old allies in 
their extremity. It was the impulse of a generous 
and noble nature. He violently opposed the Pres- 
ident's proclamation as ungrateful and wanting in 
magnanimity. \ 

Washington, who could appretiate such a character, 
developed his calm, serene, almost divine greatness, 
by appointing that very James Monroe, who was de- 
nouncing the policy of the Government, as the minister 
of that Government to the Republic of France. Mr. 
Monroe was welcomed by the National Convention 
in France with the most enthusiastic demonstrations. 



Shortly after his return to this country, Mr. Mon- 
roe was elected Governor of Virginia, and held the 
office for three years. He was again sent to France to 
co-operate with Chancellor Livingston in obtaining 
the vast territory then known as the Province of 
Louisiana, which France had but shortly before ob- 
tained from Spain. Their united efforts were suc- 
cessful. For the comparatively small sum of fifteen 
millions of dollars, the entire territory of Orleans and 
district of Louisiana were added to the United States. 
This was probably the largest transfer of real estate 
which was ever made in all the history of the world. 

From France Mr. Monroe went to England to ob- 
tain from that country some recognition of our 
rights as neutrals, and to remonstrate against those 
odious impressments of our seamen. But Eng- 
land was unrelenting. He again returned to Eng- 
land on tlie same mission, but could receive no 
redress. He returned to his home and was again 
chosen Governor of Virginia. This he soon resigned 
to accept the position of Secretary of Stale under 
Madison. While in this office war with England was 
declared, the Secretary of War resigned, and during 
these trying times, the duties of the War Department 
were also put upon him. He was truly the armor- 
bearer of President Madison, and the most efficient 
business man in his cabinet. Upon the return of 
peace he resigned the Department of War, but con- 
tinued in the office of Secretary of Stale until the ex- 
piration of Mr. Madison's adminstration. At the elec- 
tion held the previous autumn Mr. Monroe himself had 
been chosen President with but little opposition, and 
upon March 4, 18 17, was inaugurated. Four years 
later he was elected for a second term. 

Among the important measures of his Presidency 
were the cession of Florida to the United Slates; the 
Missouri Compromise, and the " Monroe doctrine.'' 

This famous doctrine, since known as the " Monroe 
doctrine," was enunciated by him in 1823. At that 
time the United States had recognized the independ- 
ence of the South American states, and did not \\\i\\ 
to have European powers longer attempting to sub- 
due portions of the American Continent. The doctrine 
is as follows: "That we should consider any attempt 
on the part of European powers to extend their sys- 
tem to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous 
to our peace and safety," and "that we could not 
view any interposition for the purix)se of oppressing 
or controlling American governments or provinces in 
any other light than as a manifestation by European 
powers of an unfriendly disposition toward the United 
States." This doctrine immediately affected the course 
of foreign governments, and has become the approved 
sentiment of the tfnited States. 

At the end of his jecond term Mr. Monroe retired 
to his home in Virginia, where he lived until 1830, 
when he went to New York to live with his son-in- 
law. In that city he died, on the 4th of July, 1831. 

' ^•►Hi 



#-.;;*: 




J, 5, JzL 



^ 



SIXTH PRESIDENT. 



■•►-II-4* 




■> \ 



K^ 



> ^^ 









1^ OHN QUINCY ADAMS, the 
^sixth President of the United 
^ p^Slates, was born in the rural 
' '^ lionie of his honored father, 
John Adams, in Qunicy, Mass., 
on the I ith cf July, 1767. His 
mother, a woman of exalted 
worth, watched over his childhood 
during the almost constant ab- 
sence of his father. When but 
J,,, eight years of age, he stood with 
^ his mother on an eminence, listen- 
ing to the booming of the great bat- 
tle on Bunker's Hill, and gazing on 
upon the smoke and flames billow- 
ing up from the conflagration of 
Charlestown. 

When but eleven years old he 
took a tearful adieu of his mother, 
to sail with his father for Europe, 
through a fleet of hostile British cruisers. The bright, 
animated boy spent a year and a half in Paris, where 
his f;ither was associated with Franklin and Lee as 
minister plenipotentiary. His intelligence attracted 
the notice of these distinguished men, and he received 
from them flattering marks of attention. 

Mr. John Adams had scarcely returned to this 
country, in 1779, ere he was again sent abroad. Again 
John Quincy accompanied his father. At Paris he 
applied himself with great diligence, for six months, 
to study, then accompained his father to Holland, 
where he entered, first a school in Amsterdam, then 
the University at Leyden. About a year from this 
time, in 1781, when the manly boy was but fourteen 
years of age, he was selected by Mr. Dana, our min- 
ister to the Russian court, as his private secretary. 

In this school of incessant labor and of enobling 
culture he spent fourteen months, and then returned 
to Holland through Sweden, Denmark, Hamburg and 
Bremen. This long journey he took alone, in the 
winter, when in his sixteenth year. Again he resumed 
his studies, under a private tutor, at Hague. Thence, 
■^ 



in tlie spring of 1782, he accompanied his father to 
Paris, traveling leisurely, and forming aciiuaintance 
with the most distinguished men on the Continent; 
examining architectural remains, galleries of paintings, 
and all renowned works of art. At Paris he again 
became associated with the most illustrious men of 
all lands in the contemplations of the loftiest temporal 
themes which can engross the human mind. After 
a short visit to England he returned to Paris, and 
consecrated all his energies to study until May, 1785, 
when he returned to America. To a brilliant young 
man of eighteen, who had seen much of the world, 
and who was familiar with the etiquette of courts, a 
residence with his father in London, under such cir- 
cumstances, must have been extremely attractive; 
but with judgment very rare in one of his age, he pre- 
ferred to return to America to complete his education 
in an American college. He wished then to study 
law, that with an honorable profession, he might be 
able to obtain an independent support. 

Upon leaving Harvard College, at the age of twenty, 
he studied law for three years. In June, 1794, be- 
ing then but twenty-seven years of age, he was ap- 
pointed by Washington, resident minister at the 
Netherlands. Sailing from Boston in July, he reached 
London in October, where he was immediately admit- 
ted to the deliberations of Messrs. Jay and Pinckney, 
assisting them in negotiating a commercial treaty with 
Great Brilian. After thus spending a fortnight in 
London, he proceeded to the Hague. 

In July, 1797, he left the Hague to go to Portugal as 
minister plenipotentiary. On his way to Portugal, 
upon arriving in London, he met with despatches 
directing him to the court of Berlin, but requesting 
him to remain in London until he should receive his 
instructions. While waiting he was married to an 
American lady to whom he had been previously en- 
gaged, — Miss Louisa Catherine Johnson, daughter 
of Mr. Joshua Johnson, American consul in London ; 
a lady endownd with that beauty and those accom- 
plishment which eminently fitted her to move in the 
elevated sphere for which she was destined. 
v^ 



i- 



*5^ 



46 



I 



JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 



He reached Berlin with his wife in November, 1797 ; 
where he remained until July, 1799, when, having ful- 
filled all the purix)ses of his mission, he solicited his 
recall. 

Soon after his return, in 1802, he was chosen to 
the Senate of Massachusetts, from Boston, and then 
was elected Senator of the United States for six years, 
from the 4th of March, 1804. His reputation, his 
ability and his experience, placed him immediately 
among the most prominent and influential members 
of that body. Especially did he sustain the Govern- 
ment in its measures of resistance to the encroach- 
ments of England, destroying our commerce and in- 
sulting our flag. There was no man in America more 
familiar with the arrogance of the British court upon 
these points, and no one more resolved to present 
a firm resistance. 

In 1809, Madison succeeded Jefferson in the Pres- 
idential chair, and he immediately nominated John 
Quincy Adams minister to St. Petersburg. Resign- 
ing his professorship in Harvard College, he embarked 
at Boston, in August, 1809. 

While in Russia, Mr. Adams was an intense stu- 
dent. He devoted his attention to the language and 
history of Russia; to the Chinese trade; to the 
European system of weights, measures, and coins ; to 
the climate and astronomical observations ; wliile he 
Kept up a familiar acquaintance with the Greek and 
Latin classics. In all the universities of Europe, a 
more accomplished scholar could scarcely be found. 
All through life the Bible constituted an imix)rtant 
part of his studies. It was his rule to read five 
chapters every day. 

On the 4th of March, 1817, Mr. Monroe took the 
Presidential chair, and immediately apix)inted Mr. 
Adams Secretary of State. Taking leave of his num- 
erous friends in public and private life in Europe, he 
sailed in June, i8ig, for the United States. On the 
i8th of August, he again crossed the threshold of his 
home in Quincy. During the eight years of Mr. Mon- 
roe's administration, Mr. Adams continued Secretary 
of State. 

Some time before the close of Mr. Monroe's second 
term of office, new candidates began to be presented 
for the Presidency. The friends of Mr. Adams brought 
forward his name. It was an e.xciting campaign. 
Party spirit was never more bitter. Two hundred and 
sixty electoral votes were cast. Andrew Jackson re- 
ceived ninety-nine; John Quincy Adams, eighty-four; 
William H. Crawford, forty -one; Henry Clay, thirty- 
seven. As there was no choice by the people, the 
question went to the House of Representatives. Mr. 
Clay gave the vote of Kentucky to Mr. Adams, and 
he was elected. 

Thefriends of all the disappointed candidates now 
combined in a venomous and persistent assault upon 
Mr. Adams. There is nothing more disgraceful in 
the past history of our country than the abuse which 
-^•^ 



was poured in one uninterrupted stream, upon this 
high-minded, upright, patriotic man. There never was 
an administration more pure in principles, more con- 
scientiously devoted to the best interests of the coun- 
try, than that of John Quincy Adams ; and never, per- 
haps, was there an administration more unscrupu- 
lously and outrageously assailed. 

Mr. Adams was, to a very remarkable degree, ab- 
stemious and temperate in his habits; always rising 
early, and taking much exercise. When at his home in 
Quincy, he has been known to walk, before breakfast, 
seven miles to Boston. In Washington, it was said 
that he was the first man up in the city, lighting his 
own fire and applying himself to work in his library 
often long before dawn. 

On the 4th of March, 1829, Mr. Adams retired 
from the Presidency, and was succeeded by Andrew- 
Jackson. John C. Calhoun was elected Vice Presi- 
dent. The slavery question now began to assume 
ixjrtentous magnitude. Mr. Adams returned to 
Quincy and to his studies, which he pursued with un- 
abated zeal. But he was not long permitted to re- 
main in retirement. In November, 1830, he was 
elected representative to Congress. For seventeen 
years, until his death, he occupied the post as repre- 
sentative, towering above all his peers, ever ready to 
do brave battle' for freedom, and winning the title of 
"the old man eloquent." Upon taking his seat in 
the House, he announced that he should hold him- 
self bound to no party. Probably there never was a 
member more devoted to his duties. He was usually 
the first in his place in the morning, and the last to 
leave his seat in the evening. Not a measure could 
be brought forward and escape his scrutiny. The 
battle which Mr. Adams fought, almost singly, against 
the proslavery party in the Government, was sublime 
in Its moral dating and heroism. For persisting in 
presenting petitions for the abolition of slavery, he 
was threatened with indictment by the grand jury, 
with expulsion from the House, with assassination ; 
but no threats could intimidate him, and his final 
triumph was complete. 

It has been said of President Adams, that when his 
body was bent and his hair silvered by the lapse of 
fourscore years, yielding to the simple faith of a little 
child, he was accustomed to repeat every night, before 
he slept, the pra)er which his mother taught him in 
his infant years. 

On the 2 T St of February, 1848, he rose on the floor 
of Congress, with a paper in his hand, to address the 
speaker. Suddenly he fell, again stricken by paraly- 
sis, and was caught in the arms of those around him. 
For a time he was senseless, as he was conveyed to 
the sofa in the rotunda. With reviving conscious- 
ness, he opened his eyes, looked calmly around and 
said " This is the end of earth ;"then after a moment's 
pause he added, "/ am content" These were the 
last words of the grand " Old Man Eloquent." 



»► ■ <• 



^^ 





t:7'Z'^'^^ 



SE VENTH FRESWENT. 







VDREW JACKSON, the 
^LVLiith President of the 
United States, was born in 
Waxhaw settlement, N. C, 
March 15, 1767, a few days 
after his father's death. His 
)aients were poor emigrants 
from Irehmd, iiurl took up 
their abode in Waxhaw set- 
tlement, where they lived in 
deepest poverty, 
Andrew, or Andy, as he was 
universally called, grew up a very 
rough, rude, turbulent boy. His 
features were coarse, his form un- 
gainly; and there was but very 
little in his character, made visible, which was at- 
tractive. 

When only thirteen years old he joined the volun- 
teers of Carolina against the British invasion. In 
1781, he and his brother Robert were captured and 
imprisoned for a time at Camden. A British officer 
ordered him to brush his mud-spattered boots. " I am 
a prisoner of war, not your servant," was the reply of 
the dauntless boy. 

The brute drew his sword, and aimed a desperate 
blow at the head of the helpless young jjrisoner. 
Andrew raised his hand, and thus received two fear- 
ful gashes, — one on the hand and the other upon the 
head. The officer then turned to his brother Robert 
with the same demand. He also refused, and re- 
ceived a blow from the keen-edged sabre, which ijuite 
disabled him, and whicli probably soon after caused 
his death. They suffered muchother ill-treatment, and 
were finally stricken with the small-pox. Their 
mother was successful in obtaining their exchange. 



and took her sick boys home. After a long illness 
Andrew recovered, and the death of his mother soon 
left him entirely friendless. 

Andrew supported himself in various ways, such as 
working at the saddler's trade, teaching school and 
clerking in a general store, until 1784, when he 
entered a law office at Salisbury, N. C. He, however, 
gave more attention to the wild amusements of the 
times than to his studies. In 1788, he was appointed 
solicitor for the western district of North Carolina, of 
which Tennessee was then a part. This involved 
many long and tedious journeys amid dangers of 
every kind, but Andrew Jackson never knew fear, 
and the Indians had no desire to repeat a skirmish 
witn the Sharp Knife. 

In 1791, Mr. Jackson was married to a woman who 
supposed herself divorced from her former husband. 
Great was the surprise of both parties, two years later, 
to find that the conditions of the divorce had just been 
definitely settled by the first husband. The marriage 
ceremony was performed a second time, but the occur- 
rence was often used by his enemies to bring Mr. 
Jackson into disfavor. 

During these years he worked hard at his profes- 
sion, and frequently had one or more duels on hand, 
one of which, when he killed Dickenson, was espec- 
ially disgraceful. 

In January, 1796, the Territory of Tennessee then 
containing nearly eighty thousand inhabitants, the 
people met in convention at Knoxville to frame a con- 
stitution. Five were sent from each of the eleven 
counties, .\ndrew Jackson was one of the delegates. 
The new State was entitled to but one member in 
the National House of Rei)resentatives. Andrew Jack- 
son was chosen that member. Mounting his horse he 
rode to Philedelphia, where Congress then held its 



44 



ANDRE W JACKSON. 



sessions, — a distance of about eight hundred miles. 

Jackson was an earnest advocate of the Demo- 
cnuic party. Jefferson was his idol. He admired 
Bonaparte, loved France and hated England. As Mr. 
Jackson took his seat, Gen. Washington, whose 
second term of office was then expiring, delivered his 
last speech to Congress. A committee drew up a 
complimentary address in reply. Andrew Jackson 
did not approve of the address, and was one of the 
twelve who voted against it. He was not willing to 
say that Gen. Washington's adminstration had been 
" wise, firm and patriotic." 

Mr. Jackson was elected to the United States 
Senate in 1797, but soon resigned and returned home. 
Soon after he was chosen Judge of the Supreme Court 
of his State, which position he held for six years. 

When the war of 1812 with Great Britian com- 
menced, Madison occupied the Presidential chair. 
Aaron Burr sent word to the President that there was 
an unknown man in the West, Andrew Jackson, who 
would do credit to a commission if one were con- 
ferred upon him. Just at tliat time Gen. Jackson 
offered his services and those of twenty-five hundred 
volunteers. His offer was accejrted, and the troops 
were assembled at Nashville. 

As the British were hourly expected to make an at- 
tack u[)on New Orleans, where Gen. Wilkinson was 
in command, he was ordered to descend the river 
with fifteen himdred troojis to aid Wilkinson. The 
expedition reached Natchez; and after a delay of s'ev- 
era! weeks there, without accomplishing anything, 
the men were ordered liack to their homes. But the 
energy Gen. Jackson had displayed, and his entire 
devotion to the comrfort of his soldiers, won him 
golden oi)inious; and- he became the most popular 
man in the State. It was in this expedition that his 
toughness gave him the nickname of " Old Hickory." 

Soon after this, while attempting to horsewhip Col. 
Thomas H. Benton, for a remark that gentleman 
made about his taking a part as second in a duel, in 
which a younger brotiier of Benton's was engaged, 
he received two severe [listol wounds. While he was 
lingering upon a bed of suffering news came that the 
Indians, who had combined under Tecumseh from 
Florida to the Lakes, to exterminate the white set- 
vlers, were committing the most awful ravages. De- 
cisive action became necessary. Gen. Jackson, with 
his fractured bone just beginning to heal, his arm in 
a sling, and unable to mount his horse without assis- 
tance, gave his amazing energies to the raising of an 
army to rendezvous at Fayettesville, Alabama. 

The Creek Indians had established a strong fort on 
one of the bendsof the Tallapoosa River, near the cen- 
ter of Alabama, about fifty miles below Fort Strother. 
With an army of two thousand men, Gen. Jackson 
traversed the pathless wilderness in a march of eleven 
days. He reached their fort, called Toho]3eka or 
Horse-shoe, on the 27th of March. 181a. The bend 



of the river enclosed nearly one hundred acres of 
tangled forest and wild ravine. Across the narrow 
neck the Indians had constructed a formidable brea:,t- 
work of logs and brush. Here nine hundred warriors, 
with an ample suplyof arms were assembled. 

The fort was stormed. The fight was utterly des- 
perate. Not an Indian would accept of quarter. When 
bleeding and dying, they would fight those who en- 
deavored to spare their lives. From ten in the morn- 
ing until dark, the battle raged. The carnage was 
awful and revolting. Some threw themselves into the 
river; but the unerring bullet struck their heads as 
they swam. Nearly everyone of the nine hundred war- 
rios were killed A few probably, in the night, swam 
the river and escaped. This ended the war. The 
power of the Creeks was broken forever. This bold 
plunge into the wilderness, with itsterriffic slaughter, 
so appalled the savages, that the haggard remnants 
of the bands came to the camp, begging for peace. 

This closing of the Creek war enabled' us to con- 
centrate all our militia upon the British, who were the 
allies of tlie Indians No man of less resolute will 
than Gen. Jackson could have conducted this Indian 
campaign to so successful an issue Immediately he 
was appointed major-general. 

Late in August, with an army of two thousand 
men, on a rushing march, Gen. Jackson came to 
Mobile. A British fleet came from Pensacola, landed 
a force upon the beach, anchored near the litde fort, 
and from both ship and shore commenced a furious 
assault The battle was long and doubtful. At length 
one of the ships was blown up and the rest retired. 

Garrisoning Mobile, where he had taken his little 
army, he moved his troops to New Orleans, 
And the battle of New Orleans which soon ensued, 
was in reality a very arduous campaign. This won 
for Gen. Jackson an imperishable name. Here his 
troops, which numbered about four thousand men, 
won a signal victory over the British army of about 
nine thousand. His loss was but thirteen, while the 
loss of the British was two thousand six hundred. 

The name of Gen. Jackson soon began to be men- 
tioned in connection with the Presidency, but, in 1824, 
he was defeated by Mr. Adams. He was, however, 
successful in the election of 1828, and was re-elected 
for a second term in 1832. In 1829, just before he 
assumed the reins of the government, he met with 
the most terrible affliction of his life in the death of 
his wife, whom he had loved with a devotion which has 
perhaps never been surpassed. From the shock of 
herdeath he never recovered. 

His administration was one of the most memorable 
in the annals of our country; applauded by one party, 
condemned by the other. No man had more bitter 
enemies or warmer friends. At the expiration of his 
two terms of office he retired to the Hermitage, where 
he died June 8, 1845. The last years of Mr. Jack- 
son's life were that of a devoted Christian man. 



i 




9 ? 2^'^l^Ot ^-z^-1^ ^^-c^. 



EIGHTH PRESIDENT. 



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VRTIN VAN nUREN, the 
eighth President of the 
' United States, was born at 
Kinderhook, N. Y., Dec. 5, 
1782 He died at the same 
phte, July 24, 1S62. His 
l)od) rests in the cemetery 
at Kinderhook. Above it is 
a plain gi mite shaft fifteen feet 
hi!,h, beaimg a simple inscription 
aliout half way up on one face. 
The lot is unfenced, uiibordered 
or unbounded Ijy shrub or flower. 

There is but little in the life of Martin Van Buren 
of romantic interest. He fought no battles, engaged 
in no wild adventures. Though his life was stormy in 
political and intellectual conflicts, and he gained many 
signal victories, his days passed uneventful in those 
incidents which give zest to biography. His an- 
cestors, as his name indicates, were of Dutch origin, 
and were among the earliest emigrants from Holland 
to the banks of the Hudson. His father was a farmer, 
residing in the old town of Kinderhook. His mother, 
also of Dutch lineage, was a woman of superior intel- 
ligence and exemplary piety. 

He was decidedly a precocious boy, developing un- 
usual activity, vigor and strength of mind. At the 
age of fourteen, he had finished his academic studies 
in his native village, and commenced the study of 
law. As he had not a collegiate education, seven 
years of study in a law-office were required of him 
before he could be admitted to the bar. Inspired with 
a lofty ambition, and conscious of his powers, he pur- 
sued his studies with indefatigable industry. After 
spending si.x years in an office in his native village, 



he went to the city of New York, and prosecuted his 
studies for the seventh year. 

In 1803, Mr. Van Buren, then twenty-one years of 
age, commenced the practice of law in his native vil- 
lage. The great conflict between the Federal and 
Republican party was then at its height. Mr. Van 
Buren was from the beginning a politician. He had, 
perhaps, imbibed that spirit while listening to the 
many discussions which had been carried on in his 
father's hotel. He was in cordial sympathy with 
Jefferson, and earnestly and eloquently espoused the 
cause of State Rights ; though at that time the Fed- 
eral party held the supremacy botii in his town 
and State. 

His success and increasing ruputation led him 
after six years of practice, to remove to Hudson, th<: 
county seat of his county. Here he spent seven years, 
constantly gaining strength by contending in tht, 
courts with some of the ablest men who have adorned 
the bar of his State. 

Just before leaving Kinderhook for Hudson, Mi. 
Van Buren married a lady alike distinguished for 
beauty and accomplishments. After twelve short 
years she sank into the grave, the victim of consump- 
tion, leaving her husband and four sons to weep over 
her loss. For twenty-five years, Mr. Van Buren was 
an earnest, successful, assiduous lawyer. The record 
of those years is barren in items of public interest. 
In 18 1 2, when thirty years of age, he was chosen to 
the State Senate, and gave his strenuous support to 
Mr. Madison's adminstration. In 1815, he was ap- 
[lointed Attorney-General, and the next year moved 
to Albany, the capital of the State. 

While he was acknowledged as one of the most 
prominent leaders of the Democratic party, he had 

.^ 



f 



Hh^ 



MARTIN VAN BU REN. 



the moral courage to avow that true democracy did 
not require that " universal suffrage" which admits 
the vile, the degraded, the ignorant, to the right of 
governing the State. In true consistency with his 
democratic principles, he contended that, while the 
path leading to the privilege of voting should be open 
to every man without distinction, no one should be 
invested with that sacred prerogative, unless he were 
in some degree qualified for it by intelligence, virtue 
and some i)roperty interests in the welfare of tlie 
State. 

In 182 1 he was elected a member of the United 
States Senate; and in the same year, he took a seat 
in the convention to revise the constitution of his 
native State. His course in this convention secured 
the approval of men of all parties. No one could 
doubt the singleness of his endeavors to promote the 
interests of all classes in the community. In the 
Senate of the United States, he rose at once to a 
conspicuous position as anactive and useful legislator. 

In 1827, John Quincy Adams being then in the 
Presidential chair, Mr. Van Buren was re-elected to 
the Senate. He had been from the beginning a de- 
termined opposer of the Administration, adopting the 
"State Rights" view in opposition to what was 
deemed the Federal proclivities of Mr. Adams. 

Soon after this, in 1828, he was chosen Governorof 
the State of New York, and accordingly resigned his 
seat in the Senate. Probably no one in the United 
States contributed so much towards ejecting John O. 
Adams from the Presidential chair, and placing in it 
Andrew Jackson, as did Martin Van Buren. Whetlier 
entitled to the reputation or not, he certainly was re- 
garded throughout the United States as one of the 
most skillful, sagacious and cunning of politicians. 
It was supposed that no one knew so well as he how 
to touch the secret springs of action; how to pull all 
the wires to put his machinery in motion ; and how to 
organize a political army which would, secretly and 
stealthily accomplish the most gigantic results. By 
these powers it is said that he outv/itted Mr. Adams, 
Mr. Clay, Mr. Webster, and secured results which 
few thought then could be accomplished. 

When Andrew Jackson was elected President he 
appointed Mr. Van Buren Secretary of State. This 
position he resigned in 1831, and was immediately 
appointed Minister to England, where he went the 
same autumn. The Senate, however, when it met, 
refused to ratify the nomination, and he returned 



home, apparently untroubled ; was nominated Vice 
President in the place of Calhoun, at the re-election 
of President Jackson ; and' with smiles for all and 
frowns for none, he took his place at the head of that 
Senate which had refused to confirm his nomination 
as ambassador. 

His rejection by the Senate roused all the zeal of 
President Jackson in behalf of his repudiated favor- 
ite ; and this, probably more than anj other cause, 
secured his elevation to the chair of the Chief Execu- 
tive. On the 20th of May, 1836, Mr. Van Buren re- 
ceived the Democratic nomination to succeed Gen. 
Jackson as President of the United States. He was 
elected by a handsome majority, to the delight of the 
retiring President. " Leaving New York out of the 
canvass," says Mr. Parton, "the election of Mr. Van 
Buren to the Presidency was as much the act of Gen. 
Jackson as though the Constitution had conferred 
upon him the power to appoint a successor." 

His administration was filled with exciting events. 
The insurrection in Canada, which threatened to in - 
volve this country in war with England, the agitation 
of the slavery question, and finally the great commer- 
cial panic which spread over the country, all were 
trials to his wisdom. The financial distress was at- 
tributed to the management of the Democratic party, 
and brought the President into such disfavor that lie 
failed of re-election. 

With the exceplion of being nominated for the 
Presidency by the "Free Soil" Democrats, in 184S, 
Mr. Van Buren lived quietly upon his estate until 
his death. 

He had ever been a prudent man, of frugal habits, 
and living within his income, had now fortunately a 
competence for his declining years. His unblemished 
character, his commanding abilities, his unquestioned 
patriotism, and the distinguished positions whith he 
had occupied in the government of our country, se- 
cured to him not only the homage of his party, but 
the respect ot the whole community. It was on the 
4th of March, 1841, that Mr. Van Buren retired from 
the presidency. From his fine estate at Lindenwald^ 
he still exerted a powerful influence upon the politics 
of the country. From this time until his death, on 
the 24th of July, 1862, at the age of eighty years, he 
resided at Lindenwald, a gentleman of leisure, of 
culture and of wealth; enjoying in a healthy old 
age, probably far more happiness than he had before 
experienced amid the stormy scenes of his active life. 



•►Hh 






(I 







'^ 



NINTH PRESIDENT. 




Wl^W&M TOU IMRmoN 








4 



ILLIAM HENRY HARRI- 
SON, the ninth President of 
the United States, was born 
it Berkeley, Va., Feb. 9, 1773. 
His father, Benjamin Harri- 
son, was in comparatively op- 
ulent circumstances, and was 
one of the most distinguished 
men of his day. He was an 
nitimate friend of George 
Washington, was early elected 
a memiier of the Continental 
Cont,ress, and was conspicuous 
among the patriots of Virginia in 
resisting the encroachments of the 
kitish crown. In the celebrated 
Congress of 1775, Benjamin Har- 
iison and John Hancock were 
both candidates for the office of 
)i.aker. 

Mr Harrison was subseiiuently 
chosen Governor of Virginia, and 
was twice re-elected. His son, 
i William Henry, of course enjoyed 

in childhood all the advantages which wealth and 
intellectual and cultivated society could give. Hav- 
ing received a thorough common-school education, he 
entered Hampden Sidney College, where he graduated 
with honor soon after the death of his father. He , 
then repaired to Philadelphia to study medicine under 
the instructions of Dr. Rush and the guardianship of 
Robert Morris, both of whom were, with his father, 
signers of the Declaration of Independence. 

Upon the outbreak of the Indian troubles, and not- 
withstanding the remonstrances of his friends, he 
abandoned his medical studies and entered the army, 
having obtained a commission of Ensign from Presi- I 



dent Washington. He was then but ly years old. 
From that time he passed gradually upward in rank 
until he became aid to General Wayne, after whose 
death he resigned his commission. He was then ap- 
pointed Secretary of the North-western Territory. This 
Territory was then entitl.ed to but one member in 
Congress and Capt. Harrison was chosen to fill that 
position. 

In the spring of 1800 the North-western Territory 
was divided by Congress into two portions. The 
eastern portion, comprising the region now embraced 
in the State of Ohio, was called " The Territory 
north-west of the Ohio." The western portion, which 
included what is now called Indiana, lUinois and 
Wisconsin, was called the "Indiana Territory." Wil- 
liam Henry Harrison, then 27 years of age, was ap- 
lX)inted by John Adams, Clovernor of the Indiana 
Territory, and immediately after, also Governor of 
Upper Louisiana. He was thus ruler over almost as 
extensive a realm as any sovereign upon the globe. He 
was Superintendent of Indian Affairs, and was in- 
vested with powers nearly dictatorial over the now 
rapidly increasing white population. The ability and 
fidelity with whicii he discharged these responsible 
duties may be inferred from the fact that he was four 
times appointed to this office — first by John Adams, 
twice by Thomas Jefferson and afterwards by Presi- 
dent Madison. 

When he began his adminstration there were but 
three white settlements in that almost boundless region, 
now crowded with cities and resounding with all the 
tumult of wealth and traffic. One of these settlements 
was on the Ohio, nearly opixjsite Louisville; one at 
Vincennes, on the Wabash, and the third a French 
settlement. 

Tlie vast wilderness over which Gov. Harrison 
reigned was filled with many tribes of Indians, About 



^ 



WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 



the year 1806, two extraordinary men, twin brothers, 
of the Shawnese tribe, rose among them. One of 
these was called Tccumseh, or " The Crouching 
Panther;" the other, OUiwacheca, or "'I'he Prophet." 
Tecumseh was not only an Indian warrior, but a man 
of great sagacity, far-reaching foresight and indomit- 
able perseverance in any enterprise in which he might 
engage. He was inspired with the highest enthusiasm, 
and had long regarded with dread and with hatred 
the encroachment of the whites upon the hunting- 
grounds of his fathers. His brother, the Prophet, was 
znorator, who could sway the feelings of the untutored 
Indian as the gale tossed the tree-tops beneath which 
they dwelt. 

But the Prophet was not merely an orator: he was, 
in the superstitious minds of the Indians, invested 
with the superhuman dignity of a medicine-man or a 
magician. With an enthusiasm unsurpassed by Peter 
the Hermit rousing Europe to the crusades, he went 
from tribe to tribe, assuming that he was specially sent 
l)y the Great Spirit. 

Gov. Harrison made many attempts to conciUate 
the Indians, but at last the war came, and at Tippe- 
canoe the Indians were routed with great slaughter. 
October 28, 1812, his army began its march. When 
near the Prophet's town three Indians of rank made 
their appearance and inquired why Gov. Harrison was 
approaching them in so hostile an attitude. After a 
short conference, arrangements were made for a meet- 
ing the next day, to agree upon terms of peace. 

But Gov. Harrison was too well acquainted with 
the Indian character to be deceived by such protes- 
tations. Selecting a favorable spot for his night's en- 
campment, he took every precaution against surprise. 
His troops were posted in a hollow square, and slept 
upon their arms. 

The troops threw themselves upon the ground for 
rest; but every man had his accourtrements on, his 
loaded musket by his side, and his bayonet fixed. The 
wakeful Governor, between three and four o'clock in 
the morning, had risen, and was sitting in conversa- 
tion with his aids by the embers of a waning fire. It 
was a chill, cloudy morning with a drizzling rain. In 
the darkness, the Indians had crept as near as possi- 
ble, and just then, with a savage yell, rushed, with all 
the desperation which superstition and passion most 
liighly inflamed could give, upon the left flank of the 
little army. The savages had been amply provided 
with guns and ammunition by the English. Their 
war-whoop was accompained by a shower of bullets. 

The camp-fires were instantly extinguished, as the 
light aided the Indians in their aim. With hide- 
Bus yells, the Indian bands rushed on, not doubting a 
speedy and an entire victory. But Gen. Harrison's 
troops stood as immovable as the rocks around them 
until day dawned : they then made a simultaneous 
charge with the bayonet, and swept every thing be- 
fore them, and completely routing the foe. 

■^« 



Gov. Harrison now had all his energies tasked 
to the utmost. The British descending from the Can - 
adas, were of themselves a very formidable force ; but 
with their savage allies, rushing like wolves from the 
forest, searching out every remote farm-house, burn- 
ing, plundering, scalping, torturing, the wide frontier 
was plunged into a state of consternation which even 
the most vivid imagination can but faintly conceive, 
Tiie war-whoop was resounding everywhere in the 
forest. The horizon was illuminated with the conflagra- 
tion of the cabins of the setders. Gen Hull had made 
the ignominious surrender of his forces at Detroit. 
Under these despairing circumstances. Gov. Harrison 
was appointed by President Madison commander-in- 
chief of the North-western army, with orders to retake 
Detroit, and to protect the frontiers. 

It would be difficult to place a man in a situation 
demanding more energy, sagacity and courage; but 
General Harrison was found equal to the position, 
and nobly and triumphantly did he meet all the re- 
sponsibilities. 

He won the love of his soldiers by always sharing 
with them their fatigue. His whole baggage, while 
pursuing the foe up the Thames, was carried in a 
valise; and his bedding consisted of a single blanket 
lashed over his saddle. Thirty-five British officers, 
his prisoners of war, supped with him after the battle. 
The only fare he could give them was beef roasted 
before the fire, without bread or salt. 

In 1816, Gen. Harrison was chosen a member of 
the National House of Representatives, to represent 
the District of Ohio. In Congress he proved an 
active member; and whenever he spoke, it was with 
force of reason and power of eloquence, which arrested 
the attention of all the members. 

In 1819, Harrison was elected to the Senate of 
Ohio; and in 1824, as one of the presidential electors 
of that State, he gave his vote for Henry Clay. The 
same year he was chosen to the United States Senate. 

In 1836, the friends of Gen. Harrison brought him 
forward as a candidate for the Presidency against 
Van Buren, but he was defeated. At the close of 
Mr. Van Buren's term, he was re-nominated by his 
party, and Mr. Harrison was unanimously nominated 
by the Whigs, with John Tyler for the Vice Presidency. 
The contest was very animated. Gen. Jackson gave 
all his influence to prevent Harrison's election ; but 
his triumph was signal. 

The cabinet which he formed, with Daniel Webster 
at its head as Secretary of State, was one of the most 
brilliant with which any President had ever "been 
surrounded. Never were the prospects of an admin- 
istration more flattering, or the hopes of the country 
more sanguine. In the midst of these bright and 
joyous prospects. Gen. Harrison was seized by a 
pleurisy-fever and after a few days of violent sick- 
ness, died on the 4th of April ; just one month after 
his inauguration as President of the United States. 





{J-TlAz J^U-(i/. 



TENTH PRESIDENT. 




»|*5 J®IHK TYLBMo^P 



■■Sig- 




JM'i 



4 



OHN TYLER, the tenth 
1 lesidentof the United States. 
He was born in Charles-city 
Co., Va., March 29, 1790. He 
w IS the favored child of af- 
fluence and high social po- 
sition. At the early age of 
twelve, John entered \Villiam 
and Mary College and grad- 
u ited with much honor when 
but seventeen years old. After 
L,rtduating, he devoted liim- 
self with great assiduity to the 
stud) of law, partly with his 
fithei and partly with Edmund 
Randolph, one of the most distin- 
guished lawyers of Virginia. 

\t nineteen years of age, lie 
commenced the practice of law. 
His success was rapid and aston- 
ishing It is said that three 
months had not elapsed ere there 
was scarcely a case on the dock- 
1 et of the court in which he was 

not retained. When but twenty-one years of age, he 
was almost unanimously elected to a seat in the State 
Legislature. He connected himself with the Demo- 
cratic party, and warmly advocated the measures of 
Jefferson and Madison. For five successive years he 
was elected to the Legislature, receiving nearly the 
unanimous vote or his county. 

When but twenty-six years of age, he was elected 
a member of Congress. Here he acted earnestly and 
ably with the Democratic party, opposing a national 
bank, internal improvements by the General Govern- 



ment, a protective tariff, and ailvocalmg a strict con- 
struction of the Constitution, and the most careful 
vigilance over State rights. His labors in Congress 
were so arduous that before the close of his second 
term he found it necessary to resign and retire to his 
estate in Charles-city Co., to recruit his health. He, 
however, soon after consented to take his seat in the 
State Legislature, where his influence was powerful 
in promoting public works of great utility. With a 
reputation thus canstantly increasing, he was chosen 
by a very large majority of votes. Governor of his 
native State. His administration was signally a suc- 
cessful. one. His popularity secured his re-election. 

John Randolph, a brilliant, erratic, half-crazed 
man, then represented Virginia in the Senate of the 
United States. A portion of the Democratic party 
was displeased with Mr. Randolph's wayward course, 
and brought forward John Tyler as his opponent, 
considering hiin the only man in Virginia of sufficient 
popularity to succeed against the renowned orator of 
Roanoke. Mr. Tyler was the victor. 

In accordance with his professions, upon taking his 
seat in the Senate, he joined the ranks of the opposi- 
tion. He opposed the tariff; he spoke against and 
voted against the bank as unconstitutional; he stren- 
uously opposed all restrictions upon slavery, resist- 
ing all projects of internal improvements by the Gen- 
eral Government, and avowed his sympathy with Mr. 
Calhoun's view of nullification ; he declared that Gen. 
Jackson, by his opposition to the nuliifiers, had 
abandoned the piinciples of the Democratic party. 
Such was Mr. Tyler's record in Congress, — a record 
in perfect accordance with the principles which he 
had always avowed. 

Returning lo Virginia, he resumed the practice of 
his profession. There was a cplit in the Democratic 



JOHN TYLER. 



"T 



i 



party. His friends still regarded him as a true Jef- 
fersonian, gave him a dinner, and showered compli- 
ments upon him. He had now attained the age of 
forty-six. His career had been very brilliant. In con- 
sequence of his devotion to public business, his pri- 
vate affairs had fallen into some disorder; audit was 
not without satisfaction that he resumed the practice 
of law, and devoted himself to the culture of his plan- 
tation. Soon after this he removed to Williamsburg, 
for the better education of his children ; and he again 
took his seat in the Legislature of Virginia. 

By the Southern Whigs, he was sent to the national 
convention at Harrisburg to nominate a President in 
1839. The majority of votes were given to Gen. Har- 
rison, a genuine Whig, much to the disappointment of 
the South, who wished for Henry Clay. To concili- 
ate the Southern Whigs and to secure their vote, the 
convention then nominated John Tyler for Vice Pres- 
ident. It was well known that he was not in sympa- 
thy with the Whig party in the Noith: but the Vice 
President has but very little power in the Govern- 
ment, his main and almost only duty being to pre- 
side over the meetings of the Senate. Thus it hap- 
pened that a Whig President, and, in reality, a 
Democratic Vice President were chosen. 

In 1841, Mr. Tyler was inaugurated Vice Presi- 
dent of the United States. In one short month from 
that time. President Harrison died, and Mr. Tyler 
thus found himself, to his own surprise and that of 
the whole Nation, an occupant of the Presidential 
chair. This was a new test of the stability of our 
institutions, as it was the first time in the history of our 
country that such an event had occured. Mr. Tyler 
was at home in Williamsburg when he received the 
unexpected tidings of the death of President Harri- 
son. He hastened to Washington, and on the 6th of 
April was inaugurated to the high and responsible 
office. He was placed in a position of exceeding 
delicacy and difficulty. All his long life he had been 
opposed to the main principles of the party which had 
brought him into power. He had ever been a con- 
sistent, honest man, with an unblemished record. 
Gen. Harrison had selected a Whig cabinet. Should 
he retain them, and thus surround himself with coun- 
sellors whose views were antagonistic to his own? or, 
on the other hand, should he turn against the party 
which had elected him and select a cabinet in har- 
mony with himself, and which would oppose all those 
views which the Whigs deemed essential to the pub- 
lic welfare? This was his fearful dilemma. He in- 
vited the cabinet which President Harrison had 
selected to retain their seats. He reccommended a 
day of fasting and prayer, that God would guide and 
bless us. 

The Whigs carried through Congress a bill for the 
incorporation of a fiscal bank of the United States. 
The President, after ten days' delay, returned it with 
his veto. He suggested, however, that he would 



approve of a bill drawn up upon such a plan as he 
proposed. Such a bill was accordingly prepared, and 
privately submitted to him. He gave it his approval. 
It '.vas passed without alteration, and he sent it back 
with his veto. Here commenced the open rupture. 
It is said that Mr. Tyler was provoked to this meas- 
ure by a published letter from_ the Hon. John M. 
Botts, a distinguished Virginia Whig, who severely 
touched the pride of the President. 

The opposition now exultingly received the Presi- 
dent into their arms. The party which elected him 
denounced him bitteriy. AH the members of his 
cabinet, excepting Mr. Webster, resigned. The Whigs 
of Congress, both the Senate and the House, held a 
meeting and issued an address to the people of the 
United States, proclaiming that- all political alliance 
between the Whigs and President Tyler were at 
an end. 

Still the President attempted to conciliate. He 
appointed a new cabmet of distinguished Whigs and 
Conservatives, carefully leaving out all strong party 
men. Mr. Webster soon found it necessary to resign, 
forced out by the pressure of his Whig friends. Thus 
the four years of Mr. Tyler's unfortunate administra- 
tion passed sadly away. No one was satisfied. The 
land was filled with murmurs and vituperation. Whigs 
and Democrats alike assailed him. More and more, 
however, he brought himself into sympathy with his 
old friends, the Democrats, until at the close of his term, 
he gave his whole influence to the support of Mr. 
Polk, the Democratie candidate for his successor. 

On the 4th of March, 1845, he retired from the 
harassments of office, tothe regret of neither party, and 
probably to his own unspeakable relief. His first wife. 
Miss Letitia Christian, died in Washington, in 1842; 
and in June, 1844, President Tyler was again married, 
at New York, to Miss Julia Gardiner, a young lady of 
many personal and intellectual accomplishments. 

The remainder of his days Mr. Tyler passed mainly 
in retirement at his beautiful home, — Sherwood For- 
est, Charles-city Co., Va. A polished gentleman in 
his manners, richly furnished with mformation from 
books and experience in the world, and possessing 
brilliant powers of conversation, his family circle was 
the scene of unusual attractions. With sufficient 
means for the exercise of a generous hospitality, he 
might have enjoyed a serene old age with the few 
friends who gathered around him, were it not for the 
storms of civil war which his own principles and 
policy had helped to introduce. 

When the great Rebellion rose, which the State- 
rights and nullifying doctrines of Mr. John C. Cal- 
houn had inaugurated. President Tyler renounced his 
allegiance to the United States, and joined the Confed- 
erates. He was chosen a member of their Congress; 
and while engaged in active measures to destroy, by 
force of arms, the Government over which he had 
once presided, he was taken sick and soon died. 



-•►Hl-^ 




>^. 






^^ 



ELEVENTH PRESIDENT. 



59 



A^^' 




JAMES E. POXE 



'^^^-^^^^.^^^ 



r ^ \^- 

\ ®m\ 




4 



)^ WfES K. rOI.K, the eleventh 
J iLMdcnt of the United States, 
w IS horn in Mecklenburg Co., 
^f C , Nov. 2, 1795. His par- 
ents were Samuel and Jane 
(Ivnox) Pulk, the former a son 
of Col Thomas I'olk, who located 
at the above place, as one of the 
first [lioneers, in 1735. 

In the year 1006, with his wife 
and children, and soon after fol- 
lowed by most of the members of 
the Polk fainly, Samuel Polk emi- 
grated some two or three hundred 
miles farther west, to the rich valley 
of the Duck River. Here in the 
midst of the wilderness, in a region 
which was subsequently called Mau- 
ry Co., they reared their log huts, 
and established their homes. In the 
hard toil of a new farm in the wil- 
derness, James K. Polk spent the 
early years of his childhood and 
youth. His father, adding the pur- 
suit of a surveyor to that of a farmer, 
gradually increased in wealth until 
he became one of the leading men of the region. His 
mother was a superior woman, of strong common 
sense and earnest piety. 

Very early in life, James developed a taste for 
reading and expressed the strongest desire to obtain 
a liberal education. His mother's training had made 
him methodical in his habits, had taught him punct- 
uality and industry, and had inspired him with lofty 
principles of morality. His health was frail ; and his 
father, fearing that he might not be able to endure a 

•4*- 



sedentary life, got a situation for him behind the 
counter, hojiing to fit him for commercial pursuits. 

This was to James a bitter disaijpointment. He 
had no taste for these duties, and his daily tasks 
were irksome in the extreme. He remained in this 
uncongenial occupation but a few weeks, when at Iiis 
earnest solicitation his father removed him, and made 
arrangements for him to prosecute his studies. Soon 
after he sent him to Murfreesboro Academy. ^Vith 
ardor which could scarcely be surpassed, he pressed 
forward in his studies, and in less than two and a half 
years, in the autumn of i3is, entered the sophomore 
class in the University of North Carolina, at Chapel 
Hill. Here he was one of the most exemplary of 
scholars, punctual in every exercise, never allowing 
himself to be absent from a recitation or a religious 
service. 

He graduated in 18 18, with the highest honors, be- 
ing deemed the best scholar of his class, both in 
mathematics and the classics. He was then twenty- 
three years of age. Mr. Polk's health was at this 
time mucli impaired by the assiduity with which he 
had prosecuted his studies. After a short season of 
relaxation he went to Nashville, and entered the 
office of Felix Grundy, to study law. Here Mr. Polk 
renewed his acquaintance with Andrew Jackson, who 
resided on his plantation, the Hermitage, but a few 
miles from Nashville. They had probably been 
slightly acquainted before. 

Mr. Polk's father was a Jeffersonian Republican, 
and James K. Polk ever adhered to the same politi- 
cal faith. He was a popular public speaker, and was 
constantly called upon to address the meetings of his 
party friends. His skill as a speaker was such that 
he was popularly called the Napoleon of the stump. 
He was a man of unblemished morals, genial and 



■•►Hh 



•¥^m--<^ 



JAMES K. POLK. 



4 



xnirteous in his bearing, and with that sympathetic 
iialure in the joj s and griefs of others which ever gave 
liim troops of friends. In 1823, Mr. Polk was elected 
to the Legislature of Tennessee. Here he gave his 
strong influence towards the election of his friend, 
Mr. Jacksoi], to tlie Presidency of the United States. 

In January, 1824, Mr. Polk married Miss Sarah 
Childress, of Rutherford Co., Tenn. His bride was 
altogether worthy of him, — a lady of beauty and cul- 
ture. In the fall of 1825, Mr. Polk was chosen a 
member of Congress. The satisfaction which he gave 
to liis constituents may be inferred from the fact, that 
for fourteen successive years, until 1839, he was con- 
tinued in that office. He tlien, voluntarily withdrew, 
only that he might accept the Gubernatorial chair 
of Tennessee. In Congress he was a laborious 
member, a frequent and a popular speaker. He was 
always in his seat, always courteous; and whenever 
he spoke it was always to the point, and without any 
ambitious rhetorical display. 

During five sessions of Congress, Mr. Polk was 
Speaker of the House Strong passions were roused, 
and stormy scenes were witnessed ; but Mr Polk per- 
formed his arduous duties to a very general satisfac- 
tion, and a unanimous vote of thanks to him was 
passed by the House as he withdrew on the 4th of 
March, 1839. 

In accordance with Southein usage, Mr. Polk, as a 
candidate for Governor, canvassed the State. He was 
elected by a large majority, and on the 14th of Octo- 
ber, 1839, took the oath of office at Nashville. In 1S41, 
his term of office expired, and hewas again the can- 
didate of the Democratic party, but was defeated. 

On the 4th of March, 1845, Mr. Polk was inaugur- 
ated President of the United States. The verdict of 
the countryin favor of the annexation of Texas, exerted 
its influence upon Congress ; and the last aot of the 
administration of President Tyler was to affix his sig- 
nature to a joint resobition of Congress, passed on the 
3d of March, approving of the annexation of Texas to 
the American Union. As Mexico still claimed Texas 
as one of her provinces, the Mexican minister, 
Almonte, immediately demanded his passports and 
left the country, declaring the act of the annexation 
to be an act hostile to Mexico. 

In his first message. President Polk urged that 
Texas should immediately, by act of Congress, be re- 
ceived into the Union on the same footing with the 
other States. In the meantime, Gen. Taylor was sent 



with an army into Texas to hold the country. He was 
sent first to Nueces, which the Mexicans said was the 
western boundary of Texas. Then he was sent nearly 
two hundred miles further west, to the Rio Grande, 
where he erected batteries which commanded the 
Mexican city of Matamoras, which was situated on 
the western banks. 

The anticipated collision soon took place, and war 
was declared against Mexico by President Polk. Tiie 
war was pushed forward by Mr. Polk's administration 
with great vigor. Gen. Taylor, whose army was first 
called one of "observation," then of "occupation," 
then of " in vasion,"was sent forward to Monterey. The 
feeble Mexicans, in every encounter, were hopelessly 
and awfully slaughtered. The day of judgement 
alone can reveal the misery which this war caused. 
It Vv'as by the ingenuity of Mr. Polk's administration 
that the war was brought on. 

'To the victors belong the spoils." Mexico was 
prostrate before us. Her capital was in our liands. 
We now consented 'jo peace upon the condition that 
Mexico should surrender to us, in addition to Texas, 
all of New Mexico, and all of Upper and Lower Cal- 
ifornia. This new demand embraced, exclusive of 
Texas, eight hundred thousand square miles. This 
was an extent of territory equal to nine States of the 
size of New York. Thus slavery was securing eighteen 
majestic States to be added to the Union. There were 
some Americans who thought it all right : there were 
others who thought it all wrong. In the prosecution 
of this war, we expended twenty thousand lives and 
more than a hundred million of dollars. Of this 
money fifteen millions were paid to Mexico. 

On the 3d of March, 1849, Mr. Polk rerired from 
office, having served one term. The next day was 
Sunday. On the 5th, Gen. Taylor was inaugurated 
as his successor. Mr. Polk rode to the Capitol in the 
same carriage with Gen. Taylor; and the same even- 
ing, with Mrs. Polk, he commenced his return to 
Tennessee. He was then but fifty-four years of age. 
He had ever been strictly temperate in all his habits, 
and his health was good. With an ample fortune, 
a choice library, a cultivated mind, and domestic ties 
of the dearest nature, it seemed as though long years 
of tranquility and happiness were before him. But the 
cholera — that fearful scourge — was then sweeping up 
the Valley of the Mississippi. This he contracted, 
and died on the 15th of June, 1849, in the fifty-fourth 
year of his age, greatly mourned by his countrymen. 




4^ 



^"1-' 



<;& 



'a^- 



^IVELFTH PRESIDENT. 








^»^^ 




\CHARY TAYLOR, twcllih 
Cbident of the United States, 
i'5 born on the 24th of Nov., 
1784, in Orange Co., Va. His 
father, Colonel Taylor, was 
a \ irginian of note, and a dis- 
tinguished patriot and soldier of 
the Revolution. When Zachary 
was an infant, his father with his 
wife and two children, emigrated 
to Kentucky, where he settled in 
the pathless wilderness, a few- 
miles from Louisville. Li this front- 
^^|f ier home, away from civilization and 
I all its refinements, yaung Zachary 
could enjoy but few social and educational advan- 
tages. When six years of age he attended a common 
school, and was then regarded as a bright, active boy, 
rather remarkable for bluntness aixl decision of char- 
acter He was strong, feailess and self-reliant, and 
manifested a strong desire to enter the army to fight 
the Lidians who were ravaging the frontiers. There 
is little to be recorded of the uneventful years of his 
childhood on his father's large but lonely plantation. 
In 1808, his father succeeded in obtaining for him 
the commission of lieutenant in the United States 
army ; and he joined the troops which were stationed 
at New Orleans under Gen. Wilkinson. Soon after 
this he married Miss Margaret Smith, a young lady 
from one of the first families of Maryland. 

Immediately after the declaration of war with Eng- 
land, in 1S12, Capt. Taylor (for he had then been 
promoted to that rank) was put in command of Fort 
Harrison, on the Wabash, about fifty miles above 
Vincennes. This fort had been built in the wilder- 
ness by Gen. Harrison, on his march to Tippecanoe. 
It was one of the first points of attack by the Indians, 
kd by Tecumseh. Its garrison consisted of a broken 



of 



h.ly. 



company of infantry ninnbering fifty men 
whom were sick. 

Earl)- in the autumn of 18 ij, the Indians 
and in large numiters, moved upon the fort. Their 
ai)proach was first indicated by the murder of two 
soldiers just outside of the stockade. Capt. Taylor 
made every possible preparation to meet the antici- 
pated assault. On the 4th of September, a Ijand of 
forty painted and plumed savages came to the fort, 
waving a white flag, and informed Capt. Taylor that 
in the morning their chief would con:e to have a talk 
with him. It was evident that their object was merely 
to ascertain the state of things at the fort, and Capt. 
Taylor, well versed in the wiles of tlie savages, kept 
them at a distance. 

The sun went down ; the savages disappeared, the 
garrison slept upon their arms. One liour before 
midnight the war whooii burst from a thousand lips 
in tlie forest around, followed by the discharge of 
musketry, and the rusli of the foe. Every man, sick 
and well, sprang to his i)ost. Every man knew that 
defeat was not merely death, but in the case of cap- 
ture, death by the most agonizing and prolonged tor- 
ture. No pen can describe, no inimagination can 
conceive the scenes which ensued. The savages suc- 
ceeded in setting fue to one of the block-houses- 
Until six o'clock in the morning, this awful conflict 
continued. The savages then, baffled at every point, 
and gnashing their teeth with rage, retired. Capt. 
Taylor, for this gallant defence, was promoted to the 
rank of major by brevet. 

Until the close of the war, MajorTaylor was [liaced 
in such situations that he saw but little more of active 
service. He was sent far away into the depths of the 
wilderness, to Fort Crawford, on Fox River, which 
empties into Green Bay. Here there was but little 
to be done but to wear away the tedious hours as one 
best could. There were no books, no society, no in- 



•►HI-* 



4 



-^•- 



ZACHAR.Y TAYLOR. 



Hh^ 



't 



tellectaal stimulus. Thus with him the uneventful 
years rolled on Gradually he rose to the rank of 
colonel. In the Black-Hawk war, which resulted in 
tlie capture of that renowned chieftain, Col Taylor 
took a subordinate but a brave and efficient part. 

For twenty-four years Col. Taylor was engaged in 
the defence of the frontiers, in scenes so remote, and in 
employments so obscure, that his name was unknown 
beyond the limits of his own immediate acquaintance. 
In the year 1836, he was sent to Florida to compel 
the Seminole Indians to vacate that region and re- 
tire beyond the Mississippi, as their chiefs by treaty, 
had promised they should do. The services rendered 
here secured for Col. Taylor the high appreciation of 
the Government; and as a reward, he was elevated 
to the rank of brigadier-general by brevet ; and soon 
after, in May, 1838, was appointed to the chief com- 
mand of the United States troops in Florida. 

After two years of such wearisome employment 
amidst the everglades of the peninsula. Gen. Taylor 
obtained, at his own request, a change of command, 
and was stationed over the Department of the South- 
west. This field embraced Louisiana, Mississippi, 
Alabama and Georgia. Establishing his headquarters 
at Fort Jessup, in Louisiana, he removed his family 
to a plantation which he purchased, near Baton Rogue. 
Here he remained for five years, buried, as it were, 
from the world, but faithfully discharging every duty 
imposed upon him. 

In 1S46, Gen. Taylor was sent to guard the land 
between the Nueces and Rio Grande, the latter river 
being the boundary of Texas, which was then claimed 
by the United States. Soon the war with Mexico 
was brought on, and at Palo Alto and Resaca de la 
Palma, Gen. Taylor won brilliant victories over the 
Mexicans. The rank of major-general by brevet 
was then conferred upon Gen. Taylor, and his name 
was received with enthusiasm almost everywhere in 
the Nation. Then came the battles of Monterey and 
Buena Vista in which he won signal victories over 
forces much larger than he commanded. 

His careless habits of dress and his unaffected 
simplicity, secured for Gen. Taylor among his troops, 
the sobriquet of " Old Rough and Ready.' 

The tidings of the brilliant victory of Buena Visla 
spread the wildest enthusiasm over the country. The 
name of Gen. Taylor was on every one's lips. The 
Whig party decided to take advantage of this wonder- 
ful popularity in bringing forward the unpolished, un- 
lettered, honest soldier as their candidate for the 
Presidency. Gen. Taylor was astonished at the an- 
nouncement, and for a time would not listen to it; de- 
claring that he was not at all qualified for such an 
office. So little interest had he taken in politics that, 
for forty years, he had not cast a vote. It was not 
without chagrin that several distinguished statesmen 
who had been long years in the public service found 
their claims set aside in behalf of one whose name 



had never been heard of, save in connection with Palo 
Alto, Resaca de la Palma, Monterey and Buena 
Vista. It is said that Daniel Webster, in his haste re- 
marked, " It is a nomination not fit to be made." 

Gen. Taylor was not an eloquent speaker nor a fine 
writer His friends took possession of him, and pre- 
pared such few communications as it was needful 
should be presented to the public. The popularity of 
the successful warrior swept the land. He was tri- 
umphantly elected over two opposing candidates, — 
(ien. Cass and E.\-President Martin Van Buren. 
Though he selected an e.xcellent cabinet, the good 
old man found himself in a very uncongenial position, 
and was, at times, sorely perple-xed and harassed. 
His mental sufferings were very severe, and probably 
tended to hasten his death. The pro-slavery party 
was pusliing its claims with tireless energy , expedi- 
tions were fitting out to capture Cuba ; California was 
pleading for admission to the Union, while slavery 
stood at the door to bar her out. Gen. Taylor found 
the political conflicts in Washington to be far more 
trying to the nerves than battles with Me.xicans or 
Indians 

In the midst of all these troubles, Gen. Taylor, 
after he had occup-ed the Presidential chair but little 
over a year, took cold, and after a brief sickness of 
but little over five days, died on the 9lh of July, 1850. 
His last woids were, " I am not afraid to die. I am 
ready. I have endeavored to do my duty." He died 
universally respected and beloved. An honest, un- 
pretending man, he had been steadily growing in the 
affections of the people; and the Nation bitterly la- 
mented his death. 

Gen. Scott, who was thoroughly acquainted with 
Gen. Taylor, gave the following graphic and truthful 
description of his character: — " With a good store of 
common sense, Gen. Taylor's mind had not been en- 
larged and refreshed by reading, or much converse 
with the world. Rigidity of ideas was the conse- 
quence. The frontiers and small military posts had 
been his home. Hence he was quite ignorant for his 
rank, and quite bigoted in his ignorance. His sim- 
plicity was child-like, and with innumerable preju- 
dices, amusing and incorrigible, well suited to the 
tender age. Thus, if a man, however respectable, 
chanced to wear a coat of an unusual color, or his hat 
a little on one side of his head; or an officer to leave 
a corner of his handkerchief dangling from an out- 
side pocket, — in any such case, this critic held the 
offender to be a coxcomb (perhaps something worse), 
whom he would not, to use his oft repeated phrase, 
' touch with a pair of tongs.' 

"Any allusion to literature beyond good old Dil- 
worth's spelling-book, on the part of one wearing a 
sword, was evidence, with the same judge, of utter 
unfitness for heavy marchings and combats. In short, 
few men have ever had a more comfortable, labor- 
saving contempt for learning of every kind." 



'•> _ m » 



-*^ T-T3r> 







THIRTEENTH PRESIDENT. 




'j;:si§'i-":c'a.^;:s-^i;:;ri3.;:::t-^j;:;:j,j»-;,..5-^5;:s.«.sic$*^ 

^■ffllLLftRn FILLMnRE.<4 



"t^^ t ' t ^ 



@^- 



f^ 




\ 



til if'Jti^r ) States, was 
^Ua C^'^XJ J Hill, Cayuga 
J-^ — ^ — J_ the yth of Ja 



ILLARD FILLMORE, ihir- 
y} 1 teenth President of the United 
if )' States, was born at Summer 
/■uga Co., N. Y ., on 
uiary, iSoo. His 
father was a farmer, and ow- 
to misfortune, in humble cii- 
I / / ' j I Lunistances. Of his mother, the 
l^^^wl daughter of Dr. Abiathar Millard, 
»1SH?"' of Pittsfield, Mass., it has been 
said that she possessed an intellect 
of very high order,, united with much 
personal loveliness, sweetness of dis- 
position, graceful manners and ex- 
(juisite sensibilities. She died in 
1 83 1 ; having lived to see her son a 
' young man of distinguished prom- 
ise, though she was not permitted to witness the high 
dignity which he finally attained. 

In consequence of the secluded home and limited 
means of his father, Millard enjoyed but slender ad- 
vantages for education in his early years. The com- 
mon schools, which he occasionally attended were 
very imperfect institutions; and books were scarce 
and expensive. There was nothing then in his char- 
acter to indicate the brilliant career upon which he 
was about to enter. He was a plain farmer's boy; 
intelligent, good-looking, kind-hearted. The sacred 
influences of home bad taught him to revere the Bible, 
and had laid the foundations of an upright character. 
When fourteen years of age, his father sent him 
some hundred miles from home, to the then wilds of 
Livingston County, to learn the trade of a clothier. 
Neav the mill there was a small villiage, where some 



enterprising man had commenced the collection of a 
village library. Tiiis proved an inestimable blessing 
to young Fillmore. His evenings were spent in read- 
ing. .Soon every leisure moment was occupied with 
books. His thirst for knowledge became insatiate; 
and the selections which he made were continually 
more elevating and instructive. He read history, 
biography, oratory; and thus gradually there was en- 
kindled in his heart a desire to be something more 
than a mere worker with his hands; and he was be- 
coming, almost unknown to himself, a well-informed, 
educated man. 

The young clothier had now attained the age of 
nineteen years, and was of fine personal appearance 
and of gentlemanly demeanor. It so hapjiened that 
there was a gentleman in the neighborhood of ample 
pecuniary means and of benevolence, — Judge Walter 
Wood, — who was struck with the prepossessing ap- 
pearance of young Fillmore. He made his acquaint- 
ance, and was so much impressed with his ability and 
attainments that he advised him to abandon his 
trade and devote himself to the study of the law. The 
young man replied, that he had no means of his own, 
no friends to help him and that his previous educa- 
tion had been very imperfect. But Judge Wood had 
so much confidence in him that he kindly offered to 
take him into his own office, and to loan him such 
money as he needed. Most gratefully the generous 
offer was accepted. 

There is in many minds a strange delusion about 
a collegiate education. A young man is supposed to 
be liberally educated if he has graduated at some col- 
lege. But many a boy loiters through university halls 
ind then enters a law office, who is by no means as 



r 



•►Hh-^ 



68 



MILLARD FILLMORE. 



well prepared to prosecute his legal studies as was 
Millard Fillmore when he graduated at the clothing- 
mill at the end of four years of manual labor, during 
which every leisure moment had been devoted to in- 
tense mental culture. 

In 1S23, when twenty-three years of age, he v/as 
admitted to the Court of Coaimon Pleas, He then 
went to the village of Aurora, and commenced the 
practice of law. In this secluded, peaceful region, 
his practice of course was limited, and there was no 
opportunity for a sudden rise in fortune or in fame. 
Here, in the year 1826, he married a lady of great 
moral worth, and one capable of adorning any station 
she might be called to fill, — ^Miss Abigail Powers. 

His elevation of character, his untiring industry, 
his legal acquirements, and his skill as an advocate, 
gradually attracted attention ; and he was invited to 
enter into partnership under highly advantageous 
circumstances, with an elder member of the bar in 
P)affaIo. Just before removing to Buffalo, in 1829, 
he took his seat in the House of Assembly, of the 
State of New York, as a representative from Erie 
County. Though he had never taken a very active 
part in politics, his vote and his sympathies were with 
the Whig party. The State was then Democratic, 
and he found himself in a helpless minority in the 
Legislature , still the testimony comes from all parties, 
that his courtesy, ability and integrity, won, to a very 
unusual degn e the respect of his associates. 

In the autumn of 1832, he was elected to a seat in 
the United States Congress He entered that troubled 
arena in some of tlie most tumultuous hours of our 
national history. The great conflict respecting the 
national bank and the removal of the deposits, was 
then raging. 

His term of two years closed ; and he returned to 
his profession, which he pursued with increasing rep- 
utation and success. After a lapse of two years 
he again became a candidate for Congress; was re- 
elected, and took his seat in 1837. His past expe- 
rience as a representative gave hmi strength and 
confidence. The first term of service in Congress to 
any man can be but little more than an introduction. 
He was now prepared for active duty. All his ener- 
gies were brought to bear upon the public good. Every 
measure received his impress. 

Mr. Fillmore was now a man of wide repute, and 
his popularity filled the State, and in tiie year 1847, 
he was elected Comptroller of the State. 



Mr. Fillmore had attained the age of forty-seven 
years. His labors at the bar, in the Legislature, in 
Congress and as Comptroller, had given him very con- 
siderable fame. The Whigs were casting about to 
find suitable candidates for President and Vice-Presi- 
dent at the approaching election. Far away, on the 
waters of the Rio Grande, there was a rough old 
soldier, who had fought one or two successful battles 
with the Mexicans, which had caused his name to be 
proclaimed in tiumpet-tones all over the land. But 
it was necessary to associate with him on the same 
ticket some man of reputation as a statesman. 

Under the influence of these considerations, the 
namesof Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore became 
the rallying-cry of the Whigs, as their candidates for 
President and Vice-Peesident. The Whig ticket was 
signally triumphant. On the 4th of March, 1849, 
Gen. Taylor was inaugurated President, and Millard 
Fillmore Vice-President, of the United States. 

On the 9th of July, 1850, President Taylor, but 
about one year and four months after his inaugura- 
tion, was suddenly taken sick and died. By the Con- 
stitution, Vice-President Fillmore thus became Presi- 
dent. He appointed a very able cabinet, of which 
the illustrious Daniel Webster was Secretary of State. 

Mr. Fillmore had very serious difficulties to contend 
with, since the opposition had a majority in both 
Houses. He did everything in his power to conciliate 
the South ; but the pro-slavery party in the South felt 
the inadequacy of all measuresof transient conciliation. 
The population of the free States was so rapidly in- 
creasing over that of the slave States that it was in- 
evitable that the power of the Government should 
soon pass into the hands of the free States. The 
famous compromise measures were adopted under Mr. 
Fillmore's adminstration, and the Japan Expedition 
was sent out. On the 4th of March, 1853, Mr. Fill- 
more, having served one term, retired. 

In 1856, Mr. Fillmore was nominated for the Pres- 
idency by the " Know Nothing " party, but was beaten 
by Mr. Buchanan. After that Mr. Fillmore lived in 
retirement. During the terrible conflict of civil war, 
he was mostly silent. It was generally supposed that 
his sympathies were rather with those who were en- 
deavoring to overthrow our institutions. President 
Filhnore kept aloof from the conflict, without any 
cordial words of clieev lo the one party or the other. 
He was thus forgotten by both. He lived to a ripe 
old age, and died in Buffalo. N. Y., March 8, 1874. 

•►- 




^:^^^W^4, c5^2:^ 



-^•■ 



FOURTEENTH PRESIDENT. 





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»feir- -^FRANKLIN PIERCE.-^ -^ft: 



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RANKLIN PIERCE, the 
iourteenth President of the 
z-' ij 1 '^ \ v'JJIct' '"^"''^'^ States, was born in 
'^i®!10d^<(II Hillsborough, N. H., Nov. 
23, 1804. His father was a 
Revolutionary soldier, who, 
with his own strong arm, 
hewed out a home in the 
wilderness. He was a man 
of inflexible integrity; of 
strong, though uncultivated 
mind, and an uncompromis- 
ing Democrat. The mother of 
Franklin Pierce was all that a son 
could desire, — an intelligent, pru- 
dent, affectionate. Christian wom- 
an. Franklin was the sixth of eight children. 

Franklin was a very bright and handsome boy, gen- 
erous, warm-hearted and brave. He won alike the 
love of old and young. The boys on the play ground 
loved him. His teachers loved him. The neighbors 
looked upon him with pride and affection. He was 
by instinct a gentleman; always speakingkind words, 
doing kind deeds, with a peculiar unstudied tact 
which taught him what was agreeable. Without de- 
veloping any precocity of genius, or any unnatural 
devotion to books, he was a good scholar ; in body, 
in mind, in affections, a finely-developed boy. 

When sixteen years of age, in the year 1820, he 
entered Bovvdoin College, at Brunswick, Me He was 
one of the most popular young men in the college. 
The purity of his moral character, the unvarying 
courtesy of his demeanor, his rank as a scholar, and 



genial nature, rendered him a universal fivorite. 
There was something very peculiarly winning in his 
address, and it was evidently not in the slightest de- 
gree studied : it was the simple outgushing of his 
own magnanimous and loving nature. 

Upon graduating, in the year 1824, Franklin Pierce 
commenced the study of law in the office of Judge 
Woodbury, one of the most distinguished lawyers of 
the State, and a man of great private worth. The 
eminent social qualities of the young lawyer, his 
father's prominence as a public man, and the brilliant 
political career into which Judge Woodbury was en- 
tering, all tended to entice Mr. Pierce into the faci- 
nating yet perilous path of political life. With all 
the ardor of his nature he espoused the cause of Gen. 
Jackson for tlie Presidency. He commenced the 
practice of law in Hillsborough, and was soon elected 
to represent the town in the State Legislature. Here 
he served for four years. The last two years he was 
chosen speaker of the house by a very large vote. 

In 1833, at the age of twenty-nine, he was elected 
a member of Congress. Without taking an active 
part in debates, he was faithful and laborious in duty, 
and ever rising in the estimation of those with whom 
he was associatad. 

In 1837, being then but thirty-three years of age, 
he was elected to the Senate of the United States; 
taking his seat just as Mr. Van Buren commenced 
his administration. He was the youngest memberin 
the Senate. In the year 1834, he married Miss Jane 
Means Appleton, a lady of rare beauty and accom- 
plishments, and one admirably fitted to adorn every 
station with wliich her husband was honoied. Of the 



i^ 



-^^ 



FRANKLIN PIERCE. 



three sons who were boin to them, all now sleep with 
their parents in the grave. 

In the year 1838, Mr. Pierce, with growing fame 
and increasing business as a lawyer, took up his 
residence in Concord, the capital of New Hampshire. 
President Polk, upon his accession to office, appointed 
Mr. Pierce attorney-general of the United States; but 
the offer was declined, in consequence of numerous 
professional engagements at home, and the precariaos 
state of Mrs. Pierce's health. He also, about the 
same time declined the nomination for governor by the 
Democratic party. The war with Mexico called Mr. 
Pierce in the army. Receiving the appointment of 
brigadier-general, he embarked, with a portion of his 
troops, at Newport, R. I., on the 27th of May, 1847. 
He took an important part in this war, proving him- 
self a brave and true soldier. 

When Gen. Pierce reached his home in his native 
State, he was received enthusiastically by the advo- 
cates of the Mexican war, and coldly by his oppo- 
nents. He resumed the practice of his profession, 
very frequently taking an active part in political ques- 
tions, giving his cordial support to the pro-slavery 
wing of the Democratic party. The compromise 
measures met cordially with his approval ; and he 
strenuously advofiated the enforcement of the infa- 
mous fugitive-slave law, which so shocked the religious 
sensibilities of the North. He thus became distin- 
guished as a " Northern man with Southern principles.'' 
The strong partisans of slavery in the South conse- 
quently regarded him as a man whom they could 
safely trust in office to carry out their i)lans. 

On the 1 2th of June, 1852, the Democratic conven- 
tion met in Baltimore to nominate a candidate for the 
Presidency. For four days they continued in session, 
and in thirty-five ballotings no one had obtained a 
two-thirds vote. Not a vote thus far had been thrown 
for Gen. Pierce. Then the Virginia delegation 
brought forward his name. There were fourteen 
more ballotings, during which Gen. Pierce constantly 
gained strength, until, at the forty-ninth ballot, he 
received two hundred and eighty-two votes, and all 
other candidates eleven. Gen. Winfield Scott was 
the Whig candidate. Gen. Pierce was chosen with 
great unanimity. Only four States — Vermont, Mas- 
sachusetts, Kentucky and Tennessee — cast their 
electoral votes against him Gen. Franklin Pieice 
was therefore inaugurated President of the United 
States on the 4th of March, 1853. 



His administration proved one of the most stormy our 
country had ever experienced. The controversy be- 
tween slavery and freedom was then approaching its 
culminating point. It became evident that there was 
an "irrepressible conflict" between them, and that 
this Nation could not long exist " half slave and half ' 
free." President Pierce, during the whole of his ad- 
ministration, did every thing he could to conciliate 
the South; but it was all in vain. The conflict every 
year grew more violent, and threats of the dissolution 
of the Union were borne to the North on eveiy South- 
ern breeze. 

Such was the condition of affairs when President 
Pierce approached the close of his four-years' term 
of office. The North had become thoroughly alien- 
ated from him. The anti-slavery sentiment, goaded 
by great outrages, had been rapidly increasing; all 
the intellectual ability and social worth of President 
Pierce were forgotten in deep reprehension of his ad- 
ministrative acts. The slaveholders of the South, also, 
unmindful of the fidelity with which he had advo- 
cated those measures of Government which they ap- 
proved, and perhaps, also, feeling that he had 
rendered himself so unpopular as no longer to be 
able acceptably to serve them, ungratefully dropped 
him, and nominated James Buchanan to succeed him. 

On the 4th of March, 1857, President Pierce re- 
tired to his home in Concord. Of three children, two 
had died, and his only surviving child had been 
killed before his eyes by a railroad accident ; and his 
wife, one of the most estimable and accomplished of 
ladies, was rapidly sinking in consumption. The 
hour of dreadful gloom soon came, and he was left 
alone in the world, without wife or child. 

When the terrible Rebellion burst forth, which di- 
vided our country into two parties, and two only, Mr. 
Pierce remained steadfast in the principles which he 
had always cherished, and gave his sympathies to 
that pro-slavery party with which he had ever been 
allied. He declined to do anything, either by voice 
or pen, to strengthen the hand of the National Gov- 
ernment. He continued to reside in Concord until 
the time of his death, which occurred in October, 
1869. He was one of the most genial and social of 
men, an honored communicant of the Episcopal 
Church, and one of the kindest of neighbors. Gen- 
erous to a fault, he contiibuted liberally for the al- 
leviation of suffering and want, and many of his towns- 
people were often gladened by his material bounty. 



^ 



^ ^^ 




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•IFTEENTH PRESIDENT. 




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WIES BUCHANAN, the fif- 
-,-,, LLiith President of the United 
■it itcs, was born in a small 
froitier town, at the foot of the 
eastern ridge of the AUegha- 
nies, in Franklin Co., Penn., on 
the 23d of April, 1791. The ;;lace 
where the humble cabin of his 
father stood was called Stony 
Batter It was a wild and ro- 
mantic spot in a gorge of the moun- 
tains, with towering summits rising 
grandly all around. His father 
was a native of the north of Ireland ; 
a poor man, who had emigrated in 
j 1783) with little property save his 

own strong arms. Five years afterwards he married 
Elizabeth Spear, the daughter of a respectable farmer, 
and, with his young Ijride, plunged into the wilder- 
ness, staked his claim, reared his log-hut, opened a 
clearing with his axe, and settled down there to per- 
form his obscure part in the drama of life. In this se- 
cluded home, where James was born, he remained 
for eight years, enjoying but few social or intellectual 
advantages. When James was eight years of age, his 
father removed to the village of Mercersburg, where 
his son was placed at school, and commenced a 
course of study in English, Latin and Greek. His 
progress was rapid, and at the age of fourteen, he 
entered Dickinson College, at Carlisle. Here he de- 
veloped remarkable talent, and took his stand among 
the first scholars in the institution. His application 
to study was intense, and yet his native powers en- 



abled him to master the most abstruse subjects with 
facility. 

In the year 1S09, he graduated with the highest 
honors of his class. He was then eighteen years of 
age; tall and graceful, vigorous in health, fond of 
athletic sport, an unerring shot, and enlivened with 
an exuberant flow of animal spirits. He immediately 
commenced the study of law in the city of Lancaster, 
and was admitted to the bar in 1812, when he was 
but twenty-one years of age. Very rapidly he rose 
in his profession, and at once took undisputed stand 
with the ablest lawyers of the State. When but 
twenty-six years of age, unaided by counsel, he suc- 
cessfully defended before the State Senate one of the 
judges of the State, who was tried upon articles of 
impeachment. At the age of thirty it was generally 
admitted that he stood at the head of the bar; and 
there was no lawyer in the State who had a more lu- 
crative practice. 

In 1820, he reluctantly consented to run as a 
candidate for Congress. He was elected, and for 
ten years he remained a member of the Lower House. 
During the vacations of Congress, he occasionally 
tried some important case. In 1831, he retired 
altogether from the toils of his profession, having ac- 
quired an ample fortune. 

Gen. Jackson, upon his elevation to the Presidency, 
appointed Mr. Buchanan minister to Russia. The 
duties of his mission he performed with ability, which 
gave satisfaction to all parties. \]\)on his return, in 
r833, he was elected to a seat in the United States 
Senate. He there met, as his associates, Webster, 
Clay, Wright and Calhoun. He advocated the meas- 
ures proposed by President Jackson, of making repii- 



JAMES BUCHANAN. 



sals against France, to enforce the payment of our 
claims against that country ; and defended the course 
of the President in his unprecedented and wholesale 
removal from otifice of those who were not the sup- 
porters of his administration. Upon this question he 
was brought into direct collision with Henry Clay. 
He also, with voice and vote, advocated expunging 
from the journal of the Senate the vote of censure 
against Gen. Jackson for removing the deposits. 
Earnestly he opposed the abolition of slavery in the 
District of Columbia, and urged the prohibition of the 
circulation of anti-slavery documents by the United 
States mails. 

As to petitions on the subject of slavery, he advo- 
cated that they should be respectfully received; and 
that the reply should be returned, that Congress had 
no power to legislate upon the subject. " Congress," 
said he, " might as well undertake to interfere with 
slavery under a foreign government as in any of the 
States where it now exists." 

Upon Mr. Polk's accession to the Presidency, Mr. 
Buchanan became Secretary of State, and as such, 
took his share of the responsibility in tlie conduct of 
the Mexican War. Mr. Polk assumed that crossing 
the Nueces by the American troops into the disputed 
territory was not wrong, but for the Mexicans to cross 
the Rio Grande into that territory was a declaration 
of war. No candid man can read with pleasure the 
account of the course our Government pursued in that 
movement. 

Mr. Buchanan identified himself thoroughly with 
the party devoted to the perpetuation and extension 
of slavery, and brought all the energies of his mind 
to bear against the Wilniot Proviso. He gave his 
cordial approval to the compromise measures of 1S50, 
which included the fugitive-slave law. Mr. Pierce, 
upon his election to the Presidency, honored Mr. 
Buchanan with the mission to England. 

In the year 1856, a national Democratic conven- 
tion nominated Mr. Buchanan for the Presidency. The 
political conflict was one of the most severe in which 
our country has ever engaged. All the friends of 
slavery were on one side; all the advocates of its re- 
striction and final abolition, on the other. Mr. Fre- 
mont, the candidate of the enemies of slavery, re- 
ceived r 14 electoral votes. Mr. Buchanan received 
174, and was elected. The [xspular vote stood 
1,340,618, for Fremont, 1,224,750 for Buchanan. On 
March 4th, 1857, Mr. Buchanan was inaugurated. 

Mr. Buchanan was far advanced in life. Only four 
years were wanting to fill up his threescore years and 
ten. His own friends, those with whom he had been 
allied in political principles and action for years, were 
seeking the destruction of the Government, that they 
might rear upon the ruins of our free institutions a 
nation whose corner-stone should be human slavery. 
[n this emergency, Mr. Buchanan was hopelessly be- 
wildered He could not, with his long-avowed prin- 



ciples, consistently oppose the State-rights party in 
their assumptions. As President of the United States, 
bound by his oath faithfully to administer the laws, 
he could not, without perjury of the grossest kind, 
unite with those endeavoring to overthrow the repub- 
lic. He therefore did nothing. 

The opponents of Mr. Buchanan's administration 
nominaied Abraham Lincoln as their standard bearer 
in the next Presidential canvass. The pro-slavery 
party declared, that if he were elected, and the con- 
trol of the Government were thus taken from their 
hands, they would secede from the Union, taking 
with them, as they retired, the National Capitol at 
Washington, and the lion's share of the territory of 
the United States. 

Mr. Buchanan's sympathy with the pro-slavery 
party was such, that he had been willing to offer them 
far more than they had ventured to claim. All the 
South had professed to ask of the North was non- 
intervention upon the subject of slavery. Mr. Bu- 
chanan had been ready to offer them the active co- 
operation of the Government to defend and extend 
the institution. 

As the storm increased in violence, the slaveholders 
claiming the right to secede, and Mr. Buchanan avow- 
ing that Congress had no power to prevent it, one of 
the most pitiable exhibitions of governmental im- 
becility was exhibited the world has ever seen. He 
declared that Congress had no power to enforce its 
laws in any State which had withdrawn, or which 
was attempting to withdraw from the Union. This 
was not the doctrine of Andrew Jackson, when, with 
his hand upon his sword-hilt, he exclaiined. "The 
Union must and shall be preserved!" 

South Carolina seceded in December, i860; nearly 
three months before the inauguration of President 
Lincoln. Mr. Buchanan looked on in listless despair. 
The rebel flag was raised in Charleston; Fort Sumpter 
was besieged; our forts, navy-yards and arsenals 
were seized ; our depots of military stores were plun- 
dered ; and our custom-houses and post-offices were 
appropriated by the rebels. 

The energy of the rebels, and the imbecility of our 
Executive, were alike marvelous. The Nation looked 
on in agony, waiting for the slow weeks to glide away, 
and close the administration, so terrible in its weak- 
ness At length the long-looked-for hour of deliver- 
ance came, when Abraham Lincoln was to receive the 
scepter. 

The administration of President Buchanan was 
certainly the most calamitous our country has ex- 
perienced. His best friends cannot recall it with 
pleasure. And still more dejilorable it is for his fame, 
that in that dreadful conflict which rolled its billows 
of flame and blood over our whole land, no word came 
from his lips to indicate his wish that our country's 
banner should triumph over the flag of the rebellion. 
He died at his Wheatland retreat, June i, 1868. 
. ■» 



f 





c^^y/w^^^ cc/-t^C' 



SIXTEENTH PRESIDENT. 



<| -^ ABRAHAM !> #>1-<# < LINCOLN. i> % 




BR\HAM LINCOLN, the 

sixteenth President of the 

~^^ f'^^Y 5^^United States, was born in 

Ai IfT^^'^ >^ Haidin Co., Ky., Feb. 12, 

1809. About the year 1780, a 

man by the name of Abraham 

"^ Lmcohi left Virginia with his 

I inulv and moved into the then 

wilds of Kentucky. Only two years 

after this emigration, still a young 

man, while working one day in a 

field, was stealthily approached by 

an Indian and shot dead. His widow 

was left in extreme poverty with five 

little children, three boys and two 

f gills Thomas, the youngest of the 
bo>s, was four years of age at his 
father's death. This Thomas was 
J the father of Abraham Lincoln, the 
' Piesident of the United States 
whose name must henceforth fo^-ever be enrolled 
with tlie must prominent in the annals of our world. 

Of course no record has been kept of the life 
of one so lowly as Thomas Lincoln. He was among 
the poorest of the poor. His home was a wretched 
log -cabin; his food the coarsest and the meanest. 
Education he had none; he could never either read 
or write. As soon as he was able to do anything for 
himself, he was compelled to leave the cabin of his 
starving mother, and push out into the world, a friend- 
less, wandering boy, seeking work. He hired him- 
self out, and thus spent the whole of his youth as a 
laborer in the fields of others. 

When twenty-eight years of age he built a log- 
cabin of his own, and married Nancy Hanks, the 
daughter of another family of poor Kentucky emi- 
grants, who had also come from Virginia. Their 
second child was Abraham Lincoln, the subject of 
this sketch. The mother of Abraham was a noble 
woman, gentle, loving, pensive, created to adc^rn 
a palace, doomed to toil and pine, and die in a hovel. 
"All that I am, or hope to be," e.xclaims the grate- 
ful son " I owe to my angel-mother. " 

When he was eight years of age, his father sold his 



cabin and small farm, and moved to Indiana. Where 
two years later his mother died. 

Abraham soon became the scribe of the uneducated 
community around him. He could not have had a 
better school than this to teach him to put thoughts 
into words. He also became an eager reader. The 
books he could obtain were few ; but these he read 
and re-read until they were almost committed to 
memory. 

As the years rolled on, the lot of this lowly family 
was the usual lot of humanity. There were joys and 
griefs, weddings and funerals. Abraham's sister 
Sarah, to whom he was tenderly attached, was mar- 
ried when a child of but fourteen years of age, and 
soon died. The family was gradually scattered. Mr. 
Thomas Lincoln sold out his squatter's claim in 1830, 
and emigrated to Macon Co., 111. 

Abraham Lincoln was then twenty-one years of age. 
With vigorous hands he aided his father in rearing 
another log-cabin. Abraham worked diligently at this 
until he saw the family comfortably settled, and their 
small lot of enclosed prairie planted with corn, when 
he announced to his father his intention to leave 
home, and to go out into the world and seek his for- 
tune. Little did he or his friends imagine how bril- 
liant that fortune was to be. He saw the value of 
education and was intensely earnest to improve his 
mind to the utmost of his power. He saw the ruin 
which ardent spirits were causing, and became 
strictly temperate; refusing to allow a drop of intoxi- 
cating liquor to pass his lips. And he had read in 
God's word, "Thou shalt not take the name of the 
Lord thy God in vain;" and a profane expression he 
was never heard to utter. Religion he revered. His 
morals were pure, and he was uncontaminated by a 
single vice. 

Young Abraham worked for a time as a hired laborer 
among the farmers. Then he went to Springfield, 
where he was employed in building a large flat-boat. 
In this he took a herd of swine, floated them down 
the Sangamon to the Illinois, and thence by the Mis- 
sissippi to New Orleans. Whatever Abraham Lin- 
coln undertook, he performed so faithfully as to give 
great satisfaction to his employers. In this adven- 



a. 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 



^\ 



ture his employers were so well pleased, that upon 
his return they placed a store and mill under his care. 

In 1832, at the outbreak of the Black Hawk war, he 
enlisted and was chosen captain of a company. He 
returned to Sangamon County, and although only 23 
years of age, was a candidate for the Legislature, but 
was defeated. He soon after received from Andrew 
Jackson lire appointmentof Postmaster of New Salem, 
His only post-ofSce was his hat. All the letters he 
received he carried there ready to deliver to those 
he chanced to meet. He studied surveying, and soon 
made this his business. In 1834 he again became a 
candidate for the Legislature, and was elected. Mr. 
Stuart, of Springfield, advised him to study law. He 
walked from New Salem to Springfield, borrowed of 
Mr. Stuart a load of books, carried them back and 
began his legal studies. When the Legislature as- 
sembled he trudged on foot with his pack on his back 
one hundred miles to Vandalia, then the capital. In 
1836 he was re-elected to the Legislature. Here it 
was he first met Stephen A. Douglas. In 1839 he re- 
moved to Springfield and began the practice of law. 
His success with the jury was so great that he was 
soon engaged iu almost every noted case in the circuit. 

In 1854 the great discussion began between Mr. 
Lincoln and Mr. Douglas, on the slavery question. 
In the organization of the Republican party in Illinois, 
in 1856, he took an active part, and at once became 
one of the leaders in that party. Mr. Lincoln's 
speeches in oppositiou to Senator Douglas in the con- 
test in 1858 for a seat in the Senate, form a most 
notable part of his history. The issue was on the 
ilavery question, and he took the broad ground of 
;he Declaration of Independence, that all men are 
created equal. Mr. Lincoln was defeated in this con- 
test, but won a far higher prize. 

The great Republican Convention met at Chicago 
on the 1 6th of June, i860. The delegates and 
strangers who crowded the city amounted to twenty- 
five thousand. An immense building called "The 
Wigwam," was reared to accommodate the Conven- 
tion. There were eleven candidates for whom votes 
were thrown. William H. Seward, a man whose fame 
as a statesman had long filled the land, was the most 
orominent. It was generally supposed he would be 
the nominee. Abraham Lincoln, however, received 
the nomination on the third ballot. Little did he then 
dream of the weary years of toil and care, and the 
bloody death, to which that nomination doomed him : 
and as little did he dream that he was to render services 
to his country, which would fix upon him the eyes of 
the whole civilized world, and which would give him 
aplaceinthe affections of his countrymen, second 
only, if second, to that of Washington. 

Election day came and Mr. Lincoln received 180 
electoral votes out of 203 cast, and was, therefore, 
constitutionally elected President of the United States. 
The tirade of abuse that was jwured upon this good 



and merciful man, especially by the slaveholders, was 
greater than upon any other man ever elected to this 
high position. In February, 1861, Mr. Lincoln started 
for Washington, stopping in all the large cities on his 
way making speeches. The wliole journey was frought 
with much danger. Many of the Southern States had 
already seceded, and several attempts at assassination 
were afterwards brought to light. A gang in Balti- 
more had arranged, upon his arrivaUo"get up a row," 
and in the confusion to make sure of his death with 
revolvers and hand-grenades. A detective unravelled 
the plot. A secret and special train was provided to 
take him from HarrisL'urg, through Baltimore, at an 
unexpected hour of the night. The train started at 
half-past ten ; and to prevent any possible communi- 
cation on the part ol the Secessionists with their Con- 
federate gang in Baltimore, as soon as the train had 
started the telegraph-wires were cut. Mr. Lincoln 
reached Washington in safety and was inaugurated, 
although great anxiety was felt by all loyal people. 

In the selection of his cabinet Mr. Lincoln gave 
to Mr. Seward the Department of State, and to other 
prominent opponents before the convention he gave 
important positions. 

During no other administration have the duties 
devolving upon the President been so manifold, and 
the responsibilities so great, as those which fell to 
the lot of President Lincoln. Knowing this, and 
feeling his own weakness and inability to meet, and in 
his own strength to cope with, the difficulties, he 
learned early to seek Divine wisdom and guidance in 
determining his plans, and Divine comfort in all his 
trials, both personal and national. Contrary to his 
own estimate of himself, Mr. Lincoln was one of the 
most courageous of men. He went directly into the 
rebel capital just as the retreating foe was leaving, 
with no guard but a few sailors. From the time he 
had left Springfield, in 1861, however, plans had Ijeen 
made for his assassination, and lie at last fell a victim 
to one of them. April 14, 1865, he, with Gen. Grant, 
was urgently invited to attend Fords' Theater. It 
was announced that they would be present. Gen. 
Grant, however, left the city. President Lincoln, feel- 
ing, witli his characteristic kindliness of heart, that 
it would be a disappointment if he should fail them, 
very reluctantly consented to go. While listening to 
the play an actor by the name of John Wilkes Booth 
entered the box where the President and family were 
seated, and fired a bullet into his brains. He died the 
next morning at seven o'clock. 

Never before, in the history of the world was a nation 
plunged into such deep grief by the death of its ruler. 
Strong men met in the streets and wept in speechless 
anguish. It is not too much to say that a nation was 
in tears. His was a life which will fitly become a 
model. His name as the savior of his country will 
live with that of Washington's, ils father; his country- 
men being unable to decide which is the greater. 




^ 



'-^^€^^71^ 



SEVENTEENTH PRESIDENT. 



83 -^1 







m^g^j^___ 



>^V (X 1) U W'l VY >([)'!( iM ?5 D tX, 



ktf^' 






NDREW JOHNSON, seven- 
I tilth President of the United 
■ States. The early life of 
Andrew Johnson contains but 
the record of poverty, destitu- 
tion and friendlessness. He 
was born December 29, 180S, 
in Raleigh, N. C. His parents, 
belonging to the class of tlie 
"poor whites " of the Soutli, were 
such circumstances, that they 
could not confer even the slight- 
est advantages of education upon 
their child. Whep Andrew was five 
I years of age, his father accidentally 
lost his life while hevorically endeavoring to save a 
friend from drowning. Until ten years of age, Andrew 
was a ragged boy about the streets, supported by the 
labor of his mother, who obtained her living with 
her own hands. 

He then, having never attended a school one day, 
and being unable either to read or write, was ap- 
prenticed to a tailor in his native town. A gentleman 
was in the habit of going to the tailor's shop occasion- 
ally, and reading to the boys at work there. He often 
read from the speeches of distinguished British states- 
men. Andrew, who was endowed with a mind of more 
than ordinary native ability, became much interested 
in these speeches ; his ambition was roused, and he 
was inspired with a strong desire to learn to read. 

He accordingly applied himself to the alphabet, and 
with tlie assistance of some of his fellow-workmen, 
learned his letters. He then called upon the gentle- 
man to borrow the book of speeches. The owner, 



pleased with his zeal, not only gave him the book, 
but assisted him in learning to combine the letters 
into words. Under such difficulties he pressed on- 
ward laboriously, spending usually ten or twelve hours 
at work in the shoji, and then robbing himself of rest 
and recreation to devote such time as he could to 
reading. 

He went to Tennessee in 1S26, and located at 
Greenville, where he married a young lady who pos- 
sessed some education. Under her instructions he 
learned to write and cipher. He became prominent 
in the village debating society, and a favorite with 
the students of Greenville College. In 1828, he or- 
ganized a working man's party, which elected him 
alderman, and in 1830 elected him mayor, which 
position he held three years. 

He now began to take a lively interest in political 
affairs ; identifying himself with the working-classes, 
to which he belonged. In 1835, he was elected a 
member of the House of Representatives of Tennes- 
see. He was then just twenty-seven years of age. 
He became a very active member of the legislature, 
gave his adhesion to the Democratic party, and in 
1840 "stumped the State," advocating Martin Van 
Buren's claims to the Presidency, in opposition to those 
of Gen. Harrison. In this campaign he acquired much 
readiness as a speaker, and extended and increased 
his reputation. 

In 1841, he was elected State Senator; in 1843, he 
was elected a member of Congress, and by successive 
elections, held that important post for ten years. In 
1853, he was elected Governor of Tennessee, and 
was re-elected in 1855. In all these responsible posi- 
tions, he discharged his duties with distinguished abil- 



-M 



84 



ANDREW JOHNSON. 



ity, and proved himself the warm friend of the work- 
ing classes. In 1857, Mr. Johnson was elected 
United States Senator. 

Years before, in 1845, he had warmly advocated 
the annexation of Texas, stating however, as his 
reason, that he thought this annexation would prob- 
ably prove " to be the gateway out of which the sable 
sons of Africa are to pass from bondage to freedom, 
and become merged in a population congenial to 
themselves." In 1850, he also supported the com- 
promise measures, the two essenrial features of which 
were, that the white people of the Territories should 
be permitted to decide for themselves whether they 
would enslave the colored people or not, and that 
the free States of the North should return to the 
South persons who attempted to escape from slavery. 

Mr. Johnson was never ashamed ofhis lowly origin: 
on the contrary, he often took pride in avowing that 
he owed his distinction to his own exertions. "Sir," 
said he on the floor of the Senate, " I do not forget 
that I am a mechanic ; neither do I forget that Adam 
was a tailor and sewed fig-leaves, and that our Sav- 
ior was the son of a carpenter." 

In the Charleston- Baltimore convention of i860, he 
was the choice of the Tennessee Democrats for the 
Presidency. In 1861, when the purpose of the South- 
irn Democracy became apparent, he took a decided 
Stand in favor of the Union, and held that " slavery 
must be held subordinate to the Union at whatever 
cost." He returned to Tennessee, and repeatedly 
imperiled his own life to protect the Unionists of 
Tennesee. Tennessee having seceded from the 
Union, President Lincoln, on March 4th, 1862, ap- 
pointed him Military Governor of the State, and he 
established the most stringent military rule. His 
numerous proclamations attracted wide attention. In 

1864, he was elected Vice-President of the United 
States, and uixin the death of Mr. Lincoln, April 15, 

1865, became President. In a speech two days later 
he said, " The American people must be taught, if 
they do not already feel, that treason is a crime and 
must be punished ; that the Government will not 
always bear with its enemies ; that it is strong not 
only to protect, but to punish. * * The people 
must understand that it (treason) is the blackest of 
crimes, and will surely be punished." Yet his whole 
administration, the history of which is so well known, 
was in utter inconsistency with, and the most violent 



opposition to, the principles laid down in that speech. 

In his loose policy of reconstruction and general 
amnesty, he was opposed by Congress ; and he char- 
acterized Congress as a new rebellion, and lawlessly 
defied it, in everything possible, to the utmost. In 
the beginning of 1868, on account of "high crimes 
and misdemeanors," the principal of which was the 
removal of Secretary Stanton, in violation of the Ten- 
ure of Office Act, articles of impeachment were pre- 
ferred against him, and the trial began March 23. 

It was very tedious, continuing for nearly three 
months. A test article of the impeachment was at 
length submitted to the court for its action. It was 
certain that as the court voted upon that article so 
would it vote upon all. Thirty-four voices pronounced 
the President guilty. As a two-thirds vote was neces- 
sary to his condemnation, he was pronounced ac- 
quitted, notwithstanding the great majority against 
him. The change of one vote from the not guilty 
side would tiave sustained the impeachment.' 

The President, for the remainder of his term, was 
but little regarded. He continued, though impotently, 
his conflict with Congress. His own party did not 
think it expedient to renominate him for the Presi- 
dency. The Nation rallied, with enthusiasm unpar- 
alleled since the days of Washington, around the name 
of Gen. Grant. Andrew Johnson was forgotten. 
The ballet of the assassin introduced him to the 
President's chair. Notwithstanding this, never was 
there presented to a man a better opportunity to im- 
mortalize his name, and to win the graritude of a 
nation. He failed utterly. He retired to his home 
in Greenville, Tenn., taking no very active part in 
politics until 1875. On Jan. 26, after an exciting 
struggle, he was chosen by the Legislature of Ten- 
nessee, United States Senator in the forty-fourth Con- 
gress, and took his seat in that body, at the special 
session convened by President Grant, on the 5th of 
March. On the 27th of July, 1875, the ex-President 
made a visit to his daughter's home, near Carter 
Station, Tenn. When he started on his journey, he was 
apparently in his usual vigorous health, but on reach- 
ing the residence of his child the following day, was 
stricken with paralysis, rendering him unconscious. 
He rallied occasionally, but finally passed away at 
2 A.M., July 31, aged sixty-seven years. His fun- 
eral was attended at Geenville, on the 3d of August, 
with every demonstration of respect. 



•►-i-* 



■•►HI-* 



4 



EIGHTEENTH PRESIDENT. 









I YSSES S. GRANT, the 
4i eighteenth President of the 
t' United States, was born on 
y the 2gth of April, 1822, of 
5 Chnstian parents, in a humble 
^^ctS^r&f^'' home, at Point Pleasant, on the 



banks of the Ohio. Shortly after 
his father moved to George- 
town, Brown Co., O. In this re- 
mote frontier hamlet, Ulysses 
received a common-school edu- 
cation. At the age of seven- 
teen, in the year 1839, he entered 
the Military Academy at West 
Point. Here he was regarded as a 
solid, sensible young man of fair abilities, and of 
sturdy, honest character. He took respectable rank 
as a scholar. In June, 1843, he graduated, about the 
middle in his class, and was sent as lieutenant of in- 
fantry to one of the distant military posts in the Mis- 
souri Territory. Two years he past in these dreary 
solitudes, watching the vagabond and exasperating 
Indians. 

The war with Mexico came, l-ieut. Grant was 
sent with his regiment to Corpus Christi. His first 
battle was at Palo Alto. There was no chance here 
for the e)*hibition of either skill or heroism, nor at 
Resaca de la Palma, his second battle. At the battle 
of Monterey, his third engagement, it is said that 
he performed a signal service of daring and skillful 
horsemanship. His brigade had exhausted its am- 
munition. A messenger must be sent for more, along 
a route exposed to the bullets of the foe. Lieut. 
Grant, adopting an expedient learned of the Indians, 
grasped the mane of his horse, and hanging upon one 
side of the aniiTvil, ran the gauntlet in entire safety. 



From Monterey he was sent, with the fourth infantry, 
to aid Gen. Scott, at the siege of Vera Cruz. In 
preparation for the march to the city of Mexico, he 
was appointed quartermaster of his regiment. At the 
battle of Molino del Rey, he was promoted to a 
first lieutenancy, and was brevetted captain at Cha- 
pultepec. 

At the close of the Mexican War, Capt. Grant re- 
turned with his regiment to New York, and was again 
sent to one of the military posts on the frontier. The 
discovery of gold in California causing an immense 
tide of emigration to flow to the Pacific shores, Capt. 
Grant was sent with a battalion to Fort Dallas, in 
Oregon, for the protection of the interests of the im- 
migrants. Life was wearisome in those wilds. Capt. 
Grant resigned his commission and returned to the 
States; and having married, entered upon the cultiva- 
tion of a small farm near St. Louis, Mo. He had but 
little skill as a farmer. Finding his toil not re- 
munerative, he turned to mercantile life, entering into 
the leather business, with a younger brother, at Ga- 
lena, 111. This was in the year i860. As the tidings 
of the rebels firing on Fort Sumpter reached the ears 
of Capt. Grant in his counting-room, he said, — 
" Uncle Sam has educated me for the army ; though 
I have served him through one war, I do not feel that 
I have yet repaid the debt. I am still ready to discharge 
my obligations. I shall therefore buckle on my sword 
and see Uncle Sam through this war too." 

He went into the streets, raised a company of vol- 
unteers, and led them as their captain to Springfield, 
the capital of the State, where their services were 
offered to Gov. Yates. The Governor, impressed by 
the zeal and straightforward executive ability of Capt. 
Grant, gave him a desk in his office, to assist in the 
volunteer organization that was being formed in the 
State in behalf of the Government. On the 15th of , 



a 



ULYSSES S. GRANT. 



June, 1 86 1, Capt. Grant received a commission as 
Colonel of the Twenty-first Regiment of Illinois Vol- 
unteers. His merits as a West Point graduate, who 
had served for 15 years in the regular army, were such 
that he was soon promoted to the rank of Brigadier- 
General and was placed in command at Cairo. The 
rebels raised their banner at Paducah, near the mouth 
of the Tennessee River. Scarcely had its folds ap- 
peared in the breeze ere Gen. Grant was there. The 
rebels fled. Their banner fell, and the star and 
stripes were unfurled in its stead. 

He entered the service with great determination 
and immediately began active duty. This was the be- 
ginning, and until the surrender of Lee at Richmond 
he was ever pushing the enemy with great vigor and 
effectiveness. At Belmont, a few days later, he sur- 
prised and routed the rebels, then at Fort Henry 
won another victory. Then came the brilliant fight 
at Fort Donelson. The nation was electrified by the 
victory, and the brave leader of the boys in blue was 
immediately made a M.ijor-General, and the military 
district of Tennessee was assigned to him. 

Like all great captains, Gen. Grant knew well how 
to secure the results of victory. He immediately 
pushed on to the enemies' lines. Then came the 
terrible battles of Pittsburg Landing, Corinth, and the 
siege of Vicksburg, where Gen. Pemberton made an 
unconditional surrender of the city with over thirty 
thousand men and one-hundred and seventy-two can- 
non. The fall of Vicksburg was by far the most 
severe blow which the rebels had thus far encountered, 
and opened up the Mississippi from Cairo to the Gulf. 

Gen. Grant was next ordered to co-operate with 
Gen. Banks in a movement upon Texas, and pro- 
ceeded to New Orleans, where he was thrown from 
his horse, and received severe injuries, from which he 
was laid up for months. He then rushed to the aid 
of Gens. Rosecrans and Tliomas at Chattanooga, and 
by a wonderful series of strategic and technical meas- 
ures put tlie Union Army in fighting condition. Then 
followed the bloody battles at Chattanooga, Lookout 
Mountain and Missionary Ridge, in which the rebels 
were routed with great loss. This won for him un- 
bounded praise in the North. On the 4th of Febru- 
ary, 1864, Congress revived the grade of lieutenant- 
general, and the rank was conferred on Gen. Grant. 
He repaired to Washington to receive his credentials 
r.nd enter upon the duties of his new office. 



Gen. Grant decided as soon as he took charge of 
the army to concentrate the widely-dispersed National 
troops for an attack upon Richmond, the nominal 
capital of the Rebellion, and endeavor there to de- 
stroy the rebel armies which would be promptly as- 
sembled from all quarters for its defence. The whole 
continent seemed to tremble under the tramp of these 
majestic armies, rushing to the decisive battle field. 
Steamers were crowded with troops. Railway trains 
were burdened with closely packed thousands. His 
plans were comprehensive and involved a series of 
campaigns, which were executed with remarkable en- 
ergy and ability, and were consummated at the sur- 
render of Lee, April 9, 1865. 

The war was ended. The Union was saved. The 
almost unanimous voice of the Nation declared Gen. 
Grant to be the most prominent instrument in its sal- 
vation. The eminent services he had thus rendered 
the country brought him conspicuously forward as the 
Republican candidate for the Presidential chair. 

At the Republican Convention held at Chicago, 
May 21, 1868, he was unanimously nominated for the 
Presidency, and at the autumn election received a 
majority of the popular vote, and 214 out of 294 
electoral votes. 

The National Convention of the Republican party 
which met at Philadelphia on the 5th of June, 1872, 
placed Gen. Grant in nomination for a second term 
by a unanimous vote. The selection was emphati- 
cally indorsed by the people five months later, 292 
electoral votes being cast for him. 

Soon after the close of his second term. Gen. Grant 
started upon his famous trip around the world. He 
visited almost every country of the civilized world, 
and was everywhere received with such ovations 
and demonstrations of respect and honor, private 
as well as public and official, as were never before 
bestowed ujwn any citizen of the United States. 

He was the most prominent candidate before the 
Republican National Convention in 1880 for a re- 
nomination for President. He went to New York and 
embarked in the brokerage business under the firm 
nameof Grant & Ward. The latter proved a villain, 
wrecked Grant's fortune, and for larceny was sent to 
the penitentiary. Tiie General was attacked with 
cancer in the throat, but suffered in his stoic-like 
manner, never complaining. He was re-instated as 
General of the Army and retired by Congress. The 
cancer soon finished its deadly work, and July 23, 
1885, the nation went in mourning over the death of 
the illustrious General. 



•►Hl-^- 



NINETEENTH PRESIDENT. 




RUTHERi:ORD B. HAYES. 



"I'vrviiti^ 



^■^{,K'~^ 



A 




UIHERFORI) 15. HAYES, 
f "^1 J V'-t^ ' V ''^"^ nineteenth President of 
^ 7| l^^v ^ ij ''''^ United States, was born in 
'^isX'^ JL:grf Delaware, O., Oct. 4, 1822, al- 
ji most three months after the 
■^ deith of his father, Rutherford 
Hx)es His ancestry on both 
the paternal and maternal sides, 
was of the most honorable char- 
acter. It can be traced, it is said, 
as far back as 1280, when Hayes and 
Rutherford were two Scottish chief- 
tains, fighting side by side with 
Baliol, William Wallace and Robert 
Bruce. Both families belonged to the 
nobility, owned extensive estates, 
and had a large following. Misfor- 
tune overtaking the family, George Hayes left Scot- 
land in 1680, and settled in Windsor, Conn. His son 
George was born in Windsor, and remained there 
during his life. Daniel Hayes, son of the latter, mar- 
ried Sarah Lee, and lived from the time of his mar- 
riage until his death in Simsbury, Conn. Ezekiel, 
son of Daniel, was born in 1724, and Was a manufac- 
turer of scythes at Bradford, Conn. Rutherford Hayes, 
son of Ezekiel and grandfather of President Hayes, was 
born in New Haven, in August, 1756. He was a farmer, 
blacksmith and tavern-keeper. He emigrated to 
Vermont at an unknown date, settling in Brattleboro, 
where he established a hotel. Here his son Ruth- 
erford Hayes the father of President Hayes, was 



born. He was married, in September, 1813, to Sophia 
Birchard, of Wilmington, Vt., whose ancestors emi- 
grated thither from Connecticut, they having been 
among the wealthiest and best famlies of Norwich. 
Her ancestry on the male side are traced back to 
1635, to John Birchard, one of the principal founders 
of Norwich. Both of her grandfathers were soldiers 
in the Revolutionary War. 

The father of President Hayes was an industrious, 
frugal and opened-hearted man. He was of a me- 
chanical turn, and could mend a plow, knit a stock- 
ing, or do almost anything else that he choose to 
undertake. He was a member of the Church, active 
in all the benevolent enterprises of the town, and con- 
ducted his business on Christian principles. After 
the close of the war of 181 2, for reasons inexplicable 
to his neighbors, he resolved to emigrate to Ohio. 

The journey from Vermont to Ohio in that day, 
when there were no canals, steamers, nor railways, 
was a very serious affair. A tour of inspection was 
first made, occupying four months. Mr. Hayes deter- 
mined to move to Delaware, where the family arrived 
in 1817. He died July 22, 1822, a victim of malarial 
fever, less than three months before the birth of the 
son, of whom we now write. Mrs. Hayes, in her sore be- 
reavement, found the support she so much needed in 
her brother Sardis, who had been a member of the 
household from the day of its departure from V^er^ 
mont, and in an orphan girl whom she had adopted 
some time before as an act of charity. 

Mrs. Hayes at this period was very weak, and the 



•►HH-^ 



IK^ 



RUTHERFORD B. HAYES. 



subject of this sketch was so feeble at birth that he 
was not expected to live beyond a month or two at 
most. As the months went by he grew weaker and 
weaker, so that the neighbors were in the habit of in- 
quiring from time to time " if Mrs. Hayes' baby died 
last night." On one occasion a neighbor, who was on 
familiar terms with the family, after alluding to the 
boy's big head, and the mother's assiduous care of 
him, said in a bantering way, " That's right ! Stick to 
him. You have got him along so far, and I shouldn't 
wonder if he would really come to something yet." 

" You need not laugh," said Mrs. Hayes. "You 
wait and see. You can't tell but I shall make him 
President of the United States yet." The boy lived, 
in spite of the universal predictions of his speedy 
death; and when, in 1825, his older brother was 
drowned, he became, if possible, still dearer to his 
mother. 

The boy was seven years old before lie went to 
school. His education, however, was not neglected. 
He probably learned as much from his mother and 
sister as he would have done at school. His sports 
were almost wholly within doors, his playmates being 
his sister and her associates. These circumstances 
tended, no doubt, to foster that gentleness of dispo- 
sition, and that delicate consideration for the feelings 
of others, which are marked traits of his character. 

His uncle Sardis Birchard took the deepest interest 
in his education ; and as the boy's health had im- 
proved, and he was making good progress in his 
studies, he proposed to send him to college. His pre- 
paration commenced with a tutor at home; but he 
was afterwards sent for one year to a professor in the 
Wesleyan University, in Middletown, Conn. He en- 
tered Kenyon College in 1838, at the age of sixteen, 
and was graduated at the head of his class in 1842. 

Immediately after his graduation he began the 
study of law in the office of Thomas Sparrow, Esq., 
in Columbus. Finding his opportunities for study in 
Columbus somewhat limited, he determined to enter 
the Law School at Cambridge, Mass., where he re- 
mained two years. 

In 1 845 , after graduatmg at the Law School, he was 
admitted to the bar at Marietta, Ohio, and shortly 
afterward went into practice as an attorney-at-law 
with Ralph P. Buckland, of Fremont. Here he re- 
mained three years, acquiring but a limited practice, 
and apparently unambitious of distinction in his pro- 
fession. 

In 1849 he moved to Cincmnati, where his ambi- 
tion found a new stimulus. For several years, how- 
ever, his progress was slow. Two events, occurring at 
this period, had a powerful influence upon his subse- 
quent life. One of these was his marrage with Miss 
Lucy Ware Webb, daughter of Dr. James Webb, of 
Chilicothe; the other was his introduction to the Cin- 
cinnati Literary Club, a body embracing among its 
members suck men asi^hief Justice Salmon P.Chase, 



Gen. John Pope, Gov. Edward F. Noyes, and many 
others hardly less distinguished in after life. The 
marriage was a fortunate one in every respect, as 
everybody knows. Not one of all the wives of our 
Presidents was more universally admired, reverenced 
and beloved than was Mrs. Hayes, and no one did 
more than she to reflect honor upon American woman- 
hood. The Literary Cluu brought Mr. Hayes iuto 
constant association with young men of high char- 
acter and noble aims, and lured him to display the 
qualities so long hidden by his bashfulness and 
modesty. 

In 1856 he was nominated to the office of Judge of 
the Court of Common Pleas; but he declined to ac- 
cept the nomination. Two years later, the office of 
city solicitor becoming vacant, the City Council 
elected him for the unexpired term. 

In 1 86 1, when the Rebellion broke out, he was at 
the zenith of his professional life. His rank at the 
bar was among the the first. But the news of the 
attack on Fort Sumpter found him eager to take up 
arms for the defense of his country. 

His military record was bright and illustrious. In 
October, 186 1, he was made Lieutenant-Colonel, and 
in August, 1862, promoted Colonel of the 79th Ohio 
regiment, but he refused to leave his old comrades 
and go among strangers. Subsequently, however, he 
was made Colonel of his old regiment. At the battle 
of South Mountain he received a wound, and while 
faint and bleeding displayed courage and fortitude 
that won admiration from all. 

Col. Hayes was detached from his regiment, after 
his recovery, to act as Brigadier-General, and placed 
in command of the celebrated Kanawha division, 
and for gallant and meritorious services in the battles 
of Winchester, Fisher's Hill and Cedar Creek, he was 
promoted Brigadier-General. He was also brevetted 
Major-General, "forgallantand distinguished services 
during the campaigns of 1864, in West Virginia." In 
the course of his arduous services, four horses were 
shot from under him, and he was wounded four times. 

In 1864, Gen. Hayes was elected to Congress, from 
the Second Ohio District, which had long been Dem- 
ocratic. He was not present during the campaign, 
and after his election was importuned to resign his 
commission in the army; but he finally declared, " 1 
shall never come to Washington until I can come by 
the way of Richmond." He was re-elected in 1866. 

In 1867, Gen Hayes was elected Governor of Ohio, 
over Hon. Allen G. Thurman, a popular Democrat. 
In 1869 was re-elected over George H. Pendleton. 
He was elected Governor for the third term in 1875. 

In 1876 he was the standard bearer of the Repub- 
lican Party in the Presidential contest, and after a 
hard long contest was chosen President, and was in 
augurated Monday, March 5, 1875. He served his 
full term, not, however, with satisfaction to his party, 
but his admiiristration was an average on? 






•►Hh 



,. "^vf^^- 




) '^\ 





TiVENTIETH PRESIDENT. 







I JAME^ ^, fARFIELD, f 



gether. Nor was Gen. (rarfield ever ashamed of his 
origin, and he never forgot the friends of his strug- 
gling childhood, youth and manhood, neither did they 
ever forget him. When in the highest seats of honor, 
the humblest fiiend of his boyhood was as kindly 
greeted as ever. The poorest laborer was sureof the 
sympathy of one who had known all the bitterness 
of want and the sweetness of bread earned by the 
sweat of the brow. He was ever the simple, plain, 
modest gentleman. 

The highest ambition of young Garfield until he 
was about sixteen years old was to be a captain of 
a vessel on Lake Erie. He was anxious to go aboard 
a vessel, which his mother strongly opposed. She 
finally consented to his going to Cleveland, with the 
understanding, however, that he should try to obtain 
some other kind of employment. He walked all the 
way to Cleveland. This was his first visit to the city. 
After making many applications for work, and trying 
to get aboard a lake vessel, and not meeting with 
success,* he engaged as a driver for his cousin, Amos 
Letcher, on the Ohio & Pennsylvania Canal. He re- 
mained at this work but a short time when he went 
home, and attended the seminary at Chester for 
about three years, when he entered Hiram and the 
Eclectic Listitute, teaching a few terms of school in 
tlie meantime, and doing other work. This school 
was started by the Disciples of Christ in 1850, of 
which church he was then a member. He became 
janitor and bell-ringer in order to help pay his way. 
He then became both teacher and pupil. He soon 
" exhausted Hiram " and needed more ; hence, in the 
fall of 1854, he entered Williams College, from which 
he graduated in 1856, taking one of the liighest hon- 
ors of his class. He afterwards returned to Hiram 
College as its President. As above stated, he early 
united with the Christian or Diciples Church at 
Hiram, and was ever after a devoted, zealous mem- 
ber, often preaching in its pulpit and places where 
lie happened to be. Dr. Noah Porter, President of 
Yale College, says of him in reference to his religion : 



Vi-Il-S A. GARi-IELD, twen- 
ti th President of the United 
M lies, was born Nov. 19, 
iSji, in the woods of Orange, 
Cuyahoga Co., O His par- 
ents were Abram and Eliza 
lUou) Garfield, both of New 
nglmd ancestry and from fami- 
7)1 lies well known in the early his- 
p^ tory of that section of our coun- 
tiy,bulhad moved to the Western 
Reserve, in Ohio, early in its settle- 
ment. 

The house in which James A. was 
born was not unlike the houses of 
poor Ohio farmers of that day. It 
was about 20 x 30 feet, built of logs, with the spaces be- 
tween the logs filled with clay. His father was a 
hard working farmer, and he soon had his fields 
cleared, an orchard planted, and a log barn built. 
The household comprised the father and mother and 
their four children — Mehetabel, Thomas, Mary and 
James. In May, 1823, the father, from a cold con- 
tracted in helping to put out a forest fire, died. At 
this time James was about eighteen months old, and 
Thomas about ten years old. No one, perhaps, can 
tell how much James was indebted to his biother's 
toil and self-sacrifice during the twenty years suc- 
ceeding his father's death, but undoubtedly very 
much. He now lives in Michigan, and the two sis- 
ters live in Solon, O., near their birthplace. 

The early educational advantages young Garfield 
enjoyed were very limited, yet he made the most of 
them. He labored at farm work for others, did car- 
penter work, chopped wood, or did anything that 
would bring in a few dollars to aid his widowed 
mother in he' struggles to keep the little family to- 



1^ 



96 



JAMES A. GARFIELD. 



•^ 



"President Garfield was more than a man of 
strong moral and religious convictions. His whole 
history, from boyhood to the last, shows that duty to 
man and to God, and devotion to Christ and life and 
faith and spiritual commission were controlling springs 
of his being, and to a more than usual degree. In 
my judgment there is no more interesting feature of 
his character than his loyal allegiance to the body of 
Christians in which he was trained, and the fervent 
sympathy which he ever showed in their Christian 
communion. Not many of the few 'wise and mighty 
and noble who are called' show a similar loyalty to 
the less stately and cultured Christian communions 
in which they have been reared. Too often it is true 
that as they step upward in social and political sig- 
nificance they step upward from one degree to 
another in some of the many types of fashionable 
Christianity. President Garfield adhered to the 
church of his mother, the church in which he was 
trained, and in which he served as a pillar and an 
evangelist, and yet with the largest and most unsec- 
tarian charity for all 'who love our Lord in sincerity.'" 

Mr. Garfield was united in marriage with Miss 
Lucretia Rudolph, Nov. ii, 1858, who proved herself 
worthy as the wife of one whom all the world loved and 
mourned. To them were born seven children, five of 
whom are still living, four boys and one girl. 

Mr. Garfield made his first political speeches in 1856, 
in Hiram and the neighboring villages, and three 
years later he began to speak at county mass-meet- 
ings, and became the favorite speaker wherever he 
was. During this year he was elected to the Ohio 
Senate. He also began to study law at Cleveland, 
and in 1861 was admitted to the bar. The great 
Rebellion broke out in the early part of this year, 
and Mr. Garfield at once resolved to fight as he had 
talked, and enlisted to defend the old flag. He re- 
ceived his commission as Lieut. -Colonel of tl^e Forty- 
second Regiment of Ohio Volunteer Lifantry, Aug. 
14,1861.- He was immediately put into active ser- 
vice, and before he had ever seen a gun fired in action, 
was placed in command of four regiments of infantry 
and eight companies of cavalry, charged with the 
work of driving out of his native State the officer 
(Humphrey Marshall) reputed to be the ablest of 
those, not educated to war whom Kentucky had given 
to the Rebellion. This work was bravely and speed- 
ily accomplished, although against great odds. Pres- 
ident Lincoln, on his success connnissioned him 
Brigadier-General, Jan. 10, 1862; and as "he had 
been the youngest man in the Ohio Senate two years 
before, so now he was the youngest General in the 
army." He was with Gen. Buell's army at Shiloh, 
in its operations around Corinth and its march through 
Alabama. He was then detailed as a member of the 
General Coutt-Martial for the trial of Gen. Fitz-John 
Porter. He was then ordered to report to Gen. Rose- 
crans, and was assigned to the " Chief of Staff." 

The military history of Gen. Garfield closed with 



his brilliant services at Chickamauga, where he won 
the stars of the Major-General. 

Without an effort on his part Gen. Garfield was 
elected to Congress in the fall of 1862 from the 
Nineteenth District of Ohio. This section of Ohio 
had been represented in Congress for si.xty years 
mainly by two men — Elisha Whittlesey and Joshua 
R. Giddings. It was not without a struggle that he 
resigned his place in the army. At the time he en- 
tered Congress he was the youngest member in that 
body. There he remained by successive re- 
elections until he was elected President in 1880. 
Of his labors in Congress Senator Hoar says : " Since 
the year 1864 you cannot think of a question which 
has been debated in Congress, or discussed before a 
tribunel of the American people, in regard to which 
you will not find, if you wish instruction, the argu- 
ment on one side stated, in almost every instance 
better than Ijy anybody else, in some speech made in 
the House of Representatives or on the hustings by 
Mr. Garfield." 

Upon Jan. 14, 1880, Gen. Garfield was elected to 
the U. S. Sen-ate, and on the eighth of June, of liie 
same year, was nominated as the candidate of his 
party for President at the great Chicago Convention. 
He was elected in the following November, and on 
March 4, 1881, was inaugurated. Probably no ad- 
ministration ever opened its existence under brighter 
auspices than that of President Garfield, and every 
day it grew in favor with the people, and by the first 
of July he had completed all the initiatory and pre- 
liminary work of his administration and was prepar- 
ing to leave the city to meet his friends at Williams 
College. While on his way and at the depot, in com- 
pany with Secretary Blaine, a man stepped behind 
liim, drew a revolver, and fired directly at his back. 
Tlie President tottered and fell, and as he did so the 
assassin fired a second shot, the bullet cutting the 
left coat sleeve of his victim, but inflicting no farther 
injury. It has been very truthfully said that this was 
" the shot that was heard round the world " Never 
before in the history of the Nation had anything oc- 
curred which so nearly froze the blood of the people 
for the moment, as this awful deed. He was smit- 
ten on the brightest, gladdest day of all his life, and 
was at the summit of his power and hope. For eighty 
days, all during the hot months of July and August, 
he lingered and suffered. He, however, remained 
master of himself till the last, and by his magnificent 
bearing was teaching the country and the vi'orld the 
noblest of human lessons — how to live grandly in the 
very clutch of death. Great in life, he was surpass- 
ingly great in death. He passed serenely away Sept. 
19, 1883, at EUieron, N. J., on the very bank of the 
ocean, where he had been taken shortly previous. The 
world wept at his death, as it never had done on the 
death of any other man who had ever lived upon it. 
The murderer was duly tried, found guilty and exe 
cuted, in one year after he committed the foul deed. 



Lf 



TWENTY-FIRST PRESIDENT. 



4^ 



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--^ 



HESTER 



ARTHUR, 



twenty-first Presi-LnL of the 

■ United States was born in 

Franklin Cour ty, Vermont, on 

tiiefifthofOdober, 1S30, andis 

■' tiie oldest of a family of two 

sons and five daughters. His 

father was the Rev. Dr. William 

j Arthur, a Baptist cJ'.rgyman, who 

emigrated to tb'.s country fro:n 

1^ the county Ant;im, Ireland, in 

his 18th year, and died in 1875, in 

Newtonville, neai Albany, after a 

long and successfal ministry. 

Young Arthur was educated at 
Union College, S( henectady, where 
he excelled in all his studies. Af- 
ter his graduation he taught school 
t] in Vermont for two years, and at 
, ,3 the expiration of that time came to 
New York, with $500 in his jwcket, 
and entered the office of ex-Judge 
E. D. Culver as student. After 
I being admitted to the bar he formed 
a partnership with his intimate friend and room-mate, 
Henry D. Gardiner, with the intention of practicing 
in the West, and for three months they roamed about 
in the Western States in search of an eligible site, 
but in the end returned to New York, where they 
hung out their shingle, and entered upon a success- 
ful career almost from the start. General Arthur 
soon afterward raarred the daughter of Lieutenant 



Herndon, of the United States Navy, who was lest at 
sea. Congress voted a gold medal to his widow in 
recognition of the bravery he displayed on that occa- 
sion. Mrs. Arthur died shortly before Mr. Arthur's 
nomination to the Vice Presidency, leaving two 
children. 

Gen. Arthur obtained considerable legal celebrity 
in his first great case, the famous Lemmon suit, 
brought to recover possession of eight slaves who had 
been declared free by Judge Paine, of the Superior 
Court of New York City. It was in 1852 that Joni 
athan L,emmon, of Virginia, went to New York with 
his slaves, intending to ship them to Texas, when 
they were discovered and freed. The Judge decided 
that they could not be held by the owner under the 
Fugitive Slave Law. A howl of rage went up from 
the South, and the Virginia Legislature authorized the 
Attorney General of that State to assist in an appeal. 
Wm. M. Evarts and Chester A. Arthur were employed 
to represent the People, and they won their case, 
which then went to the Supreme Court of the United 
States. Charles O'Conor here espoused the cause 
of the slave-holders, but he too was beaten by Messrs. 
Evarts and Arthur, and a long step was taken toward 
the emancipation of the black race. 

Another great service was rendered by General 
Arthur in the same cause in 1856. Lizzie Jennings, 
a respectable colored woman, was put off a Fourth 
Avenue car with violence after she had paid her fare. 
General Arthur sued on her behalf, and secured a 
verdict of $500 damages. The next day the compa- 
ny issued an order to admit colored persons to ride 
on their cars, and the other car companies quickly 



4^ 



CHESTER A. ARTHUR. 



A~ 



followed their example. Before that the Sixth Ave- 
nue Company ran a few special cars for colored per- 
sons and the other lines refused to let them ride at all. 

General Arthur was a delegate to the Convention 
at Saratoga that founded the Republican party. 
Previous to the war he was Judge-Advocate of the 
Second Brigade of the State of New York, and Gov- 
ernor Morgan, of that State, appointed him Engineer- 
in-Chief of his staff. In 1861, he was made Inspec- 
tor General, and soon afterward became Quartermas- 
ter-General. In each of these offices he rendered 
great service to the Government during the war. At 
the end of Governor Morgan's term he resumed the 
practice of the law, forming a partnership with Mr. 
Ransom, and then Mr. Phelps, the District Attorney 
of New York, was added to the firm. The legal prac- 
tice of this well-known firm was very large and lucra- 
tive, each of the gentlemen composing it were able 
lawyers, and possessed a splendid local reputation, if 
not indeed one of national extent. 

He always took a leading part in State and city 
politics. He was appointed Collector of the Port of 
New York by President Grant, Nov. 21 1872, to suc- 
ceed Thomas Murphy, and held the office until July, 
20, 1878, when he was succeeded by Collector Merritt. 

Mr. Arthur was nominated on the Presidential 
ticket, with Gen. James A. Garfield, at the famous 
National Republican Convention held at Chicago in 
June, t88o. This was perhaps the greatest political 
convention that ever assembled on thecontinent. It 
was composed of the leading politicians of the Re- 
publican party, all able men, and each stood firm and 
fought vigorously and with signal tenacity for their 
respective candidates that were before the conven- 
tion for the nomination. Finally Gen. Garfield re- 
ceived the nomination for President and Gen. Arthur 
for Vice-President. The campaign which followed 
was one of the most animated known in the history of 
our country. Gen. Hancock, the standard-bearer of 
the Democratic party, was a popular man, and his 
party made a valiant fight for his election. 

Finally the election came and the country's choice 
was Garfield and Arthur. They were inaugurated 
March 4, 1881, as President and Vice-President. 
A few months only had passed ere the newly chosen 
President was the victim of the assassin's bullet. Then 
came terrible weeks of suffering, — those moments of 
anxious suspense, when the hearts of all civilized na- 



tions were throbbing in unison, longing for the re- 
covery of the noble, the good President. The remark- 
able patience that he manifested during those hours 
and weeks, and even months, of the most terrible suf- 
fering man has often been called upon to endure, was 
seemingly more than human. It was certainly God- 
like. During all this period of deepest anxiety Mr. 
Arthur's every move was watched, and be it said to his 
credit that his every action displayed only an earnest 
desire that the suffering Garfield might recover, to 
serve the remainder of the term he had so auspi- 
ciously begun. Not a selfish feeling was manifested 
in deed or look of this man, even though the most 
honored )X)sition in the world was at any moment 
likely to fall to him. 

At last God in his mercy relieved President Gar- 
field from further suffering, and the world, as never 
before in its history over the death of any other 
man, wept at his bier. Then it became the duty of 
the Vice President to assume the responsibilities of 
the high office,, and he took the oath in New York, 
Sept. 20, i88r. The position was an embarrassing 
one to him, made doubly so from the facts that all 
eyes were on him, anxious to know what he would do, 
what policy he would pursue, and who he would se- 
lect as advisers. The duties of the office had been 
greatly neglected during the President's long illness, 
and many important measures were to be immediately 
decided by him ; and still farther to embarrass him he 
did not fail to realize under what circumstances he 
became President, and knew the feelings of many on 
this point. Under these trying circumstances President 
Arthur took the reins of the Government in his own 
hands; and, as embarrassing as were the condition of 
affairs, he happily surprised the nation, acting so 
wisely that but few criticised his administration. 
He served the nation well and faithfully, until the 
close of his administration, March 4, 1885, and was 
a popular candidate before his party for a second 
term. His name was ably presented before the con- 
vention at Chicago, and was received with great 
favor, and doubtless but for the personal popularity 
of one of the opposing candidates, he would have 
been selected as the standard-bearer of his party 
for another campaign. He retired to private life car- 
rying with him the best wishes of the American peo- 
ple, whom he had served in a manner satisfactory 
to them and with credit to himself. 



•► 




/'W-^^^^ C/<. 



•►-•-* 



TWENTY-SECONB PRESIDENT. 




A^^r/W):^^ 



J;g-«'^S«>«S#S;g«> 



1 S. (filwBer %\t^t\mA> I 





.^h 



TEPHEN GROVER CLEVE- 
LAND, the twenty- second Pres- 
ident of the United States, was 
born in 1837, in the obscure 
town of Caldwell, Essex Co., 
N. J., and in a little two-and-a- 
h df story white house which is still 
standing, characteristically to mark 
the humble birth-place of one of 
Ameiica's great men in striking con- 
trast with the Old World, where all 
men high in office must be high in 
oritjui and born in the cradle of 
wealth. When the subject of this 
sketch was three years of age, his 
father, who was a Presbyterian min- 
ister, with a large family and a small salary, moved, 
by way of the Hudson River and Erie Canal, to 
Fayetteville, in search of an increased income and a 
larger field of work. Fayetteville was then the most 
straggling of country villages, about five miles from 
Pompey Hill, where Governor Seymour was born. 

At the last mentioned place young Grover com- 
menced going to school in the " good, old-fashioned 
way," and presumably distinguished himself after the 
manner of all village boys, in doing the things he 
ought not to do. Such is the distinguishing trait of 
all geniuses and independent thinkers. When he 
arrived at the age of 14 years, he had outgrown the 
capacity of the village school and expressed a most 



emphatic desire to be sent to an academy. To this 
his father decidedly objected. Academies in those 
days cost money; besides, his father wanted him to 
become self-supporting by the quickest possible 
means, and this at that time in Fayetteville seemed 
to be a position in a country store, where his father 
and the large family on his hands had considerable 
influence. Grover was to be paid $50 for his services 
the first year, and if he proved trustworthy he was to 
receive $100 the second year. Here the lad com- 
menced his career as salesman, and in two years he 
had earned so good a reputation for trustworthiness 
that his employers desired to retain him for an in- 
definite length of time. Otherwise he did not ex- 
hibit as yet any particular " flashes of genius " or 
eccentricities of talent. He was simply a good boy. 
But instead of remaining with this firm in Fayette- 
ville, he went with the family in their removal to 
Clinton, where he had an opportunity of attending a 
high school. Here he industriously pursued his 
studies until the family removed with him to a point 
on Black River known as the " Holland Patent," a 
village of 500 or 600 people, 15 miles north of Utica, 
N. Y. At this place his father died, after preaching 
but three Sundays. This event broke up the family, 
and Grover set out for New York City to accept, at a 
small salary, the position of " under-teacher " in an 
asylum for the blind. He taught faithfully for two 
years, and although he obtained a good reputation in 
this capacity, he concluded that teaching was not his 



A^ 



S. GROVER CLEVELAND. 



^H 



calling for life, and, reversing the traditional order, 
he left the city to seek his fortune, instead of going 
to a city. He first thought of Cleveland, Ohio, as 
there was some charm in that name for him; but 
before proceeding to that place he went to Buffalo to 
isk the advice of his uncle, Lewis F. Allan, a noted 
stock-breeder of that place. Tlie latter did not 
speak enthusiastically. " What is it you want to do, 
my boy.'" he asked. "Well, sir, I want to study 
law," was the reply. "Good gracious!" remarked 
the old gentleman ; " do you, indeed ? What ever put 
that into your head? How much money have you 
got?" "Well, sir, to tell the truth, I haven't got 
any." 

After a long consultation, his uncle offered him a 
place temporarily as assistant herd-keeper, at $50 a 
year, wiiile he could "look around." One day soon 
afterward he boldly walked into the office of Rogers, 
Bowen & Rogers, of Buffalo, and told them what he 
wanted. A number of young men were already en- 
gaged in the office, but Grover's persistency won, and 
he was finally permitted to come as an office boy and 
have the use of the law library, for the nominal sum 
of $3 or %\ a week. Out of this he had to pay for 
his board and washing. The walk to and from his 
uncle's was a long and rugged one; and, although 
the first winter was a memorably severe one, his 
shoes were out of repair and his overcoat — he had 
none — yet he was nevertheless prompt and regular. 
On the first day of his service here, his senior em- 
ployer threw down a copy of Blackstone before him 
with a bang that made the dust fly, saying "That's 
where they all begin." A titter ran around the little 
circle of clerks and students, as they thought that 
was enough to scare young Grover out of his plans ; 
but in due time he mastered that cumbersome volume. 
Then, as ever afterward, however, Mr. Cleveland 
exhibited a talent for cxecutiveness rather than for 
chasing principles through all their metaphysical 
possibilities. " Let us quit talking and go and do 
it," was practically his motto. 

The first public office to which Mr. Cleveland was 
elected was that of Sheriif of Erie Co., N. Y., in 
which Buffalo is situated; and in such capacity it fell 
to his duty to inflict capital punishment upon two 
criminals. In 1881 he was elected Mayor of the 
City of Buffalo, on the Democratic ticket, with es- 
pedal reference to the bringing about certain reforros 



in the administration of the municipal affairs of that 
city. In this office, as well as that of Sheriff, his 
performance of duty has generally been considered 
fair, with possibly a few exceptions which were fer- 
reted out and magnified during the last Presidential 
campaign. As a specimen of his plain language in 
a veto message, we quote from one vetoing an iniqui- 
tous street-cleaning contract: "This is a time for 
plain speech, and my objection to your action shall 
be plainly stated. I regard it as the culmination of 
a mos bare-faced, impudent and shameless scheme 
to betray the interests of the people and to worse 
than squander the people's money." The New York 
Siin afterward very highly commended Mr. Cleve- 
land's administration as Mayor of Buffalo, and there- 
upon recommended him for Governor of the Empire 
State. To the latter office he was elected in 1882, 
and his administration of the affairs of State was 
generally satisfactory. The mistakes he made, if 
any, were made very public throughout the nation 
after he was nommated for President of the United 
States. For this high office he was nominated July 
II, 1884, by the National Democratic Convention at 
Chicago, when other competitors were Thomas F. 
Bayard, Rosvvell P. Flower, Thomas A. Hendricks, 
Benjamin F. Butler, Allen G. Thurman, etc.; and he 
was elected by the people, by a majority of about a 
thousand, over the brilliant and long-tried Repub- 
lican statesman, James G. Blaine. President Cleve- 
land resigned his office as Governor of New Yoric in 
January, 1885, in order to prepare for his duties as 
the Chief Executive of the United States, in which 
capacity his term commenced at noon on the 4th of 
March, 1885. For his Cabinet officers he selected 
the following gentlemen: For Secretary of State, 
Thomas F. Bayard, of Delaware ; Secretary of the 
Treasury, Daniel Manning, of New York; Secretary 
of War, William C. Endicott, of Massachusetts ; 
Secretary of the Navy, William C, Whitney, of New 
York ; Secretary of the Interior, L. Q. C. Lamar, of 
Mississippi; Postmaster-General, William F. Vilas, 
of Wisconsin; Attorney-General, A. H. Garland, of 
Arkansas. 

The silver question precipitated a controversy be- 
tween those who were in favor of the conrinuance of 
silver coinage and those who were opposed, Mr. 
Cleveland answering for the latter, even before his 
inauguration. 



•► 



(,, 









^ 




i^HI-^ 



u 



GOVERNORS OF MICHIGAN. 






trfj ~»<jii2j2'0^3^"' 



STEPHEI^T. 



MASON 



-^3i....^i#^ 




TEPHEN T. MASON, the 
1st Governor of Michigan, was 
son of Gen. John T. Mason, 
of Kentucky, but was born in ■ 
Virginia, in 1812. At the age 
of 19 he was appointed Secre- 
tary of Michigan Territory, and 
served in that capacity during the 
administration of Gov. George B. 
Porter. Upon the death of Gov. 
Porter, which occurred on the 6th of 
July, 1834, Mr. Mason became Act- 
ing Governor. In October, 1835, he 
was elected Governor under the State 
organization, and immediately en- 
tered upon the performance of the 
duties of the office, although the 
State was not yet admitted into the Union. After 
the State was admitted into the Union, Governor 
Mason was re-elected to the position, and served with 
credit to himself and to the advantage of the State. 
He died Jan. 4, 1843. The principal event during 
Governor Mason's official career, was that arising from 
the disputed southern boundary of the State. 

Michigan claimed for her southern boundary aline 
running east across the peninsula from the e,\treme 
southern point of Lake Michigan, extending through 
Lake Erie, to the Pennsylvania line. This she 
claimed as a vested right — a right accruing to her by 
compact. This compact was the ordinance of 1787, 
the parties to which were the original 13 States, and 
the territory northwest of the Ohio ; and, by the suc- 
cession of parties under statutory amendments to the 
ordinance and laws of Congress — the United States on 
the one part, and each Territory northwest of the 
Ohio, as far as affected by their provisions, on the 



other. Michigan, therefore, claimed it under the prior 
grant, or assignation of boundary. 

Ohio, on the other hand, claimed that the ordinance 
had been superseded by the Constitution of the 
United States, and that Congress had a right to regu- 
late the boundary. It was also claimed that the 
Constitution of the State of Ohio having described a 
different hue, and Congress having admitted the State 
under that Constitution, without mentioning the sub- 
ject of the line in dispute. Congress had thereby given 
its consent to the line as laid down by the Constitu- 
tion of Ohio. This claim was urged by Ohio at 
some periods of the controversy, but at others she ap- 
peared to regard the question unsettled, by the fact 
that she insisted upon Congress taking action in re- 
gard to the boundary. Accordingly, we find that, in 
18 1 2, Congress authorized the Surveyor-General to 
survey a line, agreeably to the act, to enable the people 
of Ohio to form a Constitution and State government. 
Owing to Indian hostilities, however, the line was not 
run till 1818. In 1820, the question in dispute 
underwent a rigid examination by the Committee on 
Public Lands. The claim of Ohio was strenuously 
urged by her delegation, and as ably opposed by Mr. 
Woodbridge, the then delegate from Michigan. The 
result was that the committee decided unanimously 
in favor of Michigan; but, in the hurry of business, 
no action was taken by Congress, and the question 
remained open till Michigan organized her State gov- 
ernment. 

The Territory in dispute is about five miles in 
width at the west end, and about eight miles in width 
at the east end, and extends along the whole north- 
ern line of Ohio, west of Lake Erie. The line claimed 
by Michigan was known as the " Fulton line," and 
that claimed by Ohio was known as the " Harris line," 



n 



h 

' ' io6 



STEPHEN T. MASON. 



from the names of the surveyors. The territory was 
valuable for its rich agricultural lands; but the chief 
value consisted in the fact that the harbor on the 
Maumee River, where now stands the flourishing city 
of Toledo, was included within its limits The town 
originally bore the name of Swan Creek, afterwards 
Port Lawrence, then Vestula, and then Toledo. 

In February, 1835, the Legislature of Ohio passed 
an act extending the jurisdiction of the State over 
the territory in question; erected townships and 
directed them to hold elections in April following. It 
also directed Governor Lucus to appoint three com- 
missioners to survey and re-mark the Harris line ; and 
named the first of April as the day to commence the 
survey. Acting Governor Mason, however, anticipated 
this action on the part of the Ohio Legislature, sent 
a special message to the Legislative Council, appris- 
ing it of Governor Lucas' message, and advised imme- 
diate action by that body to anticipate and counteract 
the proceedings of Ohio. Accordingly, on the 12th 
of February, the council passed an act making it a 
crimmal offence, punishable by a heavy fine, or im- 
prisonment, for any one to attempt to exercise any 
ofificial functions, or accept any office within the juris- 
diction of Michigan, under or by virture of any au- 
thority not derived from the Territory, or the United 
States. On the 9th of March, Governor Mason wrote 
General Brown, then in command of the Michigan 
militia, directing him to hold himself in readiness to 
meet the enemy in the field in case any attempt was 
made on the part of Ohio to carry out the provisions 
of that act of the Legislature. On the 31st of March, 
Governor Lucus, with his commissioners, arrived at 
Perrysburgh, on their way to commence re-surveying 
the Harris line. He was accomi^anied by General 
Bell and staff, of the Ohio Militia, who proceeded to 
muster a volunteer force of about 600 men. This 
was soon accomplished, and the force fully armed and 
equipped. The force then went into camp at Fort 
Miami, to await the Governor's orders. 

In the meantime, Governor Mason, with General 
Brown and staff, had raised a force 800 to 1200 
strong, and were in possession of Toledo. General 
Brown's Staff consisted of Captain Henry Smith, of 
Monroe, Inspector; Major J. J. Ullman, of Con- 
stantine, Quartermaster; William E. Broadman, of 
Detroit, and Alpheus Felch, of Monroe, Aids-de- 
camp. When Governor Lucas observed the deter- 
mined bearing of the Michigan braves, and took note 



of their number, he found it convenient to content 
himself for a time with " watching over the border." 
Several days were passed in this exhilarating employ- 
ment, and just as Governor Lucas had made up his 
mind to do something rash, two commissioners ar- 
rived from Washington on a mission of peace. They 
remonstrated with Gov. Lucus, and reminded him of 
the consequences to himself and his State if he per- 
sisted in his attempt to gain possessionof the disputed 
territory by force. After several conferences with 
both governors, the commissioners submitted proposi- 
tions for their consideration. 

Governor Lucas at once accepted the propositions, 
and disbanded his forces. Governor Mason, on the 
other hand, refused to accede to the arrangement, and 
declined to compromise the rights of his people by a 
surrender of possession and jurisdiction. When Gov- 
ernor Lucus disbanded his forces, however, Governor 
Mason partially followed suit, but still held himself 
in readiness to meet any emergency that might arise. 

Governor Lucus now supposed that his way was 
clear, and that he could re-mark the Harris line with- 
out being molested, and ordered the commissioners 
to proceed with their work. 

In the meantime, Governor Mason kept a watch- 
ful eye upon the proceedings. General Brown sent 
scouts through the woods to watch their movements, 
and report when operations were commenced. When 
the surveying party got within the county of Lena- 
wee, the under-sheriff of that county, armed with a 
warrant, and accompanied by a posse, suddenly made 
his appearance, and succeeded in arresting a portion 
of tlie party. The rest, including the commissioners, 
took to their heels, and were soon beyond the dis- 
puted territory. They reached Perrysburgh the fol- 
lowing day in a highly demoralized condition, and 
reported they had been attacked l)y an overwhelm- 
ing force of Michigan malitia, under command of 
General Brown. 

This summary breaking up of the surveying party 
produced the most tremendous excitement throughout 
Ohio. Governor Lucas called an extra session of the 
Legislature. But little remains to be said in reference 
to the " war." The question continued for sometime 
to agitate the minds of the opposing parties ; and the 
action of Congress was impatiently awaited. Michigan 
was admitted into the Union on the condition that 
she give to Ohio the disputed territory, and accept 
in return the Northern Peninsula, which she did. 




^ *^^W^-V^-xJZ^^XJ 



SECOND GOVERNOR OF MICHIGAN. 



^fgf — ^(OlLLIAI.I (')')()L)BI^IDGB.^— Rw 



^i^ 




4 



ILLIAM WOODBRIDGE, 
^second Governor of Michigan, 
was born at Norwich, Conn., 
Aug. 20, 1780, and died at 
Detroit Oct. 20, 1861. He 
was of a family of three brothers 
and two sisters. His father, 
Dudley Woodbridge, removed to 
Marietta, Ohio, about 1790. The 
life of Wm. Woodbridge, Ijy Chas. 
Launian, from which this sketcji 
IS largely com piled, mentions noth- 
Hig concerning his early education 
beyond the fact that it was such as 
was afforded by the average school 
of the time, except a year witii the 
French colonists at Gallipolis, 
where he acquired a knowledge of 
H'ltl the French language. It should 
^ S) be borne in mind, however, that 
W(. home education at that time was 
an indispensable feature in the 
training of the young. To this and 
and to a few studies well mastered, 
is due that strong mental discipline which has served 
as a basis for many of the grand intellects that have 
adorned and helped to make our National history. 
Mr. Woodbridge studied law at Marietta, having 
as a fellow student an intimate personal friend, a 
young man subsequently distinguished, but known 
at that time simply as Lewis Cass. He graduated at 
the law school in Connecticut, after a course there of 
nearly three years, and began to practice at Marietta 
in 1806. In June, 1806, he married, at Hartford, Con- 
necticut, Juleanna, daughter of John Triimbell, a 
distinguished author and judge ; and author of the 



peom McFingai, which, during a dark period of the 
Revolution, wrought such a magic change upon the 
spirits of the colonists. He was happy in his domes- 
ticrelationsuntilthedeathofMrs. W., Feb. 2,19, i860. 

Our written biographies necessarily speak more 
fully of men, because of their active participation in 
public affairs, but human actions are stamped upon 
the page of lime and when the scroll shall be unrolled 
the influence of good women u[)on the history of the 
world will be read side by side with the deeds of men. 
How much success and renown in life many men owe 
to their wives is probably little known. Mrs. W. en- 
joyed the best means of early education that the 
country afforded, and her intellectual genius enabled 
her to improve her advantages. During her life, side 
by side with the highest type of domestic and social 
graces, slie manifested a keen intellectuality that 
formed the crown of a faultless chaiacter. She was 
a natural poet, and wrote quite a large number of fine 
verses, some of which are preserved in a printed 
memorial essay written upon the occasion of her 
death. In this essay, it is said of her "to contribute 
even in matters of minor importance, to elevate the 
reputation and add to the well being of her husband 
in the various stations he was called upon to fill, gave 
her the highest satisfaction " She was an invalid 
during the latter portion of her life, but was patient 
and cheerful to the end. 

In 1807, Mr. W. was chosen a representative to the 
General Assembly of Ohio, and in 1809 was elected to 
the Senate, continuing a member Ijy re-election until 
his removal from the State. He also held, by ap- 
pointment, during the time the office of Prosecuting 
Attorney for his county. He took a leading part in 
the Legislature, and in i8i2drew up a declaration and 
resolutions, which passed the two houses unaminously 



-lh-4«- 



WILLIAM WOODBRIDGE. 



"t 



and attracted great attention, endorsing, in strongest 
and most emphatic terms, the war measures of Presi- 
dent Madison. During the period from 1804 to 18 14 
the two law students, Woodbridge and Cass, had be- 
come widely separated. Tiie latter was Governor of 
the Territory of Michigan under the historic "Governor 
and Judges" plan, with the indispensable requisite of a 
Secretary of the Territorry. This latter position was, 
in 1814, without solicitation on his part, tendered to 
Mr. W. He accepted the position with some hesita- 
tion, and entered upon its duties as soon as he could 
make the necessary arrangements for leaving Ohio. 
The office of Secretary involved also the duties of 
collectorof customs at the port of Detroit, and during 
the frequent absences of the Governor, the dischargeof 
of his duties, also including those of Superintendent 
of Indian Affairs. Mr. W. officiated as Governor for 
about two years out of the eight years that he held the 
office of Secretary Under the administration of "Gov- 
ernor and Judges," which the people of the Territory 
preferred for economical reasons, to continue some time 
after their numbers entitled them to a mure popular 
representative system, they were allowed no delegate 
in Congress. Mr. W., as a sort of informal agent of 
the people, by correspondence and also by a visit to 
the National capital, so clearly set forth the demand 
for representation by a delegate, that an act was 
passed in Congress in 1 8 1 9 authorizing one tobe chosen. 
Under this act Mr. W. was elected by the concurrence 
of all parties. His first action in Congress was to secure 
the passage of a bill recognizing and confirming the 
old French land titles in the Territory according to 
the terms of the treaty of peace with Great Britain 
at the close of the Revolution; and another for the 
construction of a Government road through the "black 
swamps" from the Miami River to Detroit, thus open- 
ing a means of land transit between Ohio and Mich- 
igan. He was influential in securing the passage of 
bills for the construction of Government roads from 
Detroit to Chicago, and Detroit to Fort Gratiot, and 
for the improvement of La Plaisance Bay. The ex- 
pedition for the exploration of the country around 
Lake Superior and in the valley of the Upper Mis- 
sissippi, projected by Governor Cass, was set on foot 
l)y means of representations made to the head of the 
department by Mr. W. While in Congress he stren- 
uously maintained the right of Michigan to the strip 
of territory now forming the northern boundary of 
Ohio, which formed the subject of such grave dispute 
between Ohio and Michigan at the time of the ad- 
mission of the latter into the Union. He served 
but one term as delegate to Congress, de- 
clining further service on account of personal and 
family considerations. Mr. W. continued to discharge 
the duties of Secretary of the Territory up to the time 
its Government passed into the "second grade." 

In 1824, he was appointed one of a board of 
commissioners for adjusting private land claims in 



the Territory, and was engaged also in the practice of 
his profession, having the best law library in the Ter- 
ritory. In 1828, upon the recommendation of the 
Governor, Judges and others, he was appointed by the 
President, "j. Q. Adams, to succeed Hon. James With- 
erell, who had resigned as a Judge of what is conven- 
tionally called the "Supreme Court" of the Territory. 
This court was apparently a continuation of the Terri- 
torial Court, under the "first grade" or "Governor and 
Judges" system. ,\lthough it was supreme in its ju- 
dicial functions within the Territory, its powers and 
duties were of a very general character. 

In 1832, the term of his appointment as Judge ex- 
piring. President Jackson appointed a successor, it is 
supposed on political grounds, much to the disappoint- 
ment of the public and the bar of the Territory. The 
partisan feeling of the time e.xtended into the Terri- 
tory, and its people began to think of assuming the 
dignity of a State government. Party lines becom- 
ing very sharply drawn, he identified himself with 
the Whigs and was elected a member of the Conven- 
tion of 1835, which formed the first State Consritution. 
In 1837 he was elected a member of the State Senate. 

This sketch has pur|X)sely dealt somewhat in detail 
with what may be called Judge W's. earlier career, 
because it is closely identified with the early his- 
tory of the State, and the development of its politi- 
cal system. Since the organization of the State Gov- 
ernment the history of Michigan is more familiar, and 
hence no review of Judge W's career as Governor 
and Senator will be attempted. He was elected Gov- 
ernor in 1839, under a popular impression that the 
affairs of the State had not been prudently adminis- 
tered by the Democrats. He served as Governor but 
little more than a year, when he was elected to the 
Senate of the United States. 

His term in the Senate practically closed his polit- 
ical life, although he was strongly urged by many 
prominent men for the Whig nomination for Vice 
President in rS48. 

Soon after his appointment as Judge in 1828, Gov- 
ernor W. took up his residence on a tract of land 
which he owned in the township of Spring Wells, a 
short distance below what was then the corporate lim- 
its of Detroit, where he resided during the remainder 
of his life. Both in his public papers and private 
communications, Governor W. shows himself a mas- 
ter of language; he is fruitful in simile and illustra- 
tion, logical in arrangement, happy in the choice and 
treatment of topics, and terse and vigorous in expres- 
sion. Judge W. was a Congregationalist. His opinions 
on all subjects were decided ; he was earnest and 
energetic, courteous and dignified, and at times ex- 
hibited a vein of fine humor that was the more at- 
tractive because not too often allowed to come to the 
surface. His letters and addresses show a deep and 
earnest affection not only for his ancestral home, but 
the home of his adoption and for friends and family. 



•►-■-4« 



■•►Hl-^ 



Hh-^ 



GOVERNORS OF MICHIGAN. 



,-^iaa'ii&.Via>t^is»i^ 



.JOHN ©. BARRY B 



I :s'(aaJtife'»i£.v;;jia>'»g;^tiii'tgg'i^(^t 



b.. . ^ 




OHN STEWARD BARRY, 
.Governor of Michigan from 
Jan. 3, 1842, to Jan. 5, 1846, 
and from Jan. 7, 1850, to Jan. 
852, was born at Amherst, 
N. H., Jan. 29, 1802. His par- 
ents, John and Ellen (Steward) 
Barry, early removed to Roclcing- 
liam, Vt., where he remained until 
he became of age, working on his 
father's farm, and pursuing his 
studies at the same time. He mar- 
ried Mary Kidder, of Grafton, Vt., 
fand in 1S24 went to Georgia, Vt., 
where he liad charge of an academy 
T for two years, meanwliile studying 
law. He afterward practiced law in 
that State. While he was in Georgia he was for some 
time a member of the Governor's staff, with the title 
of Governor's Aid, and at a somewhat earlier period 
was Captain of a company of State militia. In 1831 
he removed to Michigan, and settled at White Pigeon, 
where he engaged in mercantile business with I. W. 
Willard. 

Four years after, 1834, Mr. Barry removed to Con- 
-^» 



stantine and continued his mercantile pursuits. He 
became Justice of the Peace at White Pigeon, Mich., 
in 1S31, and held the office until the year 1835. 
Mr. Barry's first public office was that of a member 
of the first constitutional convention, which assembled 
and framed the constitution upon which Michigan 
was admitted into the Union. He took an imix)rtant 
and prominent part in the proceedings of that body, 
and showed himself to be a man of far more than 
ordinary ability. 

Upon Michigan being admitted into the Union, 
Mr. Barry was chosen State Senator, and so favorably 
were his associates impressed with his abilities at the 
first session of the Legislature that they looked to him 
as a party leader, and that he should head the State 
ticket at the following election. Accordingly he re- 
ceived the nomination for Governor at the hands 
of his party assembled in convention. He was 
elected, and so popular was his administration that, in 
1842, he was again elected. During these years 
Michigan was embarrassed by great financial diffi- 
culties, and it was through his wisdom and sound judg- 
ment that the State was finally placed \\\)on a solid 
financial basis. 

During the first year of Gov. Barry's first term, the 

University at Ann Arbor was opened for the reception 

■» 



JOHN STEWARD BARRY. 



J 



of students. The Michigan Central and Michigan 
Southern railroads were being rapidly constructed, and 
general progress was everywhere noticeable. In 1842, 
the number of pupils reported as attending the public 
schools was nearly fifty-eight thousand. In 1843, ^ 
State land office was established at Marshall, which 
was invested with the charge and disposition of all 
the lands belonging to the State In 1844, the tax- 
able property of the State was found to be over 
twenty-eight millions of dollars, the tax being at the 
rate of two mills on the dollar. The expenses of the 
State were only seventy thousand dollars, while the 
income from the railroads was nearly three hundred 
thousand dollars. At this lime the University of 
Michigan had become so prosperous that its income 
was ample to pay the interest on the University debt ; 
and the amount of money which the State was able 
to loan the several progressing railroads was one 
hundred and twenty thousand dollars. Efforts were 
made to increase the efficiency of the common schools 
with good results In 1845, when Gov. Barry's sec- 
ond term expired, the population of the State was 
more than th-'ee hundred thousand. 

The constitution of the State forbade more than two 
consecutive terms, but he was called upon to fill the 
position again in 1850 — the only instance of the kind 
in the history of the State. He was a member of the 
Territorial Legislature, of the Constitutional Conven- 
tion, and afterward of the State House of Represent- 
atives. 

During Mr. Barry's third term as Governor the Nor- 
mal School was established at Ypsilanti, which was 
endowed with lands and placed in charge of a board 
of education consisting of six persons. A new con- 
stitution for the government of the State was also 
adopted and the "Great Railway Conspiracy Case" 
was tried. This grew out of a series of lawless acts 
which had been committed upon the property of the 
Michigan Central Railroad Company, along the line 
of their road, and finally the burning of the depot 
at Detroit, in 1S50. 

At a setting of the grand jury of Wayne County, 
April 24, 1851, 37 men of the 50 under arrest for this 
crime were indicted. May 20, following, the accused 
parties appeared at the Circuit Court of Wayne, of 
which Warner Wing was resident judge. The Rail- 
road Company employed ten eminent lawyers, in- 
cluding David Stuart, John Van Arman, James A. 
Van Dyke, Jacob M. Howard, Alex. D. Fraser, Dan- 
iel Goodwin and William Gray. The defendants were 
represented by six members of the State bar, led by 
William H. Seward, of New York. The trial occupied 
four months, during which time the plaintiffs exam- 
ined 246 witnesses in 27 days, and the defendants 
249 in 40 days. Mr. Van Dyke addressed the jury 
for the prosecution; William H. Seward for the 
defense. 

The great lawyer was convinced of the innocence 
-<•— 



of his clients, nor did the verdict of that jury and the 
sentence of that judge remove his firm belief that his 
clients were the victims of purchased treachery, 
rather than so many sacrifices to justice. 

The verdict of " guilty " was rendered at 9 o'clock 
p. .M., Sept. 25, 185 I. On the 26th the prisoners were 
put forward to receive sentence, when many of them 
protested their entire innocence, after which the pre- 
siding judge condemned 12 of the number to the fol- 
lowing terms of imprisonment, with hard labor, within 
the State's prison, situate in their county : Ammi 
Filley, ten years; Orlando L. Williams, ten years; 
Aaron Mount, eight years; Andrew J. Freeland, eight 
years; Eben Farnham, eight years; William Corvin, 
eight years ; Richard Price, eight years; Evan Price, 
eight years; Lyman Champlin, five years; Willard 
W. Champlin, five years; Erastus Champlin, five 
years; Erastus Smith, five years. 

In 1840, Gov. Barry became deeply interested in 
the cultivation of the sugar beet, and visited Europe 
to obtain information in reference to its culture. 

He was twice Presidential Elector, and his last 
public service was that of a delegate to the National 
I3emocratic Convention held in Chicago in 1864. 

He was a man who, throughout life, maintained a 
high character for integrity and fidelity to the_ trusts 
bestowed upon him, whether of a public or a private 
nature, and he is acknowledged by all to have been 
one of the most efficient and popular Governors the 
State has ever had. 

Gov. Barry was a man of incorruptible integrity. 
His opinions, which he reached by the most thorough 
investigation, he held tenaciously. His strong con- 
victions and outspoken honesty made it impossible for 
him to take an undefined position when a principle 
was involved. His attachments and prejudices were 
strong, yet he was never accused of favoritism in his 
administration of public affairs. As a speaker he was 
not remarkable. Solidity, rather than brilliancy, char- 
acterized his oratory, which is described as argument- 
ative and instructive, but cold, hard, and entirely 
wanting in rhetorical ornament. He was never elo- 
quent, seldom humorous or sarcastic, and in manner 
rather awkward. 

Although Mr. Barry's educational advantages were 
so limited, he was a life-long student. He mastered 
both ancient and modern languages, and acquired a 
thorough knowledge of history. No man owed less 
to political intrigue as a means of gaining posi- 
tion. He was a true statesman, and gained public es- 
teem by his solid worth. His political connections 
were always with the Democraric party, and his opin- 
ions were usually extreme. 

Mr. Barry retired to private life after the beginning 
of the ascendency of the Republican party, and car- 
ried on his mercantile business at Constantine. He 
died Jan. 14, 1870, his wife's death having occurred a 
year previous, March 30, 1869. They left no children. 




I 1 



I 



GOVERNORS OF MICHIGAN. 




^^^f/\^)jm^ 



_^_ _i^ _^_ -^ -^ -^ -^ ^_ -^^;;^^$;;g-«'^!;$«"S;s«^;;&* 



^av/yv^r 



iv\yy 




LPHEUS FELCH, the third 
Governor of Michigan, was 



born in Limerick, Maine, Sep- 
tember 28, 1806. Hisgrand- 
o_ father, Abijah Felch, was a sol- 
-^ dier in the Revolution ; and 
when a young man, having with 
others obtained a grant of land be- 
tween the Great and Little Ossipee 
Rivers, in Maine, moved to that re- 
gion when it was yet a wilderness. 
The father of Mr. Felch embarked in 
mercantile life at Limerick. He was 
the first to engage in that business in 
that section, and continued it until 
lis death. The death of the father, 
' followed within a year by the death of 
the mother, left the subject of this sketch, then three 
years old, to the care of relatives, and he found a 
home with his paternal grandfather, where he re- 
mained until his death. Mr Felch received his early 
education in the district school and a neighboring 
academy. Li 1821 he became a student at Phillips 
Exter Academy, and, subsequently, entered Bowdoin 
College, graduated with the class of 1827. He at 
once began the study of law and was admitted to 
practice at Bangor, Me., in 1830. 

He began the practice of liis profession at Houlton, 
Me., where he remained until [833. The severity 
of the climate impaired his health, never very good, 
and he found it necessary to seek a change of climate. 
He disposed of his library and started to seek 
a new home. His intention was to join his friend, 



SargLMit S. Prentiss, at Vicksburg, Miss., but on his 
arrival at Cincinnati, Mr. Felch was attacked by 
cholera, and when he had tecovered sufficiently to 
permit of his traveling, found that the danger of the 
disease was too great to permit a journey down the 
river. He therefore determined to come to Michi- 
gan. He first began to practice in this State at Mon- 
roe, where he continued until 1843, when he removed 
to Ann Aibor. He was elected to the State Legisla- 
ture in 1835, and continued a member of that body 
during the years 1836 and 1837. While he held this 
office, the general banking law of the State was enact- 
ed, and went into oi)eration. After mature delibera- 
tion, he became convinced that the proposed system 
of banking could not prove beneficial to the public 
interests ; and that, instead of relieving the people 
from the pecuniary difficulties under which they were 
laboring, it would result in still further embarrass- 
ment. He, therefore, opposed the bill, and pointed 
out to the House the disasters which, in his opinion, 
were sure to follow its passage. The public mind, 
however, was so favorably impressed by the measure 
that no other member, in either branch of the Legisla- 
ture, raised a dissenting voice, and but two voted with 
him in opposition to the bill. Early in 1838, he was 
appointed one of the Bank Commissioners of the 
State, and held that office for moie than a year. Dur- 
ing this time, the new banking law had given birth to 
that numerous progeny known as "wild-cat" banks. 
Almost every village had its bank. The country was 
flooded with depressed "wild-cat" money. The ex- 
aminations of the Bank Commissioners brought to 
light frauds at every point, which were fearlessly re- 



■*► 



i 



;i8 



ALPHEUS FELCH. 



ported to the Legislature, and were followed by crim- 
inal prosecutions of the guilty parties, and the closing 
of many of their institutions. The duties of the of- 
fice were most laborious, and in 1839 Mr. Felch re- 
signed. The chartered right of almost every bank 
had, in the meantime, been declared forfeited and 
the law repealed. It was subsequently decided to 
be constitutional by the -Supreme Court of the State. 
In the year 1842 Governor Felch was appointed 
to the office of Auditor General of the State; but 
after holding the office only a few weeks, was com- 
missioned by the Governor as one of the Judges of the 
Supreme Court, to fill a vacancy caused by the resig- 
nation of Judge Fletcher. In January, 1843, he was 
elected to the United States Senate for an unexpired 
term. In 1845 he was elected Governor of Michigan, 
and entered upon his duties at the commencement of 
the next year. In 1847 he was elected a Senator 
in Congress for six years ; and at once retired from 
the office of Governor, by resignation, which took 
effect March 4, 1847, when his Senatorial term com- 
menced. While a member of the Senate he acted on 
the Committee on Public Lands, and for four years 
was its Chairman. He filled the honorable position 
of Senator with becoming dignity, and with great 
credit to the State of Michigan. 

During Governor Felch's administration the two 
railroads belonging to the State were sold to private 
corporations, — the Central for $2,000,000, and the 
Southern for $500,000. The exports of the State 
amounted in 1846 to $4,647,608. The total capacity 
of vessels enrolled in the collection district at Detroit 
was 26,928 tons, the steam vessels having 8,400 and 
the sailing vessels 18,528 tons, the whole giving em- 
ployment to 18,000 seamen. In 1847, there were 39 
counties in the State, containing 435 townships ; and 
275 of these townships were supplied with good libra- 
ries, containing an aggregate of 37,000 volumes. 

At the close of his Senatorial term, in March, 1853, 
Mr. Felch was appointed, by President Pierce, one of 
the Commissioners to adjust and settle the Spanish 



and Mexican land claims in California, under the 
treaty of Gaudalupe Hidalgo, and an act of Congress 
passed for that purpose. He went to California in 
May, 1853, and was ma'de President of the Commis- 
sion. The duties of this office were of the most im- 
portant and delicate character. The interest of the 
new State, and the fortunes of many of its citizens, 
both the native Mexican population and the recent 
American immigration ; the right of the Pueblos to 
tlieir common lands, and of the Catholic Church to 
the lands of the Missions,— the most valuable of the 
State, — wereinvolved in the adjudicationsof this Com- 
mission. In March, 1856, their labors were brought 
to a close by the final disposition of all the claims 
which were presented. The record of their proceed- 
ings, — the testimony which was given in each case, 
and the decision of the Commissioners thereon, — 
consisting of some forty large volumes, was deposited 
in the Department of the Interior at Washington. 

In June of that year. Governor Felch returned to 
Ann Arbor, where he has since been engaged piinci- 
])ji!ly in legal business. Since his return he has 
been nominated for Governor and also for U. S. Sen- 
ator, and twice for Judge of the Supreme Court. But 
the Democratic party, to which he has always been 
attached, being in the minority, he failed of an elec- 
tion. In 1873 he withdrew from the active practice 
of law, and, with the exception of a tour in Europe, 
in 1875 has since led a life of retirement at his home 
in Ann Arbor. In 1877 the University of Michigan 
conferred upon him the degree of LL. D. For 
many years he was one of the Regents of Michigan 
University, and in the spring of 1879 was appointed 
Tappan Professor of Law in the same. Mr. Felch is 
the oldest surviving member of the Legislature from 
Monroe Co., the oldest and only surviving Bank Com- 
missioner of the State, the oldest surviving Auditor 
General of the State, the oldest surviving Governor of 
the State, the oldest surviving Judge of the Supreme 
Court of Michigan, and the oldest surviving United 
States Senator from the State of Michigan. 



•►-■-4« 




^^^-^2^^ 



•►HI-4* 



GO VERNORS, 



% 









.LIAM L. GREENLY, 

^Governor of Michigan for the 
year 1S47, '^^^'s born at Hamil- 
ton, Madison Co., N. Y., Sept. 
1S13. Hegraduatedat Un- 
/ ion College, Schenectady, in 
I . ii lojr, studied law and was ad- 

T^ 7^1 "^'^'s<i '° ^1^'^ ^^"^ '" 1834. In 
"'m I iS^fi. having removed to Michi- 
settled in Adrian, where 
has since resided. The year 
following his arrival in Michigan 
lie was elected State Senator and 
served in that capacity until 1S39. 
In 1845 he was elected Lieut. Gov- 
ernor and became acting Governor 
by the resignation of Gov Fekh, 
who was elected to the United 
States Senate. 

The war with Mexico was brought 
to a successful termination during Gov. Greenly 's 
administration. We regret to say that there are only 
few records extant of the action of Michigan troops 
in the Mexican war. That many went there and 
fought well are points conceded ; but their names and 
nativity are hidden away in United States archives 



and where it is almost innx)ssible to find them. 

The soldiers of this State deserve much of the 
credit of the memorable achievements of Co. K, 3d 
Dragoons, and Cos. A, E, and G of the U. S. Inf. 
The two former of these companies, recruited in this 
State, were reduced to one-third their original num- 
ber. 

In May, 1846, the Governor of Michigan was noti- 
fied by the War Department of the United States to 
enroll a regiment of volunteers, to be held in readi- 
ness for service whenever demanded. At his sum- 
mons 13 independent volunteer companies, 1 1 of 
infantry and two of cavalry, at once fell into line. Of 
the infantry four companies were from Detroit, bear- 
ing the honored names of Montgomery, Lafayette, 
Scoct and Brady upon their banners. Of the re- 
mainder Monroe tendered two, Lenawee County three, 
St. Clair, Berrien and Hillsdale each one, and Wayne 
County an additional company. Of these alone the 
veteran Bradys were accepted and ordered into ser- 
vice. In addition to them ten companies, making the 
First Regiment of Michigan Volunteers, springing 
from various parts of the State, but embodying to a 
great degree the material of which the first volunteers 
was formed, were not called for until October follow- 
ing. This regiment was soon in readiness and pro- 
ceeded by orders from Government to the seat of war. 



,^- 



vi^e 






\ 



^- f-- 




'^^^^0^>^^^y^-^<t~^/<^^ 



4- 



U 



GO VERNORS. 












HE HON. EPAPHRODI- 
US RANSOM, the Seventh 
Governor of Michigan, was a 
native of Massachusetts. In 
that State he received a col- 
legiate education, studied law, 
md was admitted to the bar. 
Removing to Michigan about 
the tmie of its admission to the 
Union, he took up his residence 
at Kalamazoo. 

Mr. Ransom served with marked 
. ability for a number of years in the 
State Legislature, and in 1837 he was appointed As- 
sociate Justice of the Supreme Court. In 1843 he 
was promoted to Chief Justice, wiiich office he re- 
tained until 1845, when he resigned. 

Shortly afterwards he became deeply interested in 
the building of plank roads in the western portion of 
the State, and in this business lost the greater portion 
of the property which he had accumulated by years 
of toil and industry. 

Mr. Ransom became Governor of the State of 
Michigan in the fall of 1847, and served during one 
term, performing the duties of the office in a truly 
statesmanlike manner. He subsequently became 
President of the Michigan Agricultural Society, in 
which position he displayed the same ability that 
^ <» 



shone forth so prominently in his acts as Governor. 
He held the office of Regent of the Michigan Univer- 
sity several times, and ever advocated a liberal policy 
in its management. 

Subsequently he was appointed receiver of the 
land office in one of the districts in Kansas, by Pres- 
ident Buchanan, to which State he had removed, and 
where he died before the expiration of his ttrm of 
office. 

\Ve sum up tlie events and affairs of the State un- 
der Gov. Ransom's administration as follows: The 
Asylum for the Insane was establised, as also the 
Asylum for the Deaf, Dumb and Blind. Both of 
these institutes were liberally endowed with lands, 
and each of them placed in charge of a board of five 
trustees. The appropriation in 1S49 for the deaf and 
dumb and blind amounted to $81,500. On the first 
of March, 1S4S, the first telegraph line was com- 
pleted from New York to Detroit, and the first dis- 
patch transmitted on that day. The following figures 
show the progress in agriculture : The land reported 
as under cultivation in 1848 was 1,437,460 acres; of 
wheat there were produced 4,749,300 bushels; other 
grains, 8,197,767 bushels; wool, 1,645,756 pounds; 
maple sugar, 1,774,369 pounds; horses, 52,305 ; cat- 
tle, 210,268; swine, 152,541; sheep, 610,534; while 
the flour mills numbered 228, and the lumber mills 
amounted to 730. 1847, an act was passed removing 
the Legislature from Detroit to Lansing, and tempo- 
rary buildings for the use of the Legislature were im- 
mediately erected, at a cost of $12,450. 



L 



GO VERNORS OF MICHIGAN. 



■^9 ,, 




•=^-_^_,^ss^t^'i, 



ROr.ERT Mc'CLELLAXD. 




llA 




OBERT McClelland, 

.trovernor of Michigan from 
Jan. I, 1852,10 March S, 1853, 
w as born at Greencastle, Frank- 
^J hn Co., Penn., Aug. i, 1807. 
Unong his ancestors were several 
otficers of rank in the Revolution- 
ary war, and some of his family con- 
nections were distinguished in the 
war of i8i2, and that with Mexico. 
His father was an eminent physician 
and surgeon who studied under Dr. 
Benj Rush, of Philadelphia, and 
practiced his profession successfully 
until SIX months before his death, at 
i the age of 84 years, .\lthough Mr. 
McClelland's family had been in good circum- 
stances, when he was 17 years old he was thrown 
upon his own resources. After taking the usual pre- 
liminary studies, and teaching school to obtain the 
means, he entered Dickinson College, at Carlisle, 
Penn., from which he graduated among the first in 
his class, in 1829. He then resumed teaching, and 
having completed the course of study for the legal 
profession, was admitted to the bar at Chambersburg, 
Penn., in 1831. Soon afterward he removed to the 
city of Pittsburgh, where he practiced for almost a 
year. 

In 1833, Mr. McClelland removed to Monroe, in 



^V 



the Territory of Michigan, where, after a severe ex- 
amination, he became a member of the bar of Michi- 
gan, and engaged in practice with bright prospect of 
success. In 1835, a convention was called to frame 
a constitution for the proposed State of Michigan, of 
whTch Mr. McClelland was elected a member. He 
took a prominent part in its deliberations and ranked 
among its ablest debaters. He was appointed the 
first Bank Commissioner of the State, by Gov. Mason, 
and received an offer of the Attorney Generalship, but 
declined both of these offices in order to attend to his 
professional duties. 

In 1838, Mr. McClelland was elected to the State 
Legislature, in which he soon became distinguished 
as the head of several important committees. Speaker 
pro tempore, and as an active, zealous and efficient 
member. In 1840, Gen. Harrison, as a candidate for 
the Presidency, swept the country with an overwhelm- 
ing majority, and at the same time the State of Michi- 
gan was carried by the Whigs under the popular cry 
of " Woodbridge and reform " against the Democratic 
party. At this time Mr. McClelland stood among the 
acknowledged leaders of the latter organization ; was 
elected a member of the State House of Representa- 
tives, and with others adopted a plan to regain a lost 
authority and prestige. 

This party soon came again into power in the State, 
and having been returned to the State Legislature Mr. 
McClelland's leadership was acknowledged by his 
election as Speaker of the House of Representatives \ 



^11-M 



•►HI-4^ 



ROBERT McClelland. 



ill 1843. Down to this time Michigan had consti- 
tuted one congressional district. The late Hon. Jacob 
M. Howard had been elected against Hon. Alpheiis 
Felch by a strong majority ; but, in 1843, so thoroughly 
had the Democratic party recovered from its defeat 
of 1840 that Mr. McClelland, as a candidate for Con- 
gress, carried Detroit district by a majority of about 
2,500. Mr. McClelland soon took a prominent pc-:i 
tion in Congress among the veteians of that body, 
During his first term he was placed on Committee on 
Commerce, and organized and carried through what 
were known as the " Harbor bills." The continued 
confidence of his constituency was manifested in his 
election tQ the 29th Congress. At the opening of this 
session he had acquired a National reputation, and so 
favorably was he known as a parlimentarian that his 
name was mentioned for Speaker of the House of Rep- 
resentatives. He declined the offer in favor of J. W. 
Davis, of Indiana, who was elected. During this term 
he became Chairman of Committee on Commerce, in 
which position his reports and advocacy of important 
measures at once attracted public attention. The 
members of this committee, as an evidence of the es- 
teem in which they held his services and of their 
personal regard for him, presented him with a cane 
wiiich he retains as a souvenir of the donors, and of 
his labors in Congress. 

In 1847, Mr. McClelland was re-elected to Con- 
gress, and at the opening of the 3olh Congress be- 
came a member of the Committee on Fore gn Rela- 
tions. While acting in this capacity, what was known 
as the " French Spoliation Bill" came under his spe- 
cial charge, and his management of the same was such 
as to command universal approbation. While in 
Congress, Mr. McClelland was an advocate of the 
right of petition as maintained by John Q. Adams, 
when the petition, was clothed in decorous language 
and presented in the proper manner. This he re- 
garded as the citizens'constitutional right which should 
not be impaired by any doctrines of temporary expe- 
diency. He also voted for the adoption of Mr. Gid- 
dings's bill for the abolishing of slavery in the District 
of Columbia. Mr. McClelland was one of the few 
Democrats associated with David Wilmot, of Penn- 
sylvania, in bringing forward the celebrated "VVilmot 
Proviso," with a view to prevent further extension of 
slavery in new territory which might be acquired by 
the United States. He and Mr. Wilmot were to- 
gether at the rime in Washington, and on intimate 
and confidential terms, Mr, McClelland was in sev- 
eral National conventions and in the Baltimore con- 
vention, which nominated Gen. Cass for President, 
in 1848, doing valiant service that year for the elec- 
tion of that distinguished statesman. On leaving 
Congress, in 1848, Mr. McClelland returned to the 
practice of his profession at Monroe. In 1850 a 
convention of the State of Michigan was called to 
revise the State consritution. He was elected a 



^v 



member and was regarded therein as among the ablest 
and most experienced leaders. His clear judgment 
and wise moderation were conspicuous, both in the 
committee room and on the floor, m debate. In 1850, 
he was President of the Democratic State convention 
which adopted resolutions in supixjrt of Henry Clay's 
famous compromise measures, of which Mr, McClel- 
land was a strong advocate. He was a member of 
the Democratic National convention in 1852, and in 
that yearp in company with Gen Cass and Governor 
Felcii, he made a tliorough canvass of the State. 
He continued earnestly to advocate the Clay com- 
promise measures, and took an active part in the 
canvass which resulted in the election of Gen Pierce 
to the Presidency. 

In 185 r, the new State constitution took effect and 
it was necessary that a Governor should be elected 
for one year in order to prevent an interregnum, and 
to bring the State Government into operatic 1 under 
the new constitution, Mr, McClelland was elected 
Governor, and in the fall of 1852 was re-elected for 
a term of two years, from Jan. i, 1853. His admin- 
istration was regarded as wise, prudent and concilia- 
tory, and was as popular as could be expected at a 
time when party spirit ran high. There was really 
no opposition, and when he resigned, in March, 1853, 
the State Treasury was well filled, and the State 
otherwise prosperous. So widely and favorably had 
Mr. McClelland become known as a statesman that on 
the organization of thecabinet by President Pierce, in 
March, 1853, he was made Secretary of the Interior, in 
which capacity he served most creditably during four 
years of the Pierce administration, He thoroughly 
re-organized his department and reduced the expend- 
itures. He adopted a course with the Indians which 
relieved them from the impositions and annoyances 
of the traders, and produced harmony and civilization 
among them. During his administration there was . 
neither complaint from the tribes nor corruption among 
agents, and he left the department in perfect order 
and system In 1867, Michigan again called a con- 
vention to revise the State consritution. Mr. McClel- 
land was a member and here again his long experi- 
ence made him conspicuous as a prudent adviser, a 
sagacious parliamentary leader. As a lawyer he was 
terse and pointed in argument, clear, candid and im- 
pressive in his addresses to the jury. His sincerity 
and earnestness, with which was occasionally mingled 
a pleasant humor, made him an able and effective 
advocate. In speaking before the people on political 
subjects he was especially forcible and happy. In 
1870 ha made the tour of Europe, which, through his 
extensive personal acquaintance with European dip- 
lomates, he was enabled to enjoy much more than 
most travelers 

Mr. McClelland married, in 1S37, Miss Sarah 
E. Sabin, of Williamstown, Mass. They have had 
six children, two of whom now survive. 
_ ' •► 



QO VERNORS OF MICHTGAN. 



'33 i. 




.*. 



^^ 



^ ANDREW PARiONi, | 




\1)RE\V PARSONS, Gover- 
g) uur of Michigan from March 
^*S 1853 to Jan. 3, 1855, was 
lorn in the town of Hoosick, 
County of Rensselaer, and 
Stite of New York, on the 22d 
day ol July, 1817, and died June 
6 185 s, at the eady age of 38 
)eai-5 He was the son of John 
Parsons, born at Newburyport, 
jMt^s Oct. 2, 1782, and who was the 
bonof Andrew Parsons, a Revolutionary 
soldier, who was the son of Phineas 
Parsons, the son of Samuel Parsons, 
a descendant of Walter Parsons, born 
J in Ireland in 1290. 
Of this name and family, some one hundred and 
thirty years ago, Bishop Gilson remarked in his edi- 
tion of Camden's Britannia: "The honorable family 
of Parsons have been advanced to the dignity of 
Viscounts and more lately Earls of Ross." 

The following are descendants of these families : 
Sir John Parsons, born i48i,was Mayor of Hereford; 
Robert Parsons, born in 1546, lived near Bridgewater, 
England. He was educated at Ballial College, Ox- 
ford, and was a noted writer and defender of the 
Romish faith. He established an English College at 
Rome and another at Valladolia. Frances Parsons, 
born in 1556, was Vicar of Rothwell, in Notingham; 
Bartholomew Parsons, born in 1618, was another 
noted member of the family. In 1634, Thomas Parsons 
was knighted by Charles i. Joseph and Benjamin, 
brothers, were born in Great Torrington, England, 



and accompanied their father and others to New 
England about 1630. Samuel Parsons, born at Salis- 
bury, Mass., in 1707, graduated at Harvard College in 
1730, ordained at Rye, N. H., Nov. 3, 1736, married 
Mary Jones, daughter of Samuel Jones, of Boston, 
Oct. 9, 1739, died Jan. 4, 1789, at the age of 82, in 
the 53rd year of his ministry. The grandfather of Mary 
Jones was Capt. John Adams, of Boston, grandson 
of Henry, of Braintree, who was among the first set- 
tlers of MassachusL-tts, and from whom a numerous 
race of the name arc descended, including two Presi- 
dents of the United States. Tlie Parsons have be- 
come very numerous and are found throughout New 
England, and many of the descedants are scattered 
in all parts of the United States, and especially in 
the Middle and Western States. Governor Andrew 
Parsons came to Michigan in 1835, at the age of 17 
years, and spent the first summer at Lower Ann 
Arbor, where for a few months he taught school which 
lie was compelled to abandon from ill health 

He was one of the large number of men of sterling 
worth, who came from the East to Michigan when it 
was an infant State, or, even prior to its assuming 
the dignity of a State, and who, by their wisdom, 
enterprise and energy, have developed its wonderful 
natural resources, until to-day it ranks with the proud- 
est States of the Union. These brave men came to 
Michigan with nothing to aid them in the conquest 
of the wilderness save courageous hearts and strong 
and willing hands. They gloriously conquered, how- 
ever, and to them is due all honor for tlie labors 
so nobly performed, for the solid and sure foundation 
which they laid of, a great Commonwealth. 

^ 



V 



•tf--ifrM* 



134 



ANDREW PARSONS 



111 the fall of 1835, he explored the Grand River 
Valley in a frail canoe, the whole length of the river, 
from Jacivson to Lake Michigan, and spent the following 
winter as clerk in a store at Prairie Creek, in Ionia, 
County, and in the spring went to Marshall, where he 
resided with his brother, the Hon. Luke H. Parsons, 
also now deceased, until fall, when he went to Shia- 
wasseCounty,then with Clinton County, and an almost 
unbroken wilderness and constituting one organized 
township. In 1837 this territory was organized into 
a county and, at the age of only ig years, he (.\n- 
drew) was elected County Clerk. In 1840, he was 
elected Register of Deeds, re-elected in 1842, and 
also in 1844. In 1846, he was elected to the State 
Senate, was appointed Prosecuting Attorney in 1848, 
and elected Regent of the University in 185 r, and 
Lieutenant Governor, and became acting Governor, 
in 1853, elected again to the Legislature in 1854, and, 
overcome by debilitated health, hard labor and the 
resix)nsibilities of his office and cares of his business, 
retired to his farm, where he died soon after. 

He was a fluent and persuasive speaker and well 
calculated to make friends of his acquantances. He 
was always true to his trust, and the whole world 
could not persuade nor drive him to do what he con- 
ceived to be wrong. When Governor, a most power- 
ful railroad influence was brought to bear upon him, 
to induce him to call an extra session of the Legisla- 
ture. Meetings were held in all parts of the State 
for that purpose. In some sections the resolutions 
were of a laudatory nature, intending to make him do 
their bidding by resort to friendly and flattering words. 
In other places the resolutions were of a demanding 
nature, while in others they were threatening beyond 
measure. Fearing that all these influences might 
fail to induce him to call the extra session, a large 
sum of money was sent him, and liberal offers ten- 
dered him if he would gratify the railroad interest of 
the State and call the extra session, but, immovable, 
he returned the money and refused to receive 
any favors, whether from any party who would at- 
tempt to corrupt him by laudations, liberal offers, or 



by threats, and in a short letter to the people, after 
giving overwhelming reasons that no sensible man 
could dispute, showing the circumstances were not 
"extraordinary," he refused to call the extra session. 
This brought down the wrath of various parties upon 
his head, but they were soon forced to acknowledge 
the wisdom and the justice of his course. One of 
his greatest enemies said, after a long acquaintance : 
"though not always coinciding with his views I never 
doubted his honesty of purpose. He at all times 
sought to perform his duties in strict accordance, 
with the dictates of his conscience, and the behests 
of his oath." The following eulogium from a politcal op- 
ponent is just in its conception and creditable to its 
author: "Gov. Parsons was a politician of the Dem- 
ocratic school, a man of pure moral character, fixed 
and exemplary habits, and entirely blameless in every 
public and private relation of life. As a politician he 
was candid, frank and free from bitterness, as an ex- 
ecutive officer firm, constant and reliable." The 
highest commendations we can pay the deceased is 
to give his just record, — that of being an honest man. 
In the spring of 1S54, during the administration of 
Governor Parsons, the Republican party, at least 
as a State organization, was first formed in the United 
States " under the oaks " at Jackson, by anti-slavery 
men of both the old parties. Great excitement pre- 
vailed at this time, occasioned by the settling of 
Kansas, and the issue thereby brought up, whether 
slavery should exist there. For the purpose of permit- 
ting slavery there, the " Missouri compromise " (which 
limited slavery to the south of 36° 30') was re- 
repealed, under the leadership of Stephen A, Douglas. 
This was repealed l.)y a bill admitting Kansas and 
Nebraska into the Union, as Territories, and those who 
were opposed to this repeal measure were in short 
called "anti-Nebraska" men. The epithets, "Ne- 
braska" and "anti-Nebraska," were temporally em- 
ployed to designate the slavery and anti-slavery 
parties, pending the desolution of the old Democratic 
and Whig parties and the organization of the new 
Democratic and Republican parties of the present. 



GO VERNORS OF MICHIGAN. 




■■>1^/'V?3>«^- 



■-ri>i''i?^^i^(^c:,H^^^ 



KiNSLKY ©. BiNQHAM, 



tsa^^^^^ 





INSLEY S. BINGHAM, 
Governor of Michigan from 
1855 to 1859, and United 
States Senator, was born in 
^'faX^^^''''^^ Camillus, Onondaga County, 
1^' ^'"-J N. Y., Dec. 16, 1808. His 
nrniT - lather was a fanner, and his own 

early life was consequently de- 
s^ voted to agricultural pursuits, but 
)\ notwithstanding the disadvan- 
\^ tages related to the acquisition 
of knowledge in the life of a farmer 
he managed to secure a good aca- 
demic education in his native State 
and studied law in the office of 
Gen. James R. Lawrence, now of 
Syracuse, N. Y. In the spring of 
1833, he married an estimable lady 
who had recently arrived from Scot- 
land, and obeying the impulse of a 
naturally enterprising disposition, 
he emigrated to Michigan and 
purchased a new farm in company 
' with his brother-in-law, Mr. Robert 
Worden, in Green Oak, Livingston County. Here, on 
the border of civilization, buried in the primeval for- 
est, our late student commenced the arduous task of 
preparing a future home, clearing and fencing, put- 
ting up buildings, etc., at such a rate that the land 



chosen was soon reduced to a high state of cultivation. 

Becoming deservedly prominent, Mr. Bingham was 
elected to the office of Justice of the Peace and Post- 
master under the Territorial government, and was the 
first Probate Judge in the county. In the year 1836, 
when Michigan became a State, he was elected to the 
first Legislature. He was four times re-elected, and 
Speaker of the House of Rejiresentatives three years. 
In 1846 Ire was elected on the Democratic ticket, Rei> 
resentative to Congress, and was the only practical 
farmer in that body. He was never forgetful of the 
interest of agriculture, and was in particular opposed 
to the introduction of " Wood's Patent Cast Iron 
Plow " which he completely prevented. He was re- 
elected to Congress in 1848, during which time he 
strongly opposed th'e extension of slavery in the 
territory of the United States and was committed to 
and voted for the Wilmot Proviso. 

In 1854, at the first organization of the Republican 
party, in consequence of his record in Congress as a 
Free Soil Democrat, Mr. Bingham was nominated 
and elected Governor of the State, and re-elected in 
1856. Still faithful to the memory of his own former 
occupation, he did not forget the farmers during his 
administration, and among other profits of his zeal in 
their behalf, he became mainly instrumental in the 
establishment of the Agricultural College at Lansing. 

In 1859, Governor Bingham was elected Senator in 
Congress and took an active part in the stormy cam- 
paign in the election of Abraham Lincoln. He wit- 



^\ 



138 



KINSLEY S. BJNGItAM. 



nessed the commencement of the civil war while a 
member of the United States Senate. After a com- 
paratively short life of remarkable promise and pub- 
lic activity he was attacked with appoplexy and died 
suddenly at his residence, inCireen Oak, Oct. 5, 186:. 

The most noticable event in Governor Bingham's 
first term was the completion of the ship canal, at the 
Falls of St. Mary. In 1852, August 26, an act of 
Congress was approved, granting to the State of Mich- 
igan seven hundred and fifty thousand acres of land 
for the purpose of constructing a ship canal between 
Lakes Huron and Superior. In 1853, the Legislature 
accepted the grant, and provided lor the appointment 
of commissioners to select the donated lands, and to 
arrange for building the canal. A company of enter- 
prising men was formed, and a contract was entered 
into by which it was arranged that the canal should 
be finished in two years, and the work was pushed 
rapidly forward. Every article of consumption, ma- 
chinery, working implements and materials, timber 
for the gates, stones for the locks, as well as men and 
supplies, had to be transported to the site of the canal 
from Detroit, Cleveland, and other lake ports. The 
rapids which had to be surmounted have a fall of 
seventeen feet and are about one mile long. The 
length of the canal is less than one mile, its width one 
hundred feet, depth twelve feet and it has two locks 
of solid masonary. In May, 1855, the work was com- 
pleted, accepted by the commissioners, and formally 
delivered to the State authorities. 

The disbursements on account of the construction 
of the canal and selecting the lands amounted to one 
million of dollars ; while the lands which were as- 
signed to the company, and selected through the 
agency at the Sault, as well as certain lands in the 
Upper and Lower Peninsulas, filled to an acre the 
Government grant. The opening of the canal was 
an important event in the history of the improvement 
of the State. It was a valuable link in the chain of 
lake commerce, and particulady important to the 
interests of the Upper Peninsula. 

There were several educational, charitable and re- 
formatory institutions inaugurated and opened during 
Gov. Bingham's administrations. The Michigan Ag- 
ricultural College owes its establishment to a provision 
of the State Constitution of 1850. Article 13 says, 
" The Legislature shall, as soon as practicable, pro- 
vide for the establishment of an agricultural school." 
For the purpose of carying into practice this provision, 
legislation was commenced in 1855, and the act re- 
quired that the school should i)e within ten miles of 
Lansing, and that not more than $15 an acre should 
be paid for the farm and college grounds. The col- 
lege was opened to students in May, 1857, the first of 
existing argricultural colleges in the United States. 
Until the spring of 1 861, it was under the control 
of the State Board of Education; since that time it 
has been under the management of the State Board 



of Agriculture, which was created for that purpose. 

In its essential features, of combining study and 
labor, and of uniting general and professional studies 
in its course, the college has remained virtually un- 
changed from the first. It has a steady growth in 
number of students, in means of illustration and 
efficiency of instruction. 

The Agricultural College is three miles east of 
Lansing, comprising several fine buildings; and there 
are also very beautiful, substantial residences for tiie 
professors. There are also an extensive, well-filled 
green-house, a very large and well-equipped chemical 
laboratory, one of the most scientific apiaries in the 
United States, a general museum, a meseum of me- 
chanical inventions, another of vegetable products, 
extensive barns, piggeries, etc., etc., in fine trim for 
the purposes designed. The farm consists of 676 
acres, of which about 300 are under cultivation in a 
systematic rotation of crops. 

Adrian College was established by the Wesleyan 
Methodists in 1859, now under the control of the 
Methodist Church. The grounds contain about 20 
acres. There are four buildings, capable of accom- 
modating about 225 students. Attendance in 1875 
was 179; total number of graduates for previous year, 
121 ; ten professors and teachers are enj ployed. Ex- 
clusive of the endowment fund ($80,000), the assets 
of the institution, including grounds, buildings, furni- 
ture, apparatus, musical instruments, outlying lands, 
etc., amount to more than $137,000. 

Hillsdale College was established in 1S55 by the 
Free Baptists. The Michigan Central College, at 
Spring Arbor, was incorporated in 1845 It was kept 
in operation until it was merged into the present 
Hillsdale College. The site comprises 25 acres, 
beautifully situated on an eminence in the western 
part of the city of Hillsdale. The large and impos- 
ing building first erected was nearly destroyed by fire 
in 1874, and in its place five buildings of a more 
modern style have been erected. They are of brick, 
three stories with basement, arranged on three sides 
of a quadrangle. The size is, respectively, 80 by 80, 
48 by 72, 48 by 72, 80 by 60, 52 by 72, and they con- 
tain one-half more room than the original buildmg. 
The State Reform School. This was established 
at Lansing in 1855, in the northeastern portion of the 
city, as the House of Correction for Juvenile Of- 
fenders, having about it many of the features of a 
prison. In 1859 the name was changed to the State 
Reform School. The government and dicipline, have 
undergone many and radical changes, until all the 
prison features have been removed except those that 
remain in the walls of the original structure, and 
which remain only as monuments of instructive his- 
tory. No bolts, bars or guards are employed. The 
inmates are necessarily kept under the surveillance of 
officers, but the attempts at escape are much fewer 
than under the more rigid regime of former days. 



•►-■-4- 



^ '1 




o^^.je^ :k'-L^-<i^i^^c^-y-^ 



GO VERNORS OF MICHIGAN. 







v^^^ 





OSES WISNER. Governor of 
.Michigan from 1S59 to 1861, 
was bom in Springport, Cayu- 
ga Co., N Y., June 3, 1815. 
His early education was only 
'-^ what could he obtained at a 
_• I uinmoii school. Agricultural labor 
nid frugality of his parents gave 
1 hun a physical constitution of unus- 
Iv udl strength and endurance, which 
(was ever preserved by temperate hab- 
In 1837 he emigrated to Michi- 
gan and purchased a farm in Lapeer 
County It was new land and he at 
once set to work to clear it and plant 
crops. He labored diligently at his 
' task for two years, when he gave up 
the idea of being a farmer, and removed to Pontiac, 
Oakland Co. Here he commenced the study of law 
in the office of his brother, George W. Wisner, and 
Rufus Hosmer. In i8.|i he was admitted to the Ij.tr 
and established himself in his new vocation at the 
village of Lapeer. While there he was apppointed 
by Gov. Woodbridge Prosecuting Attorney for that 
county, in which capacity he acquitted himself well 
and gave promise of that eminence he afterward at- 
tained in the profession. He remained at Lapeerlnit 
a short time, removing to Pontiac, where he became 
a member of a firm and entered fully upon the 
practice. 

In politics he was like his talented brother, a Whig 
of the Henry Clay stamp, but with a decided anti- 
slav^rj- bias. His practice becoming extensive, he 



took little part in politics until after the election of 
Mr. Pierce to the Presidency in 1S52, when lie took an 
active part against slavery. As a lawyer he was a 
man of great ability, liut relied less upon mere book 
learning than upon his native good sense. Liberal 
and courteous, was he yet devoted to the interest of 
his client, and no facts escaped his attention or his 
memory which bore upon the case. He was no friend 
of trickery or artifice in conducting a case As an ad- 
vocate he had few equals. When fully aroused by the 
merits of his subject his eloquence was at once grace- 
ful and powerful. His fancies supplied the most 
original, the most [xsinted illustrations, and his logic 
became a battling giant under whose heavy blows the 
adversary shrank and withered. Nature had be- 
stowed upon him rare qualities, and his powers as a 
jxjpular orator were of a high order. 

On the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 
1854, repealing the Missouri compromise and opening 
the Territories to slavery, he was among the foremost 
in Michigan to denounce tlie shamful scheme. He 
actively participated in organizing and consolidating 
the elements opposed to it in that State, and was a 
member of the popular gathering at Jackson, in July, 
1854, wliich was the first formal Republican Conven- 
tion held in the United States. At this meeting the 
name " Republican " was adopted as a designation of 
the new party consisting of Anti-slavery, Whigs, 
Liberty men. Free Soil Democrats and all others op- 
posed to the extension of slavery and favorable to its 
expulsion from the Territories and the District of 
Columbia. At this convention Mr. W. was urged to 
accept the nomination for Attorney General of th? 



•►-»-4i 



•?^^ 



•►-Ih 



MOSES WISNER. 



r 



State, but declined. An entire State ticket was nom- 
inated and at the annual election in November was 
elected by an average majority of nearly 10,000. 
Mr. W. was enthusiastic in the cause and brought to 
its support all his personal influence and talents. In 
his views he was bold and radical. He believed from 
the beginning that the political power of the slave- 
holders would have to be overthrown before quiet 
could be secured to the country. In the Presidential 
canvass of 1856 he supported the Fremont, or Re- 
publican, ticket. At the session of the Legislature of 
1857 he was a candidate for United States Senator, 
and as such received a very handsome support. 

In 1858, he was nominated for Governor of tlie 
State by the Republican convention that met at De- 
troit, and at the subsequent November election was 
chosen by a very large majority. Before the day of 
the election he had addressed the people of almost 
every county and his majority was greater even than 
that of his popular predecessor, Hon. K. S. Bingham. 
He served as Governor two years, from Jan. 1, 1859, 
to Jan. I, 1861. His first message to the Legislature 
was an able and statesman-like production, and was 
read with usual favor. It showed that he was awake 
to all the interests of the State and set forth an en- 
lightened State policy, that had its view of the rapid 
settlement of our uncultivated lands and the devel- 
opment of our immense agricultural and mineral re- 
sources. It was a document that reflected the highest 
credit upon the author. 

His term having expired Jan. i, 1861, he returned 
to his home in Pontiac, and to the practice of his 
profession. There were those in the State who 
counselled the sending of delegates to the peace con- 
ference at Washington, but Mr. W. was opposed to all 
such temporizing expedients. His counsel was to 
send no delegate, but to prepare to fight. 

After Congress had met and passed the necessary 
legislation he resolved to take part in the war. In 
the spring and summer of 1862 he set to work to 
raise a regiment of infantry, chiefly in Oakland 
County, where he resided. His regiment, the 22d 
Michigan, was armed and equipped and ready to 
march in September, a regiment whose solid quali- 
ties were afterwards proven on many a bloody field. 
Col. W's. commission bore the date of Sept. 8, 1862. 
Before parting with his family he made his will. His 
regiment was sent to Kentucky and quartered at 



Camp Wallace. He had at the breaking out of the 
war turned his attention to military studies and be- 
came proficient in the ordinary rules and discipline. 
His entire attention was now devoted to his duties. 
His treatment of his men was kind, though his disci- 
pline was rigid. He possessed in an eminent degree 
the spirit of command, and had he lived he would 
no doubt have distinguished himself as a good 
officer. He was impatient of delay and chafed at 
being kept in Kentucky where there was so little 
prospect of getting at the enemy. But life in camp, 
so different from the one he had been leading, and 
his incessant labors, coupled with that impatience 
which was so natural and so general among the vol- 
unteers in the early part of the war, soon made their 
influence felt upon his health. He was seized with 
typhoid fever and removed to a private house near 
Lexington. Every care which 'medical skill or the 
liand of friendship could bestow was rendered him. 
In the delirious wanderings of his mind he was dis- 
ciplining his men and urging them to be prepared for 
an encounter with the enemy, enlarging upon the jus- 
tice of their cause and the necessity of their crush- 
ing the Rebellion. But the source of his most poig- 
nant gnei was the prospect of not being able to come 
to a hand-to-hand encounter with the "chivalry." 
He was proud of his regiment, and felt that if it could 
find the enemy it would cover itself with glory, — a 
distinction it afterward obtained, but not until Col \V. 
was no more. The malady baffled all medical treat- 
ment, and on the 5th day of Jan., 1863, he breathed 
his last. His remains were removed to Michigan and 
interred in the cemetery at Pontiac, where they rest 
by the side of the brave Gen. Richardson, who re- 
ceived his mortal wound at the batde of Antietam. 
Col. AV. was no adventurer, although he was doubtless 
ambitious of military renown and would have striven 
for it with characteristic energy. He went to the war 
to defend and uphold the principles he had so much 
at heart. Few men were more familiar than lie with 
the causes and the underlying principles that led to 
the contest. He left a wife, who was a daughter of 
Gen. C. C. Hascall, of Flint, and four children to 
mourn his loss. Toward them he ever showed the 
tenderest regard. Next to his duty their love and 
welfare engrossed his thoughts. He was kind, gen- 
erous and brave, and like thousands of others he 
sleeps the sleep of the martyr for his country. 



■^►-Il-^ 



•►^ll-4«- 



GOVERNORS OF MICHIGAN. 







AUSTIN BLAIR. 



^siTSJFs^^ -^ 



^J^^ 



'^ 




USTIN BLAIR, Governor 
-^- 1 W#-*V r-a°^ Michigan from Jan. 2, 
A . /i^\ ?f'86i, to Jan. 4, 1865, and 
kown as the War Governor, is 
and illustration of the benifi- 
cent influence of republican in- 
'^ stitutions, having inherited neith- 
er fortune nor fame. He was born 
m 1 log cabin at Caroline, Tomp- 
kins Co., N. Y., Feb. 8, iSiS. 
His ancestors came from Scot- 
land in the time of George I, and 
for many generations followed the 
pursuit of agriculture. His father, 
George Blair, settled in Tompkins 
County in iSog, and felled the trees and erected the 
first cabin in the county. The last 60 of the four- 
score years of his life were spent on that spot. He 
married Rhoda Beackman, who now sleeps with him 
in the soil of the old homestead. The first 17 years 
of Mr. Blair's life were spent there, rendering his 
father what aid he could upon the farm. He then 
spent a year and a half in Cazenovia Seminary ])re- 
paring for college; entered Hamilton College, in 
Clinton, prosecuted his studies until tlie middle of 
the junior year, when, attracted liy the fame of Dr. 
Nott, he changed to Union College, from which he 
graduated in the class of I S39. Upon leaving col- 
lege Mr. Blair read law two years in the office of Sweet 
& Davis, Oswego, N Y., and was admitted to practice 
in 1841, and th§ same year moved to Michigan, locat- 



ing in Jackson. During a temiwrary residence in 
Eaton Rapids, in 1842, he was elected Clerk of ?:alun 
County. At the close of the official term he returned to 
Jackson, and as a Whig, zealously espoused the cause 
of Henry Clay in the campaign of 1 844. He was chosen 
Representative to the Legislature in 1845, at which 
session, as a member of the Judiciary Committee, he 
rendered valuable service in the revision of the gen- 
eral statutes ; also made an able support in favor of 
abolishing the color distinction in relation to the elec- 
tive franchise, and at the same session was active in 
securing the abolition of capital punishment. In 1848 
Mr. Blair refused longer to affiliate with the Whig 
party, because of its refusial to endorse in convention 
any anti-slavery sentiment. He joined the Free-soil 
movement, and was a delegate to their convention 
which nominated Van Buren for President that year. 
Upon the birth of the Republican party at Jackson, 
in 1854, by the coalition of t!ie Whig and Free-soil 
elements, Mr. Blair was in full sympathy with the 
movement, and acted as a member of the Committee 
on Platform. He was elected Prosecuting Attorney 
of Jackson County in 1852; was chosen State Senator 
two years later, taking his seat with the incoming Re- 
publican administration of 1855, and holding the 
position of parliamentary leader in the Senate. He 
was a delegate to the National Convention which 
nominated Abraham Lincoln in i860. Mr. Blair 
was elected Governor of Michigan in i860, and re- 
elected in 1862, faithfully and honorably discharging 
the arduous duties of the office during that most mo- 



*^l-^ 



4- 



••► 



146 



A USTIN BLAIR. 



mentous and stormy period of the Nation's life. Gov. 
Blair possessed a clear comprehension of the perilous 
situation from the inception of the Rebellion, and his 
inaugural address foreshadowed the prompt executive 
policy and the administrative ability which charac- 
terized his gubernatorial career. 

Never perhaps in the history of a nation has a 
brighter example been laid down, or a greater sacri- 
fice been made, than that which distinguished Mich- 
igan during the civil war. All, from the " War Gov- 
ernor," down to the poorest citizen of the State, were 
animated with a patriotic ardor at once magnificiently 
sublime and wisely directed. 

Very early in 1861 tiie coming struggle cast its 
shadow over the Nation. Governor Blair, in his mes- 
sage to the Legislature in January of that year, dwelt 
very forcibly upon the sad prospects of civil war; and 
as forcibly pledged the .State to support the principles 
of the Republic. After a review of the conditions 
of the State, he passed on to a consideration of the 
relations between the free and slave States of the 
Republic, saying: " While we are citizens of the State 
of Michigan, and as such deeply devoted to her in- 
terests and honor, we have a still prouder title. We 
are also citizeas of the United States of America. By 
this title we are known among the nations of the earth. 
In remote quarters of the globe, where the names of 
the States are unknown, the flag of the great Republic, 
the banner of the stars and stripes, honor and protect 
her citizens. In whatever concerns the honor, the 
prosperity and the perpetuity of this great Govern- 
ment, we are deeply interested. The people of Mich- 
igan are loyal to that Government — faithful to its con- 
stitution and its laws. Under it they have had peace 
and prosperity; and under it they mean to abide to 
the end. Feeling a just pride in the glorious history 
of the past, they will not renounce the equally glo- 
rious hopes of the future. But they will rally around 
the standards of the Nation and defend its integrity 
and its constitution, with fidelity." The final para- 
graph being: 

" I recommend you at an early day to make mani- 



fest to the gentlemen who represent this State in the 
two Houses of Congress, and to the country, that 
Michigan is loyal to the Union, the Constitution, and 
the laws and will defend them to the uttermost; and 
to proffer to the President of the United States, the 
whole military power of the State for that purpose. 
Oh, for the firm, steady hand of a Washington, or a 
Jackson, to guide the ship of State in this perilous 
storm ! Let us hope that we will find him on the 4th 
of March. Meantime, let us abide in the faith of our 
fathers — ' Liberty and Union, one and inseparable, 
now and forever.' " 

How this stirring appeal was responded to by the 
people of Michigan will be seen by the statement 
that the State furnished 88,111 men during the war. 
Money, men, clothing and food were freely and abun- 
dantly supplied by this State during all these years of 
darkness and blood shed. No State won a brighter 
record for her devotion to our country than the Pen- 
insula State, and to Gov. Blair, more than to any 
other individual is due the credit for its untiring zeal 
and labors in the Nation's behalf, and for the heroism 
manifested in its defense. 

Gov. Blair was elected Representative to the 
Fortieth Congress, and twice re-elected, to the Forty- 
first and Forty-second Congress, from the Third Dis- 
trict of Michigan. While a member of that body he 
was a strong supporter of reconstruction measures, 
and sternly opposed every form of repudiation. His 
speech upon the national finances, delivered on the 
floor of the House March 2\, 1868, was a clear and 
convincing argument. Since his retirement from Con- 
gress, Mr. Blair has been busily occupied with his ex- 
tensive law practice. Mr. Blair married Sarah L. 
Ford, of Seneca County N. Y., in February, 1849. 
Their family consists of 4 sons — George H., a law 
partner of A. J. Gould ; Charles A., a law partner with 
hir father, and Fred. J. and Austin T. Blair, at home. 
Governor Blair's religion is of the broad type, and 
centers in the "Golden Rule." In 1883, Gov. Blair 
was nominated for Justice of the Supreme Court 
of the State by the Republican party, but was defeated. 





/y. 




u. 



GO VERNORS OF MICHIGAN. 




r 









M 



-fi® Ht 



ENRY ROWLAND CRAPO, 
Governor of Michigan from 
1865 to 1869, was born May 
24, 1804, at Dartmouth, Bris- 
tol Co., Mass., and died at 
Fhnt, Mich., July 22, 1S69. 
WIS the eldest son of Jesse 
and Phccbe (Howland) Crapo. 
Hib father was of French descent 
' and was very poor, sustaining his 
family by tlie cultivation of a farm in 
Dartmouth township, which yielded 
notlimg beyond a mere livelihood. 
His early life was consequently one 
of toil and devoid of advantages for 
intellectual culture, but his desire for 
an education seemed to know no bounds. The in- 
cessant toil for a mere subsistence upon a compara- 
tively sterile farm, had no charm for him ; and, longing 
for greater usefulness and better things, he looked for 
them in an education. His struggles to secure this 
end necessitated sacrifices and hardships that would 
have discouraged any but the most courageous and 
persevering. He became an ardent student and 
worker from his boyhood, though the means of carry- 
ing on his studies were exceedingly limited. He 
sorely felt the need of a dictionary, and, neither having 
money wherewith to purchase it, nor being able to 
procure one in his neighborhood, he set out to compile 
one for himself. In order to acquire a knowledge of 
the English language, he copied into a book every 
word whose meaning he did not comprehend, and 
upon meeting the same word again in the newspapers 
and books, which came into his hands, from the 



* and books 



context, would then record the definition. Whenever 
unable otherwise to obtain the signification of a word 
in which he had become interested he would walk 
from Dartmouth to New Bedford for that purpose 
alone, and after referring to the books at the library 
and satisfying himself thoroughly as to its definition, 
would walk back, a distance of about seven miles, 
the same night. This was no unusual circumstance. 
Under such difficulties and in this manner he com- 
piled quite an extensive dictionary in manuscript 
which is believed to be still in existence. 

Ever in pursuit of knowledge, he obtained posses- 
sion of a book upon surveying, and applying himself 
diligently to its study became familiar with this art, 
which he soon had an opportunity to practice. The 
services of a land surveyor were wanted, and he was 
called upon, but had no compass and no money with 
which to purchase one. A compass, however, he 
must and would have, and going to a blacksmith shop 
near at hand, upon the forge, with such tools as he 
could find in the shop, while the smith was at dinner, 
he constructed the compass and commenced life as a 
surveyor. Still continuing his studies, he fitted him- 
self for teaching, and took charge of the village school 
at Dartmouth. When, in the course of time and un- 
der the pressure of law, a high school was to be 
opened, he passed a successful examination for its 
principalship and received the appointment. To do 
this was no small task. The law re(|uired a rigid 
examination in various subjects, which necessitated 
days and nights of study. One evening, after con- 
cluding his day's labor of teaching, he traveled on foot 
to New Bedford, some seven or eight miles, called 
upon the preceptor of Friend's Academy and passed 



A 



HENRY ROWLAND CRAPO. 



4h^ 



a severe examination. Receiving a certificate that 
he was qualified, he wallced back to his home the 
same night, highly elated in being possessed of the 
acquirements and requirements of a master of the 
high school. 

In 1832, at the age of 28 years, he left his native 
town and went to reside at New Bedford, where he 
followed the occupation of land surveyor, and oc- 
casionally acted as an auctioneer. Soon after becom- 
ing a citizen of this place, he was elected Town Clerk, 
Treasurer, and Collector of ta.\es, which office he held 
until the municipal government was changed, — about 
fifteen years, — when, upon the inauguration of the city 
government, he was elected Treasurer and Collector 
of taxes, a position which he held two or three years. 
He was also Justice of the Peace for many years. 
He was elected Alderman of New Bedford ; was 
Chairman of Council Committee on Education, and 
as such prepared a report upon which was based the 
order for the establishment of the free Public Library 
of New Bedford. On its organization, Mr. Crapo was 
chosen a member of the Board of Trustees. This 
was the first free public library in Massachusetts, if 
not in the wodd. The Boston Free Library was es- 
tablished, however, soon afterwards. While a resident 
in New Bedford, he was much interested in horticul- 
ture, and to obtain the land necessary for carrying out 
his ideas he drained and reclaimed several acres of 
rocky and swampy land adjoining his garden. Here 
he started a nursery, which he filled with almost every 
description of fruit and ornamental trees, shrubs, 
flowers, etc. In this he was very successful and took 
great pride. He was a regular contributorto the New 
England Horticultural Journal, a position he filled 
as long as he lived in fi^assachusetts. As an indica- 
tion of the wide reputation he acquired in that field 
of labor, it may be mentioned that after his death an 
affecting eulogy to his memory was pronounced by the 
President of the National Horticultural Society at its 
meeting in Philadelphia, in 1869. During his resi- 
dence in New Bedford, Mr. Crapo was also engaged 
in the whaling business. A fine barque built at Dart- 
mouth, of which he was part owner, was named the 
"H. H. Crapo" in compliment to him. 

Mr. C. also took part in the State Militia, and for 
several years held a commission as Colonel of one of 
the regiments. He was President of the Bristol 
County Mutual Fire Insurance Co., and Secretary of 
the Bedford Commercial Insurance Company in New 
Bedford; and while an officer of the municipal gov- 
ernment he com piled and published, lietwcen the years 
1836 and rS45, five numbers of the New Bedford 
Directory, the first work of the kind ever published 
there. 

Mr. C. removed to Michigan in 1856, having been 
induced to do so by investments made principally in 
pine lands, first in 1837 and subsequently in 1856. 
He took up his residence in the city of Flini, and en- 



gaged largely in the manufacture and sale of lumber 
at Flint, Fentonville, Holly and Detroit, becoming 
one of the largest and most successful business men 
of the State. He was mainly instrumental in the 
construction of the Flint & Holly R. R., and was 
President of that corporation nniil its consolidation 
with the Flint & Pere Marquette R. R. Company. 
He was elected Mayor of that city after he had been 
a resident of the place only five cr six years. In 
1862 he was elected State Senator. In the fall of 
1864 he received the nomination on the Republican 
ticket for Governor of the State, and was elected by a 
large majority. He was re elected in 1866, holding 
the office two terms, and retiring in January, 1869, 
having given the greatest satisfaction to all parties. 

While serving his last term he was attacked with a 
disease which terminated his life within one year 
afterwards. During much of this time he was an in- 
tense sufferer, yet often while in great pain gave his 
attention to public matters. A few weeks previous 
to his death a successful surgical operation was per- 
formed which seemed rapidly to restore him, but he 
overestimated his strength, and by too much exertion 
in business matters and State affairs suffered a relapse 
from which there was no rebound, and he died July 
ZZ, 1869. ■ 

In the early part of his life. Gov. Crapo affiliated 
with the Whig party in politics, but became an active 
member of the Republican party after its organization. 
He was a member of the Christian (sometimes called 
the Disciples') Church, and took great interest in its 
welfare and prosperity. 

Mr. C. married, June 9, 1825, Mary A. Slocum, 
of Dartmouth. His marriage took place soon after 
he had attained his majority, and before his struggles 
with fortune had been rewarded with any great meas- 
ure of success. But his wife was a woman of great 
strength of character and possessed of courage, hope- 
fulness and devotion, qualities which sustained and 
encouraged her husband in the various pursuits of 
his early years. For several years after his marriage 
he was engaged in teaching school, his wife living 
with her parents at the time, at whose home his two 
older children were born. While thus situated he 
was accustomed to walk home on Saturday to sec 
his family, returning on Sunday in order to be ready 
for school Monday morning. As the walk for a good 
part of the time was 20 miles each way, it is evident 
that at that period of his life no common obstacles 
deterred him from performing what he regarded 
as a duty. His wife was none the less consci- 
entious in her sphere, and with added responsibilities 
and increasing requirements she labored faithfully 
in the jierfonnance of all her duties. They had 
ten children, one son and nine daughters. His son, 
Hon. Wm. W. Crapo, of New Bedford, is now an 
honored Representative to Congress from the First 
Congressional District of Massachusetts, 



r^rk^ 



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^ '^"'^ I 



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^!^J>^'t>t<i^ (^ <!^O^C;^U^.,^--Cu 



»>-lH* 



GO VKRNORS OF MICHIGAN. 



^w. 



#1| HBNM¥ P, BAIDWIN. \mm 




NRY P. BALDWIN, Gov- 
nor of Michigan from Jan. 
1869, to Jan. I, 1873, is a 
lineal descendant of Nathan- 
iel Baldwin, a Puritan, of Buck- 
inghamshire, England, who set- 
tled at Milford, Conn., in 1639. 
His father was John Baldwin, 
a graduate of Dartmouth Col- 
lege. He died at North Provi- 
dence, R. I., in 1826. His 
paternal grandfather was Rev. 
Moses Baldwin, a graduate of 
Princeton College, in 1757, and the 
first who received collegiate hon- 
ors at that ancient and honored institution. He died 
at Parma, Mass., in 1813, where for more than 50 
years he had been pastor of the Presbyterian Church. 
On his mother's side Governor B. is descended from 
Robert Williams, also a Puritan, who settled in Rox- 
bury, Mass., about 1638. His mother was a daughter 
of Rev. Nehemiah Williams, a graduate of Harvard 
College, who died at Brimfield, Mass., in 1796, where 
for 2r years he was pastor of the Congregationalist 
Church. The subject of this sketch was born at 
Coventry, R. I., Feb. 22, 1814. He received a New 
England common-school education until the age of 
12 years, when, both his parents having died, he be- 
came a clerk in a mercantile establishment. He re- 
mained there, employing his leisure hours in study, 
until 20 years of age. 

At this early period Mr. B. engaged in business on 
his own account. He made a visit to the West, in 
1837, which resulted in his removal to Detroit in the 
spring of 18158. Here he established a mercantile 
house which has been successfully conducted until 
the present time. Although he successfully conducted 



a large business, he has ever taken a deep interest in 
all tilings affecting the prosperity of the city and 
State of his adoption. He was for several years a 
Director and President of the Detroit Young Men's 
Society, an institution with a large library designed 
for the benefit of young men and citizens generally. 
An Episcopalian in religious belief, he has been 
prominent in home matters connected with that de- 
nomination. The large and flourishing parish of St. 
John, Detroit, originated with Governor Baldwin, who 
gave the lot on which the parish edifice stands, and 
also contributed the larger share of the cost of their 
erection. Governor B. was one of the foremost in 
the establishment of St. Luke's Hospital, and has 
always been a liberal contributor to moral and relig- 
ious enterprises whether connected with his own 
Church or not. There have been, in fact, but few- 
public and social improvements of Detroit during the 
past 40 years with which tlovernor B.'s name is not 
in some way connected. He was a director in the 
Michigan State Bank until the expiration of its char- 
ter, and has been President of the Second National 
Bank since its organization. 

In 1S60, Mr. Baldwin was elected to the State 
Senate, of Michigan ; during the years of iS6i-'2 he 
was made Chairman of the Finance Committee, a 
member of Committee on Banks and Incorporations, 
Chairman of the Select Joint Committee of the two 
Houses for the investigation of the Treasury Depart- 
ment and the official acts of the Treasurer, and of 
the letting of the contract for the improvement of 
Sault St. Marie Ship Canal. He was first elected 
Governor in 186S and was re-elected in 1870, serving 
from 1869 to 1872, inclusive. It is no undeserved 
eulogy to say that Governor B.'s happy faculty of es- 
timating the necessary means to an end — the knowing 
of how much effort or attention to bestow upon the 
thing in hand, has been the secret of the uniform 



T* 






-4^ 
If -J 



HENRY P. BALDWIN. 



A\^ 



success that has attended his efforts in all relations 
of life. The same industry and accuracy that dis- 
tinguished him prior to this term as Governor was 
manifest in his career as the chief magistrate of the 
State, and while his influence appears in all things 
with which he has had to do, it is more noticeable in 
the most prominent position to which he was called. 
With rare exceptions the important commendations 
of Governor B. received the sanction of the Legislat- 
ure. During his administration marked improve- 
ments were made in the charitable, penal and reforma- 
tory institutions of the State. The State Public School 
for dependent children was founded and a permanent 
commission for the supervision of the several State 
institutions. The initiatory steps toward building the 
Eastern Asylum for the Insane, the State House of 
Correction, and the establishment of the State Board 
of Health were recommended by Governor B. in his 
message of 1873. The new State Capitol also owes 
its origen to him. The appropriation for its erection 
was made upon his recommendation, and the contract 
for the entire work let under this administration. 
Governor B. also appointed the commissioners under 
whose faithful supervision the building was erected in 
a manner most satisfactory to the peoi)le of the State. 
He advised and earnestly urged at different times 
such amendments of the constitution ^s would per- 
mit a more equitable compensation to State officers 
and judges. The law of 1869, and prior also, permitting 
municipalities to vote aid toward the construc- 
tion of railroads was, in 1870, declared unconstitu- 
tional by the Supreme Court. Many of the munici- 
palities having in the meantime issued and sold their 
bonds in good faith, Governor B. felt that the honor 
and credit of the State were in jeopardy. His sense 
of justice impelled him to call an e.\tra session of the 
Legislature to propose the submission to the people a 
constitutional amendment, authorizing the payment 
of such bonds as were already in the hands of hona- 
fidc holders. In his special message he says : "The 
credit of no State stands higher than that of Michigan, 
and the people can not afford, and I trust will not 
consent, to have her good name tarnished by the repu- 
diation of either legal or moral obligations." A spe- 
cial session was called in March, 1872, principally for 
the division of the State into congressional districts. 
A number of other important suggestions were made, 
however, and as an evidence of the Governor's la- 
borious and thoughtful care for the financial condition 



of the State, a series of tables was prepared and sub- 
mitted by him showing, in detail, estimates of receipts, 
expenditures and appropriations for the years 1872 to 
1878, inclusive. Memorable of Governor B.'s admin- 
istration were the devastating fires which swept over 
many portions of the Northwest in the fall of 187 i. 
A large part of the city of Chicago having been re- 
duced to ashes. Governor B. promptly issued a proc- 
lamation calling upon the people of Michigan for 
liberal aid in behalf of the afflicted city. Scarcely had 
this been issued when several counties in his State 
were laid waste by the same destroying element. 
A second call was made asking assistance for the suf- 
fering people of Michigan. The contributions for 
these objects were prompt and most liberal, more than 
$700,000 having been received in money and supplies 
for the relief of Michigan alone. So ample were 
these contributions during the short period of about 
3 months, that the Governor issued a proclamation 
expressing in behalf of the people of tlie State grate- 
ful acknowldgment, and announcing that further 
aid was unnecessary. 

Governor B. has traveled extensively in his own 
country and has also made several visits to Europe 
and other portions of the Old World. He was a pas- 
senger on the Steamer Arill, which was captured and 
bonded in the Carribean Sea, in December, 1862, by 
Capt. Semraes, and wrote a full and interesting ac- 
count of the transaction. The following estimate of 
Governor B. on his retirement from office, by a leading 
newspaper, is not overdrawn: "The retiring message 
of Governor B., will be read with interest. It is 
a characteristic document and possespes the lucid 
statement, strong, and clear pracrical sense, which 
have been marked features of all preceding documents 
from the same source. Governor B. retired to private 
life after four years of unusually successful adminis- 
tration amid plaudits that are universal throughout the 
State. For many years eminent and capable men 
have filled the executive chair of this State, but in 
painstaking vigilance, in stern good sense, in genuine 
public spirit, in thorough integrity and in practical 
capacity, Henry P. Baldwm has shown himself to be 
the peer of any or all of them. The State has been un- 
usually prosperous during his two terms, and the State 
administration has fully kept pace with the needs of 
the times. The retiring Governor has fully earned 
the public gratitude and confidence which he to-day 
possesses to such remarkable degree. ' 



■•►HI- 





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a 



■4•- 



GOVERNORS OF MICHIGAN. 



-•►-■-4« 




Mmmn J, BAeiEi 








M/-<S) 



I OHN JUDSON BAGLEY, 
' ( . )vernor of Michigan from 
1 1^7 3 to 1877, was born in 

j Medina, Orleans Co., N. Y., 
1 ilv 24, 1832. His father, John 



Lagley, was a native of New 



! 



Hampshire, his mother, Mary M. 
Bagle}, of Connecticut. He at- 
tended the district school of Lock- 
ix)rt, N Y., until he was eight years 
old xt which time his father moved 
to Const mtine, Mich., and he at- 
tended the common schools of that 
village His early experience was 
like that of many country boys whose 
parents removed from Eastern States 
to the newer portion of the West. 
His father being in very poor circum- 
stances, Mr. B. was obliged to work 
as soon as he was able to do so. 
Leaving school when 13 years of age 
he entered a country store in Constan- 
tine as clerk. His father then re- 
moved toOwosso, Mich.,andhe again 
engaged as clerk in a store. From 
early youth Mr. B. was extravagantly fond of reading 
and devoted every leisure moment to tlie perusal of 
such books, papers and periodicals as came within 
his reach. In 1847, he removed to Detroit, where he 
secured employment in a tobacco nfanufactory and 
remained in this position for about five years. 

In 1853, he began business for himself in the man- 
ufacturing of tobacco. His establishment has become 



one of the largest of the kind in the West. Mr. B. 
has also been greatly interested in other manufactur- 
ing enterprises, as well as in mining, banking and in- 
surance corporations. He was President of the 
Detroit Safe Company for several years. He was one 
of the organizers of the Michigan Mutual Life Insur- 
ance Company of Detroit, and was its President from 
1867 to 1872. He was a director of the Amer- 
ican National Bank for many years, and a stock- 
holder and director in various other corporations. 
Mr. B. was a member of the Board of Education two 
years, and of the Detroit Common Council the same 
length of time. In 1S65 he was appointed by Gover- 
nor Crapo one of the first commissioners of the 
Metropolitian police force of the city of Detroit, serv- 
ing six years. In November, 1872, he was elected 
Governor of Michigan, and two years later was re- 
elected to the same office, retiring in January, 1877. 
He was an active worker in the Republican party, and 
for many years was Cliairman of tiie Re|3ublican 
State Central committee. 

Governor Bagley was quite liberal in his religious 
views and was an attendant of the Unitarian Church. 
He aimed to be able to hear and consider any new 
thought, from whatever source it may come, but was not 
bound by any religious creed or formula. He held 
in respect all religious opinions, believing that no one 
can be injured by a firm adherence to a faith or de- 
nomination. He was married at Dubuque, Iowa, Jan. 
16, 1855, to Frances E. Newberry, daughter of Rev. 
Samuel Newberry, a pioneer missionary of Michigan, 
who took an active part in the early educational mat- 
ters of the State and in the establishment of its ex- 
cellent'^' system of education. It was principally 



•► 



4 



'S8 



John J. bagley. 



t^.rough his exertions that the State University was 
founded. Mr. B.'s family consists of seven children. 
As Governor his administration was charac- 
terized by several important features, chief among 
which were his efforts to improve and make popular 
the educational agencies of the State by increasing 
the faculty of the University for more thorough in- 
struction in technical studies,by strengthening the hold 
of the Agricultural College upon the public good will 
and making the general change which has manifested 
itself in many scattered primary districts. Among 
others were an almost complete revolution in the 
management of the penal and charitable institutions 
of the State; the passage of the liquor-tax law, taking 
the place of the dead letter of prohibition; the estab- 
lishing of the system of dealing with juvenile offend- 
ers through county agents, which has proved of great 
good in turning the young back from crime and plac- 
ing the State in the attitude of a moral agent ; in se- 
curing for the militia the first time in the history of 
Michigan a systematized organization upon a service- 
able footing. It was upon the suggestion of Gov. B. 
in the earlier part of his administration that the law 
creating the State Board of Health, and also the law 
creating a fish commission in the inland waters of the 
State, were passed, both of which have proved of great 
benefit to the State. The successful representation 
of Michigan at the Centennial Exhibition is also an 
honorable part of the record of Gov. B.'s adminis- 
tration. 

As Governor, he felt that he represented the State 
— not in a narrow, egotistical way, but in the same 
sense that a faithful, trusted, confidential agent rep- 
resents his employer, and as the Executive of the 
State he was her " attorney in fact." And his intelli- 
gent, thoughtful care will long continue the pride of 
the people he so much loved. He was ambitious — 
ambitious for place and power, as every noble mind 
is ambitious, because these give opportunity. How- 
ever strong the mind and powerful the will, if there 
be no ambition, life is a failure. He was not blind to 
the fact that the more we have the more is required 
of us. He accepted it in its fullest meaning. He 
had great hopes for his State and his country. He had 
his ideas of what they should be. With a heart as 
broad as humanity itself; with an intelligent, able and 
cultured brain, the will and the power to do, he 
asked his fellow citizen to give him the opportunity to 

^ . labor for them. Self entered not into the calculation. 

Hh-^ 



His whole life was a battle for others ; and he entered 
the conflict eagerly and hopefully. 

His State papers were models of compact, busi- 
ness-like statements, bold, original, and brimful of 
practical suggestions, and his administrations will long 
be considered as among the ablest in this or any 
other State. 

His noble, generous nature made his innumerable 
benefactions a source of continuous pleasure. Liter- 
ally, to him it was " more blessed to give than to 
receive." 

His greatest enjoyment was in witnessing the com- 
fort and happiness of others. Not a tithe of his char- 
ities were known to his most intimate friends, or even 
to his family. Many a needy one has been the recipi- 
ent of aid at an opportune moment, who never knew 
the hand that gave. 

At one time a friend had witnessed his ready re- 
sponse to some charitable request, and said to him : 
"Governor, you give away a large sum of money ; about 
how much does your charities amount to in a year.'" 
He turned at once and said: " I do not know, sir; I 
do not allow myself to know. I hope I gave more 
this year than I did last, and hope I shall give more 
next year than I have this." This expressed his idea 
of charity, that the giving should at all times be free 
and spontaneous. 

During his leasure hours from early life, and espe- 
cially during the last few years, he devoted much time 
to becoming acquainted with the best authors. Biog- 
ra]jhy was his delight; the last he read was the "Life 
and Woik of John Adams," in ten volumes. 

\n all questions of business or public affairs he 
seemed to have the power of getting at the kernel of 
the nut in the least possible time. In reading he 
would spend scarcely more time with a volume than 
most persons would devote to a chapter. After what 
seemed a cursory glance, he would have all of value 
the book contained. Rarely do we see a business 
man so familiar with the best English authors. He 
was a generous and intelligent patron of the arts, and 
his elegant home w.as a study and a pleasure 
to his many friends, who always found there a 
hearty welcome. At Christmas time he would spend 
days doing the \Vork of Santa Claus. Every Christmas 
eve he gathered his children about him and, taking 
I he youngest on his lap, told some Christmas story, 
closing the entertainment with "The Night Before 
Christmas," or Dickens's "Christmas Carol." 



►H*^ 



f^ 



GOVERNORS OF MICHIGAN. 



r6i V 



.^Mm CHARLES M. ( ROSWELL. 



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HARLES M. CROSWELL, 

(Governor of Michigan from 
,' [an 3, 1877 to Jan. i, 1881, 
f was born at Newburg, Orange 
-'-' Count}, N. Y., Oct. 31, 1825. 
lie IS the only son of John and 
Sxlhe (Hicks) Croswell. His 
I father, who was of Scotcli-Irish 
I extraction, was a paper-maker, 
Jl and carried on business in New 
iL York City. His ancestors on 
his mother's side were of Knicker- 
bockei descent. The Croswell 
family may be found connected 
with prominent events, in New York 
and Connecticut, in tlie early exis- 
tence of the Republic. Harry Cros- 
well, during the administration of 
President Jefferson, published a pa- 
per called the Balance, and was 
^(j^ prosecuted for Hbeling the President 
{¥M. under the obnoxious Sedition Law. 
^(ly He was defended by the celebrated 
I Alexander Hamilton, and the decis- 
iof. ){ the case establised the important ruling that 
the truth might be shown in cases of libel. Another 
member of the family was Edwin Croswell, the fam- 
ous editor of the Albany Argus j also, Rev. William 
Croswell, noted as a divine and poet. 

When Charles M. Croswell was seven years of age, 
his father was accidentally drowned in the Hudson 
River, at Newburg ; and, within three months preced- 
ing that event, his mother and only sister had died, — 
thus leaving him the sole surviving member of the 
family, without fortune or means. Upon the death 



of his father he went to live witli an uncle, who, in 
1837, emigrated with him to Adrain, Michigan. At 
sixteen years of age, he commenced to learn the car- 
penter's trade, and worked at it very diligently for 
four years, maintaining liimself, and devoting his spare 
time to reading and the acquirement of knowledge. 
In 1846, he began the study of law, and was ap- 
pointed Deputy Clerk of Lenawee County. The du- 
ties of this office he performed four years, when he 
was elected Register of Deeds, and was re-elected 
in 1852. In 1854, he took part in the first movements 
for the formation of the Republican party, and was a 
member and Secretary of the convetion held at Jack- 
son in that year, which put in the field the first Re- 
publican State ticket in Michigan. In 1855, he 
lormed a law partnership with the present Chief- Jus- 
tice Cooley, which continued until the removal of 
Judge Cooley to Ann Arbor. 

In 1862, Mr. Croswell was appointed City Attorney 
of Adrian. He was also elected Mayor of tlie city 
in the spring of the same year; and in the fall was 
chosen to represent Lenawee County in the State 
Senate. He was re-elected to the Senate in 1864, 
and again in 1866, during each term filling the posi- 
tions above mentioned. Among various reports made 
by him, one adverse to the re-establishment of the 
death penalty, and another against a proposition to 
pay the salaries of State officers and judges in coin, 
which then commanded a very large premium, may 
be mentioned. He also drafted the act ratifying the 
Thirteenth Amendment to the Federal Constitution, 
for the abolishment of slavery, it being the first 
amendment to the instrument ratified by Michigan. 
In 1863, from his seat in the State Senate, he de- 
livered an elaborate speech in favor of the Proclama- 

A^ 



•4^ 



•►Hi- 



CHARLES M. CRO SWELL. 



tion of Emancipation issued by President Lincoln, 
and of his general jwlicy in the prosecution of the 
war. This, at the request of his Republican associ- 
ates, was afterwards published. In 1867, he was 
elected a member of the Constitutional Convention, 
and chosen its presiding officer. This convention 
was composed of an able body of men ; and though, 
in the general distrust of constitutional changes 
which for some years had been taking possession of 
the people, their labors were not accepted by the pop- 
ular vote, it was always conceded that the constitu- 
tion they proposed had been prepared with great care 
and skill. 

In 1868, Mr. Croswell was chosen an Elector on 
the Republican Presidential ticket; in 1872, was 
elected a Representative to the State Legislature 
from Lenawee County, and was chosen Speaker of 
the House of Representatives. At the close of the 
session of that body his abilities as a parliamentarian, 
and the fairness of his rulings were freely and fonn- 
ally acknowledged by his associates ; and he was pre- 
sented with a superb collection of their portraits 
handsomely framed. He was, also, for several years. 
Secretary of the State Board for the general supervis- 
ion of the charitable and penal institutions of Michi- 
gan ; in which position, his propositions for the amel- 
ioration of the condition of the unfortunate, and the 
reformation of the criminal classes, signalize the be- 
nevolence of his nature, and the practical character 
of his mind. 

In 1876, the general voice of the Republicans of 
the State indicted Mr. Croswell as their choice for 
Governor; and, at the State Convention of the party 
in August of the same year, he was put in nomination 
by acclamation, without the formality of a ballot. At 
the election in November following, he was chosen to 
the high position for which he had been nominated, 
by a ver)' large majority over all opposing candidates. 
His inaugural message was received with general 
favor ; and his career as Governor was marked with 
the same qualiries of head and heart that have ever 
distinguished him, both as a citizen and statesman. 



Governor Groswell has always prepared his ad- 
dresses with care ; and, as his diction is terse, clear, 
and strong, wthout excess of ornament, and his de- 
liver)- impressive, he is a popular speaker; and many 
of his speeches have attracted favorable comment in 
the public prints, and have a permanent value. He 
has always manifested a deep interest in educational 
matters, and was foryears a member and Secretar)' of 
the Board of Education of Adrain. At the formal 
opening of the Central School building in that city, 
on the 24th day of April, 1869, he gave, in a public 
address, an " Historical Sketch of the Adrian Public 
Schools." 

In his private life, Governor Croswell has been as 
exemplar)' as in his public career he has been suc- 
cessful and useful. In February, 1852, he was mar- 
ried to a daughter of Morton Eddy, Lucy M. Eddy, 
a lady of many amiable and sunny qualiries. She 
suddenly died, March 19, 1868, leaving two daugh- 
ters and a son. Governor Croswell is not a member 
of any religious body, but generally attends the Pres- 
byterian Church. He pursues the profession of law, 
but of late has been occupied mainly in the care of his 
own interests, and the quiet duties of advice in 
business difficulties, for which his unfailing pru- 
dence and sound judgment eminently fit him. Gov- 
ernor Croswell is truly popular, not only with those of 
like pxalitical faith with himself, but with those who 
differ from him in this regard. 

During Gov. Croswell's administration the public 
debt was greatly reduced ; a policy adopted requiring 
the State insritutions to keep within the limit of ap- 
propriations ; laws enacted to provide more effectually 
for the punishment of corruption and bribrer)' in elec- 
rions; the State House of Correction at Ionia and the 
Eastern Asylum for the Insane at Pontiac were opened, 
and the new capital at Lansing was completed and 
occupied. The first act of his second term was to pre- 
side at the dedication of this building. The great riot 
at Jackson occured during his administration, and it 
was only bv his promptness that great distruction of 
both life and property was prevented at that time. 



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GO VERNORS OF MICHIGAN. 



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DAVID H. JEROME, Gover- 
«nor of from Jan. i, 1881, to 
Jan I, 1883, was born at De- 
tioit, Mich,, Nov. 17, 1829. 
Hib parents emigrated to 
Michigan from Trumansburg, 
Tompkms Co., N. Y., in 1828, 
locating at Detroit. His father 
died March 30, 1831, leaving 
nine children. He had been 
twice married, and four of the 
children living at the time of his 
death were grown up sons, the off- 
spring of his first union. Of the 
five children by his second marriage, David H. was 
the youngest. Shortly after Mr. Jerome's death, his 
widow moved back to New York and settled in 
Onondaga County near Syracuse, where they remained 
until the fall of 1834, the four sons by the first wife 
continuing their residence in Michigan. In the fall 
of 1834, Mrs. Jerome came once more to Michigan, 
locating on a farm in St. Clair County. Here the 
Governor formed those habits of industry and ster- 
ling integrity that have been so characteristic of the 
man in the active duties of life. He was sent to the 
district school, and in the acquisition of the funda- 
mental branches of learning he displayed a precocity 
and an application which won for him the admiration 
of his teachers, and always placed him at the head 
of his classes. In the meantime he did chores on 
the farm, and was always ready with a cheerful heart 
and willing hand to assist his widowed mother. The 
heavy labor of the farm was carried on by his two 

-^* 



older brothers, Timothy and George, and when 13 
years of age David received his mother's permission to 
attend school at the St. Clair Academy. While attend- 
ing there he lived with Marcus H. Miles, now de- 
ceased, doing chores for his board, and the following 
winter performed the same service for James Ogden, 
also deceased. The next summer Mrs. Jerome 
moved into the village of St. Clair, for the purpose of 
continuing her son in school. While attending said 
academy one of his associate students was Sena- 
tor Thomas W. Palmer, of Detroit, a rival candidate 
before the gubernatorial convention in 1880. He 
completed his education in the fall of his i6th year, 
and the following winter assisted his brother Timothy 
in hauling logs in the pine woods. The next summer 
he rafted logs down the St. Clair River to Algonac. 

In iS47,M. H. Miles being Clerk in St. Clair Coun- 
ty, and Volney A. Ripley Register of Deeds, David 
H. Jerome was appointed Deputy to each, remaining 
as such during i848-'49, and receiving much praise 
from his employers and the people in general for the 
ability displayed in the discharge of his duties. He 
spent his summer vacation at clerical work on board 
the lake vessels. 

In 1849- '50, he abandoned office work, and for the 
proper development of his physical system spent 
several months hauling logs. In the spring of 1850, 
his brother " Tiff " and himself chartered the steamer 
"Chautauqua," and "Young Dave" became her mas- 
ter. A portion of the season the boat was engaged 
in the passenger and freight traffic between Port 
Huron and Detroit, but during the latter part was 
used as a tow boat. At that time there was a serious 
obstruction to navigation, known as the "St. Clair 
Flats," between Lakes Huron and Erie, over which 



-^11 



[66 



DA VID H. JERdM&. 



vessels could carry only about 10,000 bushels of grain. 
Mr. Jerome conceived the idea of towing vessels 
from one lake to the other, and put his plan into 
operation. Through the influence of practical men, — 
among them the subject of this sketch, — Congress 
removed the obstruction above referred to, and now 
vessels can pass them laden with 60,000 or 80,000 
bushels of grain. 

During the season, the two brothers succeeded 
in making a neat little sum of money by the sum- 
mer's work, but subsequently lost it all on a contract 
lo raise the "Gen. Scott," a vessel that had sunk in 
Lake St. Clair. David H. came out free from debt, 
but possessed of hardly a dollar of capital. In the 
spring of 1851, he was clerk and acting master of the 
steamers "Franklin Moore" and "Ruby," plying be- 
tween Detroit and Port Huron and Goderich. The 
following year he was clerk of the propeller "Prince- 
ton," running between Detroit and Buffalo. 

In January, 1853, Mr. Jerome went to California, 
by way of the Isthmus, and enjoyed extraordinary 
success in selling goods in a new place of his selec- 
tion, among the mountains near Marysville He re- 
mained there during the summer, and located the 
Live Yankee Tunnel Mine, which has since yielded 
millions to its owners, and is still a paying investment. 
He planned and put a tunnel 600 feet into the mine, 
but when the water supply began to fail with the dry 
season, sold out his interest. He left in the fall of 
1853, and in December sailed from San Francisco for 
New York, arriving at his home in St. Clair County, 
about a year after his departure. During his absence 
his brother "Tiff" had located at Saginaw, ana in 
1854 Mr. Jerome joined him in his lumber operations 
in the valley. In 1855 the brothers bought Black- 
mer cS: Eaton's hardware and general supply stores, 
at Saginaw, and David H. assvimed the management 
of the business. From 1855 to 1873 he was also ex- 
tensively engaged in lumbering operations. 

Soon after locating at Saginaw he was nominated 
for Alderman against Stewart B. Williams, a rising 
young man, of strong Democratic principles. The 
ward was largely Democratic, but Mr. Jerome was 
elected by a handsome majority. When the Repub- 
iican party was born at Jackson, Mich., David H. 
Jerome was, though not a delegate to the convention, 
one of its "charter members." In 1862, he was com- 
missioned by Gov. Austin Blair to raise one of the 

-4« '. 



six regiments apportioned to the State of Michigan. 
Mr. Jerome immediately went to work and held 
meetings at various points. The zeal and enthusiasm 
displayed by this advocate of the Union awakened a 
feeling of patriotic interest in the breasts of many 
brave men, and in a short space of time the 23d 
Regiment of Michigan Volunteer Infantry was placed 
in the field, and subsequently gained for itself a bril- 
liant record. 

In the fall of 1862, Mr. Jerome was nominated by 
the Republican party for State Senator from the 26th 
district, Appleton Stevens, of Bay City, being his op- 
ponent. The contest was very exciting, and resulted 
in the triumphant election of Mr. Jerome. He was 
twice renominated and elected both times by in- 
creased majorities, defeating George Lord, of Bay 
City, and Dr. Cheseman, of Gratiot County. On tak- 
ing his seat in the Senate, he was appointed Chair- 
man of the Committee on State Affairs, and was ac- 
tive in raising means and troops to carry on the war. 
He held the same position during his three terms of 
service, and introduced the bill creating the Soldiers' 
Home at Harper Hospital, Detroit. 

He was selected by Gov. Crapo as a military aid, 
and in 1865 was appointed a member of the State 
Military Board, and served as its President for eight 
consecutive years. In 1873, he was appointed by 
Gov. Bagley a member of the convention to prepare 
a new State Constitution, and was Chairman of the 
Committee on Finance. 

In 1875, Mr. Jerome was appointed a member of 
the Board of Indian Commissioners. In IS76 he was 
Chairman of a commission to visit Chief Joseph, the 
Nez Perce Indian, to arrange an amicable settlement 
of all existing difficulties. The commission went to 
Portland, Oregon, thence to the Blue Hills, in Idaho, 
a distance of 600 miles up the Columbia River. 

At the Republican State Convention, convened at 
Jackson in August, 1880, Mr. Jerome was placed in 
the field for nomination, and on the 5th day of the 
month received the highest honor the convention 
could confer on any one. His opponent was Freder- 
ick M. Holloway, of Hillsdale County, who was sup- 
ported by the Democratic and Greenback parties. 
The State was thoroughly canvassed by both parties, 
and when the polls were closed on tlie evening of 
election day, it was found that David H. Jerome had 
been selected by the voters of the Wolverine State to 
occupy the highest position within their gift. 

v^ 



1 







^7-5^(^<3^^'^^^'^52^^i^'-<^ 



•►-lh-4^ 



GOVERNORS OF MICHIGAN 



169 




JOSIAH W. HE(;()LE\, 









OblAH \V. BEGOLE, the 

present (1883), dovernor of 
Michigan was born in Living- 
ston, County, N. Y., Jan. 20, 
J 18 15. His ancestors were of 
French descent, and settled at 
an early period in the State of 
l^i't^in Matyland. Hisgrandfather,Capt. 
?^^^f Bolles, of that State, was an offi- 
'Ifl^'JJ '-'^'' '" ''''^ American army during 
the war of the Revolution. About 
the beginning of the present cent- 
uiy both his grandparents, having 
)tLome dissatisfied witji the insli- 
|i tution of slavery, althougli slave- 
holders themselves, emigrated to 
Livingston County, N. Y., then 
1 new country, taking with them a 
J Q number of their former slaves, who 
volunteered to accompany them. 
His father was an officer in the 
Vmerican army, and served during 
the war of 1S12. 
Mr. B. received his early education in a log school- 
house, and subsequently attended the Temple Hill 
.\cademy, at Geneseo, N. Y. Being the eldest of a 
family of ten children, whose parents were in moder- 
ate though comfortable circumstances, he was early 
taught habits of industry, and when 21 years of age, 
being ambitious to better his condition in life, he re- 
solved to seek his fortune in the far West, as it was 



then called. In August, 1836, he left the parental 
roof to seek a home in the Territory of Michigan^ 
then an almost unbroken wilderness. He settled in 
Genesee County, and aided with his own hands in 
building some of the early residences in what is now 
known as the city of Flint. There were but four or 
five houses where this flourishing city now stands 
when he selected it as his home. 

In the spring of 1839 he married Miss Harriet A. 
Miles. The marriage proved a most fortunate one, 
and to the faithful wife of his youth, who lives to en- 
joy with him the comforts of an honestly earned com- 
petence, Mr. Begole ascribes largely his success in 
life. Immediately after his marriage he commenced 
work on an unimproved farm, where, by his perse- 
verance and energy, he soon established a good home, 
and at the end of eighteen years was the owner of a 
well improved farm of five hundred acres. 

Mr. Begole being an anti-slavery man, became a 
member of the Republican party at its organization. 
He served his townsmen in various offices, and was 
in 1856, elected County Treasurer, which office he 
held for eight years. 

At the breaking out of the Rebellion he did not 
carry a musket to the front, but his many friends will 
bear witness that he took an active part in recruiting 
and furnishing supplies for the army, and in looking 
after the interests of soldiers' families at home. The 
death of his eldest son near Atlanta, Ga., by a Confed- 
rate bullet, in 1864, was the greatest sorrow of his life. 
When a few years later he was a member in Congress 



■•►Hl-^ 



!i. 170 



JOSIAH W. BEGOLE. 



Gov. Begole voted and worked for the soldiers' 
bounty equalization bill, an act doing justice to the 
soldier who bore the burden and heat of the day, and 
who should fare equally with him who came in at the 
eleventh hour. That bill was defeated in the House 
on account of the large appropriation that would be 
required to pay the same. 

In 1870, Gov. Begole was nominated by acclama- 
tion for the office of .State Senator, and elected by a 
large majority. In that body he served on the Com- 
mittees of Finance and Railroads, and was Chairman 
of the Committee on the Institute for the Deaf and 
Dumb and Blind. He took a liberal and public- 
spirited view of the importance of a new capitol 
building worthy of the State, and was an active mem- 
ber of the Committee that drafted the bill for the 
same. He was a delegate to the National Republi- 
can Convention held at Philadelphia in 1872, and 
was the chosen member of that delegation to go to 
Washington and inform Gen. Grant and Senator 
Wilson of their nominations. It was while at that 
convention that, by the express wish of his many 
friends, he was induced to offer himself a can- 
didate for the nomination of member to the 43d Con- 
gress, in which he was successful, after competing for 
the nomination with several of the most worthy, able 
and experienced men in the Sixth Congressional Dis- 
trict, and was elected by a very large majority. In 
Congress, he was a member of the Committee on 
Agricultural and Public Expenditures. Being one of 
the 17 farmers in that Congress, he took an active 
part in the Committee of Agriculture, and was ap- 
pointed by that committee to draft the most impor- 
tant report made by that committee, and upon the 
only subject recommended by the President in his 
message, which he did and the report was printed in 
records of Congress ; he took an efficient though an 
unobtrusive part in all its proceedings. 

He voted for the currency bill, remonetization of 
silver, and other financial measures, many of which, 
though defeated then, have since become the settled 
policy of the country. Owing to the position which 
Mr. Begole occupied on these questions, he became a 
"Greenbacker." 

In the Gubernatorial election of 1882, Mr. Begole 
was the candidate of both the Greenback and Dem- 
ocratic parties, and was elected by a vote of 154,269, 
the Republican candidate, Hon. David H. Jerome, 
-^•^ 



receiving 149,697 votes. Mr, Begole, in entering 
upon his duties as Governor, has manifested a spirit 
that has already won him many friends, and bids fair 
to make his administration both successful and pop- 
ular. 

The very best indications of what a man is, is what 
his own townsmen think of him. We give the fol- 
lowing extract from the Flint Globe, the leading Re- 
publican paper m Gov. Begole's own county, and it, 
too, written during the heat of a political campaign, 
which certainly is a flattering testimonial of his ster- 
ling worth : 

" So far, however, as Mr. Begole, the head of the 
ticket, is concerned, there is nothing detrimental to 
his character that can be alleged against him. He 
has sometimes changed his mind in politics, but for 
sincerity of his beliefs and the earnestness of his pur- 
pose nobody who knows him entertains a doubt. He 
is incapable of bearing malice, even against his bit- 
terest ix)litical enemies. He has a warm, generous 
nature, and a larger, kinder heart does not beat in 
the bosom of any man in Michigan. He is not much 
given to making speeches, but deeds are more signif- 
icant of a man's character than words There are 
many scores of men in all parts of the State where 
Mr. Begole is acquainted, who have had practical 
demonstrations of these facts, and who are liable to 
step outside of party lines to show that they do not 
forget his kindness, and who, no doubt, wish that he 
was a leader in what would not necessarily prove a 
forlorn hope. But the Republican party in Michigan 
is too strong to be beaten by a combination of Demo- 
crats and Greenbackers, even if it is marshaled by so 
good a man as Mr. Begole." 

This sketch would be imperfect without referring 
to the action' of Mr. B. at the time of the great calamity 
that in 1881 overtook the people of Northeastern 
Michigan, in a few hours desolating whole counties 
by fire and destroying the results and accumulations 
of such hard work as only falls to the lot of pioneers. 
While the Port Huron and Detroit committees were 
quarreluig over the distribution of funds, Mr. Begole 
wrote to an agent in the "jbumt district " a letter, from 
which we make an extract of but a single sentence : 
"Until the differences between the two committees 
are adjusted and you receive your regular supplies 
from them, draw on me. Let no man suffer while I 
have jnoney." This displays his true character, 
a^ 



1 .5^. ^ ;^ 




V 



OluJL4-^' 



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US&© 




GOVERNORS OF MICHIGAN. 



173 



.^/ /r\\>,:^^ 



II 



,CI®To 







^tCPT^\ir ''-- ' '^'^I'-LLA.ALGER.Govcnior 
T ^ r^^] of Michigan for the term com- 

^' " ^^T- J ^ iDLiK ing Jan. 1, 1885, was 
boin in Lafayette Township, 
Midnia Co., Ohio, Feb. 27, 
1^3l) Having lived a tem- 
1)01 att life, he is a comparative 
\ ling inin in appearance, and pos- 
-(.'•-cs those mental faculties that are 
the distinguishing characteristics of 
ioI)Ust, mature and educated man- 
hood. When 11 years of age both 
his parents died, leaving him with a 
younger brother and sister to sup- 
port and without any of the substan- 
tial means of existence. Lacking the opportunity of 
better employment, he worked on a farm in Eichfleld, 
Ohio, for the greater part of each of the succeeding 
seven years, saving money enough to defray his ex- 
penses at Richfield Academy during the winter 
terras. He obtained a very good English education, 
and was enabled to teach school for several subse- 
quent winters. In 1 857 he commenced the study of 
law in the offices of Wolcott & Upson at Akron, re- 
maining until March, 1859, when he was admitted 
to the bar by the Ohio Supreme Court. He then 
i-emoved to Cleveland, and entered the law office of 
Otis & Coffinbury, where he remained several 
months. Here he continued his studies with in- 
creased zeal, and did much general reading. Hard 
study and close confinement to office work, however, 
began to tell on his constitution, and failing health 
warned him that he must seek other occupation. 



He tlierefore reluctantly abandoned the law and re- 
moved to Graml Rapids, Mich., to engage in the 
lumber 



When Michigan was caOcd upon to furnish troops 
for the war, Mr. Alger enlisted in the Second Mich. 
Cav. and was mustered into the service of the 
United States as Captain of Co. C. His record as 
a cavalry officer was brilliant and honorable to 
himself and his companj\ He participated in some 
of the fiercest contests of the rebellion and was 
twice wounded. His first injury was received in 
the battle of Booneville, Miss., July 2, 1862. 
His conduct in this engagement was so distin- 
guished that he was promoted to the rank of 
Major. On the same occasion his Colonel, the 
gallant Phil. Sheridan, was advanced to the rank 
of Brigadier General. A few months later, on the 
16th of October, Major Alger became Lieutenant- 
Colonel of the Sixth Mich. Cav., and was ordered 
with his regiment to the Army of the Potomac. 
After marked service in the early campaign of 1 863, 
he was again advanced, and on June 2 received his 
commission as Colonel of the Fifth Mich. Cav. His 
regiment at this time was in Custer's famous Michi- 
gan cavalry brigade. On the 6th of July occurred 
the battle of Boonesboro, Md. In this conflict he 
was again wounded. His health received a more 
than temporary impairment, and in October, 1864, 
he was obliged to retire from the service. His 
career as a soldier included many of the most cele- 
brated contests of the war. He was an active charac- 
ter in all the battles fought by the Army of the 



■•►■ 



•►-■-<M- 



.. 174 



RUSSELL A. ALGER. 



4 



Potomac, from the time of the invasion of Mary- 
land by Gen. Leo in 1863, up to the date of his 
retirement, with the exception of those engagements 
which occurred while he was absent from duty on 
account of wounds. In all he took part in 66 bat- 
tles and skirmishes. At the close lie was breveted 
Brigadier General and Major General for "gallant 
and meritorious services in the field." 

Aside from regular dutj', Gen. Alger was on 
private service daring the winter of 1863-4, receiv- 
ing orders personally from President Lincoln and 
visiting nearly all the armies in the field. 

Gen. Alger came to Detroit in 1865, and since 
that time has been extensively engaged in the pine 
timber business and in dealing in pine lands. He 
was a member of the well-known firm of Moore <fe 
Alger until its dissolution, when he became bead of 
the firm of R. A. Alger & Co., the most extensive 
pine timber operators in the West. Gen. Alger is 
now president of the corporation of Alger, Smith & 
Co., which succeeded K. A. Alger ife Co. He is also 
president of the Manistique Lumbering Company 
and president of the Detroit, Bay City & Alpena 
Railroad Company, besides being a stockholder and 
director of the Detroit National Bank, the Peninsu- 
lar Car Company and several other large corpor- 
ations. 

While always an active and influential Republi- 
can, Gen. Alger has never sought nor held a sal- 
aried office. He was a delegate from the First Dis- 
trict to the last Republican National Convention, 
but aside from this his connection with politics has 
not extended beyond the duties of every good cit- 
izen to his party and his country. 

Gen. Alger is now forty-nine years of age, an 
active, handsome gentleman six feet tall, living 
the life of a busj' man of affairs. His military 
bearing at once indicates his army life, and although 
slenderly built, his square shoulders and erect 
carriage give the casual observer the impression 
that his weight is fully 180 pounds. He is a firm, 
yet a most decidedly pleasant-appearing man, with 
a fine forehead, rather a prominent nose, an iron- 
gray moustache and chin whiskers and a full head 
of black hair sprinkled with gray. He is usually 
attired in the prevailing style of business suits. His 
favorite dress has been a high buttoned cutaway 



<^ 



frock coat, with the predominating cut of vest and 
trousers, made of firm gray suiting. A high collar, 
small cravat, ea^sy shoes and white plug hat com- 
plete his personal apparel. He is very particular 
as to his appearance, and always wears neat clothes 
of the best goods, but shuns any display of jewelry 
or extravagant embellishment. He is one of the 
most approachable men imaginable. No matter 
how busy he may be, he always leaves his desk to 
extend a cordial welcome to every visitor, be he of 
high or low situation. His affable manners delight 
his guests, while his pleasing face and bright, dark 
eyes always animate his hearers. 

Gen. Alger is a hard worker. He is always at his 
office promptly in the morning and stays as long as 
anything remains that demands his attention. In 
business matters he is always decided, and is never 
shaken or disturbed bj' any reverses. He has the 
confidence of his associates to a high degree, and all 
his business relations are tempered with those little 
kindnesses that relieve the tedium of routine office 
life. Although deeply engrossed in various busi- 
ness pursuits, Gen. Alger has yet found time for 
general culture. He owns a large library and his 
stock of general information is as complete as it is 
reliable. His collection of paintings has been se- 
lected with rare good taste, and contains some of 
the finest productions of modern artists. His team 
of bays are perhaps the handsomest that grace the 
roads of Detroit, and usually lead the other outfits 
when their owner holds the reins. 

Gen. Alger has an interesting famil3'. His wife 
was Annette H. Henry, the daughter of W. G. 
Henry, of Grand Rapids, to whom he was man-ied 
April 2, 1861. She is a slender woman of fair com- 
plexion, bright and attractive, and a charming host- 
ess. She is gifted with many accomplishments and 
appears quite young. There are six children. Fay, 
a lively brunette, and Caroline A., who is rather tall 
and resembles her mother, have completed a course 
at an Eastern seminary, and during the past year 
traveled in Europe. The remaining members of 
the family are Frances, aged 13; Russell A., Jr., 
aged 1 1 ; Fred, aged 9, and Allan, aged 3. All are 
bright and prooaising children. Gen. Alger makes 
his home at his handsome and large new residence on 
Fort street, at the comer of First street, Detroit. 



■♦• 



M 




^ 



^^Pf 







4* 



■•►^f^^ 



GOVERNORS OF MICHIGAN. 





^h 



YRUS GRAY LUCE, tlie 
piesent Governor of Michi- 
gan, combines in his cbarac- 
tei the substantial traits of 
, the New England ancestry 
of hii father, and the chival- 
loub and hospitable elements 
l^i^^-^" ptcuhai to the Southerners, which 
-<'v2#.0"'l taUiC Iv^ li.ii. fiom his mother's side of 
the house. The New Englanders, act- 
^^^ili^X ive in the cause of American liberty, 
i^Mfpi ^ftsi' tli's desired result was accom- 
'^j^h plished, turned their attention to the 
growth and development of the 
country which their noble daring had 
constituted independent of foreign rule. The pri- 
vations they endured and the struggles from which 
they had achieved victory built up in them those 
qualities which in the very nature of events could 
not be otherwise than transmitted to their posterity, 
and this posterity comprises a large number of the 
men who to-day, like the subject of this history, 
are making a record of which their descendants will 
be equally proud. 

Gov. Luce w.is born in Windsor, Ashtabula Co., 
Ohio, July 2, 1824. His father was a native of 
Tolland, Conn., served as a soldier in the AVar of 
1812, and soon after its close emigrated from New 
England and settled on the Western Reserve in 
Northern Ohio. His mother, who in her girlhood 
was Miss Mary Gray, was born in Winchester, Va. 
Her father, tinctured with Abolitionism, found his 
home in the Old Dominion becoming uncomforti- 
ble as an abiding-place at that time, and accord- 
ingly, with his wife and family of young children, 

^^ ~~~^rrr" 



he also migrated, in 1815, to the wilds of Northern 
Ohio. There the parents of our subject, in 1819, 
were united in marriage, and continued residents of 
Ashtabula County until 1836. There also were 
born to them six sons, Cj'rus G. of this sketch being 
the second. 

The incidents in the early life of Gov. Luce were 
not materially different from those of other boys 
living on the farms in that new country. He was 
taught to work at anything necessary for him to do 
and to make himself useful around the pioneer 
homestead. When twelve years of age his parents 
removed further AVest, this time locating in Steu- 
ben County, Ind. This section of country was still 
newer and more tliinly settled, and without recount- 
ing the particular hardships and privations which the 
family experienced, it is sufficient to say that but few 
enjoyed or suffered a greater variety. Jlarkets were 
distant and difficult of access, the comforts of life 
scarce, and sickness universal. Young Luce, in com- 
mon with other boys, attended school winters in the 
stereotyped log school-house, and in summer as- 
sisted in clearing away the forests, fencing the 
fields and raising crops after the land was improved. 
He attended three terras an academy located at On- 
tario, Ind., and his habit of reading and oljservation 
added essentially to his limited school privileges. 
When seventeen years of age the father of our 
subject erected a cloth-dressing and wool-carding 
establishment, where Cyrus Ci. acquired a full 
knowledge of this business and subsequently had 
charge of the factory for a period of seven yeai's. 
In the meantime he had become interested in local 
politics, in which he displayed rare judgment and 
sound common sense, and on account of which, in 
1848, he w.as nominated by the AVhigs in a district 
composed of the counties of DeKalb and Steuben 
for Representative in the State Legislature. He 
made a vigorous canvass but was defeated by eleven 
majority. This incident was but a transient bub- 
ble on the stream of his life, and that same year 



•► 



178 



CYRUS GRAY LUCS. 



Mr. Luce purchased eighty acres of wild land near 
Gilead, Branch Co., Mich., the improvement of 
which he at once entered upon, clearing away the 
trees and otherwise making arrangements for the 
establishment of a homestead. In August, 1849, he 
was united in marriage with Miss Julia A. Dickinson, 
of Gilead, and the young people immediately com- 
menced housekeeping in a modest dwelling on the 
new farm. Here they resided until the death of the 
wife, which took place in August, 1882. Mrs. 
Luce was the daughter of Obed and Experience 
Dickinson, well-to-do and highly respected residents 
of Gilead. Of her union with our subject there 
were born five children, one now deceased. 

In November, 1883, Gov. Luce contracted a sec- 
ond marriage, with Mrs. Mary Thompson, of Bron- 
son, this State. He continued on the same farm, 
which, however, by subsequent purchase had been 
considerably extended, until after his election to the 
office of which he is now the incumbent. In the 
meantime he has had a wide and varied experience 
in public life. In 1 852 he was elected to represent his 
township in the County Board of Supervisors, and 
two years later, in 1 854, was elected Eepresentative to 
the first Republican Legislature convened in the State 
of Michigan. He served his township altogether 
eleven years as a member of the Board of Supervisors. 
In 1858 he was elected County Treasurer of Branch 
County and re-elected in 1860. In 1864 he was 
given a seat in the State Senate and re-elected in 
1806. In the spring of 1 867 he was made a member of 
the Constitutional Convention to revise the Consti- 
tution of the State of Michigan, and in all of the 
positions to which he has been called has evidenced 
a realization of the sober responsibilities committed 
to his care. To the duties of each he gave the most 
conscientious care, and has great reason to feel pride 
and satisfaction in the fact that during his service 
in both Houses of the Legislatwre his name appears 
upon every roll-call, he never having been absent 
from his post a day. 

In July, 1879, Mr. Luce was appointed State Oil 
Inspector by Gov. Croswell, and re-appointed by 
Gov. Jerome in 1881, serving in this capacity three 
and one-half years. In the management of the 
duties of this office he is entitled to great credit. 
The office was not sought by him, but the Governor | 



urged him to accept it, claiming that the office was 
the most difficult he had to fill, and was one which 
required first-class executive ability. He organized 
the State into districts, appointed an adequate force 
of deputies and no more, secured a reduction of the 
fees by nearly one-half, and in ever3' way managed 
the affairs of the office so efficiently and satisfac- 
torily that above all expenses he was enabled to 
pay into the State Treasury during his management 
132,000.49. 

In August of the year 1886 Mr. Luce was nom- 
inated by the Republicans in convention assembled 
at Grand Rapids, for the office of Governor of 
Michigan by acclamation, and on the 2d of Novem- 
ber following was elected b3^ a majority of 7,432 
over his chief competitor, George L. Yaple. In 
1874 he became an active member of the farm- 
ers' organization known as the Grange. Believing 
as he does that agriculture furnishes the basis of 
National prosperity, he was anxious to contribute to 
the education and elevation of the farming com- 
munity, and thus availed himself of the opportuni- 
ties offered by this organization to aid in accom- 
plishing this result. For a period of seven years he 
was Master of the State Grange but resigned the 
position last November. Fidelity to convictions, 
close application to business, whether agricultural or 
affairs of State, coupled with untiring industry, are 
his chief characteristics. As a farmer, legislator, 
executive officer, and manager of county as well as 
State affairs, as a private as well as a public citizen, 
his career has all along been marked with success. 
No one can point to a spot reflecting discredit in 
his public career or private life. He is a man of 
the people, and self-made in the strictest sense. His 
whole life has been among the people, in full sym- 
pathy with them, and iu their special confidence and 
esteem. 

Personally. Gov. Cyrus G. Luce is high-minded, 
intellectual and affable, the object of man}' 
and warm friendships, and a man in all respects 
above reproach. To the duties of his high position 
he has brought a fitting dignit}', and in all the re- 
lations of life that conscientious regard to duty of 
which we often read but which is too seldom seen, 
especially among those having within their hands 
the interests of State and Nation. 



r 



^^2a^'^>' 






MnaWee tS^ouni 



F^ 



§,i&l%ig 



&Tts 






Hl-M 




c^mm^^-^^- 



INTRODUCTORY, fcr 



.^•''w 
I®" 




OMI of the fairest and most 
pidiliietive counties of the 
_M it Wulverine State are to 
1 ( toiunl ill what is Ivnovvn as 
SiiLithern Micliigan, and the 
tiuLfest among tliese is Lena- 
^\ee ( onnty. Thongh settlers came 
into tlii^ county as early as 1824. yet 
the commencement of its rapid 
^lo^^th was not until many 3'ears 
It was the I'ailroad that did 
>.() mucii toward the encouragement 
of stuid^ tillers of the soil to come 
to this fair and fertile region. Since 
then the county has enjoyed a steady 
growth, until to-day it stands among the foremost 
counties of the great Northwest. In the growth and 
development of her vast resources, in her agricult- 
ure and stock-raising, in all the departments of 
labor in whicli busy man is engaged ; in her churches 
and schools, in civilization and culture, Lenawee 
County has taken a front rank. Well ma}- lier peo- 
ple be proud of their product ; well may her pioneers 
turn with pride to their achievements. Witliin 
iialf a century a wilderness has been subdued and 
converted into beautiful farms and thriving, popu- 
lous cities, and a community established command- 
ing the admiration of the country. 



Afli'iaii ('olU's*'. 

i^. DUIAN COLLEGE w;is organized March 
<MU\i --■ ^^■'''- Originally it was under the 

//n»i <'iiiitrol uf tlie Wesleyan Methodist denom- 
^ illation, hut in February, 1867, it passed 

into the control of a corporation known as the Col- 
legiate Association of tlie Methodist Protestant 
Church. Its affairs are controlled by a Board of 
Trustees, thirty in number. Of these, six are 
elected b}' the Alumni Associaticjii of tlie college, 
two being chosen annuall}' for a terra of thri!e years. 
The alumni were allovved this representation in the 
board in 187G. 

The college campus contains twenty acres, a por- 
tion of it being beautifully laid out and kept. The 
buildings are four in number, all of brick, and 
fronting the east. A fifth, or centr.al building, is 
contemiilated in the plan, but has not yet been 
erected. 

North Hall is 85x108 feet, and, if seen at night 
with its three tiers of gleaming lights, one .above 
the other, presents an imposing picture. Here is 
the offlee of the President, the library and the dor- 
mitories for young men. South Hall is the same 
size. It also has reception and .assembly rooms, 
the departments of music and painting, and dormi- 
tories for young ladies, under the care of a resident 
preceptress. Between these two extremes are two 



•^r 



4 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



4 



two-story buildings, each 60x80 feet. In one ni-e 
the chapel, large enough to seat 600, and halls for the 
literary societies; in the other are the museum and 
chemical and physical laboratories. 

The collection in the museum is both interesting' 
and valuable, costing |-20,000; the zoological col- 
lection alone, $5,000. Upon entering one comes 
face to face with the African lion, which seems 
something more than a dead and stuffed animal. 
Just back of him stands an elephant, hardly as large 
as Barnum's homely specimen, while near at hand 
are a giraffe, a zebra, an elk from the Rocky Mount- 
ains, and various other animals, the whole forming 
a " menagerie " which proves attractive to thousands 
of visitors every year. Over a dozen large cases 
of birds and small animals are also among the 
zoological collections. The collection of birds in- 
cludes nearly all that visit Ohio and Michigan. The 
cases of Arctic and tropical specimens are especially 
fine. The mineralogical collection includes gold, 
silver, zinc and other ores, and numerous specimens 
which are of incalculable benefit to the students in 
receiving their lessons from nature. He who would 
study geology may examine many specimens from 
the various formations all the way from the lower 
Silurian to tertiary. Or he may feast his eyes on a 
large Ichthyosaur or try to take in the cast of a 
Plesiosaur made by Dr. John Kost, long enrator of 
the museum. The skeleton of a mastodon, that 
nuist have stood nearly twelve feet high, and that 
was found in Lenawee County, has been mounted 
and is nearly complete. In the archieological de- 
partment the Indians and monnd builders are well 
represented by various articles of old-time use, and 
by specimens of rare work of those early days. 
For the benefit of the comparative anatomists a 
collection of skulls has been secured, while a human 
skeleton permits one to make satisfactory investi- 
gation of truths which it discloses. In the physical 
laboratory students are put through a course of 
experimental manipulation by which thej- are 
brought face to face with Nature's truths. The 
chemical laboratory is also fitted uji for work in 
this direction. 

The institution is divided into six distinct schools 
which classify and perfect the organization of its 
work to a beautiful sy-stem. These are : 1. The 



College of Literature and Arts. -2. The School of 
Music. 3. The School of Theology. 4. The Nor- 
mal School. 5. The Preparatory School. 6. The 
School of Commerce. 

With reference to its President and faculty many 
good things may be said. It is proverbial that our 
most vigorous institutions are presided over 1^3' 
comparatively young men, and President D. S. 
Stephens, of Adrian, has not yet reached forty, yet 
has had time to pursue courses of study in two 
institutions on this side of the water, at Adrian and 
Harvard, and one on the other side, Edinburgh 
University, while his position as President of a 
leading institution shows the high esteem in which 
he is held by the Trustees and friends of Adrian 
College. As for the other men, Dr. G. B. McElroy, 
of the Department of Mathematics, has had thirty 
years' experience, and ranks among the leading- 
mathematicians of the West, and his assistant, Prof. 
J. F. McCulloch, who is an alumnus of the college, 
has also taken a special course in mathematics at 
Johns' Hopkins' University, Baltimore. Prof. C. 
E. Wilbur, of History and English Literature, is an 
alumnus of the college, and has earned a degree at 
Yale. Prof. Wilbert Ferguson, Greek, graduated 
at Ohio Wesleyan University, and is well known as 
one of the popular instructors of the Lake Side 
Sunnner School of Languages. Prof. J. H. D. Cor- 
nelius, Latin, is a graduate of Michigan University, 
and a teacher of twenty j-ears' experience. Prof. 
W. H. Howard, Chemistry and Physics, graduated 
at Adrian and supplemented this by a laboratory 
course at Harvard. Mrs. A. B. Dotson, Preceptress, 
graduated at Ohio Wesleyan University, and Prof. 
W. H. Carrier, of the School of Commerce, at the 
Bloomington (111.) Commercial College. These, 
with other lecturers and instructors, constitute the 
corps of teachers. But the whole policy and work 
of the institution have taken shape and coloring 
from the ideas and purposes of one man more than 
any other, its President; and it is safe to sa3' that 
his conception of education and its end — the up- 
building of character — has placed Adrian College 
on the most advanced ground of any institution in 
the land. And this is a subject worthy the study of 
parents and young people. 

One of the leading features in the management 



lkxawep: county. 



of the college is the evident and steadfast purpose 
to make the formation of right character in its stu- 
dents the supreme end of all effort. The develop- 
ment in the student of a power of self-control, 
illuminated l.y a disciplined intellect and a well- 
informed mind, is the aim which duminale> the 
methods of instruction, and the whole adnn'nijtra- 
tion of the institution. It is held by the President 
that character is established only when the lialiil 
of self-regulated activity is ileveioped. Hence he 
endeavors to so shape all the work of the ci.llegi^ 
that a spirit of manl}' self-reliance shall be awakened 
among the students. It is the aim of the discipline 
of the institution to encourage the growth of self- 
reiiulated control among students. It is desired to 
rely npcm the developed love of the good and the 
awakened sense uf justice in students as more potent 
>afeguards to di,sci|iline than a multiplication of 
rules anil regulations. The student, whenever it 
can be done with safety, is entrusted with activ- 
ities that will awaken a sense of responsibility. 
This is seen both in the discipline and government 
of the students and in the courses and methods of 
instruction. In the former it is the purpose of the 
President and F'aculty to recognize the students .as 
members of a community, sharing, to .some degree, 
the responsibility of its management. 

The system of elective studies, so fully recog- 
'd, Michigan University, and 



nized nc 



I la 



isll 



itle 



that, it is belie\ed, secure the greatest advantages, 
without some of the defects that grow out of the 
system. This institution was among the tirst to 
adopt a consistent and c(jnservative apt)lication of 
this i<lea. While it was .•onceded that the studenl 

tion and order of studies, consistent with thorongh- 
uess. yet it was kept in mind that there was a 
logical sequence of studies which could not be 
violated without loss; and also, that while the 
greatest latitude in the range of studies shouhl he 
permitted, so that the in<lividual aptitudes and 
purposes of e.-ich student might be met, yet it was 
recognized that there should be a cohciiaice of 
studies throughout the course, and a concentration 
of attention to at least one of the leading depart- 



ments of knowledge to a degree approaching com- 
l)leteness. 

To pre.serve the first of these requisites, e.a.ch 
study of the course re([nires. as condition for eu- 



to, and prepare for success in the study desired. 
I'he student thus, while freed from all arbitrary 
and artificial restrictions in the .selection of his 
studies, is still obliged to observe that natural order 
of slIHlie.■^ which grows out of the logical connec- 
tion and character of. the studies themselves. 

In the second place, to secure unity in the 
courses of study pursued by those gi'adnating and 
to give ap|iroximate significance to the degrees 
conferred, it is provided that to .attain the degree 
of Bachelor of Arts, 7yO hours of college work in 
the departments of Latin and Greek should be re- 
quired, and enough additional in other departments 
to make in .-dl L',-'ii() hours' work. V<.n- the de.gree 
of Bachelor of Science, T.'jII honr> of work are re - 
(juired in the deparimeuts of Mathematics and 
Natural Sciences, with enough additional from 
other deiiartments to m.ake in all 2,200 hours" work. 
The degree of Bachelor of Philosophy is given 
when 7."jii hours of required work are completed in 
the departnunit of the Political and Philosophical 
Sciences, together with a sufficient number of hours 
from other departments to make 2,200 hours' 
work in all. 

It is now ten years since this imjiortant educa- 
tional reform was introduced in this college, and 
its successful operation, the desirable results ob- 
tained, the adoption of similar plans by other in- 
stitutions, all g<.) to sln)W that the step taken was in 
the ri-ht direction, and one that the wants of the 
tiuLC demau.led. 

foiination of ch.-Macter is a course of instruction 
directly iK'ai'ing upon the subject (.)f character- 
Adrian College aims to reproduce, as uearl}- as 



po.ssi 



)le. 



I'ge 



r scale, the elements of home 



life. Hence, with many othei- institutions, it has 
doi-mitoi-ies for its students. This docs not mean 
sni.all. nnventilated rijoms. They are pleasant, 
well lighted, ventilated and heated. They are 



•► 



i 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



cheerful, and some handsomely furnished. The 
rooms are mostly in suites of a study room and bed- 
room attached. As cleanliness in surroundings is 
made easy by the absence of fuel and ashes from 
the rooms, so cleanliness of person is ministered to 
by convenient, steam-heated bath rooms. 

While all these conveniences are supplied, the 
expenses are remarkably low. The expense for 
rooms varies from tC to $S per term for each 
student, including the heating of the room. For 
$4 or $5 additional a room may be fitted up iu 
comfortable style. The total expense for a year, 
including tuition, board — everything — varies from 
$90 to $1 ;")(), according to the manner of living. 
That these estimates are not too low is proved by 
the fact that the college actually otters, in cases 
where parents or students do not care to be troubled 
about the arrangement of details, to supply every- 
thing: board, room, heating, tuition and incidental 
charges in literary department for $150 per year, 
payable in advance in term installments. 

The following is an itemized statement of cost: 
College charges, one year. . . . $28.50 to $28.50 

Board, one year 40.00 to 90.00 

Room rent and fuel, one year 15.00 to 40.00 
Washing and light, one year . . , 8.00 to 1 2.00 
Books, one year ... 4.00 to 1 "2.00 

Total $95.50 $182.50 

With reference to tlie special linos of study, 
there is not a better equi|)i)ed school of music in 
the West. Prof. Rup[), whu has charge, was for 



some time at the Conservatory of Music at Stutt- 
gart, Germany; and New York teachers to whom 
iiis graduates have gone have been candid enough 
to own they could do little for them, so tiiorougli 
had been their training. For turning out music 
teachers this school has unusual facilities and a 
splendid reputation, as a glance at its alumni record 
will show. Students completing either of the 
courses — instrumental or vocal — and passing a 
satisfactory examination, will receive the degree of 
Bachelor of Music. To one expecting to teach 
the science, it is monej' well invested that brings 
the facilities for earning such a certificate of thor- 
ougli musical culture. 

The Normal School gives a diploma and pre- 
pares teachers in the best principles and methods of 
teaching. 

The School of Theology' embraces in its course 
of three years all that is usually taught in theolog- 
ical seminaries, conferring the degree of Bachelor 
of Divinity upon those who complete the course, 
having first taken a literary course and graduated 
in some college. 

The School of Commerce educates for business. 
Bookkeeping, penmanship, stenography with type- 
writing, are taught by experts, besides the students 
have the privilege of attending any of the College 
or Normal School classes, and the benefits of literary 
societies and the college library and reading-room, 
without extra charge. 




4 



■♦- 



■•► 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 




^^ 



> >b. 



lEiiJBf. Ui\ P!((CkAlU. 



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4 C^2^ ^i^U "^ WHITNEY, I)uni in War- 
\ ^"^/A "ick, Oiange Co., N. Y., 10 Feb., 
'- f ls% * 1783 dwelt there until he was 
1 ^ur^/d ihout eighteen years old, when 

J^ jty> on foot and alone, he jonrneyed 

^.- ~ 'SO^ to Romulus, N. Y., passing- 

tin ough the "beech wuods" in 
tli< northeast part of Pennsj'lva- 
nii where there was scarcely a 
iiou'^e for forty miles. He niar- 
iK.l at Romulus, 9 Nov., 180G. 
« itii Mary Frisbie. He wn.^ 
diann for service in the W;ir of 
IMi but it being diHicult for 
liim t<i leave lionie he provided 
I ^ub^iitute. In Ksi:; he |iiir- 
chised 200 acies of 1 md from the Holland Land 
Compiuj, m Shelby, Oi leans Co., N. Y.. on whieli 
he settled with his familj' in the spring of L^LL 
While ill Shelby he was Cai)tain of a militarj' coni- 
pan_y for several years. In the fall of 1827 he went 
to Michigan to look for a new home, and on the 2.!d 
of October, 1827, he bought the south half of sec- 
tion 34, and the east half of the northeast quarter 
of the same section, all now within the bounds of 
the city of Adrian, which then contained jdjout 
half a dozen buildings. In the spring of Ls2,S 
lie removed his family to Adrian, wlicrc lie 
arrived S Jvine, 1828, and settled where the Hart 



liouse now stands, on M'est Manniee street, west 
of which there was then no road cut. After 
a residence of five years in Adrian, he sold his 
farm G June, 1833, to James Wheeler, and moved 
to Nottawa, .St. Joseph County, and purchased 800 
acres of land at Sand Lake, where he dwelt until 1 839, 
then removed to Moultoii, Allen Co., Ohio, where 
he died 11 Aug., 1851. His wife died 28 Aug., 
18.51. They were buried in the cemetery at F't. 
Amanda, Ohio. His journey was noticed on the 
liftietii anniversary of his arrival, in the Adrian 
T/ini's and Expositor of 8 June, 1878, and again in 
tiie "History and Biographical Record of Lenawee 
County," page HG, as follows; 

"IlM.r A Cextikv. In the fall of 1827, Capt. 
.lames Whitney, an early settler of Orleans County, 
N . Y. . sold his farm and soon after started for the then 
far-away and wilderness Territory of Michigan, in 
search of a new home. After visiting several sec- 
tions he came to Adrian, before any surveying or 
platting of lots had been done, and purchased on 
the west side of the Raisin 400 acres of heav}' tim- 
bered land, and in May, 1828, started with his fam- 
ily by way of the Erie Canal to Buffalo, and thence 
by steamer "Niagara," Capt. William L. Pease com- 
mander, for Detroit, thence by schooner, commanded 
liy Capt. Luther Harvey, to Monroe, where he pur- 
chased teams (having brought wagons vvith him) 
and again took up his march for Adrian, which at 



■♦- 



-^- 



184 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



that time was as far west as anj road had been 
opened east of the Mississippi, or any settlement 
made with the exception of railitarv :iiiil mission- 
ary stations, the whole western cuuntry being iu 
po'ssession of the Indians. After a tedious journey 
throngh mud, woods and waters, he arrived at his 
destination, the then embryo city of Adrian, with 
his wife and eight children, two of whom were 
Abel and William A. Whitney, who fur the first 
time fifty years ngtj to-day, saw the place where 
at this time there are nearly 10,000 inhabitants, and 
they the two oldest male residents within its cor- 
porate limits. So mnch for time and progress in 
the space of fifty years." 

Ciiildren of James and Mary (Frisbie) Whitne^y. 

I. Marian Whitney, b. at Romulus, N. Y., 1 
July, 1808; married 18 Nov., 1829, with Asher 
Stevens, who died 18 Nov., 1847. She died 7 March, 
1863. They were buried at Ft. Amanda, Ohio. 

II. Russell Whitney, b. at Romulus, N. Y., 30 
Aug., 1810; married IG Nov., 1831, with Angeline 
Rogers, and settled in Rome, Mich. 

III. Abel Whitney, who will be noticed below. 

IV. Rel)eeca Whitney, b. at Shelby, N. Y., 22 
July, 1815; married 1 March, 1833, jvith Edmund 
Burris Brown. He died 17 Nov., 1850, and she 
married (2d) with C(n-uelius Cline, and settled at 
Nottawa, Mich. 

V. James Whitney, 1>. at Shelby, N. \'., 30 Jan.. 
1818, and died in 1850, unmarried. 

VI. William Augustus Whitney, of whom .-i. no- 
tice will follow. 

VII. Benjamin Whitney, b. at Shelby, N. Y.. 
10 Aug., 1822; married 5 Nov., 1845, with Mi- 
nerva Daniels, who died 17 Ma.y, 185G, and he mar- 
ried (2d) 1 March, 1857, with Margaret Josephine 
Armstrong, and resided at Duchauquet, Ohio. She 
died. He died 14 April, 1883, and was buried in 
Shawnee Cemetery, Ohio. 

VIII. Sarah Whitney, b. at Shelby, N. Y., 17 
May, 1825; married 1 May. 1851, with William V. 
R. M. Layton, and settled at Wapakoneta, Ohio, 
where he died in 1S79. 

Abel Whitney left his birthplace witii his parents 
before he was a year old, and lived iu Shelbj', Or- 
leans Co., N. Y. In the spring of 1 828 he moved 
; with his father's family' to Michigan, arriving at 



their new home 8 June, 1828. This home was on 
the west side of the Raisin on the site of the pres- 
ent city of Adrian, which then contained five 
or six buildings, and from that small lieginning 
he has seen the entire development of the city and 
its business to the present time. He began his busi- 
ness life when only eighteen j-ears old, in the sum- 
mer of the year 1831, when, in company with 
Asher Stevens, his brother-in-law, and Richard M. 
Lewis, he visited Ohio and bought a drove of about 
200 cattle. At that time the settlements extended 
only about three miles south of Adrian. They went 
in a southwesterly course, striking Bean Creek a 
few miles above the site of Morenei, followed that 
stream to the Maumee River, which they crossed at 
Defiance, and then up the Auglaize River through 
a wilderness to Wapakoneta, St. Mary's and Green- 
ville. Returning, they swam their stock across the 
Maumee and other streams on the wa}-. In readi- 
ness to "do the next thing," in the fall of 1831 he 
took a place as clerk in the general country store 
of Messrs. Finch and Skeels, where he made himself 
useful until the dissolution of the firm, in 1832, 
when at the suggestion of one of the partners, Mr. 
Asahel Finch, he made preparation for opening a 
grocery store, cutting and hauling to mill the logs 
for lumber to build his place of business, in the 
winter of 1 S32-33, and was ready to commence 
business in the summer of 1833. This building is 
now owned by Joseph C. Jones, and is standing 
nearly opposite the Masonic Temple. The upper 
story of it was his observatory while viewing the 
heavenly wonders of the great meteoric shower of 
14 Nov., 1833. In 1834 he sold his place and busi- 
ness to Mr. Anson Clark (who came to Adrian 
from Monroe), and in 1835, in company with Mr. 
Asahel Finch, erected the building in after j-ears 
known as the Hance school building, in which thej^ 
opened the first drug-store in Adrian. His inter- 
est in this business he sold to his partner, and be- 
gan to buy and sell land, and finding some leisin'c 
time on his hands, arranged a matrimonial partner- 
ship with Miss Sarah Ann Budlong, with whom he 
married 27 Oct., 1836, and the partnership still hap- 
pily continues, after more than fifty-one years. A 
notice of Mrs. Whitney will be given below. In 
the spring of 1837 he formed a partnership with 



•►Hh-<» 



-•►HI— ^ 



•► m <• 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



his brother-in-law, Alfred W. Biidlong, in the dry- 
goods trade, and early in the seascjn, went to New 
York to buy goods, traveling by j^tage from Toledo 
through Cleveland to Beaver, and steamboat to 
Pittsburgh, thence liy cmii:!! and short sections of 
railroad to Philadelijhia. and lioni there by steam- 
boat and stage, lleturi.ing, he went to Albany by 
a Hudson River steamboat, to Schenectady by rail- 
road, to Buffalo by the Erie Canal, thence by stage 
to Erie, Penn., by steamboat to Toledo, and by the 
Erie & Kalamazoo Railroad to Adrian, having taken 
.about six weeks in making the ti'ip. Ilis interest in 
tliis business he sold to his partner the same year. 
Tiie project of building the Michigan Soutliern 
Railroad opened to his view a broader field of en- 
terprise, and in company with Silas Crane, he m.ade 
a contract with Gen. Levi S. Humphrey, Commis- 
sioner of the Michigan Southern Railroad, "a State 
enterprise," to furnish the superstructure for two 
miles of the road, wiiich was the first work done on 
the road west of the city of Monroe. In the spring 
of 1838, with the same partner, he contracted with 
the Commissioner to build the road from Leroy 
Bridge to Adrian, including the clearing of the 
ground, building bridges and culverts, and laying 
the iron. They opened a grocery and provision 
store in connection with their railroad work, sent 
men as far as Springfield, 111., to buy hogs, which 
were driven to Adrian and killed on what is 
at present known as Lawrence Park to supply their 
laborers and the citizens generiilly with meat. After 
fulfilling his contract on the railroad he entered into 
partnership with Mr. Henry Hart, in tiie dry-goods 
trade, continuing until 1.S42, when lie sold his inter- 
est to Mr. Hart. In 1K4:'. he was appointed Post- 
master of Adrian, and lield llie oilier until 1849. 
during which time he formed a partnership with 
Mr. Hart in the foundry business, wliicli continued 
several years. In 1849 he was in company- with 
Mr. Hiram Dawes, in tiie forwarding and commis- 
sion business on the Michigan vSouthern Railroad 
until the comp.any began providing their own ware- 
houses, when he engaged in buying and selling 
grain, which he continued until the si)ring of l«.j7. 
He was an active and inllucntial iiicmber of the 
Democratic party from LSI:; lo is.vi, during whicli 
time he was a delegate in nearly every Slate, county 



and congressional convention, but having no per- 
sonal political ambition, never presented himself 
as a candidate for office or favors from his party, 
and though asked to allow his name to be used as a 
candidate for the Legislature, Mayor of the city, 
and Supervisor, has uniformly declined any propo- 
sitions of that kind, as he had no aspirations for 
such honors, and preferred to work for the public 
interest in an individual way. In 1852 lie was a 
nicniber of tlir Democratic National Convention 
at Baltinioir, uhiih nominated Franklin Pierce for 
the Presidency, but Ijccoming dissatisfied with the 
position of his party on the question of slavery, he 
ceased to be active in its behalf. In 1860 he was 
in favor of Douglas, and without h^s i)revions 
knowledge, was nominatril by tlic party for the of- 
fice of Sheriff of Lenawee County, but the Repub- 
licans having a large majority in the county, no one 
on his ticket was elected. He voted for Abraham 
Lincoln at his second election, in 1864, and since 
that time has acted with the Republican parly. 
During the war of the Rebellion he worked eflfi- 
ciently with the friends of the Union, aiding largely 
with his means in filling the several quotas of men 
for the army, and assisting the aid society in for- 
warding supplies to the soldiers in the field. He 
was treasurer of the soldiers' bounty fund for the 
city, spending his time without compensation, and 
contributing niean> to prevent the necessity of a 
draft. When many seemed almost without hope 
that the friends of the Government would be able 
to subdue the reUellion. he loaned to the city of 
Adrian a large Mnii (,1 money, advancing $14,000 
at one time, at wlint was then a low rate of interest, 
in order that men might be found and paid to light 
the enemies of freedom and save the Xatioi.V life, 
being determined that no resident of the city should 
be forced from his home by a draft while money 
could be found to pay tiiose who were willing to 
serve. 

.Mr. Whitney's interest in education was always 
active, and from 18.09 to 18G8 he was a member of 
the Board of Trustees of the public schools of 
Adrian, having been three times elected its Presi- 
dent, and aided largely, with his time and expe- 
rience, in eieeting three of the best school build- 
ings in the Slate, and in systematizing the schools, 



186 



-► ■ <• 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



I 



serving without coinpensation, and devoting a large 
siiare of his time to the worii, fur the satisfaction of 
aiding in the successful arrangement and permanent 
establishment of a school system which should be well 
calculated to benefit the children of this and future 
generations, and prepare them for usefulness. 

In 1840 the Presbyterian society selected Mr. 
Whitney to solicit and collect funds, and contract 
for materials and labor for the erection of the 
church edifice which they still occupy, which he did, 
superintending the work as if it had been his own 
private enterprise. In 18.54 the society authorized 
him to add thirty feet to the length of the church, 
all of which was done under his personal direc- 
tion, and promoted by large outlays of his own 
means. Although he is not a member of the church 
he has for fifty years contributed liberally to its 
treasury-, and served for many years as an active 
member of its Board of Trustees. He was, for a 
long time, one of the Trustees of Adrian College, and 
contributed largely to its material prosperity, hav- 
ing on two occasions given it as much as $500 at a 
time. He was instrumental in obtaining its trans- 
fer from the Wesleyan to the Protestant Methodist 
denomination, by which means it was relieved from 
serious embarrassment, and its prosperity and use- 
fulness greatly enlarged. 

In company with Mr. Hcmy Hart, he originated 
the movement for providing a suitable resting- 
place for the dead of the city, which resulted 
in the purchase by him of twentj'-two acres of land, 
in the winter of 1847-48, of Mr. Addison J. Com- 
stock. Additions have been made to this until 
Oakvvood Cemetery now contains over ninety acres, 
and is the pride and boast of the citizens of Adrian, 
as one of the handsomest in the State. He has de- 
voted a large amount of time and thought to en- 
larging, improving and beautifviug the grounds. 
He has had the supervision of its interests for more 
than thirty years, and continues in ollicc as Treas- 
urer and Trustee. He has lieen a stockholder and 
Director in the Michigan State Insurance Companj', 
the oldest stock company in the State, for tvventy- 
three years, and its Vice President. 

Mr. Whitney raised the subscription to the stock 
of the First National Bank in 1H72, and is a stock- 

der. Director and its Vice President. He was a | 



stockholder, Director and President of the Union 
IlaU Association, and was a stockholder. Director 
and Vice President of the State Savings Bank. He 
has bought and sold large amounts of real estate in 
Adrian and other places, and done a considerable 
amount of building in Adrian, and aided in the 
general improvement and beautifying of the city. 

A lover of progress and good order, a friend to 
the worthy and unfortunate, an enemy to all 
schemes of fraud or dishonesty in public officials, 
or those in positions of trust, individual or other- 
wise, of any kind or nature, always seeking and 
working to improve the condition of mankind, 
he has been as ready to use his means to benefit 
others as to save for the purpose of adding to his 
own wealth ; and it may safely and properly be said 
that no man ever lived in Adrian who has contrib- 
uted more fi'om his time and resources ~for the 
general prosperity of the place than has Abel 
Whitnej% 

Mrs. Sarah Ann (Budlong) Whitney, wife of 
Abel Whitney, was born "21 Feb., 1 «12, at Utica, 
N. Y., where her father. Daniel Budlong, built the 
first brick house in the place, which he sold to Gov. 
Daniel D. Tompkins for a banking house. When 
she was about three years old her parents moved to 
Tully, N. Y., where her father had bought a farm 
of GOO acres, which he soon sold, and moved 
to Cortland Village, N. Y. In July, 1834, she 
came to Adrian with her brother, Alfred Wells 
Budlong, who opened a dry-goods store, and he 
being then unmarried, she began housekeeping for 
him in the fall of that year, in the same house 
where she now lives, which her husband bought a 
few years after their marriage. When about foin- 
teen years old she joined the Presbyterian Church 
at Cortland Village, N. Y., and afterward bj' a 
letter of dismission, became a member of the 
Presbyterian Church at Genoa, N. Y., from which 
she received a letter of dismission, on which 
siic joined the First Presbyterian Church of Adrian, 
13 Dec, 1835, and is now the only person remaining 
in the church who was a member at that time, al- 
ways active and ready to do a liberal share of church 
work, and contribute freely from her resources to 
its support. In 1835, the Synod of Michigan met 
at Adrian, antl a public reception was given its 



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•^^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1S7 



111 embers at her house. Having been a subscriber 
and fonstaiit reader of the New York Eraiif/ph'stfor 
iiiori" than thirty j'ears, she has (.'oiiie to place a 
liigh vahie on its weekly visits. 

Augustus Harvey Whitney, the <iiily child of Abel 
and Sarah Ann (Budlong) ^^■|liUu■y, was born at 
Adrian 4 Jan., 1841 ; ayouthof rare promise, whose 
early death doomed many ardent hopes to end in 
sad regrets. He attended the public schools of 
Adrian and helped in his father's business until he 
was thirteen years old. when he was sent to attend 
a select school for boys at Beardsley's Place, in 
Monroe, Conn., after which he studied and grad- 
uated at liell's Cominerei.al College, Chicago, 111. 
From isjo to 1857 he was clerk in the banking 
house of D. K. Tnderwood cV Co., at Adrian, of 
which his father was a partner. In 18.57, he was 
receiving and pacing teller in the banking house of 
Messrs. Taylor Si Kreigh, Chicago, 111., where he 
was attacked by typhoid fever, followed by ab- 
scesses, and after an illness of fourteen nionthb '\\p 
died at Adrian, 10 May, Is.iO, and w.is buried in 
Oakwcjod Cemetery. 

In the preparation of the aljove, reference has 
been had and free use innde of the genealogical 
records of the Whitney family of Connecticut, and 
the "History and Biographical Record of Lenawee 
County." 

ylLLIAM ALMUSTUS WHITNEY, b. in 
Shelby, N. Y.. 21 April, 1820; moved 
with his parents to Adrian in June, 1 .S28, 
and when eighteen j-ears old he went to Attica, N. 
Y., in the service of Elias T. Stanton and David 
Scott as a clerk in a dry -goods store. After two 
and a half years he returned to Adrian, and con- 
tinued in the .same business till the fall of 1847. 
He married 14 Sept., 1847. with Miss Ellen Maria 
Bixby, who wa.s born at Albion, N. Y.. G Ai)ri!, 
1825, and came to Adrian in the fall of 1827, with 
her parents, David and Laura (Foster) Bixbj'. In 
December, 1847, he opened the New Franklin 
Hotel, which he kept aliout one year, when he ilis- 
(losed of it and returned to the mercantile business, 
in which he continued most of the time till 18r)8. 



! In the spring of 18,")l). in which year the first 
stone pavement was laiil in Adrian, he was elected 
City Recorder: was again elected in 1800, and held 
the office till April, 1801. In the fall of 1802 he 
was elected Register of Deeds of Lenawee County ; 

I again elected two 3'ears later, and served till 1 .Fan., 
18()7. He then engaged as a clerk in the office of 
the Michig.au .State Insurance Compan}', where he 
continued till the spring of 180i», when he was ap- 
liointed I'ostniaster of Adrian, which otlicc he held 
from 17 Al.ay, ISO;), to 1 7 May, 1 .s7;l. lie then 

i engaged in the printing business, and founded the 
Adrian Daihj and Weekly Press, which he pub- 
lished for nearly five years. a,iid sold out 5 April, 

As line of the very early iniial)itants of Adrian, 
he always felt an honest pride and manifested a 
genuine interest in everything that could promote 
the welfare of the city, as well as that of the whole 

1 county of Lenawee. In November, 1807, he wrote. 

I for his paper, the early history of Adrian, from 
1S2.J to 1835: and on the 17th of Febru.ary, 1875, 
he wrote the first call for a meeting of the pioneer 
settlers of Lenawee County, which meeting, held 
27 Feb., 1875, organized the Lenawee Count}' Pio- 
neer Societ}', of which he was chosen the lirst 
Secretary. 

In 1879, in company with Mr. Richard I. Bon- 
ner, he canvassed the count}' of Lenawee, gathering 
in.-iloriaN f(ir:i seiies of biographical sketches, which 
they pLililishnl iii two handsome ' volumes, under 
the title, -'History and Biographical Record of 
Lenawee County, Michigan," a very valuable work, 
which will preserve the memory of its authors in 
the mind> of a gi-atefiil pciiilc for ages to cciiiii>. 

Mr. Whitney died 2.". January, IS.SI, and w.-i> 
buried in O.akwood Cemetery. 

Children of William Augustu> and Ellen .MarJM 
(Bixby) Whitney: 

I. Dwight Avery \Vhitney. b. :it Adrian. -.' 1 
June. IslS; in.arricd at (ti-.-mhI R,apid>, Mich., 25 
Jan., 1.S7(), with Marian Celia Lawrence, who was 
born at Rochester, N. Y., 15 May, 1848, daughter 
of Willis Thompson and Marian ( Wadsworth ) Law- 
rence. Their daughter, Lena B. Whitney, was born 
.at Adrian, 21 April, 1S7;;. 

II. F'an'ny Lee Whitney, b. at Adria,ii, 10 July, 



•►HI- 



18S 



■•► 



lenawp:e county. 



1859; married 18 Dec, 1878, with 0. F. Berdan, 
a violinist, composer and music publisher, at the 
lime of their marriage a resident of Adrian, but at 
this date of Detroit. 



<^ NDREW HOOD. Ujion the principle that 1 
l^O "a rolling stone gathers no inoss," thesnb- 

llfisi J6Ct of this biography remains at the home- 
ly' stead, the land which his father secured 
from the Government over fiftj' years ago. William 
Hood, who was born in Romulus, Seneca Co., N. 
r., Dec. '27, 1805. came to Southern Michigan when I 
a young man thirt}' years of age and selected his lo- 
cation. He then returned to his native State and 
worked two more 3'ears, in order to earn money for 
the removal of his family. 

The father of our subject, with his wife and three 
children, landed in Adrian the second time on the 
20th of September, 1837, and the same day he 
found his waj^ through the woods to his property on 
section 26, Rome Township. While being sheltered 
a few days in the house of Seth Atwood, he put up 
a shanty without windows or doors, and occupied 
tiiis with his family about six weelcs, until he could 
put up a good log house. When this structure was 
completed and the goods moved in, Mrs. Hood was 
so homesiciv tliat she objected to having her goods 
unpacked, especially her bui-eau, declaring she was 
going back to York State, as she " could not stand 
it here in the woods." The house, however, proved 
to be very comfortable, and the mother became rec- 
onciled, and finally content to regard it as her home. 
She never returned to her native State. 

John Hood, the paternal grandfather of our sub- 
ject, was born in Sunbury, Northumberland Co., 
Pa., whence with three brothers he removed into 
Seneca County, and purchased a large tract of land 
between the lakes. The brothers continued in that 
region about eighteen years, cultivating the soil, 
erecting good buildings, planting orchards, laying 
off roads, building bridges, etc., and after tlie labor 
of all these j'ears found out that their titles were de- 
fective, and tiie man of whom they purchased a 
swindler. The entire tract was set off by the Gov- 
cinment into soldiers' claims, and the HUod brothers 



not only lost their purchase money, but eighteen 
years of hard labor. John Hood fought for his 
rights, but the United States Court at Albany de- 
cided against him; he spent the remainder of his 
life in Romulus, dying there in 1832. His wife, 
Lucinda (Moody) Hood, was a native of tiie same 
town as her husband, and after his death joined her 
daughter in Michigan, and died at her home in Rome 
Township in 1862. William Hood never owned a 
farm until he came to Michigan. The expense of 
testing the claim of the Hoods to their land com- 
pletely ruined them financially, and after tlie death 
of his father, William turned his eyes toward the 
western country. His mother, who had suffered so 
much from hardship and anxiet3', lived to see her 
son the possessor of a good farm free from incum- 
brance, and with him her old age was [lassed in 
ease and plenty. 

The mother of our subject was in lior girlhood 
Miss Louisa, daughter of Thomas and Catherine 
B.:;tlett, of Romulus, N. Y., and was born there 
April 26, 1812. She became the wife of William 
Hood ou the 1st of December, 1831, and of this 
union there were born nine children, of whom three 
were born in Romulus: Hainiah B. was born Nov. 
8, 1832, and is the wife of E. W. Beers, of Adrian 
Township; Mary was born July 14, 1834, and mar- 
ried Stephen Beers, of Adrian Township, now of 
Nebraska; Andrew was born April 20, 1836, and is 
the third child ; Caroline was born after the removal 
of the familj^ to Michigan, in Rome Township, 
March 27, 1838, and died Jan. 6, 1851 ; Lewis was 
born July 21, 1840, aud is a resident of Ithaca, this 
State; Nancy was born April 29, 1842, and is the 
wife of Franklin Jerrells, of Grand Traverse; Har- 
riet A. was born Aug. 22, 1848, and died in Sep- 
tember, 1868; Jimma K. was born Aug. 15, 1852, 
and is the wife of Oscar Smith, of Adrian Town- 
ship; William H. was born Jan. 19, 1856, aud is in 
Rome Township. 

Andrew Hood made his home at the old place 
until about 1877, working first with his father, then 
rented the homestead; in 1876 he had purchased a 
tract of forty-five acres, one-half mile west. At the 
same time he had his present farm on section 26 
under process of cultivation. When twent^'-four 
years of age he was first married, Oct. 16, 1860, to 



M^ 



■^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



ISO 



Miss Melissa, daughter of Edward Halsted, of Rome 
Townsliip. This lady was born on the Gth of Nu- 
vemlier, 1838, and died a few months after her 
marriage, on the 6th of February, 18G1. 

Mr. Hood was married a second time, Sept. '■'>(). 
1863, to Miss Harriet, daughter of Georii:c D. .-md 
Sarah 8. (Taylor) Bascora, natives of N'eniiont. w ho 
were married in Raisin Townsliip, this county. May 
1, 1836. Mr. and Mrs. Hood have one son, (Toorue 
L.; who was born Sept. 2, 1 866, and is now a prom- 
ising young man, and has a teacher's certificate. 
Mrs. Andrew Hood attended lioth the district and 
a private school in Adrian, and developed into a 
teacher, which profession she followed nine terms. 

Mr. Hood has taken very little interest in poli- 
tics, but upon occasions of general elections votes 
the straight Democratic ticket. He is a regular at- 
tendant of the Methodist Episcopal Church. His 
farm operations are carried on after the most ap- 
proved methods, and the home is in all respects tiie 
picture of comfort and plenty. 

(^ LBERT SOUTHWORTH w.as a pioneer of 
(^Oi Lenawee County, of the log cabin days, 

'//Is w'hore he resided, an honored and respected 
(^' citizen, for many years, and departed this 

life on the 24th of May, 1886. He was born in 
Edmeston, Otsego Co., N. Y., Jan. 1.5, 1817, while 
his father, Joseph Southworth, was born in Mans- 
field, Tolland Co., Conn., Jan. 30, 1788, but when 
young removed with his parents, Joseph and Lydia 
Southw'orth, to Edmeston, where they died. 

.loseph .Southworth, Jr., was brought u]) a farmer, 
and owned a farm in Otsego County, upon which 
he resided until 1832. In the spring of 1831 lie 
came to Michigan, and purchased of John Penning- 
ton 160 acres of land on section 23, Raisin Town- 
ship, then, returning to Otsego County, sold his 
farm there, and moved his family to Michigan, 
settling on his land in the spring of 1832. There 
was a log house, and small improvements had been 
made on the farm. His ne.arest neighbor on the 
north was Mr. Derbyshire, who lived over a mile 



distant, and on the south ^\ 
and one-half miles distant. 



Darius Comstock, one 
That fall he sowed a 



•►-■-«•»■ 



few acies of wheat, which yielded a good crop the 
following summer. ;ind furnished food U<r the fam- 
ily, which (ithcrwis.- iiiii.st have suffered. He cleared 
up the entire 160 acres, and afterward purchased 
160 acres more adjoining, and cleared up the most 
of it. This excellent tract of land h.as been sub- 
divided, and now consists of four good farms. He 
also owned .'i farm on section 18, Raisin Township, 
and was one of the organizers of the township, and 
was elected one of the first Assessors. For many 
years he was <jne of the active men of the township, 
and performed his share of the work in organizing 
and establishing schools and churches. He was so- 
cial and genial, a good neighbor and kind friend, 
and a man of strong character and strict integrity, 
sagacious, prompt and ambitious. He w.as a life- 
long Democrat, and assisted in organizing the party 
in Lenawee County after Michigan was admitted 
into the Union. On the 18th of October, 1810, 
Joseph Southworth married Hannah, daughter of 
Low White, of Sherburne, Chenango Co., N. Y.. by 
whom lie had six children, Albert being the second 
son and third child. Mrs. Hannah Southworth was 
born in Orwell, \'t.. May 23, 178.5, and died in 
Raisin Township, Sept. 13, 1849, while Joseph 
Southworth died in the same tovvnship, Sept. 14, 
1 S73. 

Albert Southworth came to Michigan with his 
parents in 1832, and was brought up a farmer, liv- 
ing on the homestead until he was twenty-one years 
of age, and assisted his father in clet,ring up the 
farm. In 1843 he went to Galena, III, and oper- 
ated in the lead mines of that locality for three 
years, but in 1848 he purchased a part of the old 
homestead in Raisin T<iwnship, upon which he re- 
sided until his death. 

September 12, 1848, Albert Southworth was 
married to Antoinette Southworth, who w;is horn 
in Erie County, Pa., on the 24th of December, 
1831. She is a daughter of Harvey and Elsie 
Southworth, residents of Pittsford, Hillsdale Co., 
Mich. To Mr. :iw\ Mrs. Southworth were born 
eight children, n^corded as follows: iSIarie Antoin- 
ette was born Aug. 11, 1849, and died at the .age 
of one ye.ar; Lydia L. w.as born Oct. 3, 1851, and 
married William Montague, of Raisin Township; 
Lunetta C. was born Dec. 11, 18,54: Albert J. was 



-4»- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



born Dec. 20, 1856, and died at the age of two 
years; Herbert W. was born Feb. 22, 1851) ; Kate 
L., May -I, 1862; Arthur W. Dec. I'.i, 186;',, and 
Alexander P., April 4, 1869. 

Since the death of her husband, Mrs. Southworth 
has superintended the management of the home 
place, which consists of 108 acres of highly im- 
proved land. She, as well as her husband, belonged 
to the Methodist Church, in which they were active 
and earnest. Mrs. Southworth is a lad}' of refine- 
ment and education, and is highly esteemed by all 
wild know her. 



i)ILLIAM MONTAGUP: is a generalfarnicr, 
and has achieved considerable reputation 
as a grower of small fruits and vegetables, 
in which business he has been unusually successful. 
He is pleasantlj' located on section 17, Raisin 
Township, where he owns and cultivates sixty acres 
of land. Being located so near to the city of 
Adrian, he finds a ready and profitable market for 
all his fruits and vegetables. 

The father of our subject having died in Union 
County, Pa., the mother concluded to move to the 
West, and our subject accompanied her when slie 
came to Michigan. The father was a native of 
Pennsylvania, and was born Oct. 1, 1808. During 
his life he engaged in farming and running a boat 
on the canal. At his death he left a wife and four 
children, the latter all living, whose names are as 
follows: John, who is' a mechanic in Danville, Pa., 
and married Amanda Efland ; William, our subject; 
James, now a resident of Tecumseh Township, who 
married Alice Payne, and Elizabetli, the wife of 
Daniel H. Chase, a resident of the village of Te- 
cumseh. 

The maiden name of the mother of our subject 
was Christi.ana Scout, a native of Northumberland 
Connty, I'a., where she was reared and educated. 
She came of an old Pennsylvania family, her 
grandfather, William Scout, having been an officer 
in the war of the Revolution, in which he saw 
much active service. During these dangerous times 
he often came in contact with tlie enemy, and was 
at one time driven from his home in the night by 

'^ " ' ■ '■ ^ ' " I - I . M i r 



the Tories, and compelled to leave before he could 
dress himself, and had to lie in the brush and 
woods during the night. Mrs. Montague now re- 
sides with her children in Raisin Township, and 
though seventj'-eight years of age, is in posses- 
sion of her physical and mental faculties. Mr. 
Montague, our subject, was reared at home under 
the care of his mother until he was almost a man 
ill statiu'e and years, working at various occupa- 
tions and for different persons, in order that he 
might be able to earn his own livelihood, and not 
be a tax upon his mother. 

On the 22d of Decemlier, 1869, in Raisin Town- 
ship, William Montague married Miss [Lydia L. 
Southworth, who was a native of this township, 
and was born on the 3d of October, 1851. She 
grew to womanhood in this township, and received 
her education in the district schools, and the Raisin 
^'alley Seminaiy. ftlr. and Mrs. Montague are 
the parents of two children: Paul A., who was 
born on the 6th of May, 1872, and J. Herbert, on 
the 12th of November, 1877. They live at home 
with their parents, and attend the public schools 
and the seminary of Raisin \"allej'. 

In 1870 Mr. Montague purchased the farm upon 
which he resides and where he has erected good 
buildings, and made other substantial improve- 
ments. On this farm they have resided ever since 
their marriage and have prosecuted their business 
with good success. Mr. Montague has been a Dem- 
ocrat all his life and upon all occasions contributes 
his vote to the success of the party of liis choice. 

ILLIAM HOOD. One of the finest farms 
Rome Township was purchased by the 
of this biography twelve years 
ago, and he has since given it his undivided at- 
tention, enhancing its beauty and value. He has 
spent his entire life in this county, having been 
born in Adrian Township, Aug. 3, 1839. The Hood 
family became residents of New York State during " 
its early settlement. The parents of our subject, 
John and Olive Hood, were natives of that State 
and migrated to Michigan at an early day. 

William Hood continued under the parental roof 



W subject 



•^f*" 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



until reaching manhood and was married, Jan. 7, 
1.SC3, to Miss Emily, daughter of Roswell and Car- 
oline Hic'ks. Her father died in November, 18(17, 
and her mother Sept. 19, 1863. Mrs. Hood was 
born in Rome Township, Sept. 22, 1844, and is the 
child of one of the early pioneers of Lewanee 
County. Of this union there were two children: 
Henry P., who was born May 22, 1808, and Carrie, 
E., May 27, 1873. The former is assisting his 
father on the farm, and the latter is attending 
school. 

The Hood family, religiously, have been largely 
represented in the Bai)tist Church for generations. 
Our subject enlisted in the late war and served ten 
months, until the close; he received no wound but 
his health was greatly impaired. His property 
comprises seventy-three acres of land, with first- 
class buildings, a choice as^-ortment of live stock, 
and all the machinery for carrying on agriculture 
after the most approved methods. Mr. Hood, so- 
cially and financially, ranks among the most hon- 
ored men of Rome Township, and is full worthy of 
representation in this woik. In politii-^ hv is a 
stanch Repulilican. 



■■o^o.-(C)^</Ui)-> 



lOHN M. CARY is a citizen who h:i 



rcat 



J faith in the healthfulness and salubriousness 
<if the climate of Lenawee Count}-. In his 
earlier life his health became impaired and 
it was necessary for him to travel. Acc(_)mpani-ed 
by a physician, in search of a more healthful loca- 
tion than the section of country where he was born 
and reared to manhood, he went to various sections 
of the East, South and West, first settling near 
Racine, Wis., then in Montgomery County, Ohio, 
but in 1864 finally found that the most agreeable 
locality for him was Lenawee County, .and .although 
he has resided in other places since he settled here 
originally, he is thoroughly wedded to this c<junty, 
where he is now located on section 11 of Madison 
Township. 

Mr. Cary was born in Oneida County, N. Y., on 
the 20th of March, 1810. His mother died when 
he was thirteen j'ears old, and he was then bound 
out to his uncle, to leinain until he was twenty-one 



•►HH^ 



years of age. When he was nineteen years old 
he became dissatisfied with his lionie at his uncle's 
and ran away. Near Aul)nrn, N. Y., he found em- 
ployment at cutting wood, at twenty-five cents i)cr 
cord, and for the next four years he was variously 
engaged, in wood-chopping, working in a meat mar- 
ket, and upiJii a fni'm liy the month. As he had 
left his uncle l)ef(iri' he became of age, under the 
law and conditions of his indenture he was bound 
to pay the latter for the unexpired time, and this 
wouhl take all the money he had earned during the 
first two years if his uncle exacted it. But !it 
the .age of twenty-one, instead of having $80, and 
regretting that he had left his uncle, as the lat- 
ter had predicted, he had $170 and a fail- start 
in life; the highest wages he had received was 
$10 per month. 

When he was twenty-three years of age. .Mr. 
Cary was married, in Cayuga County, N. Y., to 
Miss Fannie, daughter of Ira Ho|)kins, who was 
a wealth}' farmer in that locality. Mrs. Cary was 
one of a family of eight chihb-en, and was born in 
Cayuga County. After their mai-riage then- went 
to Lysander, Onondaga County, N. Y., and 
bought a farm of Mrs. Gary's father, consisting of 
100 acres, thirty of which had been cleared, and 
on which was located ;i, log house of but one 
room. Here Mr. Cary began the struggle of life 
in earnest, and lived for thirteen years, during 
which time he made valuable improvements in the 
way of buildings and fences, and planted a fine or- 
chard. On account of the arduous labor required 
to accomplish this, his health became impaired, and 
he was obliged to sell the farm, getting for it 14,000. 
In company with Dr. Adams he then started for a 
trip to Syracuse, N. Y., with a cari'iage and two 
horses, and traveled through Pennsylvania and 
Maryland to Washington, I). C.. and thence to \'ir- 
ginia. They visited various sections of that State, 
but not finding things as they expected, they re- 
turnt^d to Washington, from which pl.acc they pro- 
ceeded to Wheeling, W. ^'a. After remaining 
there a short time they went t(j Columbus, Ohio, 
from there to Toleilo, and thence to Adrian, Mich.^ 
and on into the western part of the State. Here 
they left their team, and proceeded by the way of 
Lake Michigan to Chicago, thence by steamer to 

- ' ' " ' «» 



\ 



•Ml 



JMihvaukee, Wis., and from tliere they traveled to 
Racine on foot. Being so much pleased with that 
country, they made up their minds to settle near 
Racine, and returned to their homes for their fam- 
ilies. It required three weeks to make the trip with 
theii- families from Oswego, N. Y., to Racine, Wis., 
the route being liy water, hy the way of the Sti-aits 
of Mackinaw. 

At Racine Mr. Cary bought a liouse and lot, in 
which he and his family resided for three years, 
during which time he invested money in lands 
withiu a short distance of Racine, and which he sold 
at a profit. In 185G he received a sunstroke, and 
in the fall of that year he took his wife and made 
a trip to Cincinnati, Ohio, and through Kentucky, 
returning to Racine with his health considerably 
improved. He then sold his propertj' and removed 
to a point twelve miles from Cincinnati, in Mont- 
gomery County, where he engaged in the business 
of nursery and fruit farming, in which he engaged 
for nine years suece.ssfuUy, then sold out to good 
advantage and removed to Cobden, forty miles 
from Cairo, 111. Finding that section of the coun- 
try to be unhealthy, he sold his possessions there, 
and in 1864 came to Lenawee County, and purchased 
a farm in Madison Township, where he resided eleven 
years. He rented his farm in Madison Township, 
and removed to near Rome, Ga., where he purchased 
a large tract of land, but at the end of about eight 
years he returned to his old home in Madison Town- 
ship, where he has since resided. This farm is a 
small tract of land, consisting of only twenty-four 
acres, but it is very valuable propert3'. 

B}' JNIr. Cary's first marriage there were born two 
children — Ira and Elizabeth. Ira lives in Nebraska, 
and Elizabeth is the wife of Benjamin Latham, and 
resides in Movilie, Iowa. His second and present 
wife is Louisa M., daughter of Philo and Betsy 
(Hopkins) Baldwin, and by this marriage two chil- 
dren were born, one of whom, Bessie M., survives. 
VVlien a young man, Mr. Cary united with the 
Presbyterian Church, of which he lias always been 
a consistent and active member. He is a very 
strong advocate of the doctrines of Prohibition, and 
expends quite a sum of money every year in pur- 
I chasing and distributing temperance literature. He 

a man of strong convictions, and on the question | 



of temperance he is very decided in his views. 
Cary began life a poor boy, as indicated in the 
opening of this sketch, and has been successful, for 
which he is thankful to a kind Providence. He 
and his wife have endeared themselves by their 
many acts of benevolence to all the people bj' 
whom they are surrounded. Mr. Cary has led an 
exemplary, temperate life, never having used any 
intoxicating drinks or tobacco in any form, and to- 
day tlie result is manifest in the health and vigor 
that characterize his seventy-eighth 3'ear, vrhile his 
comfortable home is indicative of tlie financial re- 
sults of a temperate life. 

eHARLES E. COLLINS occupies the old 
homestead left him by his father, Isaiic Col- 
lins, and of which he came into possession in 
the spring of 1 880. It lies on section 2 in Macon 
Township and embraces "200 acres of valuable land, 
mostly under cultivation, eighty acres of which be- 
k)ng exclusively to our subject. Here he was born 
Sept. 20, 1848, and was reared on the farm, re- 
ceiving his education in the district school. Here 
his childhood and youth were spent, and he has no 
greater ambition than to continue the work which 
his honored father began, and which is well worth}' 
the best efforts of any honest man. 

Mr. Collins is the fourth child and third son of 
his pai-ents. His father was a native of Monmouth 
County, N. J., where he was reared to manhood in 
accordance with the strict principles of his New 
England ancestry and the old simple Quaker faith. 
He came to Michigan when a youth of eighteen 
years, provided with only moderate means, and 
taking up a. tract of Government land, paid for it in 
work by the day, being employed by Gabriel Mills, 
one of the pioneers of Macon Township. Mr. Col- 
lins, as soon as he had secured the warranty deed 
of his land, began to make improvements and 
also to prepare a home for the maiden whom he had 
chosen as his future wife. This was Miss Mary A. 
Allen, a native of Prince Edward Island, who came 
to the United States with her parents when a young 
girl, and located in Macon Township, this county. 
After the death of her husband the mother of our 
•►- 



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lenawp:e county. 



193 



subject was iii.MiTicl 1.. Aiuliru W'iNoii. ;i native of 
Nc» York Slate, an. I now a, retired farmer (if ample 
means who makes Ins home in Teeiimseh. The 
parental household inelnded six eliildren, wlio are 
all li\'iiig and married, and mostly residents ot this 
county. 

Charles E. Collins has coiulucted the farm suc- 
cessfully for the last ten years and is keeping up its 
reputation in a creditable manner. He and all his 
brothers, like their father before them, are solid 
Republicans, politically, and arc numbered among 
the representative men of Lenawee County. 

f/OMN COLVIN, son of one of the earliest 
|l pioneers of Lenawee County, was born in 
Madison Townshij), April 2, l.s;i4. Ilisjiar- 
(^^/ ents were Isaac A. and Elizabeth (Crane) 
Colvin, who emigrated from Palmyra, N. Y.. to 
this county, settling first in Madison Township. 
Thence they removed t<.) Hillsdale Count}' about 
IH.'w.and in 1S47 they returned to this county and 
located on a tract of land in Palm3'ra Township, 
where they remained until 1851, engaged in mill- 
ing. Then, being quite well advanced in years, the 
father abandoned active laboi', and took ujiliis resi- 
dence in Adrian, where he lived for a time. I'he 
mother had died in Hudson. Isaac Colvin was 
subsequently married to Miss Nancy Tucker, who 
also died in Hudson, in ] 8>1I. 

Our subject continued with liis father until a 
youth of eighteen years. I'lie father then left 
Adrian for the West, and crossing the JNIississipjii, 
was never afterward heard from. It was believed 
that he had been foully dealt with, but the nif.st 
diligent search failed to discover what had bet'onie 
of him. The family then liroke ui), and our sub- 
ject, in company with his brfither George. \>-ent to 
Palmyra and put up a steam sawmill, whic^h they 
operated about Ave years. In l.sGO John Colvin 
crossed the plains to Pike's Peak, and remained in 
that region about seven months, when he returned 
to this county. He then engaged in milling, with 
Arthur Kellogg. They built a portable sawmill and 
continued together about three years. Mr. Colvin, 
in 1874, formed a partnership with George Livesay, 



and the (irni of Livesay it Colvin existed for a pe- 
rioil of eleven years. In I .SS5 Mr. C. purchased the 
interest of his partner in the liusiness and has since 
carried it on alone. 

Mr. Colvin was married in the city of Adrian, 
Nov. 17, 18G4, to Miss Ellen M. Livesay, the sis- 
ter of his oM partner, ami ilanghter of James Live- 
say. .Mrs. Cohin was born in Fairfield Township, 
Nov. 2;!, 1842. Her p.a.rents, James and Amelia 
(Salsbiny) Livesay, were natives of New York, and 
came to this county in the pioneer days. They 
s[)ont their last years in Kairlield Townshi]). the 
mother dying in ISCO. and the father in 1885. 
Mr. and JMrs. Colvin have a son and daughter: 
James H., born Sept. 15. 18G6, and Bessie D., May 
17, 1873. They are now at home. Mr. Colvin 
has officiated as Township Clerk, and held the 
office oi Treasurer for a period of four years. 
Socially, he belongs to Lodge No. 225, F. ir A. 
M., and with his estimable lady is a member of 
Fairfield (Trange. Politically, he votes the straight 
Republican ticket. He is a, gentleman attentive 
to his business, and holds no unimportant place 
among the intelligent people of his t(.>wn. 



'if 



lit 



EVI IIAWLEY is a native of Lenawee 
County, having been born in Adrian Town- 
ship, Dec. 30, 1838. He has lived in this 
county ever since his birth, except what time he 
passed in the service of the Government during the 
late Civil War, when he was numbered among the 
brave and gallant defenders of our National life. 
He is the son of Henrj' and Mary A. (Thomas) 
tiawley, who were among the early pioneers of 
this region. The father of our subject was a native 
of the Statef of New York, whence he came to this 
State, and followed the business of farming until 
his death, which occurred in this county in 1870, 
after he attained the age of sixty-seven years. His 
estimable wife died in 1873, also in this county. 

The subject of this sketch remained at home 
with his parents, helping to develop the farm, and 
received his education at the district schools, which 
even at that early period were instituted in this 
county. When he had attained his majority he 






A 



194 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



-! 



vented <i piece! of land in Rome Towiisliip and 
brought it to a high state of cultivation. He re- 
mained on this farm until 1863, and then removed 
to his present home. During the summer of 1864 
strong appeals were made by the Government for 
men to fill up the depleted regiments then in the 
front. His patriotism being brought to a test in 
this moment of his country's need, he left his wife 
and home, and on the 26th of August, 1864, enlisted 
in Company H, 11th Michigan Cavalry, under 
the command of Capt. Bowen. He remained in 
this regiment until the close of hostilities, during 
which time that gallant body of men was largely 
eraploj-ed in Virginia, Tennessee and North Caro- 
lina, destroying bridges, railroad tracks, salt works 
and other public propertj'. He participated with 
the regiment in the engagements at Henry Court 
House, Salisbury, High Point, Statesville, Newton 
and others. After the surrender of Gen. Joseph 
Johnston, the regiment was ordered to Knoxville, 
Tenn., at which point he was mustered out and dis- 
charged June IG, 1865. A brave member of a 
gallant regiment, he was always ready to face any 
danger in the line of his duty. At the termination 
of his term of service he returned to his home in 
Rome Township. 

Charles Hawley, a brother of the subject of this 
sketch, a young and gallant hero, suffered a more 
unfftrtunate fate. He enlisted in Company F, 
4th Michigan Cavalry, in 1861 at the beginning 
of the war, but after two years of gallant service 
he was taken prisoner by the rebels at the sanguin- 
ary battle of Chickamauga, Sept. 19, 1863, where 
the tide of battle was so fiercely contested by tliat 
noble hero, Gen. George H. Thomas. Young 
Hawley, in company with many others, was cast in- 
to the rebel prison pen at Andersonville. Suffer- 
ing the pangs of hunger and enduring all manner 
of privations, he lived but one year, dying on the 
19th of September, 1864, when but twenty-three 
j^ears of age. A' young man with scarcely the 
bloom of youth bronzed on his cheek, laying down 
his life for his country, he had not even the satis- 
faction of offering it up in the battle's red front, 
where heroic deeds warm up the blood. Instead of 
that his life passed away among the hori'ible scenes 
of tlie foulest prison the world has ever seen, a dis- 



grace to the nineteenth centurj-. Ilis fate deserves 
commiseration, and all true patriots can sincerely 
say, "God rest. his soul.'' ' 

Levi Hawley, the subject of this sketch, and 
Miss Mariam Hood were united in marriage in 
Rome Township, Oct. 23, 1863. She is a native of 
that township, where slie was born Nov. 24, 1 840, and 
is the daughter of Moses G. and Adelia (Knowles) 
Hood. Her father is a native of New York, and 
was born Dec. 6, 1807; her mother was born in 
Seneca County, N.^Y..'in 1804. 

Mr. Hawley is now in possession of a fine and 
highl}' cultivated farm, on which he has a handsome 
residence and is surrounded by all the comforts of 
a pleasant home. Here he proposes to pass his 
declining j-cars, enjoying the fruits of his diligence 
and industry, and adding to his present possessions. 
He is a model citizen and justly stands high in the 
estimation of his friends and neighbors. 

/^) "AISLES E. BOWERMAN is a worthy rep- 
Ill r I'Psentative of the intelligence, the integrity 
^^^ and the moral worth of the people of Raisin 
Township. He is widely and favorably known 
throughout its borders and universally spoken of 
with respect and esteem. Too much credit cannot 
be given to the men who have been leaders in the 
foundation of a new settlement, and have without 
question figured largely in shaping its destiny. 
Mr. Bowerman, although exceedingly modest in 
his demeanor and totally guiltless of assuming an}- 
virtue which he does not possess, should derive 
much satisfaction in contemplation of the part 
which he has played in life, and which has been one 
of which his descendants will speak with jiride in 
after years. 

The ))roperty of our subject includes ninetj^-four 
acres of land on section 32, which has been brought 
to a fine state of cultivation, and upon which stands 
a neat and tasteful set of farm buildings. The fields 
are conveniently laid off and inclosed with good 
fences, and everything about the premises indicates 
the system and good order which have been one of 
the ruling characteristics of the proprietor. Mr. 
Bowerman for several years has given his attention 



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LENAWEE COUNTY. 



105 



-1 



iiioslly to the growing- of fruit iuul vegctuble:^, for 
which he finds a ready marlietin tlie city of Adrian, 
and wliich yields him annually a handsome income, 
llis success in this department of agriculture liiis 
lieen largely owing to his habit of observation, and 
tlie course of reading which he has pursued for 
many years. He keeps himself well posted in re- 
gard to his business and upon all other matters of 
general interest, so that in conversing either with 
friends or strangers, he is at home upon the general 
to]iics of the day. 

Our subject was born at the old homestead of 
his parents on section oo, in Raisin Township Aug. 
27, 1845. His father, Samuel Bowerman, was a 
native of Saratoga County, N. Y., where he sjient 
the larger part of his early life, alternately with a 
residence at times in Niagara County. About 1 So l' 
he migrated to Michigan, and not long afterward, 
becoming a resident of Lenawee County formed 
the acquaintance of Miss Dorcas, daughter of Jere- 
miah Westgate, to whom he was married in the 
spring of 1833. The Westgates were also natives 
of the Empire State, and after coming to this 
county the i)arents spent the remainder of their 
days in RaiSin Township. After their marriage 
Mr. and Mrs. Bowerman located ujion a tract of 
land in Raisin Township where they built u\> a 
good home, where their children were born, .-uid 
where tliej' spent the remainder of their days. The 
mother preceded her husband to the silent land some 
years, her death taking place April 11, 1865, when 
she was but forty-nine years of age. The father 
survived several years, dying at the age of sixty- 
six in IH.'-^o. In earl}!' manhood he had identitied 
liinisrll' with the old Whig party, but upon its 
abandonment cordially endorsed Republican princi- 
ples. Both parents were members of the Society' of 
Friends, and possessed the correct and gentle char- 
acteristics of that peculiar and conscicnticMis peo- 
pie. 

Charles E. Bowerman was the eighth of eleven 
children born to his parents, and with his brothers 
and sisters pursued his earl3' studies in the primary 
schools. He took kindly to his books, and when 
sufficiently advanced entered Valley Seminary at 
Raisin. Nothing pleased him, liowevei', better than 
the fi-ee and iudejiendcnt life of a farmer, and so 



he chose this rather tlitui one of the professions, 
which it was often suggested he wasemincnily fitted 
for. In setting about the establishment of a liome 
and domestic ties of his own one of the first im- 
portant steps was his marriage, which occurred Oct. 
lo, 1864, his chosen bride lieing Miss P'rances A. 
Wilson, a native of Palmyra Township, and born 
May 23, 1844. Mrs. Bowerman is the (l:inuhlci- 
of Thomas .and Lydia B. (Hoag) Wilson, both non- 
deceased. Thomas Wilson died Dec. .'., 1S,S2, 
aged seventy-three years, and Lydia B. Wilson 
died Aug. ;!1,186;). Thomas Wilson was of En- 
glish birth and ancestry, and emigrated to America 
when a young man, coming directly to Michigan 
and locating on a tract of land in Raisin Township 
where, with his excellent wife, he spent the remain- 
der of his days. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson were both 
members of the Society of Friends, and Mrs. Wil- 
son was a preacher in that faith and spent much of 
her time in traveling in the interest of that church. 
The parental household included two children, and 
both received the advantages of a good common- 
school education. Mrs. Bowerman is a lady re- 
spected for amial)ility and intelligence, and is the 
faithful encourager of her husband in all his worth\' 
ambitions. Both are public-spirited and hospitable, 
and make it the rule of their lives to do good as 
they have opportunity. Their family includes four 
interesting children, namely: Alma L., born May 
3. IbTO; Harvey E., Sept. 11, 1872; Harry A., Feb. 
7, 1881, and Bessie L., Aug. 19, 1884. 



"%:r 



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(^p*)HOMAS J. HARRIS. He who has no 
m^\ regard for the record of the past, and uo 
^^^ anxiety to be remembered in the future, is 
scarcely worthy to be chronicled among the lives of 
men. Such persons, however, are few, and the 
facilities for preserving the names and deeds of 
good men to their posterity have never been so 
easy as at the present time; neither have men here- 
tofore realized so deeply the importance and wis- 
dom of preserving the family record in a manner 
which should be easy of access. 

The subject of this brief history, a gentleman in 
the i)rinie of life, passed his early years in this 
1^ 



\ 



<• 



I 



■•► 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



-f- 



State, and after serving as a solflier in the Union 
arm}', took up his residence in tliis county, since 
which time he has lived raostlj- in Adrian Town- 
ship. He was born March 7, 1839, in Homer, 
Callioun County, and is the son of Walte4L_HaiX}Si 
whose father, Isaac Harris, was a native of England. 
The latter emigrated to America when quite a 
youth, locating in New York State, and carried on 
farming there until resting from his earthly labors 
when well stricken in years. 

Walter Harris was boni in Sliaftsbury, \'t., in 
1803, and remained a resident of his native county 
until a youth of nineteen years. He was soon 
afterward married to Miss Thankful, daughter of 
Thomas Look, a whaler of New Bedford, Mass. 
The mother of our subject was born in 1800, on the 
island of Martha's X'ineyard. The parents con- 
tinued in Vermont until 1835, then made their way 
to the Territory of Michigan, locating near Hanover, 
where the father cultivated the .soil and built u\) :i 
good homestead from land which ttie mother had 
taken np from the (lovernmcut. They suljse- 
quently removed to Cleveland, Ohio, of which 
they were residents live years, then returned to 
Michigan and spent their last years in Coldwater. 
The father died when fifty-seven years of age, 
while the mother survived several years, and was 
seventy-four at the time of her death. They were 
the parents of eight children, seven of whom grew 
to mature years, but of whom only three are living. 
George W., during the late war served as a Union 
soldier in Battery I), and after his discharge from 
the army settled in Georgia, where he now lives. 

Our subject continued under the parental roof 
until after the outbreak of the late war, and soon 
after the first call for troops enlisted, April 23, 
1861. The troops were soon afterward tirdered 
South, and young Harris saw the smoke of battle 
first at Rich Mountain, in Virginia, and subsequently 
participated in the engagements at Elk Water, 
Greenbrier, Perryville, Bridgeport, Chickamauga, 
Lookout Mountain and Mission Ridge, besides 
meeting the enemy in various minor engagements 
and skirmishes. Toward the close of the war he 
was detailed for garrison duty at Chattanooga, 
Tenn., and was severely injured by the discharge 
of a cannon, which, although not producing any 



flesh wound, was the occasion of a terrible shock to 
his system, and from which he has never entirely 
recovered. He is assured liy those who know that 
he is thus entitled to a pension from tiie Govern- 
ment, and will probably receive one in due time. 

Aside from tliis injury Mr. Harris returned com- 
paratively unharmed from the army, receiving his 
honorable discharge at Jackson, Mich., July 28, 
1865. His army experience was one of thrilling 
interest; upon one occasion, the batter}' while at 
Chickamauga was completely demoralized, onlj- 
one soldier who had engaged there escaping injury. 
Mr. Harris at this time was Sergeant of No. 3, and 
while busy leveling his piece at the rebels, paid no 
attention to vvhat was going on in the rear until he 
found himself surrounded by the enemy. He 
determined, however, to have one more good shot 
at them, and then with three cannoneers he started 
for the rear. They were too few, however, to 
succeed; one of the comrades of Mr. Harris fell at 
his side, but preserved consciousness enough to hand 
his i)ocket-bot)k to Sergt. Harris. There was in 
it §100 ill bills, wiiich had already been sprinkled 
witli the life blood of the dying man. Our subject 
succeeded in making his escape with the money, 
which he transferred to the hands of his Lieutenant, 
and it w.ns finally delivered safely to Mrs. Mary 
A'an Pelt, the widow of the fallen soldier. Mr. 
Harris, in the meantime, had assisted the horses to 
pull the guns, and necessarily assumed command, 
as those who had occupied this post were either 
killed or disaljled from their wounds. 

Upon his return from tlie army Mr. Harris 
employed himself as a carpenter until the spring of 
1867, and then located his future home in Adrian 
Township. In August of that same year, he was 
married to Miss Alma, daughter of Levi Fowler, a 
native of Steuben, Oneida Co., N. Y., who came to 
Michigan to prospect for land in 1834. Two 
years later Mr. Fowler brought his family to Adrian 
Township, before there was a locomotive west of 
Buffalo. The cars were drawn bj- horses and were 
nearly all day in making the trip from Toledo to 
Adrian. The Fowlers lived in a "shanty" the 
first winter, and then on account of sickness 
returned to New York, to wait until Southern 
Michigan should have become more fullj' developed. 



-i-«. 



4 



^u 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Mr. Fowler again came to this State in I84G, and 
spent his la.st years in Adrian Township, this county, 
his death taking- place Nov. G, 1886. His wife, 
who in her girlhood w.ns Miss Sally Ives, lives at 
the homestead where tliey Ih'sf settled ovei- fifty 
years ago. 

Mr. :in<l Mrs. Harris, after marriage, at once 
icpaircd to the farm which they now occupy, Ijut 
wliich Ihcn presented a far different appearance 
from tluit of the present. Here their five children 
w('i'(> born. Tiie eldest, Eugene F.. came to the 
lioiisehold May 17, 1868, and is now a [)romising 
youth completing his studies in Raisin Valley Semi- 
nary; Elmer T. was horn Dec. 15, 1869. is also a 
lad of studious habits, and the companion of his 
lirother at the same institution of learning: George 
N. w;is horn Feb. 16. I.s7."), and still attends the 
district school: Frank .1. was born Oct. S. 1,H77, 
upon the ;iuniversary of the battle of Penyville, 
Ky., uhicli was the scene of one of the first engage- 
ments of his father with the enemies of the Union; 
the •• baby" was born April 16, 1886. 

Mr. Harris cast his first Presidential \'ote for 
Abr.-iham Lincoln, in November, 1860, and since 
that time has been a stanch supjiorter of the 
Kepulilican i)arty. He has always taken a warm 
interest in political matters, usu.ally being present 
at the town caucuses and the county conventions, 
and giving much time to his party interests. He is 
a man whose judgment is usually correct, and one 
whose opinion is held in the highest respect. 



'^M)AM II. ITLOTII is one of the most enter- 
[ Wfuf |)rising farmers of t)gden Townshiji. Al- 

jlfM though he is still a y<jung ma.n he has 
^J attained marked success in his cIkiscu call- 

ing. He is a native of the great (;erni;in Emiiii'e. 
as was also his father, (icorge I'loth. The latter 
had the advantages of an education in the fine pub- 
lie schools of Germany, which he attended until 
he was fourteen yeai-s old, in accordance with the 
stringent educational laws of that counti-y. He 
was then apprenticed to le.arn the carpenter's trade, 
and after serving his apiirenticeship he did jounie}' 



work for some years, though he was occasionally 
employed in farming. 

In the year 1 8;)6, accompMnicd by his wWv .-md 
two children, (Jeorge Flot.h embarked for .Vuicrica. 
as a land promising richer icturns for his labor. 
He first located in Lorain Gounty. Ohio, ami there 
commenced his life as a farmer on rented hnid. be- 
ing then too ()oor to pnreha.se a farm. In .-i few 
years his farming ventures proved so suecessfid 
that he had .•iccnmulatod m..ney enough to buy 
s<,me land, and as he ofteu had lieanl of the cheap 
hinds in Southern Michigan he resolved to invest 
his money here. Accordingly in 1864 he came 
with his family to Ogden Townshii), where, finding 
the price of re.-il estate here within his means, he 

of this township. This townshii) is partly within 
the district formerl_y known as the Cottonwood 
Swami), and though the land was very fertile, yet, 

very slowly. :\lr. rioth's lirsl work was to fell the 
trees to make ro(nu for a dwelling. After cutting 
the trees and drawing them together there came a 
freshet, .ami he had to remove the logs to another 
spot, lie (hially coiiipleted his log cabin sufficiently 
for the occup:incy of his family, who in the mean- 
time had l>eeu boarding. He had not the means 
to improve his land at once, but had to work out 
by the day to support his family. When not thus 
employed he worked hard at clearing his laud, fell- 
ing the trees and digging out the stumps, until he 
had enough cleared to ('tiltivate it profitably with- 
out working for others. All his farm work and 
niarketing was done with o.xen for some years, but 
he was very industrious, working early and late to 
improve his farm, and had succeeded in clearing- 
fifteen acres and had it well improved when his 
useful career was cut short in the prime of life 
! by his .accidental death, Oct. 22, 1871. at the age of 
forty-ei.ehl. His death was caused by a falling 

After this .sad event tlie care of the family de- 
; volved on the mother, and well did she perform 

her part; she was a woman of nnicli spirit, and was 
i trained to self-reliant habits. Her maiden name 

was Magdalena Burk, and she is also a native of 
i (Germany ami still lives on the homestead with her 

•^^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



two youngest eliildren. Slie became the mother of 
nine children, six of whom are still living, all grown 
to maturity, and recorded as follows: Adam H. ; J. 
Henry (sec sketch of .1. Henry Uloth), who mar- 
ried Miss Emma Tiffany, and resides in Ogden 
Township; Lizzie, the wife of Orrin Rugg, residing 
in Kansas; Minnie, tlie wife of James (_^ainLy, of 
Lake County, Mich., and I'eter and Conrad, who 
live on the homestead. 

Our subject was the second child born to his 
parents, the date of his birth being Feb. 2, 1852, 
and was but four years old when he came with 
them to America, and twelve years old when they 
removed to this county. He made his home with 
his parents until he was seventeen j'ears old, assist- 
ing them in the hard labors consequent upon set- 
tlement in a new country, and in the year 1869 he 
started out in the world to begin life for himself, as 
by that time the younger members of the household 
were large enough to be of great help, and his as- 
sistance was not so much needed. He went to 
Lorain County, Ohio, where he had lived with his 
parents when he first came to America, and soon 
engaged himself to work on a farm by the year, 
working thus for some years. He then returned 
to Ogden Township and remained on the homestead 
for one year, taking charge of his mother's farm. He 
next made his first purchase of land, buying forty 
acres in Ogilen Township, and lived on it for a year, 
when he went to Ohio again, and rented land in 
lioyalton Township for four years. He then re- 
turned to this State and bought the farm where 
he now resides on section 31 of Ogden Township. 
This farm consists of 120 acres of valuable land, 
seventy -five of which are cleared. He has erected 
a fine, commodious frame dwelling with all the 
modern conveniences, a large barn, and other build- 
ings, including a creamery, which he leases to other 
parties; these liuildings, in point of architecture, 
convenience and size, rank with the best in the 
county. 

Mr. Uloth has not attained this prosperity un- 
aided ; a ijart of his success is due to the aid and 
encouragement he has received from his good wife, 
to whom he was married M;irch ('>, LsTTi. Two 
children have been born tdlhcni — Aliilon .md Floyd. 

Mrs. Uloth, whose maiden name was Aljbie J. 



Santee, was born in Amboy Township, Fulton Co., 
Ohio, Feb. 25, 1859, and is the daughter of James 
G. Santee. Her grandparents were George and 
Calista (Parent) Santee, the former born in Lan- 
caster County, Pa., while his father was a native 
of one of the Eastern States. Some j'ears after his 
marriage he went to Ohio and became a pioneer of 
Amherst Township, Lorain County, where he 
erected a sawmill in connection with his farm. 
About 1857 he removed to Royalton Township, 
Fulton County, in the same State, and bought a 
tract of land in the timber, upon which he lived 
until his death a few years afterward. His son, 
James G. Santee, married in Fulton County and 
then removed to Wood County, whence he returned 
in a few years and settled in Amboy Town- 
ship, where he still resides. His wife was born in 
Lorain County, Ohio, while her father, Benjamin 
Parent, was a native of the Eastern States, and re- 
moved to Oiiio in the early settlement of Lorain 
County. Thence he removed to Fulton County 
and was an early settler of Roj^alton Township, . 
where he improved a farm, and there died. His 
wife, whose maiden name was Betsy Robb, still re- 
sides in Royalton at the advanced age of eighty- 
two years. 

Mr. Uloth is a man of much ability, sound judg- 
ment and good business principles, as is evinced by 
his early success in life. It is to such men that we 
look to sustain the present prosperitj^ of this great 
State. He is interested in the political affairs of 
his adopted countr}', and works with the Repub- 
lican partv. 

J"OHN G. MASON came to this county in 
1840 when a child five j-ears of age, and 
since that time has known no other home. 
His first recollections are of its pioneer 
scenes, amid which he spent his earl^' years, and 
afterward watched its slow but sure development 
into a section of country which has since been 
sought by people from all parts of New England 
and the Soutii. The interests of Lenawee Counts- 
have been his essentially, and he has taken delight 
in its prosperity and advancement. He was blessed 



L 



LENAWEK COUNTY, 



i!)ri 



.^^h 



with a good constitution, and the habits of indus- 
try in whieli he was trained by his excellent parents 
have resulted in tlic areuninlation of valuable 
l.r()perty, iuehi<ling 200 acres of land, a i^ood set 
of frame and brick buildings, witli all the machin- 
ery required for the successful iirosecution of agri- 
culture. i\lr. Mason makes his home now in the 
city of Adrian, where he has a line residence, and 
is surrounded by all the conveniences and comforts 
of moilern life. He busies himself in sni>erintend- 
iiig the operations of his farm, in which he takes 
great satisfaction, and which, in addition to its 
other fine points, is well stocked with -lerseN- itattle, 
horses and shee|i. 

Mr. Mason was Ixjrn in Kiclnuond, Ontario Co., 
N. Y., duly 9. 1S35. He is the son of Gardner 
and Olive P. Mason, and his paternal graud|)areuts 
were John and Sally :\[;ison, natives of .Mass-.^-hu- 
setts. The former was born in Swansea, in ITiw. 
and died in Bristol, N. V., in 1 .S3(; ; his wife, Sally, 
was born in Dighti>n, in 1771, and survived her 
husbanil twenty-foni- ye:irs, continuing on the old 
honu■^tcad, where her death took place July 11, 
liSdO. ,Iohii .Mason, during his early manhood, was 
a seafaring man, and part owner of a trading 
vessel, which |)lied between Boston and Newbern, 
N. C. In ISOl he decided to locate on terra Hrma, 
and proceeding to New York State took up a tract 
o{ land in the wilderness of Ontari(j County, where 
he cleared a farm, and with his estimatile wife spent 
the remainder of his days. 

Gardner Mason, the father of our sid)ject, was 
born at the farm of his p:utaits near l^>ristol, On- 
tario Co., N. Y.. Aug. ;5, isos. nwl w.'is the sixth 
in a faunly of seven children. He was a wide- 
awake and energetic 3'outli, and when ciuhteeu 
ye.a.rs old purchased his time of hi> f.atlici- and set, 
out in the world f. .r himsidf. II.' was iiiunied :il, 
about Ihe lime of reaching hi> majorily, and after- 
ward, in ls;il. purchased a farm not far from the 
old homestead. He linally became owner of three 
farms in Ontario County, all of which he bought 
within a s|)ace of live years. He sohl his properly 
there after he detcrmiuc-d to emiurale to ,Michig.au. 
and upon his ai-rival in thi.- <-oinity -e.aiivd a. large 
tract of lan.l in f'airliel.l Township, whieli was 
mostly coveled with heavy limher. lie I'leared 



^^ 



about eighty acres, put up g<M)d buildings, and lived 
upon the phu'C until the winter of I .S.", |-,-,."i. The 
following sumnu'r he sold this and pinvhased .an 
improved farm in Ogden Township, of which he 
took [lossession, an<l whei'e his death occurred 
eleven years later, Oct. 1.'), Isc,',. Thi. name of 
(oinlncr Mason is recalled as that of a man pos- 
sessing many virtues, and one who eu.leavored in 
all his dealings with his fcllowmen to foil. >w .strictly 
th.' precepts of the (iolilen Rule. In appear- 
ance he was of portly- anil commanding figure, and 
in his young mauhooil w.as distingnishe.l as an 
athlete ..f un.'..mm..n p.nv.-rs. 

The m.ilher .if ..ur sulij.vt, who li.'f.jre her mar- 
riage was Miss Olive P. West, was a native of the 
same county as her husband, born in Richnnind 
Township, July i). l.SOS. ||,^r parents were Nathan 
an.l Sally West, iii..neers .,f Ontario C.iunty. .Mrs. 
.Mason c.amc t.i the West with h.'r hush.au.l an.l sur- 
vive.l him fourteen years, her .leath taking place in 
Adrian at the residence of her son, John G., Jan. 
3, 1880. The maternal grandparents of our sid)- 
ject were natives .)f ^lassachusetts and pioneers of 
Ontai-io County, N. Y., where their decease took 
|)lace M,t the h.)nu'Stead whi<-h they had built up 
from the wilderness. 

J.ihn G. Mason w.as reare.l t., farm pursnils, an.l 
c.unpletcil his studies in the tall ..f IS.-,.',, in the 
public sch.M.ls .)f A.Iriau. Aft.aw.ard, until his 
nnuaaage, he was engaged in agi-icultiu'e iu Ogden 
Township, remaining there initil 1872. During 
this interval he filled the offices of Postmaster, 

Sel 1 Jn-^pe.-tor an.l T..wnship Sup.a'vis.ir three 

years, was Deimty Sh..rilf six y.'ars, ,an.l in the fall 
.if 1.S7-.' was electe.l Sheriff, which office he held 
t W.I y.'ius. H.' was then renominated by acclama- 
li.in, but .h'f.'ated by Col. N. B. Eldredge. 

Jlr. .Mason, in .biuuary, 1 87;!, t.iok up his resi- 
.Icm.'.e in A.li'ia.u, and two years later engaged in 
the .Irng business, which he carried .lu until the 
si)ring of 188;i. He then sold out t.i his s.m-iu- 
law. Mr. Alfre.l Johns.m, and resunual the m.ae 

inenlly i.lentifie.l with many of tlu' taiterprises 
ten. ling t.i elevati' the p.aipio, and has given par- 
ticnl.ar .atlenti.in t.i tiie maua.gement of the public 
sch.iols, as hi' is a warm Irien.l of ediu'ati.in ami is 



.•^HI-««« 



•► m^ *' 



200 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



! 



willing to make sacrifices that the young may have 
the advantages which are their due as citizens of a 
free and enlightened republic. He has been a mem- 
ber of the Board of Trustees of the public schools 
of the city for several years, five of which he has 
been President, and still holds that office. Probably 
no man within the limits of Lenawee County is 
more widely or more favorably known. 

Mr. Mason, on the .'3clof February, is,")(i. several 
months before reaching his majority, assumed 
domestic ties b}' his marriage with Miss Amanda 
D. Carter, the wedding taking place at the home of 
the bride in Ogden. Mrs. Mason is the daughter of 
Norman B. and Mentha M. Carter, natives of New 
York and now deceased. She was born in Ashford, 
Cattaraugus Co., N. Y., Oct. 10, 1834, and came to 
Michigan with her parents when a child two years 
of age. She grew up amid the wild scenes of life 
in a new country, and was trained by her excellent 
mother to all those virtues and employments which 
constitute the model wife and mother. Mr. and 
Mrs. Mason became the parents of two children: 
Glendora E., who was boru in Ogden, Aug. 20, 
1857, an<l is now the wife of Alfred Johnson, of 
Adrian, and Stella D., who was born Sept. 28, 185i), 
became the wife of George L. Bennett, and now 
resides in Adrian. 

.^ ^.o,o..:cJ>;52)-o*o ^ 



<^\ J^ILLIAM A. TEACllOFT. Among tiie 
rising young men of Lenawee County ma}' 
lie nunibered the gentleman whose nanie is 
given at the head of this sketch. He is a native of 
this county, having been born in Rome Townsliip, 
where he now resides, Aug. 27, 1856, and is a son (»f 
George W. and Harriet Teachout. 

Young Teachout remained at home until he at- 
tained the age of fourteen years, since which time 
he has been largely dependent upon his own exer- 
tions for his advancement in life. He received his 
education in the district schools of his native town- 
ship, and at the lligli ScIkioI at Adrian, where he 
spent some time. Since taking upon himself the 
responsibilities of life he has been variously em- 
ployed. Like many others who depend upon their 
own exertions, lie lias not been enabled to chose 



that species of employment most congenial to him. 
Filling the position of a clerk in a store at Adrian, 
carrying the mail for four j'ears, with a fair share 
of farming, he has filled up his life to the present 
moment. On the 8th of February, 1880, he was 
united in marriage with Miss Mary L. Christman, 
who was born Dec. 20, 1801, in Rome Township, 
and is the daughtei- of Henry C. and Susan K. 
(Hines) Christman. 

Mr. Christman was boru in Niagara County, N. 
Y., Aug. 2, 1830. When he was but five years of 
age the family removed to Ohio, but after dwelling 
there three years, in 1838 they removed to Wash- 
tenaw County, Mich. Li 1868 his father, John 
Christman, removed to Gratiot Count}', Mich., 
where he is still living, having attained the ripe 
old age of eighty years. Mrs. Jane (DeCow) 
Christman, the mother of Henry, was a native of 
Canada, where she was born in 1812. and died in 
1886. Henry remained at home until he was eight- 
een years old, sometimes working on a farm but 
oftener at his trade, which was that of a carpenter 
and joiner. About 1S4:) he was appointed station 
keeper on the New York ife Erie Canal, which 
position he tilled for some time, after which he 
came to Adrian, Lenawee County, where for sev- 
eral years he was engaged at his trade, and in 1860 
removed to Rome Township. While peacefully 
carr3'ing out his business pursuits, the cloud of war 
broke over our devoted countr}', and the (iovern- 
ment kept calling for men to put down the unhol}' 
rebellion. Fired with a natural patriotism, on the 
7th of November. 1863, Henry Christman enlisted 
in Conipan}' M, 1st Regiment of Engineers and 
Mechanics, under the immediate command of Capt. 
Fdson P. Gifford. After spending a week in camp 
at Detroit, the company was taken to Bridgeport, 
Ala., and in tlint and the surrounding country they 
passed their time until M.arch, 1865, when they were 
ordered to join Gen. W. T. Sherman's arm}', at 
Goldsboro, N. C. After attaining that point they 
marched to Raleigh, in the same .State, where 
they remained until after the surrender of Gen. 
.loseph Johnston. Marching then to Washington 
with his com|)any, Mr. Christman participated in 
the grand review which took place in that city; 
proceeding then to Nashville by way of Louisville, 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



201 ' 



J. 



lie there received his discharge, Sept. 22, ISG.o. 
He had acted as Sergeant thmughMit nil his time of 
service, having been proniuti'd to tiiat ijosition .-it 
the date of his muster in. 

After receiving his discliarge Mr. Christiiian ic- 
turned to Rome Township, and resuming iiis tra<lc, 
lias carried it on until the jiresent moment. lie 
was married, Dec 1. is.-,i>, to Miss Adeliiia Allen, 
whose parents were earl^' settlers of this county. 
Their married life was, however, of short duration, 
as she died on the 22d of August. I.s."i:!. Feeling 
that it was not well for man to dwell alone, on the 
23d of June, 1805, he was again united in niariiage, 
this time with Miss Susan E. llines. She i> a 
native of Yates County, N. Y., where she was horn 
Fell. 29, 1836, and is the daughter of George ami 
Sophia (Maine) Mines, both of whom were natives 
of New Jerse3'. George Hines died in Cambridge 
Township, this county, at the early age of thirty- 
two years, and his wife followed him in death, from 
the residence of Henry Christman, when sixty- 
.seven j'ears old. Mrs. Ciiristman was one of a 
family of ten children, five of wdiom grew to man- 
hood and womanhood, and are married and sur- 
rounded by families. 

Mr. and Mrs. Christman are the [larents of three 
children: Mary L., the wife of VYilliain A. Teach- 
out, and two who died in infauc}'. Mr. Christman 
is now engaged in operating in general carpentry, 
having a general repair shop in this townsiiip. 
Mr. and Mrs. William A. Teaehout are the happy 
|iarents of two interesting children: Zeda L., who 
was horn Jan. 27. is.si. .and C'l.irc W., Dec. 11, 
18SG. 



yT__^ ON. FERNANDO C. BEAMAN was horn 
r'^ in Ciiester County, Vt., June 28, 1«1 I, and 
/ivJ^ departed this life .-it his home in the city of 
(^ Adrian. Sept. 27. ISS-.'. He had a long and 
wearisome struggle with inliian health. :ind :is a man 
whose public career was well known throughout the 
Northwest, and whose ser\ ices had been gi'e;it, he 
was universally mourned. 

• t eireuuistaiiee^, ;uid removed with them from 
tive Stiite to Franklin County, N. V., when a 



child five years of age. He obtained a common- 
school education in his youth, and was a classmate 
of William A. Wheeha-. hite Viee l're.-,ident of the 
Inited St.ates. In is,;(; he eunimeneed il,e m ndy 
of law in the city of lloehester. and tliive ye:ir> 
later, after h.aving hccn a leM.lenl of Miehig:in 
some moiit lis. was admitted to the bar. He eom- 
nienceil piaetiee in Washtenaw County. :iim1 in IM:; 
w:is aiipointed Prosecuting Attorney of Lenawee 
Cinnly, liy ( lov. Barry, and conseipieutly liee:ime 
.a resi.Ient of Adrian, where he subsecpu'iilly m;ide 
hi- home. He pursued his law practice eontinn- 
oii-,ly. liaving for his partners some (»f the most 
eminent jurists of the Stiite, ;ind in \S;,C, was elected 
I'rohate Jmlge. serving his term, and in I S7 1 w.a^ 
appointed to the same ..Hire whieli had been mad. 



fii.aid. Hon. i;..li,at K'. lieeeher. In I.s7;) lie u:i,> 
appointed, liy <;ov. Croswell. (iliited Stales Senator 
to succeed Hon. Zachari:di Cliandler, deee:,<ed. 

Aside from being geneially interested in tlie 
:iftairs of the county an<I di-!riet .Mr. I'.eanian served 
as City Attorney ;ind .Mayo,- ,,r Adri;in, .and about 
tli:it time, in I.s.h;, was .■Ii,,s.mi as one of the I'resi- 
dential Electors on the Fremont ticket. I ntil I St.-, 
he h:i(l been a Democr;it. Init this ^cai- :idopted 
Free-Soil principles, and in I s,", i assisted at the 
birth of the Kepublic.-iii p.-nly under tli,. ti:idit ional 
oaks of .laekM.n. Hi- couim- had lieeii i„:iiked by 

l.scil be w:is nominat.Ml for Congress by the Uepub- 
licau-. till' district comprising the countie- ol 
(iranl. C.as-, St. Joseph. Hillsdale. Leu:, wee ;ind 
Monroe. Mr. IJeanKin's m:ijoritv over liiMi|iponent, 
the Hon. S. C. Cotlin lieiry, of St. .b.-eiih, was 
0,474. Two years laPa-, .affr the re-districting of 
the State, he was once more pitted against a very 
l)opnlar imin, the Hon. E. J. Pennington, of Ply- 
mouth. W.ayue County, but was again elected, and 



o be 



Vicinity. 

Horn Fernando C. Ileaman -erve. 

:i confliet in which lie w:i> vitally i 
from any sellish motives, but from 



•► 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



n 



riotism, aud the voice of conscience which would 
only allow him to act in consonance with his views. 
Under the terrible' mental strain his health gave 
wa}', and never since his voluntary retirement from 
the Congressional arena had there been a day in 
which he did not suffer from the effects of the 
labors of those historic years. At that time he was 
the friend and close associate of Sumner, Stevens. 
Washbunie, Lincoln, Wilson, Chandler, Howard, 
and the other noble men whose works and words 
brightened that dark page of the nation's history. 
In the intelligent position which he took upon the 
question of reconstruction he was warmly com- 
mended by such men as Charles Sumner, Salmon 
P. Chase, Thaddens Stevens and other statesmen, 
and his opinions were sought for and listened to 
with that serious attention which indicated that 
they carried conviction with them. 

As an attorney aud counselor Judge Beaman 
was admirably equipped, both by nature and train- 
ing, for the duties involved in a constant succes- 
sion of intricate qnestiors. At the bar he was the 
peer of any attorney in the State, and had a 
thorough contempt for the arts of the pettifogger 
and the professional politician. He was particu- 
larly courteous with the younger members of the 
profession, remembering his own early efforts, and 
that eminence could only be attained by steady and 
resolute persistence. He was conscientious in his 
practice, never taking a case of whose justice he 
was not fully convinced. 

The marriage of Fernando C. Beaman and Miss 
Mary Goodrich was celebrated in Brockport, N. Y., 
on the 10th of May, 1841. Mrs. B. is the daughter 
of Ira and Fear (Potter) Goodrich, natives of New 
York State, in which both families had been repre- 
sented for several generations. They were mostlj' 
farmers by occupation, but Mr. Goodrich, during 
the later years of his life, engaged in mercantile 
pursuits. He died at the age of forty years, at 
Rochester, N. Y., and his excellent wife spent her 
last years at Brockport. Mrs. B(!aman was well 
educated, and moved in the best society of her 
native State, being an own cousin of .St'uator Piatt. 
Of her union with our subject there were born 
three children, namely: Mary A., born in this 
county Marcli f, 1842, and now the wife of Rienzi 



H. Baker; Edward C, born March 12, 1845, in 
Adrian, died July 5, 1846; Roscoe W., born in 
Adrian, July is, 1847, died in Chicago, Aug. 
.•!1, 1877. 

Mrs. Beainan w'as well fitted, both by nature and 
training, to be the companion of such a man as her 
husband. She stood by his side during sunshine 
and storm, proving his most faithful counselor and 
sympathizer. She is still living in Adrian in the 
enjoyment of good health, honored and respected 
bv all wIkj know her. 

Fernando C. Beaman was the son of Josliua and 
Hannah (Olcott) Beaman, natives respectivelj' of 
Lancaster, IMass., and Windsor County, Vt. Joshua 
Beaman was a descendant of Gamaliel Beaman, 
whose parents settled in Dorchester, Mass., when 
Gamaliel was a lad twelve years of age. The latter 
was married in earlj^ manhood, and became the 
father of eight children. His grandson, Elijah, 
married Miss Thankful Nichols, in 1859, and they 
were the grandparents oif Fernando C. Beaman. 

Joshua Beaman lived in Lancaster, Mass., until 
1787, when he was called out by the Government 
to assist in quelling Shay's Rebellion; this accom- 
(jlished he took up his abode in Chester, Vt., whence 
lie removed in 1819 to Chautauqua, N. Y., where 
he spent the remainder of his life engaged in farm- 
ing. He married Miss Hannah Olcott in 1791. 
She was the daughter of Timothy and Hannah 
(Chandler) Olcott, and of this union tiiere were 
born fourteen children, of whom Fernando C. was 
the sixth son and twelfth child. 

Mrs. Hannah Beaman was born in 177:3, aud died 
at the old homestead in Chautauqua County, N. Y., 
March 19, 1.S29. 



Wc^' 



^ii?=^EOR(TK LANE was born m w 
jj[ (—, Blissfleld Township, Lenawee ( 
^^^ the 27th of March, 1827. Jaco 



what is now 
County, on 
)b Lane, his 

fMtlier, was born in New Jersey, where he grew to 
manhood and was reared upon a farm. In that 
Slate he learned the .trade of blacksmithing, and 
coming to Michigan as early as 1825, worked at 
his trade in Monroe County. In 1826 he was 
married to Louisa, a daughter of (ien. Giles, and 



» ^m M» 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



203 



•aftei'wunl came to Lenawee County, tlie removal 
being made with teams, fur which lie h:i<l to cut 
part of the way through the forest. 

Jacob Lane entered hind in wh;it is now lilisslicld 
Township, built a log house, aud erci-tcd a sJKip iu 
which he divided his time with his agricultural 
labors. After three or four years he removed to 
Monroe, where he worked at his trade three years, 
and tlien returned to Blissfield and l)egan keeping 
hotel. In 183(; his wife died, and abandoning the 
liotcl business Mr. Lane went to Philadelphia, 
where he remained three years and learned the 
trade of a machinist. He then went to Detroit 
and worked in the railroad shops foi' two j'cars, 
after which he returned to Monroe, where he pro- 
cured the position of foreman in the railroad shops. 
In 1847 he met his death by accident, being killed 
by the cars. His family consisted of five children: 
George; John, who died in 1833; William, who 
lives in (iuiney. 111.; Charles, who served in an 
Ohio regiment in the late war, and was killed in 
the battle of Atlanta, in Jul}', 1801; and one 
daughter who died in infancy. 

The subject of this sketch was but nine years of 
age when his mother died, and he went to make his 
home with his maternal grandparents. During his 
bo3'hood he attended the pioneer schools and 
.assisted his grandfather in the work upon the farm. 
LTp to fifteen years of age his life was spent with 
his grandfather and uncles, but at that ag(> he con- 
cluded to care for himself, and engaged in work 
upon the farm, first receiving $3 per month, and 
later 19. For three years he continued at farm 
work, and then procured the situation as foreman 
on the Michigan .Southern & Indiana KailuMv, .and 
remained in the employ of thatcomp.-my fm- ciglitccn 
naonths, when he went to Ohio aud secured em- 
ployment with the Mad River Railroad Coni])any, 
where he remained five years and then returned to 
Lenawee Count}'. During the.se various employ- 
ments he had saved sufiicient mone}' with which to 
bu}' II 4 acres of land, forty of which were cleared. 
Upon his return to Lenawee County lie liveil upon 
this farm for four years, when he went liack to 
Ohio aud again engaged in railroad work for tlnei' 
years. ;it the end of which timi' he iclui-ncd lo 
lilisslicld aud rcsume<l farming. .Soon after this In- 



purchased his i)resent farm near the village of Bliss- 
field, on which he has erected a splendul house in 
which he lives in ease and comfort. 

On the •2utli of January, 18,50, Mr. Lane was 
ni.irried to Sarah A. Elsey, wlio was liorn on Staten 
Island, aud is a daughter of William El>cy, a native 
of England. They are the parents of ten children, 
as follows: Charles lives in Gentry County, Mo.; 
Leona is the wife of J. L. Hazard, and lives in 
Florida; William and George live in Gentry County, 
Mo.; Mary married William R. Edgar, and lives iu 
Lima, Ohio: Clara, wife of Charles E. Bird, lives in 
Blissfield; Bradfonl, Aima Belle, .lohu aud -baiuie 



are at 



.Mr. and Mrs. Lane are members of the Methodist 
Episcop;d Church, to which oi'ganization they con- 
tribute time and means. In his politics Mr. Lane 
is decidedly partial to the Republican party, with 
which he has always affiliated. He is the son of 
one of the first .settlers of the State of Michigan, 
and was himself b(n-n iiefore the township iu which 
he now resides was surveyed or named. He has 
been a participant in all the privations and hard- 
ships of pioneer life in Michigan, and is thoroughly 
a self-made man, having been left without pareut.al 
care and protection when a mere boy. How well 
he has fought the battle of life is best evidenced by 
his present possessions, for he is considered one of 
I the wealthiest men in Blissfield Township. 



■ | on the 1st o 

D outcai,ital. 



OIIX T. C()LE(;R0\E came to Medina 
Towushiii when a single man, arriving here 
)ctobci-. 1.S42. He was with- 
d for three years em|)loyed 
himself :is a farm laborer, managing in the mean- 
time to save each year something from his earnings, 
aud in 1843 purchased a tract of land embracing 
eighty-six acres on section 2. Upon this there had 
been very little attempt at impi-ovement, and un- 
der great difficulties he eommeiiced clearing the 
land and preparing the soil for cultivation. There 
was little to encourage him the first and .se<'ond sea- 
s.ms, ;dlhough l,r g.ain.'d a littlr headway e:ich year, 
aud iu due time began 1(. realize th.al his labors 
wre not to be in vain. He has now uiw. of the 



H" 






LENAAVEE COUNTY. 



best appointed homesteads in tlie townsiiip, witli a 
beautiful residence and substantial out-buildings, 
and has added to his first purchase to the amount 
of seventy-nine acres, h"ing on section i; he has 
also an interest in eighty acres on section 25. He is 
known among his neighbors as an honest, upright 
man of good principles, conscientious in his be- 
liefs, and in all I'espects a model citizen. He votes 
the straight Republican ticket, and has represented 
his townsiiip in the County Board of .Supervisors 
four terms, besides serving .as Highway Commis- 
sioner. 

Our subject was born in the townshiiJ of Nor- 
wich, McKean Co., Pa., May 22, 1820, and is the 
son of Benjamin and Lucy (Garlic) Colegrove, the 
former born in Plainfield, Windham Co., Conn., and 
the latter in Lanesboro, Berkshire Co., M.ass. They 
were married about 1814, and soon afterward 
started for Pennsylvania, where the father had pur- 
chased land. They set out with a sleigh and a team 
of horses, but when they arrived at Norwich, Che- 
nango Co., N. Y., the snow had left the ground, and 
it not being convenient to procure a wheeled ve- 
hicle, the father decided to stay there until he could 
proceed on his journey, and accordingly rented a 
farm for the season. In the winter following, when 
the snow came on, they resumed their journe.y, and 
arrived safely at their destination. They continued 
in McKean County, Pa., twenty-eight j^ears there- 
after, and there became the parents of seven chil- 
dren, of whom six are still living, namely: Avan- 
der H., Mary A., Henry G., John T., Alonzo B. and 
Naomi G. One son, Truman D., enlisted during 
the late Rebellion in the Biicktail Regiment of 
Pennsylvania, in 1862. Soon after entering the serv- 
ice he contracted a .severe cold which developed 
into typhoid fever, from which he died at Wash- 
ington, D. C. The mother died at the homestead 
in McKean County, in October, 1847. 

In 1842 the four eldest sons of Benjamin Cole- 
grove left the Keystone State and came to this 
county, among them .John T., of our sketch. The 
father six years later followed them with his two 
remaining children, and continued a resident of 
Medina Township fifteen years, wiicu lie nioved to 
Morenci, where his death tuol< place un the 4th uf 
April, 187.5. He was an industrious and hard-work- 



1 ing man, and as the result of good habits attained 
! to the advanced age of eighty-eight years. 

John T. Colegrove received a common-school 
education, and has all his life been engaged in 
farming pursuits. A few years after taking up his 
residence in Medina Township, and after he had 
prepared a suitable home for the maiden of his 
choice, he was married, on the 25th of August, 1846, 
to Miss S. liortensa. daughter of Benjamin and 
Mary C. Holmes, natives respectively of New York 
State and Massachusetts. Mr. Holmes was horn in 
171)7, and was the son of Benjamin T. Holmes, who 
was born in Massachusetts, July 20, 1760. The lat- 
ter .served seven years in the Revolutionary War, 
and was an -intimate friend of Washington. Ben- 
jamin T. Holmes learned the trade of a shoemaker 
when a young man, and later engaged i n farming. 
He came to this county with his family in 1836, 
and established himself on a tract of land in Medina 
Township, where he continued to live until his 
death, in March, 1881. His wife had died six years 
previously, on the 3d of August, 1875. Their four 
children were named respectively: Alliina S.. Ar- 
thur M., S. Hortensa and James L. 

Mrs. Colegrove was born Jan. 19, 1827, in Wayne 
County, N. Y., and was nine years of age when her 
parents came to this county. She received her ed- 
ucation in the common school, and continued under 
the careful training of her mother until her mar- 
riage. Her union with our subject resulted in the 
birth of three children — Ottis, Benjamin M., and an 
infant deceased. Ottis married Miss Rosa E. Barker, 
and resides on the old homestead; they have two 
children — Vining B. and Viola H. Benjamin M. 
married Miss Frances J. Rice, and is farming in 
Medina Township; they have three children — Clark 
E., Sylvanus J. and Phillip. 

yp^- E\-. 1)A\'ID STUBERT STEPHENS, M. A., 
jL^ President of Adrian College, one of the 
i^\\l finest educational institutions in the great 
*@)West, was born at Springfield, Ohio, May 
12. 1847, and is therefore filling his most responsi- 
ble position at the comparatively youthful age of 
forty years. Vor this, however, he i» admirably 



»^-ll-^ 



^u 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



fiUeit both by nature iuid e.liicntion. Ilr is .-i -cii- 
tleuian of superior liirth nnd paruiitniic his I'atliiT. 
Oliver Perry Stephens, li;i\ ill:; been a iniiiislcr in 
tlie Oiiio Conference of the .Methudisl I'n.lcsUinl 
Chureh, and his mother, Mary Anna (Bi(Mle) Str- 
phens, a lady of litei'ary culture and ability, and a 
frequent contributor lo various periodicals of (lie 
day. 

After eompletiny- his primary course of study in 
the (common school, our .sid)jeet entered \\ittcii- 
berg College at Springfield, Ohio, wliere he spent 
about three years, and afterward mnii' to thr W.-l. 
entering Adrian College, from which he w;is L;r.-idii- 
ated under the Presidency of A.sa iMahaii. !>. 1). 
He was remarkably ambitious to excel in Ic-irning, 
and after leaving Adrian College crossed the At- 
lantic anil entered Edinburgh University in Scot- 
land, wdiere he coiniilctcd the required studies in 
philosophy for the degree of M. A., obtaining a 
prize for an English Essay under Prof. Masson. 
also in Moral Philosophy under Prof. Caldcrwood, 
and in Metaj^hysics under Prof. Frazer. 

Upon returning to America Mr. Stephens ac- 
cepted a position as instructor in Natural Sciences 
in Adrian College. He yet saw before iiini great 
possibilities for still further knowdedge, and was 
filled with the laudable ambition to avail himself of 
every opportunity to secure it. Accordingly, in 
the fall of 1873, he obtained a leave of absence, 
and going East entered Harvard College in order 
to pursue a special line of study, which he mastered 
the following year and returned to his former posi- 
tion in the College at Adrian, as Professor of .Men- 
tal Science and Logic. 

The course of Prof. Stephens, wliicli had always 
been steadily onward, ill l.s.s-j commended liim as 
a fit incumbent of his present pijsition, to which he 
was elected and which he" has since held in ;i man- 
ner befitting its ciiaracter and responsibilities. The 
c(_>llcge was founded and has been conducted under 
the auspices of the Methodist Protestant Church, 
and for a number of years Prof. Stephens was 
editor of the church magazine, while he has been 
a constant contributor t(j various other periodicals 
and the author of several pamphlets. Much of his 
pulpit work has been incidental to the work of 
teaching, althougli he is an ordained minister of 



this honor in l.ssn. He Mipplicd llie chinch at 
Adrian, in connc-tion witli others, for .a seas,.n wlicn 
it was without .-I, regular pastor, .■iiid frequently 

preaches in the churches ,.f <,llier .le ninations in 

the city. His style geiieially inclines l,ow:ird the 
melapliysical, while .-it lUv same time it is deeply 
spiritual Mild always ,-leai-|y and aptly illustrated. 
His 1,-iiigiiage is vigorous .and forcible, ami seldom 
fails to carry (am victioii with it. He is broad and 
liberal in his views, a man of deep sympathies with 

in eeclesi.astical aff.airs, lie seems to be impressed 
with the idea that he can be more iisi^fiil as a 
inodern eiliicalor and in assisting to form the minds 
and char.acters of the youth around him. 

I'l-esident Stephens since his c<inuection with 

in its various departmcnt.s, and pos.se.sses the happy 
medium luitween sentiment and practicality, which 
enables him to exert a weighty influence for good 
and introdiua. into tlie usual dull routine of study 
the elements which tend to make it interesting and 
attractive. Me is ijri_ii;ressive in his ideas, and l)y 
setting his mark high, forms an example for those 
with whom he associates in daily life which cannot 
but result in great benelit to all concerned. 



►/ILLIAM CREGt;, well known among the 
fl solid people of Macon Township, is the 
\)^ scion of an excellent old Scotch family, 
whose descendants removed to the North of Ire- 
land, ndiere our subject was born in County. Antrim, 
in 1S:J2. His father carried on farming in a mod- 
est way and William was there reared to agricult- 
ural pursuits until l«,')|, wdien he was married to a 
m.'iiden of liis own locality. .Miss Margaret .Stewart, 
wdio was born in I .s.l.'.. aial was also of Scotch an- 
cestry. Soon afterward the young people located 
on a small piece of ground in C^ounty Antrim, 
wher(^ they lived until LSfiti, and became the par- 
ents of four children. 

Our subject laliored a good maiw years upon his 
native soil, but not being satisQed with his condition 
or his prospects, now determined to seek the New 
World. In the spring of 18G6 he gathered to- 
gether his family and personal effects, and embarked 

9^ 



-•► 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



t 



oil .-i sailing-vessel fiunn the port of Liverpool. 
After a favorable voyage of tiiirteen days they 
lamled in New York, whence they shortl3' afterward 
proceeded westward, and Mr. (Jregg rented a farm 
ill ]>Lic()n Township, this county, upon which he con- 
tinued until purchasing his present homestead. 
Here he lias 160 acres of good land on section 25, 
of which he took possession in 1873. He hiis been 
fairly prosperous in his laboi's and given considera- 
ble attention to stock-raising. 

The household circle was completed by the birth 
of six children, of whom one is deceased, namely, 
Angle, who became the wife of William Nec- 
tell, of Canada, and died in 188(). leaving one 
child, a daughter, who bears her mother's name. 
Robert J. is at home with his parents; Andrew 
married Miss Annie Gasten, and assists in the mau- 
agement of the homestead ; Samuel, Thomas and 
William also remain under the parental roof. The 
family all belong to the Presbyterian Church, and 
Mr. Gregg uniformly votes the Republican ticket. 
Mrs. Gregg is a charter member of the Presbyte- 
rian Church, of Macon Township. 

The parents of our subject, Andrew and Nancy 
(Linton) Gregg, departed this life at their home in 
County Antrim, the father at the age of sixty 
years and the mother when seventy-four. The par- 
ents of Blrs. Gregg, Samuel and Ellen (Linton) 
Stewart, spent their entire lives on the farm where 
they were born. Thej' were Presbyterians in re- 
ligion, and were descendants of substantial Scotcii 
ancestr3'. 

JAMES R. TERPENEY. The natural ad- 
vantages of Woodstock Township as a stock- 
raising region, and its settlement bj' an unus- 
ual number of intelligent men, have singled 
it out for special mention among the affairs of 
Lenawee County. Its fine horses and cattle are 
proverbial, and to this industry the subject of this 
sketch has given a decided impetus, being one of 
the most noticeable of those engaged in this busi- 
ness. His attention has been chiefly given to the 
breeding of lirst-class roadsters and draft horses, 
for which he finds a ready market and the highest 
price. In connection with this, Mr. Terpeney 
carries on general farming, and has built up one of 
■^« . 



the 



the most complete country homesteads 
northwest portion of Lenawee County. 

Our subject, a native of the Erapiue State, was 
liorn in Cayuga County, Feb. 19, 18.38, and is the 
sou of Peter S. and Lydia (Hannibal) Terpeney, 
natives of the same county as their son. They 
continued there after their marriage until 1843, and 
then the father of our subject determined to go 
further west. He came first to Eaton County, this 
State, Init a few days later made his way to the 
vicinity of Adrian, this I'ounty, and for two years 
thereafter was employed as a farm laborer. Subse- 
qnentl}' he worked laud on shares, and then rented 
land in Rollin Township five years. He was a resi- 
dent successively of Hillsdale County, ^V^oodstoc•k 
Township, this countj% and lastly of Addison, 
where he spent his last days, his death taking place 
when he was forty-four years of age. The mother, 
whose maiden name was Lydia Hannibal, survived 
her husband until 1884, and passed away on the 1st 
of May, aged sevent3-seven years. They were the 
parents of ten childi'en, eight of whom are still 
living. One brother has been iu California for the 
last thirty-five years; three are living in Illinois, 
and the others in Michigan. Mr. Terpenej-, of our 
sketch, was thrown upon his own resources at an 
early age, starting out in life for himself when a lad 
of ten years, and since that time has " paddled his 
own canoe," against adverse winds often, but 
usually managing to keep his head above water. 
j He worked the first summer for a bushel of apples 
a day, for which he usually found sale, and after- 
ward was employed by the month among the people 
of his neighborhood until after the outbreak of the 
war. He enlisted, Aug. 19. 18G2, in Company I, 
1st Michigan Battery Light Artillery, and with his 
comrades marched to the scene of conflict, and 
traveled in this manner mostlj' through the Southern 
States, meeting the rebels in man}' engagements 
and skirmishes, enduring his share of sickness, 
hardship and privation. Fortunately he escaped 
wounds and capture, and after visiting the National 
capital, he received his honorable discharge and 
was mustered out. 

Upon his return from the army Mr. Terpene}' 
sought his old haunts in Woodstock Township, and 
resumed his former labors. The 3'ear following, 



■•► 



a 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



207 



Dec. 20, 186(>, he was married to INIiss Loretta l'«'l- 
liinii. of this lownsliip. In 1 ST I Air. 'rcriioncy 
socmvil possession of his present l-:niii. ile hns 
always m.-iintaincd an intellij4L'nt interest, in town- 
ship .iffairs, and been aecorded recognition as a 
vahied citizen by election to the various townslii[) 
ottiees, serving- as Treasurer and Seliool l)ireei..r. 
and often being called into eunnsel ii|ion niattei-s 
affecting the welfare of the peoiile at large. 

Tlie wife of onr snbjeet was born Ai>ril liS, 1S:>7, 
and is tlie daughter of Richard ('. and Alibie 
(Evi'ry) I'elhain. 'I'o t,heni lliere h:u c Ix'en l)orn 
four children, two ,,f whom di.-d in infaney. Those 
surviving are: Maria S., who was born in Wood- 
.stoek, Jan. 27, I.SGS. and w;is edu.-ated in the 
Brooklyn School; and Claude 1)., who was born 
near Addison, May 2G, 187."., and is now attending 
school in his own district. 

Mr. Terpeney uniformly votes the Democratic 
ticket and takes an active interest in politics, work- 
ing for his party ,as opportunity occurs, and for 
the furtherance of the principles in wliich he hon- 
estly believes, and in support of which he is always 
willing to make all needful sacrifices. He is a 
member of Addison Post No. 277, of which he is 
(^»uarterniaster. 



y 



ILLl AM DE MOTT is a prominent a 



terpi'ising citizen of Lenawee County, and 
one who has been an important factor in 
building up its business interests. He is a native 
of New York, having been born in Lodi, Seneca 
County, in 1832, and was the youngest of the four 
children born to Abram and Jane (Hogarth) De 
Mott that attained maturity. Mr. and Mrs. De Mott 
moved with their familj^ from Seneca County to 
Lenawee County, Mich., in the spring of 1844, 
locating in the village of Ridge way. There ]\Ir. 
De Mott engaged in the meicantile business, and 
.also became an extensive land-owner. He finally 
sold out his business and i-eturned to the East. 

William De Mott was a boy of twelve years when 
he came with his parents to this State. He receivcul 
the rudiments of his education under the tutelage 
of Prof. Robert Harriot, a noted teacher, formerly 
of New York. After.-ittaining manhood he returned 



to his native State to complete the education so well 
begun. Ileattei}ded ()\id Academy. Cenesee Col- 
lege, and otlier inslitulions of learning, in Ml of 
which he main(:iin<Ml a liigli rank in sehol;ii>hip. 
After completing his edneati.Mi, he remMJne.l in tlie 

East foi- awhile, s i entering llie store of Cen. 

John De Mott, of Lodi, N. Y., in the capacity of 
cleik. lie remained with him for some time, but 
linally iclnrned to Michigan, and became eniiiloycd 
witli his fnther on a, farm in Franklin Township, 
where he continued for two years. He next came 
to Tccumseh, and entered the stoic of his lirother- 
in-law, with whom he remained for some years, 
rendering him efficient service. He then entered 
the drug-store of his brother. Dr. Charles De Mott, 
as his clerk, continuing in that capacity until his 
brother sold out his establishment. He then re- 
solved to studj^ law, and entered the office of Messrs. 
Bills & Baxter for that purpose. He read law with 
them until the year of 18.50, when he entered tin- 
law department of the University at Ann Arbor. 
He continued his studies there until 18Gl,wlien the 
breaking out of the war turned his attention from 
his studies to the affairs of his coimtry, and as soon 
as lie Could make arrangemeiiL to clo so, enlisted in 
her defense. 

In the fall of 1801 onr subject became a member 
of Comi)any K, od Michigan Cavalry, and went 
with his regiment to Benton Barracks. St. Louis. In 
18(;2 he entered upon the campaign of the South 
and West, traveling with the army over the States 
of Missouri, Georgia and Tennessee. He was at 
the battles of New Bladrid, luka, seige of Corinth, 
and skirmishes and other important engagements. 
In 1863 he returned on a veteran's furlough to his 
regiment .at Detroit, Mich. On the expiration of his 
furlough he reported for service at St. Louis, where 
his regiment was remounted, and ordere<l to Devil's 
Bluffs in the Department of Arkansas, un<ler Oen. 
Steele. They were for some time engaged in guaid- 
ing the Memphis & Little Rock Railway at that 
point. 

Mv. De Mott served out his term of enlistment^ 
and was honorably discharged at Booneville, now 
known as Michigan City. He then returned to De- 
troit, where he entered the Provost Marshal's office 
as clerk, under Oen. Mark Flannagan. He retained 



i-H 



4I-* 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



.^Mh 



tliat position until the surrender of Gen. Lee. He | 
returned to liis home in Tecumseh, and took sev- j 
eral ageiK'ics, .and in 18G7 established an insurance 
agency, representing several Eastern companies in 1 
connection with the Northwestern Life Insurance j 
C'orapan3- of Milwaukee. In 188G he sold out that 
branch of his business relating to lire insurance, 
still retaining his agency in the life insurance com- 
pany. On the organization of the Tocumseh Celery 
Company, Mr. De Mott, as one of the principal orig- 
inators of that enterprise, was made its Vice Presi- 
dent. The company has a tract of seventy-five 
acres of land situated three miles south of Tecumseh. 
This is one of the most promising enterprises of | 
Tecumseh. He is also one of the Directors of the i 
Oliio and Michigan Coal Manufacturing Company, ! 
in Tecumseh. 

Our subject was one of the men who used his in- 
fluence, and was instrunientarin raising the money j 
for the purpose of building the Toledo & Milwau- 
kee Railway, now the Cincinnati, Jackson & Macki- 
naw Railwny. He raised in all some $35,000. 
This he did fur the imblic good without any com- 
pensation whatever. 

Mr. De Mott is a member of Tecumseh Lodge 
No. 6!), F. & A. M. ; he is also a member of Beers 
Post No. 140, G. A. R. In politics he is identified 
with the Republican party. He is a public-spirited 
citizen, and always gives his hearty sympathy and 
co-operation to any movement to advance the in- 
terests of the county or township in which he lives. 
His good knowledge of law has been of great bene- 
fit to him in his business life. He is widely known 
in business circles, and wherever known is regarded 
as a man of ability and undoubted integrity of 
character. His residence is on Adams street, near 
the business part of tiie city. 

^^/NDREW J. VAN SICKLE struck the first 
@A-J| blow on the land which he now occupies, 
II Is and which has been transformed from a 
^^ wilderness into a beautiful and valuable 

farm. He has wisely clung to his first purchase, 
from J. H. Cleveland, and labored and watched 
while it slowly advanced in value until it is now 
the source of a comfortable income. Tlie farm em- 
braces 128^ acres on sections 21 and 22, in Seneca 



Township, and is noticeable for its finely cultivated 
fields, its good buildings, and the general air of 
thrift and prosperity which surrounds it. 

Our subject was born in Chemung County, N. 
Y'., Jan. 22, 1834, and is the eldest of the three 
children of Isaac and Jane (Cox) 'N'an Sickle, natives 
of New Jersey. Their ancestors crossed the water 
from Holland and Scotland in the Colonial da3-s, 
and the patei-nal great-grandfather of our subject 
served as a soldier in the Revolutionary War. 
Isaac and his wife soon after their marriage re- 
moved to New York State, and from there to Ohio, 
whence after an eight 3-ears' residence they returned 
to New York. They afterward went back to Ohio, 
and from there, in 1847, came to this county, where 
the father purchased a tract of land in Dover 
Township, which he still owns. He has reached 
the advanced age of seventy-eight years, and makes 
his home with his sou, Andrew J.: the mother died 
in Dover Township, in 1878, aged sixty-one years. 
Their children were all boys, and the other living 
brother of our subject resides in Seneca Township. 

Mr. Van Sickle, of this history, received his edu- 
cation in the common schools of Ohio and Michi- 
gan, and upon reaching his majority was married, in 
1800, to Miss Matilda, daughter of Daniel and 
Mercy A. (Amington) Chittenden, natives of New 
York State. The father was a blacksmith by trade, 
and died when forty years of age; the mother sub- 
sequently came to Michigan, settling near Adrian , 
and surviving her husband many .years, died a widow 
on the 1 3th of M.ay, 1887, .at the age of seventy- 
four ye.ars. 

Mrs. Van Sickle was born in Michigan, April 20, 
1836, and continued with her mother until her mar- 
riage, receiving her education in the district school 
and becoming skilled in all household duties. She 
was the third of seven children — two sons and five 
daughters — four of whom are now living and resi- 
dents of Michigan and Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Van 
Sickle for the last thirty years have been among 
the most highly respected residents of Seneca 
Township, where their thrift and industry, their hos- 
pitality and kindness of heart, have secured for 
them a large circle of warm friends. Mr. Van Sickle 
votes the Democratic ticket politically, although 
having very little to do with public affairs. 





'W^r6// '" 



-^^ ^/ c <:/ ^ / ^-^ 



LKN A WEE COUNTY . 



m 



ru-tdi- of the 



last five 
born in 



t 



J']OSIAH J. PUTNAM, tlu-pr^ 
I Lake Park Mouse, a proniinenl 
soil which he has conilueted for 
' j^ears at Sand Lalce, this county, 
Chesterfield, Xt., about forty miles from Boston, 
on the 20th of December. KS-2S. The parents of 
our subject, Silas and M.-irtha (Jordan) I'liliiaiii. 
were married in 182;^, and mij^rated from \ tinionl 
to Lenawee County, locating on a farm in the town- 
ship of Madison, where the father followed the oc- 
cupation of farming until his demise in 1849, leav- 
ing a wife and nine children, four sons and five 
daughters, who all lived to maturity. Only live 
are now living. 

Mr. Putnam is the third of the family, and was 
about three years old when his parents renioveil to 
this county'. He received a cnnimon-.-i-hdcil edu- 
cation, anfl remaine<l with his paients until the 
death of his father, when he engaged in farming on 
his own account, lie afterwaid bought the old 
homestead, where he continued to leside until 187G, 
wlien he came to Adrian, uIkic he has since re- 
sided in winter, while in summer he removes to his 
pleasant hotel at the lake, lie built this flue hotel 
in 1882, and opened it to the public July 4 of that 
vear. The structure is built upon a good stone 
foundation, and is three stories in height. Mr. Put- 
nam still retains his farm in Madison Township, 
consisting at present of 2.)8 acres of huid under a 
good state of cultivation, and containing a good 
brick dwelling-house and ont-bnildings, which he 
rents. His residence in Adri.-m is a line Ijrick edi- 
fice on Winter street. 

Mr. Putnam was united in marriage, in October, 
1858, with Miss Catherine, the fifth daughter and 
seventh child of Garrett and Hannah (Gannon) 
Tenbrook, the formei' born in Cheniiing ( 'ount\ , X. 
Y., in 1803, and the latter in Orange County. The 
parents were united in marriage about I82(), and 
removed to this county in 1831, being two months 
in reaching their destination. Mr. Tenbrook served 
as Justice of the Peace in i\Iadisou Townshii). He 
went to Mississippi during the war to aid an 
adopted son who had enlisted, but was too late to 
be of any service, while his own system became 
charged with malaria, and he died in 1868, his wife 
surviving him but one week. They became the 
^« 



parents of nine ehildren. three of whom survive. 
Both were mendjers of the BaiHist Church. Mr. 
and Mrs. Putnam are the |)arents of one son, Elmer 
E., who lives at home. 

In politics, Mr. Putnam is a Republican, aud is 
feailess in the advocacy of his principles, while he 
enjoys the esteem and resiieet of a large circle of 
frieiid> and acquaintances. The portrait of Mr. 
Putnam, as being that of a representative citizen of 
Lenawee County, forms a valuable addition to the 
collection presented in this volume, and the pub- 
lishers take pleasure in placing it on an accompa- 
nying page. 



.^rZIAH ASH, the son of a highly respected 
i@7/jl English farmer who settled in Raisin Town- 

/// * .-Ijip fifty-four years ag<.>, is the pro])rietor 
(^' of a small but well-improved tract of land 

on section 34. Here he is operating after the theory 
of Horace Greeley, that a moderate area of land 
carefully cultivated yields better results than a 
larger extent partially neglected. The property of 
our subject forms a snug home, and he is in the en- 
joyment of a comfortable income by which he has 
been enabled to surround himself aud his family 
with all the comforts of life. 

William Ash, the father of our sutiject, was a na- 
tive of Yorkshire, England, from which he emi- 
grated to the United States in 1831, landing in 
New York Cit.y on the 3d of May. Thence shortly 
afterward he proceeded to Buffalo, and on to To- 
ledo, Ohio, from which place he walkeil over the 
old Indian trail to Ann Arbor, Mich. After a 
brief stay at that point, which was then but an em- 
bryo village, he came to this county, locating first 
in Adrian Township, near the site of the present 
city. It then boasted but a few settlers, and Mr. 
Ash took up his abode with Urias Comstock, not 
far away, in Raisin Township. A few weeks later, 
however, he went back east as far as Lockport, N. Y'., 
and entered the employ of an old (Quaker, Jesse P. 
Hems by name, with whom he remained for a year, 
at the end of which he received $100, out of which 
he was obliged to pay a moderate sum for his wash- 
ing. He remained in that vicinity until 1833, and 
then returned to Michigan and invested ,liis small 



u 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



capital in a tract of Government land on section 34, , 
in Raisin Township. The papers which indicated j 
his ownersliip of this property bore the signatnre of 1 
Andrew .Tackson, who wii?. then President of the | 
United States. 

The location which Mr. Ash had chosen proved 
to be an extremelj- fortunate one and the soil ex- | 
ceedingly tillable. He retained possession of this, j 
and subsequently extended his landed interests un- 
til he became the owner of 220 acres, the most of 
which he brought to a high state of cultivation. 
He also erected a good set of farm buildings and 
surrounded himself and family with all the comforts 
of life. His death took place on the 1.3th of July, 
1881. He was recognized in the community where 
he had lived and labored so long as a man of un- 
impeachable moral character and correct business 
habits, and he has left to his children a record of 
which they may well be proud. 

William Ash was three times married; first to 
Miss Esther, danghter of Sylvester Westgate, who 
is familiarly remembered as one of the earliest set- 
tlers of Raisin Township. He came from Royalton 
Township, Niagara Co., N. Y., about 1832, and 
brought with him those substantial traits of char- 
acter which distinguished him as one of the most 
valued members of a communitj' struggling into 
life. He is now deceased. Esther Ash, the mother 
of our subject, w.as born in Royalton Township. N. 
Y., where she was reared to womanhood and after- 
ward came West with her parents. Of her marriage 
with William Ash there were born five children, of 
whom Aziah, our subject, was the eldest. The 
mother passed away while still a young woman, her 
death taking place at the homestead in Raisin 
Township, Dec. 14, 1843. 

The birth of our subject took place at his father's 
homestead in Raisiu Township on the 12th of 
March, 1836. He was there reared to manhood, in 
the meantime acquiring a fair education in the com- 
mon schools. He remained a member of the paren- 
tal household until after reaching his twenty-fifth 
birthday, and was then married in Raisin Township, 
to Miss Lucinda Kueeland. This lady was a native 
of Paper-Mill ^'illage, N. H., and when a maiden 
of eighteen came to Michigan with her parents, 
Abner and Lucinda (Flanders) Kneeland, who lo- 



cated in Raisin Township, but subsequently re- 
turned to the Old Granite State, where they are 
now living. Of this union there were born two 
children, and the mother died Aug. 10, 1866 ; the 
infant daughter, who was named Emma, followed 
two weeks later. The other, named Frank, died 
two years before the death of his mother. 

For bis second wife Mr. Ash married Miss Eme- 
line Johnson, the wedding taking place at the home 
of the bride in RoUin Township, Aug. 10, 1872. 
Mrs. Emeline Ash was born in Steuben County, N. 
Y., Jan. 20, 1839, and is the daughter of Nicholas 
.and Luc}' (Moore) .Johnson, natives of New York, 
where the former spent his last years in Allegany 
County', dying at an advanced age ; the mother had 
died in Steuben County when over seventy years 
old. They were the parents of nine children, and 
Emeline, with the others, received a good education, 
and taught school several years before her marriage, 
both in New York and this county. 

Our subject and his wife became the p.arents of 
four children, only two of whom are living, namely : 
Frank O., born Oct. 3, 1873, and Freddie E., April 
15, 1879. Cora died when nine years of age, and 
Orra I., when ten weeks old. Mr. Ash politically 
is an uncompromising Democrat, and with his es- 
timable lady, in religious matters, .attends the So- 
ciety of Friends. 

^^ ON RAD HOLMES. The gentleman whose 
if ^^ name appears at the head of this sketch is 

'^^'' successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits 
on his |)leasant farm on section 4, Dover Township. 
H\> parents were Isaac and Mary (Brown) Holmes, 
natives respectively of Dutchess County, N. Y., 
and Ireland. After their marriage they settled in 
Clarkson, Monroe Co., N. Y., where they resided 
for several years. In the fall of 1834 they followed 
the tide of emigration, which was then at its height, 
to Washtenaw County, Mich., locating in Pitts- 
field, where they remained some time, then re- 
moved to Matamoras, Ohio. After a few years' 
residence they returned to Washtenaw County and 
thence removed to Ingham, from which they came 
to Lenawee County, and made their home with 
their son Conrad, our subject, until their death. 



i 



■^-^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



213 



Mr 



■20. i,s(;;3, 
years, pass- 
i family of 
fourth. 



i 



The mother departed tin's life 
while the father survived her f 
ing away April 15, ISTT. Jhe' 
nine children, of whom C'onrail 

Our subject was born ill C'larksou, .Moni^.c ('.>., 
N. Y., March 25, 1. si 4. and resided there until l,s.l4, 
when he preceded his parents to Fittstield, Mich. 
He was married in January, l«3.s. to Miss .IuHm 
Dix, a native of Oneida County, N. Y., and 
daughter of William and Hannah (Deming) Dix, 
both natives of Connecticut. From that State they 
moved to New York Statt', .-nid theiicr to Wash- 
tenaw County, .Mich., where they spent the 
greater part of their reinainiim years, though they 
both died at the home of their daiiiihter, Mrs. 
Holmes, in Dover Township. 

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Iloluieslived 
in Pittsfield until 1841, when they removed to 
Dover Townshij), and, with the exception of one 
year spent in Washtenaw County, have resided 
here ever since. Mrs. Holmes died at her home in 
this township Oct. 28, 1885, aged seventy years, 
seven months and five days. She lived a conscien- 
tious Christian life, and was an esteemed member of 
the Methodist Church. To Mr. and Mrs. Holmes 
were born two children: William .1. and Charles I., 
the former of whom died in Dcivcr Township in 
18(J3, at the age of tweiity-foin years. Charles I. 
was born in Dover Township, .Inne 12, 1850, and 
has always lived at the old homestead. In Adrian, 
Mich., April 10, 1873, he was married to Miss 
Ida, daughter of Edwin .1. and Nancy (DeWitt) 
Wilcox. Mr. and Mrs. Wil.'ox live.l in Hudson 
Township, this county, about eii^hl ycrirs .-ifter their 
marriage, when they removed in Adri;in. where 
Mrs. Wilcox died in 18(i(i. Mr. \\ilc.,x spent his 
lastday.s in Calhoun County, Mich., dying there in 
October, 1 8«(;. They were the parents of two chil- 
dren, Ida and Eliza. Eliza is the wife of John 
Jacobs, of Branch County, Mich.; Ida, Mrs. Holmes, 
was born in Hudson Township, July 21, 1856. She 
is the mother of three sons— Willie K.. Arthur M. 
and Freddie E. 

Conrad Holmes has a hue farm of 105 acres, 
which is under a good state of cultivation. He has 
erected substantial and commodious buildings, and 
has all necessary appliances for carrying on farming 



satisfactorily. Here, in his comfortable hfjine, he 
is enjoying his declining years in the companion- 
ship of his son, with hi.s wife and their three merry 
children, who keep alive the spark of youthfulness 
in the heart of their grandfather. In polities Mr. 
Holmes is a Republican .-ind faithfully endorses the 
inci))les of that party. 



^<^^ HRISTIAN SCIIN lil IILA is a prominent and 
f( intelligent representative of our German pop- 

^^^y Illation, living in Clinton Township, where 
owns and manages a large farm on section 3. His 
indomitable energy and ability have brought more 
than usual success in his calling. His farm com- 
prises 264 acres, forty of which are in IJridgewater 
Township, Wa.shtenaw County. The most of it is 
well drained and under a good state of cultivation. 
He has a fine residence and first-class farm buildings, 
everything around showing marked evidence of 
care and thrift. 

Mr. Schneirla was liorn in ^Vurtemllerg, Ger- 
many, May 22, lfS40, and is the .son of Jacob 
Schneirla, who owned a small farm there, and was 
a tiller of the soil in his native country nearly all 
the days of his life. The niaiilen name of his wife 
was Barbara Fry, also a native of Germany. Foui- 
sons and two daughtei's were born to them. The 
father died in the land of his nativity when his son 
Christian, of this sketch, was about six years of age. 
Our subject lived with his mother and her second 
husband, for she had married again, until he was 
thirteen years of .age, when he came to the United 
States with his aunt, Mrs. Shoemaker. They came 
to Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County, where our sub- 
ject was variously employed for eight years. He 
then, in 1861, resolved to try his fortunes in Cali- 
fornia "The Golden.'' He was young and full of 
ambition, and started on the long journey to that 
distant State with high hopes, and a determination 
to make some of its vast wealth his own. He jour- 
neyed by the water route, and after his arrival lo- 
cated in San Jose, where he became employed on a 
railway about a year. During the four succeeding 
years he worked at different employments, and ac- 
cumulated a good deal of money. He then left 



4 



21 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



California and returned to visit tlie old home of his 
birth across the water, after which he veerossed the 
ocean and came once more to Michigan, where at 
the end of two years he finally bought the land 
where he has since established his home. 

In 18C8 Mr. Schneirla was married in Washtenaw 
County, to Miss Regina AValter, like himself a na- 
tive of Wurtemberg, where she was born in April, 
1842. She came with her parents, in 1861, to the 
United States, and lived with them in Washtenaw 
County until her marriage. She has ably seconded 
her husband in his efforts to acquire wealth, and 
their marked success in this direction is in no small 
degree due to her prudence and wise management. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Schneirla have been born twelve 
children, namely: Anna, Jacob, Christian, Pauline, 
Eddie, Regina, Charles, William, Clara, Walter, 
Clarence and Emma. To these children their 
parents are giving every advantage for a good 
education, besides carefully training them in the 
practical every -day duties of life. 

Although Mr. Schneirla possesses great acquisi- 
tive powers, yet he does not hoard his mone}', or 
spend it merely for his own gratification, bnt the 
poor and need}' find in him a benefactor, and he is 
ever ready to respond with a generous donation to 
all worthy objects of charity. He is a public- 
spirited citizen and his prosperity has benefited the 
township in which he has made his home. In poli- 
tics our subject is an earnest supporter of the Re- 
publican party. 



-:=-*ii%%?5«-f— 



w 



T 



'ELLY S. BEALS. The city of Adrian is 
i5i|s\ noted for its enterpi'ising business men, 
/l^^ and as a class they have given the city 
^®)an enviable standing in the commercial 
world. One of the most prominent, as well as sub- 
stantial merchants of Adrian, is the subject of our 
sketch, who is engaged in the grocery and provision 
business. Mr. Beals is a native of Massachusetts, 
and was born on a farm on (ri'een Mountain, that 
State, April 17, 1812. 

The father of our subject was Caleb Beals, a Xew 
England farmer, who was born in the same State, 
vhere he grew to manhood. The maiden name of 



our subject's mother was Lydia Sherman, a native 
of Massachusetts, and daughter of Kelly Sherman. 
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Beals moved to 
Essex County, N. Y., where they resided sixteen 
years, when they removed to Western New York, 
and after a short time sjient in that section changed 
their residence to Lenawee County, in 183;j, locat- 
ing in the village of Adrian, where the father passed 
most of his days and died in 1 So I . The mother 
survived him until l.S.J4. They were the parents 
of seven children, six of whom lived t(^ the age of 
maturity. Of the children the subject of our sketch 
was the eldest, .and he was four years of age when 
the parents removed from Massachusetts to Essex 
County, N. Y., where he grew to manhood and 
received ins education in the common schools. 

On the 21st of April, 1836, Mr. Beals married 
Miss Adeline M. Hathaway, a native of Massachu- 
setts, who was born on the 26th of November, 1806, 
and is the daughter of Jeptha and Nancy Hatha waj'. 
In the _vear of his marriage Mr. Beals removed to 
Adrian, where he found employment in;a cabinet- 
shop, and engaged in that occupation four years. 
He then purchased a piece of timber land, which he 
at once commenced improving, and erected a house 
with the intention of adopting the occupation of a 
farmer. He remained on this farm five years and 
then returning to Adrian, he formed a partnership 
with David Wheeler in the manufacture of cabinet- 
ware and chairs, in which he continued three years. 
He then formed a partnership with Reuben Wheeler, 
for the purpose of carrying on the grocery business, 
and after being thus engaged successfully for one 
year, his partner died. The business was continued 
by Mr. Beals, who has had several partners, but at 
the present time is conducting the business alone, 
having purchased the interest owned by his late 
partner. The location of the store is at No. 14 
Main street, where he keeps on hand a full stock of 
all classes of goods to be found in a completely 
furnished grocerj-. In addition to a general line of 
groceries he makes a specialty of meats and handles 
a large amount annually. 

Mr. Beals is now in his seventy-sixth year, and is 
active in both mind and body. He devotes his 
entire time to the prosecution of his business, in 
which he has been successfully engaged. In early 



i 



4- 



LENAWEE COUNTY, 



215 



-f 



life he was an old-line Wiiig, but since the extinc- 
tion of that party, and the organization of the Re- 
publican party, he has enthusiastically co-operated 
with the latter. Mr. and Mrs. Heals have had born 
to them three children, who died in cnly life, the 
eldest, William Henry, living to be live years and 
five months old. 



(h^M ARTIX 1'. STOC'lvWELL. One of the 
lost beautiful and valuable farms i}i Len- 
uee County is the property of the subject 
f this history, and is located on section 
1.5, Dover Township. It bears about it all the evi- 
dences of thrift and prosperity, forming one of the 
.■iltractive features of the lan<lscapc of that section. 
The residence is commodious and substantial, the 
barns and out-buildings are in first-class condition, 
and the proprietor is one of the most prominent 
men in that section of country, to which he came 
when a youth of seventeen years with a cash capital 
of six (^euts in his pocket. 

The history of Mr. Stockwell is one of absorbing 
interest, and illustrates the remarkable energy and 
resolution with which nature endowed him. Early 
in life he had been made .acquainted with toil and 
privati(.)U, and as soon a> he began to think lie de- 
termined that whenever the opportunity offered he 
would escape from the thraldom which there beset 
iiim, and become a man among men, with a home 
and property of his own. In oiilcr to more fully 
under.stand the circuln^tan(,■e^ (,f his cliil.lhood days 
it will be proper to mention tlio>c IVoni whom he 
derives his origin. 

Mr. .^tockwell w.as born in Cato, C.-iyuga Co., N. 
v., Feb. 11, I sis, :ind is the M>n of Kliatliah Stork- 
uell, a native of Whitehall, N. Y., uherc hr was 
born May 19, 1 Till. The father remained n ivsi- 
dent of his native town until eighteen j'ears of age, 
and then removed with his parents to Cato. l)ec. 
8, 1814. he was married in Ira. N. Y., (o .Miss l-;>- 
ther, daughter of Chri.-topluT and Hannah I'eikin.-, 
and after a residence of several years in Ira and \ i- 
cinity, he removed to Java, Wyoming County, and 
in 1837 came with his fanuly to Michigan, M-ltling 
near Ihe ceutei- of Adrian Township; Ironi there, in 



1849, they removed to Dover Township. Mrs. Es- 
ther .Stockwell was born in Saratoga, N. Y., .Inly 8, 
1799. .and died in Dover, this county. May 18, 1856. 
The father survived his wife several years, his death 
occurring Fell. 2:3, 1.S67. They were the jiarents of 
nine children, Martin P. being the second child and 
eldest son. The eldest daughter, Betsey C, was 
born Nov. 1, 1815, became the wife of Peleg Yar- 
nold, and died in Fulton County, 111.: Catherine E. 
was born March 1, ISlM, .■ind is the wife of Aaron 
M. Phillips, a well-to-do farmer of Dover Township: 
Levi L. was born July 18, 182:!, and is farming in 
Medina Township; Ezilda was born Oct. 23, 1825, 
and is the wife of D. S. (ialloway, of Dundee, this 
State: Hannah A., iMrs. William Wildman, was born 
April 5, 1828, and is a resident of Coldwater; Chris- 
topher P. was born Jan. 20, 1831, and is farming on 
the other side of the Mi-ssissippi: Benjamin V. was 
born Aiiril 9, 1 S33, and died in New York State 
when a child, .Inly 1. 1 sy5 ; Henrietta L. was born 
Nov. 13, 1S3.V married Still well Palmer, and died 
in Dover Township, June 12, 18G4. 

Mr. Stockwell spent his boyhood in his native 
county, receiving no school advantages whatever, 
and by his labor assisted his parents, who were peo- 
ple of exceedingly modest means. About 1835, 
when seventeen years old, he determined to visit 
the western country, of which he had heard so much, 
and gained the reluctant con.sent of his father. His 
outfit had necessarily to be of the cheajiest descrip- 
tion, and the total amount of money which he could 
raise to start with was $3.50. At his request his 
mother had made him a knapsack and prepared 
some provisions Mith which to fill it, and .after a 
very brief prepiiratiou, he began his jourmy in the 
month of Maj', on foot and alone, for the wilds of 
Michigan Territory. The first day he reached Buf- 
falo, a distance of thirty -three miles. He stepped 
upon the wharf about sundown, and there he met a 
man who was engaged .as a " runner " for a boat, 
and engaged deck passage to Detroit for $2.50. Af- 
ter 1 lie fares were collected the surly captain came 
around a Mcond time and obliged young Stockwell 
lo pay another half dollar, which left him but fifty 
cents in his purse. It is probable that something in 
the boy's demeanor attracted the attention of the 
captain, as after the young man had bretikfasted 



216 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



s^\l 



frum his knapsack, he again came around, and be- 
ginning to interview him, accused him of running 
awa}' from home. To tliis charge young Stocliwell 
made sucli an energetic reply that the man was con- 
vinced he was telling him the trutii and became 
quite friendly. He advised him to get off at To- 
ledo instead of going to Detroit, as it would save 
him a good many miles in his journey to Adrian. 
Our traveler, taking his advice, about midnight 
found himself in that rising young town, which bore 
little resemblance to its present condition, lie en- 
gaged lodging at a " tavern," sleeping on the floor, 
with the luxury of a carpet undei' him, in company 
with about twenty men. After paying for his lodg- 
ing next morning he had just twenty-five cents left. 
His host cheerfully assured him that he could not 
get to Adrian on account of tlie swamps, but young 
Stockwell re])lied that " he should get there." One 
said ''You can't," and the other said '• I can and 1 
will." The man, turning to bystanders, remarked 
" He is a gritty little cuss, isn't he.' " and with this 
lemark to cheer him on, the traveler started out in 
the midst of a furious rainstorm for Adrian. 

The knap.sack and provisions which the careful 
mother of our hero had prepared with ninny tears 
and misgivings, were soaked with rain, and after 
marcjiing about eight miles he then threw the food 
away, as it had become offensive; had she then 
known the condition of her boy, her grief would 
have been tenfold. Tlie son, however, trudged on, 
happy in the thought that liis mother was spared 
this knowledge, and in due time encountered the 
swamp of whicli his friend at tlie " tavern " had 
warned him. He waded in, however, up to his 
waist ill many places, but always managed to keep 
his head above water, and at sunset of that day 
proudly marched into the liamlet of Adrinn. 

Mr. Stockwell here found a public place of enter- 
tainment, conducted by tiie well-known Isaac I 
French, where he remained owr uii^ht. paying twelve 
cents for his lodging; Ids suppur consisted of crack- 
ers and dried venison, for whicli he paid six cents. 
In the morning, bright and early, he started for the 
home of his uncle, Moses Perkins, who lived upon 
the place wliii-h now belongs to the estate of Na- 
than Meyrr. ;iii(l which, it is needless to say, has un- 
dergone many changes since that time, lie made | 

4' ' 



his home with his uncle that summer, and worked 
out by the day. He had i^romised his parents that 
he would return to New York State inside of three 
months, and bring with him his earnings. He faith- 
fully kept his promise, and proudly presented his 
father with the 148 he had left after paying his ex- 
penses. 

The remainder of that year ;ind a part of the 
next Mr. Stockwell spent in his native State, still 
working and handing over his wages to his father, 
so that he could p.ay his debts and they might all 
take up their future abode in Michigan. In the spring 
of 1 837 Martin returned to this count3' and pur- 
chased forty acres of land for his father in Adrian 
Township, working out, as before, to pay for it. 
In the winter of Ib.'iS-.'il) he attended school, and 
in the spring following, being twenty years old, he 
eng.aged to work sctven months for |100. Of this 
he paid *25 to his father for his time until he 
should bect.mie of age, and when that auspicious 
day dawned upon him he had $100 of his own be- 
sides. He continued to work out by the month at 
whatever he could find to do for three more j'cars, 
and was then married, and purchased a quarter sec- 
tion of land in Dover Township, which formed the 
nucleus of his present farm. His career from this 
time was one of uniform prosperity, and the day 
soon came when he felt richly rewarded for his toil 
and sacrifices. 

The Stockwell residence is considered one of the 
finest in Dover Townsbip. It is hardly necessaiy 
to say that the youth who liad exhibited such de- 
termination and perseverance was recognized as a 
valuable addition to the community, and he was 
soon called upon to serve in the various local of- 
fices. He was Justice of the Peace eight years, rep- 
resented his township in the County Board of Su- 
[)ervisors two terms, was Overseer of the Poor for 
a period of eight years, and in 18G7 was a member 
of tlie Constitutional Convention. Politically, he 
has always been an active Republican, and in re- 
ligion is, with his excellent wife, a Free-Will 
Baptist,. 

Proliably one of tlic most interesting and im- 
portant events in the life of .Mr. Stockwell was his 
marriage, which occurred Aug. 11, 1841, his bride 
being Miss Louisa, daughter of -loseph and Olive 



LENAWEE COimXY. 



n. 



(Burgess) Balej'. Mrs. Stockwell was born in Rom- 
ulus, Seneca Co., N. Y., Oct. 31, 1823, and came 
to Michigan witii her father in 1837. The latter 
was born in rennsylvania in 1793, and died in Do- 
ver, this count}-, Nov. 4, 1844. The mother was 
born in Newburg, Orange Co., N. Y.. in .lune, 
1795, and died in Romulus, that .State, Feb. 10, 
1836, before tiie removal of the family to Michi- 
gan. Mr. and Mrs. Stockwell began life together 
in a little log house on the new farm, and in due 
time became the parents of eleven children. Their 
eldest daughter, Olive, was born Jidy II, 1842, and 
became the wife of Byron L. Shaw, uf Adrian ; Cin- 
derella was born Feb. 15, 1844, married I. R. Gale, 
of Barnerville, N. Y., and died in Dover Township, 
April 15, 1884: Agnes L. was born P^eb. 26, l.s46, 
and married Aaron VanOstrand, of Dover; Joseph 
B. was born June ."), 1848, and is now one of the 
most successful farmers of Dover Township; Zarefa 
was born Sept. 20, 1850, and is tlic wife of Robcit 
F. Pouley, of Florida; Anna P. was horn Oct. 12, 
1852, is finely educated, and is engaged in teaching 
in the city of Cleveland, Ohio; Alice M. was born 
Nov. 7, 1854, and died Feb. 8, 1864; Esther M. 
was born Dec. 14, 1858, and died March 26, 1864; 
Elmer E. was born Oct. 20, 1860, and died Oct. 5, 
1863: Minnie E. was born .Tnly 14, 1864, and M. 
Louise, July 26, 186(i: lliese two ;ii-e at iiome with 
their parents. 

The home farm includes 290 acres of land under 
a high state of cultivation, and on which is a beau- 
tiful residence, erected in 1856. In 18(;9 Mr. 
Stockwell established on his farm the Dover Center 
Cheese Factory, which he operated until about 1883. 
and in which lie still has a controllin;:- interest. 

In the life of Mr. Stockwell wr find an excellent 
example for young men embarking in the Held of 
active life, and who are necessarily dejjendeut ujjon 
their own resoiu-ces. There nnist be infinite satis- 
faction in the reHeclion th:il he is indebted to no 
man for his position socL-dly .-nid liiiancially. except 
that his fellow-citizens have generously acknowl- 
edged his worthy ambition to succeed, and en- 
couraged him by their esteem and conHdem-e, which 
is unquestionably ample reward for his exertions 
and self-denial. Not only has Mr. Stoekuell been 

u;eessful in the sense of ;iceuniulating wealth, luit 




^ 



he has proved to be an important factor in the busi- 
ness and agricultural interests of Lenawee County. 
He has strictly observed that most important ele- 
ment in the public or business life of any man, 
namel}', honesty, being careful and conscientious in 
his dealings, and his i-ecord open at all time to in- 
spection. He has esteemed himself happy in being- 
able to give to his children those advantages of 
which he himself was deprived in his yonth. and in 

ored parents as they joui'neyed down the sunset 
hill of life. The dutiful son could scarcely have 
become otherwise than the worthy member of a 
comminiity, and as such Mr. Stockwell stands sec- 
ond to no man in this eonntv. 



=?1E()RGE CON(iER. The name that heads 
rticle is one representing character and 
siness standing of an enviable order. A 
native of New Y<Mk, with its best ideas of char- 
acter, integrity, i)robityand honor, deeply- implanted 
in his organism, the principles that go to make up 
the successful man find their exponent in (ieorge 
Conger, of Clinton Townshiii. 

Jlr. Conger resides on his farm of 138 acres on 
section 7, lying one mile from Clinton. The im- 
provements are good, as one might expect when it 
is remembered that Mr. Conger settled here in 1861. 
Erie County, N. Y., was a home for his p.arents 
after they left Rutland County, that State, taking 
their son George along with them at ten years of 
age. The birth|)lace of (ieorge was in Vermont, 
where his father. I)a\id. w.-is also born, and m.arried 
Rachel \Vilbei-, who t<..o was ii native of the Green 
Mountain State, and like her husband, descended 
from New England parents of English ancestr}-. 
After the birth of the eight children at their home 
in Vermont, Frie County, N. V., became their home. 
Although the country was then poorly improved, it 
was conducive to the development of a thrifty and 
enterprising spirit in its inhabitants, by the conflict 
they had with nature to secure subsistence. Tlie 
lather and mother died on thi' Erie County farm, 
where the former passed nw:iy in 182.'!. at the age 
of fortv-tive. His wife followed in 1855, living to 



•^-J^^ 



1 



218 



LENAWEE COUNTY, 



a ripe old age. They were members of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church, and the father was a Whig 
in his political afflliations. After the death of his 
father, George continued to live with his mother 
until his marriage. 

Mr. Conger was united in marriage with Miss 
Eliza Hoag, who was horn in York State, and lived 
to accompany her husband to his home in Michigan, 
where she died in 1863, at the age of forty-flvo 
years. She was the mother of one child, named 
Stephen, who married and died in Tecumseh. Ills 
wife was Mar}' E. Miser, of Franklin Township, now 
the wife of Norman Mattison, a farmer of Tecumseh 
Township. Four cliildren were born to Stephen — 
George S., Frank H., Ada E. and Noel E. George 
S. married Anna Staiger, of Clinton, and lives with 
his grandfathei-, the subject of our sketch. The 
other three live with their mother. While in New 
York State Mv. Conger kept a dairy for twenty- 
five years. 

Mr. Conger's second niariiage took place in 18GJ 
in Clinton Townshij), to Mrs. Frances Mallard, 
whose maiden name was Richardson. She was born 
in New York in 1820; her father was an English- 
man, her mothei- a French lady. They both died 
when Frances was a small child, and it was her mis- 
fortune in consequence to be reared by strangers, un- 
til her first marriage, by which she iiad no offspring. 
She is a member of the .Alotiiodist Episcopal Church. 
Mr. Conger gives his -iipiiort to the Democratic 
party. 



\ 



(^^HOMAS B. EDDY, a farmer le.siding <.n sec 
ff^^\ tion :), Dover Township, is ;i native of the 
^^^ State of New York, and is the son of George 
and Temperance (Cooke) Eddy, the former a Penn- 
sylvanian by birth and the latter a native of the 
State of New York. 

After theii' maniage the |)arents of Mr. Eddy 
settled in ITtica. N. Y.. whence they subsequentlj- 
removed t<:) Perrinton Township, Monroe County, 
where Mr. Eddy cleared a farm and lived on it 
for several years. He finally disjjosed of his prop- 
erty in Perrinton, and removing to Pittsford in 
the same county, he purchased another farm, on 
which he lived four or five years. At the e.xjiiration 
4* 



of that time Mr. Eddy concluded to sell out again 
and take up his residence in Ohio; he accordingl}- 
did so, and removed with his family' to Milan, Erie 
County, where he and his wife made their home till 
death. Mrs. Eddy passed away in 1863, and Mr. 
Eddy survived his estimable wife six years. Thej' 
were the parents of six children, four of whom lived 
to maturity, as follows: George C. was a farmer 
and died in Milan, Ohio, of a disease contracted 
during the late war while serving as a Corporal in 
the 184th Ohio Infantry ; Samuel M.,an attorney in 
Cleveland, Ohio, enlisted in the war of the Rebel- 
lion under Capt. Hitchcock, who was President of 
Hudson College; >Villiam H. was a Sergeant in 
Com|)any F, 184th Ohio Regiment, and also gave 
up his life for his country, dying at Arlington 
Heights in 1865, of measles and typhoid fever. 

Thomas B. Eddy was the third child of his par- 
ents, and his birth occurred in Perrinton, Monroe 
Co., N. Y., July 21, 1839. The years of his boy- 
hood were passed on a farm, w-here he learned many 
a lesson that has been of practical benefit to him in 
his contact with the world since he left his parental 
home. He was educated not only in the common 
schools, but received an excellent mental training 
from a thorough course of instruction obtained at 
a Normal School. He was thirteen years old when 
he accompanied his parents to Milan, Ohio, where 
he continued to i-eside with them until he became a 
man. At the age of twenty-one he rented a farm 
in Blilan, and continued to reside there for several 
years, a jj.art of the time engaged in agricultural 
pursuits, and for two years engaged as contractor 
on the Nickel Plate Railway, which wa-s then known 
as the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railway. 

During his residence in Milan Mr. Eddy vvas 
married to Miss Elizabeth Hathaway, their wedding 
occurring on the 27th of December, 18.5;). She is 
the daughter of Peter and Prudence D. (Craw) 
Hathaway, the former a native of Philadelphia, Pa., 
and the latter of ^^ermont. After marriage they 
settled in Milan, Ohio, where Mi-. Hathaway died ; 
his widow now lives in Dover Township with our 
subject. The}' were the parents of four children, 
three of whom died in infancy; Edward, Joseph 
and one unnamed. Mrs. Eddy was born in Milan. 
Ohio. Feb. I'), 183.s, and receiving a good educ;i- 






LENAWEE COUNTY. 



A 



210 



tion, engaged very successfully in teaching before 
her marriage. To Mr. and Mrs. Eddy have 
born eight children : Walter H., Frances E. 
M., Clara E., Alice S., Anna L., El 



)een 
Decide 
E. and Thomas 
H. Thomas H. and Frances E. are deceased ; Wal- 
ter married Alice ('. Hartow, and lives in Knmo 
Township, while Decide is a teacher in Lcnnwee 
County. 

In 1883 Mr. Eddy came to Micliigan with his 
family, and was engaged as Superintendent of the 
Raisin Valley Seminary, a position for which he was 
eminently qualified by his rare mental endowments. 
At the expiration of two years he resigned that 
ofHce to turn his attention once more to agricultural 
pursuits. He bought 140 acres in I>over Township, 
and since that time has given his entire attention to 
the cultivation of his land. He biings a clear and 
well-cultivated intellect to bear on all questions of 
the day, and is a valuable addition to the intelligent 
agricultural population of this community. He and 
his good wife are members of the Baptist Church, 
and do much to uphold the cau,se of religion and 
morality wherever they may be. In politics Mr. 
Eddy is a stanch Prohibitionist. 



1 



^^ 



/p^EORGE L. HOXSIE, proprietor of the Hol- 
III £-— , loway Foundry, is one of the wide-awake 
^^sii •'">*^' enterprising business men of Lenawee 
County, ijrominently identifying his interests with 
those of the young town of Hollowaj' since its in- 
ception, and, although a young man, has already 
obtained high rank among the inventors of this 
State. 

Mr. Hoxsie is a native of this Slate, wlicrc he was 
born in Palmyra Township May 20, ISflo, and is the 
son of Ezra Hoxsie, who first came to I'almyi'a 
Township from his native State, New York, in I.S:5;!. 
He afterward left Palmyra to learn the trade of a 
machinist, in Adri.an .and Tecumseli. :ind Mfter he 
hadniastered every rtefciil, he did l)usine>s in \;uions 
towns in this county, a part of tlie linic in partner- 
ship with his son (leorge. In l.s.so he retired to 
his native State, where he now resides in JMapleton, 
Cayuga County. .Sonu; time after his eonnng to 
Michi-an, he was wedded to Miss Susan Kelley, 



who came with her parents to Michigan when quite 
young from her native Slate, New York, and died 
at her home in Holloway, Oct. .'iO, 1885, at the age 
of sixty-four years. Mr. and Mrs. Hoxsie were the 
parents of Hve children, .as r,,ll,,us: Allicrt, Ellen, 
Eliza i)elh (.Icceased). (Icorgc L. and Vernon. 

Our subject early displayed that genius for me- 
chanics which has resulted in the present business 
enterprise. When a lad of fourteen he began to 
learn the machinist's trade imdei- the tutelage of 
his father, and after he had a<'iiuired a tliorough 
knowledge of the Inisiness. he and his father estab- 
lished a foundry at Acme, Mich., whence after ten 
years they removed to Pilisstield, where they re- 
mained in business for tlu'ee years. In tiu' year 
1882 they vamv from Blisslield to Hollow.ay, and 
Mr. Hoxsie bought his father's share in llie busi- 
ness, which he has since conducted alone. He has 
receritly enlarged his establishment to twice its 
former capacity by the erection of abuihling 50x70 
feet in dimensions, and is now enabled to cast pieces 
weighing four tons if desired. His shojjs are well 
equi|)|)ed and he employs a working force of tifteen 
men most of the time. 

During these few busy years Mr. Hoxsie's invent- 
ive talent has not lain dormant, and, as the result of 
careful study, combined with a thorough knowl- 
edge of the principles governing mechanics, he has 
placed before tlie world a nund)er of useful inven- 
tions upon whit'h lie has seeureil |):itents, noticealjle 
among which is a nuinatiu'e sawmill, wliieh he n(.)w 
manufactures, used extensively in the manufacture 
of pickets, laths, etc. He also has an active inter- 
est in other inventions besides his own. 

Mr. Hoxsie was married in Blissfield. Aug. 31, 
1882, to Miss Alma Barrett, a native of Michigan, 
where she was born in Blissfield, Oct. 17, 1853. She 
is the daughter of Benjamin and Caroline (Watson) 
Barrett, natives of New York, who came to this 
State when younu, .and were married in Adrian 
July 14, 1.S51. They were the parents, of six chil- 
dren, three of whom .are deceased, namely: Herbert, 
Seymour and Anna; those living are Alma, Sey- 
mour (2d) and Laura. Thp father was instantly 
killed in Ohio, while in the discharge of his duties 
as a railway engineer, by the falling of a tree across 
the engine while it was in motion. After 



'z^U 



■•► 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Mrs. Hoxsie was carefulh- trained by her mother 
and educated under her supervision; the mother 
now makes her home with Mrs. H. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Hoxsie has been born one child, (ilenn, wlio 
died at the age of ten months. 

Mr. Hoxsie's busy life does nut mINjw him to take 
an active part in public affairs, yet his influence as 
a man of talent and great business ability can not 
but be felt in the place he has chosen as his home 
and the seat of his work; his prosperity means the 
prosperity of the town. In politics the Republican 
party finds in him an ardent advocate by voice and 
vote. 



r(f^ TEl'lIEN GALEA WAY is a gentleman who 
^^^ has been, at the time of the writing of this 
ll^J) sketch, a resident of the State of Michigan 
for half a century, lacking only one year- 
and is one of the men who can personally testify to 
the progress made by the section of Michigan in 
which he resides. During his long residence he has 
borne an active part in the work of opening and I 
developing the country, and in establishing the in- I 
stitutions which have supplied facilities for religious ! 
and moral training. His first settlement in Raisin ' 
Township was in 1839, since which time he has 
been one of the successful general farmers of the 
township. He is now holding the position of Post- i 
master at Raisin Centre, and has been an incum- 
bent of the office since its establishment in 18G8. [ 
His farm consists of eightj' acres of excellent land, 
all of which is under good cultivation. 

Mr. Gallavvay was born in Washington County. 
N. Y., April 8, 1827, and is the son of William 
Gallaway, a native of Rensselaer County, N. Y., 
where he was born on the 8th of April, 1775. He I 
was the son of Thomas (iallaway, a native of Ire- 
land, a man of considerable cdiicatHJii mid a teacher 
by profession, who came U> the I'liiicil States after 
his marriage and settled in Washington Ccnintj^ N. 
Y., where he died at an advanced age. AViliiam 
Gallaway, the fatiier of our subject, was reared 
chiefly in Washington County, N. Y., and was 
there married thi-ee times, lii.s liist wife was Eliza- 
l)eth Haxton, ami his second was Martha iNIacCom- i 



bcr; they both died in Washington County. The 
third wife was Jemima Bowerman, and by the three 
marriages there were fourteen children born, three 
by the first, nine by the second and two by the last. 
Our subject was the youngest child, and after the 
death of his father in Washington County, N. Y., 
when Stephen was but fifteen months old, his 
mother came to Michigan, and spent the remainder 
of her life, dying at the home of our subject in 
January, 1856, at the age of sixty-seven years. 
When Stephen grew to manhood he came to Michi- 
gan and settled on the eighty acres of land that had 
been taken up by his mother in 1833. 

On the 26th of December, 1846, Mr. (i alia way 
was married to Miss Maria Hoag, who was l>orn on 
the 17th of December, 1821, and is the daughter 
of Abner I. and Lucinda (Barrager) lloag, who 
came from New York and settled in Lenawee 
County in 1844, where they spent the remainder of 
their lives. Mr. and Mrs. Gallaway are the parents 
of six children, three of whom are deceased. Mrs. 
Gallaway is a member of the Society of Friends, in 
which she stands very high. Mr. Gallaway is a 
Prohibitionist in politics, and upon all proper oc- 
casions manifests his deep interest in the welfare of 
that party. He is an estimable citizen, and thor- 
oughl3' committed to all movements calculated to 
furthei' the best interests of the people. 

Abner Gallaway, one of the sons of Mr. and Mrs. 
Stephen Gallaway, is one of the successful general 
farmers of Raisin Township. His farm, consisting 
of ninety-five acres, is located on section 33, and is 
under a good state of cultivation, while the im- 
provements are all first class. He is a native of 
Raisin Township, where he was born on the 20th of 
December, 1848. He spent his early life on a farm 
and received a liberal education in the district 
schools of his township. On the yth of February, 
1870, Mr. Gallaway was married to Miss Emeline, 
■A daughter of William Ash, who was a native of 
Lincolnshire, England, ami one of the early settlers 
of Lenawee County. He was married in the county 
to Miss Harriet Houghtby ; both are now deceased. 
Mrs. Gallaway was liorn on the loth of January, 
185(1. in Raisin Townshii), and was reared to woman- 
liood on tlie old Ash liomestead, receiving a 
good education in the common schools, Mr. and 



*» ^ ^*- 



r. an<l I 



n-^- 



LENAAYEE COUNTY. 



■•► 



221 



Mrs. Abner Gallaway are the parents of two cliil- 
(Ireii: Mattie, who was born Oct. 12, lS7."i. ^iid 
Harvey, June i, ISSC. 

Like his father, Mr. Gallaway is .-i Prohibitioni.^t 
in politics, and takes :i livrly interest in political 
affairs, generally participating ^^ iili much enthusiasm 
in the campaigns when the interests of his party are 
at stake. He is a young man of much energy and 
enterprise, and wliatever he engages in is prosecuted 
with enthusiasm and dctcnniniition. lie i.- one of 
the coming men of J^cnawcc Cciunty. and the fu- 
ture evidently has much in >t<)rc tor him. 

,A\ ATHEW H. IvKUU. 'riii> gentlenian ha> 
been an important factor in bringing about 
the prospeiity of Lenawee County. He ha> 
a beautiful home and a tine farm on section 
4, Dover Township, which have become his by sheer 
pluck, iiersistent industry and good judgment. 

Mr. Kerr's parents were Robert and Mary (Hen- 
ry) Kerr, natives of County Antrim, Ireland, where 
the former was engaged as a farmer and a stoic- 
keeper din-ing many j^ears of his life. They re- 
mained life-long residents of their native place and 
became the parents of seven children, namely : .lohn, 
Mathew H., Robert, David, Willi.im ,1., Nancy and 
Mavy. 

Our subject wa> the second child born to hi> 
parents, and first saw the liglit in County Antrim, 
Ireland, Nov. 18. IH.'iO. He lived in hi> native 
countj' until he was twenty years of age and then 
came to this land, which has been the Mecca of his 
compatriots for S(J many years. He landed in New 
York City, and thence made his way to Cincinnati, 
and on down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers to 
New Orleans, where he obtained emiiloyment in a 
commission warehouse. At the end of about live 
months he returned to Cincinn.ati. wlicucc he came 
to Lenawee County in Novcinber. 1 s.")(i. He 
worked on a farm about two months .iller hi- ar- 
rival, and then going back to Ciminiiali. he re- 
mained a short time, and in the spring of 1 s.M 
retui'ne<l to Lenawee County, whci-e he obtained 
work at whatever his hands tViund to do. lie was 
very energetic and capable, and had but little diffi- 



culty in obtaining employment: he was engaged 
most of the time in Adrian at the carpenter's trade. 
Mr. Kerr in ISt;:! took nin.'ty.li\ .■ men Sontli, and 
had charge of them in the intcrc-t of the tiovern- 



)ing other car 


,enter work 


sncli as w 


>iiM com 


fore them. 








On the 1 Ith o 


■ March. IS.-. 


'. Mr. Ker 


u.is uja 


■d in Adrian U 


, Miss Susan 


Lang, win 


was boi 


County Fell 


lanaeh. livl.- 


n.l. March 


2.".. I.s2( 


IM'.l >lie cam 


■ to Anieri<-:i 


^^ithhcrpa 


■cnts, .loh 


d Alary ( Li.sc 


.c) Lang, wl 


o located 


in Canad 


d there died. 


In the year 




■riage M 



Kerr bought a farm about two miles from the vil- 
lage of I'almyr.M. of which he i-lcare<l abonl twenty 
acres and then dispo-ed of it at an adv:in<-c. He 
tlien bought 120 .•i.ivs of wild lan.l in I )over 'fown- 
Ship, which h,-is since been hi- icsi<leni-e. and he has 

branches, lb- has cle.aic.i loo aci'es of his land, 
and from time to time has increased the extent of 
his farm, until at one time he owned a tract of .UK I 
acres in Lenawee Connt3'. He has since disposed 
of someof hislan<l, but he still owns 240 aeies, wliieli 
may be considered a model farm. In ls,s:;|,e |,iiill, 
a tine brick hous,. ,.n this |ilaec. and li.as erected 
good b.arns and other buildings. 

Mr. and Mrs. Kerr are the |)arents of six i liildrcn, 
namely: William J., .lohn R.. David, (ieorge, 
Mathew and Mary E. William maiiicd Aliss Tillie 
A'anSyckle and resi.les in Hillsdale County. .Midi.; 
John married Miss Eveline Clenieiisen, and lives in 
Dover Township, as also does David, who married 
Miss Addle Eiirman: Ceorge died near Jack Fish 
Hay, in British America, while Al.athew and M.ary 
live at home. 

In polities Mr. Kerr well maintains the interests 
of the Democratic p.arty in this township. He h.as 
held the office of llighw.ay Commissionei- for many 
years, and has also done good service as a memlier 
of the School Board in furthering the educational 
advantages of the town. He i.s a nienilier of Adrian 
Lodge No. lit, A. F. >V A. M.. and in his religious 
faith is a rresbyterian. Mrs. Kerr is a Metliodist 

their home pleasant to her f.ainily, ,iiid to the Large 
I circle of friends who ;uv often welcomed to their 
■ » 



-A-H 



•►-■-^ 



222 



-; 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



hospitable board. Though Mr. Kerr has become a 
prosperous citizen of the United States, he still has 
a warm spot in his heart for the land of his birth, 
and in 1881, accompanied by his brother John, he 
returned to the Emerald Isle tn revisit the scenes of 
his 3-outh. 



<^^^#i^ 



OLREU ALLEN i.- a well-tu-do farmei- and 
stock-raiser, widely known in Lenawee Coun- 
ty as a shrewd man of business, whose industry, 
wise economy, and undoubted integrity of character, 
have placed him in the front ranks of those men 
who have won wealth by attention to agi'iculture 
in its various branches. Mr. Allen is at present | 
living in retirement from the active labors of life 
in his home, which he shares with his sister in Clin- 
ton Township. He located on this farm in 1857, 
which at that time was mostly unimproved, and he 
now has a fine tract of 1 11 acres, nearly all of which 
is under tillage. He has also been very successful 
financially, and his success in life is due entirely to 
his own unaided efforts, directed bj^ good judgment. 

Our subject was born in Bethany Township, Gen- 
esee Co., N. Y., Aug. 17, 1817, and is the son of ' 
Israel Allen, who was born and reared in Connecticut. 
He was a farmer and cooper by trade, and when a 
young man went to Massachusetts and there [ 
married Miss Margaret Barker, a native of that State. 
They lived in Connecticut for some years after 
marriage, and then left their New Pingland home and 
went to Pennsylvania, where Mr. Allen bought a [ 
farm which he partially improved. After the War 
of 1812 he disposed of his property in Pennsylvania I 
and removed with his family to Genesee County, | 
N. Y., where he pursued his trade for some time. 
In 1857 he came with his wife and son Oliver to 
Michigan, and they located on llic f;uiii which ; 
belongs to our subject, and here ended their days, 
at the ages, respectively, of eighty-seven and sev- 
enty-five years. They were people who led honor- 
able and useful lives, and were held in high respect 
by all. They were for many years faithful mem- 
bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and Mr. 
Allen was in politics a sttinch a<liiercnt U> the Repub- 
lican party. 

Oliver Allen, of this sketch, was the fifth child ol i 
4* 



the family of eight children born to his parents. He 
grew to manhood in his native State and con- 
tinued to live there until 1857, when, as before 
stated, he became a citizen of this State, and has 
ever since lived on the farm on which he then located 
with his parents. He has never married, but lives 
with his si.ster Auorilla, who, like himself, has pre- 
ferred a life of single blessedness. She was born in 
Litchfield, Conn., and lias been an enterprising, 
energetic, hard-working woman, posse.ssing sound 
common sense, and has amassed much wealth. 
Their only surviving brother, Reuben Allen, mar- 
ried Elizabeth Leet, and is a farmer living in Alle- 
gan County, this State. 

Mr. Allen of this sketch is Republican in politics, 
and does much to promote the interests of that 
part3' in his township. He is valued as a good cit- 
izen, with an honorable record of fair dealings with 
his fellowmen, and is held in respect by all in 
the community with whose interests his own have 
been identified for many years. 

"-^'S^-'-^t^ >=^*^ .^^.^-^<^=fe:- 

^^ HARLES M. TOBIAS is actively engaged in 
flf^l farming and stock-raising in Dover Town- 
^^Jf' ship. Mr. Tobias is a native of New York, 
as were also his parents, Moses and Jane (Manning) 
Tobias, the former born in Ulster County and the 
latter in Dutchess County. After marriage thej- first 
settled in Tompkins County, whence they removed 
to Ontario County, and in the spring of 1851 they 
left their native State and came to Michigan, set- 
tling in Branch County. From there they removed 
to Calhoun County, and thence to St. Joseph County, 
where they finally settled in White Pigeon, and 
there these good people closed their earthly pil- 
grimage. Of their union seven children had been 
born, two sons and five daughters. 

Charles M. Tobias of this sketch was the eldest 
child of his parents, and was born in Tompkins 
County, N. Y., July 5, 1827. He was seven years 
old when his parents moved to Ontario County, 
and there he grew to manhood on the farm, and re- 
ceived an education in the common schools of that 
.State. In 1851 he came with his parents to Michi- 
gan, and soon after commenced a long course of 



•►-If^-^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



228 



employment in different capacities as a railroad 
man. He was thus employed in several States for 
nearly twenty years. In 1867 he purchased 103 
acres of land in Dover Township, but he still con- 
tinued in the employ of a railroad company nearly 
two years longer. Since that time he has devoted 
his attention entirely to the care of his farm. He 
now owns 133 acres of valuable land, on which he 
has erected a substantial set of farm buildinas, and 
has every convenience for the successful prosecu- 
tion of his work. He engages in mixed husbandry, 
giving much attention to the raising of stock as 
well as to other branches of agriculture. 

In all these years of labor Mr. Tobias has the as- 
sistance of a prudent, caretaking wife, to whom he 
was married Feb. 9, 1859. Her maiden name was 
Angelina McLouth, and she is a native of Dover 
Township. To them have been born four children, 
namel}': Arthur W., Ernest E., Burton E. and 
Ella F. Mr. and Mrs. Tobias have given their 
children all the advantages to be obtained f)-oni a 
good education. The sons have been engaged in 
teaching, and Arthur W. is at present engaged with 
a Boston firm as a commercial traveler. Mr. Ttibias 
is a ])rominent Democrat in his township. 



1^^ YLVANUS KINNEY looked upon the face 
^^^ of the country in Michigan at a time when 
|i]/_Jl) the development of her resources had 
scarcely begun. Coming here in the strength 
of his 3'outh and energy intent upon carving out 
his fortune, he was prepared for whatever might 
arise amid the difHeuIties of .settlement in a wild 
and new region, from which Indians had not long 
departed and where wild game was still abimdant. 
He is a native of Livingston County, N. Y., where 
his birth took place at the homestead of his parents, 
Joel and Betsey (Holmes) Kinney, on the 20th of 
June, 1809. 

Joel Kinney, a native of Connecticut, learned 
the trade of a shoemaker early in life, and after his 
marriage migrated with his bride to Livingston 
County, N. Y., where the latter became a motiier, 
and died when her son Sylvauus was but two years 
of age; Mrs. Kinney was a native of Vermont and 
4* 



came of excellent family-. After the death of his 
mother our subject w.ns taken into the home of his 
cousin, at Richmond, Ontario County, where he 
remained proliably eight years. He was then bound 
out to a neighboring farmer, with wlioin lie remained 
until twenty-one years of aii<'. working hard and 
receiving little pay and less kindness. Upon reach- 
ing his majority, however, he received 1100, and 
started out for himself as a farm laborer, which 
occupation he followed singly until 183.'j. He still 
continued a resident of Richmond, and in tiie spring 
of the year mentioned he married one of his child- 
hood friends, Miss Hannah Crane, who was born in 
Massachusetts but came to New York with her par- 
ents when a young child. 

Young Kinney, not being satisfied with his con- 
dition or his prospects in the Empire State, joined 
the caravan moving toward the Territory of Mich- 
igan, and upon reaching this county took up his 
abode on a tract of 1<!0 acres in Cambridge Town- 
ship, where he settled down in the woods on section 
35, and at once commenced its improvement. This 
land he occupied for a period of thirty-one years, 
and in the meantime had transformed a portion of 
the wilderness into a valuable and productive farm. 
In the course of time he erected good buildings, and 
viewed with satisfaction the spectacle of the land 
around him being gradually developed and occupied 
by a class of thrifty and intelligent people. Here ' 
he was content to live until advancing ye.ars admon- 
ished him it wiiuld be wise to retire from .active 
labor, and accordingly, selling his farm he moved to 
the city of Adrian, in 1866, where he has since 
remained. The wife of his youth died in April, 
1S49, leaving six children, all sons, namely: John 
C, now a resident of Canibi-idge; William C., a 
real-estate dealer of Chicago: Joel V., a Govern- 
ment claim agent at Cincinnati, Ohio; Joshua P.. a 
farmer of Polk County, Mo.; Julius, who died in 
Franklin. Tenn., when twenty -one years of age, and 
S. H., who is engaged in the insurance business at 
Kans.as City. Mr. Kinney for his second wife mar- 
ried Miss Sarah Crain, and two and one-half years 
later she also passed to her kmg home ; of this union 
there were no children. 

Mr. Kinney was married the third time, to Miss 
Abigail Briggs, a native of Massachusetts, who 



t 



•►^1- 



.ENAWEE COUNTY. 



beeaiiic tlie motlun- of three children, namely: Ver- 
non, who is engMgod in dairying in Milwaukee 
County, Wis. : DeWitt. a resident of North Spring- 
field. Mo., and Chn-M E., a teacher, who makes her 
home with iier fiitiici-. Thi' motlun- of these chil- 
dren died at the family icsidence in the city of 
Adrian, Aug. 1, l«(i7. The present wife of our 
subject, to whom he was married in 1867, was form- 
erly Mrs. Abbie (Fot>te^ Moore, a native of Cayuga 
County, N. Y., aii'l niio for her first husliand mar- 
ried Alonzo Mo(..ie. of New York. Her father was 
Milton Foote, a native of Connecticut, who spent 
his last years in Rome, Mich. Of this marriage 
there were no children. Her mother, whose maiden 
name was Lois Bisco, spent her last years in Adrian 
and died in the ninety-flrst year of her age. Three 
of the sons of Mr. Kinney served as soldiers in the 
late war, and Joel F. at the battle of Chickamauga 
received a wound in the right shoulder. 

Mr. Kinney is a man who has always been inter- 
ested in State and National affairs, and in early life 
identified himself with the Democratic party. Later 
he wheeled over into the Republican ranks, but is 
now an active Prohibitionist. A history of the 
scenes he has witnessed, the trials he has passed 
through, and the labors involved in the establish- 
ment of a homestead and the successful cultivation 
of the primitive soil, would form an interesting vol- 
ume and prove the correctness of the adage "truth 
is stranger than fiction." He is looked upon in his 
community with the peculiar veneration and respect 
accorded the old pioneers, while the personal char- 
acter of the man has been such as to secure him the 
unalloyed resi)ect of his neighbors and acquaintances. 



Jf^llpf--- 



^P^E0R(;E L. VVAITE. son of one of the early 
jl[ (— , i)ionecrs of Palmyra Township, occupies his 
^^51 father's old homestead on section 6, where 
his birth took place Sept. 17, 1852. It vvill thus be 
seen that he is comparatively a young man. He 
comes of a good family, has received a fair educa- 
tion, and thus far in life has deported himself as a 
conscientious and useful citizen, an industrious and 
skillful farmer, and is already established in the good- 
will and confidence of the people who have watched 



-M»- 



' him from his earliest youth, and predicted that he 
would worthily bear the mantle of his honored sire. 
Henry Waite, the father of our subject, was a 
i native of Rochester, N. Y., near where he wa.s reared 
] upon a farm, and afterward learned the trade of a 
I carriage and house painter. He removed from the 
Empire State to this county while a 3'oung man, 
and during the early settlement of Palmyra Town- 
ship. He first purchased propertj' near the young 
city of Adrian, where he followed his trade a num- 
ber of years, and tliCn invested his surplus capital 
in a tract of timber land on section 6, wiiere in due 
time he established a permanent home, which be- 
came the abiding-place of his famil}', and where his 
son George L. at present resides. Mr. Waite, 
after the purchase of this land, still continued at his 
trade, hiring men to fell the trees and prepare the 
soil for cultivation, .and for several years thereafter 
to sow and harvest the crops. About 1852, having 
erected a good residence, he took up his abode w-ith 
his family on the farm, where he spent his last 
years, and departed this life Dec. 10, 1877. The 
mother of our subject had passed to her long rest 
twenty years before, and Henry Waite had married 
the second time. 

The mother of Mr. Waite of our sketch was in 
her girlhood Miss Adeline Lusk. She was born in 
Monroe County, N. Y., and became the wife of Henry 
Waite about 1 850, while the3' were residents of their 
native State. She is remembered as an affectionate 
wife and mother, but passed away while still a 
3'oung woman. Of her children, four in number, 
the eldest died in infancy; William A. is occupied 
in farming in Eaton County, Mich.; fieorge L., of 
our sketch, was next to the youngest; Jerome B. is 
farming in Palmyra Township. 

Our subject passed his youth mostly on the farm, 
pursuing his early studies in the district school, and 
afterward attending a graded school at Adrian. He 
then turned his attention solely to farming, it being 
understood that he would retain the homestead. 
To this he brought a bride in the earlj' part of 1882. 
having been married, January 4 of that year, to 
Miss Ida J. Kayner. This lady was born in Hills- 
dale, Mich., and is the daughter of Charles and 
Phebe (Haviland) Kayner. Of her union with our 
subject there are two children: Charles, who was 

■» 



k 



].ENA\VEE COUNTY. 



1 



horn Ain-il 26, 1883, and Coiinue, June 9, 1884. 
Mr. VVaite vote? the straight Republican ticket, anil 
takes :i genuine interest in the moral and cdnca- 
tional welfare of the [leople of liis locality. 

Charles Kayner, tiic fatliei- of .Airs. Waitc, ;i 
native of Niagara County, N. Y., wjierc he was 
born Aug. 27, 1873, was one of the pioneeis of 
Riisin Township, and now owns a good farm on 
section 29, comprising seventy acres of fertile land, 
supplied with good buildings and all the other ap- 
purtenances of a modern homestead. His father, 
Dr. (Tcorge Kayner, a practicing physician of Niag- 
ara County, died when his son Charles was but 
eighteen months old. The mother, whose maiden 
name was Dorcas Bowman, was subsequently mar- 
ried to Jeremiah Westgate, of New York, and they 
afterward came to this county and settled in Raisin 
Township, where they secured a comfortable home. 
The mother died about 1851, and Mr. Westgate 
more than twenty years later, in 1873. They were 
estimable citizens and conscientious members of the 
Society of Friends. Of the first marriage there 
were born but two children, Charles, and Elizabeth, 
now Mrs. Haviland, who resides with her liusl)and 
on a farm in Raisin Township. 

Mr. Kayner remained with his mother .and was 
reared mainly in Raisin Township, where he re- 
ceived a fair education, and became famili.ar with : 
farm pursuits. Upon reaching manhood he was 
united in marriage with Miss Phebe A. Haviland. | 
who was born in New York State, and came to this \ 
county with her parents in her youth. She became j 
the mother of four children, namely: Chester, j 
now a farmer of Raisin Township; Ida J.; Edwin, 
who is farming in Medina Townshii); and Rertha 
M., who remains at home. The mother of these 
children died at her home in Raisin Township, 
July 21, 1880. Mr. Kayner exercised much care 
in the training and education of his children, and 
they now occupy a good position among the intelli- 
gent members of their community. 

The present wife of Jlr. Kayner was formerly 
Mrs. Ann M. (Brittain) Kent, who was born in 
Adrian Dee. 12, 1843, where she was reared and 
educated in the public schools. Her parents were 
A. W. and Harriet (Crane) Brittain, early settlers 
of this county, who died several years ago. Mr. 



Brittain was engaged in f.-uniiug, and accumulated 
a good property. The children of the second mar- 
riage of Mr. Kayner were named Jessie and Nellie. 
Mr. K. has I)een quite piominent in the affairs of 
his township, serving as .Iiisticc of the Peace three 
terms, ami olliciating as Township Treasurer and 
Connnissioner of Highways. He is independent in 



w 



OllN W. DAVIS, the well-known tlorist and 
horticulturist of Adrian, is a native of the 
I State of New York, where he was born at 
'i^Jj Amsterdam, Montgomery County, Sept. .i, 
1843. He is the second sun and third diild of Ra- 
mus and Harriet (AVemiilc) Davis, both of whom 
were natives of New Yoi'k; the father, John Parson 
Davis, having been born on Long Island ; the fa- 
ther was of Welsh, and the mother of Holland 
descent. After marri.age Ramus Davis moved to 
Indiana, locating at Mishawaka. near South liend, 
where he remained for two years. He then returned 
to Amsterdam, N. Y., where he remained for ten 
years, and then moved to Onondaga County, in the 
same State. In June, 18(13, he removed to Lena- 
wee County and settled in tiie town of Palmyra, 
where he died in 18715. The mother is still living, 
enjoying fair health for one of her age; there are 
three of the children yet living. 

John W. Davis was educated in his native county^ 
where he attended the common schools first, and 
afterward received an academical education. Af- 
ter he removed to Lenawee County he remained 
with his parents until he reached the age of twenty- 
two years. He volunteered his services in main- 
tenance of the Union, but was rejected ; toward the 
close of the war, howevei-, he was drafted into the 
array, and this time was accepted and went to the 
front, serving only ten days previous to the sur- 
render of (icn. Lee. After that event he w.as sent 
home, and was finally discharged. He then re- 
turned to Palmyra, and engaged in work on the 
farm for a time, after which he formed a partner- 
ship with his brother, R. B. Davis, and engaged in 
sawing lumber in Adrian. At the end of two years 
his sawmill burned down, and he rebuilt on the same 
lot, but afterward removed the mill to Riga Town- 



f 



220 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



4- 



ship, iuul. ;iflei' o[HM'atiiig it for two ^-ears, he sold 
his interest to his brotlier, and for several years 
thereafter he was variously engaged in Inisiiiess. 

In 1875 Mr. Davis removed to his present home, 
in the northern part of Adrian, and began the busi- 
ness of florist and horticulturist, which he has sue- 
cessfully conducted for the past nine years. Upon 
the little farm he has erected with his own hands 
all the principal bnildings, and has otherwise im- 
proved and beautified his place. During the sum- 
mer months the greater part of liis time is spent at 
Sand Lake, a health resort, where he has a neat cot- 
tage, for the benefit of his wife's health. 

On the 27th of October, 18()8, Mr. Davis was 
married to Miss Emma F. Brouwer, of New York 
City, daughter of Jacol) Brouwer, President of the 
^Etna Insurance Company, of New York. She is 
the youngest child of her parents' family. Mr. and 
Mrs. Davis have had two cliildreii, both of whom 
are deceased. He and his wife are members in 
good standing of the Presbyterian Church, and take 
an active interest in all church matters. 



^SLPIIEUS F. HAAS, Superintendent of the 
^fui Adrian Water- Works, is one of the most 

jlrls) skillful civil engineers of the West, possess- 
^ ing a thorough understanding of machinery, 

and eminently fitted for the duties of his responsi- 
ble position. He is a native of this State, having 
been born in what is now the village of Brooklyn, 
Jackson County, on the 2)st of October, 1845. His 
father, John Haas, was a native of Germany, and 
the mother, formerly Miss Sarah Croman, was born 
in Pennsylvania. Both parents came to Michigan 
earl}' in life, and were married in Washtenaw County, 
where they settled and resided about ten years. 
Thence they removed to Jackson County, of which 
they were residents six years. 

In 1851 the parents of our subject came to Len- 
awee County, and located near the city of Hudson, 
where the father engaged in mercantile business, 
and the mother departed this life in the following 
year. After the death of his wife John Haas 
crossed the Mississippi and located at Fremont, 
Neb., in 1809, where he continued until his death 



in the spring of 1883. The parental household in- 
cluded six children, three sons and three daugh- 
ters, all ot whom are living. 

The subject of this history was the fourth child of 
his parents, and received his early education at 
Hudson, Lenawee County, where he remained until 
reaching manhood. In the meantime he had spent 
three years on the farm, and one year he was era- 
ployed at the carpenter trade. The Civil War had 
now been in progress some time, and as there 
seemed little prospect of an immediate cessation of 
hostilities, young Haas, in November, 1864, en- 
tered the Union armj' as a member of Company G, 
30th Michigan Infantrj'. and with his comrades was 
assigned to the military department of the Muster- 
ing and Disbursing District of the Lakes, where he 
officiated as clerk in the Paymaster's office until the 
close of the war. After being mustered out he re- 
turned to Hudson and engaged as clerk in his 
father's store for a period of three years. In the 
early part of 1871 he engaged as a workman in a 
sash and blind factory in Hudson, and later in that 
year migrated to Adrian and was given a position 
in the car works, which he retained until the shop 
were closed. 

Mr. Haas, in 1880, l)eing now experienced in 
machinery, returned to Adrian and assumed charge 
of the wood-working machine department of the 
Peninsula Car Works, which position he held until 
the removal of the shops to Detroit. The year fol- 
lowing he was variously occupied, and in 1 885 was 
appointed to his present position. The duties and 
responsibilities of this he has discharged with 
credit, and has dislingnished himself as being the 
i-ight man in the right place. 

While a resident of Hudson, Mr. Haas was united 
in marriage with Miss Mary Tolchard, the wedding 
taking place at the home of the bride, Oct. 15, 
1868. Mrs. Haas is of English ancestry, and is a 
native of New York State, where she was born in 
the town of Geneva, in 1848. Of her union with 
our subject there is one child only, a son, Louis T., 
w1k> was born in Adrian in 1 873, and is now at home. 

Mr. and Mrs. Haas took up their residence in 
Hudson, and settled permanently in Adrian in 1880. 
Our subject has since been largely identified with 
local affairs, and served the First "Ward of the city 



r 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



A 



227 ' 



i 



of Adrian in the County Board of Supervisors three 
terms. Socially he belongs to Adrian Lodge, F. & 
A. M., and is also connected with the G. A. R., 
being a member of Woodbury Post No. 45. He has a 
fair amount of good property, and is numbered 
among the representative men of the comnuinity. 

-^ ^^ ^ 



f H. SCHREDER. Prominent among the worthy 
and intelligent citizens of Clinton Township is 
the gentleman whose name is at the head of 
this sketch. His farm, consisting of 100 acres on 
section 10, and forty acres on section 11, is one of 
the finest in the county, and here Mr. .Schreder has 
been successfully engaged many years. In April, 
1887, he lost his large and valuable barn by an in- 
cendiary Are, the loss sustained being about $3,000, 
but he has since replaced it by a fine building, very 
commodious and conveniently arranged. The 
house and the barn are situated on an elevation, 
commanding a beautiful view of the surrounding 
country, and in turn presenting a fine ap]ie;irance 
as seen from some distant point. 

Mr. Schreder settled here in 1856, purchasing first 
eighty acres of mostly unbroken timber land, and 
making his home in a small shell of a house. He 
afterward added 120 acres of partially improved 
land, and now has it all well improved and in a 
highly productive state. Our subject was born in 
the township of Moreland, Montgomery Co., Pa., 
Dec. 5, 1819, and was the second child and oldest 
son of his parents. His early life was passed in at- 
tendance at school and in the labors of the farm, 
which were not then lightened by the machinery 
used by the modern farmer. 

John F. .Schreder, the father of our subject, was 
born in Orange County, N. Y. He was in early 
life a miller, and when a young man he went to 
Pennsylvania and was tliere married to Susan Wam- 
bold, who was of Dutch parentage. After the 
birth of four children they came across the country 
with teams to Michigan, where Mr. Schreder entered 
Government land in Ridgeway Township in Juno, 
1831. He then resumed his employment of miller, 
in which he engaged for some time in Tecurnseh, 
managing the first mill that was ever built in the 



♦■ 



county, on the banks of the Raisin River. He 
afterward commenced the improvement of his land, 
and made his home on it until four years before 
his death, which time he siient with his daughter, 
Mrs. Arner, at Ridgeway. His useful life was pro- 
longed much beyond the usual number of years 
that generally fall to man, his death occurring Nov. 
2G, 1882, at the age of nearly ninety-five years. In 
his day he was a strong Democrat. His wife died 
May 24, 1842, on the farm in Ridgeway Township. 

I. H. Schreder was first married in Tecumseh to 
Ansah Florence, who was a native of the State of 
New York, and came to the Sta-te of Michigan when 
a small child. She died at their home in Raisin 
Township two years after her marriage ; she was a 
kind, true-hearted woman, and left a pleasant mem- 
ory in the hearts of her friends. Mr. Schreder's 
second marriage, which took place in what is now 
Clinton Tow-nship on the 4th of July, 1841, was 
with Miss Margaret Gillespie, a native of Sparta, 
Livingston Co., N. Y., where her birth occurred 
March 22, 1820. She is the eldest of the six chil- 
dren born to her parents, Richard B. and Clarinda 
(Rol5erts) Gillespie. (See sketch of R. B. Gillespie). 
Her father came to the United States from the 
North of Ireland with his parents when he was a 
small child, and grew to manhood in the township 
of Sparta, N. Y. Here he married for his second 
wife Clarinda Roberts, and after the birth of two 
children they came to Michigan and took up land 
in the woods on section 15, in what is now Clinton 
Township. They built a log cabin with a stick 
chimney and remained in this home until death. 
Like all pioneers they used the ox-team to break 
their Land, and to convey them to church and all 
social gatherings. They were well known and 
loved for their kind hearts and genial hospitality. 

Mrs. Schreder, of this sketch, received a common- 
school education, and. is a sensible, capable woman, 
who has been of great assistance to her husband in 
his hard labors to l)uild up and beautify their home. 
Seven children have been born to them, of whom 
the following is the record : Eliza M. died in infancy ; 
Mary C. is the wife of Casjier Cook, a farmer of 
Milan Township, Monroe County: John F. mar- 
ried Jennie Stephenson, and manages a large farm 
in Clinton Township; Ann is the wife of Dwight A. 

•► 



, , 228 



=4, 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Goodrich, of Mendon, St. Joseph County, where 
he is employed as a carpenter; Willis G. married 
Melvina Patterson, and lives on a farm in Clinton 
Township; Emma J. is the wife of Lewis M. Wal- 
dron; R. Grant, the youngest child, is still at home 
with his parents. The last two children and Mr. 
and Mrs. Schreder are members of the Presbyterian 
Church at Teciimseh. 

Mr. Schreder is a Royal Arch Mason, lie has 
been Highway Commissioner for his township, and 
has rendered valuable service to the public in that 
capacity. He is a prominent member of the Demo- 
cratic party. 



■€-^»- 



I 



ff? ON. MINER T. COLE, who is widely and 
ifj^ favorably known in this section of country 
— W^ as a fine representative of its intelligence 
(^) and energy, and who is numbered among its 
self-made men, forms the subject of an interesting 
history which in its main points is as follows. . He 
was born in Spencer Township, Lucas Co., Ohio, 
July 3, 1839, and comes of an excellent family. 
His father was Aaron H. Cole, a native of the town 
of Covert, Seneca Co., N. Y., where his birth took 
place Feb. 26, 1813. 

The grandfather of our subject, Daniel Cole by 
name, was a native of Connecticut and one of the 
pioneers of Seneca County, N. Y., where he cleared 
a farai and spent the remainder of his days. His 
life companion was in her girlhood Miss Sarah Hop- 
kins, who bravely endured the vicissitudes of life in 
a new country and passed away on the old home- 
stead some years after the death of her husband. 
Their son, Aaron H., continued a resident of his 
native county, and early in life developed a love 
for book learning, which he turned to such good 
account that he commenced teaching while quite 
young. He made a trip to the West before his 
marriage, and taught school in Ohio and Indiana. 
At the close of his last term in the latter State he 
purchased a horse upon which he rode back to New 
York, to fulfill a pledge which he had made to a 
young lady there before journeying to the West. 
This pleasant task accomplished he, a few months 
later, in June, 1835, in company with his bride, 



started for Ohio and settled in what is now Spencer 
Township. He entered a tract of Government land, 
where he put up a log cabin which remained the 
home of the family several 5'ears and in which our 
subject was" born. 

Aaron Cole, after j^ears of persistent industry, 
found himself the possessor of a fine farm of 200 
acres, which he had cleared from the wilderness, and 
upon which he had put up the first frame barn in 
ths township and the third frame house; the lumber 
for these was sawed by hand with a whip-saw. The 
father of our subject occupied this property until 
1849, when he rented his land and removed to 
Maumee City, where his children could receive bet- 
ter educational advantages. This object being ac- 
complished he returned to the farm, where he lived 
until 18.56, and then renting it again he came to 
Genesee County, this State, where he remained three 
years, after which he returned to the old home- 
stead. In 1866 he once more abandoned country 
life, and removing to Adrian, engaged in the manu- 
facture of the wedge trace buckle, of which he was 
the inventor. There he remained the balance of 
his life, his death taking place Oct. 27, 1867. The 
mother of our subject before her marriage was Miss 
Lydia Rappleye. She was born in Covert, Seneca 
Co., N. Y., Feb. 18, 1817, and was the daughter of 
William and Barbara (Swick) Rapple3^e, natives of 
New Jersey, where they spent their youth and child- 
hood, and where their marriage took place. Thence 
they removed to Seneca County, N. Y., during its 
early settlement, where Mr. R. cleared a farm and 
both parents spent the remainder of their days. 
The parental household included six sons and one 
daughter: Harriet C. married Rev. H. B. Taft, and 
died at Salem, Washtenaw County, in 1868; Will- 
iam R. is a resident of Dallas, Tex. ; Miner T., of 
our sketch, was the third child; Adoniram J. died 
in Fulton County, Ohio, when seventeen years of 
age; Frank M. and Ralph T. are residents of Mo- 
beetie, Tex., while George I. is engaged in. a tele- 
graph office at Toledo, Ohio. 

Our subject was the second son and third child 
of his parents, and spent his childhood and youth 
amid the quiet scenes of farm life, attending the 
district school. After the removal of the family to 
Maumee City, he pursued his studies there and sub- 



,^ dt' ^j 



L 



LENAAVEE COUNTY. 



229 



sequently at Kalamazoo College. He remained 
with his parents until 1861, and after the outbreak 
of the late Rebellion enlisted on the 2Gth of August 
of that year in Company F, 14th Ohio Infantry, 
under the command of Gen. Steadman. He served 
as a Union soldier four years and three mouths, and 
was in many of the important battles of the war, 
including- Chickamauga, Mission Ridge and Joues- 
boro, and was in the streets of Atlanta while the 
city was burning. After it was taken possession of 
by the Union troops he was placed in charge of a 
squad of foragers and started on the memorable 
campaign from Atlanta to the sea. 

Mr. Cole marched with Sherman's cornmand 
through South Carolina to Goldsboro, where he was 
commissioned as Second Lieutenant of Company D, 
22d U. S. C. T.. joining his command at Peters- 
burg. He participated with his regiment in the 
memorial services after the death of President 
Lincoln, and they were afterward detailed to go to 
Maryland in search of the assassin Booth. Subse- 
quently, the war being now practically ended, they 
set out for Washington, where they were present at 
the grand review. They were then ordered to 
Texas where they remained until October, and then 
returned East as far as Philadelphia, where they 
were mustered out in November, 18().5. Lieut. 
Cole returned home and the following spring en- 
gaged in business with his father at Adrian and con- 
tinued two years. He then purchased thirty-seven 
and one-half acres of timber land on section 17, 
Palmyra Township, which he settled upon in April, 
and commenced the pleasant routine of farm life. 
He subsequently added to his first purchase until 
now he has a farm of 140 acres, the most of which 
has been cleared and brought to a good state of 
cultivation. This has been no light task, as in order 
to thoroughly drain the land, it has been underlaid 
with 2,000 rods of tiling. Mr. Cole has added im- 
provements as time pased and his means justified, 
and now the passing traveler views with admiring 
eye the handsome frame buildings which are both 
shapely and substantial. There is a goodly assort- 
ment of live stock and the machinery is after the 
most approved pattern. 

Mr. Cole, after serving in various prominent 
positions in his township, was elected to represent 



his county in the State Legislature in the fall of 
1886, with which body he is still connected. He 
votes the straight Republican ticket and uniformly 
gives his support to the principles of his party. 
His influence in the General Assembler is sensibly 
felt, and he gives his conscientious support to those 
measures which he believes will tend to the best 
interests of the people of his State. He is quiet 
and unobtrusive in his public career, as well as at 
home among his friends, but keeps close to the 
undercurrent of uprightness and morality, the 
influence of which, although perhaps not largely ap- 
parent at the time, cannot fail to be of weight in 
the social and political circles which are largely 
made up of the intelligence of the present day. 

The lady who has been the faithful friend and 
companion of our subject for the last twenty years, 
was formerly Miss Mary J. Taylor, and became his 
wife on the 30th of May, 1867. Of this union 
there have 1 leen born four children, all living, namely : 
Hattie, Harley L., Florence and Mary. Mrs. Cole 
is an amiable and intelligent lady and a devoted 
member of the Baptist Church at Adrian. The 
parents of Mrs. Cole were William and Mary (Cor- 
son) Taylor. Her father was a native of Lycoming 
County, Pa., and the son of Robert Tajdor, a native 
of New Jersej' and of Scotch ancestry. He was one 
of the pioneers of Lycoming County, where he 
improved a farm and spent the remainder of his 
days. 

William Ta3'lor was reared to manhood in his 
native county, where he married, and removed to 
Ohio in 1835, locating near Spencer, Lucas County. 
The entire journey from Pennsylvania was made 
overland with a horse and wagon. The country 
was then thinly settled and there was not even a 
common highway laid out, so that they were guided 
on a part of their journey merely by an Indian trail. 
Ui)on their arrival in Spencer Township, they found 
but two families. Mr. Taylor purchased a tract of 
Government land and put up a log cabin, which he 
furnished with home-made chairs, bedstead and 
table. In this humble dwelling with its lowly sur- 
roundings Mrs. Cole was born, Sept. 14, 1842, and 
she still remembers the rigid economy her parents 
practiced and the industry with which they labored 
to build up a home for their children. Their efforts 



•Ml- 



•► Ji "^ ' 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



4- 



in this direction met with success. Mr. Taylor suc- 
ceeded in clearing- a large farm, upon which he 
erected good buildings, and lived to see the country 
around him settled up with an intelligent and enter- 
prising people. There he passed his last days in 
ease and comfort, his death taking place on the 18th 
of November, 1884, in the city of Toledo; the 
mother had died Dec. 29, 1882. 



EORGE W. ALLEN, a general farmer w 

, home is on section 14, Franlvlin Town; 

was born on his father's homestead in 



t 



nose 
;hip, 
that 

township, Nov. 20, 1840. Here he remained until 
he reached his majority', when he set out on his own 
account a little later and purchased forty acres of 
improved land, which he has made his home ever 
since. He now owns 170 acres of well-improved 
land on sections 14 and 15 of this township. 

December 23, 1870, Mr. Allen was united in 
marriage with Miss Cynthia McClure, who was 
born in London, Canada, July 6, 1854. When a 
small child her parents came to the United States, 
locating for some time in Gratiot County, this State, 
where the mother, whose maiden name was Fannie 
Canburr, died. After spending some time there the 
father and children came to Branch County. The 
father was a shoemaker by trade, but gave up his 
occupation for that of a farmer, and died at the age 
of sixty-three years. From childhood Mrs. Allen 
earned her own livelihood principally. She is the 
mother of four children — Irena F., Leon R., Nina 
A. and Earle R.. Since marriage Mr. and Mrs. 
Allen have always lived at their jDresent home. 

The father of our subject, also George W. Allen, 
was born in Massachusetts and came to Michigan 
when a young man, in 1832. He afterward pur- 
chased forty acres of Govenmient land on section 
14, which he improved and made his home until his 
decease in 1882, at the age of seventy-six years. In 
1834 he was married in this township to Miss Irena 
Whelan, who was born in 1811 in Monroe County, 
N. Y., and came here with her people in the early 
part of the thirties. Her death occun-ed at the age 
of flfty-six, in 1867. Mr. Whelan was Republican 
<• 



in politics. Mr. and Mrs. Allen are intelligent and 
estimable people, and their united efforts in life 
have been crowned with a large measure of success. 

(^^HERON L. BURR located upon his present 
f/^^^ farm in Adrian Township twenty-two years 
^^^' ago, and has effected most, of the improve- 
ments which are seen there to-day. He is a gen- 
tleman still in his prime, having been born Feb. 11, 
1840, and is a native of Palmyra Township, this 
county. The family is of English descent, and 
our subject is the son of Allen Burr, whose f.ather. 
Linden, was a native of Rhode Island. The first 
representatives of the family in this country were 
three brothers, who came over from England during 
the Colonial days and settled in Rhode Island, 
where they followed fanning. The paternal grand- 
father of our subject was a teamster in early life, 
but died upon a farm in Wayne County, N. Y., at 
the advanced age of eighty years. He had married 
a Miss Allen, who was a distant relative of the 
famous Gen. Ethan Allen. Grandmother Burr 
died in Wayne County several years before the de- 
cease of her husband. 

The father of our subject was born in Browns- 
ville, Oneida Co., N. Y., Feb. 22, 1810, and lived 
there until reaching his majority. He was crippled 
by an accident while a boy, and learned the harness 
trade and also studied medicine. He preferred 
farm life, however, and when twenty-one years old 
came to Michigan and purchased a tract of land, 
upon which he located in the fall of 1832. Then 
returning to his native State he was married, and at 
once set out with his bride for their new home in 
the West. They located on his land in Palmyra 
Township, but their plans in life were suddenly cut 
short by the death of Mr. Burr, who was fatally 
injured by a sawlog rolling on him. He lived only 
twenty-four hours after the accident, breathing his 
last on the 17th of February, 1850. He was an 
old-line Whig politically, and a man of much force 
of character, who would have made his mark in 
life had he been permitted to live. 

The first wife of Allen Burr was Miss Phena [ 
Atwell, of AVayne County, N. Y., and she died two 



wo T 



•p m ^* 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



231 



years after coming to Michigan in 1834, leaving one 
child, a son, Caleb, who survived his mother only 
two years, dyiug in September, 1830. Mr. Burr 
subsequently married Miss Eliza C, daughter of 
William Parker, of Rhode Island. Of this union 
there were six children, of whom Theron L., our 
subject, was the second son and second child; Ben- 
jamin F. died Feb. 18, 1841, when not quite three 
years old; Charles A. is carrying on the dairy 
business in Missouri; Rena E. is also a resident of 
Missouri, and the wife of Marvin Saxton; Orlando, 
during the late war, enlisted in the 20th Michigan 
Infantry, and after being in a number of hard- 
fought battles was captured by the rebels and con- 
fined in Libby Prison; after being paroled a year 
later he died on his way home. Charles served in 
the 26th Michigan Infantry three years, being 
mostly assigned to guard duty. He is now in 
Neosho, Mo.; Betsy is the wife of a prosperous 
farmer of Newton County, Mo. 

With the exception of five years spent upon the 
farm with his uncle our subject remained with his 
parents until his marriage. This most important 
and interesting event in his life took place on the 
nth of Februarj', 1804, his chosen bride being Miss 
Harriet, daughter of Cornelius Wilson, of New 
York State. Mrs. Burr was born Feb. 13, 1839, 
and came West with her uncle when twenty-two 
years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Burr became the par- 
ents of seven children: Allen A. V. was born in 
February, 1865, and is now clerking in Nebraska; 
Mattie L. was born May 11, 1860, and is teaching 
in Hudson, Mich.; Anna E. was born Sept. 6, 
1868; Homer O., Oct. 3, 18G9; Charles E., Oct. 12, 
1872; Delphine, Oct. 11, 1875, and Ada A.. May 
13, 1879; these five are at home with their parents. 
Mr. Burr is a Republican politically, but has little 
to do witii public affairs, preferring to give his at- 
tention to his farming interests. Mr. and Mrs. 
Burr arc mcrahers of the Congregational Church. 



Jn OHN MORTON, over whose head have passed 
j the snows of eighty-five winters, has for the 
, last fifty years been a familiar figure among 
' the honored pioneers of this count}'. He 
has done his part in life as an industrious man and 



a good citizen, and is passing his declining years in 
ease and comfort at a pleasant home in Adrian. 
The essential points in a history more than usually 
interesting are as follows : 

Mr. Morton was born in Oswego County, N. Y., 
Nov. 29, 1802. His father, also John Morton, was 
a native of Vermont, where he was born April 7, 
1777, and removed from the Green Mountain State 
to New York, putting up the first saw and grist 
mills in Oswego County. He also became an exten- 
sive land-owner in that section, where he lived for a 
period of thirty years; then, in 1832, disposing of 
all his property in the Empire State he came to 
Michigan, and purchased a tract of wild land in 
Cambridge Township, this county. He was the first 
to cultivate the soil of his new purchase, upon which 
there was only a small shanty for the shelter of his 
family. He was a man of determination and per- 
severance, however, and in due time built up a com- 
fortable home, and died there when sixty -seven 
years of age, leaving a wife and seven children. He 
had married in early manhood, and while a resident 
of his native State, Miss Eunice Aldrieh, whose 
parents removed from Canada to New York State 
and there spent their last years. Mrs. Morton came 
to the West with her husband and survived him sev- 
eral j'ears, dying at the old homestead at the age of 
scveutj'-nine years. Of the parental family two are 
now living, residents of Adrian, and Pittsford, Hills- 
dale County. 

.John Morton, Jr., continued under the home roof 
until twenty-three years of age, assisting his father 
in the labors of the farm. He came with the family 
to this State and located upon a tract of land near 
his father, which he sold a year later at a profit of 
$1,000. He possessed in a marked degree the en- 
ergy and enterprise of his sire, and put up the first 
sawmill in Adrian Township. He operated his 
farm and the mill a few years, then sold out and 
took up his residence at the homestead, which he 
assisted his father in managing until the death of the 
latter. In the meantime father and son had pur- 
chased together a large tract of land, and our sub- 
ject bought out the heirs and located upon the farm 
of 160 acres, which he occupied nearly thirty years. 
About 1874 he sold off everything, determined to 
retire from active lal)or, and secured possession of 



\ 



•►HH-^^ 



?32 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



his present home in Adrian. He knows all about 
the hardships and difficulties of pioueer life, and in 
common with the men about him, who settled in the 
wilderness fifty years ago, has watched with pride 
and satisfaction the growth of his adopted State. 

The lady who for a period of over sixty years 
has been the faithful and affectionate companion of 
our subject, was in her girlhood Miss Polly C. 
Davis, and was married to John Morton July 28, 
1824. Mrs. Morton is the daughter of Asa and 
Polly Davis, natives of Massachusetts, whence they 
removed to New York State in 1802. The father 
took up a tract of land which he cultivated, and 
also carried on blacksmithing, and here with his 
estimable wife he spent the remainder of his days. 
Mrs. Morton is a year younger than her husband, 
having been born Oct. 1 8, 1803. She stood bravely 
by her husband during the pioneer days, and bore 
with him uncomplainingly the hardships and trials 
of fifty years ago when, in their lonely cabin on the 
prairie, the.y labored and hoped for better days. 

Mr. and Mrs. M. have no children of their own, 
but have performed the part of parents to several 
others who are now married and settled in comfort- 
able homes of their own. Their adopted daughtei-, 
Mrs. Hester Fitch, will receive the property of her 
kind foster-parents when they shall have been taken 
to "the house not made with hands." 

^l7 ENRY NICHOLS is a veteran farmer of 
Wf'^ Dover Township, who, by well-directed in- 
^^Jf' dustry and enterprise, has become the pos- 
^^ sessor of a fine farm on sections 9 and 10. 
His parents were Russel and Margaret (Fraver) 
Nichols, the former a native of Vermont, and the 
latter of Otsego County, N. Y"". After their mar- 
riage they settled in Western New York, and re- 
mained in that State for some years. In 1836 Mr. 
Nichols came to Oakland County, Mich., and tak- 
ing up a tract of Government land, he removed 
with his familj' to that count}' in 1845, and made 
it their home till death. They had six children — 
Palmer, Mary, Henry, Nancy, Eliza and William. 

Our subject vvas bred on a farm, and received the 
good common-sense training of a farmer's son. 



early acquiring habits of activity and usefulness. 
Though such a life may have been a hard school, 
yet we question if, after all, a better substitute has 
been found for training a hardy, healthy lad to a 
practical, energetic manhood. In those days school 
privileges were exceedingly limited, but our subject 
made the best of those that fell to his share. At 
twenty years of age he left his home to make his 
own way in the world, and continued in the em- 
ploy of others in his native State until the fall of 
1840, when he came to ISIichigan. He worked 
about three months in Washtenaw County, and 
then came to Lenawee County, where he obtained 
employment of the late Stephen Allen, of Madison 
Township, remaining with him for over a year. In 
the meantime he bought eighty acres of land in Ing- 
ham County, also purchasing eighty acres on sec- 
tion 9, Dover Township, this county. He settled 
on his land in this township in 1843, and has ever 
since made it his home. His farm now comprises 
130 acres of land, ninety of which is on section 9^ 
and forty on section 10. Nearly all of it is under 
cultivation, and upon it he has made many substan- 
tial improvements, carefully draining, and other- 
wise adding to its fertility, and erecting good farm 
buildings. 

Mr. Nichols has been twice married. His first 
marriage took place in Washtenaw County, April 
7, 1842, with Miss Rebecca Wilson, who bore him 
two children — Orrin and Edwin. Orrin died at the 
age of six years, while Edwin married Harriet 
Demming and resides in Palmyra. Mr. Nichols' 
estimable wife departed this life in Dover Town- 
ship, Oct. 28, 18.51, at the age of thirty-three 3'ears 
eight months and three days. 

Mr. Nichols' second marriage occurred in Dover 
Township on the 22d of Februarj', 1852, with Miss 
Caroline, daughter of Gardner and Catherine (Ter- 
williger) Robb, natives of New York. After their 
marriage they lived for some j'ears in Ontario, 
Wayne County, that State, and in 1 832 they came 
to Michigan and settled in Dover Township. Mr. 
Robb afterward sold his farm there and removed 
to Clayton, where his death occurred May 12. 
1879; his wife is still spared to her children. They 
were the parents of seven children, namelj': Mary 
S., Caroline M., James W., Catlierine A., Polly A., 



^V 



•►-Ih-^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



233 



■^ 



t 



Julia G. and Jane. Caroline was born in Ontario, 
Wayne Co., N. Y., Aug. 11, 1830, and engaging in 
teaching when only fifteen years of .age, she success- 
fully prosecuted that vocation until her marriage. 
Her aptitude for teaching seems to have descended 
to her children, three of whom, Estelle, William and 
Ida, have been engaged in that profession. 

The following is the record of the children born 
to Mr. .and Mrs. Nichols: Estelle is the wife of 
Charles Dutcher, .and lives in Dover Township, as 
also does William H., who married Frances Bodine; 
Ida P. is the wife of^Charles Keeber, and lives in 
Palmyra; Clarence and John live at home. 

Mr. Nichols, having so many te.achers in his own 
family, is naturall3' interested in educational mat- 
ters, and he has held the different official positions 
of the School Board of this township very accepta- 
bly to his fellow-townsmen. In politics he is a 
Republican, and there is not a more earnest .and 
consistent member of that party in the State, while 
Mrs. Nichols and her sons are Democrats. 



<! &ILLIAM P. SILVERS. The name of this 
\aj/i late highly esteemed resident of Clinton 
V^^ Township is familiar among the early set- 
tlers of this county as one who came here in the 
strength of his young manhood, and cast his lot 
with those who had left their childhood's home to 
seek their fortunes in the great West. Like a large 
majority of those who located on the northern line 
of the county, Mr. Silvers was an cniauation of the 
Empire State, where he was born, in Seneca County, 
Nov. 3, 1832. He performed his part creditably in 
life as a man and a citizen, and passed peacefull3' 
away at his home on the 12th of August, 1887. 

Mr. Silvers came to this section of country while 
Michigan was j^et a Territory, and early in life was 
trained to habits of industry and economj', making 
himself useful about the homestead, and receiving a 
practical education in the pioneer school. While 
still a youth he started out for himself, and at an 
early period engaged in farming on his own ac- 
count, having in view the establishment of a home 
and domestic ties. He married Miss Charlotte C. 
Vandemark, who was a native of Phelps Township, 



Ontario Co., N. Y., and born April 7, 1 835. Mrs. 
Silvers is the only living daughter of Orson and 
Jane G. (Brooks) Vandemark, who came to Michi- 
gan in 184.5, and located on a farm in Clinton Town- 
ship. The father died in 1872, and the mother in 
1848. Mr. Vandemark was a skillful farmer, a 
worthy man in all respects, and a member of the 
Congregational Church. 

Mrs. Silvers, in common with her brctiiers and 
sisters, received a practical education, and was en- 
gaged in teaching before her marriage. Her union 
with our subject resulted in the birth of four chil- 
dren, of whom one, Marcia J., died at the age of 
six years, Jan. 27, 18G4. Altie E. is the wife of 
W. D. Van Tuyle, who is connected with the Ex- 
change Bank at Clinton ; William O. carries on the 
home farm, and Charles L. assists the last-named 
brother. Mr. Silvers was a liberal-minded and 
public-spirited gentleman, warmly interested in the 
affairs of his tt)wnship, and a life-long member of 
the Democratic party. He had held most of the 
local offices, and for three years before his decease 
was a partner in the Exchange Bank at Clinton. 

John P. Silvers, the father of our subject, was 
born in Sussex, N. J., April 14, 1803, and was the 
son of Benjamin Silvers, a native of the same place, 
who removed thence in 180G, to Fayette, Seneca 
Co., N. Y., where he purchased a tract of land. 
One day in the winter of 1818, being in the woods 
with his team and his horses floundering in the deep 
snow, he went to their heads to lead them through, 
when he was caught between the end of the tongue 
and a tree, and instantly killed. His wife, Johanna, 
died in Tyre, N. Y., in 1829. Their son John P. 
worked the old farm in Seneca County until the 
spring of 1833, when he sold out and started for 
the Territory of Michigan with his team, driving the 
entire distance to this county, and purchased 264 
acres of land. in Clinton Township. The greater 
part of this was heavy timber, about 1 00 acres being 
"openings." That same spring he set out fifty ap- 
ple trees, most of which are now alive and in 
good bearing condition. He was remarkably active 
and industrious, and it was a favorite remark of 
his, that his farm had "produced everj^thing but a 
mortgage." He h.ad married, in March, 1823, Miss 
Jeanette Hooper, a maiden of his own county in 



■♦- 



234 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



^\- 



Now York, and of the eight children born to them, 
William P. of our sketch was the youngest. Mrs. 
Jeanette Silvers died in Clinton Township, this 
county, in 1839, and Mr. S. was subsequently mar- 
ried to Miss Marcia Hurlburt, of Saline, Washtenaw 
County. They became the parents of seven chil- 
dren, and this lady died in Clinton, in 1856. 
John P. Silvers married for his third wife Mrs. 
Sophia Burroughs, who was the mother of four sons 
by her first husband. She also was a native of 
Seneca County, N. Y., and the daughter (if Peter 
and Nellie Huff. 

ylLLIAM E. DOTY came to this county 
with his parents when a child four years of 
age, and since that time has been a contin- 
uous resident. He developed into manhood with 
the growing country, and has been an interested 
witness of the changes passing before his eyes like a 
panorama, and which, as he looks back over a pe- 
riod of fifty years, seem very much like a dream 
of the night. These years, however, have by no 
means been spent in dreaming, as he has been one 
of the most industrious laborers in the building up 
of a homestead for himself and in assisting to de- 
velop the resources of Southeastern Michigan. The 
present homestead of Mr. Doty, of which the father 
took possession in 183.5, lies on section 2C, Raisin 
Township. The substantial points in his family 
history are as follows : 

Alvan Doty, the father of our subject, was a na- 
tive of Saybrook, Conn., and came of old New Pin- 
gland stock, strongly tinctured with Puritanism, 
and one generation after another belonging- to the 
Presbyterian Church. The parents of our subject 
were married in Durham, Greene Co., N. Y., to 
which place Alvan Doty had moved with his par- 
ents when eleven years old. The mother was in 
her girlhood, Miss Malinda Vergil, a native of Dela- 
ware County, and after their marriage, Nov. 11, 
1807, they settled among the rocks of the Catskill 
Mountains, where he accumnlated a good property. 
The father followed farming under many difficul- 
ties, and after the birth of nine children, resolving 
upon a change of location, he set out with his fam- 



ily in 1835 for the Territory of Michigan. They 
made the journey via the Erie Canal and Lake, to 
Detroit, thence overland by teams to this county, 
locating on section 26 in Raisin Township. Upon 
this place there was only a log cabin, of which the 
family took possession and made themselves as 
con:fortable as possible. The father lived to build 
up a good homestead and to note the development 
of the country around him, rejoicing in its pros- 
perity. He became the owner of 100 acres of land, 
which he brought to a fine state of cultivation, and 
departed from the scenes of his earthly labors Dec. 
3, 1866, at the age of seventy-eight years. The 
wife and mother survived her husband about four- 
teen years, her death taking place at the old home- 
stead July 20, 1880, when she was nearly ninet}'^- 
two years old. They were members of the Presby- 
terian Church, in which the father had officiated as 
Deacon for many years. He was a Republican, 
politically, and was quite prominent in township 
affairs, serving as Treasui-er three years, and Over- 
seer of the Poor for a long period, when the office 
was abolished. 

The paternal gr.and father of oursubjec^t was Ben- 
jamin Doty, and the maternal grandfather, Asel 
Vergil. Both served as soldiers in the Revolution- 
ary War, and the latter was seriously wounded in 
the battle at Columbia Heights, N. Y. ; he was a 
clothier by trade, and died in New England. 
Grandfather Dot3' removed to Greene County, N. 
Y., where his death took place in Durham Town- 
ship; both were well stricken in years. 

William E. Doty was born in Greene County, N. 
Y., Dec. 17, 1830, and accompanying his parents to 
this State, pursued his first studies in the pioneer 
schools of Raisin Township. He remained at the 
homestead until the decease of his parents, and then 
succeeded to the property. This comprises 146 
acres of choice and well-improved land, on which 
are commodious and substantial buildings, well 
suited to the purposes of the modern agriculturist. 

Mr. Doty upon reaching manhood, was married 
to one of the maidens of Raisin Township, Miss 
Caroline M. Raymond, who was born in Steuben 
County, N. Y., April 29, 1829, and came to Michi- 
gan with her parents when a child four years of 
age. They settled in Raisin Township, Labored 
■» 




Residence OF David EI. Palmer , Sec. 10. Madison Township. 




^fe&^^S^4a^.^j^^.^i^V-.g;^i^.^.,^fe»^-v-^-^ 



Residence OF L G Lester, Sec 11 Rai5in Townsh i p 



^.*f ->!JA.vtift»<<.ft, 




Residengeof Jno Hugo Smith, 5ec 36 Raisin Township 



1^^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



237 



after the manner of pioneers, and spent their last 
daj'S upon the homestead which they had built up 
by years of toil and frugality. Mrs. Doty was 
reared to habits of industry, and educated in tiie 
common schools, where she made such progress, 
that at the age of fifteen she engaged in teaching, 
which she continued until she was twenty-six years 
old. Of her union with our subject there were 
born seven children, three of whom are now de- 
ceased, namely: Henry, Willie R. and Linnie S. 
Of the others, Hattie is the wife of George G. Has- 
kell, who operates a planing-mill in Lndington; 
Carrie is a teacher in the district schools, and makes 
her home with her parents, while Stanley E. and 
Eva, the youngest, are also at home. 

Mr. and Mrs. Doty soon after their marriage 
settled ui)on the old homestead, and have been uni- 
formly prosperous in their labors. They are active 
members of the Presbyterian Church, in which Mr. 
Doty is serving as Elder, and occupy a good posi- 
tion in their community. Mr. Doty has always 
been a clieerful and liberal giver to religious and 
educational institutions, and is a singer of no mean 
talents, having led the choir in his eluiroh for a pe- 
riod of twenty years. 



ff, ON. BRACKLEY SHAW. Among t 
i/)jj of note in Lenawee County, no n; 

/^^^ more highly honored than that of th 
(^) Brackley Shaw. He comes of good I 



he men 
name is 
the Hon. 
English 
ancestrj', who, at some early period in the Colonial 
history of this country, settled in Massachusetts. 
His parents were Brackley and Lydia (Pool) Shaw, 
natives of Abington, Plymouth Co., Mass., where 
the birth of the father occurred in Ajiril, 1790, and 
that of the mother April 20, 1791. They closed 
their earthly lives in Dover Townsiiip. Mr. Shaw 
died on the 2d of May, 18G9, and in his death Len- 
awee County lost a valu.able and venerated citizen. 
Mrs. Shaw survived the death of her iiusband, and 
died at the advanced age of ninety years on the 
23d of May, 1881. 

The parental family of our subject included eight 
children, namely: Lydia L., Bracklej', Harriet A., 
I Horatio W., Fidelia A., Mary M., Charles I., and 
BetS3' Ann who died in infancy. Lydia was the 



wife of Orlin Phelps, to whom she was married in 
Cayuga County, N. Y. ; they came to Lenawee 
County in the fall of 1834, and settled in Dover 
Township; she died in Toledo, Ohio. Harriet is 
the widow of Russell Skeels, and resides in Rome 
Township; Horatio W. is a Congregational minis- 
ter, of Binghamton, N. Y. ; he was graduated from 
the university at Ann Arbor, and afterward from 
the theological department of Princeton College. 
He then went to India, and took charge of the col- 
lege at Allahabad, where he remained six years, and 
then returned to America. Fidelia is the wife of 
W. J. Wilber, of Dcn'er Township; Mary is the 
wife of S. P. Perkins, of the same place; Charles is 
a fanner, and has lately moved to Louisiana from 
Iowa. 

Brackle3' Shaw, Sr., was Lieutenant of a company 
in the War of 1812, and had charge of a battery of 
an island near Boston in defense of that city. 
After the close of the war, he settled in Plainfleld, 
Mass., and in 1825 moved with his family to Ira, 
Cayuga Co., N. Y., and in 183.') they migrated to 
iNIichigan, and became pioneers of Lenawee County. 
They came to Michigan by wa^' of Lake Erie, dis- 
embarking at Port Lawrence (now Toledo), Ohio. 
On making the dock, the owners thereof proposed 
to charge what Mr. Shaw, Sr., considered an exor- 
bitant price for the storage of his goods over night, 
and he determined not to submit to their unjust 
charges, but to let the goods remain on the dock. 
He said to his son Brackley, as he handed him a 
rifle which he had taken from a pile of goods, "You 
stand here and watch these goods to-night." Dur- 
ing the night a terrible thunderstorm arose; the 
heavens were rent by continual flashes of lightning, 
and loud peals of thunder constantly reverberated 
through the air. Notwithstanding that fearful 
nocturnal spectacle, and the pelting rain which ac- 
companied it, the youth stood his ground a faithful 
.sentinel until morning, when he was released from 
his charge, and the goods were loaded onto wagons 
drawn by oxen. Their trip, which consumed two 
days, through swamps and dense forests to Adrian, 
was anything but pleasant. 

These early pioneers had but few pleasures to 
lighten their pathway in life, which was one of toil 
and hardship, patiently and courageously endured 



238 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



.#^h 



They had to hew out homes for their families by 
the worlc of their hands, settlements were made in 
lonely places, and tlieir ears were often assailed at 
night by the howling of the wolverines, which, as 
some one has facetiously said, was their chief music. 
But it is owing to the faithful labors of these pio- 
neers in subduing the forest, that the generation 
of to-day can proudly boast that Lenawee County 
stands second to none in the State. And after all, 
their life had some compensations; those early set- 
tlers led a life of freedom and independence near to 
Nature's heart, and wliat tiiey possessed was tlieirs 
by the divine right of labor. 

" Oft did the liiirvest to their sicklr yic-lil. 

Their furrow oft the stubboni ^li'lx' lia< liiokp. 
How jocund did they drive tlicii icaiii utirl.i: 

How bowed the woods benenlli ilnir -ninly stroke! 
"Far from lli.' iiiiHl.liii;; .inw.r- i,-ii..l,l,. strife, 

Thfir -nl.rr ui-li.- iirvrr l..:ii'nr(l Ici stray; 

Along Ihr ,-,M,l.-r,|,M-l,.,r,l \ nl .• . .f I i fe 

Tliey k.'i'i ''i'' n..i-<.lr^~ !,■ ■ (.iilieir way." 

Though the above lines were descriptive of far 
other scenes in the early home of Mr. Shaw's En- 
glish ancestry, yet they are, in a degree at least, 
appropriate as describing the life of their descend- 
ants in this new western world. Mr. Shaw says 
that he looks back upon those early days as a bright 
spot in his lifetime, and surely the remembrance of 
them must enhance his enjoyment of the luxuries 
and comforts with which he is now surrounded. 

The subject of our sketch was born in Plainfleld, 
Hampshire Co., Mass., May 21, 1818, and is a self- 
made and a self-educated man. He was a studious 
lad, applying himself diligently at the district 
school, and in the long winter evenings, by the 
light of the fire in the old fireplace, he read such 
books as he could obtain, and gleaned the knowl- 
edge and wisdom from them and from those with 
whom he associated that has made him prominent 
in the councils of his adopted State. We have al- 
readj' spoken of his early settlement in this countj^; 
his energy and business capacity have made him one 
of the most successful farmers in this community. 
He has a fine farm of 14.5 acres, on which he has 
built one of the most beautiful residences in the 
county; heat one tinie owned 400 acres in this 
township. 

The marriage of Mr. Shaw with Miss Elvira M. 
Graves, was solemnized in Dover Township, July 



7, 1842, and she has been to him an efficient help- 
meet, nobly assisting and encouraging him in his 
life work. She was born in Harrington. Conn., 
Oct. 18, 1821, and is the daughter of S. Wells and 
Rhoda (Clark) Graves, natives of Litchfield County, 
Conn., where the former was born in Harrington in 
1791, and the latter in Burlington in 1793. At 
some time of their married life they lived in Cay- 
uga County, N. Y., and in the summer of 1835 
came from there to Michigan, and settled in what is 
now Clayton. It was then a dense forest, and they 
were among the first settlers in that part of the 
county. Soon after their arrival Mrs. Graves died, 
her death occurring Feb. 28, 1837, in Dover Town- 
ship; it was probably hastened by exposure and 
other hardships incidental to a pioneer life. Mr. 
Graves died in Dover Township, Aug. 2, 1854; he 
was much celebrated for his musical abilities, and 
while living in New York long held the position of 
drum major. He was quite noted as a skilful 
hunter and trapper during his residence in Michi- 
gan. They were the parents of three children — 
Luoinda, Lorenzo and Elvira M. Lucinda was the 
wife of George W. Merrick, and died in Adrian, 
Mich., in May, 1882; Lorenzo was a farmer and 
died in Clayton, Mich., Jan. 9, 1849. 

Mrs. Shaw was but thirteen when she came 
with her parents to Lenawee County. Her union 
with Mr. Shaw has been blessed by the birth of two 
sons — Byron L. and Horatio AV. Byron L. married 
Miss Olive Stockwell, of Dover Township ; they re- 
side in Adrian, where he is engaged in the drug 
business, being a member of the firm of Hart & 
Shaw. Horatio married Miss Susie V. Shaw ; they 
reside in Dover. He is an artist by profession, hav- 
ing much natural talent. 

Mr. Shaw has taken an active part in State and 
county affairs; although he has never sought office, 
yet he has often commanded the suffrage of his fel- 
low-citizens on account of his well-known talent 
and ability. In 1868 he was elected to the Michi- 
gan Legislature, and served two years. In 1880 he 
was chosen State Senator for the Sixth District; in 
1882 he was re-elected to the same office, serving in 
all fuur years. He was President of the Farmer's 
Association of Lenawee and Hillsdale Counties for 
two years. ^ 



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^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



239 



Ir 



Mr. and Mrs. Shaw are active and influential in 
the affairs of the Presbyterian Church, of whicli 
they have been worthy communicants for many 
years. Mr. Shaw has been an Elder in that denom- 
iuatioa for nearly forty years; he has also been 
Superintendent of the Sunday-school for over thirty 
years. He was chosen as a delegate by the Pres- 
bytery to represent it at the General Assemblies 
held at different times in St. Louis, Mo., and in 
Pittsburgh, Pa. 

In their pleasant home Mr. and JMrs. Sh:i\v are 
tranquilly and pe.acefully awaiting the end of life 
on earth, which means to them the beginning of a 
more glorious life hereafter. Mr. Shaw was a 
Whig until tiie organization of the Republican 
party, since whiciitime he has supported tliat [larty. 

->> ^.o*o..f5^><^..<,*o <^ 

ELEAZER HOLDRIDGE was born in Onon- 
daga County, N. Y., Sept. 14, 1814. He 
, : ^ was the son of Felix and Deborah (Slocum) 
Holdridgo, who w^re farmers of Onondaga Count}'. 
Eleazer lived with his parents until he was married, 
and was reared a farmer. Considering the advan- 
tages offered in those days, he received a very fair 
education, to which he .added by studj^ after leav- 
ing school, thus fitting himself for teaching, which 
occupation he followed during several winters. The 
greater portion of his life, prior to marriage, was 
spent |in RoyaJton, Niagara County, whither his 
parents had removed when he was six years of age. 
Li the f.all of 1837 Mr. Holdridge came to Mich- 
igan, and [settled in Raisin Township, Lenawee 
County, where he and his father, wlio came with 
him, purchased 200 acres of land on sections 22 
and 23. This entire tract he cleared up, built a 
large brick house and barn, and planted an orchard. 
The first i)urchase was added to until he at one time 
owned 340 acres of valuable land. Immediately 
after his settlement in Raisin he became .active and 
energetic in all public matters. He was largely in- 
terested in the growth and progress of the county 
and lent every energy to its development. Being 
a man of good intelligence and education he soon 
held a prominent position in societj^, and during the 
first year of his settlement was made School In- 



spector. He always toolf an active part in public 
meetings, and discussed questions with terseness and 
intelligence. He was quite a politician, .and his ac- 
tions were swaj^ed solely by conviction. He was 
elected Justice of the Peace, and served several 
years, while he was the candidate of liis party many 
times for other and more important olHces. He 
resided in Raisin Township, on his original purchase, 
until 18()7, when he removed to the city of Adrism, 
purchasing a good home, where he resided until his 
de.ath, which occurred on the 4th of May, 1873. 
Mrs. Mehitnble Holdridge survived her husband sev- 
eral years, dying in Adrian in 1884, aged seventy- 
two years. She had been a resident of Lenawee 
County forty -eight years, never having returned to 
her old home in New York after her m.arriage. Her 
wedding tour consisted of a two weeks' journey, in 
a wagon througli the woods and mud, from New 
York to Michigan. 

On the 18th of Sei)tember, 183C, Mr. Holdridge 
married Mehitable, daughter of Isaiah and Mercy 
Stone, of Royalton, Niag.ara Co., N. Y., and the result 
of this union was eight children, all born on the 
old farm in Raisin Township, wiio are recorded as 
follows: Warren J. was born Aug. 1, 1838, is a 
farmer and resides on the old homestead ; Horace 
was born Aug. 28, 1840. and is a f.armer in Raisin 
Township; Eliza E. was born Dec. 14, 1842, and is 
the wife of Harmon Camburn, a resident of Adrian ; 
Thomas J. was born Aug. 13, 1844, and is a miller 
of Antliony, Kan.; Hannah E. was born May 2, 
184G, and is the wife of Amos Graves, a fanner of 
Williamstown, Ingliam Co., Mich. ; Spencer w.as born 
Feb. 2, 1849, and died the same year; Mary M. was 
liorn Aug. 4, 1850, and is the wife i.f G. Olin 
Green, of Adrian; Eile.azer S. was born Sept. 11, 
1854, and resides at Adrian, this county. 

Mrs. Mehitable Holdridge was born in Bradford, 
Orange Co., Vt., Nov. 8, 1812. Her father, a na- 
tive of Massachusetts, went to Vermont in his boy- 
hood, where he lived until 1818, and then removed 
to Royalton, Niagara Co., N. Y., and purchased 
a farm, where he resided until 1835. He then re- 
moved to Knox County, Ohio, and purchased a 
farm in Liberty Township, where he died Dec. 2, 
1 843, aged fifty-eight. He married Mercy .Sawyer, 
who was born in Bradford, Vt., and they had eleven 



■•► 



,^ ■^^r~ 



240 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



children, of whom Mrs. Holdridge was the second 
daughter and fourth child. Mrs. Mercy Stone died 
111 Marion, Linn Co., Iowa, March 14, 1860, aged 
seventy-seven years. 

Felix and Deborah Hold ridge, parents of the 
subject of this sketch, came to Michigan in 1837, 
as above stated. Felix was a sturdy man of the 
New England tj'pe, honest, industrious and worthy. 
He was a pioneer in every sense, and did his utmost 
in the early days of its settlement to develop the 
country. One of the saddest catastrophes in the 
settlement of Lenawee County occurred in his 
family; one day in October, 1839, his wife went 
into the woods lo gather rushes, and \vas never seen 
again alive. It was soon discovered that she was 
lost, the alarm was given, and ar general and sys- 
tematic search was made by all the inhabitants far 
and near, which was continued for two weeks, and 
finally abandoned by all except Mr. Holdridge, 
who still persisted, and, at the end of about six 
weeks her body was discovered in an Indian hut 
in the township of Dundee, Monroe Countj', and 
about seven miles from her home. Felix Holdridge 
died in Eaisin Township in about 1 855. Elizabeth 
Holdridge, sister of Eleazer, was born in Onondaga 
County, N. Y., Aug. 13, 1803, and came to Michi- 
gan with the family. She married first Uriel Spen- 
cer, of Maumee City, Ohio, who died in Eaisin 
Township, and her second husband was Lewis Hor- 
ton, of Royalton, N. Y.. where he owned a farm 
and where she died in 1872. 



■€-^1 



^%- 



t 



tl7 ENRY H. OSGOOD. Among the enterpris- 
llf^V ing business men of Ilolloway, not one is 
!^V^ more favorably known than the subject of 
((^ this sketch, Mr. H. H. Osgood, who is the 
leading general merchant in that place. 

Mr. Osgood was born in Seneca Township, this 
county, Oct. 23, 1840, and is the son of Cornelius 
Osgood, a native of Seneca County, N. Y., where he 
was born in 1813, and there grew to manhoorl. In 
1 834 he came to Michigan, and settling in Canan- 
daigua, a part of Seneca Township, he plied his 
trade of a tailor, and met and married Miss Phrebe A. 
Tayer, who was born In 1820, and was the daughter 



of one of the pioneers of Lenawee County. Thej' be- 
came the parents of four children — Henry H., Perry, 
Tunis C. and Eliza Jane. Some years after his 
marriage he turned his attention to farming, and 
in 1861 he went to Colorado, where he mined for 
some time in Central City, with varying success, 
and finally returned to Michigan. In the year 
186G he went again to the Rocky Mountains, and 
engaged in mining in Caribou, Boulder Co., Col., 
and was there deprived of his life in August, 1868, 
by one of those accidents so common in the mines. 
As he was employed in sinking a shaft, a bank of 
earth fell on him, killing him instantly. He was 
much respected for his many good qualities, and in 
his death the Republican party of this community 
lost a faithful supporter. His wife survives him, 
living on the old homestead near the city of Adrian. 

Our subject was well educated in the public 
schools, where he ranked well as a scholar, excelling 
particularly in penmanship. He remained with his 
parents until he obtained employment from the 
Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway Com- 
pany, and beginning with the lowest position, that 
of water boy on the trains, he rose rapidly to posi- 
tions of responsibility. His intelligence and capa- 
bilities attracted the attention of the railway offi- 
cials, and he was promoted to a place of trust in the 
supply office, having headquarters at Adrian. This 
post he retained nine years, fulfilling the duties of 
his office with such fidelity and efficiency as to gain 
the full confidence of his employers. At the end of 
that time they promoted him to the clerkship of the 
civil engineer's department, which position he re- 
tained for fourteen years, and then retired from the 
employ of the company, after a service of twenty- 
five years; his retirement was much i-egretted hy the 
officials. He established himself in his present busi- 
ness in 1884, succeeding Kelle}', Hoxsie & Co. He 
carries a fine class of goods for countrj- trade, and 
by close application and skillful management, has 
succeeded in firmly establishing his business on a 
paj'ing basis. 

Mr. Osgood was married in the township of 
Macon, Nov. 23, 1868, to Miss Sarah L., daughter 
of Lewis and Sarah (Huff) Miller. She was born 
in Hillsdale County, Mich., Nov. 8, 1847, and is the 
youngest of her mother's five children — Dan B., 
»► ■ <• 



i 



-4»- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



241 



-A, 



Jane A., Tunis H., Ellen E. and Sarah L. Her parents 
were natives of Seneca County, N. Y., and her 
mother died in Jonesville, Hillsdale Co., Mich., 
when this daughter was eighteen months old. The 
father married again, taking as his wife Mrs. Eliza- 
beth Vanduzen nee Schofield, and they now live 
near Ridgewa}', engaged in agricultural pursuits. 
After the death of her mother, Mrs. Osgood went 
to reside in Seneca County, N. Y., under the charge 
of her aunt, Mrs. T. C. Osgood, and remained in 
New York till eighteen years of age, receiving a 
good education. She then returned to her old 
home as a teacher, which vocation she followed suc- 
cessfully for three years prior to her marriage. 
Her union with her husband has been blessed by 
the birth of two children — Mauson P. and Harry C. 
Mr. Osgood's genial manners and ready tact make 
him quite popular. Politically he is a Republican, 
and takes an active interest in town affairs; he was 
elected Township Clerk. Mrs. Osgood is an active 
member of the Methodist Church. 

fl? ENRY N. SKEELS, a native of Vermont, 
l^'^^ has been for the last twenty-five years one 
1^^' of the most prominent citizens of Adrian 
^p Township, taking an active part in its various 
interests, and is a man generally respected bj' the 
community. He was born Nov. 27, 1822, and is 
the son of Russell and Mary (Felton) Skeels, of 
New England birth and parentage, tiiough the father 
was of Welsh descent. 

The first representatives of the Skeels family in 
America were three brothers who crossed the At- 
lantic in the Colonial days and located in Connecti- 
cut, where they carried on farming and rounded up 
good and honest lives as citizens and business men. 
The paternal grandfather of our subject died in that 
State at an advanced age. His son, Russell, was 
born near the town of Woodbury and reared to 
farming pursuits. His education was extremely 
limited, being confined to three months' schooling, 
but he was intelligent and fond of reading, and 
gained by his own efforts a useful fund of informa- 
tion. Early in life he was made acquainted with 



its toils and struggles, working away from home at 
very small wages and living in the most frugal 
manner. 

Russell Skeels was born Aug. G, 1782, and when 
twenty years of age removed from Coiuiecticut to 
Vermont, where he located 100 acres of wild land 
in what was afterward Rutland County. Upon the 
theory that '■ a rolling stone gathers no moss," he 
remained in possession of this purchase the balance 
of his life, embracing a period of fiftj'-live years. 
His death took place Nov. 24, 1857, when he was 
over seventy-four years of age. He built up a com- 
fortable homestead and reared his children after 
the strict principles of the Puritans. He had mar- 
ried, in early manhood, Miss Mary Pollard, a native 
of his own comity, and to them were born six chil- 
dren. After the death of his first wife, Russell 
Skeels was a second time married, to Miss Mary 
Fulton, a native of Vermont, and the daughter of 
William Fulton, a well-to-do Massachusetts farmer. 
Grandfather Fulton possessed all the qualities of an 
honest man and lived to an advanced age. His 
daughter Mary, the mother of our subject, was 
born March ;), 177!), and died in Vermont, Sept. 30, 
1849. The p.arental household included eight chil- 
dren, of whom Henry N. was the seventh son. 
There was one daughter only, and of this family 
but two are living, our subject, and his brother Sam- 
uel who resides in Hampton, N. Y., about eighteen 
miles from the place of his birth. 

Henry N. Skeels visited the West when ijuite 
young, and in 1862 purchased a tract of land in 
Palmyra Township, which he sold in 1867, and com- 
menced speculating in blooded stock. In connec 
tion with others he dealt mostly in sheep and horses, 
and being the pioneers of the business in this section 
they were enabled to realize handsome profits by 
fair dealing and good management. 

In 1873 Mr. Skeels purchased his present home- 
stead and erected thereon the residence which they 
now occupy. The land originally comprised the 
old Wheeler farm, which was opened up by Carey 
Rogers, one of the pioneers of this county, and was 
subsequently the property of a man named Hager- 
man, which name the farm takes. 

Mr. Skeels, in 1846, while a resident of Ver- 
mont, was united in marriage with Miss Marie, 



•►HI-* 



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242 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



^; 



daughter of Everett P. and Cliarlotte Parmlee, 
natives of Vermont, who spent their entire lives 
upon their native soil and died there at a good old 
age. Three children were born of this marriage, 
namely: Ella M., who died in 1850; Evelyn, who 
passed away in 18()5, when an interesting girl of 
twelve years, and one who died in infancy. The 
mother departed this life Nov. 19,1861, at her 
home in Brandon, Vt. 

The present wife of our subject, formerly Mrs. 
Diana F. (Russ) Crego, was born in Pultne3^ 
Steuben Co., N. Y., Sept. 23. 1829. and was the 
widow of Solomon G. Crego, who died Sept. 23, 
1866. Mr. Crego was born in Erie County, N. 
Y., July 10, 1826, and was the son of Richard 
J. and Martha (Gallop) Crego, natives of New York, 
who were married June 6, 1813. They remained 
in New York until Solomon was ten years old and 
then came to Michigan, where they purchased Gov- 
ernment land on which they lived and died. Solo- 
mon Crego combined farming with the nursery 
business in Jackson County, Mich. 

There were born to Mr. and Mrs. Crego five chil- 
dren, all of whom are dead : Levi H. was born Sept. 
3, 1850, and died when a babe of three months; 
Frances A. was born Oct. 17, 1852, and died July 
13, 1868; Cora A. Was born Aug. 16, 1855, and 
died Nov. 7, 1879; Clara A. was born March 7, 
1859, and died Dec. 16, 1876, and H. C. was born 
Feb. 7, 1864, and died Sept. 12, 1866. 

The father of Mrs. Skeels, Nathaniel Russ, a 
millwright by trade, was born in New Hampshire, 
while his wife. Miss Clarissa Tomer, was a native of 
New Jersey. Mr. Russ, in addition to millwright- 
ing also followed cabinet-making, and was a natural 
mechanic of much skill. He only lived to be mid- 
dle aged, his death taking place when his daughter 
Diana was about ten years old. Mrs. Skeels on 
her mother's side is of P^nglish ancestry, her paternal 
grandfather having crossed the Atlantic in the Colo- 
nial days. He reared a large family of children, 
and with his excellent wife, lived to an advanced 
age. The parents of Mrs. Skeels left New 
England and came to the West about 1837, during 
the early settlement of Lenawee County. They 
made their final location at Cambridge, and the 
father employed himself mostly at. his trades and 

^l» 



spent his last days at Plymouth, his decease occur- 
ring in 1839 ; they were the parents of nine children. 
The mother was born March 17, 1801, and died at 
her home in Cambridge, July 14, 1866; she was a 
second time married to a Mr. Rogers. 



—r^/y.-'\tsU2j2/®^^ 



»^.g!/Zi(Tjr»v--»/v'»~ 



[-^■jOHERT GILLILAND is the senior proprie- 
L^ tor of the Gilliland Electric Company, in 
the city of Adrian, which was established in 
1882. He first established this business in 
the city of Hudson, this county, in the fall of 1871, 
upon a small scale, and enlarged his facilities as the 
demand required. The articles which are manu- 
factured by this company are telegraph insulators, 
pins and brackets, and while at Hudson the entire 
products of his factory were sold on contracts to 
the Western Union Telegraph Company. The busi- 
ness was continued nine years in that city, and then 
he removed his works to Mishawaka, Ind., w^iere he 
remained for two years. 

In 1882 Mr. Gilliland came to Adrian and estab 
lished his present works, manufacturing himself the 
machinery with which the establishment was sup- 
plied. He made valuable additions from time to 
time, until 1887, when he added new machinerj'^ for 
the manufacture of telegraph and electric light sdp- 
plies. Much of this valuable machinery was invented 
and perfected by Mr. Gilliland, and the amount 
of labor saved can be realized, when it is known 
that a single machine will perform the work which 
formerly required ten men. He has recently in- 
vented a machine for the manufacture of telegraph 
pins, which makes, when it is run to its fullest capac- 
ity, 5,200 pins per day, and the products of the 
establishment are still taken by the Western Union 
Telegraph Company. The compan}' was at one 
time behind its orders 337,000 pins, while in the 
months of July and August there were shipped 660,- 
000. When he first commenced the business, the 
annual output was 200,000, while in 1887 it ran to 
2,000,000 pins. The establishment is located on 
three acres of ground, and consists of four separate 
buildings, besides five dry houses. The main build- 
ing is of brick, and is two stories in height. Steam 
power is used, 50-horse power engines being em- 



••> ^ m ^ 



A 



lp:nawee county. 



243 



ployed. The present conip.iny, formed in the sprhig 
of 1887, is composed of Robert Gilliland and his 
two sons, E. T. and J. F. Gillil.ind, and is incor- 
porated under the laws of the State. 

E. T. Gilliland is in company with Thomas A. 
Edison, the famous electric light tnan,in the manu- 
facture of electrical apparatus, at Orange, N. J., 
but Mr. Gilliland resides in the city of New York. 
The Adrian Company's works are located near the 
Wabash Depot, on Dean street, near Maumee, where 
they are afforded the best of shipping facilities. 

Robert Gilliland was born in Ontario County, N. 
Y., Aug. 1, 1822. He came to Michigan in the fall 
of 1863, and located at Hudson, this county. 



^m 



eHARLES D. HALL, wholesale dealer in poul- 
try, eggs and other provisions of the kind, 
is the successor of Hall & Adams, who estab- 
lished the business here in the spring of 1880. 
They built up an extensive trade, and continued 
until the spring of 1 885, when our subject purchased 
the interest of his partner, and has continued alone 
since that time. He is a gentleman of good busi- 
ness qualifications, industrious and enterprising, 
straightforward in his transactions, and in short has 
the elements of character essential to success in life. 

Our subject is in his prime, having been born 
Nov. 3, 1851, and is a native of the Buckeye State, 
where his birth took place in Lorain County at the 
modest homestead of his parents, Matthias and 
Sophia (Hopkins) Hall, whose household included 
eight children, of whom our subject was the young- 
est. Matthias Hall and his estimable wife were na- 
tives of the Eimpire State, where they were reared 
and married, and whence they removed to Ohio 
several years later. The mother died at the home- 
stead in Lorain County about 1857. The father 
subsequently came to Micliigan and died at Lans- 
ing in 1875, when about seventy-eight years of age. 
Of their five sons and three daughters, seven are 
still living, all married and settled in comfortable 
homes. 

Charles D. Hall received his education in the dis- 
trict schools of Lorain County, Ohio, and during 
the last terms of his attendance worked night and 



morning for his board, making his home with Abram 
Fuller. His first experience in the business at which 
he is now engaged, commenced in his native county, 
through which he traveled as a purchaser of eggs 
and butter, which he shipped to Cleveland, and met 
with snch success at the commencement that he con- 
tinued his labors in this direction for a period of 
six years. He then determined upon a change of 
location, being desirous of seeing something be- 
yond the confines of the Buckeye State. 

In the fall of 1873 Mr. Hall made his way to 
Southeastern Michigan, and pitching his tent within 
the city limits of Adrian, engaged as clerk with the 
firm of McLouth & Hall. After two years he was 
admitted to partnership, and upon the retirement of 
Mr. McLouth continued the business in company 
with his brother for about three years. He then 
purehaseil the interest of the latter, and adding 
groceries to the stock of merchandise, continued 
alone until 1880. In the spring of that year he 
formed a partnership with John Q. Adams, and the 
firm of Hall & Adams dealt principally in groceries 
for about twelve months, when the business was 
closed out. Messrs. Hall & Adams then engaged 
in the general produce business, the partnership be- 
ing limited to five years, after which Mr. Adams re- 
tired, and Mr. Hall has since continued alone. The 
business is located on Railroad street, west of the 
court house, in a building that was at one time 
occupied by a canning company, and is well adapted 
to its present purpose. In 188G Mr. Hall shipped 
110 tons of poultry, and a large amount of eggs; 
the report for 1887, when made up, will probably 
double this amount. This is an admirable illustra- 
tion of the results of good judgment in purchasing 
and fair dealing in selling. 

In 1875, while a resident of Adrian, our subject 
was united in marriage with Miss Alice A., second 
daughter of Lewis and Mary L. McLouth, of Adrian 
the wedding taking place at the home of the bride, 
and being the occasion upon which met together a 
goodly number of friends of both parties, who cele- 
brated in a suitable manner the imjiortant event. 
Mr. and Mrs. Hall are now the parents of three 
bright children, namely : Loisia Belle, who was born 
May 13, 1880; Charles Arthur, Feb. 21, 1882, and 
Edwin M., Oct. 29, 1885. The residence is pleas- 



■•►Hl-^ 



•►HH-* 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



^: 



aiitly located on Main street, and our subject and 
his wife are the center of a large circle of friends 
and acquaintances. Mr. Hall, politically, votes the 
Republican ticket, but gives little attention to poli- 
tics, preferring to devote his time mostly to his 
business and domestic interests. 



J I AMP:S IIALLADAY, a representative farmer 
and stock-raiser, is located on section 5, 
Clinton Township, where he owns an excel- 
lent farm of eighty acres, a part of which is 
within the village limits. He purchased this farm 
upon his arrival in Lenawee County in 187.3, whei-e 
he has been a resident ever since. 

The subject of this biography was born in Man- 
chester Township, Ontario Co., N. Y., on the 22d 
of January, 1832. His father, James Hallada3', was 
also a native of Ontario County, where he grew up, 
and was married in Manchester Township, to Pa- 
melia Biglow, who is still living on the farm in 
Bridgewater Township, Washtenaw County. She 
is eighty-three years of age and vigorous in mind 
and body. Her husband was a farmer and died in 
Bridgewater Township, Dec. 28, 1880, at the age of 
eighty-two years. He was successful as a farmer 
and in politics was a Republican, while they were 
lioth members of the Congregational Church. 

Our subject was reared in the township of his 
nativity, and came to Michigan after he had grown 
to manhood. He purchased a farm and then took 
an important step toward housekeeping. On the 
19th of February, 1873, he was united in marriage 
in Clinton Township with Miss Sarah Richmond, 
born in this township, Feb. 7, 1852, and daughter 
of Levi C. and Sarah (Warner) Richmond, the 
former of whom died Jan. 7, 1887, at his home in 
Clinton Township, at the .age of seventy-seven. He 
was born in Herkimer County, N. Y., and reared 
and educated there till he had reached his majority, 
when he came to Michigan, and after living in Pon- 
tiac one year, removed to Bridgewater. Twelve 
years later he came to Clinton Township, where he 
resided until his death. On his arrival here he 
obtained Government land, on which he labored 
energetically, and brought it under a high state of 
cultivation. He was a conscientious, straightfor- 



ward man, and a member for many years of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he held office 
almost constantly during his connection with that 
denomination. He was known among the people 
for more than half a century, and held a high place 
in the affections of his community, witii which he 
was so closely connected as a pioneer. In politics 
he was a Democrat. His wife was also connected 
with the Methodist Episcopal Church for even a 
longer term of years, and is yet living on the old 
homestead, which consists of 121 acres of land of a 
very superior quality, and well supplied with good 
farm buildings. 

Mrs. Halladay was the fifth in a family of five 
sons and two daughters, and was reared at home, 
receiving her education in Clinton. She is the 
mother of two children — Alice and Ralph A. Mr. 
and Mrs. Halladay are very energetic, progressive 
people, and take an active interest in all measures 
calculated to promote the best interests of the com- 
munity in which they live. They are members of 
the Methodist Plpiscopal Church, of which Mr. H. 
is a Trustee. Mr. Halladay identifies iiiinself with 
the Republican party. 



eW. LUCE is one of the thrifty and success- 
ful farmers of this county, owning ninety- 
six acres of highly improved land on section 
2.5, Franklin Township, where he made his home in 
1879. Mr. Luce was born in Manchester Town- 
ship, Washtenaw County, Aug. 21, 1846. His fa- 
thei', Henry T. Luce, was an early settler 4)f Man- 
chester Township, where he lived until 1858, and 
then removed to Napoleon Township, Jackson 
County, where he purchased a farm and lived for 
some time, when he finally removed to Tecumseh, 
where his death occurred June 25, 1886. He was 
born in Pennsylvania Jan. 6, 1811, where he was 
reared to manhood, and was married in Clermont, 
N. Y'., to Lucia O. Fisher, who was born and reared 
in New Hampshire, and is now, at the age of sev- 
enty-four years, living in Tecumseh. The father 
was a stanch Republican, and he and his wife were 
Methodists. 

The subject of our notice is the youngest of six 
children, three sons and three daughters, all of 



^-HK-^ 







^. s^ 



•►Hh-^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



247 



whom arc liviin:', ami tlircc smis ajul unc (ImiiuIiIci- 
are married. Mr. Liicr iivLnl at iiuiiic iiiitii iiis 
marriage, in N.ipoleon Towiisiiip, .Iacl<son County. 
Feb. 2, 1 870, to Miss Kate E. EnEarl, wlio was l)()rii 
in Raisin Township, Lenawee County, Jnne U. isril), 
and is the danghtor of James L. and Ahnot .1. 
(Comstock) EnEarl, natives of York State. They 
were married in the township of Franklin, lemov- 
ing thence to Raisin Township, wheie the father 
followed the trade of a carpenter for some .years, 
and where the mother died when her (laughter, 
Mrs. Luce, was only three years of age. Thence 
the father removed to Franklin Township, next to 
Albion, and finally to Jackson City, where he is on- 
gaged at his trade: he is now the iinslianil of liis 
third wife. 

After the death of her mother .Mrs. Luce lived 
witli her f.ather until her marriage. She is the 
mother of five children — Irving C, Alma J., Henry 
1)., James L. and Howard. After their marriage 
Mr. and Mrs. Luce located in Napoleon Towiiship, 
Jackson County, on a f.arm of fifty-six acres, iind 
lived there until he came to his present home in 
1879. They belong to the Methodist Church. Mr. 
L. is a Republican, and is acting in the capacity of 
Highway Commissionei-. 

-*«-;;5. •-^o<-»- ->=:-"» 

EMMON COWEN. The beautiful farm of 
)J) eight}' acres which occupies a part of sec- 
tion 1 2 in Ridgeway Township, has been 
lirought to its present condition mainly by 
the industry of the gentleman whose naraestandsat 
the head of this sketch. He commenced in life 
comparatively without means, .and has worked his 
way up to a good position socially and flnauciall_y. 
His early labors and struggles are things of the 
past, which he mostly keeps vvitliin the recesses of 
his own breast. Suttice it to say that they were of 
a character which would have dism.ayed many men 
and caused them to sink with discouragement. Our 
snbject, however, rose nobly above them all. and 
presents an illustr.ation of the self-made man, whose 
career may well be imitated by the rising genera- 
tion. 

Mr. Cowen was born near St. Thomas, Upper 



# 



Canada, .March i:!. I s:!s. ;,iul is (he sou of Moses 
Cowen, who was a native of the same locality, and 
died there when his son Demmon was an infant. 
The mother was formerly INIiss Jane Rice, and after 
the death of her first husband she w.as mairied to 
Mr. John Barnett, and in the year 1«51 the family 
all came to Michigan and located in Dundee Town- 
ship, Monroe County. Mr. Baniett only lived a 
few years afterwai-d. Tlu^ mother eouliiuied with 
her children on the lanil which her husband had 
purchased, and where she still makes her home. 

Our subject spent his early years with his mother, 
but after coming to Michigan commenced earning 
his own living by employing himself at whatever 
he could find to do. At the outbreak of the late 
Rebellion he was among tlie first to respond to the 
call for troops, and enlisted in Company K, 11th 
Michigan Lifantry, going soon afterward with his 
regiment to Louisville, Ky., being assigned to the 
Army of the West. He met the enemy in various 
eng.ageraents and skirmishes, but escaped serious 
injury, and at the close of his term of enlistment, 
three years later, received his honorable discharge 
Sept. 30, 18G4. After being mustered out he re- 
turned to Dundee Township, where he remained 
for a time, and in August, 18()0, was married to 
Miss Mary Friedt, a native of Pennsylvania and of 
German parentage. Mrs. Cowen came to Michi- 
gan with her parents when a young child, and was 
reared to womanhood in Monroe County. Of her 
marriage with our subject there have been born 
three children, namely: Caroline, the wife of Will- 
iam Frayor, a prosperous farmer of Ridgeway 

j Township ; Susan and John H. are with their p.arents. 

j Mr. Cowen left Monroe County in 1857, and 
purchased the land which he has built uj) into the 
present valuable farm. It had been then but in- 
differently cultivated, and the now fertile soil has 

1 been made so only by the most tireless in<lustry 
and the exercise of excellent judgment. Much of 
it was low and damp, but by a thorough process of 
drainage and other wise treatment it now yields in 
abundance the finest crops of this .section. Mr. 
Cowen still owns twenty acres of woodland in Dini- 
dee Township, which he purchased in is7tl. He 
has had little to do with political oi' pul)lic affairs, 

1 preferring to give his attention to his farm and the 



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lenawp:e county. 



! 



comfort of his family, He keeps himself informed, 
however, upon matters of general interest, and 
votes the straight Republican ticket. 

We are pleased to present on an adjoining page 
of this Album a portrait of Mr. Covven, although 
neither "storied urn nor animated bust" is neces- 
sary to keep his memory green in the hearts of his 
friends. 

EACON NORMAN H. THURBER, a re- 
tired farmer, residing on section 25, Dover 
Township, is of Welsh extraction. His 
grandfather, fSamuel W. Thurber, was born 
in Wales, and witli his wife, whose maiden name was 
Chase, he came to this country and settled in 
New Hampshire. His son Samuel H., the youngest 
of his five children, and father of Norman, was born 
and reared in New Hampshire, and there married 
Miss Sally, daughter of John Gage. They first 
made their home in Unity, Cheshire Co., N. H., and 
in 1820 they migrated from there to Canandaigua, 
Ontario Co., N. Y., where they spent their last 
years. Mrs. Thurber died Sept. 5, 1821, and Mr. 
Thurber March 5, 1837. They had nine children — 
Jefferson G., Almira, Robert G., Horace C, Mary 
G., Joshua W., Norman H., Betsey G. and Sarah D. 
Norman Thurber was born in Unity, N. H.. on the 
22d of February, 1816, and vvas four .years old 
when his parents removed to New York. He grew 
to manhood in Ontario County, receiving a com- 
mon-school education, and a good training as a 
farmer. He had the sad misfortune to lose his 
mother when he was but five years old, but he was 
a manly lad, and from the time he was twelve years 
of age he has supported himself. Oct. 5, 1834, he 
left Ontario County, and turning his face westward, 
came to Michigan. During the first five years of 
his residence in this State, he lived principally in 
Fairfield Township, but in I 839 he went to Seneca 
Township, and lK)ught 1 (iO acres of land on sections 
28 and 24. 

The next important event in Deacon Tburber's 
life was his marriage with Eunice N. Carpenter, in 
Fairfield Township, April 6, 1843. The paternal 
grandfather of Mrs. Thurber was Joslnia Carpenter, 



and the maideii name of his wife was Sarah Bert. 
Her maternal grandparents were Moses and Pliebe 
(Perkins) Cook, the former a Revolutionary soldier. 
Mrs. Thurber's parents, John H. and Elizabeth 
(Cook) Carpenter, after their marriage established 
their home in New York, where the city of Elmira 
now stands. Thence they came to Michigan in the 
month of May, 1831, where they located in Lenawee 
County, on the present site of Madison Township. 
They finally removed to Fairfield Township, where 
thej' died, Mrs. Carpenter's death occurring in 
June, ISGC. and Mr. Carpenter's on the 3d of July, 
1874. They had eight children — Rasset, Phebe, 
Eunice N., Charles 11., Daniel B., Aaron W., Elsie 
A. and Martha W. Eunice N., Mrs. Thurber, vvas 
the third child of her parents, and was born on 
the present site of Elmira, N. Y., May 13, 1.S22; 



.1 wl 



le with 



ler par- 



when 



they 



she was nine years 
cuts to Michigan. 

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Thurber 
their home in Seneca Township until 1! 
they sold tiieir land, which they had partiall.^ 
proved, and returned to Fairfield, where 
bought a farm, on which they resided three years, 
employed in improving it. In 1853 Mr. Thurber 
disjjosed of that property very advantageously, and 
removed with his family to Dover Township, where 
he bought a farm on section 25, and has ever since 
been a resident of this township. The Deacon has 
been a powerful man in his day, and still possesses 
much vigor and energy. By untiring industry he 
has cleaied and greatly improved his land. He has 
felled the trees from over ICO acres of land, and has 
extensively engaged i;i logging. 

Mr. and Mrs. Thurber have one child, Sarah D., 
who was born in Seneca Township, March 8, 1 S44. 
She was married in Medina, Mich., Jan. 1, 1862, to 
Ezra Abbott, son of Ezra and Emily (Tuttle) Ab- 
bott. They made their liome in Dover Township, 
where he died Dec. 20, 1886. Mrs. Abbott became 
the mother of three children by that marriage, 
namely: Dora L., Norman D. and Lora B. Dora 
and Norman died when quite young of lung fever. 
Their death occurred just seven days apart. 

Deacon Thurber. his wife and daughter are mem- 
bers of the Free-Will Baptist Church, where Mr. 
Thurber has filled the olFice of Deacon for many 
_ ■» 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



249 ' 'I 



years. He has always been exceedingly active in 
the establishment of religious prlificcs in Lenawee 
County, and in other ways h:i> donr mucli to ad- 
vance the moral interests of the county. He has 
assisted in organizing and building up five different 
churches in Fair&eld and Dover Townships, and con- 
siders tliat "religion and education are inseparable." 
His example as a conscientious, ui)right man, wallc- 
ingin the paths of virtue and peace, is wortii much 
to the community. In this age of litigation, it is 
his pride that lie has never sued a man, or been sued 
himself: lie lias never wilfully wronged anyone. 



Jj AMES UPDIKE. .In. The linely api ited 
little farm of eighty acres wliieli oci-upies a 
I portion of section i:i, Fianldiu Ti.>wnsiiip. 
' became the property of the >ubjeet of tliis 
sketch in 1875, and he has since bent liis energies to 
its improvement and cultivation, with most admir- 
able results. The proprietor is a gentleman of more 
than ordinary intelligence and good taste, and while 
having a proper resjiectfor the wherewithal to make 
life comfortable, has embellished his homestead with 
the various features which render it one of the most 
attractive spots in the township. The buildings 
are of modern style, the fields are fenced in a neat 
and substantial manner, and everything about the 
premises is kept in first-class order, nothing allowed 
to go to waste or become an offense to the eye. 
Around the residence are fruit and slia<le trees with 
a fine orchard in the rear, wiiilo the live stock and 
machinery give evidence of the care and thought- 
fulness of the proprietor. 

Our subject, the son of i>ne of the earliest pio- 
neers of this county, first opened his eyes to the light 
in the primitive log cabin, which was the fii-st 
dwelling of liis parents in Tecnmseh Townshi|), and 
which was located upon land which li.ad been but 
slightly cultivated before his father took possession 
of it. The latter, also James Updike, a native of 
New York State, was reared to manhood in his native 
county, and married Miss Belinda Hause, whose 
birthplace was not far from the early home of her 
husband. They continued in the Empire State until 
after the birth of three children, when they came to 



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Michigan and located upon the land which they 
(.)ccupied until retiring from active labor. 

The parents of our sulijeet came to this county 
prepared to meet hardship-^ and ditHcidties, and 
proved themselves equal to the emergency. 'J'hey 
succeeded in building np a comfortable home, oc- 
cupying the log cabin but a few years and then re- 
moving into a good frame dwelling. The father 
was a mail of excellent judgment, kind and generous 
as a neighbor and friend, and l)ecanie known as one 
of the most thorough and successful farmers of 
Tecnmseh Township. He is still living, and makes 
his home with his son Martin G., a resident of 
Tecnmseh Township. He is now over eighty-four 
years of age, having been 1 " )rn ( )ct. 1 , 1 803. During 
his residence of over forty years in this county he 
has made many warm friends, and has abundant 
reason to feel that his life and labors have not been 
in vain. The wife and mother departed this life at 
the homestead Nov. 80, 1 873, when about sixty-five 
years old. Both [larents were devoted members of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church in the days of their 
youth and strength, and the father is still identified 
with the old societj'. 

James Updike, Jr., was the eighth in a family of 
ten children, four sons and six daughters. Of 
these, three sons and two daughters are living and 
residents of this county. James, in common •^vith 
his brothers and sisters, remained under the home 
roof and availed himself of the instruction afforded 
at the district school. Upon reaching manhood he 
was married, April 2, 1873, at the homeof the bride 
ill Tecnmseh Township, to Miss Atlanta A., daughter 
of John T. and Caroline II. (Thompson) Bates. Mr. 
and Mrs. Bates were natives of New York State and 
were married in Cortland County, where their three 
children were born, the wife of our subject being 
the youngest of the family. Her birth took place 
Nov. .5, 18,53, and she was fifteen years of age when 
her father came to Michigan and located on a farm 
in Tecnmseh Township. The mother had died in 
Cortland County, N. Y., in 1863, at the age of 
thirty -seven years. Mr. Bates subsequently married 
Miss .Salina Coyle, who accompanied him to the 
West and remained here until after the death of 
Mr. Bates, which took place in the village of Tecnm- 
seh, July 31, 1877, when he was sixty-three years of 

9^ 



r 



250 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



\ 



i\ge: Mrs. B. then returned to New York and is now 
a resident of Homer, that State. Mr.Bates was a 
man of much force of character, and became quite 
prominent in the politics of the county. He affiliated 
with the Republican party and with his estimable 
wife, was a member in good stnnding of the Method- 
ist Episcopal Church. 

The wife of our subject continued with her father 
until her marriage, in the meantime receiving a 
good education and developing those elements of 
character which have constituted her a true wife and 
mother. Of her union with Mr. Updike there have 
been born two son.s — Earl B., Dec. 7, 187G, and 
Lucius C. Dec. -29, 1878. Mr. Updike, politically, 
uniformly votes the Republican ticket. By good 
management and industry he has accumulated a 
competence and lias something laid by for a rainy 
day. 

T^jOBERT B. SUTTON, a farmer, residing on 
1^^ section 16, Dover Township, is the son of 
("ii X[ Pharis and Hannah Sutton, of that town- 
^pjship (see sketch of Pharis Sutton for par- 
ental history), and is a native of tliis State, where lie 
was born in Hillsdale County, Sept. 22, 1841. 
When he was scarcely two years old, his parents 
came to Rome Township in this county, where his 
boyhood was passed on a farm, and in the i)ublic 
schools, where he received a good education, which 
was supplemented by two terms of instruction in the 
excellent college at Adrian. In ls.-)8 he came with 
his parents to Dover 'I'ownship, whicli since that 
time has been his home. 

When Mr. Sutton grew to manliood he preferred 
the healthful, free life of a farmer to the routine 
and continement of ofHee work, and he has ever since 
paid close attention to tilling the soil. Bringing to 
his work an intelligent and practical knowledge of 
the principles that govern agriculture, he has been 
particularly successful in their application. His 
farm comprises 138 .acres of land, most of which 
is well improved and very productive. 

Mr. Sutton has a pleasant home, over whicli liis 
wife presides with grace and hosjMtality. Hei- 
maiden name was Alice C. Pontius, and siie is the 
daughter of David and Cordelia (Bryant) Pontius. 



(See sketch of D. Pontius). .She was born in Seneca 
County, N. Y., Dec. 2, 1851, and was united in 
marriage with our subject M.arch 29, 1871. This 
union has resulted in the birth of two children — 
Maggie A. and Florence A. 

Both Mr. and .Air-. Sutton are member- of tlie 
Methodist Episcopal Church, and in their daily life 
they show that theirs is not a meaningless creed. 
They are active in whatever promotes the best in- 
terests, socially or morally, of tiie township in which 
they reside. 



m 



1 



HARLS SUTTON, a veteran farmer of 
Dover Townsliip, is one of the few men 
f^ still living in our midst, who, in days long- 
gone by, were among the brave and liardy 
jiioneerswho opened up Lenawee County for settle- 
ment. His parents were John and Sarah (Blaine) 
Sutton, natives of New .Jersey where, after their 
marriage, they first settled Thence they removed 
to New York, where they spent the most of their 
wedded life, living in the following counties, at 
different times: Onondaga, Wayne and Seneca, in 
the latter of which they died. They were worthj' 
people, of frugal, honest habits, and tliej' trained 
their children, six sons and four dauuhters, to fol- 
k)W in their footsteps. 

Our subject was the seventh child in ti;c p.arental 
family, and was liorn in Onondaga County, N. 
Y., Oct. 18, 1800. In the days of his youth no 
idle hands were allowed in the household, and our 
subject was early initiated in the best ways of mak- 
ing himself useful in farm labors. When sixtecL 
years of age he was apprenticed to learn the carpen- 
ter's trade, and after he had mastered its details, he 
went to Chautauqua County, where he put it in 
practice for some years. 

On the 9th of October, 1828, Mr. Sutton married 
in that courtj-. Miss Hannah M., daughter of Mil- 
ton and Lois (Briscoe) Foote, natives of Connecti- 
cut. In 1830 Mrs. Sutton's parents left their home 
in New York and came to Lenawee County, in this 
State, settling on a farm now owned and occupied 
by J. A. Townsend in Madison Township, where 
they lived until 1835. They then disposed of that 
property, and removed to Hillsdale County, where 



•►Hh-^ 



"^^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



251 



Mr. Foote (lied in 1843. Mrs. P'oote survived the 
ilejith of her husband forty yejirs, dyinu' in Adrian 
Township in the year iss;;, ;it tiio ndvanccd Mge ,,f 
ninety years. They had ti.'n cliildrcn. tiw sons and 
live daughters, of whom JMrs. Sutton was liie eldest; 
she was horn in Newtown, t'onu., Dee. IS, 1809. 

In 1830 Mr. Sutton came to Michigan with his 
wife and our child, performing tiie entire journey 
■with hordes and wagons, and occupying sixteen <\a\^ 
to reaeli ids destination. They .settled in wdiat is 
now the city of Adrian, where Mr. Sutton bought 
140 acres of land. The roundhouse of the L.-ike 
■Shore <fe Michigan Si.ulhorn Uaihoad is now located 
on land that once formed a part of his farm. Mr. 
Sutton remained in Adrian engaged in carpentering, 
and established quite a flourishing business. lie 
erected a number of buildings not only in the city 
of Adrian, but he .also built nearly all the hiuises 
between that city and DeerHi'ld that were erected 
prior to the year 18;J;i. In 1837 he removed to 
Ilillsd.ale, where he lived until 1843, farming, and 
also engaging at his trade. Ilis next move was to 
R(.)me Township, this county, where he remained 
until 18.t8, contuuiiug in his former occupations. 
In March, 1858, he came to Dover Township and 
bought about 100 acres of land on sections S) and Hi, 
where he has since made Ids home. Mr. Sutton has 
made many v.-du.-dile imi)rii\ ements on his farm; 
he has erectcil cummndjous and comfortalile build- 
ings, and his fertile, well-tilled acres show evidences 
of thrift, industry, and intelligent judgment on the 
part of the owner. 

Six children have been born to .Mr. and Mrs. 
Sutton, two of whom, Sarah A. .■Mid .Iuli:i A., died 
in infancy. The foUowing is the record of tlioM- 
living: Lois B. is the wife of 11. M. lloxter, and 
Deborali, of Jacob Gambee; Milton F. married 
Charlotte E. Barkley, and lives in Hillsdale Coiinty. 
while Robert B. married Miss Alice C. Pontius, and 
lives in Dover Township. 

Mr. and Mrs. Sutton have long >iiice passed the 
golden nule-stone which marked the half century of 
their wedded life. This iiniisnnlly long pericnl of 
wedlock has been productive of much good :iiid 



advanced age is attributable to the active, tem- 
perate lives that they have led. They have always 

earnestly striven liy praclice and precept to uphold 

years they have been members of the Methodist 
Epjiscopal Church. In politics Mr. Sutton has 
formerly voted the Democratic ticket, but hopes to 
cast his liext vote for Prohibition. 



J]E()K( 



^>^-S*t^'^'/ 



Mi 



CFRTIS c; 

'l( es! IS.'il. and engaged in farming near the city 
■^^1 of Adrian in the f.-ill of 1 .s.s5. He served 
in the Union army as First Lieutenant, and for four 
years was connected with the United States Express 
CViinpany route from Toledo to Chicago. Thence 
he removed to a farm in Rome Township, which 
lie operated until locating in his present home. 

Mr. C'urtis was born at Saratoga Springs, N. Y., 
March 2.'!, 1835, while his father, Elijah, Jr., and his 
grandfather, Elijah Curtis, .Sr., were natives of Con- 
necticut; the family is of English descent. The 
paternal grandfather of our subject was born near 
Bridgeport, Conn., in 17G0, and .at the age of fif- 
teen years, he enlisted as a .soldier among the troojjs 
raised by Benedict Arnold, and was at the siege of 
Boston after the battle of Bunker Hill. Upon the re- 
organization of the array, he was detailed In the Col. 
John Moi'gan Riflemen, and was with them until the 
close of the war. He |)articipated in the series of 
battles at Stillwater, Bemis Heights, and other places 
resulting in the capture of Burgoyne's army. After 
this he was transferred to the .Southern States, and 
was in the battle of Cowpeus, 8. C. At the close of 
{]\r war the Goverinnent granted every soldier a 
section of land, and he located his in the town of 
(i.alway, Saratoga Co., N. Y. He spent his last 
j-ears at Saratoga Springs, dying at the age of sev- 
enty-five years. He was a farmer by occupation, 
and acquired a comfortable property. 

Our subject's maternal grandfather was Capt. Iclia- 
bo<l Chamberlaiu, of Revolutionary memory. Elijah 
^\ . Curtis, the father of our subject, migrated from 



Ni 



York to Michigan in 1 
,n, where his death took 
After the death of hi 



•a ted in 
months 
urge H. 



^\- 



■•►Hl-^ 



I 



252 



LENAWEE COUNTY, 



continued with his mother until he was sixteen 
years old, and was afterward employed in railroad- 
ing until sixty-one. Aftei- the outbreak of the late 
war, he entered the Quartermaster's Department of 
the army, and near the close enlisted in Company 
B, 'id New .Jersej' Infantry, as First Lieutenant. 
He went to Richmond with his company, and at the 
termination of the war, eiglit months aftenvnrd, was 
honorably d ischarged. 

Mr. Curtis, while a resident of Adrian, was mar- 
ried, Feb. 13, 1866, to Miss Harriet E., daughter of 
William Dutton, a native of Lyndeboro, Hills- 
boru Co., N. II.. who emigrated to Michigan dur- 
ing the early settlement of Adrian Township, 
and accumulating a large fortune, died Nov. 30, 
1884. The mother of Mrs. Curtis was formerly 
Miss Harriet Thomas, and passed away July 12, 
1843, at her home in Adrian. Mrs. Curtis was born 
June 15, 1843, in Adrian, and of her union with 
our subject have been born se"ven children, all 
living — Fanny L., Mamie, William Wheeler, George 
Oscar, James E., Eva and Ethel. The three eldest 
of them have been in attendance at St. Mary's and 
Notre Dame Colleges, South Bend, Ind., whilst the 
others attend the public schools of Adrian. 

Besides his handsome residence near town, a 
dwelling finely finished and furnished, and an orna- 
ment to the county, Mr. Curtis retains posse.ssion 
of his farm, which is operated by a tenant. He is a 
man of prominence in his community, one of its 
solid business men, and a most reliable citizen. He 
commenced in life with comparatively little means, 
but was blessed with good judgment, and the resolu- 
tion and perseverance which are always necessary to 
success. 

W. L()\'E. Few persons remain long in 
Franklin Township without hearing some- 
thing of this gentleman, who has lieen 
Supervisor for the l;ist seven years. He 
carries on farming and stock-raising quite e.xten- 
sively on section i), dealing principally in high-grade 
animals, embracing Merino sheep, tlioroughbred 
I'oiancl-Cliin.-i liogs, with good horses and cattle. 
TIk' f:inu (-(imprises ninety acres of land under fine 
(•ulti\alion, with modern buildings, first-class ma- 



chinery, and all the other adjuncts of the skillful 
agi'iculturist. 

Mr. Love came to tills fmiii in the spring of 1862, 
and has effected n.ost ui' the Improvements upon it, 
as it had lieen Imt indifferently cultivated and there 
were upon it ii<. buildings. He is a native of 
tills county, ami was born Oct. 22, 1836, at the 
homestead of his father, Austin Love, who came to 
Michigan from New York in 1834. The latter was 
born in what was then Barry County, N. Y., and 
was the youngest son of William Love, whose par- 
ents were natives of Scotland. Thej^ emigrated to 
America, and were among the j^ioneers of Bany 
County, where Grandfather Love carried on farming 
and spent his last days. William Love passed his en- 
tiic life in hisna.tive county, and like his father before 
him engaged in agricultural pursuits. The mother 
of our subject was in her girlhood Miss Clara A., 
daughter of William Bradley, who was married in 
his native county, and came to Michigan in 1834, 
locating in Franklin Towniship. Mr. and Mrs. 
Bradley here spent the remainder of their lives, 
dying within a few months of each other, and both 
being eighty-two years old. They were excellent 
people, highly respected, and devoted members of 
the Presbyterian Church. William Bradley was 
formerly a Democrat, but after the organization of 
the Republican party, he ideiititied himself with 
that organization. 

Austin Love continued a resident of his native 
county until after his marriage and the birth of 
tliree children. In the spring of 1834 he disposed 
of his interests in the Empire State, and made his 
way, via lake and canal, to the Territory of Michi- 
gan. The latter part of their journey was effected 
by means of teams, and they located first in Monroe 
County. From there shortly afterward they moved 
into Franklin Township, this county, and the elder 
Love secured a tract of heavily timbered land, 
located oil sections 21 .-iiid 27, near what is now the 
ol<l tiinipiUe. Ills first residence was built of logs 
and covered with swamp-elm bark. Under this 
humble roof 1). W. of our sketch was born. A few 
years later he put up a hotel, where he resided with 
his family and dispensed hospitality to travelers. 
He conducted his house strictly upon the temper- 
ance plan and it became a great success financially. 



•►-n-^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



2o3 



and popular witli the people. About 1840 he 
started the town of Franklin Center, and erected a 
residenee there, wluMe his denlh touU place aliout 
1872. Tlie )iarciils wore debited members of the 
PresNyterian Cinircli. The mother survived Ijer 
hushand nearly tu,, years, dying on the lOtli of 
.June, 1874, when si.\^ty-six years of age. 

I). ^\'. Love was the third son and fourth child of 
his parents, and received a good education in the 
common schools. He also became familiar with the 
various employments of the farm, upon which he 
labored in summer, and when becoming of suitable 
age employed himself as a tcai'her in the winter. 
He was married, Sei)t. 22, 18o8, to a maiden of his 
own township, Miss Delia A. P^isher, who was born 
in Otsego County, N. Y., April 15, I8;J4. She re- 
mained the companion of her husband only eight ! 
short years, dying Nov. 1, 1866, at the homestead j 
in Franklin Township. Her f.ather, Pliny Fisher, \ 
Esq., a native of Massachusetts, married Miss Lovisa [ 
Gates, of Pennsylvania. Soon afterward they came 
to Michigan, and located in Franklin Township, [ 
where they spent the remainder of their lives, Iie- 
ing quite aged at the time of their decease. Mrs. 
Love continued with her parents until her marriage, 
and by her union with our subject became the 
motiier of one child. Addic L., vvhfi is now the wife \ 
of FrenKjnt Leonard, a successful fai'iner of L'ome 
Township; they have three ehildien — Delia E., 
Bertha L. and Hiram W. I 

Mr. Love was .again mai-ried. Dee. 22. 1 si(18, to I 
Mrs. Mary E. (Smith) Edwards, daughter of Robert 
and Emelinc (L:ingdon) Smith, an<l widow <jf 
Charle.s Edwards. .Air. Smith wa> .-i native of 
Yorkshire, Englanil, where he was reared ami mar- 
ried, and whence in early manhood he emigrate<l to 
America, settling in this State. His first wife died 
a few years later, and he vvas then married to Miss j 
Langdon, the mother of Mrs. Love. They are now j 
living on a farm in Fr.-uiklin Township, and by 
their sterling worth of character, kindness and iio^,- 
pitality, have gathered around them a large circle 
of friends. 

■ Mrs. Mary E. Love w.is born in Franklin 4'own- 
ship, this county, Sept. 24, 18.3!). and in |s,-,7 «:is 
married to Charles Edwards, by wli,,in >lie bee.une 
the mother of two children: Archie, born July G, i 



1858, and Libby, Nov. 19, 1860: Mr. Edwards died 
.Ian. IG, 18G;i. Mr. and Mrs. Love have four chil- 
dren—Flora M.. Leon A.. Lidu E. and Norah .1., 
all at home with their l)ai-ents. Mr. Love, politi- 
e:illy. :illili:ite> u itb the Republican party, and his 
eslini.ible lad\ i> a member in good standing of the 
('.>iigreg:iti<jnal tlnu'ch. He has officiated as High- 
way Commissioner three years, and occupied the 
various other hx'al offices, being a gentleman in 
whom the peoiilc have entire confidence, and pos- 
sessing the good judgment which enables him to 
discharge the duties of his office in a manner cred- 
itable to him,-,elf and satisfactory to the people. 



PHRAIM HAL 



Deerfield 



I ^.lll wiiat. IS now 
r^j ucerncui wa.^ e;iiieii " Kedzie"s (rrove." 
/f^ — ^ One eveninj;, upon agreement, three of the 
live heads of families who made uji the most im- 
portant portion of the population, met at the post- 
office for tile pinpose of changing the name of the 
hamlet. On account of the abundance of deer dur- 
ing its first settlement, Ephraim Hall suggested that 
the future name be Deerfield, and it was accord- 
ingly changed to the name by which it has since been 
known. Mr. Hall came to this county in 1 836, 
and first engaged in the lumber business, becoming 
junior member of the mill firm of Clark & Hall. 
He built and owned the first dam and sawmill at 
DecrfiehL which subsequently became the property 
of .Tason Hemenway. Three years after embarking 
in this venture he concluded to take up farming, 
and purchased a part of the Kedzie farm on the 
west side of the river, wliere he afterward built his 
home. Another reason for his preference for the 
name of Deerfield was, tiiat it reminded him of the 
home of relatives in Massachusetts to whom he w.as 
much attached. 

Ephraim Hall was boi n in Sudbury, Rutland Co., 
Vt., -Ian. 20, [,s|(i. His father, Abner Hall, a na- 
tive of Dedham, Ma^,^., was born about 1755, and 
-er\ ed first as a soldier in the Revolutionary War 
and subsequently^ as Ca|)tain in the A'ermont Militia. 
He owned a farm in Sudbury, where his death took 
|)laee ill is-il. The mother of our subject, form- 
erly Miss Alary Jackson, of Newton, Mass., became 
•>. 



254 



LENAWEE COUNTY, 



^}- 



tlie wife of Capt. Hall in 1775, and their family 
included seven sons and five daughters, Ephraim 
being the eleventh child and sixth son. He is the 
only one now living. Mrs. Mary Hall died at the 
homestead in Sudbury several years before the death 
of her husband. 

pjphraim Hall continued in the Green Mountain 
State until a young man twenty-three years of age 
then made his way to the Tei-ritory of Michigan,, 
landing in Detroit in May, 183.3. He erected the 
fir.st frame house in the village of Deerfield, and was 
foremost in many of the enterprises which helped 
to place the struggling hamlet upon its feet and 
encourage within its limits the settlement of an 
enterprising and intelligent class of people. 

On the 12th of September, 1837, Ephraim Hall 
took to wife Miss M.ary A. Smith, one of the play- 
mates of his childhood, and who was also born in 
Sudbury, Vt., Dec. 30, 1818. The wedding was 
celebrated at the home of the bride in Middleport, 
N. Y., and the young people shortly afterward set 
out for their new home in this county. Mrs. Hall 
was the daughter of Daniel and Sarah Smith, natives 
respectively of Sudbury, Vt., and Troy, N. Y. 
After marriage they removed to Ro.yalton, in the 
latter State, where the death of Daniel Smith took 
place in 1871. His wife, Sarah, died in 18^6, aged 
ninety-three years. 

Mr. and Mrs. Hull conuncuced life in tlie jjioueer 
fashion, laboring industrioush' to build up the home, 
and became the parents of six children. Their 
eldest, Mary E., was born Dec. 27, 1838, and died 
in infancy; Walter G., born Aug. 9, 1840, also died 
in early childhood; Helen J. was born Sept. IG, 
1841, and married A. li. Hurnham, of Louisville, 
Ky., who died .Tuly 24, 1887; his family are now 
residing in Denver, Cul. Ada A. was born Oct. 
27, 1845, became the wife of Neal McQuarie, of 
Deerfield, and died Dec. 12, 1879; Hervey G. was 
born Dec. 27, 18;")!, and i^ a resident of Louisville. 
Ky.; Florence A. u-;is boni Aug. 19, 1858, and is 
at home with her father. Mis. Mary A. Hall died 
on the 30th of August, 1881, in Denver, Col., to 
which place siie had journeyed a few weeks previ- 
ously in the hope of regaining her health. She was a 
lady of manj' estimable qualities and held in the 
highest i«teem by all who knew her, 



Mr. and Mrs. Hall became members of the Pres- 
byterian Church in Blissfield about 1858, and sub- 
sequently transferred their membership to Deerfield. 
In politics Mr. Hall is a Democrat. 



-x/Wvrt(ie£.®^@«< 



gJ^-^-a^-zwTJ---^ 



ENRY 11. lAHOR, a retired farmer and 
stock-raiser of Lenawee County, by years 
of patient labor, coupled with shrewd busi- 
ness management, has accumulated sufficient 
means to enable him to spend his declining years in 
the enjoyment of well-earned leisure. Mr. Tabor was 
born in Herkimer County, N. Y., March 29, 1815. 
His parents, Benjamin and Elizalieth (Humphrey') 
Tabor, were natives of New England, and after their 
marriage settled in Herkimer County, N. Y., on a 
farm, although Mr. Tabor was a cooper b\' trade. 
The_y resided in Herkimer for several years, then 
removed to a farm in Wayne County, the same 
State, and there made their home for some years. 
There also the mother's death took place. In 1844 
the father removed to Hillsdale County, Mich., 
and settled on a farm with his youngest son, Benja- 
min F. Tabor, Jr., with whom he remained until 
his death, Maj- 11,' 1857, aged eighty-two years, 
one month and twenty-five days. He was the 
father of eight children, five daughters and three 
suns, six of whom grew to maturity; they were 
named as follows: Paraelia, Sarah A., Gaj'lord G., 
Calistia, Henry H., Elizabeth, Hariiet and Benja- 
min, Jr. Our subject is the only surviving mem- 
ber of the family. 

The j'outli of Henry H. Tabor was passed in his 
native State in attendance at the common schools. 
He was early trained to those habits of industry 
and frugalit}^ which helped him to attain prosperity 
in later life. At the age of sixteen he went to 
Pittsford, and served an apprenticeship of three 
years to the tinner's trade. He then retuuied home 
and actively engaged in assisting his father on the 
farm for some years. 

On the 25th of April, 1839, Mr. TMl)or was mar- 
ried to Miss Lucy B. Upton, the daughter of David 
and Marj- (Marsh) Upton. She was born Oct. 28, 
1816, in Victor, Ontario Co., N. Y. She was care- 



■•►41-^ 



-4»- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



fully trained in home duties, and received a good 
education, which enalded her to teach school. After 
marriage Mr. and Mr^.. Tabor settled mi a farm in 
Wayne County, where they lived three years, or 
until the spring of lst2. when they r;iine to Miehi- 
ganand settled in \\'a>hten:nv County. reuKiiniiig 
six months. They then removed to Hillsdale 
County and settled on a farm in Wlie.-itl.-md. wliei-o 
they lived until \sr,:,. In that yeai- Mr. Tabor 
bought 200 acres of choice land on sections iC, and 
27, in Adrian Township, Lenawee County, which 
they moved upon and made their home, and with 
indomitable energy and persevei'ance Mr. Tabor at 
once set to work to make this a moilel farm. Ue- 
sidos attending to the cultivation of the soil, he 
paid great attention to the rearing of choice blooded 
stock. In this venture he met with marked suc- 
cess, and secured a number of first-class premiums 
for his fine cattle at State fairs. In the year I.S87 
Mr. Tabor retired from active labor, and now- makes 
his home in the city of Adrian. After retirement 
he sold a part of his farm, and rents the remaining 
1 13 acres to his son. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Talior have been born the fol- 
lowing children : Norman B. ; Mary E., who died 
when eighteen months old; Adelbert, who married 
Ella Giinsolus, and is now deceased, leaving one 
daughter, Lena M.: Henry II., .Ir.. residing on tlie 
farm. For forty-nine years Mi', and Mrs. Tabor 
have shared life's joys and sorrows together. They 
enjoy the full confidence and esteem of their neigh- 
bors and friends. Mr. Tabor's bn.sy life has not 
permitted him to mingle much in public :iffairs, yet 
he takes an interest in them, nnd in politics is a 
Republican. 



J^OHN A. HAWKS, in former years a wi 
known and highly respecte<I citizen 
I Adrian Township, rested fi-oin liis eartl 
^ ' labors on the ;31.st of March, Lsc,.-,. He m 
born in Franklin County, .M:i-s.. in .Inly. |so;i. a 
came to the West in is;!:!. On the u'd of M:iy 
that year, lie was united in marriage with .Mi-s 1 
vina Smead, one of the playmates of his ehildhoi 
and born in tlie same county. May 21, isi:.'. M 



Hawks is the daughter of Rufus Smead, of Massa- 
' ehusetts, who emigrated from the Ray State to 
Michigan in i.S.34, and located willi his family ne^n- 
the present home of his danuhter. where be lived 
and labored many years, ami |)assed away at the 
a.Iv:inced age of eighty-four. The mothei- snr- 
\ iveil lier h\isband .several years, dying when nine- 
ty-four 3'ears of age. 

The subject of this sketch was the -on (if .\aron 
Hawks, who with his wife, came to this section of 
conntry in ls.!7, ami died in Adrian Township 
when sixty years of a^e. His wife was married a 
second time, and li\'ed t<i be seventy-two years 
old. Their son. .lohn A.. ha<l preceded them to 
1 Michigan in l.So3, and took up eighty acres of land 
in Adrian Township, where he i)nt up a log house 
1 and remained for a [leriod of twenty-three years, 
when he secured possession of the farm which his 
widow now occupi<'s. He was ;i man grc.-Uly re- 
spected by his neighbors, kind and hospitable, and 
one who had scarcely an enemy in the world. He 
performed his duties as a husband, father and mem- 

ner. and .'it hi> death was universally mouiiied. 

i The chUdren of Mr. and Mrs. llauks. liv,. in 

I nundter, are recorded as follows: Er;i-lns Sheldon. 

Electa F., Frederick A., Alvin A., and one who .lied 

in infancy. Er.astus S. was b,,i-n Minvh 'J. \s:]r,: he 

learned the cai-penter's trade in e.arly niaiil d, and 

i during the progress of the late war, enlisted in Au- 
I gust, 18()2, in Company F, 4th Michigan Cavalry. 
I under command of Capt. Robbins. In the battle at 
Lovejoy's Station he received a, -erions wound, 
which was the occasi.m of his diselKU-e in March, 
ISt;,"). Previous to this, liowever, he had been 
quite ill, and was confined in the hospitals at Nash- 
ville and Louisville eight months. Upon return- 

until his de.-illi, which oceurrc.i .hme 2:.', 1.SS7. 
He was first married to Mi.ss Hawley, of Rome 
Township, who bore him two children — John H. 
and Estella M. — and died in lS7ii. Sept. 30, IXfi:', 
he married his second wife, .Miss .lane ,1., daughter 
of .lohn Fleming, of New Y.uk State, wb,, eame to 
this county in the pioneei' days, and is now, with 
his estimable wife, decea.sed, at tlie aL;c- of -eveuty- 
six and seventy-one years respect ivel\-. Electa F. 



-4^ 



256 



^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Hawks was born April 30, 1 838, and died Nov. 1 , 
1863; Frederick A. was born March 27, 1841, and | 
died May 27, 1884; he also served in the Union 
army, being in the same company with his bri)ther, j 
.and mostly in the transportation service ; he escaped 
unharmed, and ilied at home surrounded by his 
friends and family. He had been married, and his 
wife had died eight years previous to the death of 
her husband. Alvin A. was born April ID, 1847, 
and for the last sixteen years has been :i resident of 
Wyoming Territory. 

Mr. and Mrs. Hawks early in life identified them- 
selves with the Congregational Church, of which 
the latter, with" her son's wife, still continues a 
member. During the lifetime of her husband, Mrs. 
H. proved a worthy helpmeetjandjcompanion, and 
since his decease, has endeavored to train her chil- 
dren to emulate his virtues as a man and a citizen. 
Both the ))rothers, Erastus and Frederick, were faith- 
ful and earnest members of the G. A. K. 



=t^ ^"^4! 19^^'" '^^"^■ 




JIIDGEMAN J. WELLS. This name is 
familiar to all the old and many of the 
residents of Franklin Township, 
being that of a man who came to this section 
of country during its earliest settlement, and who 
proved one of its most efficient and praiseworthy 
citizens. For a period of fifty-two years he has 
gone in and out among the people of this county, 
and presented before them an example worthy of 
imitation. As the result of a temperate life and 
correct habits, he is of remarkably strong and 
vigorous constitution, and always ready to put his 
shoulder to the wheel whenever assistance is needed 
in building up the various interests of the county, 
to which he gave his attention and his affections 
as being his abiding-place for <iver half a centur3^ 
The early home of Mr. \Vells was in the town- 
ship of Richmond, Ontaiio Co., N. Y., where his 
biith took place .June 16, 1829. His father, James 
B. Wells, was the sou of ('yrus Wells, who was 
born and reared in \'ermi>nt and w.-is of New En- 
gland ancestry. Ills p.-ucnls were among the 
earliest settlers of the Green .Mountain .Slate, where 



the father met his death at the hands of an Indian, 
who shot him. Cyrus Wells married a lady of Rut- 
land County, and followed his trade of carpenter in 
his native State until after the birth of several chil- 
dren, of whom James B. was the second. The 
family then removed to Ontario County, N. Y., 
locating in Richmond Township when but a'small 
"portion of the soil had been disturbed by the plow- 
share. Here Cyrus Wells continued to make his 
home until his death, which occurred after he had 
arrived at an advanced age. The mother subse- 
quently came to this State, and died at the home of 
her son James B., in Franklin Townshii), lieiiig also 
quite aged. 

James B. Wells was born in Rutland County, A't., 
Sept. 21, 1798, and when a young man removed 
with his father's family to Ontario County, N. Y. 
He was married, Jan. 24, 1822, in Richmond Town- 
ship, that county, to Miss Sallj- Harmon, Rev. 
Warren Day, of the Cumberland Presbyterian 
Church, officiating. Mrs. Wells was born in Rich- 
mond Township, on the 6th of July, 1799, and was 
there reared and educated. She remained with 
her parents until her marriage and the young peo- 
ple located in Richmond Township, where they re- 
mained until after the birth of eight children. 
These were named respectively: L. C, Emily G., 
Jlehitabel D., Loamis, Bridgeman J., Elizabeth L., 
Nathaniel H., and Clyrus, who died when an infant. 
After the arrival of the family in this county five 
more children were added to the household, namely : 
Cyrus W., Julia H., James B., Amelia B. and S.anuiel 
P. ; eight of the thirteen children are yet living, and 
residents mostly of this State. 

The father of our subject landed with his family 
in this county in the spring of 1835, and took up 
a tract mostly of wild land in Franklin Township. 
They all labored after the fashion of the peoj^le of 
those days, putting forth their most strenuous ef- 
forts in order to cultivate the soil and build uj) a 
comfortable homestead. James li. \Vells. Sr., was 
a man of excellent judgment :nid forethought, and 
was greatly prospered in his labors. As time passed 
on he invested his surplus capital in land until he 
became the owner of 600 acres lying in one body 
in Franklin and Tecumseh Townsliijjs. Here he 
continued until resting from his earthly labors, 

■► i 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



257 



•>-lh 



Dec. 16,1864. The wife and mother, who had 
been in all respects the suitable coni]»nioii of lier 
husband, survived liim seven years, her death 
taking place at the liumestead Sept. s. IsTl. The 
parents were reared in the faith of the ohl-school 
Presbyterian Church, but some years before their 
deatii had identified themselves with the Congrega- 
tiunalists. Tiie stern and sturdy traits of their New 
England ancestry hail bei'U transmitted to them in 
ji, niariied degree, and tliey reared their children in 
a manner strongly similar to tlie stern precejits of 
the old Puritans. They adhered strictly to tem- 
perance princiiiles, and ever advocated that Liigli 
m(n'alit3' which is the basis of all true citizensiu'p, 
and without whicli the fabric of a community is 
Hal)le at any time to degenerate into something 
more unworthy. James B. AVells, ))olitically, was 
in early UU- a Whig, but upon the abandonment of 
the old party allied himself with the Republicans, 
who.se principles he advocated and supported with 
all the strength of his (-onvictions. He took con- 
siderable interest in local politics and was a man 
whose opinion was generally resiiected. During 
the last thirty- years of his life he had suffered much 
from asthma. He officiated as Deacon in his church 
and was numbered among its most cheerful and lib- 
eral supporters. 

L. C. Wells, the eldest brother of our subject, 
married Miss Clara K. Allen, and is farnnng in 
Franklin Townshiii. Emily (i. bee-ime ihe wife of 
Joseph Estarbrook, and died (»et. l.;. is.'iH.at Vpsi- 
lanti, Mich.; Mr. E. is now i're-ident of Albion 
College and State Superintendent of Srbools. Ale- 
hitiibel is the wife of Robert C. .McCollum, a uell- 
to-do farmer of Franklin Township; Nathaniel H. 
married Miss Sarah Hemphill, and is coiuiected with 
the management of a college at JIauchester; Loomis 
married Mi.ss Kmily C. '.regg and died .l.-iu. 1 l', 
1800: his widow is a resi.lenl of Ypsilanti. Amelia 
B. is the wife of C. K. li^>lii\. who is farming in 
Richmond Township, Ontario Co., N. Y., and a 
man of considerable [>roi)erty, while J.anies B., .Jr., 
married Miss Addie M. Vandemark, and is a lesi- 
dent of Los Angeles. Cal., largel}' interested in real 
estate: Cyrus W. married Miss Mattie C. Howard, 
of Kewanee, 111., and is a successful dealer in real 
estate at Minneapolis, Minn. Besides Cyrus (.Ist)^ 



who died in infancy, Elizabeth died at the home of 

her parents, Aug. 5, 18.50, when an interesting 
young lady of nineteen ye.ars. Sauuiel 1'. mair-jed 
(Irace A. E. Marshall, in Lawrenee. Kan.. .Ian. 
II. 1872: he is also engaged in the real-eslale 
business in Los Angeles, Cal. 

Our subject spent his time alter the uiannei- of 
most sons of pioneer farmei-s. recei\ ing a limited 
educattion and making himself useful about the 
homestead until reaching his majority. He married, 
in Tecumseh Township, April 16, 18o(), Miss Eliza- 
beth M. Owen, a native of Clinton, this county, 
where she was born May -.'a, 1 s:!7. The wedding 
took place at the honu> of the briile in Clinton 
Township. Rev. J. S. Estarbrook officiating. She 
is the daughter of Henry and Mary A. (King) 
Owen, of Herkimer County, N. Y., and Hartford, 
Conn., respectively, who came to Mieliig.au when 

Their first home was in a log cabin on an unbroken 
tiact of land, and they took up the battle of life 
with the same courage that a(-tuated the people 
aidund them, and .after the lapse of a few years 
found themselves in pos^^ssion of a comfortable 
home. The household circle was completed by the 
liirth of two children, of whom Mrs. Wells was the 
elder: lier brother, Henry C., is farming in Clinton 
Township. The parents eontinued upon the farm 
which the father had built ni. from the wilderness 
until his de.alh. ubieh t..ok [.la.'e Aug. 1, I. SSI), 
uiien he was >,-venty-six years (,f age. lie having 
been born .Maicli 17. I sill. Iju' mother, who was 



■I'hey. like the Wells family, were ( ongi'egational- 
ists at the time of their death, and the fatiier. f.,r- 
merly a Whig, subscqn.aitly idenlilied hiinselr with 

The wife of our suliject w.as carefully icared, re- 
cei\c(| a good education, ami employed herself as a 
tc.aeher some time before her marriage. .Soon after- 
ward they located up<ju their present homestead, and 
in due time beeame the parents of a daughter, Ella 
K.. who is the only eliild. Mr. and .Mrs. W., like 
their respective parents, are prominently c(jnnccted 
with the Congregational Church, attending .services 
, at Clinton, where our subject has been a leader of 



■•► 



•►Hf^ 



25!=s 



LKNAWEE COUNTY. 



the choir for a period of thirty-five years. Polit- 
ically, as may be supposed, he is a stanch Repub- 
lican. The farm of Mr. Wells includes eighty-flve 
acres of choice land with a neat and substantial 
residence and otlier jrood buildings. 



:i)EKlCK W. WICKWIUE. The men- 
tion of this name invariably recalls among 
tlie old settlers of Lenawee County many 
thrilling incidents of tiie days that are past and 
gone. The subject of this sketcli was then a young 
man, and had made a long journey with his newly 
wedded and courageous wife from Litchfield, Conn., 
to the wilds of Michigan Territory. Here he acted 
well his jjart in reclaiming from the " forest prime- 
val" those homesteads which havebecome the pride 
of their owners and the admiration of the passer-by. 
On the :i.id of December, 1S.S7, he sank under his 
burden (if fourscore years, an<l was laid t(i ids final 
rest. 

On their journey to this State, Mr. and Mrs. 
Wickwire made the first 100 miles by team from 
their home to the city of Albany, and from there by 
canal to Buffalo, thence by the old boat " William 
Fenn" to Detroit, at which they arrived in the 
night. The wife was then worn out with illness and 
fatigue, and they tarried six days for her to recuper- 
ate, and upon again setting out she took a stiige to 
Tecumseh. Mr. W. purcliased a yoke of oxen in 
Toledo, b}' which means their personal effects, 
packed in two casks, were conveyed in a small wagon 
which they had shipped from their home in New 
York. They finally landed in Raisin Township, 
where Mr. Wiekwii-e purchased forty acres of wild 
land in the woods, and tliey tliere began the estab- 
lishment (.r the home which tliey occupied for a 
period of lirty->ix years. 

Mr. Wickwire, u|)on leaving Connecticut, had a 
capital of *;!0() and of this, after they had com- 
pleted tiieir jonrne}' and made tiieir investment in 
land, there was but very little left. Tiie wife of 
our subject, although comparatively 3oung in years, 
had already given evidence of beinii- a most remark- 



able woman. She possessed great force of character, 
a resolute will and a splendid constitution, and in all 
the undertakings of her hu.^band was iiis mainstay 
and wise counselor. She encouraged him in the midst 
of difficulties that would have dismayed tiie most 
stout-hearted, and held up his hands in his effort> at 
clearing the wilderness and preparing the soil for 
cultivation. When Mr. and Mrs. Wickwire came to 
this county, the settlers were few and far between, 
and each man was dependent upon his own resources. 
There was no dwelling ready for their reception, 
not even the rudest cabin of those times, and Jlr. 
W. was compelled to put up their first shelter in the 
best manner possible, with indifferent tools, and in 
the erection of which his wife proved, as usual, an 
able assistant. This, as may be supposed, was a 
very rude structure, being simply a hut with a mud 
and stick chimney. Mrs. Wickwire the first year 
did her cooking by the side of a stump and after- 
ward by a fireplace for more than fifteen years. 

Although there was great diflttculty in obtaining 
bre.ad-stuffs when they first came to this county, 
our subject and his wife were alwa3's supplied with 
rare wild meats in the shape of deer, turkeys and 
other choice game, which roamed unrestrained 
through the forest. Mr. W. was fairly prospered 
in his first efforts at tilling the soil, and in LS-'!.'! 
purchased eighty acres additional on section 34, 
adjoining his first possessions, and which was of the 
same quality of land, being an unbroken fore-t. In 
1838, having made still further headway, lie nilded 
to his posse.ssions imtil he became the owner of 1.54 
acres, 100 of which is under a good state of culti- 
vation. 

The Wickwires advanced steadily, financially, un- 
til the breaking up of the " wild-cat" banks, which 
practically left them stranded and distressed like 
scores of their neighbors. The pioneers, however, 
were always ready for an emergency, and our sidi- 
ject, like his neighbors, did not allow this calamity to 
discourage him, but in due time was on the old f i lot- 
ing. The scenes and incidents which transpired 
during the first twent.y years of their residence in 
this county, as related by Mrs. W. in her quaint 
and interesting style, would make a ^ood-sized 
volume. This lady jjossesses a remarkal/ie niemoiy 
and is gifted by natiu'e with fine conversational 



M^ 



I.KNAWKK COUNTY. 



colors tiie experiences ol' lierself nml lier I'ninily 
(luring those trying times. 

Frerlerick W. Wickwive w.-is born in Litelilield, 
Conn., March 7, 1«()7, .and is the son of firant 
Wickwire, who was horn in Colchester, that State. 
The latter settled in Litchfield County in ITSS, 
where he became possessor of a fine farm and was 
one of the prominent men of that section. He 
served as a soldier all through the Revolntionary 
VV^ir. engaging in most of the important battles of 
that great struggle, and for his services receiverl a 
pension from the Goverment. He married, in 1 78it, 
Miss Sarah Throoi). and became the father of thir- 
teen children, ten of whom lived to be men and 
women. He died in Connecticut in 1.S47, and his 
wife, the mother of our subject, had died twenty- 
six years before, in is-il. 

The subject of this sketch received a common- 
school education and remained a member of the 
parental household until reaching his majority. He 
then worked his father's farm on shares until the 
spring of 1832, soon afterward starting for the 
West. In the meantime, on the 4th of April, 1830, 
he was married to Miss Susan A., daughter of 
David C. and Rebecca (Reynolds) King, of Liteli- 
lield, Conn. Their eldest child, Charlotte M., was 
born in Litchfield, Jan. 2, 1831, and is now the 
wife of Edwin S. Mudgett, a lawyer of Vallejo, Cal. 
After coming to this county the little household 
was increased by the birth of four more children : 
Henry (x. was horn in Raisin Township, Sept. 2."(, 
1832, and i> now farming near Dnvali's Rluff, Ark.: 
Mary E. was born March 5, 1835, and is the wife 
of Homer E. Wilson, a prosperous farmer of Raisin 
Township; William K. was born June 14, 1838, 
and is farming in Hudson Township; Susan J. was 
born Feb. 11, 1847, and is the wife of Join) W. 
Niles, a merchant of Brooklyn, N. V. 

Mrs. Susan A. Wickwire. was born in Rethlehem, 
Litchfield Co., Conn., which was also the birthplace 
of her parents. David C. King, her father, was a 
soldier in the War of 1812, and died soon after its 
close; the mother survived .several years, her ileatli 
taking place in 1821. The King family was widely 
and favorably known throughout New England as 
one combining all the essential qualities of good 



.1 U. 



well e.bicnted, i.nl.lic-s|iiiiled. and in 
cnnt.ihir ciliz.Mis. 4'he family is of 

y in the Colonial days. Mrs. Wick- 
■itcd largely the qualities ..f her fnm- 
inie is familiar in a, large proi)(iitiun ()f 
the li(iiiM>hoid< ni Len.-i\v,T ('..nnty. where she is 
kuMwii for hei' kindly <]vr<U during m h.ng and act- 
ive life. Although now (|uiti' well advanced in 
years, her days of usefulness are by no means over, 
and her counsels are still sought among her friends 
as those of a woman of rich experience, who h.-is 
made good use of her opportunities and learned 
well the lesson of life. 



-^^^^IT 



AMES F.\RRAR, who the greater part of 
is life has been engaged in mercantile and 
manufacturing pursuits, is now the owner of 
valuable pi-operly. :nid is living in a plea>ant 
himieat Adrian. His chihlhood and youlh were 
spent among the New Hampshire hills, where his 
birth took place in Troy, Cheshire County, on the 
2'.)th of June, 1S2(). His father, Daniel F.arrar by 
name, w.as also .'i, native of the Old (iranite State, 
and was born in November, 17.S3. He married in 
early manhood Miss Sena Mellen, of Fitzwilliam, 
N. H., and the daughter of Daniel Mellen, who was 
of English birth and parentage. After their m.ar- 
riage they journeyed to the vicinity of Ti-oy, Ches- 
hire Ct).. N. II., and located upon a farm, upon 
which the^' brought about excellent improvements 
and which remained tiieir home the balance of their 
days. Here their children, seven in nuniljer, were 
born and reared, and ini'luded three son-^ and four 
daughters, of whom six lived to mature years. 

James Farrar was the sixth child of his parents 
and received his e.nrly education in the common 
schools, which he attended during the winter season 
until eighteen years of age. Then, like many other 
young people brought up in the country, he became 
anxious to make the experiment of life in the town ^ 
and accordingly engaged as a clerk in a dry-goods 
store in Boston. He found, however, that "there 



•► ■ ^» 



•►Hh-4*- 



260 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



••-^h 



is no i)lace like lioiiie." niul a fow iiumths found him 
on tlic old stain piu^i" grounds. His next venture 
was neaici- lHini<-. ulici-e he entered a store at Fitz- 
williarn, liiit a yeai' l;iter he repaired once more to 
Massachusetts and became clerk for a. firm at Roy- 
alston. After two or three more changes he i)iir- 
chased the interest of a firm by which he had been 
employee!, and in company with a partner, AIi'. 
Damon, carried on general merchandising, and had 
a large trade, especially in woodenware. At the 
end of two years they sold ont, and coming to Mich- 
igan in 1.S.53, they located in Adrian, and opening 
up a stock of dry-goods, and a branch boot and 
shoe store conducted by a brother of Blr. DauKjii, 
operated together five more years. In l.S;'>."i Mr. 
Farrar erected a nice residence on the corner cjf M:nii 
and Merrit streets, which he occupied as a home 
for thirteen years. Mr. Damon continued the dry- 
goods business and Mr. Farrar, in 1860, |)urchased 
part of tlie hardware business of H. .T. Bni;k. in 
which trade he continued ten years. 

In 1868-69 Mr. Farrar and Mr. Damon erected a 
fine double residence on Maumee street, and in 
1870 Mr. Farrar sold out his interest with Mr. Buck 
and purchased what was known as the Loomis 
machine-shops on South Winter street, and in part- 
nership with John Dodge engaged in the manufact- 
ure of blacksmith and foundry supplies, giving 
employment scimetimes to fortj'-five men. The 
buildings include a general machine-shop and a 
pattern and molding room. This work was carried 
on for a period of ten years, vvhen Mr. Farrar pur- 
chased the interest of his partner, a part of which 
he transferred to Messrs. McKenzie and Knapp, and 
the three continued in business together several 
years, in the meantime adding to their operations 
the manufacture of brick tile, machine and clay 
crushers. In 1883 the works were destroyed by 
fire, and the firm then purchased a piece of ground 
and put u|) the buildings now occupied by McKin- 
sey, Knapii it Co. Mr. Farrar the year following, 
considering that he had been in the harness long 
enough, sold ont his interest to William Humphrey, 
and since that time has lived retired from active 
business. In ls,s4 he invested a portion of his 
surplus capital in what is known as the Armory 
Block, wliich occupies the old site of their factory. 



This building is 60.x7-') feet in area, constructed of 
brick, and three stories in height, besides a base- 
ment. It is employed by various business firms 
and yields to its owner a handsome income in 
rentals. 

.Mr. Farrai- was united in marriage with Miss 
Claia Brown on New Tear's Day, 1852. Mrs. 
Farrar is a native of Warwick, Mass., and the 
daughter of Russell and Clara Brown, who were 
also born in the Bay State. The father spent his 
last years in AVarwick, and the mother is now living 
with the subject of this sketch. Mr. and Mrs. 
Farrar after their n)arriage located in a modest 
home at Fitzwilliam, N. H., and always made it a 
point to live within their income. They became 
the parents of three daughters, of whom two died 
in infancy. Their only living child, Ida R., is the 
wife of T. M. McFarland, who is engaged in the 
milling business at Cambridge, Ohio. 

Mr. and Mrs. Farrar occupy a handsome and 
comfortable dwelling on Maumee street, and are 
held in the highest respect by the friends who have 
known them so long and well. 



m^^ 



F:TER B. SUTFIN is a native-born citizen 
) of Clinton Township, this county, his birth 
occurring here Sept. 18, 1845. Here the 
years of his boyhood were passed, and here, 
since he grew to manhood, he has followed the vo- 
cation of a farmer, and has by diligence, energj' 
and shrewd management, prosecuted it ti> a success- 
ful issue. His farm of 172 acres is in fine condi- 
tion, yielding abundant harvests, and is supplied 
with first-class buildings. 

The father of the subject of this sketch, William 
Sutfln, was born and reared in the State of New 
York, and there married Almira Bennett, also a 
native of that State. The3- came to Michigan 
about the year 1832, and located in an unsettled 
part of this county, whei'e there were no roads but 
the trails of Indians. Mr. Sutfin, with the aid of 
his good wife, accomplished the hard task of im- 
proving a farm in the wilderness. Thej^ were good, 
intelligent and energetic citizens, occupj'ing a warm 



■•►-II- 



■•^■-^ 



LKNAAVKK COUNTV. 



place in the hearts of the early ])i(iiiiTi>. whom 
they were ever ready to help in tirjie uf trniiliK'. 
The lil.ither died in thi^. t<.nvn>hi|., ;ind tile father in 
California. 

Our snl)ji'et is the youngest luit twn of the nine 
children born to his parents, three of wliom are yet 
living. He was reared in the pioneer lionie of liis 
parents, receivin"- from them tiie tlioidiii;h trainini;' 
in the labors of the farm uhieli has since ma(K' 
him successful in life. In 1.S72 he i>>tahlislie(l .a 
home for himself, aftei- hi> marriage to .AIi>s .Mary 
Service on the ■>t^^] of June. His wife is, lil<e him- 
self, a native of Clinton 'I'ownship. where she was 
born Aug. 20, 1 s.^-i. She is the younuest ehild of 
David and Margaret (Gamble) Service, natives of 
(4roveland Township, J.,ivingston Co., N. Y., where 
they were reared and married. They afterward 
came to Michigan in ISoi, and loe.iteil on (Jovern- 
ment land on section 2, Clinton Township, which 
was then Tecumseh. Mr. Service improve.! a large 
farm embracing nearly a section of land, and made 
it his home until his death, June 20, 1867, at the 
age of fifty-nine. He was an energetic, thrifty 
man, and his efforts to build up a home in the for- 
est of Michigan met with success. His good wife, 
now seventy-flve years of age, is living wuth her 
daughter, Ann Gragg, on the old homestead in 
Clinton Township. Mrs. Sutfin was trained to hab- 
its of industrj' and economy by her good parents, 
and is a woman of much force of character and 
capability. She is a wise manager, and looks well 
t«^ the ways of her household, and to her valuable 
assistance Mr. Suttin is greatly indebted in his ef- 
forts to establish a pleasant and comfortable home; 
she owns ninety-two acres of land in her own right. 

Since their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Sutfin ha\e 
lived on the farm which they now occupy, and have 
become the parents of three children — Bertha M.. 
Ina M. and Iva M. Mr. Sutfin is a leading Demo- 
crat of this place, and takes a great interest in pub- 
lic and political affairs. 



JI^RANKLIX OSBORN, a representative 
|-^g\ the well-know^n family of that name in tl 
ill, county, for many years carried on farniii 
successfully in Franklin Township, and was nui 



lather. James ()>l.oni. 
w:i> ,,f New Kn-land 
emigrated to the Km 
ried to Miss Hetsey I 
place at the home of 
.Mis. ( )-.!„, rn was a na 



of Ovi.l.Senec.a Co., N. V., 
pl.ace Aug. H;. ISl'iI. His 

native of Cohr.ain, .Mass., 
parentage, and in his youth 
re State, where he w.as mar- 
ngcore, the wed, ling taking 
K' bride in Seneca County, 
ve of New .ba-sev. as were 



of 



s after 
taking 
? quite 
1 been 



came to .Michigan and locat 
ship, this county. 

Mr. and Mrs. Dsborn, the 
of our subject, only lived 
coming to this Slate, the 
place in Franklin Township. 
well advanced in years. ' 
reared to farming pursuits, and rejnained a ri'sideiil 
of his native State until after his marriage. This 
interesting change in his life occurred on the 1st of 
January, 1845, his bride being Mi.ss Alice 1).. daugh- 
ter of William and Isabelle (Clayton) (irove, who 
were born, reared and married in New .lersey. 
The_y remained in their native Stale until after the 
birth of their children, then became residents of 
Ovid, Seneca Co., N. Y. There the wife of our 
subject was born March 24, 1820. The parents 
remained residents of New York until their de- 
cease, the mother dying in 1S(;3, and the fnthei- ten 
years later. 

Franklin Osborn and his wife migrated to Michi- 
gan in the spring of 1845, taking up their residence 
in Franklin Township about the middle of April. 
Here he carried on farming, and liv('d until the 
winter of 1876, when in the month of December he 
set out on a journey to New York, and was one of 
the victims in the terrible railroad disaster near 
Ashtabula, Ohio, where a train of eleven cars went 
through a bridge, and a large number of people 
were either killed outright or met their death by 
burning. The body of Richard Osborn, a brother, 
was never recovered, and is supposed to have been 
entirely destroyed. F'ranklin Osborn was with him, 
and just escaped with his life, being terribly man- 
— •► 



f 



•► 



■•► 



LKNAAVEE COUNTY. 



rcoivins>- sucli .a sliock tn his -ystciii lli;it 
illy recovered, and died l^'cli. (J, issi. 
nil resides on tlic oM lionio. The I'am- 
■ of five childreii, of whom only one 
niaiiis at home. 



J^'OIIN \AN \LKET. The Win Meet family 
came originally from Ilolhmd and settled in i 
New Jersey, where in time there grew up a 
large number of representatives who were 
uniformly noted for their excellent qualities as citi- ' 
zens and Inisiness men. One generation after an- ; 
other came into existence and passed away, occupy- 
ing homesteads mostly in the State of New Jersey j 
until the early development of the great West at- | 
tracted the attention of the New Englanders, and 
sent many abroad to discover for themselves what 
lay beyond in the new country. Among these was j 
Peter Van Vleet, the father of our subject, who came I 
to Macon Township, this county, in the spring of 
1832. 

Peter \'an Vleet. like the majority of the ad- 
venturous emigrants of those days, had started out 
with little means, trusting to his strong hands and i 
resolute disposition to carve his fortune from the j 
undeveloped soil, and for a pei'iod of eighteen j 
months whs obliged to content himself with the oc- | 
cupation of a farm laborer. At the end of this 
time he took up a tract of land on section 31, in I 
Ridgeway Township, and from that humble begin- 
ning in the wilderness of Lenawee County there 
sprang the foundations of the present valuable and I 
comfortable homestead now occupied by his son 
John, our subject. 

The parents of Peter Van Vleet, in the early 
years of their married life, left their native State of 
New Jersey, and settled in the wilds of Seneca i 
County, N. Y. Thei'e tiiey reared a large family of 
children, of whom Peter P. was the fifth child and i 
son, there being nine sous and three daughters, all 
of whom lived to become men an<l women. Peter j 
was reared to manhood in Seneca Count}^ and was 
there married to Miss Lois Swarthout, who was born I 



and reared 'not far from the home of her husband. 
Eight children were born to them before their im- 
migration to this part of the country. Thej- made 
the journey in a slow and tedious Tnnnner, via canal 
and lake to Detroit and from there overland by 
horse or ox teams. The father first took up 320 
acres of land in Macon Township, and thence re- 
moved to Ridgeway Township, in J 834. The loca- 
tion of his land in this township pleased him much 
better than that of the first, and he was content to 
remain, and give his best efforts to the building up 
of a homestead. He was permitted to realize his 
hopes and here spent his declining years in ease 
and comfort, passing away on the 31st of June, 1 879. 
The mother followed her husband a few days later, 
her death taking jjlace in July of the same year. 
They were members in good standing of the Meth- 
odist Elpiscopal Church, and Peter Van A'leet had 
been quite prominent in township affairs, serving as 
the first Road Commissioner and discharging credit- 
ably the duties of the various other local offices. 
He laid out the old Ridge road, and was promi- 
nently identified with most of the early institutions 
of the kind. 

The parental household of our subject included 
thirteen children, seven sons and six daughters, of 
whom John was next to the youngest. With the 
exception of one son, they are all living and num- 
bered among the most reputable citizens of Lena- 
wee County. John, in common with his brothers 
and sisters, was educated in the district school, and 
at an early age began to make himself useful about 
the homestead. Upon reaching manhood he fully 
understood the art of successfully managing a farm, 
and continued in single blessedness until Dec. 12, 
1867, when he was married, in Rome Township, to 
Miss Sarah L Luce, who was born iu that township, 
Feb. !), 1843. Her parents, Samuel H. and Eliza 
(Peebles) Luce, were natives of New York State, 
and married in Onondaga County. After the birth 
of one child they came, in 1837, to Michigan and 
located in the wilderness of Rome Township. 
Their efforts at building up a home were crowned 
with success, and after years of persevering indus- 
try they were enabled to pass their last days in ease 
and comfort. The mother departed this life hi 
September, 1862, and the father survived until the 



r- 



•►Ml^-* 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



263 



'^ 



1st of Mux, 1886. He was a Universalist, relig- 
iously, aufl during his later life a staiieii memher of 
the Ropiiblicar. party. 

The wife of our siilijoot \va> n':irc(l In uohkiii- 
hood in Rome Townsliip. and made Mic most of her 
advantages in the distrid schnnls. dcvc'loiiiug \uUi 
an intelligent young L'hIv <>( .-(Mind, inactical com- 
mon sense, and one dotiui'd Un- miirii usefulness. 
She is the mother of on,- rhild unly. .-i son, .laivd, 
who, when not attfuding >cli(>ol in Tccumseh assists 
in the labors on the f.uin. Our subject, besides the 
property which he occupies, owns sixty acres of 
land in Ridgeway Township, and forty-five in Ma- 
con Township. The family residence is a shapely 
and convenient structure and the other buildings 
fulfill all the requirements of the modern agricultur- 
ist. Mr. Van V. has for some years officiated as 
School Director, and politically, is .-i solid Dem- 
ocrat. 

The paternal grandfather of oui- >nbject, Peter 
Van Vleet, Jr., who was lioin and reared in New 
Jersey, during his early manhood served as a 
Revolutionary soldier, and aftei- the Colonists had 
established their independence, he left his native 
State for Seneca County, N. Y., where he spent the 
balance of his life engaged in farming pursuits. 
He had inarried Miss Mary Blue, who was also liorn 
in New Jersey, and who died in Seneca County, N. 
Y., at an advanced age. 

=i-<tf5tf^ — * 

HARRISON H. JEFFORDS was born 
Monroe County, N. Y., Aug. 21. ls;U, 
and came with his father to Michigan when 
a youth of seventeen years of age. Upon the out- 
break of the Rebellion he enlisted iu the Union 
army, and at the battle of Gettysburg, in a li.nid- 
to-hand encounter with a company of rebel iid.inlry. 
was overpowered by superior numbers, and re- 
ceived injuries which terminated fatally on the fol- 
lowing da3', July .'i. 186:!. 

The father of our subject, Solomon .leftords, was 
also a native of Monroe County, N. V., whence lie 
emigrated as before stated to the Territory of Mich- 
igan, and located with bis family in Washtenaw 
County. The son, Harrison H., after a brief time 



spent in the common branches of study, entered the 
Union School of his native town, and in the mean- 
time live.l at the li,,me>lead in .Monroe County. 
Aftei- the removal of the fmnily to llii- Stale he en- 
lered th.' law .lepnrtment ..f Michigan University 
at Ann Aib.ir, wliich was then nn.ler the Mipervis- 
ion of .Indg.' Cooley. He was gradu.-ited with 
honors in IWCI, .-okI on the 24th of Mardi f'olh.wing 
o|iened a law ollice at Dexter, Washten;iw County, 
and had just inaugurated a successful practice when 
the att.ack upon Ft. Sumter compelled a call to 
arms. Young Jeffords was one of the first to re- 
spond, enlisting upon the 4th of May in the 4th 
Michigan Infantry, and being a memlier of Com- 
pany K, which he assisted to organize. 

Before the company moved to the front, our 
subject was elected First Lieutenant, and was nuis- 
tered under command of Capt. John Randolph on 
the 2oth of June following. The regiment was or- 
dered to Washington, and the young Lieutenant 
assisted his Captain in leading the company in the 
engagements at Bull Run, Gainesville and Harrison's 
Landing. On account of his bravery in these 
charges he wa,- promoted Captain of Company D, 
in the s.ame regiment, and subsequently received 
the commission of Colonel. He was afterward pres- 
ent at Antiftam, Shepherdstown, Fredericksburg, 
Chancellorsville, and finally at Gettysburg, where 
he received his death wounds. In this encounter 
he had made a desperate effort to maintain the 
colors, while his comrades were falling around him. 
The remains of the flag in which he wrapped him- 
self when shot are i)reserved as a sacred relic of the 
past. His remains were brought home and laid to 
rest with military honors, amid the tears and sor- 
row of a large concourse of people — the friends who 
had known him long and intimately, and those who, 
at a distance, had watched his career, and had be- 
come acquainted with the manner in which he per- 
formed his duties as a soldier and patriot. 

Solomon Jeffords was united in marriage with Miss 
Phoebe Houghtaling, the wedding being solemnized 
at the home of the bride in Henrietta, N. Y. Mrs. 
J. was the daughter of Peter Houghtaling, and of 
her union with Mr. Jeffords' there were boi'u six chil- 
dren, the eldest being Col. Harrison H. ; Carrie C, 
Mrs. F. Werner, lives in Chicago; Helen M. is the 



264 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



wife of H. C. Cooper, of Arli-i.an; J. Etta married 
Edwin M. Lawn, of Chicago, and Rose N. is tiie 
wife of J. V. Stecii, of Kiuffniim. Kan.; Ida M. 
died in infancy. 

Mrs. Jeffords died April 8, 1873, at her home in 
Leslie, Ligham Co., Midi., and was buried with the 
remains of her son in Dexter. Washtenaw Co.. Mich. 

a^ ARON NORCROSS is a veteran of Frank- 
( jSalII I lin Township, having settled there in 

Ipll 1855. lie now lives on section 27, where 
^ he owns a farm of 1 30 acres, mostly well 

improved, where he has lived many years. His 
grandfather was John Norci'oss, by birth a native 
of New Jersey, and by trade a hatter. He enlisted, 
and was an active participant in the Revolutionary 
War. At the battle of Bunker Hill he was shot 
through the shoulder and neck by the British, but 
he recovered and remained in the army through the 
struggle. In the early settlement of Pennsylvania 
he experienced all the perils and vicissitudes inci- 
dent to those times, and was frequently obliged to 
conceal his wife and children from the scalping 
knife of the Indian while he was away in search of 
the British and Indians. 

After the war John Norcross went to Geneseo, 
Livingston Co., N. Y., where he lived until his 
death at the age of seventy-seven years. He had 
married Mary Solomon, by whom he had one child, 
Aaron, the fathei' of our subject, who was born in 
Livingston County, among the first of its native 
population. Aaron tiiere grew to manhood, learn- 
ing the trade of his father. He married Mary 
Kelly, the daughter of a Revolutionary soldier, 
Daniel Kell}', who fought as a private through the 
war, and came out without a scar. During these 
troublous times his family were in constant peril 
from the depredations of the Indians. Mr. Kelly 
was a native of the North of Ireland, of the old 
Presbyterian stock, and died in Livingston County. 
N. Y., at the great age of ninet^'-seven years. He 
was for forty years Deacon in tlie Presbyterian 
Church. 

The parents of our subject settled on a farm in 
the township of Grover, Livingston County, and 
in 1832, after the birtli of their family of six chil- 



dren, of wiiom our subject is the third, came to 
Michigan and located at Sulphur Springs in Monroe 
County. At the end of one year they came to 
Tecumseh Township, where they purchased a large 
tract (jf land, most of which was obtained from the 
Government. On this the father resided until his 
death, which occurred in January, 1840, at the age 
of sixty-six years. He liad lost his wife shortly 
after his removal to Monroe County. 

The subject of our notice was born April 23, 
1812. At twenty years of age he came to Michigan 
with his parents, where be was afterward married 
in Tecumseh to Miss Helen Allen, a native of Ver- 
mont, and a lineal descendant of Ethan Allen. She 
came to Michigan with her parents, Ethan and 
Cynthia (Blanden) Allen, who located on a farm 
in Tecumseh Township, where they died at about 
the same time. Mrs. Norcross vvas gifted by nature 
witii a retentive memory and remarkable intelli- 
gence. She was the mother of two children — 
Eugene and Frank. Eugene was educated in Te- 
cumseh and at Ann Arbor University, and now 
lives on a farm in Franklin Township; he married 
Miss Alice Lacy, of Wisconsin. Frank married Miss 
Leltie Bradley, and they also live in Franklin 
Township. In the midst of her usefulness Mrs. 
Norcnjss died at her home in Franklin Township, 
July 22, 1876, aged fifty years. She belonged to 
the Presbyterian Church. 

In politics Mr. Norcross is a .Tackson Democrat 
of a strong type. He comes of fine Puritanical blood, 
as did also his wife, and is proud of his ancestry 
and their war record during the Revolution. He 
is a man of great good humor, and his large fund 
of incidents in the early history of Lenawee 
County makes him very entertaining. Although 
seventy-five years of .age he is hale and vigorous, 
and bids fair to see a ripe old age. 



J~ ESSIi H. WARREN. Among the induential 
farmers of Dover Township the subject of 
this notice occupies an honorable position. 
His father, Samuel Warren, was a native of 
New Jersej'. and a descendant of that brave patriot. 
Gen. Joseph Warren, who nobly surrendered his 
life for his country at the battle of Bunker Hill in 



•►Hh-<»- 



-^Hh 



•►-Ih-^^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



265 



the very early part of the Revolution. Snmnel 
Warren marrierl Lucinda Dewey, a native of Massa- 
chusetts, of Scotch descent. After their marriage 
they settled in Farmington, Ontario Co., N. Y. Ke 
was engaged in agricultural pursuits there until 
1834, when he decided to emigrate to the Territory 
of Michigan. On May 23 of that year, he and liis 
farnil}' arrived in Dover Township and located on 
.section 24. Lilcing the country, he purchased 400 
acres of land on sections 24 and 2.5, and this they 
made their permanent home, Mr. Warren dying 
there in January, 1868, and Mrs. Warren May 11, 
1880. They had a family of seven children — Isa:u-. 
Matilda, Ira, Minerva, Jesse H., Allen and Austin 
A. Isaac died in Dover Township, Feb. 1 1, 1883; 
Matilda was dro^vned in Demings Lake in the latter 
township, April 23, 1835; Ira died in Dover Town- 
ship many years ago; Minerva resides in Medina 
Township; Allen in St. Louis, Mich., and Austin 
A. in Madison Township. 

The subject of this slcetch was born in Farming- 
ton, N. Y., May .5, 1822, and was twelve years old 
when he came to Dover Township with his parents. 
He remained at home, and prepared himself for the 
position of a teacher, the duties of which position 
he assumed when eighteen years of age. This pro- 
fession he successfully followed the ensuing eight 
years. On the 6th of May, 1848, his marriage with 
Miss Lucinda Hutchinson was celebrated in Madison 
Township. Mr. and Mrs. Warren connnenced their 
wedded life in Dover Township, where they settled 
on section 24 in the home which they now occupy. 
The years intervening between 1867 and 1886 were, 
however, spent in Adrian, Micl)., where Mr. Warrou 
owns considerable property. His fine farm in 
Dover Township embraces 122 acres of well-tilled 
land. Mrs. Warren was born in New Yorl< State. 
July 26, 1,826. Her parents were Chester .nnd 
Rachel (Childs) Hutchinson, botli natives of tlie 
same State, who lived in Genesee County until 1831, 
when they came to Michigan and settled in Madison 
Township, where Mr. Hutchinson died in 1844. 
Mrs. Hutchinson died in Dover Township in 1862. 

Mr. and Mrs. Warren have <jne child only, 
Kvelyn G., who married Robert Carpenter, of Dover 
Township, and is now the mother of two children — 
Grace and Merta. Mr Warren is actively identified 



'^ 



wit!) the interests of his township, and in the general 
affairs of the county. He is a thorough business 
man, honest and upright in all his transactions, and 
of excellent judgment. These qualities have made 
him a desirable candidate for town and county of- 
fices, many of which he has filled with credit and 
honor. During 1863 and 1864 Mr. Warren was 
Supervisor and Justice of the Peace of Dover Town- 
ship. He was Drain Commissioner for four or five 
years, when he resigned. He has also held the 
various school offices in the township. While in 
Adrian he was Supervisor of the Fourth Ward for 
six years. He was also a member of the committee 
of three appointed by the Board of Supervisors of 
Lenawee County to examine the valuations of all 
the land in the county. This was an important 
office, and he performed his part to the satisfaction 
of the citizens of the county. Oct. 2, 1879, when 
the grand stand fell at Adrian, Mr. Warren was one 
of the victims of the disaster, his right leg being 
broken, which crippled him for life. In politics Mr. 
Warren uniformly casts his vote with the Repub- 
lican party. 



(p!iA YLV ESTER KEMP was one of the suc- 
^^^ cessful agriculturists and stock-raisers of 
(il^\a) this county, located on section 33, Franklin 
Township, where he owned at the time of 
his death, May 17, 1857, 105 acres of land under 
a high state of cultivation. Mr. Ivemp was a na- 
tive of New York State, where his birth took place 
Jan. 25, 1826. He was the eldest son of Ellas J. 
Kemp, and came with him, at the age of nine years, 
to Michigan, where the father located on section 
33, Franklin Township, in 1835. Here our subject 
grew to manhood, and was first married to Elizabeth 
Morfelt, who died a few years after marriage. 

Mr. Kemp was a second time married, in Ridge- 
way Township, this county, Dec. 14, 1867, to Mrs. 
Julia (Morsmau) DeLapp, who was born on the 
27th of April, 1831, and daughter of Herman and 
M.ary A. (Zibble) Morsmau, who afterward came 
with their family to Michigan. Mrs. Kemp was 
first married to Richard DeLapp, who also came to 
Michigan at the same time, locating in Tecumseh, 



■•► 



•►^^- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



at which place Mr. Moi-siiian engaged ;il liis trade 
of wagon-making. Mr. Morsman afterward re- 
moved to Hidgeway wlierc lie established a shop, 
and later went to .Tnnesville, Hillsdale Co., Mich., 
at which place he now lives ;it the advanced age of 
eighty-two years; his wife is ;iliout the same age. 
Mrs. Kemp is the second daughter of her parents' 
farailj'. She and her first hnsliand, Mr. DeLapp, 
after their arrival here, lived in Blissfield for some 
time, and here Mr. l)eLap|) died, leaving one son, 
Irving T., a telegraph ojierator now living at 
Auburn, Ind. 

After their marriage Mr. .-nid .Mis. I\(in|i located 
on their farm on section '■)'■'< of Franklin Township, 
where hi> donth occurred as before stated. He w;i> 
a \v<.irrhy and [irogressive citizen, and an upright 
man: in ))Olitics he was a Republican. Since their 
bereavement Mrs. K. and her sons have managed the 
farm, which is well located, and supplied with first- 
class buildings. She has liy her last marriage three 
children — Charles, Delia and Minnie. Charles took 
to wife Josephine M. Bntrick, of Franklin Town- 
ship, and they live there on a farm ; Delia, Mrs. 
Charles Pentecost, lives near Napoleon, Jackson 
County, while Minnie is at home; they are worthy 
and intelligent children. Charles Kemp, like his 
father before him, is a Jxepulilican in politics. 



4^fe^^ 



T 



^^ ONRAD ICKLER is ;t native born citizen 
{l[ of Riga Town.ship, and an intelligent repre- 

^^' sentative of the yoiuig men of Lenawee 
County who are coming to the front to take their 
share in maintaining the agricultural interests of 
the county. He possesses in a large measure those 
admirable traits of character which distinguished 
his ancestoi's, and has the promise of a bright 
future. 

J. Conrad Ickler, father of our subject, was born 
in Hesse-Cassel, Germany. He attended school 
quite regularly during his youth, and after com- 
pleting his education learned the tailor's trade, 
which he followed for some years in his native land. 
In 1851 he came with his bride to make their home 
in this country, and located in Vermillion, Ohio, 



where he was employed at the iron furnaces for the 
following two years. He then decided to turn his 
attention to farming, and coming to this county, he 
bought a tract of timbered land on section 1.5, Riga 
Township. lie then s<.| roolulcly to work to clear 
and dr;iiii liis Innd, which was in the Cottonwood 
Swamp district, and by his energy and perseverance 
he not only cleared his f.arm, but earned enough 
from it to buj' more adjoining, and at the time 
of his death, Sept. s. issi. IkkI a fine farm of 
eighty acres, sixtj^-fivc of wliit-ii were well improved. 
The maiden name of the mother of our subject was 
Barbara Smith; she was born in Hesse-Cassel, and 
died in the home in this county which she had aided 
her husband to build up. Six sons wer<' born to 
her, five of whom are still living— A.lam, John, 
David, Henry and Conrad. 

Conrad Ickler was the third child of his [larents, 
and was Lorn Nov. 20, I8(;(i, in the humble 
log caliin in which they first made their home 
when they came to Riga Township, in the days when 
that part of Riga was a swampy wilderness. In 
that home he learned from his good parents many 
a lesson of thrift, honesty and industrj^, which has 
since guided him to success. He attended the dis- 
trict school and acquired quite a good education as 
he was a bright scholar. At an early age he was 
deprived of the care and counsel of his mother, and 
he remained with his father until the death of the 
latter, assisting him in the clearing of his land and 
the cultivation of the soil. He then found employ- 
ment in other places for three years, and at the ex- 
piration of that time bought the farm where he has 
since resided, and here by strict attention to busi- 
ness, shrewd management, and a good knowledge 
of the laws governing agriculture, he is fast acquir- 
ing success in his chosen calling. 

Mr. Ickler married, April 2.S, 188.5, Miss Ella 
Dings, like himself a native of Riga Township, 
where her birth occurred July 5, 18.5fi. Her grand- 
father, Peter Dings, was, it is thought, a native of 
the State of New York, where he passed the most of 
his life, with the exception of a few years spent in 
Lenawee County. The father of Mrs. Ickler, John 
Dings, grew to manhood and married in New York, 
his native State. He came to this township about 
the vear 1850, and located on section ^S. on a tract 



•►HH^*- 



LENA WE K 


COUNTY. 2fi7 


of timber land, which by persistent toil he con- 


get it in working order as soon as possible, and Mr. 


verted into a fine farm, which remained liis home 


Griswold volunteering to prepare the stone, the 


until Ills death. April 17. 1.SS4. The maiden name 


owner very gladly a,vailc<l himself ,,f his skill. He 


,,f Mr>. k-lder-s motlier w;(s Elizabeth Roekafeller; 


soon had evcrythiniiin readim-.--. and from the lirst 


she was born in Columbia. K. Y., and was the 


grist ground hue wheat cakes were made to cele- 


daughter of Teal Roekafeller, a native of the same 


brate the Fourth of July in the year 182(!. 


State; he spent the last years of his life with his 


Thomas Griswold immediately after he was fairly 


daughter in Ri.ua. Township. 


settled coinnn'ne<-d the improvement of his farm. 


Mr. and .Mrs. Ickler enjc.y tlu- confniener an. I 


.and built the liist fi'.amc house tiiat was ever erected 


esteem of those around them. .Mr. Ickler is a wl'II- 


in this county, into which he .and his family re- 


re.ad man, and is thoroniihly roii\iT-:int with all 


moved in Novembei-. |s2.'i. the autumn following 


topics of general interest. 


their .arrival. He soon became ,a prominent figure 




in the caily .annals of this (amnty. doing much 


. ::=>> ^?|-*-p- «^^- 


toward opening it up for settlement, while he gave 




nuich valuable assistance to new settlers as they 


^^E0R(;E (iUlsWOLI) is a fariniM- .,f Tecum- 


came in. and gave them sm-li information in regard 


1/ sell Township, and a representative of one 


to the land and resouic a- of the (a)nntry as would 


^^^ of the earliest pioneer faniilii'> of Lenawee 


be benelicial to them in their selection of a, Innne. 


County. He is not only the son of a pioneer, but 


In ISL'ti he was appointed ( ouimivsi,,ner of Lena- 


is alsf) the grandson of a pioneer of another and 


we." County, by the Teriilorial Governor. (4en. 


older .State, liis grandfather, David Griswold, being 


Ca,-s. and in the discli,ai-c of the duties of that 


among the early settlers of .Sonthport, Chemung 


ollita'. di.l veiy ellicient, s.a\i(a> for' th,. (iovern- 


Co., N. Y.. where he went in 177S from his native 


meut. In his ,le.ath. which ocairrcd Oct. 1.",, 1 .S.-.i;. 


vState, Connecticut, lie was a >oldiei- in the Revo- 


the county h.st .a public luaicfaetor. .and his uei.uh- 


lutionary War. 


bors a. kind frieml. who was ever ready to help 


Thomas Gri>wol<l, the lather of our subject, was 




horn Feb. 22, 17'.K), on his father's liomestead in 


of the h.aidy, sclf-ieliant |none(a- women of the 


.Sonthport. Like his father, he di-l -ood service 


early days of thi- cuntry. eneruetically t.iok nj) 


for his country .-i.- a soldier, takiuo part in the War 


the bnideii ,.f supporting their children, which her 


of 1812. He married Betsy, daughter of .John 


husband's lamented death had left wholly under her 


Wier, Esq., and born in Southi)ort in 17118. After 


care, and noldy tlid she discharge her duties as a 


their marriage they settled in their native town. 


mother, keeping them with her until they had grown 


where Mr. (Jriswold followed the occiipati.ais of 


u|). .an<l no loniiir ncedcal hca' .'aiv and protection. 


farmer and miller for .some years. In .Inly. 1 .SJ.",, 


She was the mother of four sons and lliree daugh- 


concluding to seek a new hon)e in the forests of 


ters, .all of whom iirew to m.atuiity. though only 


Michigan, they came to Lenawee County and pro- 


t,,nr of them survive! her; her death o.a-urred in 


cured a tract .of IGO acres of lan«l in Tecuniscli 


Decemhci-. 1.S71. 


Township, on .section 21. They were anion- the 


(leoi-ee (oiswold wasthcthinl child of hi.^ p.ar- 


very earliest settlcrsin this part of I.en.awee ( ounly . 


caits. .and wa~ born on his grandfather's homesiead. 



-as only two families ha. I |.r(aa-de.| iheni. .Mr. 
Grisw..!.!'- lan.l was hcavil.N t inibei-e.i. wit h n.i im- 
prov.an.aits except .a lu.jc mill whi.-li ha. I been 
built by a .Mr. Brown an.l a Mr. Evans. The mill, 
however, was not in running or.ler. as the niilka- 
who )iad been .sent for t.. .a.mplcte the .arran-v- 
ments for grinding wheat an.l corn. iMianne si.k 
and could not come. It uas ipiite imp.irtant l.i 



.anir-eh. which h.a.l tin 
.Vfl.a- the .l.-ath ,,f his 
in .-arrying ,m t^hc fa 



u- fathei- was born, in 

.N. v.. Oct. .-ll, lt<22. 

a.i:e when I ir,. light by 

.11.1 when hv be.-anu' old 



••► 



<•- 



268 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



^K 



aflfording her great assistance, until his marriage, 
which f)c'currec] in his twenty-seventh year, to Miss ' 
Helen M., daughter of Thomas FitzSimmons, Esq. 
After liis marriage Mr. Oriswold settled near the 
old homestead, and began farming for himself, and 
after the division of his parents' estate, he settled 
on tiie property that had fallen to his share. From 
time to time ho has added t(i the acreage of his I 
farm, until lie now owns ninety-eight acres of 
choice Laud in a high state of cultivation, on which ! 
he has erected a good dwelling-house, two good 
barns and other convenient farm buildings. Mr. 
Griswold has conducted mixed husbandry, deem- | 
ing it more profitable and reliable than to depend ' 
entirely on one branch of agriculture; he has some ! 
well-gi'aded stock. 

Mr. and Mrs. Griswold became the parents of , 
three daughters, namely: Hattie Estelle, who died j 
at the age of four years; Isabel, the wife of Will- 
iam Waldron, a farmer, and Alice E., who is at 
home. All the family are members of the Method- 
ist Episcopal Church, in the affairs of which Mr. 
Griswold is very prominent, having held the offices 
of Trustee and Steward for raan^' years. i 

In politics, our subject is rather conservative, 
voting independently in matters of local interest. I 
In his upright character and in his honorable deal- 
ings with his fellowmen, lie shows himself a worthy 
descendant of his honored parents. I'or several 
years the state of Mr. Griswold's health did not per- I 
mit him 'to transact much business, or to take a very | 
active part in affairs in general ; he was constantly 
under the care of a physician, but his health is now ! 
greatly improved. 1 

^\ RS. HARRIET (WEMPLE) DAVIS, a 
resident of Palmyra Township, was born in ; 
Florida Township, Montgomerj- Co., N. 
Y.. on the 15th of September, 1807, and is 1 
now in her eighty-first year, but still hale and 
hearty. She inherited a strong eonstitutiun, has 
always been of a lively disposition, not given to Imr- 
rowing trouble, and is now better preserved, both 
mentally and physically, than many people twenty 
years younger. Her father, John Wemple, was born 



in Florida Township, when that part of the State of 
No w York was known as Tyrone County. His father, 
Ephraim Wemple, had a patent to a tract of 900 acres 
of land in Florida Township, and engaged in farming 
there until his death. The father of Mrs. Davis was 
also a farmer, and spent his entire life in his native 
township. His wife's maiden name was Jane An- 
thony, and she was born on Manhattan Island. Her 
fatiier, the grandfather of Mrs. Davis, was an earl^' 
settler of Manhattan Island, and once owned a large 
tract of land upon which a portion of the city of 
New York is now built. 

The subject of this sketch was mariied to Ramus 
Davison the 27th of December. 1837. He was 
born in that part of Fulton County now known as 
Montgomery County, N. Y., on the l.st of January, 
1807. His father, John P. Davis, was born on 
Long Island, and his father was a commissioned 
oflicer in the Revolutionary War, and while in a 
British prison was poisoned. John P. Davis was a 
farmer, and removed to Montgomery County in the 
days of its early settlement, where he cleared a farm, 
on which he lived until his death. Ramus Davis 
grew to manhood in the latter-named county, and 
was reared upon the farm. His father gave him 
tiiirty acres of land in Amsterdam Township, and 
he added thirty more acres to it by purchase. In 
18.S8, accompanied by his wife, he went to Indiana, 
going b}^ way of the Erie Canal through Utica, the 
raiU'oad to Buffalo, the Lakes to Detroit, and then 
by railroad to Y))silanti, where he employed men 
with teams to take them to Calhoun County, Mich., 
where Mrs. Davis stopped with friends, and Mr. 
Davis, with his team, proceeded to Indiana and 
bought a farm near Mishawaka. He then hired a 
team and returned to Michigan for his wife, whom 
he brought to the farm in Indiana. Here his health 
failed two years later, and he returned to New York 
and settled on the land which his father had given 
him, where he resided until 1850, when he moved to 
Onondaga County, and bought land in Eldridge 
Township. He lived there until 1 863, when he sold 
out and catne to Lenawee County, and bought the 
place on which Mrs. Davis now resides. There 
were but a few acres of this laud cleared, the bal- 
ance being timber and stump land. He devoted all 
his energies to the clearing of his land, and sue- 



►-II-4. 



KXAWKE COUX TY 



269 



y (J. 1-22(1 New Wnk Iii- 
hv close uf the \v:ir; he 
;in<l settled ;i,t Adrian, 



ceeded in making of it a most excellent farm, where 
he resided until his deatli, which occurred on the 
21st of July, 1«77. 

Mrs. Davis became the uiuthei-nf four children — 
Susie J., Ramus B., John VV. and Theophihis A. 
Susie J., the only daughter, died in 1871, at tlie age 
of thirty-three years; Ramus B.. the oldest son. en- 
listed ill isci' in Com 
fantry. and served iiii 
then came to Mieliij^, 
where he engaged in the Ituuber business for a few 
years, and then moved to Riga Townshii), where he 
engage<l in the .same luisiness; he now operates a 
flour and grist mill at Dundee, Monroe County. 
John W. entered the army in 18G4 as a member of 
the Michigan Volunteers, and served until the close 
of the war, since which time he has been a resident 
of Adrian: 'riicophilus A. now niaii:ig\> the home- 
.stead; he was bom in Moiilgomery County. X. Y., 
Feb. 7. I84i), and was married to Clara T. 
8, 1874; she was born in Palmyra Town.- 
the daughter of Ira Tooker; they 
—Minnie A., Ramus T., Ella M.aii.l Thcpliiius. 

Mrs. Davis is a very clear-minded old lady, and 
of remarkable memory. During her lifetime the 
most remarkable events in the history of this conn- 
try have occurred, and she retains in memory the 
details of most of theiu, and readily recalls the stir- 
ring events connected u ith the early settlement of 
Michigan and Indiana. She is blessed with ex- 
cellent health, aud is not the victim of those atllic- 
tious which generally befall those who reach her 
age. She is univci-.sally cstceiiu'd .and i-cspeeled. 
and is living liappily and <'ontrntedly. 



r, Fel 



•four ell 



^h 



DWARD F. I'iNDKRWOOl). Kveiywheiv 
Lenawee County are evidences of thrift. 

wisdom and euter|)rise, and on >ectioii 1 .s. 

Palmyra Townshi|), is comfortably loc.-iteil the 
farm where the subject of tliis sketcli is prcjseeuting 
his chosen calling with succes>. He li.-is been a 
resident of the township since his birth, and lives 
on a part of tlie old homestead, which is a farm of 
finely cultivated land, with a tasteful and siibst.an- 
tial dwelling, a good barn, and all the accessories of 



;- 



the intelligent and progressive farmer. Here he 
spends his time as an industrious and law-abiding 
citizen, enjoying the respect of his neighbors, and 
fuUilling the obligations incident to his station as a 
substantial member of the community. 

Our subject was born in Palmyra Township on 
the 2d of November. 1851, and is the son of 
Thomas Underwood, who was born in Waj'ne 
County, N. Y. His grandfather was Edward Un- 
derwood, who was a native of Dutchess County, N. 
Y., and moved from there to Wayne County, where 
he bought a farm, and made his home there until 
I8;i(i. In that year he sold out. ami accompanied 
by his f.aniily of wife and four children, st.arted for 
the State of Michigan, coming by way of the Erie 
Canal and the Lakes to Toledo. At the latter 
place they started with teams and came overland to 
Lenawee County, where they settled in Palmyra 
Township, and bought land on section 19. A large 
proportion of this land was heavily timbered, but 
iMr. Undei'wood went to work at once clearing away 
the timber, and in the course of a few years had most 
of it under eulliv.alion. During his occupancy of 
the farm he built a brick <lwelling-house. The 
father of our subject was but a boy when he came 
to this county with his parents. Here he grew to 
manhood and married Mary Comstock. who vvas a 
native of New York. He bought a farm on section 
18, which lie occupied for many years, but now re- 
sides on a part of the ohi homestead. 

The subject of this sketch has lived nearly all his 
life in Palmyra Township, where he grew to man- 
hood and in whose schools he secure<l his first educa- 
tion. He took .a, short course in Ailrian College, 
and at the age of eighteen began teaching school, 
following that occupation during the winter months 
and woiking upon the farm the remainder of the 
ye.ar. Afterward he w.as engaged in Evans' Com- 
mercial College in .Adrian. Subsequently he rented 
his uncle's farm in Raisin Townshij), which he man- 
aged for one year, and then located on the old 
homestead, of which he bought a portion after his 
grandfather's death. 

In 187;") Mr. Underwood was married to Miss 
Alice Wade, who was born in Litchfield, HilLsdale 
Co.. Mich. This union has been blessed with three 
children— Annie C, Hattie ami Metta. Mr. and 



'4— 

270 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Mrs. Underwoofl are both highly esteemed members 
of society. In politics Mr. Underwood acts with 
the Republican party, and has held the office (jf 
.Justice of the Peace in the township in which he ! 
resides. He is not what might be called an active 
politician, but he endeavors on all occasi(_)ns to dis- 
charge the duties which devolve upon good citizens. 



i=^")EV. JOSEPH ATKINSON THOMPSON is 



-^ ,in Englishman by birth, and a descendant 
\V of an old Lincolnshire family. His great- 1 
Vi© <irandfather, .loseph Thompson, was a land- 
liolder in Lincolnshire, England. The grandfather 
of our suliject. .lol) Thompson, was bf)rn in Liu- ' 
colnshire. inlierited his father's estates, and spent } 
his entire life in tiie i)lace of his nativity. t 

Th(^ father of our subject, Joseph Thompson, was I 
l>orn and reared in that ancestral home, and mar- 
ried in hi- nnti\e shire, Betsy AtI?iuson. He was I 
an itinerant preacher in the Primitive Methodist 
Church, and was consideied quite a power in that 
denomination. He preached in Lincolnshire, Yoriv- 
shire, Leicestershire, Shropshire and in Walesi 
During his sojourn in Lincolnshire as a preacher, 
his wife died and left a family of six children. In 
1838 he came to America tuiaceompanied by any 
of his children, and preached in several places in 
New York State, finalh' identifying himself with i 
the Baptists and becoming a minister in that de- 
nomination ; lie spent the last years of iiis life in 
Pleasant Valley, N. Y. 

The Rev. Josepli Thomp>on was hoin iu Halifax, 
Yorkshire, Kngland. Mareli IC, 18l".». He attended 
scho«)l (juite regulaijy durinij his youth, and ac- I 
quired a very good education. In 18,53 he came j 
to America, and is the only one of his father's j 
children who ever came to this country. He lo- | 
cated in Herkimer County, N. Y., and there pi'ac- 
ticed the profession of a veterinary surgeon for a 
few years. Tlien he traveled in the South .-uid 
West for a jieriod of twelve years, practicing his 
profession in the most important places. He sub- 
sequently located in (leauga County, Oiiio, for a 
time, afterward removing thence to Lucas County. 
In 1873 he left Oliio and came to this State, where j 



-«^ 



he bought a farm on section 3 of the fractional 
jjarl of this townshijj. Since tiien he has made 
four or five ch,anges, settling on his present farm in 
188'j. He has forty acres of land, twenty acres of 
which are under good tillage, and has substantial 
Imildings. 

While Mr. Tlioinpson lias paid the necessary at- 
tention to his worldly interests, he has also been 
enunged for many years, in the various connnuni- 
tie> of which he lias been a member, in earnest 
work for the spiritual and moral welfare of the peo- 
ple. He coiiunenced to preach when quite young, 
and was ordained as a preacher in the Church of 
God while a resident of Lucas County, Ohio. He 
has been quite successful in his chosen work, and is 
an influence for good in the coinmunity. 

IMr. Thompson has l)eeu twiee married, the first 
time to Helen Ironside, who was born near Aber- 
deen, Scotland, and was the daughter of Alexander 
Ironside, who passed his entire life in that country. 
His daughter came to America when she was twen- 
ty-tvi^o years old, and her death took place April 
11, 1883. She was ~a faithful wife, and a true 
mother to the three children born to our subject 
and recorded as follows: Caroline is the wife of 
Peter (Gillette, of Riga Townsliip: .Joseph is living 
iu Cl.nid County, Kan., and Ellen is the wife of 
AUiert Sanderson, of Lucas County. Ohio. 

JNlr. Thompson's second marriage occiu-red Jan. 
7, 188(), at which time he was united to Miss Nora 
Jones, ^he was lioni iu Anderson Township, Ham- 
ilton Co., Ohio, and is the daughter of John Jones, 
who was born in Rowan Count}', N. C. His father, 
Robert Jones, was a native of Maryland, who when 
a young man went to North Carolina and married 
there. After residing in that State a few years, 
he removed with his family to Ohio, and was among 
the early settlers of Clermont County, where he 
afterward died. The father of Mrs. Thompsini was 
reared in Rowan County, his native place, and 
there married Eleanor M. Austin, also a native of 
that county, and a daughter of Samtiel and Lydia 
(Railsback) Austin. In 1828 Mr. and Mrs. Jones 
moved with the family of the former to Ohio, 
where they lived a few 3'ears iu Clermont County, 
and then removed to Hamilton County. Mr. 
Jones was a blacksmith by trade, and bought a 



■^►^i--^ 





' 


\ 










-«- 


•p 


LENAWEF 


COUNTY. 27.1 , 

married .'i lady of his own .State, Miss Catherine 


1 




home in Anderson Townshi]), nnd inirsiied his cull- 






ing there until his death in ls,')'J. Mis widiiw lived 


Ci;iiu. who was of Scotch ilescent, and they resided 






in Anderson until 1870, when she removed to Ken- 


near Morristown, N. .1.. until .-ifler the birth of six 






ton County, Ky.. mid resided there until her death. 


children, when they removed to Schuyler County, 






Sept. (I. IS.S2. Mrs. Thompson lived with her 


N. Y. The father took np a tract of l:ind iu Head- 






niKther until thr death of the latter. 


ing Township during its early settlemenl. ;iiid 






.Mr. Thumpsdn is, as every good citizen should 


opened up a Hik' faun of 1 .iO acres, which in <lue 






be, much interested .in the affairs of the nation. 


lime became very valuable. 






and believing that the principles promulgated by 


.lohii Eddy was a tliorou-h and -killfid a;:ricult- 






the Republican p:irly are for the best interests of 


urist, and availed himself of th.' pro^resMv,- meth- 






the country, he loyally suppoits that party. Mrs. 


ods by wliieli only -iieeess could lie olit.iilied. He 






Thoni|is<_in is -.i \alue(l nienilier of the Methodist 








Episcopal Church. 


lo-ilo citizens. He took' .-i li\ el v iiiteii-t in the wel- 






-.^-.«,U^-®«^^<|t,-2*3.7rj7nn~^^. 


eiKMJurage the \arioiis eiiler])rises lending to the 






/^) ^^^'^^'^^^'^ EDDY, a wealthy au<l prominent 
[l[ I-. farmer of Franklin Township, is the uwnei- 


devi-lopmeiit of .-1 new <-oiiiitry. He retained pos- 






sesion of his lirst purclia.se until his decease, which 






^^ of 200 acres of finely improved laii<l. which 


oceiiired uluai he was fifty-eight years of age. 






he has acquired by the exercise of his nwn iudn.-tiy 


After their iemo\.-il to New York, live more chil- 






and perseverance. He commenced in life for him- 


dren were added to the houseln.l.l eiivle. wliieh now 






self comparatively without means, and became a 


hiclnded seven .m.iis and four dan-htei.-. All of 






resident of this county in 1845, soon afterward 


them with one exception are now living. :ind the 






making his first purchase of eighty acres of land on 


l)rother deceased had attained the advanced age of 






section 12. to which he afterward added as his 


seventy-eight years; the ehlest surviving is eighty- 






means permitted. The family residence is a sub- 


four years of age, and the youngest is sixty. 'I'lie 






stantial stone building, and considered one of the 


wife and mother survived hei- husband a, nunibcrof 






best of its kind in tiiis jiart of the State. It con- 


ye.Mis. and died at the homestead iu Schuyler 






sists of two stories and a basement, finely .Miranged. 


County when eighty years of age. She w;is a good 






combining both lieauty and couveuience. The 


mother in every sense that the word inplies. and a 






barns and out-lniildings arc neat :iiid substantial. 


devoted member e>f the I'resl.y teii.an Church. 






and the farm stock ami machinery aic iu kee|)ing 


.lohu Eddy, politically, was an ol, 1-line Whig, and 






with the genenil air of thrift and prd.sperity which 


maintained his principles with .-ill the eainestness of 






is apparent upon all sides. ]S'<_) man perhaps in 


hi- deeide<l and energetic nature. 






Lenawee County is lietter entitled to reiireseuta- 


Our subject remained under the p:irenl.-d roof 






tion in a work nf this kind than the subject of this 


until about twenty-cnie y<ars of .■!"(■. ;ind then 






sketch. 


served :in api)ivnticeshii. at the carpeiilei's trade in 






Mr. Eddy has made a science of farming and 


his native county. I'pon leaving New York he 






stock-raising, dealing largely in Duriiani cattle and 


migrated to Erie County, Ohio, and for nine years 






JMeriuu sheep, and has obtained .-in enviable repu- 


following puisu.al lii,~ trade in .Milan i'owii>hip. 






tation IU this .secti 1 eouutry on accoinit ..f his 


Meantime he was married, .Iniie :i. |s.">i;. (o Miss 






skill and knowledge iu thir- department of agricull- 


Mary A. Spears, the daughter of a well-to-do far- 






lire. He migrated from far_New England to estab- 


mer who had einigrat.'d from Tenfield. N. Y.. to 






lish his iiermanent homi-. having been born in Mor- 


Ohio in the pi.meer days. Mr. .and Mrs. Spears 






ristown, N. .1., April C, 1811. His father, .lohn 


were most excellent people and enjoyed the conli- 






Eddy, E.sq., also a native of .New .lersey, was of 


deiice and esteem of all who knew them. Th<y 


1 




, New England parentage and English descent. He 


were of New England birth and paientage, .ind were . 




V 






■^n 










' 


1 



a 



27t 



t 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



residents of Erie County probably tliirty years, 
where they labored to build up a good home, and 
spent their last days in peace and comfort, <lepart- 
ing this life at an advanced age. 

The wife of our subject was born in Monroe 
County, N. Y., Feb. 3, 1817, and spent her child- 
hood and youth under the home roof, receiving a 
common-school education, and being trained in 
those employments which have so much to do with 
the happiness of a home. Of her union with our 
subject there were born ten children, of whom two 
are deceased. Charles died at the age of twenty- 
two, at Jefferson Barracks, Mo., while on his way 
home from the army ; at the outbreak of the war 
he enlisted in the 18th Michigan Infantry, and at 
Athens, Ga., was captured by the rebels, who held 
him some time in confluemcnt. The other child 
died March 6, 1857, at the age of eight years. 
Five of the eight living children are married and 
settled in comfortable homes of their own, and four 
of the sons — Henry H., George W., Horace G. and 
James C. — are in business at Vinton, Iowa, con- 
ducting a large dry -goods house ; John J. is farm- 
ing near Akron, Col.; Edwin A. is a successful 
farmer in Manchester Township, Washtenaw Coun- 
ty ; the two daughters, Libbie S. and Catherine, 
continue at home with their father. Mrs. Eddy de- 
parted this life at her home in Franklin Township, 
in March, 1885, when sixty-eight years of age. 
She was a lady held in high esteem by the people 
of her neighborhood, energetic, intelligent and of 
kindly disposition, and a devoted member of the 
Congregational Church. Mr. Eddy, religiously, is 
a Universalist. Politically, he affiliates with the 
Republican party, and has served his township as 
Road Commissioner and Treasurer for some years, 
and also as Justice of the Peace. 



C<P^ 



<| Jf.ILLIAM E. WLSNEK first opened his eyes | 

\m/ ''" ^^^' '^^'''^ '^" "''^ ^*'^'''" '" ^''■='"'^''" '-Town- I 
W^ ship where he still makes his home. He | 
received a good education, and being naturally j 
bright and ambitious niailc the nmA. of his oppor- 
tunities. He engaged in tcacliinu before reaching 
his majorit}', spending his time tlius during the 



winter and in the summer emplo3'ing himself on 
the farm. We can scarcely conceive of a more 
pleasant life or one from which more thorough en- 
joyment can be extracted. The emancipation from 
the close housing of the winter season to tiie broad 
fields of the country in spring, must be one of the 
most grateful changes that can be imagined. Amid 
these quiet scenes our subject has spent the greater 
part of his life, and with the pure country air im- 
bibed those princii)les which have constituted him 
a man araoug men, well-bred, and filling his niche 
in life in an unostentatious, but tlioroughly worth}' 
and useful manner. 

Our subject was born Jan. 14, l.s;3L), and is the 
son of Abraham Wisner, a native of Phe]i)s, Ontario 
Co., N. Y. The latter was born in 179S), of an- 
cestry who came originally from Holland, and was 
the son of Rev. Jehiel Wisner, also a native of the 
Empire .State, who was reared to farming pursuits, 
but in early years distinguished himself as of a 
deeply pious temperament, find when but a 3'outh 
began preaching the Baptist faith, whose doctrines 
he upheld in this manner for a period of forty years. 
Subsequently he left New York State and joined 
his son Abraham, in this county, at whose home his 
death took place in the fall of 1 839. He had mar- 
ried in early manhood Miss Luanna Chandler, a 
near relative of the well-known Zach Chandler (^f 
tins State. Grandmother Wisner accompanied her 
husband to Michigan, and died at the home of their 
son in Franklin Toivnship. 

Abraham Wisner was reared on the farm and while 
a resident of Niagara County, N. Y., was married to 
Miss Sarah Wisner, a distant relative. They con- 
tinued in the Empire State until after the birth of 
six children, and in the spring of 1833 set out for 
the Territory of Michigan, via the Canada route, 
making the journey overland with teams, camping 
and cooking by the wayside, and landing in the 
woods of Franklin Township several weeks later. 
The land in that locality was still owned mostly by 
the Government, and Abraham Wisner purchased 
from '"Uncle Sam" 240 acres on section 11, Frank- 
lin Township. Standing upon his new purchase 
Abiuhani Wisner could scarcely discern at either 
point of ihc compass the cabin of a settler. The 
Indians bad scarcely left this locality and wild aui- 



■•►HI 



•►Hh-^^ 



u 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



mals loamed in unrestrained freedom tbrougli the 
forests and over tlie iinbrolien country. Tliere lay 
a great task before the |)ioneer and his family, but 
one for which they were amply i)reparod. As somi 
as ho could put up a sbcltei' foi- themselves and 
their household goixls hr rdninicnccd cultivating 
the soil around him, and after years of steady in- 
dustry began to reap his reward. In due time theic 
appeared substantial fences to mark the outline of 
his possessions, and one building after another grew 
up on the homestead, so thai liefore his death llie 
father of our subject had ani|)le time to survey liis 
possessions and relax the fatiguing labors to which 
he had first been necessarily- devoted. The " ifc 
and mother, who had shared with her husband his 
trials and successes, passed to her long home in the 
spring of 1866, .and Mr. Wisiu-i' followed in the tall 
of 1867. 

The parents of oui- subject possessed all the 
qualities of the early pioneers wht> made of their 
venture a complete success. Abraham Wisner in- 
terested himself in the development of his adopted 
county and contributed as lar as able toward its 
progress and prosperity. lie was instrumental in 
the organization of the BaiJtist Church at Clinton, 
in which he officiated as Deacon many years, and in 
which his devoted wife stood bj' his side also as a 
worthy and consistent member. The parental 
iiousehold included twelve children, of whom Will- 
iam E. was the ninth in oidei- of birlli. 

WiUi.am Wisner. during hi> boyhood and youth 
assisted in building uj) the homestead and made the 
most of his advantages, first in tiiesubscrijition and 
later in the district scliools. When twenty-one 
years ^)f age he began teaching in W.-iyne Couiitv. 
where he made his re()utation as an instructor, and 
subsequently taught in Franklin County until about 
1882. He vvas married, dan. 1, 18C2, to Miss 
Emeline, daughter of \Villiam and Emily (.loslin) 
Whelan, natives of New York Slate, who came to 
the Territory of Michigan in is.i;;. The father 
entered a tract of Giiverninent land on section l.^i, 
Franklin Township, where the parents iiave con- 
tinued to reside for the long period of fifty-four 
years. They also labored industriously lo improve 
their farm and establish a comfortable home, and 
enjoyed the confidence and esteem of a large circle 



of friends and acquaintances, both among the old 
and young. Father Whelan and father Wisner 
lioth belonged originally to the old Whig jjarty, and 
upon its abandonment cordially endorsed Repub- 
lican principles, takinga warm interest in National 
and State affairs. 

.Mrs. Wisner was born in Franklin Township, 
March i;i. lsiL'.nu<l like her husband obtained her 
education in the common scho(.)ls. She was trained 
by ber excellent mother in all those donicslie .blties 
wliieh have siicli .-m iiilbiencc n[u,n tli.' bappiMes.- of 
a liouselioM. and reniaineil with her parents until 
lier rnani.-ige. ( )f ber union witli our subject there 
li;ive lieen boiii nine eliililrcn, one (.)f whom, Maude, 
diecl at tlie .-ige of ten months. Those surviving 
are Krnest. .a prosperous farmer of Logan Count}', 
Neil.; Owcii, who makes his home and works with 
his brother in Nebr.aska; Grace, a teacher and living 
with her parents; Jlinnie, also a teacher; .Stella, 
Dewey. Emily .and Scott. 

Mr. and Mrs. Wisner after their marriage began 
life together at tin; Wisner homestead, where tiieir 
children were born, and where they pinpose to re- 
main. Our subject keeps up the reputation of the 
estate in the ni<ist praiseworthy manner, and from 
year to year adds the embellishments in fav<ir with 
the modern agriculturist. He has held the various 
township offices, and bke his father befoie him, is a 
solid Republican. His amiable and e.-ccellent wife 



J;(.)SEFII II. 15LAIN, Alderman of tlie .Second 
I Waid, Adrian, and book-keeper ffirthe Lake 
j Shore & IMichigan Sotithern Railroad Ct>m- 
/ pany, is a gentleman of good business ability, 
worthily filling a responsible position ami numbered 
among the reliable citizens who go to make up tlu^ 
bone and sinew of a community. His earl^' home 
was in the city of Liverpool, England, where his 
l)irth took place on the 26th of February, l«2-l. 
He emigrated to Americii when a mere lioy with his 
parents, Joseph and Agnes (Mclntyre) I'.l.ain, who 
settled in Montreal, Canada, in 1832. The father 



.^h 



•►Hl-4^ 



27fi 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



died there of cholera the same year; the mother 
survived her husband until 1872, spending her last 
years in the city of Toronto. 

Mr. Blain received his eduttatiou in the city of 
Montreal, and when of suitable age entered a dry- 
goods store there as clerk, being in the employ of one 
firm several years. He then began railroading, and 
in the course of time was given the position of Pay- 
master on tin- \'ermoiit Central Railroad, which he 
held three years. During the ten years following- 
he was employed mostly upon the Great Western 
Railway, running fiom the suspension bridge at 
Niagara Falls to Windsor, Canada. 

In the fall of 1862, Mr. Blain made his way to 
Michigan as the employe of the Lake Shore &. 
Michigan St)uthern Railrfiad, and with the excep- 
tion of two years in which he was engaged in rail- 
road construction, has held continuously his present 
position. While a resident of .St. Catherines he 
was married, in 1857, to Miss Catherine VauEvery, 
who was a resident of Lincoln County, near Niagara 
Falls. Their first modest'Jiome was at Toronto, 
where two of their children were born. Of the six 
children who completed the household circle, four 
are still living: Joseph M. is operating in the 
vicinity of Puget Sound as the employe of the 
Northern Pacific Railroad; Abraham L. is Track- 
master on the Ft. Wayne Division of the Lake 
Shore & Michigan Southern; Agnes M. and Katie 
L. are at home with their parents. 

Mr. Blain politically is Democratic. lie was 
elected Alderman of tiie Second Ward in the spring 
of 1886, and is nearing the close of his first term. 
He is a gentleman of excellent judgment and fre- 
quently presides at the meetings of the City Coun- 
cil in the absence of the Mayor, having been elected 
President 7;?-o tew of the council. 



d 



ESSIAH WESTEUMAN is on. 
reliable citizens of Riga Town> 



of Mr. Wcsi 
account of h 
a man of nui 



plc'iscd to give a brief 
t's VVesterman, who was 
wide expei'ience. The 



grandfather of our subject, also James Westerman, 
was a native of England, where he married, and 
reared a family. He finally left the land of his na- 
tivity and came with his family to America, where 
he spent the closing years of his life in Butler 
County, Pa. 

James Westerman, father of our subject, was 
boi'n in Manchester, England, where he grew to 
manhood and became a skillful coppersmith. When 
he was twenty-one years of age he came to America 
and first lived in Baltimore, pursuing his trade of a 
coppersmith. He there met Elizabeth Wil.son, a 
native of ALaryland, who afterward became his 
wife. Ficim Baltimore he went to Lowell, Mass., 
and there plied his calling until his removal to 
Pennsylvania. After a few years' residence in 
Pittsburgh and Allegheny City he removed in 
1840 to Butler County, in the same State, where he 
bought a farm and became actively engaged in ag- 
ricultural pursuits. In 1852 he left Pennsylvania 
and came to Michigan, where he bought a farm of 
224 acres in Riga Township, this county, forty acres 
of which were cleared, and included a frame 
house and a log barn. Two years after he bought 
the place the dwelling-house was burned with all 
its contents. Mr. Westerman then built a com- 
fortal)le log house, in w^hich he and his family lived 
till after the war. He then sold his farm in Riga 
Township, where he had been much prospered, and 
removing to Adrian he lived in retirement. 

Not long after the completion of the Central Pa- 
cific Railway James Westerman took a trip to Cali- 
fornia, and soon after his return from that journey 
he sold his property in Adrian, and moved to 
Blissfield; he sub.sequently spent a wiuter'in Florida. 
During the many years of his long life spent in the 
United States he visted many parts of it, and be- 
came well acquainted with the many and varied 
resources of this magnificent country. After his 
rctui-n from Florida Mr. Westerman had the mis- 
fortune to lose his sight, and during the last years 
of hi-^ life he made his home with his children, dy- 
iiiu :il tiir home of a daughter in Detroit, in 1882. 
He had long been a member of the I. O. O. F., and 
at the time Of his death was the oldest representa- 
tive of that order in Michigan. His wife did not 
long survive him, as she died the following year at 



•► 



u 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



M^h 



the home of ii <hiuuhter in 'I'liltMld. Ohi 
were the parents of ten cliildreii. six of wl 
to n]atiirit3'. 

Jessiah AVesterman, of whom we write. 
in Allegheny Cit3-, Pa., Aiii:. s, is:;7. 1) 
teen 3'ears old when his parmts removed 
gan, and he can remeuiher well wlier, 
other wild animals roamed tlirougii tii 
of Lenawee County at will. He attendee 
neer schools of Riga Township, .•ind win 
wa.s not in session, he Ii:hI lir |>eil'orm 
of work on the farm. \\'hile he w;is 
assisting in tlie labors of tlie farm the w 
out, and on the 1st of .Scptembei-. l.si'.l, he was 
enrolled as a member of Comi).Tny F, 14th Ohio 
Infantry, which regiment soon went to tlie front 
and did good service as a part of the Army of tlie 
Cumljcrland. Mr. Westerman took part in the 
battles of Wild (at Mountain and Chickamanga, and 
in December, 18G3, he was assigned to iluty as 
Gen. Palmer'.s bodygnaril, and elliciently served 
in that capacity until the latter was superseded l)y 
Gen. Jefferson C. Davis, whom lie served in the 
same capacitj^ He was in Sherman's campaign 
from Chattanooga, under Gen. Talmei', .-ind with 
Gen. Davis at Jonesboro. He w.-is d<'tained in 
service at Atlanta three months after his terra of 
enlistment expired, and then received nn honoralile 
discharge and returned home. 

The spring following his i-eturn from the seat of 
war Mr. Westerman was married to Miss Bet tie 
M. Grover, the date of their marriage being April 
23, 180.5 She was born in Richfield Township, 
Lucas Co., Ohio, and is the daughter of Leonard 
Grover, who was a native of Vermont. After he 
grew to manhood he went to New York to live 
and there married. He afterward removed to Lo- 
rain County, Ohio, and thence, in 1837, to Lucas 
County, and became one of the early settlers of 
Richfield Town.ship, where he bought timber land, 
and built a log house for the residence of his fam- 
ily, and in that house Jlrs. Westerman was born. 
He had a well-improved farm at the time of his 
death. May L5, 1861. His widow married again, 
ind now resides in Riga Township. 

After his marriage our subject bought the north- 
east forty acres of land on section 33 of Riga 



.. They 


lownshi, 


Ihti. neie then ten atus cleared, and 


10m grow 


h( Indt 1 
\ 1 


-n dl fnuK h us( ml In d there seven 
11 _ t 1 1\ f hi 1 ilie meantime. 


was born 


H II 1 


11 II t 1 1 11 1 m \ 1 io the ]ilace 


e was tif- 


\n n \ 


M n 1 11 1 llii -inn is niiieh 


to Miehi- 


lll.ll llM 


h s III ( 1 t 1 iiu 1 II ines of land. 


leer :nid 


uhu 1 


\lii i 1 \ II mill \ 1 with eomforta- 


e n.n-sts 


11 n, 


li 111 1 lm^-~ On mother page of 


the pio- 


lln^ \ il 


1 1 Ml 1 \i( \ 1 All Westerman's 


■U S.'h.H,! 


> 1 n 


111 It 11 II 1 1 ^ Mr. Westerman 


his sll:uv 


1 \ I 


1 111 1 1 1 ti II iiKi md has been 


at home 


l)less, 1 1 


111 1 Ml \li 111 1 me ranch to 


ar In'oke 


fuitlui 11 


1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 il- home has 



Ri 



\ll cit I wik of Gtoigc L Ltll 
4lhe Dili Maud and Ma\ 

lilt sunt patuotisin which caused Mr. Wester- 
m in to enlist in his countiy s defense twenty-six 
^eiisa_,o nnkts hiiii 1 _,ood citi/( n to-day. In 
pi 111 us ht IS r st iiK h IIP It I t the Democratic 
pnt\ ( f thisStitt lit s t 1 eiiil 1 of the llrint 
and MtBiide 1' >st No >>i d A R 



WIIII4M I ANDRI-WS wh )se early home 
WIS on the othd side of the Atlantic, 
^ ^ was bom in I eiccsteishiie England, June 
12 1S27 uid Clint to Amtiiti in 1850, when 
1 \oinu man twenty thiee \tii^ of age. Soon 
aftem ud he si ii^ht 1 home imong the pioneers of 
Ri(Utwi\ lowiishii and has sun e been one of its 
most honoied in<l vilutd dtizens Like many of 
his biethun win n 1 inding upon American soil, he 
possessed litth iiit ms md was obliged to commence 
j at the toot of the li 1 lii m his effoits to build up a 
I home and setnie i tompetente The voyage 
across the water had been long and tedious, occu- 
pving seven weeks, during which time Mr. An- 
drews nearly expired from sea sickness; but he had 
a remarkably strong constitution and survived this 
and his later troubles, eventually finding himself on 
the road to prosperity. 

The father of Mr. Andrews died in Eiiglnnd in 

early life, and the mother when quite aged; their 

household included six children. William .1., hav- 

' ing parted from his mother early in life, did not 



•<^ 



■^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



4- 



t 



vi'nlize tho impoitnnce nnfl pleasure it would be to 
him in later years to obtain and i)resorve their fam- 
ily record, and consequently can only trace his his- 
tory from his childhood days. These were spent 
after the manner of children whose parents pos- 
sessed but modest means, and he was in early life 
required to make himself useful in assisting his par- 
ents to provide for their family. He thus acquired 
the habit of self-sacrifice and persistence, which has 
served him so well in his later years. 

Mr. Andrews after coming to this county em- 
ployed himself at whatever he could find to do and 
lived in the most frugal manner. In this way he 
managed to save something from his earnings, and 
the prospect of a home in the future lent a stimulus 
to his exertions. He had formed the acquaintance 
of a most attractive young woman in Ridgeway 
Township, namely. Miss Elizabeth Pilbeam, who 
was also of linglish birth and parentage, and they 
were united in marriage Oct. 24, 1855. Mrs. An- 
drews was the daughter of excellent parents, who 
upon their arrival in this country came to Michi- 
gan and located in Ridgeway Township dniing its 
early settlement; they are now dead. 

Mrs. Andrews only lived four years after her 
marriage, and proved herself a most worthy wife 
and helpmeet, who assisted her husband during his 
early struggles and was always the same cheerful 
companion and kindly counselor, endearing her- 
self to him in a thousand ways. The tie between 
them was strengthened by the birth of two children, 
one of whom, Amanda M., died when an interest- 
ing maiden of sixteen years; the other daughter, 
Mary A., is the wife of Andrew Jackson, a pros- 
perous farn)er of Wilmington, Will Co.. 111., and the 
mother of three children — Willinm S.. Charles ami 
a babe unnamed. 

The present wife of our subject, to whom he was 
married March 19, 1860, was formerly Miss Eliza- 
beth, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Horton) Bur- 
nett, natives of Yorkshire, England, where they were 
reared and married. There also Mrs. Elizabeth 
Andrews was born, in September, 1822. Her par- 
ents came to the United States about 1 850, and Mrs. 
A. joined them here five years later, after a brief 
stay in Canada with her brother. Both the Horton 
and the Burnett families were people of prominence 



in their native county .and well-to-do financially. 
Most of them were agi'iculturists and the pro- 
prietors of extensive tracts of land in Yorkshire. 
Upon coming to this county the parents of Mrs. A. 
located in Macon Township where their decease 
took place some .years ago. 

By this later marriage Mr. Andrews became the 
father of two children — Orin P., who died when 
three months old, and William J., an intelligent and 
industrious young man who a.ssists in the manage- 
ment of his father's farm and possesses the same 
energy and industry which have made our subject so 
successful in life. Soon after his marriage Mr. 
Andrews located upon his present farm, which com- 
prises sixty-eight acres under a fine state of cultiva- 
tion, and lies on section 5. In addition to this he 
owns 174 acres in another part of the township and 
considerable village property. He has been, in all 
respects, the architect of his own fortune, and does 
not regret the experience which called out the 
strongest points in his character. 

Our subject and his estimable wife are members 
in good standing of the First INIethodist Episcopal 
Church of Ridgeway Township. Upon becoming 
a naturalized citizen Mr. Andrews cast his first 
Presidential vote for Pierce, but is usually inde- 
pendent in politics, preferring to support the can- 
didate whom he considers most worthy to serve the 
interests of the people. 

(« l>)ILLIAM C. MORAN, Treasurer of Lena- 
\/fJ// "'ee County and a gentleman now in the 
V^^ prime of life, was born near Hudson, this 
county, on the 23d of November, 1848. He has 
since been a resident of this section, and the people 
among whom he has lived so long and before whom 
acquitted himself so creditably, have learned to 
respect him for his excellent traits of character, 
which condiine uprightness and integrity with good 
business capacities. He was elected to his present 
office in 1886, and is discharging its duties in an 
efficient and praiseworthy mannei'. 

Michael Moran, the father of our subject, was a 
native of Ireland, where he was born in 1813. 
Staplestown Parish, county of Kildare, was the 



L. 



h' 



T 



lenawp:e county. 



281 



piaccMif his nativity, and from there he iiuinioTated 
to this country when a young man nineteen years 
of age. He first located in Xevv York wliere lie re- 
mained until 1835, when he cast his lot with the 
pioneers of Michigan, locating upon tlie tract of 
land where he continued to live until called lienee 
His death occurred on the l»th of May. 18.S1. wlicn 
sixty-eight years of age. 

The father of our subject was a man who had 
traveled extensively, and had been Iveenly observ- 
ant of what he had seen during his wanderings- 
He visited California in 1850, remaining upon the 
Pacific Coast two years, and upon his return traveled 
over many of the new States and Territories of the 
West. As a father, husband and citizen, he was 
held in the highest regard, and found to be uni- 
formly upright and straightforward in his business 
affairs. He was a great suft'ei'cr during his last 
brief illness, having typhoid-[)neunionia. liut bore 
his attiiclion with great patience and retained 
full consciousness until quietly breathing his last. 
His death was the occasion of universal regret in 
the community which had known him so long and 
learned to resjiect him for his personal worth. 

The mother of our subject, formerly Miss Lucy 
Andrews, was married to Michael Moran, in Toledo, 
Ohio, in 1844. fShe aceomi)anied her iinsband to 
this county, sharing witii liini tlie trials and dillicnl- 
ties of life in a pioneer seltlemeut. Tliey became 
the parents of six children, of whom William C, our 
subject, was the eldest son; JMattbew C. is a resi- 
dent of Warsaw, Ind.; Julia E., the eldest daughter 
and child, married B. F. Richardson; Mary F. and 
Addison B., all reside in War.saw, Ind. The mother 
of our subject is now a resident of Hudson, and has 
reached the age of sixty years. 

The subject of this biography received his edu- 
cation in the common schools of his native town- 
ship, which was supplemented upon his approaching 
manhood, by attendance at Oak Grove Seminary. 
He then returned to the farm and continued act- 
ively engaged in agricultural pursuits. In the 
meantime his warm interest in public affairs and a 
more than ordinary intelligence, had attracted the 
attention of his fellow-citizens and commended him 
to them as one worthy of preferment. He was ac- 
cordingly elected County Treasurer, and assumed 



.f January, 1887 
I interests he i 



if h 



the duties of his office on the 
As the conservator of impoitanl 
looked upon with <'ontidcncc and 
pi'oving himself worthy of these 
gree. 

Mr. Moran, March lf<, l.s74, wji 

riage with Miss Uachcl McCarty. 

hood associates, and who was l)orninliis own town, 

Fell. -JO, 1850. She was al.so reared to wonian- 

hood there and remained with her parents, H. N. 

and Regina (Unangst) McCarty, until becoming 

the wife of our subject. Mr. and Mrs. McCarty 

were natives of Fennsylvania. Our sulijcct and his 

j wife became the parents of six chilch'cn. four sons 

j and two daughters, namely: Gertie C, Bertha E., 

I Charles Frederick, Jcr<ime N., William iM. and 

j Benjamin R. 

; During his residence on the farm Mr. Moran 

[ served live years as Commissioner of Drainage. 

j Politically he has alw.ays voted the straight Repub- 

[ lican ticket. Socially, he belongs to the Masonic 

I fraternity, being a member of Clayton Lodge No. 

278. He is genial in his niaiiiier and popular as a 

citizen and occu[iies a snug home in Adrian, which 

is the resort of the cultivated ijcople of his ac- 



quaintance. 

Prominent among the well-kntiwn and highly 
resi)ccted citizens of Lenawee County, who enjoys 
the confidence of its best citizens, stands Mr. Moran, 

and as such we gladly jiresent his portrait in this 
volume. 

\Y/OIIN H. \AN PELT, a pr(jsi)erous farmer 
|| living in Riga Township, was born in High- 
li land Count}', Ohio, July 20, 18.37, and is of 
(^J/y German-English origin. His great-grand- 
parents on the Van Pelt side of the house were 
natives of Germany, and were there reared and mar- 
ried. After they had been married for several 
years, they came, sometime away back in the eight- 
eenth century, with their children to this countiy, 
and made their new home in the wilds of the Slate 
of Pennsylvania. There their sou, the grandfather 
of our subject, who was born in Germany, married, 
and made his home in that State the rest of his life. 
The father of our subject grew to manhood and 



■•► 



•282 



lp:nawep: county. 



WMS iniHTied in his native State to Elizabeth Taylor, 
a native of Penns.ylvania, of Eiiglisli descent. In 
tiie year 182Hthey left the Statr n( their nativity, 
and removed to Highland Goiinty, Ohio. Air. \";in 
Felt was a shoemaker l)y trade, and followed, his 
calling here, in the village of New Petersburg, 
where he bought land and built a home. In the 
year 1850 he sold his property in New Petersburg, 
and accompanied by his family, pushed on further 
West, having resolved to engage in agriculture in 
the State of Iowa. There were then no railways be- 
yond Chicago, and they made the entire journey 
with teams, w;dking a part of the time, and cam)i- 
ingby the way at night for needed rest, and to [ire-- 
pare food; they located in Mt. Pleasant. They 
seemed to have chosen a particularly unfortunate 
year for their new venture, as the summer of 1851 
was a very wet season, and there were frequent 
freshets in the rivers. At one time the father and 
one of his sons went to Keokuk. While they were 
away it rained, and the river which they had to cross 
near their home rose during their absence very 
rapidly, so that on their return to its banks it was 
almost unfordable; but they pushed boldly into the 
stream. The son was riding one of the oxen, when 
the wagon uncoupled and floated down the stream 
with the father in it. The son arrived at the op- 
posite bank all right, and then succeeded in getting 
the wagon ashore and rescuing his father from his 
perilous position. Their fare while in that country 
was very much restricted, as no wheat was procur- 
able, nor many of the other things which are tf)- 
d.ay considered indispensable articles of diet. The 
settlers were so far from a mill that often they 
could not get their corn ground, so they used to 
boil it and make hominy, which was their chief 
food. Their prospects in Iowa were so discourag- 
ing that the family returned to Ohio. They located 
near Sylvania. Lucas County, where iVIr. Van Pelt 
bought a farm, on whicli he and his wife spent their 
remaining days. They were the parents of six cliil- 
dren. who grew to maturity. The family record is 
as follows: Isaac died in 1887; Sarah Jane is the 
wife of Aaron Cleveland, of Clermont County, 
Ohio; Lewis, George and Thomas are residents of 
Ohio, and John H. is the subject of this sketch. 
Our subject was thirteen years old when the family 



removed to Iowa, and remembers well the exciting 
incidents of their journey to and from there, and 
the experiences of their settlement in that place. 
As a boy his days of labor on the farm were varied 
b}' attendance at the district school in his native 
place, and after his return from Iowa, in a district 
school in Sylvania. He was sixteen when his father's 
death occurred, and he continued to reside at home, 
assisting his mother, until he was twenty years of 
age, when he commenced to learn the trade of car- 
penter and joiner. 

In 1 8fiO Mr. Van Pelt married Celestia Mer.sereau, 
a native of Owego, Tioga Co., N. Y., where she was 
born March 10, 1843. Her grandfather, Daniel 
Mersereau, was a farmer, and spent his last years in 
the State of New York. The story is told of his 
wife, who was born while Pennsylvania was yet an 
English colony, and was ten years old when the 
Revolutionary War broke out, that she narrowly 
escaped capture during an Indian raid, in which her 
father's house was burned. Fortunately the house 
was near a fort, and the family managed to escape 
to it and were saved. 

Mrs. Van Pelt's fatlier, Cornelius Mersereau, was 
a woolen manufacturer, and when he was a young- 
man he came West and located in Lucas County, 
Ohio, taking up a tract of land now included in To- 
ledo. He married there Sarah Phillips, of Ger- 
man antecedents, though born in America. Shortly 
after his marriage, Mr. Mersereau sold his property 
in Ohio, and returned with his wife to New York, 
the entire journey being made with a horse and 
sleigh. He engaged in the manufacture of woolen 
goods in Owego until 1847. In that year he re- 
turned to Ohio, and settled in Sylvania, where he 
improved a farm. He is still living in Lucas County 
with one of his sons, at the advanced age of eight}'- 
five years. The death of his wife occurred some 
years ago in Sylvania. 

After his marriage Mr. Van Pelt continued to 
work at his trade of a carpenter till 18(;(;, when he 
turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, to 
which he had been bred. He came to this count^^ 
and bought the farm on which he is still living, con- 
sisting of eighty acres of timber land. His first 
work was to build a log house for the home of him- 
self and family, and he then set diligently to work 



r 



.1 



LENAA^^EE COUNTY. 



283 



f 



to clear his land. He now has forty-five acres 
cleared and well tilled, mid he has exchanged the 
log house for a more eominodions and convenient 
frame dwelling, while he has a good set of farm 
buildings. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Van Pelt 
has been blessed by the birth of eight children, 
namely: Alice, who married Henry Gnll, of Riga 
Township; Louis, living in Lima, Ohio ; and George, 
Arthur, Ernest. John, Charles, and a babe unnamed, 
deceased. 

Mr. and Mrs. Van Pelt arc well regarded by the 
people in this community for their sterling worth, 
and they are devoted members of the Cluircli of 
God. Mr. Van Pelt is a man of earnest convictions. 
For many years he was a stanch Hepiiblican, but, 
althongh still believing in the principles of liiat 
party, being much interested in the cause of temi)er- 
ance, he has now become an earnest advocate of the 
Prohibition movement. 



^•^^HOMAS S. WETER, one of the oldest resi- 
fl^^ dents and most successful agriculturists of 
^^^ Palmj'ra Township, was born in Floyd, 
Oneida Co., N. Y., on the 3d of March, 1821, .■uid 
is the son of Josephus Weter, who was born in tlie 
same State and was a farmer of Oneida County. The 
grandfather of our subject, it is believed, was a 
native of Germany, and spent the last years of his 
life in Oneida Count}', where lie died at the age of 
ninety-five years. The father of our subject was a 
farmer, .and also a boatman on the Erie Canal, and 
engaged extensively in the transportation business. 
He followed the canal from 1820 to 1840, after 
which he devoted the greater p(jrtion of his time to 
agricultural pursuits. He remained in Oneida 
County until 1849, in which year he removed to 
Lenawee County and purchased a small tract of land 
in Blissfield Townsliip, upon which he lived until 
his death, which occurred about 1877, when he was 
in his eighty-third year. About the year 1815 
Josephus Weter, the father of our subject, married 
Miss Annie Buckley, a daughter of John Buckley, 
who came from England in 1777 and settled in the 
eastern portion of New York. Josephus and 
Annie Weter had seven children, five sous and two 



daughters, our subject being the second son and 
third child. Only one of the family is now living, 
Thomas S. 

Our subject attended the common schools during 
his 3'outh, and lived witli his parents until eleven 
years of ago, when he went out to work in order to 
earn his own living. The first two years he re- 
ceived in the way of compensation simply his board 
and clothes, at the end of which time he commanded 
$11 per month, which in those days was considered 
good wages. He continued on a farm, working by 
the month, until he was seventeen years of age, at 
which time he undertook to learn the trade of wagon- 
maker. At the age of twentj', in 1841, he went to 
Ross County, Ohio, and leased a farm for four 
years, paying his rent with a portion of the grain 
raised. In 1845 he removed from Ohio to Michi- 
g.an, and purchased forty acres of wild land on sec- 
tion 3, in Palmyra Township, for which he paid 
$7.50 per acre. He immediately began clearing the 
timber off this land and making permanent improve- 
ments, and at tlie same time rented an improved 
farm adjoining, which he fanned for a couple of 
years. 

In 1852 Mr. Wetei' went to California by way of 
New York and the Isthmus, landing in San P"ran- 
cisco in thirty-one days from the time he started. 
After arriving in California he procured work at $4 
[ler day, at which he continued for sixteen d.ays, 
when the rainy season set in and stopped his work. 
He then engaged at mining at $6 per day, until the 
water supply gave out, and that was discontinued. 
For two months he devoted his time to prospecting 
with varied success, during which time he spent the 
greater portion of his earnings. At this time he 
engaged to build a flume on the American River, 
and when the flume was completed he, with two 
others, purchased the claim, and worked it for 
eighteen weeks with good success. Our subject then 
sold his interest in the claim and went to San Fran- 
cisco, and from there to his home in Michigan. It 
was his intention to return to California, but soon 
after arriving in Lenawee County he was prostrated 
by severe sickness which prevented it. He then 
purchased twenty more acres at $7.50 per acre, and 
five years later paid for the farm he now occupies, 
containing 160 acres of fine land, which has good 



■^^ 



■ ^m ■« < > 



•284 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Imilflino-s and other fivst-class impi-ovfiiiciit>. In 
1873 Ml'. VVeter wfis attacked with sci:ilic iheii- 
matisni, ami in llie rail of 1 s7.'.. witli llic liupc lliat. 
hisjiealth niiulit lie lu-nfliteil, lie went lo t'alitoinia. 
and reiuaiiied there niilil the folkiwing ^prillg' 
Since tliat time he has visited nearly all the cele- 
brated springs in the country, including the Ar- 
kansas Hot Springs and the different magnetic 
springs in Michigan, none of which, however, have 
afforded him permanent relief. 

On the .Oth of November. 1843, Mr. Weter was 
married to Mary Pooley, daughter of Edward 
Pooley, of Marion, Wayne Co., X. V., wliiii- Airs. 
Weter was also born, .July 17, 1824. Of this union 
there were born two children — Ann Maria, horn in 
Jackson County, Ohio, Jan. ,i. 1845, now the wife 
of Wayne Roberts, of Palmyra, and Edward, born 
in Palmyra, Aug. 29, 1849, and who died in August, 
1 8.51 . Mrs. Mary Weter died in Palmyra in August, 
18,51. On the 27th of March, 1853, Mr. Weter 
married Mrs. Mary Ann Wood, daughter of David 
and Mary Upton, of Roland, Lenawee County, by 
whom lie has had six children, all born in Palmyra, 
as follows: Shepherd, born Jan. 4, 1854, is married 
and resides in Pennsylvania; Arabell, born July 1(1, 
1855, married Ilarrop Freeman, of Ridgevv.ay, Ma- 
comb Co., Mich., and after his death married 
Thomas Fanning, of the same county; James E.. 
born April 9, 1858, lives in Macomb County; Nel- 
son C, born April 1, 1861, w.as graduated from the 
Adrian College and is now practicing law in Antrim 
County, Mich.; David E. was born Nov. 16, 1863; 
Cora M., born March 4, 1865, married George Lsley, 
and they live on the old homestead. Mrs. Marj' 
Ann Weter was born in Ontario, Wayne Co., N. V., 
March 27, 1825, and came to Michigan vrith her 
parents in 1846, settling in Wheatland, Hillsdale 
County. She vvas married to Nelson \\'oo(l in S<'|)- 
tember, 1847, by whom she had one chiM, who died 
in infancy. Mr. Wood died Sept. 16, 1849. David 
Upton, her father, was horn in Charlemont, Mass., 
and died in RoUin, this county, in 1859. He mar- 
ried Mary Marsh, by whom he had ten children, 
three sons and seven daughters, Mrs. Weter being 
the eighth child and fifth daughter. David Upton 
came from Puritan stock and represented tlie sixth 
generation. 



Ml-. Weter has been a successful farmer during 
his residence in Lenawee County, and has estab- 
lished for himsf-lf and family a home which is com- 
fortable in all its ^nrroundings. Asacitizen of the 
county and township lie >tands high and enjoys the 
esteem of all who know him. 



-<*1:t!:>f 



(^ LONZO MITCHELL. The preservation of 
d^wjl j facts making up the lives of prominent and 

jlr^- useful men is not only a great source of 
i^ gratification to personal friends, but serves 
as an incentive to those who would achieve fortune 
or distinction in something a little above the ordin- 
ary walks of life. Upon sketching the biography 
of a man who has been successful and earned the 
respect of his fellowmen, it is but natural to revert 
to the beginning of his career, and note in what 
manner he commenced in life and what were the 
difficulties with which he had to contend. The 
early pioneers of the West were noted for their cor- 
rect moral principles and their wonderful energy. 
They endured hardships which are unknown to their 
children, and persevered through difficulties that 
would dismay the spirits of the present day who 
have been aided by the light of an advanced civil- 
ization. The least that posterity can do for them 
is to preserve the history of their lives, and imbue 
their children with the principles which guided 
those lives and which have rendered this age what 
it is to-day. As one of the important factors vvho 
assisted in bringing about the era of piety and intel- 
ligence in the Northwest, we strive to give as near 
as possible the main iioints in the history of the 
gentleman whose name stands at the head of this 
sketch. 

Mr. Mit<-hell is a native of the Bay State, and 
was liorn in Cumniington, Hampshire County, March 
28, ISOl. His father, William Mitchell, was a native 
of the same town, and born Dec. 10, 1782. His 
paternal grandfather was a native of Bridgewater, 
Mass., where he farmed during his early life and 
removed thence to Hampshire County. The country 
was then but a wilderness, and he took his station 
in the forest, where he felled the trees around him 
and in due time had cleared a farm and built up a 



.^h 



•►-Hl-^. 



Hh-^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



•285 



1" 

t 



foinfoitable homestead, whioh hf ocfiiiiied the re- 
mainder of his life. His oiiildreii, twelve in num- 
ber, all grew to mature ve.'us, weri' married and 
reared families of their own. 

AVilliam Mitchell, the father of our suhjert. not 
quite content with farm life, learned thr trade of 
tanner, and locating- at Cuiiiniiunloii. followed his 
trade there until 1X3:1 lie llieii s(jI<1 out hi> Im-i- 
ness, and migrating to iMichiuau. located in Pal- 
myra Township on section I'.l, wliei-e lie erected a 
frame house and afterward put up a tainierv, wIk^c 
he carried on business until resting from his earthly 
labors, his death taking pl.ace July 17, l.s.'iG. lie 
had married in his native State Miss Clarissa Bi^lM■e. 
who was born in I'lainticld, .Mass., .luue i!, ITs.s. 
.She came to the West with her husband, endured 
cheerfully the inconveuiences and liardslii|is of life 
in a new country, and passed iiway just one month 
previous to the death of her husband, her death 
taking place .lune 17. ISfiC. The parental house- 
hold included twelve cliihlicn, se\ en sons ;ind live 
daughters, eleven of whom grew to mature years, 
hut only three are now living. 

Alonzo Mitchell was the second child of his par- 
ents, and in common with hi- hrothci's and sisters 
commenced going t<.) school at an early age, .-uid 
continued his studies unl il tifteen years old. After- 
ward his services were utilized in the tannery, in 
the details of vvhich he became thoroughly poste(l. 
and remained a memlier of his father's household 
until 1820. He then proceeded to .New York City. 
where he worked a few months as a carpenter, hut 
returned to Massachusetts and engaged in a tannery 
at Cummlngton for two years following, lie was 
not satisfied with hi> coudition oi- his pros|]ect> in 
the East, and accordingly, iu the mouth of April, 
1831, accompaiiied by John Bryant, brolJuM- of the 
poet, William Cnllen Bryant, started for the gieat 
West. Til ej' proceeded liy wagon to Troy, >;. 'i'., 
where they took passage on a canal boat tcj Ibiftalo. 
thence by the lake to Monroe, Mich., and I'ldiii there 
on foot to Adrian, about forty-live miles distant. 
They landed in what was then but the beginning of 
a town on the 4th of May, after sixteen days' 
travel. The post-olfice at Adrian wa- then iu a log 
house and the country around was hut tliiuly set- 
tled. Mr. Mitchell entered a tract of Government 



land on section 
part of which is 



ifti 



Ma- 



n Palmyra Township, and a 
included in the village. Hav- 
ty to SI' 1 1 he i.arted witli this 
■ntei-ed another tract on the 
il; now taken the first steps 
nut of a future h<mie he re- 
tt> to fulfill a pledge made to 
a youiiu lady there, wa- married, and two weeks 
later started with his hride again for the West. 
Their journey was made in much the same manner 
as had been that of Mr. Mitchell before, and upon 
arriving in Palmyra Townsliip he rented a small 
hou>e adjacent to his laud, ndiich the young people 
occupied a little more than a year, then went into 
the new log dwelling on tlieir own land. 

In the embryo town of Adrian there was fortu- 
nately a saw and grist mill, which proved a great 
convenience to the early settlers. The country 
all mud, however, abounded with all kinds of ani- 
mals, including deer, wolves, bears, wild turkeys and 
wild-cats. Mr. Mitchell was a good marksman and 
kept the family supplied with choice meats. The 
howling of the wolves was a serenade they would 
willingly' have dis]3ensed with, but it gave way in 
time as the country liecauie settled and the rifles of 
the pioueer> caused these animals, with the others, 
to disappear. 

Mr. Mitchell from his early training and natural 
gifts was at once recogui/.ed as a man of more than 
ordinary ability, and destined to become a useful 
nieuilier of the coniuiunity. He was foremost in 
those enterprises calculated to develop the resources 
of the country and improve the condition of the 
people. He encouraged the establishment and 
luainteuaiice of schools and was one of the seven 
oiiginal luemliers who organized the Presbyterian 
Church at Adrian. Later he assisted in the build- 
ing of the church edifice at Palmyra, and was one 
of the most liberal and cheerful conti'ibutors to the 
snp|)orl of the society t,hei-e. He labored early and 
late, lioth on his farm and iu behalf of the interests 
outside, and was prominent in local and political, 
as well as religious affairs. He assisted in the organ- 
ization of the Republican party in this section, and 
has since been one of its most faithful adherents. 
He served as Assessor and Highway Commissioner 
and in his district as School Director and Trustee. 



^ 



28C 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 






He aiifl his estimable wife are still connected with 
the Presbyterian Church, at Palmyra, of which he 
has been a Trustee for many years. Mrs. Mitchell 
became identiBecl with the Congregationalists in her 
native State when a young girl. 

Notwithstanding his incessant and arduous labors 
and the toil and care involved in building up the 
comfortable homestead he now enjoys, Mr. ISIitchell, 
rather than failing in bodily health, has seemed to 
derive strength from what he has accomplished, and 
preserves his physical and mental powers in a re- 
markable degree, considering the fact that he is now 
over eighty years of age. He converses with all 
the vigor and intelligence of his youth, of which he 
can relate many interesting incidents, and has 
learned to look with a philosophical eye upon the 
changeful life which it has been his to witness. It 
is hardly necessary to saj^ that he is regarded with 
the utmost reverence and respect by all wlio know 
him. His life has been worthy of imitation. Din- 
ing the Black Hawk War of 1831-32, Mr. Mitchell 
campaigned seventeen days. 

Mrs. Mitchell was before her marriage Miss 
LyandaShaw. She was born in Woithington, Hamp- 
shire Co., Mass., in March, 1813, and is the 
daughter of John and Polly Shaw, natives of Mas.^a- 
chusetts, and who passed to their long home in 
their native State many years ago. She became the 
wife of Alonzo Mitchell Aug. 16, 1831, the wed- 
ding taking place at the home of her uncle in Cuni- 
mington. She has since remained his faithful anil 
affectionate helpmeet, and enjo3"s with him the 
esteem and confidence of a large circle of friends. 



-B- 



J. BARTHOLOMEW, who has been suc- 
cessfully engaged in agricultural pursuits 
on his present farm in Riga Township since 
I, is a native of Madison County, Y. Y., 
his birth occurring June 22, 1840. His father, 
Albert J. Bartholomew, was also a native of that 
county, was there reared to manhood, and thej-e 
married Miss Nancy Smith, of Hartford. Conn. 
They continued to reside in Madison County for 
some years after marriage, and in 18.54 removed to 
Jefferson County, Wis., where Mr. Bartholomew 



bought a farm, and was there engaged in agricult- 
ural pursuits with much success until his death in 
18G8. His widow died Jan. 24, 1888, in White- 
water, Wis. Thej' were eminently worthy of the 
respect of the people among whom they settled. 

The subject of this sketch received a practical 
education in the district schools of his native place 
and of Jefferson County, and was also well trained 
in the duties pertaining to farm life. He remained 
with his parents until the fall of 1862, when he 
enlisted in Company H, 21st Wisconsin Infantry, 
and went with his regiment to Kentucky. He was 
afterward taken sick, and at tiie end of five months' 
service discharged on account of disaljility, and re- 
turned to his home in Wisconsin to recruit his 
health. In 1SG4 he enlisted a second time, and be- 
came a member of Company II, 1st Wisconsin 
Heavy Artillery'. He did good service in the Army 
of the Potomac, and was honorably discharged in 
June, 1865. when he returned home and resumed 
the occupation he had left to go forth in the 
interests of his countrj'. 

Mr. Bartholomew was married, July (J. 1870, to 
Jliss Emily Morrison, a native of Oneida County, 
N. Y., her birth occurring there Aug. 6, 1844. She 
is a lady of much intelligence and ability. She was 
well educated, and commenced teaching at the early 
age of sixteen. After her mother's death she went 
to Wisconsin and taught school there. Her father, 
Orrin Morrison, was a native of Colerain, Mass., 
but when a boy went from there to Oneida County, 
N. Y., and there grew to manhood and married Miss 
Laura Barrett, a native of Connecticut. Her father, 
Gains Barrett, vvas .also a native of the latter State, 
and was one of the early settlers of Stillwater, 
Oneida Co., N. Y., where he died aged over ninety 
years. Mr. and Mrs. Morrison continued to make 
their home in Oneida County until their death, his 
occurring in 1861, and hers in 18G3. 

In the year 1873 our subject and his family went 
to Iowa to try farming in that State. He bought 
a tract of wild prairie land in Pottwattamie County, 
and there improved a farm, on which he resided 
till 1880, when he sold his property in Iowa and 
returned to tiiis part of the country. He spent the 
winter in Blissfield, this county, and then bouglit a 
farm, where he and his family have since made their 

— •►- 



LENAWEE COTTNTY. 



287 



home. He has fifty-foiir acres of land, tlie grcatci- 
part of whicli is cleared, under good improvement, 
and capable of producing rich harvests; he also lias 
good, convenient buildings, and is very pleasantly 
situated. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Bartli.ilomew have been born 
two children — Jolin C. and Louisa \V. Mr. Bar- 
tholomew is a member (if limit and McBride Post 
No. 22 o, G. A. R. He is a good citizen and a man 
of upright character, and though he has been a resi- 
dent of tliis community but a few years, he has 
already gained the respect of its best people. 



fath. 



if W: 



EW. (;0[IEE>; isuf WeL-bdcbccut. aii.l is the 
eldest son of John Goh 
Edward Goheeu, was a n; 
came with his parents to America uhen he was a 
young cliild, about tlie time of the American Revo- 
lution. They located in Pennsylvania or New 
Yorlc, w-liere Edward grew to manhood, and mar- 
ried Christiana Roup, who was of German descent, 
and some of whose ancestors were early settlers in 
New York State. They spent the (irst few years (jf 
tiieir married life in Nortiiumberiand County, Pa., 
where Mr. Golieen followed the trade of hand 
weaver. They afterward remov3( 
Township, Livingston Co.. N. Y., 
tinned his occupation of a weaver i 
the age of thirtj'-six. His wido 
many years, and lived to come t( 
her son, and died here in ISio. 

John Goheen, father of our subjiM-t and tlie eld- 
est of eight children in the i)arental family, was lioni 
in Northumberland County, Pa., in tlie year IT'.iil. 
In his boyhood he went to (TroNclnnd Tuwuship. 
N. Y, with his parents, .■iiid there mcl and after- 
ward ni.-irried Elizalieth llea.ily. ^^U,, w.-is boiii in 
1707, and was reared liy the lUm\> laniily. After 

Towushi[), and there continued to li\c iiutil after 
the birth of four children, when lie :iud his family 
came to Michigan. They first went U> Detinil by 
the way of Lake Erie and the Detroit River, and 
thence came across the country to this county. t>c- 
cupyiiig four days in coming from Detroit, a dis- 



to tiroveland 
where he coii- 
itil his death at 

survived him 



tance of sixty miles. He took up a tract of 160 
acres of Government land in the northwest quarter 
of section 13 of what is now Clinton Township. It 
lay in an unbroken wilderness: the Indians still 
made their home in that primeval forest, where 
their fathers had dwelt from time immemorial; 
wild game abounded, and our subject, who was a 
small boy, has a vivid remembrance of hearing 
many thrilling stories of encounters with bears near 
the settlements. John Goheen and his wife lived 
to see the land which they obtained from "Uncle 
S.'im" when it w.as in a wild and uncultivated con- 
dition developed into a good farm. His death oc- 
riiired in ISGIJ. and his wife survived him until 
1881 ; they were both stanch members of the Pres- 
byterian Church. I\Ir. (iohoen was a Whig, and 
later, on the formation of the Republican party 
jniiied that organization. They were good, honest 
.'iiul industrious people, and they have left a pleas- 
ant memory behind them of many acts of kindness 
toward their neighbors and others less fortunate 
ilian themselves. Their old homestead was trans- 
ferred to one of theii' sons and is still in the family. 

E. W. (Toheen, of this sketch, was born in Grove- 
laud, Livingston Co., N. Y., Nov. IG, 1822. He 
was reared ill his jiMtive State, and being an intel- 
ligent l.ad, eagerly took advant.age of his chances 
for attending school. When he was nineteen 
years old he spent one winter in school, where he 
made ra|)iil progress in his studies and was fitted 
for leaching, which vcjcation be pursued for awhile 
I'd'ore his iiiari'iage. That important event in his 
life ocenried in Saline. Washtenaw County, on the 
l.llli of .Mareh, Is.Vi. wlu^ii he was united to Miss 
Charlotte, daughter of John and Hannah (Harri- 
M.ii) Niblack. natives of I'ennsylvania. 

Mr. and Mrs. Nifilack were married in Sparta, 
l.iviniistoii Co.. N. Y., where they lived for many 
\ears. and had born to them ten children, Mrs. 
C(.)heen, (_>f this notice, being the youngest. She 
was born Aug. Ki, 182G, and was a child when her 
|i.irents came with their family to Michigan in tlie 
.\ ear 1833, and located in the township of .Saline, 
Washtenaw County, on a tract of (Government 
land, which they made their home the rest of their 
active lives. The mother died on the old home- 
stead in 1859, and after her death the father re- 






4 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



""^tT^ 



! 



tired to Tecnmseh Village, where he died at the 
home of his daughter, Mrs. Arvilla Davis, in 1862, 
having reached the Scriptural limit of hiiniiui life, 
"three.score years and ten." Airs, (ioiieen re- 
mained in the home of hor jjarents until her mar- 
riage. She became the mother of six children, one 
of whom died in infancy. The following is the 
record of those living: Frank is an engineer and 
mechanic, and lives in the West; Fremont married 
Sophia Talbot, .■ind ]i\es on a farm in Ingham 
County, while Patience, Liliie and Fred live at 
home. 

After marriage Mr. Goheen established his home 
on the farm on section 1 4, Clinton Township, where 
he still lives. It then contained seventy-three acres, 
to which he has added forty acres more by purchase, 
and it is all under a good state of cultivation. Mr. 
and Mrs. Goheen are people whose daily lives are 
guided by principles of truth and honesty in all 
their dealings, and they are held in high esteem by 
their neighbors and numerous other friends. They 
are attendants at the Baptist Church. In politics 
Mr. (Goheen i> a Hepidilican of loim .standing. 



JAMES R. CAIRNS, one of the well-to-do 
and influential men of Raisin Township, as 
J well as one of the successful farmers and 
stock-raisers, has occupied a prominent place 
in the history of Lenawee County since 188S, in 
which year he first located in the township of Te- 
cumseh, coming liere with his father when he was 
but six j'ears of age. 

The father of our subject. William Cairns, was 
a farmer by occupation, and a native of tlie State 
of New York. He was the second son and tliird 
child of Robert Cairns, who was married to Eliza- 
beth Wood, May 11, 1786. Robert Cairns was a 
native of Scotland, who probably came to this coun- 
try when quite a young man, and died in Seneca 
County, N. Y., about 1797. He was a very suc- 
cessful man, and enjoyed an enviable reputation. 
His wife, Elizabetli. died in Seneca County, N. Y., 
Feb. 8, 1812: they were both jnendiers of the Pres- 
bvterian Churcli. Their children were seven in 



number, all of whom married and are now deceased. 
.Toiui was born in 1787: Nellie, in 1789: William, 
the father of our subject, in 1791; Mary W., in 
1793; Jennette, in 179G. and Robert in 1798. 
Nellie, Robert and William died in Michigan; John 
was killed in Pennsylvania by falling from a tree. 
William was reared in Seneca County, N. Y., where 
he uas united in m,arriage with Abigail Wilson, on 
tile I'dth 111' .lanuar}', ISLJ. She was born near 
Trenton, N. J., -huic 1. 179.'). After the birth of 
eleven children, tinee of whom died in Seneca 
County, William Cairns and his family came to 
Michigan in the year 183G, and took up eighty 
acres of land in Monroe County. He finally came 
to Lenawee County, and located in Tecumseh 
T(,i\vnship in 1838, where lie died in 1840, before 
he iiad lieen able to accomplish much in the way of 
improvements. The mother of our subject re- 
mained unmarried after she lo.st her husband, and 
devoted her time to rearing her family'. She died 
at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Mary E. Seekell, 
at White Pigeon, Mich., .Tan. 29, 1878, .at the age 
of eighty-three year!-. Four of her cliiidrcTi are yet 
living. 

Our sidiject was born on the 28th of August, 
1832, at Seneca Falls, N. Y., and after the death 
of his father remained with his mother and brother 
luitil 1846. when he set out to learn the trade of 
carpenter and joiner, which he soon succeeded in 
mastering, and followed as his occupation \nitii tlie 
breaking out of the war. On the 3d of X,ivt'nd>cr, 
18(i2, he entered the army as First Lieutenant of 
Company B, 9th Michigan Cavalry, which was un- 
der the command of Col. James I. David. The 
(tornpan^' was raised in Lenawee County, and was 
assigned to the Army of the Ohio, where it was en- 
gaged in resisting the raid of John Morgan thi-ough 
Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio, and came in contact 
with that command at Buffington Island, where the 
9tli Cavalr.y assisted in capturing most of Morgan's 
men. The regiment then joined Burnside, and 
went to the siege of Knoxville, and later was at the 
capture of Gen. Eraser and men at Cumberland 
(iap. He was in other minor engagements, and 
remained (l<iing goc.d an(i Caitiiful service, until he 
w;i> taken sick and sent to the Fairmonnt Hospital, 
.■it Cincinnati, Ohio, at which place he received his 






4 



LEXAWF.E COUNTY. 



2.^0 



lionorable discharge on account of riisaliilit_y. Re- 
turning home, he turned liis attention to farming. 
h)cating in the tow-n.-hip •<( Vr.\uk\\u. uhciv he 
owned a good property. In IsTiI he \v;i,s elected 
Sheriff of the county, and held the ollice two terms 
of two years, which was ilic limit allowed by the 
law of Michigan. After (piitting the Sheriff's ofHce, 
he resumed farming in l^'janklin Township, where 
he held the office of Tdwnship t'lerU fur seven 
years. In 1 .s.s-2 he sold his pr.>perly in that town- 
ship, and bought IL'O acic- ..f lan.l uii s,M-ti,.n :>. 
Raisin Tnwnsliip. which he has transforujed into a 
pleasant home, liy making coiisiilcralilc impi(j\'c- 

dence. 

Mr. t'aiin> w.as m.arried. in .lackson County. 
Mich., on the IDtli of August, is,",,",, to Miss Kmily 
A. (ireenleaf, who w.-is horn in Camhridge Town- 
shi)). this county, on the L'4th of M.areh, 1 s:;,s. she 
is the yonn-cst danghtei- .>f .lohn and Susan ( Aver- 
ill) Ci-eenlear. natives of New Y.,rk .and ('<mnecti- 
cut reslH-ctively. Her parents «erc niaia-ie.l in 
Pari.s. N. Y., and came West in l.s:!(;. seeking .a lo- 
cation in Cambridge Township, this county, where 
they made for themselves a good home, and re- 
sided \nitil their death. The father died in May. 
1872, and the mother Feb. 1 1. Is.iT: they were in- 
dustrious and economical people, and sinaeeiled in 
their undertaking in Lenawee (onnly. They were 
both earnest and devoted nnanhers of the i\lelhod- 
i.st Episcopal Church, and for many \cais preced- 
ing their death evinced much interest in I'eligions 
matters. 

Mr. and .Mrs. Cairns became tli.^ ].arent> ,>f eiglit 
children, who .are recorded a^ iollow> : .lennie i~ the 
wife of R. S. Wilson. Station .\g.iil at |-'iow,alield. 
Mich.; Ellsw.n-lh W. i> tin- rei-roentativ.. ot the 
Gail Agricidtural .M.annf.aclniing Company, of Al- 
bion, Mich.; Dora 1'.. .and Nor.-i I). (t\vin>). re>ide 
with their parents, .and are hi-jhly educated and in- 
telligent young ladies: Sa<li<' C. i> also :ii honu' .at- 
tending .school. The dcc,-a-,'d were Arllmr. Flor- 
ence H. and an iiifanl. Mi'. ( anii> with his lamily 
attends the I'reshy l, ii:in Chmcli. uhilc politically, 
lie is a Repniilican in all that the name implies. 
Vrevions to hi- election to the ollice of Sheriff, he 
had servi'd eight years as Oepnty Sheriff. He is a 



man who takes a lively interest in public affairs, 
and has done much to give the county the standing 
it eiijoy.5 auKUig the counties of Michigan. 



:5|4>^5^^- 



ylLLIAM II. McDowell is numbered 
among the most comfortable homesteaders 
,y „ in Palmyra Township, and is situated on 

section 11). He became the p,)s>essor of the farm 
on which he resides in CsCt. The family resi- 
dence, which is eligiblv located. i> a neat and com- 
fortable on,., and the iKirns and other farm build- 
ings are commodious ami substantial structures, 
calculated alike for beauty and utility. 'i"he fences 
and farm machinery are kept in good lepair, and 
the stock and other accessories of the estate testify 
in .1 silent but forcible manner to the intelligent 
industry ami enterprise of the proprietor, who pos- 
sesses all the u-o-alu-ad .-haracteristics of the natives 
of New York. :\ class of men \vho have been largely 
instrumental in ile\ eloping the great ^^'est. and 
utilizing its vast ivsonives <,f soil and mine. 

.Mr. McDowell w.a> b,,rii in Cohocton. Steuben 
C.>.. i\. v.. on the 2(;th of April. 1 ,S38. His father, 
Charles ,1. ,M.d)oweli. w.as |„,rn in Broome County, 
N. Y.. where he w: s re.aivd and edn.'ated for the 
profc>ssion of Law. and w.as admitted to the bar at 
i;,.chest,a-. .and later pi-.acticed :i| Colu.cton: 'jic 
continued ill Ih.al profession .luring his life. The 

where h,. w.as alforde.l fai-ililics for obtaining a 
good ediic.ali.m. which he ■■ixaiied himself of tO the 



th( 






rt of th 



lies belwe,-n the North 
cd ill the secession of the South 
d a decl.ar.aticm of u ar on tiic 
meiit. Following his patriotic 
impulses, he tendered his services to the (lovern- 
inent in .May. Isbj, ,ind was accepted .as .a member 
of C.iinpaiiy F. :;.-.th New York Infantry, the term 
,.f enlistment being b.r two ycar.s. and lie served 
the whole term and .a few il.ays over. Among a 
b'W of the more impoitaiil engagianeiits in which 
he parlicip.ated weiv ( ed.ar .Mountain. Antietam, 
Second r.iill Run. liist and s,.,.on.l battles of Fred- 
crickslnirK, lirsl battle of the Wilderness, and many 



-4^ 
290 



4- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



4 



smaller engagements. Soon after his return from 
the army he came to Lenawee Coiintj-, and settled 
on the farm which he now occupies. 

Mr. McDowell was married, on the 9th of Au- 
gust, 1 8G7. to Catherine W. Moore, who was born 
in Cohocton, Steuben Co.. N. Y., and they have 
had one child — Fred C. McDowell. Mr. and Mrs. 
McDowell are very comfortably situated, and are 
highly esteemed members of the society in which 
they move. 



^jps^ AMUEL E. IIAKT has been a citizen of 
^^^ Lenawee County for forty years, and has 
^t\/ji) been longer engaged continuously in the 

drug business than any other man in the 

county. lie has always enjoyed a large trade, and 
has an excellent standing as a citizen and as a busi- 
ness man, always paying 100 cents on tlie dollar. 

Mr. Hart was born in Albion, Orleans Co.,N. Y., 
Aug. 13, 1823, and is the son of Deacon Joseph 
Hart, who was born in Berlin, Conn., Nov. 20, 
1773, and remained there until 1779, when he ac- 
companied his parents upon their removal to Dur- 
ham. Greene Co., N. Y. He lived in that county 
until 1812, when be removed to Orleans County, 
and erected a log cabin in the wilderness, where 
now stands th"e village of Albion. Ho located 364 
acres of land from the Government, at $1.25 per 
acre, a portion of which has since been sold at $800 
per acre. His son and grandson still own and oc- 
cupy a large portion of the purchase. He was a 
Deacon in the Presbyterian Church, and was the 
founder and promoter of the first church of tliat 
denomination established in Albion, the first meeting 
being lield in his barn, at which time and place an 
organization was effected. During his long life he 
was a worthy, honorable, prominent man, and en- 
joyed the respect and confidence of all the people 
who knew or came in contact with him. He died 
at his old liomestead in Albion, July 22, 1853. On 
May 3, 1798, Deacon Hart married Miss Lucy Kirt- 
land, of Saybrook, Conn., and they had ten children, 
of whom our subject was the j'oungest. Mrs. Lucy 
(Kirtland) Hart was born in Saybrook, Conn., Nov. 



11, 1778, and died at Adrian, Mich., at the resi- 
dence of her daughter, Mrs. Lucy II. Berry, Jan. 4, 

Samuel E. Mart, our subject, remained with his 
parents on the farm until he was nearly seventeen 
years of age, and then, through the solicitation of 
liis brother-in-law, L. G. Berry, became to Adrian, 
MicI)., in May, 1840. For three years after his 
arrival lie acted in the capacity of clerk in Mr. 
Berry's dry-goods store. During these three years 
he was the only clerk in|the store, and for two years 
kept the books, but all this time was entirely igno- 
rant of what his salarj' was to be. Finally, when 
his time expired, he was informed that he was to 
have no pay for the first year, $5 per month 
for the second, and $10 per month for the third 
year. After becoming possessed of this money 
he returned to Albion, N. Y., on a visit to his par- 
ents, where he remained for a short time, recuper- 
ating from the three years' work. He then went to 
Alton, 111., and secured employment as a clerk in 
the drug-store of his brother. Dr. B. K. Hart, and 
remained with him a little over two years, when 
owing to impaired health he was obliged to make a 
journey to the South and East. During this trip 
he took occasion to again visit his parents, with 
whom he spent some time. On his return to Alton 
he stopped at Adrian, to visit his sisters, Mrs. O. 
M. Roode, Mrs. L. U, Berry and Mrs. L. G. Berry, 
and was persuaded to go into business with the 
Berry Brothers, employing a small capital which 
had been presented him by his father. He remained 
with them for a period of one year, at a profit of 
$500, which he g.ave to the Berrys for permitting 
him to retire from the business, and immediately 
purchased Dr. D. K. Underwood's interest in the 
drug firm of Raymond & Underwood, where he re- 
mained two and one-half years. In 1848 he dis- 
posed of his interest in the business to Caleb Wood- 
bury, and having disposed of all his interests in 
Adrian, returned to Alton, HI., for the purpose of 
joining his brother in going to Chicago, where it 
was intended to jjurchase property and locate per- 
manently ; but owing to some difference of opinion 
in reuard to the value of Chicago real estate at that 
time Samuel E., after about six weeks, returned to 
Adrian, and purchased the store he now occupies, 



*w. ,H ^* 



•► 



-♦- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



291 ' ^ 



^h 



and in which he has remained in the drng bnsiness 
ever since. 

October 7, 185-2, at Astoria, L. I., Mr. Unrt was 
married to Miss Annie D., danghter of ]-;. A. Crissey. 
and to them two children were l)orn : Otlii> S., .Jan. 
9, 1850, and Kate Elizabeth, Aug. 21, 18G1, liotli 
born in Adrian. Mr. Hart was a second time mar- 
ried, at Pahnvra. N. Y.. to Mrs. Harriet O. King. 
Marcli 1 I. I.S72. She was born in Palmyra. N. Y., 
May 20. 1841, and was the danghter of Thomas 
and Ariiba Galloway, liy tiie second marriage one 
child, Charles G., was born in Adrian, June (I, 
1873. 

Since Mr. Hart's retnrn to Adrian in l.si.s, for 
permanent residence, he has been one of the city's 
most honored and prosperous business men, and has 
added as much to its reputation as an honest bnsi- 
ness center as any man i\i the city. There is not a 
blemish against liini as a liiisiness man, being an 
honest, fair dealer, prompt in ])aying bills and meet- 
ing all obligations, and his guarantee is sufficient in 
all matters of business with any man in Lenawee 
(jounty. He has served the cit}' as a member of 
the Common Council, and was Treasurer of Lena- 
wee County Agricultural Society for several years. 
He assisted in erecting the Presbyterian Church, of 
which he has been a member since 1845, and has 
filled all the offices of the church. He has been 
prominent in all enterprises for the upbuilding of 
his city and county, and particularly distinguished 
himself in the interest he took in the location, erec- 
tion and construction of the State Reform School for 
girls, and the Detroit & Butler Railroad. 

CL. LOWE, Supervisor of Ridgeway Town- 
, ship, owns a fine tract of land within its 
limits, comprising 300 acres on sections 5, 
7 and 8. The residence is located on section 7, 
and is a substantial and commodious building, 
flanked by a good barn and all the other structures 
required for the shelter of stock and the storing of 
gTain. The land is finely located, lying partly on 
the ridge, near the old Ridge road, and was pur- 
chased from the Government by John Palmer 
about fifty-five years ago. Mr. Lowe purchased 



the property in 1870, and removed here from 
Ridgeway- Tow-nship where he had settled on sec- 
tion 30 soon after his mari'iage. 

Mr. Lowe has spent his entire life in Michigan, 
having been born June 25, 1838, in Raisin Town- 
ship, a little over a ye.ar after the Territory had be- 
come a State. Of his father, Justus Lowe, a sketch 
is given elsewhere in tliis Ai.r.iM. Uv received a 
better education than most boys of that day, being 
the pupil of Prof, listerbrook, .at Ypsilanti, for some 
time. His tastes, however, confined him to farm- 
ing pursuits, and upon returning home from school, 
he settled down contentedly, and prepared to fol- 
low in the footsteps of his honored father. 

While a student at Y'psilanti, young Love had 
made the acquaintance of iMiss Emma Smith, to 
whom he was married Oct. 29, 1859, at that city. 
Prof. Ksterlii-ook oiliciating at the ceremony. Mrs. 
Lowe is a native of England, having been liorn 
near the city of Leeds, Feb. 20, 1839. Her p.ar- 
ents, Charles II. and Mary (Clay^ton) Smith, were 
also of English birth and parent.age, the father a 
tailor by trade. wIk, followed his occupation in his 
iialive town until coining lo the United States, in 
1842. Soon after his anival upon American soil. 
he sought the western country, and located at the 
little town of Ridgeway. in this county, where he 
followed liis trade .a few y<'ars. Farming. Iiou'cver. 
at tliat day. was [)r(jbably more lucrative than tai- 
loring, and Mr. Smitli finally jiurchased a tract of 
timlier land on section 4, Ridgeway Township, of 
which he took possession, felled the trees and cul- 
tivated a portion of the soil, and there, with his ex- 
cellent wife, spent the remainder of his days. His 
death occurred about 1872, and the mother surviv- 
ing about one year and a half, died at the home of 
her daughter, Mrs. Lone. 

The wife of our subject was the eldest of five 
children comprising the household of her parents, 
four daughters and one son. One daughter died at 
the age of two years. The other children are all 
married and settled in comfortable homes of their 
own. They all received a fair education in the dis- 
trict school, and remained mostly under the home 
roof until taking their life i)artners. Mr. and Mrs. 
Lovve became the parents of two children : Jessie 
the wife of William Birdsell, a well-to-do farmer, 



-^"^ 



-4^ 



292 



LENAWKE COUNTY. 



who is at present Assisting in the management of 
the liOwe homestead, and Charles C, vvho remains 
at home. Mr. and Mrs. Lowe are Free Metliodists, 
rcligiousl.y. Mr. Lowe has represented Ridgeway 
Township in the County Board of Supervisors for 
a period of twelve years, been Justice of the Peace 
sixteen years, and Road Commissioner nine j'ears. 
Political I V. he is Democratic. 



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J'OHN M. PAYNE is a respected and worthy 
farmer of Dover Township, whose home 
is pleasantly situated on section 1 7. Mr. 
Payne is of honorable lineage and is the 
son of Deacon John Payne, who was born in 
Greenbush, Rensselaer Co., N . Y. After marriage 
he settled in Sehodack, N. Y., and there lived 
till his death, Aug. 2«, 1 838. He was a man of 
high moral character, who wielded great influence 
for good. We quote the following words from 
the obituary notice, which was published at the 
time of his death, as illustrative of the high estima- 
tion in which he was held : " The deceased was an 
energetic man, a consistent Christian, a determined 
enemy of vice, and a uniform advocate and pro- 
moter of religion." His wife, who survived him 
many years, came to Lenawee County in 1862, and 
died in Dover Township, Oct. il, 1872. Her maiden 
name was Jane Van Buren, and she came of a long 
line of ancestry who. as tlie name indicates, were of 
Dutch origin, and were among the earliest emigrants 
from Holland to the banks of the Hudson. Notable 
among the de.scendants of that family, and one des- j 
tined to make the name illustrious in America, was I 
Martin ^'an liuren, the eighth President of the 
United States. To Deacon and Mrs. Payne were ' 
born six children — Harmon Van Buren. Nathaniel, j 
James H., John I\L. Catherine S. and Chauncey S. 

J..hn M. was tlie third child of his parents; 
he was Inim in Scliorlack, >'. Y., Aug. ;).• 1 8211. 
and reared in Mial atmosphei-e of rectitude and lion- 
est3' which so characterized ids parents. His edu- 
cation was conducted in the common schools, and 
he lived at home aliout eight yeais after he liad at- 
tained his majoiity, engaged in farming. In De- 
cember, 1«5«, he left his native town and came to I 



Lenawee County, having come to the conclusion 
that he could pursue his chosen occupation moie 
advantageously and profitably in Michigan tlian in 
New York. He bought seventy acres of land on 
sections 16 and 17, and locating on the latter section, 
has ever since made it his home. His land is quite 
productive and undei the best cultivation, his farm 
buildings are neat tnd well kept, and everything 
about his farm shows evidences of his thrift and 
care. 

Mr. Payne was married in East Sehodack. N. 
Y., April 6. 18;>0, to Miss Clarissa, daughter of 
James and Christina (Ham) \Vinters, both natives 
of Rensselaer County, N. Y., where they also 
began their married life; they afterward removed 
to Sehenectadj' County, which they have since made 
their honie. They are tlie parents of nine children — 
Ann, Daniel, Clarissa, Seneca, William, Sarah, Jud- 
.son, Theodocia and ALiby. Mrs. Payne was born 
in Schenectady Count\% N. Y., Aug. 11, 18.31, 
and her marriage with Mr. Payne has been blessed 
by the birth of three children — Spencer, John N. 
and Ida. Spencer married Ellen Dutcher, and they 
live in Dover Township; John married Augusta 
J^awrence, and they live in Chicago, 111., while Ida 
is the wife of William Sanborn, of Toledo, Ohio. 

Mr. and Mrs. Payne are attendants of the Meth- 
odist Church, and enjoy the respect and esteem of 
all who know tiiera. Mr. Payne worthily bears the 
mantle of his father, and is faithful in the discharge 
of his duties as a citizen and a man. He casts his 
vote with the Democratic part3% and winks for the 
interests of th.at organization. 

•'i^J HARLES H. ADAM, of Adrian, is proprietor 
fif ^1 of a livery and hack line, and occujjies a fair 
y^'-^ position among the business men of the city, 
lie is the scion of an excellent family, being the son 
(if .lohii J. A<lani. an old resident and one of the 
prominent men of Lenawee County. The latter was 
a resident of Detroit for a number of years, and in 
that city Charles H. was born, on the 31st of Octo- 
\«-\\ is J 4, and wns the only son. 

John .1. Adam, tlie father of om- suliject. was 
born in Edinlini-gli, Scotland, whence he emigrated 





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! 


LENAWEE 


COUNTY. 293 ■ 




i 


early in life to the United States, and took up Iiis les- 


Middletown, Orange Co.. N. Y., where he was born 






idence first in Philadelphia, Pa. He maiTJed Miss Ar- 


Dec. 24, 1821, and is the son of Samuel Conkling, 






menia Bradley, a native of New York State, and tlic 


also a native of New York, born A|)ril 1 1 . 1 7;t7. 




, 


daughter of William Bradley, who emigrated to 


The father of our sui)ject married .lulia A. Cor- 






Lenawee County when liis daughter was a little 


\\\\. who w;is liiii-u in 180(1. and was I'eared by an 






girl. Mr. Adam e.-iui,' lu-iv in 1827, when its devel- 


ini(4e. her parents lia\iii,i; died when she was ipiite 






opment was just l)eguii, and is one of those who Imve 


young. After their marriage they settled in Or- 






looked upon the huililin- ii|> of a ricli sr.-li f 


aiii^c County, where he carried on his xcjcation of a. 






country with the |.)ri(lc .-iiid sMlislaclion uliicli every 


farniei-. In 1833 he came with his family to .Mieh- 






true citizen experiences. He purchased a tr;i(t of 


iuaii and located on -eclion 1 1. in R.aisin Township, 






land in Franklin Township, ui)on which he tailored 


where lie passed nio~t of Ins days after eoniing 






fora number of years, effecting good improvements. 


to .Miehi-aii. (,)nite laU' in life he ieniove<l to Te- 






and brought the soil to a high state of cultiv.atior. 


eninseh. where he <lied Dee. '.I. 1 .ss.-,. Hi. uitVs 






He is now in Tecumseh. 


ileath oeennvd s,.nieye;us prior to hi- own. in the 






The subject of our sketch was about ten years of 


yeai- |s7r.. They wer.' worthy people, of indus- 






age when his parents removed from Franklin to 


tiioiis. frng.al habits. ;ind became the parents of 






Tecumseh, where he was reared to manhood and 


luelveehildien. live sons and seven (laughters, of 






educated in the common schools, rpoi, setting 


the Latter of wl i four die. 1 in infancy: only five 






out for him.self he first engageil in the lixery 


..flhe tamily .are now livine-. four l.i-others and 






business at Tecumseh, and afteiuaid for a 


one sister. 






time engaged in the hotel business at Clinton. 


Hudson W. Conklinii; the subject of this sket.'h. 






Later he repaired to Sand Lake, where he put up 


w:is the eldest of the family, and was in his twelfth 






what was subsequently known as the ••Sand 


yeai- when he eanu' with his parents to .Michigan. 






Lake Hotel. " and where he operated as •• mine Ik ist ' 


lie ;lltcnder| school in the old l,,u -chool-h, ,use in 






successfully for a period of fourteen yeais. Tins 


Haisin 'I'ownship. an.l rem.ained in the hoi f his 






property he finally exchanged for the livery barn 


li.arents until li.' »as niru'teen yi-.a< of .age. lie 






and stock which he now controls, and which was 


then learned the .-arpenter auil joiner's trade of 






the Col. Eldridge property. The business in whicli 


Alon/.o Murr.ay. of Te.- seh. .and aft.'ruard fol- 






Mr. Adam has since operated is located .it No. 17 


lowed th.at oc<-iip.ation until he iM'c.anie .a journey- 






South Main street, where he keeps .-i fine assoil- 


man ill the shop of Aiiilcrs..n A- I'.rewer. continuing 






ment of horses and \ehicies, and his estalili-huient 


ill their employ until In- became .a lueiiibcr of the 






is patronized by the leading residents of the city. 


tillil. in the fall ..f I.S71. n.M4iaiige lieiiig made ill 






Mr. Adam was married, in I 871, to Miss Mary V.., 


the <lyle of the lirni : his work was to ..viisee the 






daughter of A.sil Redtield, of Adrian. She was 


shops. The tirni does a lar,i;e liuMiiess. uliich is ill- 






born Aug. 29, 1K44. in Alb.any. N. Y.. and their 


creasing every year, manuf.actiirino piiiicip.ally 






union has resulted in tlu' biitli of two eliildreu — 


l.rii'k .and tile machinery, and sending it to .all parts 






John 11. and Minnie. I'he wife and mother de- 


of the country, indeed their niaeliiiKay is sent to 






parted this life in September, 188.'), and the son and 


every State in th,' I'liion. 






daughter remain with their father, occupying a com- 


Mr. Conkling w:is married, in December. 1.S42, 






fortable home. 


to .Miss Caroline, daughter of Hugh .and Mary (Sin- 






->-5->S .-.>,i#,.,^ c s.^-<— 


clair) (iray. She is ;i woman ol much character, 
who.se kindly intlueiice is felt by all about her. Her 






;p UDSON \V. CONKLINM; is a niend)er of 


iiiiion with Mr. Conkling has been blessed by the 






\l^) the firm of H. Brewer ,\c Co.. manufaelnrers 


birth of four children, two of whom aw living. 






^^ of brick and tile machineiy. ;ind eonduetor's 


namely: Frances K., the wife of L. C. Blood, of 






((^^ of a general machinery business and foun- 


Lansing. Mi(4i.. and Sarah .L. .Mrs. .loseph B. Wan 






dry at Tecumseh, Mich. Mr. Conklingisa native of 


Ness. 




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»» mr < i' 



\' ) 294 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



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Mr. and Mrs. Conkling are members of the Pres- 
byterian Churcli. Wherever he is known Mr. 
Conkling is regarded as a man of marked ability, 
and one who is strictly honorable in all business 
transnetions. In politics he is a stnnch Repub- 
lican. 



ELOS M. BAKER, pi-ominent in the lum- 
ber and coal business in the city of 
Adrian, is a native of the Empire State, 
having been born in Buffalo, May 26, 
1838. His father, Albert M. Baker, was a promi- 
nent attorney of this State and was born in the 
town of Eden. He was reared and educated in his 
native town, and came to the West in tlic fall of 
1838, arriving in Adrian on the 27th of November. 
He at once commenced the practice of law, in which 
he actively engaged until life's labors for him were 
over. His death took place July 20, 18(30. 

Albert M. Baker, the father of our subject, was 
thrown upon his own resources earlj'^ in life .and de- 
veloped a manhood of moi-e than ordinary ability. 
Not long after coming to this State he was engaged 
as the attorney of what is now the Lake Shore & 
Michigan Southern R. R. Co., in whose employ he 
continued until the time oi his death. He took an 
active interest in political affairs, although never 
ambitious of office, and devoted his efforts to the 
election of his friends. He had been a member of 
the Republican party since its organization. Before 
coming to Michigan ho was united in marriage with 
Miss Sarah Keeler, of Buffalo, N. Y., in August, 
1837. 

Tiie subject of this skctcli was the elder of his 
father's family of two children, and received his 
education in the schools of Adrian. His mercan- 
tile experience began as a clerk in the hardware 
store of W. S. Wilcox, in whose employ he re- 
mained for a period of four years. Upon severing 
his connection with this house, he started in busi- 
ness on his own account, becoming a partner in the 
firm of Bury <fe Baker, dealers in lumber, and con- 
tinued with them seven years, until 1873. The 
firm was then dissolved by mutual consent, Mr, 
Bury retiring and Mr. Baker continuing alone. 



In the fall of 1 883 our subject became a mem- 
ber of the banking firm of T. J. Tobey & Co., con- 
tinuing however only until the following year, when 
he withdrew his interests from this concern and de- 
voted his entire time and attention to the lumber 
trade. In 1877 he added the coal trade to his 
other transactions, and now commands an extensive 
patronage from the leading men of the citj-, operat- 
ing two lumber-yards and handling probably tiOO 
carloads of coal in a season. 

Mr. Baker was first married, Jan. 27, l«(i3. to 
Miss Julia E. Blount, of Milwaukee ; she died at her 
home in Adrian in 1881, leaving no children. The 
present wife of our subject, to whom he was mar- 
ried Nov. 18, 1885, was formerly Miss iVIary K. 
Goodman, of Glens Falls, N. Y., and the daughter 
of Eleazer and Mahala Goodman, natives of that 
State. Of this union there has been born one child, 
a son. Albert G. Mr. and Mrs. Baker arc members 
in good standing of the Presbyterian Church at 
Adrian, in which Mr. Baker oificiates as Trustee and 
is one of its chief pillars. He is a gentleman of 
fine business capacities, held in high esteem am(>ng 
his associates, and a valued factor in the business 
community. 

Mrs. Sarah K. Baker, the aged mother of our 
subject is still living, and makes her home with her 
son, being now seventy-one years of .age. She re- 
tains in a remarkable manner her old-time health 
and activity, and can relate many interesting inci- 
dents of life in the earlv davs. 



JACOB C. WINNE, one of the most promi- 
nent and promising young lawyers practic- 
ing at the Adrian bar, is a native of the State 
of New York, where he was born at Cherry 
Valley, Otsego County, on the 28th of January, 
1865. His father, John AV. Winne, was born in the 
same county and was a farmer by occupation. He 
was an extensive grower of hops, and was among 
the first to engage in that industry in New York, an 
industry which has since grown to such large pro- 
portions on account of the vast increase in the brew- 
ing interests of the country. 

Our subject's father married Miss Barbara 



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4 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



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Crounse, whose gieat-gT.inclfather was a Polish iioblc- 
mai). She was the daughter of Jacob and Hen- 
rietta (VanVallienbnrg) Crounse, the former of 
whom came into possession of large property and 
was one of the leading citizens of Schoharie County, 
N. Y. She was one of a large family of childim, 
of whom four brothers became eminent physicians. 
The father, after marriage, settled in Otsego Coun- 
ty, N. Y., where he remained upon liis farm until 
ills removal with his family to Lenawee County in 
1870, where he settled upon a farm three miles west 
of the city of Adrian. O'l tl^'s farm he again en- 
gaged in the cultivation of hops, shipping his prod- 
ucts to the city of New York, which at that lime 
was the best market the country afforded. In this 
business he continued until his death, which oc- 
curred on the 2->d of August, 1887. The wife and 
five children, two boys and three girls, survived 
him. The names of the children are as follows: 
Addie, the wife of G. P>. Ililibard, residing in De- 
troit; llattie, who is at lioim'; David, .Tacoli C. and 
Edwin. 

Jacob C. Winne passed his early boyhood in his 
native county, where he attended the coniinon 
schools until he was old enough to take a more ad- 
vanced course, and then went two years to the Ames 
Academy in Montgomery County, N. Y. He then 
came to Lenawee County, Mich., witii his parents, 
and entered the Adrian school, pursuing his studies 
for a time, and then began teaching school, in which 
he engaged for three winters. Concluding to adopt 
the law as the profession of his life, he then entered 
the office of Stacey & Underwood, of Adrian, in the 
spring of 1877, for the purpose of pursuing the pre- 
liminary studies, and afterward attended the law 
department of the University of Michigan, at Ann 
Arbor, for one 3-ear. Upon his return from the 
University he In June, 1879, passed a rigid examin- 
ation and was admitted to the bar and began prac- 
tice. Eor a young man he has grown rrqiidly into 
a good practice and is fast jjushing to the fr<iiit 
ranks in his profession. 

On the 28th of October, 188.5, Mr. Winne was 
married to ]\Hss Gertrude Talman, a native of Fair- 
port, Monroe Co.. N. Y. To Mr. and Mrs. Winne 
has been born one daughter, named Beatrice, whose 
birth occurred on the 14th of February, 1887. Mr. 



and Mrs. Winne occupy a pleasant position in the 
societ3' of Adrian, and engage heartily in all pro- 
jects that have a tendency to elevate and improve 
the society of the place. 



j YJ/ ORENZO TABOR, late one. 



I (?g) inent attorneys of Adrian, was born in Brad 



m 



he most prom- 
; born in Brad- 
ford, Vt., Fell. 23, 1815, and died at his 
home in this city on the 28th of April, 1882. From 
early life he had taken an active part in politics, 
and was a stanch Union Democrat at a time when 
it was prudent in some portions of the country for 
a man to be chaiy in expressing his opinions. He 
supported Mr. Lincoln during his candidacy for 
the Presidency and no man rejoiced more when the 
era of peace dawned upon the nation. He sup- 
ported the Republicans until after the second term of 
Gen. Grant and then returned to his old party. 

The sul)ject of our sketch was the son of Thomas 
and Abigail (Drew) Tabor, who were both of New 
England birth and parentage. They left the Green 
Mountain State in 1838, and coining to Southern 
Michigan, settled in Adrian Township, where the 
father carried on farming many years. Subse- 
quently the family removed to Hudson where the 
parents spent their last years; their i-emains were 
taken to Adrian for burial. 

Lorenzo Tabor vvas reared and educated in his 
native town, where he studied law and was admitted 
to the bar, commencing practice among the people 
who had known him during his boyhood and youth. 
A year later, in 1839, in common with scores of 
other young men of that region, he decided to cast 
his lot with the pioneers of the West, and coming to 
Southern Michigan entered into partnership with 
W. L. (Jreeley, at Adrian. Six years later the 
firm of Greeley & Tabor was dissolved by mutual 
consent, and Mr. Tabor then associated himself with 
Josiah L. Ward, with whom he continued until the 
removal of tlie latter to California. Not long after- 
ward Mr. Tabor was elected Alderman of the city, 
the duties of which office he discharged in a suit- 
able manner, and later began dealing largely in 
real estate in connection with his practice. He ac- 
quired a handsome property, and at his death left a 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



! 



wife Mild line (laughtev. The latter, Miss .M.'iri:i S. 
Tabor, is a highly accomplished yoniig lady and an 
efficient teacher in the city schools. 

The marriage of Loren/.o Tabor aii<l Miss Maria 
Ormsby lo,,l< |,laci'at Sprin.iiticld. ^■t.. May 1 .".. is:','.). 
The result ..I' llii> union was llu' birlh of three s.ni^ 
and one daughter, recorded as follows ; Thomas AV. 
died when three years old; Lorenzo O. at the age 
of eleven years, and Clarence L. at six ; Maria S. 
resides with her mother. 



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^^a^AMUKL HHYAX is the scion of an ..id 
''^^ Connecticut family, and was himself boin 
^I^JI near the town of Waterbury, that tStatc, 
Aug. ;j, 181.i. A year later his parents 
removed to Pennsylvania, locating near the town 
of Tioga on tlie Susquehanna River, and thence, 
two years kter, went into Tompkins County, N. Y. 
After a residence there of twelve years, in the 
month of August, 1830, they came to the south- 
eastern part of Michigan Territory, locating on a 
tra(^t of wild land, which for a long time was known 
as the (lilmore farm and was situated on the north 
line of Raisin Township. The father sidisequently 
established the first crockery store in the young- 
town of Adrian, but in the meantime retained pos- 
session of his farm where his family remained. He 
carried on a store until failing health compelled 
hiin to retire, and he died in the eil\' of Adrian in 
the summer of 1860. 

(4ideon Bryan, the father of oiu- subject, was 
born and reared near the town of Waterbury, 
Conn., and in early manhood learned the trade of 
carpenter and joiner, and married Miss Malinda 
Warner, a native of the same State. They became 
the parents of eleven children, seven sons and four 
daughters, one of whom died in early childhood 
and ten were living at the time of the father's 
death. Of these the record is as follows : Samuel 
of our sketch was the eldest born ; JVlary became 
the vvife of Elroy Sisson, of Raisin Township, and 
died when a young woman, leaving a family of 
children; Warner died when about forty -five 3'ears 



of age; Nelson and (Tilbertare residents of Neosho 
and Brown Counties, Kan.; Tillottson is a resident 
of Hillsdale, Mich.; Almira became the vvife of 
Cyrus Briggs, of Michigan, and died several j'ears 
ago; Clarissa is the wife of David Slayton, a well- 
knonn farmer of Franklin Town.ship; Edwin died 
when forty j'ears of age, and (4eorg'e is a well-to-do 
fanner of Macon Township. 

Our subject was a youth of lifteen yeai-s when he 
came to Lenawee County, and after the ordinary 
course of study in the common schools began to lay 
his plans for the future, his intention being to have 
a farm of his own just as soon as possible. Upon 
reaching his majority he set out on his owii account 
and purchased 200 acres of land. This he sold not 
long afterward and purchased his father's old 
homestead, which he occupied six years, and then 
sold it back to its original possessor. He subse- 
quently became the employe of Judge Stacy, and in 
the meantime had been married, in 1844, to Miss 
Laura, daughter of Moses and Voletta Smith, of 
Tecuinseh Township. The young peoi)le not long 
afterward removed to the farm of Mr. Smith, who 
was the proprietor of 200 acres of good lancL and 
subsequently purchased this property. 

Mr. and Mrs. Bryan became the parents of five 
children, and the mother departed this life at the 
homestead where she had spent her childhood years, 
in the spring of 1856. Their eldest son, Newton, 
is now a resident of Raisin; Oscar is in Kansas; 
Delilab is the wife of O. V. Finch, of Raisin Town- 
ship; Wallace is farming in Kansas, and Laura is 
the wife of William Scholield. Mr. Bryan was a 
second time married, in the spring of 1858, to Miss 
Maria Scout, who was then a resident of Raisin 
Township, but a native of Columbia County, Pa. 
She was the third daughter of William and Mary 
(Stine) Scout, who removed from the Keystone 
State to Michigan in 1856, and are now deceased. 

The present farm of Mr. Bryan comprises 120 
acres of valuable land with a neat and commodious 
residence and other good buildings; he also has 
eighty acres adjacent to the town limits of Raisin. 
He commenced in life with modest means and has 
been remarkably fortunate in his investments. 
Upon first becoming a voter he identified himself 
with the Democratic partj', but his warm interest 



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LENAWEE COUNTY. 



in the temperaiico movement has now eonsti^iint 
him to support the Prohibitionists. His estimnli 
lady i? a momlier .nnd regular ntt(iKlant of tl 
Baptist Ciuuvii. 

-„ ,vg-|„r^>, ^^^ 




Tecumseh Township; the most of it is in ;i liiuli 
state of cultivation. He has paid si)ecMnl .-itlciitidii 
to the breedino- of Short-horn cattle, and has nu't 
with marked success in that line. The head nf his 
herd is "Garfield," a fine, well proportioned aninini. 
very well known to stock-breeders in this hicnlity. 

Mr. Kehoe was born in County U'exford, Ire- 
land, May 4, l.S3;5. His fatlier, Patrick Kehdc. 
came of pure Celtic blood, and was a farinei and 
stonemason, which latter occupation lie fnllowccl 
some time after coming to this country, lie mar- 
ried Ann Marah, who vvas born and reared in Wex- 
fordshire, and came of good stock, being of tlie 
family of M. P. Marah, who, for his eloqiuMil an<i 
skillful defense of his country and countiy men, w:i> 
expelled from England. The father of Patrick Ke- 
hoe, Philip Kehoe, was a large I.-ind-ouner and 
farmer, and lived and died in County \\ exford, 
Ireland. He mairied an Irish lady of uoud f.imily, 
who also died .at their home in Irelaml ; they both 
lived to be very old. After the birth of his nine 
children, two of whom died in infancy, Patrick Ke- 
hoe, father of our subject, came alone to the United 
States to make a home for his family in this country, 
and located in Howard County, Md. A year later 
he sent for his eldest son, Philip, and the following 
year, 1851, he sent for the rest of his family. Tiny 
continued to make their homo in H()war<l Cminiy 
for some time. 

In 185/J Philip Kehoe, (.f win mi we write, came 
to Michigan, and after working for two years by 
the month in the employ of others, he bought 
eight}' acres of timber land, which forms part of his 
present farm. In 1856 his i)arents and the other 
six children came to Michigan, and our suljjcct 
gave his father and mother ten acres of land near 



at the age of eighty-tive. .■111. Ulill retains to .-i re- 
in:irk;ilile degree the ability and aetivity wliich 
characterized her in lier younger da\s. 

Mr. Kehoe was seventeen years of .-ii^e when he 
landed in this conntry, and had rec.MVed a ii'ood, 
pnietieal edneation, which well titte(l him for the 
duties of life. He was lirst married, in \'irginia, to 
.Miss M:iiy Malonc, who was born in the North of 
Ireland, where her father, Heniy Malone, a devout 
Catholie, di..d when sl,e was a Miiall child; her 
nnithei- die.l some years .•ifter in her native Ireland. 
.Mary Malone w.as reared l,y an uncle, a Catholic 
priest., with whom she eaine v> America when she 
ua> twenty years of age. She died ut her home in 
Clinlon Township in l.sr.l. at the .-loe of twenty- 
eight, leavinu twoehiMren: Elizal>eth A., who was 
well educated, .-iiid is .-i >e.-iinslre>s in Adri.'in. ;ind 
Mary, who receiviMJ .-i i^ood ,.|ii<'atioii, ami i- a lis- 
ter and a teachei in tln' eonvent at .Monroe. 

Mr. Kehoe was a second time married, in 1 SIU, 
m .Maeoii Township, to Mis> .Mary MctJovern. She 
was born in New York State, March ;!, 18;io, and 
ill I s;40 came to Michigan with her parents, who 
are now deceased, having died in Macon Township, 
where they located on their arrival. By this mar- 
riage .Ml-, and Mrs. Kehoe have become the parents 
of eight children — Agnes A., Catherine, Frances 
M,. Martha T., Andrew D., Patrick L., Margaret 
C. and Ellen, all living in the home of their parents. 
Ml-. Kehoe and the family are all Catholics. 

(_)ur subject is a man of much intelligeiu-e and 
shrewd business tact, which make him a valuable 
citizen as well as a successful man, and this has been 
demonstrated by his lilling several of the minor 
ollices of the township to tlie satisfaction of the 



people whom 
-talwai-t DeuK 



politics he is 



fpSjs ICHARD KENT has 
\^J wee County for o\ 



been a citizen of Lena- 
cr fifty years, diiring 
,1[\Y which time he has been engaged inagricult- 
wgi ural pursuits and surveying. He now re- 
sides in the cit}' of Adrian, partiallj' retired from 



•298 



lenawef: county. 



business, bis large fann being cultivated by hired 
iielp. During his long residence in the county he 
has established for himself the reputation of one of 
its most solid and substantial citizens. He is a na- 
tive of the State of New Hampshire, and was born 
in Derry, Rockingham County, on the 3d of Au- 
gust, 1825. He continued to reside in that county 
with his parents, who were farmers by occupation, 
until the fall of 1835, in which year they came to 
Michigan, and settled in Logan, now Adrian Town- 
ship, on section 33, about two miles west of the 
center of the city of Adrian. The land was origi- 
nally located by a man named Woodruff, in 18"2y, 
who sold it to Alfred Budlong, who in 1835 sold it 
to Richard Kent, Sr. Ricliard, Jr., assisted his fa- 
ther in clearing up the farm, which has always been 
liis home. At the death of his father he purchased 
the interests of the other heirs in the homestead and 
still owns it. In 1864 ho purcliased a house and 
lot on West Maumee street, in Adrian, where for 
many years he passed his winters in order to l)e the 
better able to educate his children. 

When our subject was about twenty years of age 
he commenced teaching school, and during seven 
years he taught in Woodstock, Dover, Madison and 
Adrian. He had also studied civil engineering, 
and had considerable experience in assisting his fa- 
ther, who was an engineer. He has followed sur- 
veying more or less ever since. He has been a can- 
didate seveial times on the Democratic ticket for 
County Surveyor, but was beaten by his brother 
Burton, who was a Republican, and tiiat party was 
largely in the majority in the county. In the spring 
of 1868 he was elected Supervisor of Adrian Town- 
ship, and was re-elected the following spring. He 
also held the office of School Inspector for about 
ten years. 

On the 24th of February, 1859, Richard Kent 
married Miss lillen M. Reynolds, daughtei' of Ste- 
phen and Sallic Reynolds, of Derry, N. II., by 
whom he had two children, both born in Adrian 
and living at home — Lucy M., born July 5, 1861, 
and Louise S., Jan. 2, 18G4. Mrs. Ellen M. Kent 
was born in Derry, N. H., July 15, 1828. Her fa- 
ther was born in Derry, in 1767, and died there on 
his farm in 1848. He was the son of Gen. Daniel 
Reynolds, who was also a native of Derry, and 



served as a cominanding officer through the Revo- 
lutionary War. Stephen Reynolds married Sallie 
Ela, daughter of Samuel F. Ela, of Derry, N. H., 
by whom he had eight children, Mrs. Ellen M. Kent 
being the youngest. Mrs. Sallie Reynolds was born 
in Derry, June 2, 1786, and died there in Septem- 
ber, 1861. 

Our subject's father, Hon. Richard Kent, was 
born in Newburyport, Mass., Oct. 30, 1786, and 
was the son of Mariner and Sarah Kent, of New- 
buryport, Mass. The former was the son of Rich- 
ard Kent, Jr., and grandson of Richard Kent, Sr., 
of England. M.ariner Kent was born Aug, 14, 
1757, and in 1798 moved to Londonderry, N. H., 
where he died Dec. 7, 1843. His wife, Sarah Kent, 
died there the same ye.ar. Richard Kent, Jr., was 
born in 1710, and married Miss Hannah Norton, of 
Boston, in 1734, and died in Newburyiioit, M.ass., 
in 1794. His wife died in 1790. 

Hon. Richard Kent was brought up a farmer, but 
received a good education, being a gr.aduate of the 
Londonderry Academy. He taught a school for 
several years, and practiced surveying at times. He 
owned a farm about two miles east of the village of 
Londonderrj', where he brought up his family. 
Richard Kent lived on his farm in Adrian Town- 
ship until his death, in August, 1867. He was a 
man of prominence in his township, and represented 
Lenawee County in the State Senate about the years 
1852-53. He was twice elected Supervisor of his 
township, and for several years Township School 
Inspector. 

About the year 1809 Richard Kent married Miss 
Lois Ela, daughter of David and Nancy Ela, of 
Londonderry, by whom he had five sons and one 
daughter, our subject being the fifth child. Mrs. 
Lois Kent was born in Londonderry, April 1, 1788, 
and died in Adrian,- Mich., Jan. 7, 1876. Her fa- 
ther, David Ela, was a native of the same place. 
Her mother, Mrs. Nancy Ela, was the daughter of 
Deacon .Samuel Fisher, who came to this country 
in 1740, in the nineteenth year of his age. He was 
born in the North of Ireland, but of Scottish de- 
scent. The ship in which he came to this country 
was usually spoken of as the " Starved Ship." The 
vessel was so scantily supplied with provisions that 
long before the voyage was completed one pint of 






u 



LENAWEE COU^fTY. 



299 



oatmeal for ench iiKlividual on board, and a pro- 
portionate allowance of water, was all that remained. 
Mr. Fisher once wont to the mate with a tnlik'S|iooii 
to obtain some water, wliich w.as refnscil him. tlierc 
being- but two-thirds of a junk bottle full on hoiird. 
Mr. Fisher's custom was to take a tal)lespf>onful of 
meal dail_y,and having moistened it with salt w;itei-, 
to e:it it raw. The passengers and crew liiiving 

lengtii reduced to the necessity of eating the bodies 
of those who died. Even this resource failed them, 
and at length Mr. Fisher was .selected to give up 
his life to. preserve the lives of the rest. Provi- 
dentially, however, a vessel hove in sigiit, and their 
signals of distress being observed, they obtaineil 
relief and were saved. So deep an impression did 
the horrors of that passage make upon the mind of 
Mr. Fisher, that in after life lie coidd never see with- 
out pain the lea.st morsel of food wasted, or a pail 
of water carelessly thrown upon the ground. 

Mr. Kent has arrived at that period of life at 
which men retire from the active cares of business. 
and devote their remaining days to ense and com- 
fort. ])uriug his prime and vigorous manliood, by 
industry and good management, he so situated him- 
self that he is enabled now to enjoy the fruits of 
his labors. In his business intercourse through life 
he made and maintained a record for the strictest 
integrity, and now enjoys the full conlidence of all 
who know him. 



'^^ M. CAMBURN, Town Clerk, and a success- 
(/m^^ fnl farmerand stock raiser, is now pleasantly 
^^^ located on section 21, Franklin Townshij), 
where he owns sixt3'-four acres of land, part of the 
homestead of 160 acres obtained froni tlic(ic>vern- 
ment bj' his father. Mr. t'amburn was born on the 
farm where he now lives Sept. G, 18:in, and is the 
son of William Cam burn, a native of New Jersej', 
who was born not far from Barnegat Bay. and was 
the eldest child of Levi Camlnirn. a native of New 
Jersey, and of Scotch ancestry. 

Levi Camburn married a New ,Jerse,y lady, and 
during the boyhood of their son William went to 
New York and located at Lockport, where the father, 



■^•■ 



a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, was 
engaged in ministerial services for some years. He 
afterward came to Michigan, where he died in Hills- 
dale C(junty in I. S42, at eighty years of age. His 
wife had departed this life some time before in 
New^ York State. William Camburn, father of our 
subject, was rearerl in Lockport, N. Y., and there 
married Miss Sobrina Hill, also of Lockport, Niag- 
ara County, whose parents were also York State 
people. William Camburn was a soldier in the War 
of lis I 2, and (iid service as a private, and was also 
on guard dnly on the frontier at Niagara. He came 
to :\lichigan by the Lake njute in I8,S1. then ob- 
taining an (ix-teani at Detroit, he drove across the 
country to Tecumseh, where he located near the 
village, but not liking the situation, he sold and 
came into Franklin Township, where he purchased 
the' southwest quarter of sccti(_in21. This was on 
the line of the old Chicago turnpike, which was then 
lieing laid out and built, and on this road, which 
passed di.agonally through his farm, almost all the 
travel of the State was conducted. Here he built a 
double-log (■.■ibin. and coiidncted a tavern or i)ul)lic 
house for some yi>:irs. 

William C.'imbnrn came here before the town- 
ship was organized, and was elected one of the first 
Justices of the Peace, and was made Postmaster of 
Tipton, which ollice lie held for about thirty-six 
years. He also held the otlice of Justice of the 
Peace till his death, April 7, 1872, at seventy-nine 
years of age. His wife had died about 1849, at the 
.age of fifty -two. The father had been a Repub- 
lican from the beginning of the party in 1856. He 
was a successful man and practical farmer, and was 
prominent in the affairs of his community. The}' 
were the parents of sixteen children. Of this family 
there were two births of twins and one (jf triplets; 
one |iair of twins and the triplets are all married 
and have families. 

The subject of our sketch is one of the youngest 
members of the family, and was educated in the 
schools of Franklin Township. He has a taste for 
reading and study, and keeps well aljre.ast of this 
progressive age. He takes an active part in Repub- 
lican politics, and was elected Supervisor in 1871, 
which ofHce he held seven years. Two years after 
he was elected Town Clerk, and has held the office 

•► 



a 



300 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



ever since. Mr. Cfimburn was married in the town- 
ship of Franitlin, April 3, 1860, to Miss Elizabeth 
B. Mills, who was born in Franltlin, this county. 
She was the daughter of E. G. and Ann (Breers) 
Mills, the former of whom is now deceased, while 
the latter is living in Franklin, aged seventy-six 
years. They were natives of York State and En- 
gland, respectively, and were married in Franklin 
Township, where they followed agricultural pursuits. 
By his first marriage Mr. Camburn has two chil- 
dren — William E. and Elma S. William E. took 
to wife Nancy Crane, and resides on a farm in 
Franklin ; P^lma S. is at home. The raotlier of these 
children died April 5, 1875. 

Mr. Camburn was a second time married in 
Franklin Township, Sept. 28, 187G, to Miss Jennie 
Mills, a sister of his first wife, and a native of 
Franklin Township, where she was born Dec. 25, 
1845, and was reared and educated. Mr. and Mrs. 
Camburn and daughter are members of the Congre- 
gational Cluircli, of which Mr. C. is Treasurer. 



J- OHN W. BENEDICT is one of the many citi- 
zens of Lenawee County who are profitably 
engaged in farming, and is a much respected 
resident of Tecumseh Township, where he 
owns and occupies a good farm on section 24. Mi-. 
Benedict was born in Warwick, Orange Co., N. Y., 
Jan. 26, 1822, and is the son of John and Phebe 
(Taylor) Benedict, the former of whom was born 
Dec. 7, 1787, in the township of Warwick, Orange 
Co., N. Y., near where the birth of his son John 
also occurred. The mother was born in New Jer- 
sey, Oct. 23, 1792. They became the parents of 
nine children, eight sons and one daughter, of whom 
all lived to maturitj', and seven are still living. 

John Benedict, of this sketch, was the fourtli 
child born to his parents, and was about seventeen 
years of age when they removed from their home 
in Orange County to Steuben County, where they 
resided for nearly eighteen years. He engaged in 
farming, and was married in that county on the 
14th of April, 1847, to Miss Laurinda Wolcott, a 
native of that county, where she was born Jan. 27, 
1825. She is the daught3r of Kalep and Rhoda 



(Hedges) VYolcott, formerly of Long Island, but 
who finally settled in Steuben County. After his 
marriage, Mr. Benedict still continued to reside 
with his parents for some years. 

In the fall of 1 852 the subject of tliis biography 
came to Lenawee County, Mich., to find a suitable 
place to locate, and his father came two years later, 
having determined to become residents of this State, 
and receive the benefits of its superior agricultural 
resources. Our subject obtained some land in 
Raisin Township, where the father also located, and 
in the following year the rest of the family came. 
In 1862 the father, a man of much worth, died and 
was buried in Raisin Township; the mother's death 
occurred in October, 1875. Our subject actively 
took up the work of improving his farm in connec- 
tion with carpenter work, in which be was skillful, 
and continued thus employed in Raisin Township 
ten years. In 1864 he sold his property there and 
removed to his present home in Tecumseh Town- 
ship. This farm is the one formerly owned by his 
father, but after the death of the latter, Mr. Bene- 
dict bought out the other heirs, and obtained pos- 
session of the whole, amounting to 130 acres. It 
had been partly improved during his father's own- 
ership, and some buildings had been erected, but 
Mr. Benedict has brought it to a good state of cul- 
tivation, and has replaced or remodeled the old 
buildings so that now they are among the best in 
the township. During the last twenty years he has 
confined his attention to agricultui-al pursuits, and 
has also paid much attention to sheep-raising, which 
has resulted very profitably to him; lie has a fine 
flock of well-graded animals. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Benedict have been born four 
children, as follows: George J. was born Nov. 4, 
1851, and lives in Harper, Kan.; Ciiarles M. was 
born Sept. 23, 1854, and lives in Tecumseh ^Town- 
ship; Frank H. was born June 26, 1858, and also 
resides in Harper, Kan. ; Rhoda M. was born Oct. 
14, 1867, and lives at home. Mr. and Mrs. Bene- 
dict often extend the hospitalities of their pleasant 
home to numerous friends, among whom they are 
held in deservedly high repute for their many good 
qualities. Mr. Benedict is now serving his second 
term as Justice of the Peace, and was Highway 
Commissioner for several years. He is a promi- 



•►Hh-^ 



-•► 



■^^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



nent member of the Democratic party, sturdily ad- 
vocating the various measures of that organization 
by voice and vote. Mr. and Mrs. Benedict have 
long been earnest and devoted members of the 
Baptist Church, of which organization Mr. Bene- 
dict has been a Trustee for twenty-five year*. 

L^^HOMAS BOYD. Erin's Green Isle has given 
i(^^\ to the United States some of her worthiest 
^^^y and ni<>st energetic citizens. They have 
been mostly men who commenced in life at the 
very foot of the ladder, and by a course of enei-gy 
and perseverance worked their way up to the top- 
most round. To these scarcely credit enough can 
be given, as none but themselves can realize what 
difficulties and discouragements they encountered, 
overcoming the peculiarities of a new and strange 
country, a foreign tongue, and at times, the indif- 
ference of a people who did not re.-ili/.e the strength 
that lay within them. 

The subject of this sketch, a native of the North 
of Ireland, was born in County Antrim about the 
year 1830, and continued on his native soil until a 
youtii of eighteen years. He received a limited 
education, his parents, William and Jane (Preston) 
Boyd, having been people of very modest means, 
whose chief concern had necessarily been the pro- 
viding their children with the mere creature com- 
forts. Young Thomas had always been a bright 
and ambitious lad, thoughtful beyond his years, 
and at an early age he made up his mind to escape 
from the beaten path which his father before him 
had trodden so wearily and with such unsatisfactory 
results. At the age mentioned he bade adieu to 
his childhood friends and early associations, and 
boarding a sailing-vessel at Liver] 1. fdinid him- 
self six weeks later on the soil of the Dominion of 
Canada and in the city of Quebec, i'henee he 
crossed into th'i State of Vermont, and not long 
afterward made his way to Livingston County. N. 
Y., where be engaged as a farm laborer for a period 
of four years. In the fall of 1851 he joined the 
caravan migrating to the young State of Michigan, 
and for a period of six years thereafter was an em- 
ploye on the farm of Pearley Bills. Afterward he 



worked one year for Peter Adams, and had now 
saved up a little sum of money which he invested 
in eighty acres of land in that township, and proudly 
commenced farming on his own account. 

Mr. Boyd, however, four weeks after commenc- 
ing work on this land, not satisfied with the out- 
look, traded it for 160 acres in Raisin Township. 
This he occupied six years, and then sold out for 
the sum of i^o.OOO, feeling well repaid for his labor 
and the improvements which he had put upon it. 
His next purchase was a farm three miles west of 
the village of Tecumseh, for which he paid $7,280, 
and which he operated five years; this he still owns. 
He subsequently purchased ninety-two acres which 
was familiarly known as the Fuller farm, and which 
he now occupies, and has brought to a high state of 
cultivation. He has remodeled the residence and 
added a good barn and other outhouses. Mr. Boyd 
has been an apt scholar in the school of experience. 
He landed in America with a cash capital of $1, a 
stranger in a strange land, and the fact that he is 
now numl)ered among the wealthy and representa- 
tive farmers of Lenawee County, is indicative in no 
small measure of the resolution and energy which 
have marked his footsteps. 

After he had laid the foundations for a future 
home and a competence, Mr. Boyd, when about 
twenty-five years of age, took to himself a wife and 
helpmeet, Miss Margaret Calhoun, one of his own 
countrywomen, but who at the time of their mar- 
riage, Nov. 22, 185.5, was a resident of Tecumseh 
Village. Mrs. Boyd is the daughter of Robert and 
Esther Calhoun, the former of whom died when she 
was but a little girl. The mother subsequently 
came to the United States, where she died at the 
home of Mrs. Boyd in November, 1874. Mrs. Boyd 
became a resident of this county about 1848, and 
was considered one of the most estimable young 
ladies of her township. Of her union with our sub- 
ject there have been born four daughters and one 
son. The eldest child, Esther A., is the wife of 
Wallace Tilden, and resides in Tecumseh Township; 
Fannj' married Chester A. Haynes, of Tecumseh 
Village ; Maggie is at home with her parents; Ilattie, 
Mrs. Arthur Dibble, lives in Adrian, while Wallace 
Lavern continues under the home roof. 

Mr. Boyd, upon becoming a naturalized American 



•►Hl-^- 



•►HI-*«« 



•►HI-4* 



302 



lp:nawee county. 



citizen, ideutifled himself with the Democratic 
party, of which he has since been a warm supporter. 
Personally he is a fine representative of his warm- 
hearted Irish ancestrj^ liberal and public-spirited, 
always willing to put his shoulder to the wheel in 
carrying forward the enterprises calculated for the 
general good of mankind. 



£ 



S. DEPUY is a worthy ;nid iionored citizen 
of tiie township (jf Clinton, where he has 
owned and occupied a farm since the year 
1854. It comprises 105 acres on section 
12, and eighty on section 13. He has highly im- 
proved it, and greatly increased its value since it 
came into his possession. That part of it lying on sec- 
tion 12 he purchased when he first came to this 
State in 1854, and in 1862 he bought the remaining 
eighty acres on section 13. He is a careful manager, 
endowed with much energy and sound judgment, 
and tills his land to the best advantage, receiving 
in return abundant harvests. 

Mr. Depuy is a native of the State of New York, 
where he was born in Owasco Township, Cayuga 
County, Nov. 21, 1817. His father, Philip De- 
puy, was a native of the same State, his birth oc- 
elli-ring April 24, 1774. He was bred to the life of 
a- farmer, and married, in Oi'aiiue County, Sally 
Comfort, who was born Aug. 2, 177S, and reared in 
the countj' in which she was wedded. After mar- 
riage they settled in Owasco Township, Cayuga 
County, and were among its i)ioneers. Mr. Depuy 
bought and improved a farm in the timber, on 
which they continued to reside till after the birth 
of their four sons and six daughters, of whom our 
subject was the youngest but one, while he and his 
sister, Mrs. Eleanor Smith, of York State, are the 
sole survivors. In 1831 Philip Depuy moved with 
his wife and children to Mt. Morris Township, Liv- 
ingston Co., N. Y., where he bought a farm, on 
which he and his wife continued to make their 
residence till death. The latter's occurred Oct. 
5, 1837, while the former died two years later, on 
the 8th of October, 1839. They 
bers of the Presbyterian Church. 
Depuy was a Democrat. 



.■ere both mera- 
In politics Mr. 



Our subject was educated in the common schools 
o( his native State. .He was first married Dec. 31, 
1837, in Mt. Morris, to Miss Sarah J. Smith, a native 
of Cayuga County, N. Y. She went to Livingston 
County to live when a young woman, where she was 
wedded and passed her married life .at Mt. Morris. 
She died June 29, 1844, and left two children, both 
of whom are now deceased. Eliza was the wife of 
William Butler, and died in Mason, Ingham County, 
after the birth of five children; Harrison at a very 
youthful age enlisted in the service of his country, 
as a member of Company D, 3d Michigan Cavalry, 
under Capt. Kellogg, and after taking part in several 
engagements, died of an illness contracted on South- 
ern battle-fields, his death occurring in Louisville, 
Ky., June 13, 1862, at the age of eighteen. 

Mr. Depuy's second marriage took place in Nunda, 
Livingston Co., N. Y., Feb. 26, 1845, to Milancey 
Chandler, a distant relative of Senator Zach Chand- 
ler. She was born in Coventry Township, Che- 
nango Co., N. Y., Jan. 29, 1820, and is the daugh- 
ter of Henrj' and Sally (Muuger) Chandler. The 
father died in New York State in 1869, and the 
mother afterward came to Michigan and died at the 
home of her daughter, in 187.5, aged eighty years. 
They were members of the Baptist Church, and oc- 
cupied a high social position in the town in which 
they lived. He was a man of much ability, and a 
successful farmer. Mrs. Depuy received a public- 
school education, and remained in the home of iier 
parents until her marriage. 

After marriage Mr. and IMrs. Depuy lived in Mt. 
Morris until they removed to their present home. 
To them have been born six children, of whom the 
following is the record: Josephine is the wife of 
John Hendershott, of Tecumseh Township; Fay- 
ette married Miss Carrie Updilve, of Franklin Town- 
ship; Wellington married Miss Ella Reynolds, of 
Kagle, Eaton Count}', and they now live in Alle- 
gan Coinity ; he is a minister of the Baptist Church. 
Cora is at home; the youngest living is Rose, wife 
of Thomas Taber, of Madison, Wis.; Emma was the 
wife of Ozen Keith, and is now deceased. Mr. and 
Mrs. Depuy have given their children the advan- 
tages of a good education. Wellington, Cora, Rose 
and Emma, were educated principally in Hillsdale 
College, and hold or have held high rank as teachers. 



=t 



•►4h-^^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



303 



'^ 



Mr. anrl Mrs. Depuy are prominenl members of 
the Free-Will Baptist Church, and are imieh lion- 
orecl and esteemed as useful members of society, 
who have assisted in promoting the moral eleva- 
tion of the community where they have long 
been residents. In politics Mr. Deputy is a strong 
Democrat. 



OSKPM F. BAKER, one of the most activ.- 
and enterprising men of Lenawee County, 
! came to .Southeastern Michigan with his ta- 
((^// ther when a lad fourteen years of age, and 
is now the proprietor of a valiialilc farm of 192 
acres of land in Adrian Township, lie in former 
years dealt quite largely in stock, but finally be- 
came convinced that mixed farming in this section 
of country was the most profitable, and this he has 
accordingly followed. He has been prominent in 
public affairs, although never an otlice-seeker, and 
aside from serving as Justice of the Peace and Road 
Coniniissioner of his township, has preferred that 
others should bear the responsibilities of more 
weighty positions. He is a stanch Denux'rat, po- 
litically, and has often been sent as a delegate to 
the county and .State conventions. 

Mr. Baker was born in Manchester, Ontaiio Co., 
N. Y., June 18, 1819, and is the son of Joseph M. 
Baker, who in turn was the son of Jose|)ii Baker, 
which name has been given to a son of each family 
for several generations. They trace their geneal- 
ogy back to Joseph Baker, of Narragansett Bay, 
KiSO. He was drowned in the bay near his iiome, 
and left two sons, David and .biM'|ili, uh.i UKcriied 
sisters by the name of Chase. 'I'lic patcinai gicat- 
grandfathei- of our subject was a shoemaker by 
trade, although fond of rural life, and owiumI :i 
small farm in Rutland County, \t. lie married 
Miss Experience Martin, who was a native of the 
Bay State, as were also his father and great-grand- 
father. Grandfather Baker died in Rutland C.niuty. 
Vt., when nearly sixty j'cars of .age. lie had been 
twice married, and the father of onr .subject was a 
son by the first wife. 

Joseph M. Baker was born in North .\dams, 
Berkshire Cip., Mass.. Feb. 19, 1780. He remained 



♦-11-^ 



at home until nineteen years of age, and then tak- 
ing his worldly possessions, which consisted of a 
small package of clothing, he walked to Palmyra, 
N. Y., where he worked by the day or month for 
three years following. On the 27lh of December, 
1801, he was married to Miss Sallie, daughter of 
John and Betsey Cruthers, of Phelps, Ontario 
Comity, and they located upon a farm there, where 
they continued until the spring of 18.33. In the 
nie.intime, Mr. Baker, not satisfied with the resultof 
hi.s l.ibors, had decided to look over the Western 
country, and coming to Monroe County, this State, 
Ioc'iIlmI 21(1 acres in what was afterward Bedford 
Township. Returning to New ^York he gathered 
together his household good.s. and brought them to 
the uevv home which he had selected, and where 
they arrived on the Ath of July, 1833. The jour- 
ney was a tedious one, the facilities for travel at 
that day bearing little comiiarison with tho.se of the 
present. 

Besiiles the children of the father of onr subject, 
they were accompanied by several grandchildren, 
making altogether a family of fourteen. No house 
in that vicinity would accommodate them, and they 
.accordingly moved into a barn until better quar- 
ters could be provided. Mr. Baker finally decided 
to locate in Rome Town>bip. and on the 7th of Au- 
gust, 183.3, they moved int(j ;i log hou.se there, 
which was without door? or windows, and only a 
portion of wliirli u:is provided with a floor. They 
m.-nlf tlicni-fl\c> reasonably ctnnfortable, however, 
and occupied that dwelling five years. Mr. Baker 
then |)nt up .-i frami' house, which he occupied until 
l.sc:;, and in that year moved into the second new 
frame house which he built and where he spent his 
la>t years, his life tei-minating at the advanced age 
of ninety-three, in the spring of 1873. He was a 
man of e.xecllent (inalities. who never h.ad any 
Irouiile witli his neighbors, and was never involved 
in a lawsuit: the mother died in 1 s.", i . The par- 
ents, religiously, were Universalists. and politically, 
.loseiih .M. l!.-d<er was a Democrat. 

'I'he snbjeet (jf this biography received his earl3' 
education in the subscription schools, pLirsuing his 
studies rnostl.y during the winter seiwou, and in the 
summer making himself useful around the new 
farm. His school days ended when he was less than 



i 



-4•- 

304 



■•►i-4* 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



fourteen years old, but he remained under the par- 
ental roof, and finally came into possession of the 
homestead, living there until about 18G5. He then 
purchased a farm about two and a half miles west of 
the city of Adrian, where he now lives, and upon 
which he has effected fine improvements. 

The wife of our subject, to whom he was mar- 
ried Oct. 17, 1.S4,'5, was Miss Cynthia M., daughter 
of Col. Edmond B. and Sarah (Cooper) Dewey, of 
Manchester, N. Y. She was born Jan. 29, 1828, 
and died in Rome, this connty, Oct. 15, 1857. To 
them were born three children, one of whom, Ed- 
mond, is living on the homestead with his father. 
Mr. Baker, on the 17th of October, 1858, was mar- 
ried to Mrs. Anna 1). Teachout, the sister of his 
first wife, and they became the parents of one 
daughter, Cynthia JoAnnfu, who was born in 
Adrian, Jan. 10, 1866, and died Feb. 17, 1875. 
Mrs. Anna ]). Baker was formerly' the widow of 
Alonzo Teachout, and was born Dec. 19, 1822. 
Of her fii'st marriage, there were born three chil- 
dren : Oscar L., a resident of Denison, Tex.; Sarah 
A., the wife of Samuel B. Gambee, of Rome, and 
who died Nov. 21, 1870, and Frank D., who is 
farming in Rome Township. A son of Mrs. Baker 
served in the late Civil War, in the 28th New York 
Infantry, two years. 

Alonzo Teachout was Liorn in Ontario County, 
N. Y., May 19, 1819, and was the son of Jacob and 
Rachel (Curtis) Teachout, a descendant of May 
Wiley, of Revolutionary f:ime. To Jacob and Ra- 
chel Teachout were born twelve children, of whom 
Alonzo was the fourth in order of birth. He mar- 
ried the eldest daughter of Col. E. B. Dewey, in 
1840. In 1855, he died in Manchester, Ontario Co., 
N. Y. Of his brothers, one, 0. L. Teachout, served 
in the late Civil War, and for the last five A'ears has 
been Postal Clerk at Denison, Tex. 



*>)BENEZER G. PRICE. The sons of the pio- 
neers are largely taking up the mantles of 



T 



their fathers before them, and carrying on 
the agricultural pursuits in which their elders en- 
gaged, although under vastly different circum- 
stances. The latter were obliged to contend with the 
dlQiculties of which their sons have comparatively 



little knowledge. Many of the early settlers located 
upon tracts of timber land, from which the forests 
must be cleared before the ground could be culti- 
vated, and thus experienced, in addition to labor- 
ing upon a new soil, the added toil of removing 
and destroying these trees and tlieir roots. We 
can imagine the fields filled with the blue smoke of 
the burning stump-fires, and how perhaps this labor 
would consume a whole season, and the pioneer must 
wait another year before he could put in his crop. 

The subject of this sketch is the son of one of 
those men who came to Michigan over thirty years 
ago. and located upon land in Tecumseh Township. 
Here he remained until 1877, laboring diligently to 
secure a home and a competency, and his efforts 
were fairly rewarded. He is still living to tell the 
tale of his labors and hopes, and in a comfortable 
home at Tecumseh is spending his last days enjoy- 
ing the rest to which he is so amply entitled. 

George Price, the father of our subject, was born 
and reared in Wales, where he remained engaged in 
farming until thirty years of age. He married, not 
far from his birthplace, one of his own country- 
women. Miss Mary Walker, and after the birth of 
five children, being anxious to better their condi- 
tion on account of their little family, thej' deter- 
mined to cross the Atlantic. They took passage at 
Liverpool on a sailing-vessel, and after a tedious 
voyage of sixteen weeks, set foot upon American 
soil and proceeded directly to this State. Mr. Price 
employed himself at whatever he could find to do, 
being without capital — in fact $30 in debt — and at 
first it required all his efforts for the maintenance 
of his family. In time, however, he obtained a 
f(»othold and was enabled to save something from 
his limited earnings. His first purchase of land was 
the half of section 2, in Ridgeway Township, which 
is 710W owned and occupied by his son, our subject. 
He was blessed with a sensible and industrious wife, 
and while she managed their domestic affairs in a 
judicious manner, Mr. Price carried on his farming 
operations and soon found himself on the high road 
to prosperity. His straightforward honesty drew 
around him scores of friends, and no man is more 
highly respected in Lenawee County th.an George 
Price. 

The subject of tins history was born in Tecum- 



•►-Ih-^*- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



30, 



■r 



sell Township, Feb. 10, 1855, but was reared in 
Ridgeway and remained under the home roof until 
beginning in life for himself. When his father left 
the farm Ebenezer toolv possession of it, and has 
since operated it in the old-time successful manner 
with which it has been managed since it liecame 
known as a possession of the Prices. On the 21st 
of March, 1878, he was married to Miss Emma 
Dubois, and soon afterward brought to his home 
the lady who still presides over his household affairs. 
Mrs. Price is the daughter of John Dubois, a sketch 
of whom will be found elsewhere in this Album. 
She -was born in 1S60, in Ridgeway Township, but 
early in life was deprived of the care of the devoted 
mother, and was then reared by her father. 

Mr. and Mrs. P. have two children, onl}' — ]>ydia, 
born Jan. 17, 1881, and George W., Jan. 7, 1883. 
Our subject politically affiliates with the Demo- 
cratic party, aud religiously, with his estimable 
lady, is a member of the First Christian Church 
at Ridgeway. In addition to general farming he 
raises thoroughbred horses and Short-horn cattle. 



ENRY J. WILDER, of 
) occupies the old well-knt 



Adrian Township, 
wn Marshall home- 
/^^^ stead, of which he took possession in the fall 
^ra) of 1880, soon after the death of the worthy 
pioneer who had built it up from the wilderness, 
and whose daughter had just Itecome the bride of 
our subject. Since that time Mr. W. has looked 
after the propertj' and cultivated the soil in a judi- 
cious and profitable manner. He is comparatively 
a young man and is numbered among the res|)onsi- 
ble and reliable citizens of his townslii]). 

Our subject was born in Bristol, Ontario Co., N. 
Y., Feb. 7, 1844, and is the son of Ephraim Wilder, 
a native of the same locality. The i)aternal grand- 
father, John O. Wilder, a farmer by occupation, 
and a native of New York, was born in 17'.).'s, ami 
with his excellent wife spent his last yeais in the 
town of Bristol, passing away at the age of sixty- 
three years. Grandmother Wilder survived hei' 
husband some years. Their son Ephraim. the fatlier 
of our subject, was born in September, l.sil. .-uid 
died at Adrian, in 1869. He was married when 



Mary L., 
born Oct. 



Wilder, 



about twenty-two years old to Miss Catharine Case, 
.also a native of the Empire State, and the daughter 
of a well-to-do farmer of Ontario County. Of this 
marriage there were born four children : Martha, 
the eldest, wife of T. J. Batterson, of Buffalo, N. 
Y. ; Henry J. of our sketch was the se<'ond born. 
The others were Erastus M. and Ozro, the Latter of 
whom is deceased. 

]\Ir. Wilder continued a resident of his native 
county mitil reaching his majority, in the meantime 
being variously employed. He came to Michigan in 
186;{, locating first in Lenawee County, where he 
lived until his marriage, which occurred Aug. 24, 
1880. The lady of his choice was Miss Joseijhine 
P. Marshall, who was born in this county. Feb. 18, 
1847. She is the mother of two (4iildren: 
born July 15, IS82, and a child nnnamed. 
14, 1887. 

Charles M. Marshall, the fathei- of Mrs 
and a gentleman well known throughout this 
section, was born in Connecticut, M.ay 10, 1806, 
and de|)arted this life at his home in Adrian Town- 
ship, Sept. 5, 1880. He was first married, Oct. 14, 
18:33, to Miss Harriet Osborn, and they became the 
ixirents of two children, one of whom died in in- 
fancy. The other, Jane M., was born Aug. 4, 1834, 
and became the wife of Theodore Nash, who is now 
deceased; they had four children, two of whom are 
living. Mrs. Harriet Marshall died at the home- 
stead Dec. 19, ISoS, and Mr. Marshall w.as a second 
time married, to Miss Mary Pruden, May 19, 1840. 
This lady is the daughter of Daniel and Eliza- 
beth Priiden, of Morris Township, N. J., and her 
union with Mr. Marshall resulted in the birth of five 
children, as follows: Frederick D. was born .lune 4, 
IS II, is nun lied, :iiid is now a successful practicing 
physician of Chicago: he attended the Michigan 
University at Ann Arbor and was subsequently 
graduated from a medical college in New York 
City. M;iry E. was born May 15, ls4;i, and mar- 
ried Jefferson Scoonover, who was graduated from 
the same college as his brother-in-law, and is practic- 
ing medicine in Texas. Both these gentlemen 
served as soldiers in the Union army during the late 
war. being members of Michigan regiments: Fred- 
erick Marshall served three years and made a fine 
record. Caroline A, Marshall was born March 10, 



30fi 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1845, and rlied at her home in Adrian Township on 
the 24th of June, 1 859 : Josephine, the wife of our 
subject, was the fourth child ; Charles H. was born I 
Aug. 1, 1850, and died Dec. 12, 1858. Charles IM. 
Marshall was a man of much force of character 
and was quite prominent in the political affairs of 
Lenawee County. He was an earnest supporter of 
Republican i)rinciples. and while no office-seeker, 
contributed largely to the popularity of his party in 
this district, and was frequently entrusted with im- 
portant matters connected therewith. His wife, the j 
mother of Mrs. Wilder, was a very excellent lady I 
and a devoted member of the Congregational Church, 
of which her grandfather was Deacon for a period | 
of forty years. i 

Mr. Wilder is kee|iing up the liomestcad after its 
old-time reputation and votes the straight Re- 
publican ticket. He belongs to the Methodist 
Church, while his wife in religion is a Congrega- 
tionalist. 



<3^ 



>^.=^ 




YSANDER ORMKBY, Notary Public and 
) conveyancer, has for many years been act- 
X; ive in that line of business which, properly 
carried on, contributes largely to the prosi)erity of 
growing cities and towns, and the country in general. 
Mr. Ormsby is eligibly located on Carey street in the 
ambitious little town uf Deerfleld, and from an am- 
ple experience in his line of business he has done 
some excellent work, has built up a good busi- 
ness and enjoys a comfortable income. 

The birthplace of our subject was in the town of 
Westhampton, Hampshire Co., Mass., and the date 
thereof July 5, 1816. The family isan old one in New 
England, the grandfather of our subject, Nathaniel 
Ormsby, having crossed the Atlantic from England 
to America in the Colonial days. Grandfather 
Ormsby settled in Norwich, Conn., where he was 
married to Miss Elizabeth Perkins, and they owned 
a home at that place. They resided there until 
1776, when they removed to what was then called 
the "Far West" and was the part of Hampshire 
County which is now included in the town of Hunt- 
ngton. Here they were among the earliest pioneers, 



and the year after their arrival the young husband 
was called upon to volunteer in the Continental 
Army and assist the Colonists in their fight for in- 
dependence. Upon this eiTand he went most 
cheerfully, but was only permitted to serve a short 
time, his death taking place that same year at 
.\lbany while in the service. 

Among the children of Nathaniel and Elizabeth 
(Jrnisby was Samuel, who was born in Norwich, 
Conn., in 1775, and who became the father of our 
sulijeet. He was but an infant when his parents 
removed to Massachusetts, and after the death of 
his father, his mother was married to Deacon Miller, 
a fai-mer of Norwich, where she spent the remain- 
der of her life. Samuel, when quite young, went 
to Springfield to learn the trade of a saddler, which 
he followed thereafter in Westhamptoil and Chester, 
and died in the latter place on the 10th of Septem- 
ber, 1853. His wife, the mother of our subject, 
was Miss Rachel Day, and was born in Chester, 
April 1, 1785, and died near there Oct. 15. 1830. 
The parental family included twelve children, of 
whom eleven grew to mature years, our subject 
lieing the seventh in order of birth. 

Young Ormsby received a good schooling, com- 
l)leting his studies in an advanced class at West- 
hampton. He resided in his native State until in 
April, 1837, when, resolving to see something of the 
great West, he started out, making his way bj' team 
to Albany, the nearest point to the Erie Canal, and 
thence by canal to Buffalo. At this ptiint he was 
obliged to wait two weeks for the ice to break up, 
:ind then hiring a team to Dunkirk, he there took a 
steamer for Toledo, which was then a small village. 
Thence he made his way to Blisslield, this county, 
via the Erie & Kalamazoo Railroad, which had just 
been completed to Adrian; the cais were drawn by 
horses over wooden rails. 



Mr. Ormsby spent the sumr 



foil. 



in Bliss- 



field and then removed to Somertield Township in 
Monroe County, one and one-half miles from Deer- 
lield. where he purchased thirty-five acres of timber 
iMud and put up a log house. He had in the meantime 
Ih'cu iniuiied. and under this humble roof he and 
his y.jung wife commenced life together and labored 
Lo build up a home. In due time a large proportion 
of the soil was under a good state of cultivation 




Residence OF W!5.Whelan, Sec. 15 Franklin Township 




Stock Barn,. Property of W».Wil5EY, Sec 26.WouD6iuLt\ iovvim5hip. 



■•► 



LENAWEE COTTNTY, 



30 f) 



and a substantial frame dwelling took the place of 
the log cabin. Fifteen years later they removed to 
Deerfield, giving up farming, and liere Mr. Ormsby 
has since resided. Wliile residing in Monroe 
County, he was School Inspector nine consecutive 
years and also taught sciiool one term ; he was also 
Assessor and Highway C'otnmissioncr of his town- 
ship. 

Our sut)jecl upon leaving Ills little farm. cngagtMl 
,as a clerk m tlie general store of Jason Iliiuienwuy 
two years, and then set up in business vn his own 
account. In connection with his merchandising, in 
which he w.as occupied many years, he bought a 
stave mill in company with Fordyce Hunter, which 
they operated a few ycMis. and then Mr. ( ). pur- 
chased the interest of his partner, and suliseqiiently 
took his brother, K. 1). Ornisby, into business with 
him. A few years later they sold out, ami Mr. 
Ormsby erected a l)uilding and opened a gmcer}- 
store, which he operated a few years by himself and 
then associated with him Charles F. Bliven as part- 
ner. This firm dissolved about 1877, and Mr. 
Ormsby thereafter devoted his time and attention 
to the duties of his office. He had been appointed 
Notary Public in 1855, and received the appoint- 
ment each four years after tliat until the present 
time. He served as Postmaster of Deertield for a 
period of ten years and lias been Village Attorney 
since 1880. No man has been more actively inter- 
ested in the growing town since its establishment 
than Mr. Ormsby. 

The wife of our subject, to whom he was married 
Feb. 27, 1840, was in her girlhood Miss Olive C. 
Burnham, a native of Montague, Franklin Co., Mass., 
and born Dec. 2i), 1821. .Mrs. O. is the daughler 
of Calvin and Lucinda (IJliss) Buiiihaui, :ind her 
ui ion with our subject resulted i the bi: th of six 
children, recorded as folows: Eliza C. died when 
twent3--four years of age; Edwin S. is a resident uf 
F^mmetsburg, lnwa: he is \'ice I'residi'rit and Ivistern 
agent of the American lii\ I'slinent C'()iri|iMny, with 
headquarters .at Emmetsburg. Alvin C. res.des in 
New York City; Hat.ie A. died when ;i child of 
six years; Lilly C. married Charles F. Bliven, now 
of Emmetsburg, low;,, and 'I'reasurcr i.l the r.iunty ; 
EttaB. was the wife of William Fedenuan. and died 
at her home in Deertield, in March, 1»«4, Mrs. 



Olive C. Ormsby departed this life at her home in 
Deerfield, July 28, 1884. 

Mr. Ormsby, on the 24t.h of February. 1.S87. was 
married to Miss Mary E. Masters, who was born in 
Monroe County, N. Y., and is the daughter of 
William M.-isters, a native <>f the same county. 
Nathaniel Ormsby, the grandfather of our subject, 
was accompanied to America by his two brothers, 
Amos and Ephraim. One of these settled in New 
Hampshire, and the other was soon lost sight of. his 
whereab.Hils being afterward unknown to his rela- 

.Mr. Ormsby c.-ist his first Presidential vote for 
Martin \'an Hiiren, and supjxirted the Democratic 
party until the repeal of the i\Iissouri Compromise, 
when he became a Rcpublic.-in, which he has since 
remained. K'eligionsly he is a believer in Spiritual- 



^•J^i:^EE^J«- - 



C^EORfiE L. OLIVER. One of the finest 
-, farms in Ridgeway Townshii) consists of 1 20 
J4! acres pleasantly located on section 36, and 
came int(j pf)ssession of the sid)ject of this biog- 
raphy in the spring of 1 HC I . Here he has since 
made his home and devoted his time to its improve- 
ment and embellishment. In addition to general 
farming he has made a specialty of sheep-raising, a 
department of agriculture which receives compara- 
tively little attention in the I'raiiie State, but of 
which Mr. Oliver has made a success. 

Besides being a thorough and skillful farmer, Mr. 
Oliver po.ssesses excellent business capacities and is 
quite prominent in the affairs of hi> township. As 
one of the pillars of the Christian Church he offici- 
ates as Deacon and Superintendent of the Sabbath- 
school, and is one of the most liberal supporters of 
the church in this i)lace. He is a decided Demo- 
ciat, politically, has lepresented the township in the 
County Board of .Supervisors, and .-served as Road 
Commissioner and Treasurei-. Krietly stated, he is 
one of those nun wIkj cannot lie very well spared 
in his community. 

George L. Oliver i> a native of Tompkins County, 
N. Y., and was born April '.I. 1832. His father, 
Simon Oliver, was born and reared in the same 
mp^ 



-4^ 



■•►HH^ 



310 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



county as his son and lived there until reaching 
manhood. He then took up his residence in Alban\- 
County, and was subsequently married to Miss 
Mary AVright, who was born and reared in tlie lat- 
ter county and whose first child was George L., the 
subject of our sketch, whose birth took place after 
their removal to Tompkins County. When the lat- 
ter was a lad about thirteen years of age and there 
had been born to the parents six more children, 
all set out for the young State of Michigan, where 
the father hoped to better his financial condition. 
The journey was made overland with teams, and as 
was customary with the travelers of those days, they 
carried with them their household goods and pro- 
visions, camping and cooking by the wayside. The 
journey occupied twenty-six days, and although in 
some respects it was tedious, upon the whole tliey 
rather enjoyed the experience. 

Upon leaving New York the father of our sub- 
ject had determined to locate in Lenawee County, 
and they landed in Rome Township July 6, 1844, 
where he purchased eighty acres of land and at once 
commenced its cultivation. Upon it stood a rude 
frame dwelling, which was put in as good repair as 
possible, and which the family occupied until they 
could do better. Four years later Mr. Oliver dis- 
posed of this property and secured land in Tecum- 
seh Township, which he operated on shares six 
years. At the expiration of this time he purchased 
eighty acres in Ridgeway Township on section 35, 
which became their permanent homestead and 
where they now live. They are quite aged, the 
father having passed his eighty-first birthday and 
the mother her seventy-seventh. They are spend- 
ing their last years in the enjoyment of the com- 
forts which the3' so amply deserve, and are sur- 
rounded by scores of friends who long ago learned 
to value them for their kindly Christian character 
and their sterling worth. They were the parents of 
thirteen children, of whom twelve are now living, 
and four are residents of this county, while the 
others reside in Colorado, Kansas and Mexico. 
Simon Oliver upon coming to this county at once 
identified himself with its various interests, rejoic- 
ing in its growth and prosperity, and aiding, as he 
had opportunity, the enterprises set on foot for the 
general welfai'e of the people. He is a stanch Dem- 



ocrat politically, conscientious in his views and teni- 

I perate in the expression of them. 

George L. Oliver remembers many of the inter- 
esting events connected with the journey from his 
native State to Michigan. He assisted his father 
in building up the homestead, and remained a mem- 
ber of the i)arental household until reaching his 
majority. He then started out for himself, employ- 
ing his hands at whatever he could find to do, and 
on the 3d of January, 185G, took unto himself a 
wife and helpmeet. Miss Mary Wyrill, their wedding 
taking place at the home of the bride in the city of 
Adrian. Mrs. Oliver was born in Yorkshire, En- 
gland, Dec. 5, 1833, and at an early age was de- 
prived of a mother's care by death. She remained 
with her father until reaching womanhood and came 
with him to the United States. Proceeding west- 
ward immediately upon their arrival, they located in 
Tecumseh Township. Soon after their marriage 

i Mr. and Mrs. Oliver settled at their present home- 
stead and became the parents of seven children, of 

I whom but three are living, namely: Olive E., who 
was born Nov. 19. 1865; Cora B., Jan. 14, 1868, 

j and Ernest H., Jan. 7, 1870; these are at home with 

j their parents. The deceased wei'e Anna, Nanc}^ M.. 
George W.. and a babe who died unnamed. 

Our subject and his wife are members in good 
standing of the First Christian Church, in which 
Mr. Oliver is Deacon and Superintendent of the 

' Sunday-school. He has served as Supervisor, Road 
Commissioner and Township Treasurer. 

UGUSTUS W. BRADISH. The honored 

name of the subject of this sketch will be 

remembered long after he and those who 

are perscnally acquainted vvith him have 

passed away. He is one of the pioneers of Lena- 

I wee County, a man of great energy and force of 

ciiaracter. His parents were Calvin and Nancy 

(Post) Bradish, natives of Massachusetts and Long 

Lsland, N. Y., respectively, and supposed to have 

been of English extraction. After marriage they 

1 first settled in Wayne County, N. Y.. and lived 

j there quite a number of year*. In June, 1831. 

I they moved with their family to Lenawee County^ 



■•►■-^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Mich., and settled in Madison Tonnship on sec- 
tion 23. 

Three years prior to this time .Mr. Hradisli luid 
bought a tract of 240 acres of land fruni the Gov- 
ernment, and afterward becauie ])ossessor of l.CiOO 
acres in Lenawee and Hillsdale Counties. He Ijc- 
came actively engaged in farniiug, and also took a 
prominent part in aiding the future growth and 
prosperity of the town and county. Realizing that 
railways furni one of the most important factoi-s in 
the building u[) of new countries, and are most po- 
tential in the advancement of our civilization, he 
ardently advocated the building of the Erie & Kal- 
amazoo Railway, and contributed ^SI.OOO to further 
the enterprise: it now forms n pai'i of the Lake 
Shore & Michigan Southern Railway. In 1.^34 he 
erected substantial farm buildings, which are now 
in a good state of preserv.ation. Here he and his 
good wife passed their declining years, her death 
occurring in 1839, and his, Sept. 17, 18.51. They 
left behind them an honorable record of good deeds, 
and their admirable traits of character still endure 
in their posterity. Mr. Bradish was Justice of the 
Peace in Madison Township for several years. They 
were the parents of twelve children, namely: Men- 
tha M., CuiTan, Nelson, Sarah, Luther, Calvin, John, 
Hannah, Augustus W., Amanda G., Myron W. and 
Norman F. Of these only three survive: Au- 
gustus W. ; Amanda, wife of Melvin T. Nickerson, 
and Norman F., all residents of Madison Township. 

Our subject was the ninth child of this family^ 
and was born in Macedon, Wayne Co.. N. Y., Jan. 
24, 1815. He was a youth of fifteen years when he 
came with the family to Lenawee County, and has 
been a resident of Madison Township ever since. 
He was reared on a farm and has always been act- 
ively engaged in agricultural pursuits. He now 
owns 300 acres of land in Lenawee County, and in 
improving his farm he has spared no expense, cul- 
tivating it with intelligent judgment, wliile he has 
largely utilized the experience of others. Some 
years after the death of his mother he marr 
took possession of the old homestead, hi 
living with him the remainder of his life. 

The marriage of A. W. Bradish witii Klsie .M. 
Appleby was solemnized in Madison '['(jwnship, 
April 13. 1847. She is the daughter of Jacob 



and Mary (Peck) Appleby, natives of New Jersey 
and Massachusetts respectively, and both suipposed 
to be of English ancestry. After their marriage 
they settled in Erie County, Pa., where they made 
their permanent home. They became the parents 
of six children, namely: Elsie M., Rosetta. Nancy, 
William, John and Julius. Nancy is deceased; El- 
sie M. was born in Erie County. Pa., Dec. 18, 1825. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Biadish eight children have been 
born, namely: C;ii'olinc A.. Clarence M.. Herbert 
II., Carroll E., William R., Josephine E., Frank A. 
and RLary E. Herbert married Ella Ai)pleby, and 
resides in Fairlield Township; Carroll married Ad- 
dle Spaulding, and resides in INLidison Township; 
William and Josephine are living at home; Frank 
A. married Miss Alice Harwood, and resides on the 
homestead with his parents: Caroline, Clarence and 
Mary are dead. 

AL-. Bradish is prominently identified with the 
interests of the town, county and State. His large, 
experience, progressive mind and energetic spirit 
have had a salutary influence on the connnunity. 
He has l)een Superintendent of tlie Poor two years. 
Township Treasurer one term, Town Clerk twenty 
years, and has been one of the Supervisors of Mad- 
ison Township six terms. He is now serving his 
tenth term as Justice of the Peace, which will make 
foi'ty consecutive years of service in this office. 
For fifteen years he has been a Director of the Lena- 
wee County Mutual Fire Insurance Comp:uiy. In 
politics he is a Republican. Mrs. Bradish is -.} val- 
ued member of the Baptist Church, and socially, 
she and Mr. B. are held in high esteem by a 
large circle of friends among their contemporaries 
.and the rising generation. 



->!^ --^^\'f^-^ «5^- 



HORTON is a gentleman 



-nt in 



- ... lii' affairs of Clinton Township, and 
l\ a practical general farmer, pleasantly lo- 
cated on section l."i, where he owns 160 acres of 
well-improved land. He first purch.ased eighty 
.acres of it in 1 SG4, bnt did not m.ake his home on it 
until the next year. He bought the other eighty 
'. •>. 



•►Hl^^^ 



*i 



312 



LENAWEE COUNTY, 



t 



acres in 1881 and 1882, buying forty acres each 
year. Since settling iiere he has made steady and 
rapid progress in attaining a competency in his 
chosen calling. He has been a resident of Lenawee 
County since he came iiere in 1831, in the early 
days of its settlement, when lie was himself but a 
few years old, as he was born in Orange County, in 
the township of Middletown, N. Y., Feb. 14, 1826. 
Richard fS. Horlon, father of our subject, was a 
wagon-maker, and a very skillful workerat his trade. 
He was born and reared in Orange County, N. 
Y., and there he married the maiden of his choice, 
Miss Keziah Valentine, of German ancestry'. In 
1830 Mr. Horton came to Michigan to purchase 
some Government land for himself, and was also on- 
trusted with money to make a like purchase for two 
neighbors. He bought 160 acres for iiimseif on 
section 13, Raisin Township, and two tracts of the 
same number of acres for his neighbors in the same 
township. He then went back to New York, and 
in 1831 returned to Michigan with his wife and 
their five children, two daughters and three sons, 
who had been born to them in their old home. 
They came via the Erie Canal and Lake to Detroit, 
where Mr. Horton purchased an ox-team, and with 
a wagon laden with their household goods pro- 
ceeded toward their destination. After the first 
day's journey the oxen wei'e stolen, and more had 
to be procured before they could complete their 
journey to Tecumseh, whence they went soon after 
to locate on their land in Raisin Township. The 
father many years afterward closed a long and use- 
ful life on his farm in that township, where he had 
built a home in the wilderness, his death occurring 
in January, 1863, at the age of seventy -three j-ears. 
He was passionately fond of the chase, and had 
killed as many bears, wolves and deer as any of the 
settlers who were not professional hunters. He 
supplied his own table with game, and many a deer 
and wild fowl that had been brought down by his 
unerring aim found its way to his neighbor's larders. 
He was very popular among his fellow-citizens, and 
was known far and wide as "Uncle IJick," and re- 
spected wherever known as an honest man. His 
good wife, who was held in like estimation, died in 
1867 at the age of seventy-one years. 

Our subject was the fourth child born to his par- 
•4* • 



ents, and was but five years of age when he came 
with them to this State. Here he was bred on a farm 
to the occupation which he has followed since attain- 
ing manhood. He was married in Eaton Rapids, 
Mich., May 14, 18.50, to Miss Cornelia S. Long, 
who was born in Alabama Township, Genesee Co., 
N. Y., March 30, 1825. She was the second 
daughter of the family of eleven children bovn to 
Appolosand Sarah (Green) Long, who were natives 
of Massachusetts, and of New England parentage. 
Immediately after marriage they went to Living- 
ston County, N. Y., and settled on a new farm 
in Caledonia Township, where they encountered the 
trials incidental to pioneer life. They later went to 
Genesee County, but afterward returned to Living- 
ston County, where the father died in 1 K4."), nt the 
age of fifty-five years. Soon after the death of the 
father the mother and children came to Michigan 
and made their home in Raisin Township. A few 
years later the mother and a part of her family re- 
moved to Eaton Rapids, where her death occurred 
at the home of one of her sons in isfi.i, at the age 
of seventy years. 

Mrs. Horton was well trained to the practical 
duties of life, and received a good education, vvhich 
enabled her to successfully follow the vocation of 
teacher before her mai-riage. After marriage Mr. 
Horton owned and managed a sawmill in Raisin 
Township, which after two yefU'S he exchanged 
for a farm in Tecumseh. He afterward sold his 
property in that township, and removing to La- 
grange, Ind., he purchased a tract of land, and 
lived there four years; he then disposed of his 
property there, came to Clinton Township, and 
settled on his present farm. To him and his wife 
have been born two sons, Frederick A. and Henry 
L , both of whom live at home with their parents, 
Frederick married Miss Hattie I. Long, of Eaton 
County, where she was born and grew to woman- 
Mr. Horton and his sons are IJemocrats, and Mr. 
Horton has ably filled the offices of Township 
Treasurer and Justice of the Peace for some years. 
Mrs. Horlon is a much esteemed member of the 
Baptist Church of Tecumseh. and the family stand 
deservedly high in the community on account of 
their inherent worth and ability. 



L 



-<^ 



lenawep: county. 



.ilH 



•ILLIAM R. WILSON, one of the repre- 
sentative men and successful agricultur- 
ists of the township of Ridgeway, has lived 
in this township a longer time than any other man 
living here. He was born in Genesee County, N. Y., 
and is the son of Robert Wilson, a native of New 
York, who was reared partly in W.-iyne County, 
and was united in marriage in Genesee County with 
Miss Phrebe Robertson, a native also of the Empire 
State. Mr. Wilson came of German ancestry, 
his wife of Scotch and Irish. After "marriage Mr. 
and Mrs. Robert Wilson lived in Genesee County 
for a few years, and during this time tlicir onl3- 
child, the subject of our sketch, was born. 

When Robert Wilson left New York for the [jur- 
pose of establishing for himself a home in Southern 
Michigan, he started with a team and wagon and 
$300 in money. He went l)y the canal to Bnffalu, 
tlience by Lake to Detroit, where he loaded all his 
earthly possessions on the wagon, and followed tiie 
trail to Lenawee County, stopping at Tecumseh, 
where he remained one year. He then came to 
Ridgeway Township, and invested iS20n of his 
money for 160 acres of land, where lie settled and 
on which our subject now lives. He olilniiud his 
land of Uncle Sam, and the purchase p.-ipn- were 
signed by President Jackson. On this pl:icc. on 
section 32 of what was then called Macon Town- 
ship (now Ridgeway), he built his primitive caliin, 
a pleasant little log house, which became his home 
for some time. In course of time this gave place 
to a larger and finer residence, one of the best then 
in the township, and now the lioiiie of the only 
child. The father lived to see almost .•ill the f:irm 
well improved, and owned at the time of his death 
nearly 200 acres. Mr. VV^ilson lost his first wife, 
the mother of William R., in 1855. She was a 
member of the German Reformed Church, and an 
esteemed member of society. He married IiIn sec- 
ond wife, Hannah E. Van Nostrand, and died Oct. 
8, 1866; the widow is now living in Clinton Town- 
ship. He was an old-line Whig, casting one of 
the first four Whig votes cast in the township, and 
later a solid Republican. He was an active, ener- 
getic man, and accomplished a great deal in the de- 
velopment of this township and county. 

The subject of our sketch was educated at Te- 



cumseh, and has always lived on the homestead 
which he inherited from his father. On the 5th of 
Ma.y, 1 852, he was united in marriage in Raisin 
Township with Miss Mary A. Kelley, who was born 
in the township of Sidney, Kennebec Co., Me., 
March 26, 1831. She is the daughter of Wayne and 
Anne (Varner) Kelley, natives of Maine, where they 
were reared .and married. The father for some 
years followed the trade of a blacksmith in connec- 
tion with the cultivation of a farm in Maine till 
1839, when the family came via canal and Lakes to 
Toledo, Ohio, and thence to Tecumseh by the 
" horse-car railroad," where they located in Raisin 
Township, securing a f.arm which they made their 
home until their death, the father dying Feb. 19, 
1854, the mother Dec. 1, 1886. They belonged to 
the Society of Friends, and in politics the father 
was a Whig. 

Mr. and Mrs. Wilson are the parents of three 
children: Julia E., who was liorn Dec. 12, 18G2, 
and died Aug. 30, 1864; Henry C, who took to 
wife Agnes Willett, of Blisstield, Mich., and lives at 
Constantine, St. Joseph Co., Mich., a teacher by 
profession, a graduate from the schools at Tecumseh 
and Ypsilanti, Mich., and Superintendent and Prin- 
cipal of the High School at Constantine; and 
Eugene A., who married Miss Kittie E. Fessenden, 
and lives in I'etoskey. Emmet Co., Mich. Both 
are teachers, .ind Mr. \\. is a graduate tR)m the 
schools at 'J'ecumseh and Ypsilanti, and is Principal 
of the High .School where he lives. 

Jlr. and Mrs. Wilson and their children are 
members of the Methodist Church at Ridgeway. 
Mr. W. is a Re|jnlilic.in, and has been Township 
Clerk. 

|[_^ GRACE BREWER. During the year 1837, 
when the young township of Tecumseh was 
struggling to assert itself, foremost among 
the energetic, and enterprising spirits who 
pitched their tents in the wilderness was the sub- 
ject of this sketch. He was then in the strength 
and vigor of early manhood, eager to put his 
shoulder to the wheel, and was soon acknowledgeil 
as a leading spirit among the various interests which 
resulted in the growth and progress of the com- 



•► 



■•► 



314 



LENAAATIE COUNTY. 



IS amply hip-isetl 
I the close of a 
ivialilc position 



^; 



miinily. As years passed hy. lie \v 
ill the result of his labors, and unti 
long and itseful life occupied an e 
among his fellow-citizens. 

Mr. Brewer, a native of Hartford. Conn., was 
bom Aug. 13, 181G, and closed his eyes upon earthly 
scenes at his home in Tecuraseb, Dec. 11, 1881. He 
was reared in his native .State, and before reaching 
his majority became an expert car|)eiiter and joinei-, 
in which he engaged some time after coming to the 
West. His first vvork in Lenawee County was on 
the Presbyterian Church, and he here met with an 
accident which came very near putting an end to a 
useful and successful career. While upon the roof 
with a bundle of shingles, he missed his footing and 
fell to the ground, receiving injuries which it was 
supposed at the time could not be otherwise than 
fatal. His excellent constitution, however, survived 
the shock, while his extraordinary will-power assisted 
greatly in his recovery. The following morning he 
got up from his bed and rode with .Indge Stacy to 
Adrian. 

Mr. Brewer continued at his trade some years, 
and among other important buildings put up the 
first steam sawmill in the county, located in Ridge- 
way Township. This was his own enterprise, and 
he operated it successfully for a number of years, 
when he subsequently eng.aged in the same business 
at Toledo, Ohio. In 1 848 he purchased an interest 
in the 'I'ecumseh Foundry and Machine-Shops, of 
which in time he became sole proprietor, and oper- 
ated alone until his son Albert had grown to years of 
discretion, when he and Mr. H. W. Conkling were 
taken into partnership, the firm name becoming H. 
Brewer & Co. From a very small beginning this 
enterprise grew to a large and lucrative business. 
Mr. Brewer was a natural mechanic, possessing an 
ingenious hand and a correct eye, and whatever 
enterprise he undertook he insisted upon having it 
carried out in the best manner. He was a man at- 
tentive to hi.s business, straightforward in his trans- 
actions, lionored and beloved by all. The univer- 
sal testimony summed up was that "Every man 
with whom he came in contact, whether in the busi- 
ness or social circle, was his friend." A large con- 
course of people attended his funeral, and among 
the most sincere mourners were his force of em- 



-^■ 



ployes. to whom lie liad ever lieen a kind and con- 
siderate friend and benefactor. 

Mr. Brewer was married, Nov. 4, 1H41 , in Tecum- 
seh Township, to Miss Maria, daughter of Isaac 
Ketcham. To Mr. and Mrs. Brewer there were 
born three sons and one daughter, of whom Albert 
L. is the only survivor. Mrs. Maria Brewer died at 
the family residence in Tecumseh, June 25, 1884, at 
the age of sixty-six years. She was a native of 
New York, and born March 18, 1817. Both she 
and her husband were devoted members of tiie 
Presbyterian Church. 



■^— 



JOHN DUBOIS. The old adage, "His word 
' is as good as his bond," is sometimes used in 



^.,^1 connection with the names of men of well- 
(^^' known honesty, but never in reference to a 
man who enters into an obligation without seriously 
contemplating its discharge when the time mentioned 
arrives. Lenawee County is generally peopled 
with admirable citizens, whose good qualities are 
known far and wide, and of those who live in 
Ridgeway Township the subject of this sketch 
stands prominent. He is a good citizen and suc- 
cessful farmer, whose home is located on section 34, 
of the fractional part of the township. He first set- 
tled on this farm about the year 1845, and has since 
made his home here. 

Mr. Dubois was born in Countj' Antrim, Ireland, 
in 1820, and is the son of Alexander Dubois, a na- 
tive of the same county, and Susan Grier, who was 
also a native of Ireland. After the birth of six 
children, of whom our subject was the youngest, 
the parents came to America, landing at Quebec, 
and afterward came to the United States, where 
they began life on forty acres of wild land seven 
miles south of Ogdensburg, N. Y., where they re- 
mained until their death at a ripe old age; the farm 
is still owned by one of the children. The parents 
were of the Presbyterian faith of the North of Ire- 
land people. Our subject was only one year old 
when his parents landed in this country, and he 
lived at home with them until seventeen years of age, 
when he began to earn his own living. From New 
York he came to Michigan, where he learned the 



-► ■ "<* 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



315 



trade of » c-arpciiler, liut tlwit biisiiies> imt Miitiui;- 
his taste, lie only followed it foi' a few years, wlicii 
he changed his occni)ation for that of a farmer. He 
purchased the land he now owns, and soon after- 
ward married, in Ridgeway, Miss Mary Osteiliuut, 
who was born in Seneca County, N. Y., and came 
to Michigan with her parents, John and Sallie (Hai- 
lej') Osterhout, when she was very young. Airs. 
Osterhout was the mother of four children: Kli/,a- 
beth, Mrs. G. W. Smith ; Eva, wife of Joseph Cone. 
now of Cone's .Station, Monroe County; Enuna. 
wife of E. Price, who lives on a farm in this luuii- 
ship, and Mary, wife of our subject; I'^li/.abetli is 
now deceased. 

Mr. Dubois was again married, in Mooreville. 
Washtenaw County, to Mrs. Johanna Deni.soii, 
who came from Westport, N. Y., when a young 
woman, marrying David Denison in Monroe County. 
He died, leaving her two children — lane, now de- 
ceased, and Carrie E. This wife died at hei' home 
in this township, in 187.5, at the age of thirty-seven 
years. She bore Mr. Dubois two children — Ollie 
and Fred. Ollie married Oliver Curry, and they 
now reside on a farm in Milan Township, Monroe 
County. Mr. Dubois' third wife was Miss Maria 
McFall, who was born in Monroe County-, Mich., on 
the •23d of November, 1841. She was the daughter 
of Cornelius and Catherine (Denison) McFall, both 
of whom are now deceased, and was reared in Mon- 
roe County. She is the mother of one child, Floyd 
by name. 

Mr. and Mrs. Dubois both belong to the Meth- 
odist Church, and are active participants in all its 
undertakings. In politics Mr. Dubois is an ail- 
heient of the Democratic party, in which he is an 
active and effective worker. Tliey both occupy a 
creditable position in the neighborhood in which 
they reside, and are universally esteemed and re- 
spected. 

eLARK W. DECKER. The building inter- 
ests of Adrian, as may naturally be su])- 
posed, have formed one of its most impor- 
tant features, and the general aspect of the town 
denotes with what skill and good judgment these 
have been conducted. Among the builders and 
contractors who have been kept busy for a long 



period of years and whose works have been the best 
exijonent of their ability, the subject of this sketch 
occupies an enviable position. 

Mr. Decker has spent his entire life amid the 
scenes of his present labors, having been born in 
Adrian Township on the 17th of May, 1838. His 
parents were Uriah and Experience (Baker) Decker, 
natives respectively of Columbia and Ontario 
Counties, N. Y. ;the former was born Oct. 24, 1805. 
riie mother, whose early home was near the town 
of Manchester, was born about 1808. They were 
married in the Empire State and came to the Ter- 
ritory of Michigan in the summer of 1833, locating 
on section 7, in Adrian Township, where the father 
opened up a good farm, cultivating the soil and 
erecting a substantial set of frame buildings. Here 
he spent the remainder of his life and rested from 
his earthly labors in December, 188^. 

i'he parental family included four sons and four 
daughters, all living, married and settled in com- 
fortable homes of their own ; the mother occupies 
the old homestead. Our sul)ject was the third son 
and fifth child and remained on the farm until a 
youth of sixteen years, when he chose a sailor's life, 
which he followe<l on the Laljes two years there- 
after, making trips pi-iiicipally from Chicago to 
Buffalo, employed l)y parties dealing in grain. 
When taking up his abode upon terra firma again, 
in the spiiiig of 1855, he commenced learning the 
carpenter's trade in Adrian. That fall he repaired 
to South Haven, where he spent the following winter 
working at his trade, and in the spring engaged 
with a party of surveyors bound for Minneapolis, 
Minn. He was employed thereafter in assisting to 
make the Government survey, at which business he 
continued until the severe winter weather com- 
pelled them to abandon their labors. 

Mr. Decker, in the spring of 185G, returned to 
Adrian and was idle for some time on account of 
an attack of measles. Upon his recovery he re- 
sumed work at his trade in the town of Rome and 
other points throughout the county, following car- 
pentering until the spring of 1861. The outbreak 
of the Rebellion broke in upon his plans as upon 
the plans of thousands of other men, and he, in 
common with them, considered it his duty to assist 
in the preservation of the Union. He accordingly 



*t 



■^•■ 



LENAVVEK COUJJTY. 



^ 



enlisted, soon after the fiist call for troops, in Com- 
pany K, 1st Michigan three-months men, and took 
part in the first battle of Bull Run. In August 
following, his time having expired, he returned to 
Adrian and commenced work at his trade, under 
the supposition with man^y others, that the Rebell- 
ion was a comparatively slight disturbance which 
would soon be quelled. In the winter of 1862, 
however, finding that the conflict .seemed no nearer 
its close, he turned his attention again to his 
country's need and assisted in raising Company H, 
11th Michigan Cavalry, of which he was at once 
commissioned Second Lieutenant. He marched to 
the front with his regiment, and in December they 
fonnd themselves in Kentucky under command of 
Gens. Stouemau, Burbridge and Schofield, and 
took part in all the skirmishes and more serious en- 
gagements with the enemy in that region. 

In January, 1864, Mr. Decker was promoted to 
First Lieutenant, with which rank he was mustered 
out in October, I860. Upon his return to Adrian 
he was married to the maiden who had been watch- 
ing the results of the war with extreme anxiety, 
and in common with others had nerved herself to 
meet the worst, if necessary. This was Bliss 
Emma Halsted, of Rome Township, and the wed- 
ding was celebrated Oct. 14, 186.5. After marriage 
the young people took up their abode in a modest 
home in the town of Rome, where they resided two 
years during which Lieut. Decker followed his 
trade. At the expiration uf this lime he traded 
his property there for a house and lot in Adrian, to 
which they removed in .lune, 1. Silts. This lias been 
theii- home since that time, and one to which they 
have given much time and thought in embellishing 
it and contributing to its value, so that it has be- 
come one of the most desirable homes in the citj'. 
Lieut. Decker branched out as a builder and 
contractor soon after his marriage, in which he has 
since been engaged with the exception of three 
years, during which time he was foreman of the 
Adrian Car Manufacturing Company. He is a 
tirst-class woi'kman, possessing much natural genius, 
and has been concerned in the erection of some of 
the best buildings in the city, including the Rowley 
& Farrar block, besides various stores and some of 
the best residences. 



Mr. and Mrs. Decker are the p;n-ents of two 
children <)nly, Zoe L. and Leon E. The father of 
our subject served as Justice of the Peace in Adrian 
Township continuously for a period of sixteen 
yeai'.s, during which time among other duties he 
joined in marriage a large number of the young 
people of that locality. Clark W. takes an active 
interest in politics and is conservative in his ideas, 
reserving the right to support the candidate whom 
he "considers the best qu.iliiied for office. Socially 
he belongs to Adrian Lodge No. S, I. O. O. F., 
the K. O. T. M. and the (i. A. E. 



(»m. LBERT G. BURTON. The subject of this 
^O sketch belongs to that large class of cnlt- 

|rii! ured, intelligent and enterprising people 
l^ who came into Michigan from the Empire 

State during its pioneer period, and became such 
imi^ortant factors in developing the resources with 
which nature has so generously provided it. This 
element of Michigan's population has not onlj' con- 
tributed vastly to the cultivation of a naturally 
rich soil and establishing its reputation as one of 
the first grain-producing sections of the Northwest, 
but has stood as a champion of enlarged educa- 
tional facilities and the encouragement of those 
genial, social qualities without which no community 
can attain to its highest degree of perfection. 

These thoughts naturally spring to the surface in 
reflecting upon the character of such a man as Mr. 
Burton, the nature of which the biographer has 
gathered from the involuntar3' expressions of 
those who have known him for a long period of 
years. His early home was in the township of 
Vernon, Oneida Co., N. Y., where his birth took 
place on the Uth of May, 18-24. His father, George 
Burton, a native of Norwich, Vt., was born near 
the town of Hanover, and when a single man, in the 
year 1812, made his way to New York State, set- 
tling first in Madison County. Thence he removed 
to Oneida County, where, under the instruction of 
his brother Minor, who had located in Clinton, N. 
Y., he learned the blacksmith's trade and married 
Miss Charlotte Lockwood, who had been born and 
reared in Madison County. Soon after his marriage 
George Burton put into operation a mill for grinding 





J 



,-fj^fl§,f ~l '■ "■ 




I.KNAWKE COUNTY. 



plaster, but after a time it was swept away by a ttood, 
and he then removed to Clinton and e^tnllli<hed n 
shop where he carried on general lihuk^inilliinu and 
carriage-making. lie also built at Ncinun llic lirst 
elliptic spring buguy inOncid.-i ('(iiinly, :iiid wliirli 
for a long time wn- ilsimI lu (•(uncy llie rnitiil 
htates mail between iuiportaut i)oinls. 

In 1835 George Burton sold out his interots in 
the Empire State, and gathering together his poi-- 
sonal effects started fc.i' the 'riTrilory of Michigan, 
accompanied by hi> wifr .•iiid four children. Tlicy 
made the journey via canal to niirfalci and thence 
by steamer to Detroit, where they liircil team^. .-nid 
completed the journey to the iKHthern part of this 
county over a cordur<_iy road, airiviiig in ( linlou 
Townshii) on the 2l'd of .lune. where Mi'. ISinton .-it 
once engaged at his trade of lilaeksnuth with a Mv. 
Foreman. Later, in company with John Nicholas, he 
established a foundry which they operated togelliei' 
three years. During the finaiici;i! crisi- of l.'SoT. 
which resulted in the breaking up of the '-wilih^it" 
lianks. Mr. Burton was tinanei.-dly ruine.i and 
obliged tosU>pend lill>ine--. Snh>e<,iielil ly. with the 



coming a bride. This child, George, is married 
and makes his home in Chi<-ago. being employed as 

ricil in 1S.-.7. was formerly M i>s .lane K. Roland, 
and they licc-inie the ptirciits of twi, children— Hat- 
tic ■■uid Katie, both now nianied. ."Mrs .lane E. 
I'.iuton died in l.^i;;;. She was .-i remarkalily intelli- 
gent l.-idy, and fullillcd lier duties a> wile and mother 

TIk' third wife of our ,snl)jeet. to whon) he was 
in.airi,.d in Isc, |. w;is Mis.s M.ar-aret V. Smith, a 
native of New York State, who came to this county 
when a younu lady and die.l at her home in Clin- 
ton. FcL. ■.'■_'. is.si. She iiad become the mother of 
four children, llnce of whom li\e to bless her mem- 
ory. Tlie eldest. Carlton S.. is a teacher of instru- 
mental music and a resident of Chicago, 111.: .Inlia 
died in 1 s.s 1 when sevcnt<-en years of age: Christine 
and William are at home with their fathei'. Air. 
Burton, politically, is a straight Republican. 



indebtedness and spent his last years amid the com- 
forts of a good home. George Burton was born in 
1797, and departed this life in Clinton A'illage in 
the spring of 1873. His wife survived him until 
1883, dying after summing up her fourscore years. 
Both were devoted members of the Baiitist Church. 
in which the father officiated as Deacon for .-i long 
period. 

Our subject was the second .-hiid of his paicnts. 
who.^e family consisted of foui sons and fourdanuh- 
ters. Of these. Albert O. an<l thi'ee si^icrs are yet 
living. Mr. Burton learned blacksnnthing and 
carriage-making in the shop of his father, with w liom 
he commenced regular work in l.s.'S'.l, and eonlinned 
with him until reaching his maj(M-ity. I'pon the 
failure of his father the son succeeded to the busi- 
ness, and much of the time has given employment 
to as many as ten men. Of late years, howe\ei', he 
has reduced this number con-iderably. IjuI still 
carries on an extensive business. 

i\Ir. Burton was first married in Clinton, in Is.'.l'. 
to Miss Ilari-iet Seymour, who liee.imc the nn.tlier 
of one child and died about thicc vears aft.a- hc- 



ATHAN (iANUN is one of the most cnter- 
Itrising and successful citizens of Palmyra 
^ Town.ship, where for several years he has 
been actively engaged in the manufacture of lum- 
ber, and more recently- has lj<'come an extensive 
land-owner and farmer, lie i.s .-i unlive of Putnam 
Connly. N. I., wlieiv his birth occurred Sept. 15, 
is;!(;.. His f;ithei-. Lewis ( lannn. was :dso a native 

of Putnam C ity, and there his father. .leremiah 

Oannn. w.-is engage(l in Inruiing. and is supposed to 
ha\e passed his entiie life there. The father of our 
subject was rcaied in his native county, and there 
married Mary Z. KnitHu, likewi.se a native of Put- 
nam County. Her father, Sylvanus Kniffin, was a 
native of the adjoining I'onnty of \Ye>tchester, and 
was a farmer. Shortly ;dter lus marriage Lewis 
(ianun bonuht a farm ouc-half mile distant from 
his lather's homestead, and four miles from the 
t,,wn of Carmel. He lived there for a few years 
when he sold his iiiopcrtv an<l ei-<issed the border 



St: 



♦^1- 



322 



■•►-»-4« 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



spent the remainder of their live;*. They were the 
parents of four children, namel}' : Belinda and 
Eniilinda (twins), Nathan and Newman. Emilinda 
married Newman Wonlen, and lives on her father's 
old homestead in Connecticut; Belinda and New- 
man are deceased. 

Nathan Gannii, of whom we write, grew to man- 
hood in the place of his birth, and in assisting his 
father in the. labors of the farm gained the knowl- 
edge of how to work to the best advantage and 
how to make himself useful in whatever position he 
might be placed. This schooling has been of 
inestimable value in shaping his fortunes since 
thrown on his own resources. At the age of six- 
teen he commenced to learn the trade of carpenter, 
and devoted three years to obtaining a thorough 
mastery of the business in all its details. The first 
year he received $25 for his services, the second 
year $50, and the third year $75. By careful econ- 
omy he managed to save $25 out of the sum of his 
three years' wages. He worked at his trade as a 
journeyman until 1863. 

Mr Ganun was married in Westchester County. 
N. Y., Dec. 23, 1857, to Jane A. Reynolds, daugh- 
ter of Jared and Jane (Worden) Reynolds. The 
Reynolds were old residents of Westchester County. 
as also were the Wordens. They were farmers and 
highly respected. Mrs. Ganun's mother died when 
she was nine'years of age and her father when she 
was only fourteen ; thus it will be seen slie was left 
an orphan at an early age. She was boi-n Feb. Hi, 
1837. 

Mr. Ganun removed to Berea, Oliio, and lived 
there until 1866, then came to tiiis State and 
bought five acres of land on section 12, Palmyra 
Township and section 7 of Blissfield Township. He 
removed a steam sawmill from Ohio to this county 
and (ujmraenced the manufacture of lumber. He 
was very successful in tliis venture, to which he 
confined himself entirely until 1878. He then 
branched out in other directions, investing in land 
to a considerable extent, and adding farming to his 
previous occupation. In this undertaking he has 
also been greatly prospered. He now (jwus 285 
acres of land, on which he luis erected a substantial 
-set of farm buildings, adniii'ably suited to the re- 
quirements of a large farm, and his commodious 



dwelling is one of the finest in the township. A 
fine picture of his residence and its beautiful sur- 
roundings will be found on an adjoining page of 
this work. 

Mr. and Mrs. Ganun have had born to them four 
children, all of whcmi are living, viz: Francis L., 
who was born Nov. 13, 1858, married Carrie S. 
Dean, and they have four children — Mabel L., Lillie 
M., Oliver D. and Elsie. Addison, the second child, 
was born March 3, 1861. married Clara Bancroft, 
and they have three children — William L., Ethel 
and Eleazer H. Newman J. was born March 7, 
1863, and married Ella Jones; Malvina A. was born 
July 7, 1865. The two elder sons live in Blissfield 
Township and the youngest in Palmyra Township, 
and all close to the old homestead. Mr. Ganun 
gave liis sons the benefits of a good common-school 
education, while their daughter was graduated by 
the college at Adrian. 

Mr. Ganun's life since he left the home of his 
parents has been a busy one. The practical lessons 
that he learned in his Eastern home have been of 
much use to him since he became a citizen of this 
part of the country, and to them, together with his 
business ability and persistent labor, he owes his 
present prosperity. In the prosecution of his varied 
business interests Mr. Ganun has promoted tlie in- 
terests of tiiis town. In politics he is a Republican. 

It is with much pleasure that we present to their 
many frieutls fine lithographic portraits of Mr. 
(4;uiun and his wife in connection with this brief 
sketch. 

OSES BOWERMAN, a pioneer settler of 
Lenawee County, established liimself in 
Raisin Township in the fall of 1832. He 
was one of the first to brave the dangers 
anil difficulties of life in a new settlement, and 
l)ears tlie distinction vf being one of the most use- 
ful members of a community to nhicli he came 
when it was just struggling into existence. Amid 
the vicissitudes of a long and changeful life he h<HS 
acquitted himself in a most creditable manner, 
having been enterprising, industrious, liberal, 
minded, and in all respects an honest man and a 
good citizen. He contributed his full quota toward 



.^h 



r 



4 



T>KXAWKE COUNTY. 



the development of the resources of Rsiisin Town- 
ship, and enjoys the universal esteem of a lari>e 
circle of friends and a(_'((u:iinlanres. In liis some- 
what lenothy journev <ii life he has Deen accom- 
panied by one of the most excellent of women, who 
has proved to him a faithful wife and helpmeet, been 
his wise counselor in times of toil and dithcnlty, 
and is now the honored shai-cr of his lallcr suc- 
cesses and the comfortable home which Ihcy have 
jointly built up from the wihicrness. 

Our subject was born in Providence Township, 
.Saratoga Co., N. Y.. Nov. 27. LSI 1. His father. 
also Moses, was a native of i\lassa<-husetts, ami was 
twice mari-ied. his sccouil wife licing .Miss Kunice 
Dexter, who became the mother of our subject. 'I'lie 
latter was four years of age when his parents mi- 
grated from Saratoga to Wayne C'ounty and locatid 
in Ontario Township, whci-e the death of the f.-itlier 
took pl.'iee eight years Later. The mother with h<'r 

County, where they reiiKiined uiilil is.'I'J.and when' 

our subject developed into manhood. Si aftci- 

reaching his nineteenth birllid:iy he wa- mairied, 
and aceom|)anied by his wife and a number ot 
families, mainly his relatives. sl,-uteil toi- I hi- ■l'<.|-ii- 
tory of Michigan. 'Jhey .-di look up theii- .-d.o.h' 
upon a portion of the uneulli\ated land in Raisin 
Township, and Mi-. Uciwcrnjaii w.-is the pioneer of 
the timber tract, taking the le.-id in expjorini; its 
wilds and entering eighty acres from the Covern- 
meut. Their first dwelling consisted of a shanty 

with a shake roof, and here the youna eouple ( - 

uienced life t<jgethej-. \\'ild game was pUaitifid. and 
their larder contained some of the ehoii-esl meats to 
be fouiul then or now. It is proljahle that lliey 

were far more contented and happy ihi lany of 

the househoUls estalilisiied lo-<lay with more bixni- 
ious surroundings: tliey had nioic i:d>oi- and more 
real, substantial comfort. They c-m remember at 
least how glad they were I.. Mud a rest ing-plaec. .as 
the journey ti-om \ew Voik had been a<-eoniplished 
laboriously, first l)y canal to Ihiftalo, thence by Lake 
to Detroit, and from tlieic with o.\-t,e;ims. 

When Mr. IJowerman -tartcMl out with his yon ni; 
wife to seek his foitun<' in the West he po~>c>sed a 
capital of *170. Aftci' be iiad pureliaM-d his land 
and a cow, he had nothing left, and began to work 



for his neighbors by the day or mouth as he eoiild 
secure employment. 'I'he people about him re- 
spected him for his determination and indnstry. 
The pioneers njade it a rule to help those who had 
a disposition to help themselves, and though many 
of them were in the same condition as oiu' subject, 
where there was a will there was a way, and if they 
couM not give money they frecpiently bestowed its 
equivalent, and uith a mutual inti-rcst .all worked 
together, usually with the happiest results. 

Young Bowerman pursued the even tenor oi his 
w.ay, undismayed by hardships and <litliculti<'s, and 
in due time began U< rcaliz,' the r.'ward of his 
labors. lie felled the trees ari.uml his pioneer 
dwelling, and as time passed by <jra,<lnally brought 
the laud to a good State of cultivation. Not many 
years laba- the wilderness was transformed into smil- 
inii fields with gidwinn giain. and the shanty on sec- 
tion :!:l w.as super,-,edcd by ;i sulistanti.al brick dwell- 
ing on section 20. Adjacent to this there soon 
appeared :i uood barn and various other out-build- 
inL;s, .-nid iJie homestead is now one of the most de- 
sirable in IJaisin Tounship. The property includes 
IL'I) a.a-es of land, and Air. an<l .Mrs. liowerman in 
their declining years are enjoying the fruits of their 
industiy. l)les.-cd with the confidence and esteem of a 
host of friend-. There is a sung bank aca'onut and 
plenty to Mipply them with every c(jmfort as long 



th,. (,)u; 



on the 
latter | 
thai p. 
-really 
r.ow.ai 



N. v., 

llavila 
I'rovi. 
Charle 



laii 


was !•( 


arc 


d by his e.xcelh 


lit par- 


akei 


faith, 


to 


which the 


grandparents 


■s si 


le ha( 


1 1 


igidly atll 


ered. 


These 


1 th 


. sim| 


le . 


lid honest 


attril 


utes of 


peo| 


>le. an 


1 \ 




kno 


Ml and 


■led 


in tl 




Knipire State. 


Moses 


■.. n 


IS OIK 


ot 


the orga 


lizers 


of the 


sin ■ 


'owns 


lip 


and has Tieen on 


■ of the 


rc| 


resent 


Ui\ 


es of the 


faith 


in this 


i lil 


erally 


of 


his time 


ml n 


cans to 


"n 


snbje 


■1. 


to uhom 1 


e w.as 


united 


H( 


valt.a 




owilsllip. 


Maga 


■a Co., 


1 .s;_; 


L "as 


Ill 


lergirlhoo 


1 .Miss 


/ilpha 


lativ 


e of 1 


h:i 


county. 


and 


loiii in 


OWl 


-hip. 


\:n 


. :i, \s\-2. 


Ibr 


father. 


and 


w.as a 


Lo 


a liali\e o 


■ the 


Kmpii-e 



•►-II::*; 



■•►;ll-4« 



•► 



-4^ 

:V24 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



ritod as a minister of the (Jiiaker Chuveh. He mar- 
ried in early manhood, Miss Esther Mosher, also a 
native of New York State, and a bright light in the 
Society of Friends, in which she was also a talented 
speaker. Mr. Haviland and his wife came to 
Michigan in the spring of 1833, and located in 
Kaisiii Township, where they spent the remainder of 
their lives. The mother passed away on the 10th 
of January. 1840, and the father, surviving seven- 
teen years, died Dee. 17, 18"i(l. Tiieir household in- 
eluded twelve children, of whom Zilpha w;is the 
tenth. 

Mrs. Bowermnn was carefully trained in all 
housewifely duties by her excellent mother and re- 
mained under the home roof until her marriage. 
Of her union with our subject there have been born 
thirteen children, of whom seven are deceased, 
namely: Eunice, who died in infancy; Martha, when 
twenty-two years old: Eunice, (2d), at the age of 
two years; Daniel when one j'earold; Cordelia Ann 
at the age of three years; Rosalinda at forty -five 
years, and Mary at forty-three years. Esther, the 
eldest daughter living, is the wife of Solomon Dye, 
a farmer of Nebraska; Moses is married and en- 
gaged in the lumber business in Summit City, this 
State; Nancy, who married James Kennedy, i.s 
living at home with her parents; Louisa is the wife 
i)f James Starm, and a resident of Raisin Township; 
Sarah married Charles Widney, and is a i-esident of 
Louisiana, while Ellen J. liKirrieil Orlando \\"est- 
gate, and lives in Raisin T()\vnshi|). 

The picture of this excellent old couple, jmssing 
their last years together in the home built up by so 
nuuiy years of labor and patience, and which is now 
rei)lete with comfort, is one eminently |)leasing to 
contemplate. They have lived long and worthily, 
and their names will be held in kindly remembrance 
years after the places that now know them shall 
know them no more. 

ff^, ETER KLSHPAUCiH. This gentleman rep- 
resents the grain and farm produce trade 
in Clinton Townshii), with whose business 

ciated for many yc;iis I pun first coming tu this 
section of countiy he local-eel in Franklin Township, 



and going over the line subsequently- secured a 
tract of land on section 3.5, in Manchester Town- 
ship, Washtenaw County. A large portion of his 
life has been spent in agricultural pursuits, but his 
home is now in the village of- Clinton, where he 
took up his residence in September, 1882. He 
possesses excellent business qualiflcations and has 
secured a competence for his old age. 

Our subject was born in Sussex Count}', N. J.) 
June 3, 1833, and is the son of Jonas Kishpaugh, 
who was born and reared in Warren County, N. J. 
The family was originally from Germany and has 
been largely engaged in agricultural pursuits for 
generations. Jonas Kishpaugh removed to Sussex 
Countj^ when a young man, and was there married 
to Miss Rachel Ousted, a New Jersey lady, also 
reared in Sussex County. After the birth of six 
children, one of whom died in infancy, the parents 
left their home on the New England coast and 
sought the wilds of Southeastern Michigan. They 
landed in Adrian Township, this county, in 1849, 
but later removed to Tecumseh Township, where 
the father purchased a tract of land, on which both 
parents continued the remainder of their days. The 
father of our subject became an extensive land- 
owner, having at one time a clear title to 500 acres. 
The mother departed this life about 1869, and 
Jonas Kishpaugh followed his faithful and affec- 
tionate companion four years later, his death oc- 
curring in February, 1873, when he was .seventy- 
seven years of age. The parents had for many 
years been devoted members of the Baptist Church, 
and the father, i)olitically, was independent. 

Peter Kishijaugh continued under the home roof 
until his marriage, which took place in Dundee 
Township, Moinoe Co.. .Mich., the bride being Miss 
Ann E. Lambert, who was born in Palmj-ra, this 
county, Sept. 18, 1840. Her parents, Ansel C. and 
Sarah (Dillingham) Lambert, were natives of New 
Yoik State, where they were reared and married. 
They came to Michigan in 1833, while it was still 
a Territory, and located on a tract of wild land in 
Palmyra Township. The father subsequently re- 
moved to Lambert Village, in Monroe County, and 
thence to a farm in Dundee Town-hiii. where he 
was engaged in agricultural piusiiits for .several 
years. Upon retiring from active labor he took up 



LENAA^^E^: county. 



32,") 



?- 



Ill's residence in the viJln^ir <if 1 )iin(lie. \\lici-c lii^ 
death toolv place Oct. ."), ls.s2. when lie was seventy- 
three years oM. lie li.'id l.ceii :i nieuilicr ..f the lie- 
publican party since ils (i|-n:ini/.a.t ion and \v:is a 
in.an of standing- in liis conminnity, luildinu niu>l 
of the township offices. The mother is yet livin;:, 
mailing lier iioiiie witii lier cliildren, and is sevenly- 
four years of age. 

Mrs. Kishpangh received lier edncation in tlio 
district schools of her native township. aii<l at lionic 
became familiar with all iionsewifcly dntics. ()f 
her marriage with our subject there hav<' liecii l)orn 
se^en children, of wliom ime daugliter dicil when 
nine years of age. .loini I,, inaii'ied Miss Carrie 
Brown, and is operating his father's farm in Man- 
chester Township, Washtenaw County; George W., 
a gradii.ate of the Medical De|)artment of Michigan 
State ITniversity, is a practicing piiy>ician; .Saraii 
is the wife of \V. II. Dorr, ;i well-to-do farmer of 
Franklin Township, this county; Mary E. is a 
teacher by profession and makes her home with her 
parents; Ansel .1. is tlie assistant of his father in 
the extensive business affairs of (he latter; Albeit 
F. continues under the home roof. .Mr. Kishpangh, 
politically, is a decided Democrat, and both he and 
his most estimable lady are regular attendants of 
the Episcopal Church at Clinton. 

JT/OHN F.ECKLEY occupies a good farm lying 
on the Ridge road, on section ■_>«, Macon 
Town-hii). whic^hhe purchased in the fall of 
!i is.ll. The land, under a goo. I pn.ccss of 
cultivation, yields in abundance the choicest crops 
of this section of countr}', and the present proprie- 
tor has effected the improvements, which are viewed 
l)y the passing traveler with unmixed admiration. 
Mr. Beckley was born in New York City, Oct. 
25, 1825, and is the son of Christopher and Eliza- 
beth (Bigle) Beckley, who were of (ierman pnrcnt- 
age and born and reared in the Fatherland. They 
were married not far from the place of their birth, 
hi Baden, where they rem.ained until after the birth 
of three children, and then emigrated to the tfnited 
States, where the elder Beckley pursued his oecu- 
patioii as a gardener some ^ears. Our subject con- 



state until 
luc to this 



Iwi'iily-si.x years of age, wlieii 1 
county, and was siibsequeully joined b\ Ihem. and 
they made their home with him until theii- decease, 
'i'hc mother ji.assed aw.ay in isC,",. at the age of sev- 
iiity-flveyears, while the fatlnr Mirvivcd his wife 
three yea-s, and died at almost eighty-nine years of 
age. They are i-eineinbcicd as jieoplc of sterling 
woi-th and integrity, and were inembcrs in good 
standing of the Methodist Episcoii.al Church. They 
((ossessed in a marked degree the reliable and sub- 
stantial traits of their excellent German .ancestors, 
which they transniitted lo their children, whom they 
trained to h.abits of in.iustrv and princijiles of 
holier. 

Mr. Beckley, liefore leaving the metropolis, was 
married, July 1."), 1851, to Miss Margaret Schreyer, 
who was also of German birth and parentage, her 
childhood home being in the little Kingdom of Ba- 
varia, where she was born March 24, 18;',.3. She 
came to the United States with her parents, Fred- 
erick J. and Kuiiiguhda (Martin) Schreyer, when a 
child eight years of age. They located in New 
York City, where the father engaged in general 
merchandising and also carried on the manufacture 
of matches for a good many years. In 18()2 they 
joined their children in lliis county, locating on a 
farm in Macou T.iwnship, where the father died 
Oct. i), 1871. The mother subsequently made 
her home with her daughter, Mrs. Beckley, where 
her death took place in April, 1879, after she had 
liassed her eightieth birthday. Mr. Beckley, like 
his father before him, is a stanch Democrat, politic-' 
ally, and although taking an interest in the general 
welfare of his township, is no ollice-seeker, prefer- 
ring to give his time and attention to his private 
interests. 



eN 



q^^:^ 

W^^'^- 



COVEL C. STACY is a Lenawee County 
1, and proprietor of the Tecnmseh Jler- 
, with which he has been connected since 
November, 1874. He was born in Tecnm- 
seh Milage, Aug. 2, 1841, and has continued a res- 
ident of his native town his entire life. His boy- 
hood was spent in school and on his father's farm, 
and at the age of nineteen years he had completed 



^•^•r^ 



326 



LENAWRR COUNTY. 



!i full course of study in the Tecumseh High School. 
In September, 1860, he entered the State Univer- 
sity at Ann Arbor, took the regular classical course, ' 
and was graduated in June, 1864, prepared for the 1 
more serious business of life. ! 

Upon his return from college, ynuiig Stac\' be- 
gan the study of law in the office of his father, act- 
ing. at the same time as clerk, until October, 1867. I 
He then returned to his Alma Mater, and took a 
six months' course in the law department of the I 
university. During his first attendance there, he [ 
ranked well in his class, excelling in the languages 
and rhetorical studies. In his senior year he was 
considered one of the best debators in the college, j 
He was a member of the " Delta Kappa Epsilon j 
Secret Society," and in his senior year he joined j 
"The Owls." Upon entering the law department 
he at once took an advanced position, became a 
prominent member of the Webster Society, and I 
ranked as one of the most fluent speakers in that 
department. Mr. Stacy was admitted to practice 
in the courts of Lenawee Countj-, May 29, 1.S68, i 
and to the United States Circuit Court of Detroit, 
on the 25th of March, 1 870. While yet a student | 
in his father's office, he had begun trying cases in i 
Justice's Courts, and acted as attorney in over 
thirty such trials, before his admissio.n to the bar. ! 

Mr. Stacy commenced his regular practice in 
partnership with his honored father, the firm being 
C. A. & S. C. Stacy, and continued until Novem- 
ber, 1874. He had been considerably interested in 
newspaper work for some time, and now purchased 
the Tecumseh Herald, for a consideration of §1,200. 
At this date, November, 1887, the office rejiresents 
an investment of i;9,000, and from a circulation of 
700, the present proprietor has brought the sub- 
scription list up to 1,500. In August, 1885, Mr. 
Stacy purchased the plant of the Addison Courier, 
and in October, 1887, added the outfit of the Brit- 
ton Eagle. He still continues the proprietorship 
and publication of both, employing Mr. A. J. 
Kempton as local manager of the Courier, while 
Mr. M. S. Hendershott holds the s.ame position in 
connection with the Eagle. 

Mr. Stacy has been quite prominent in local pol- 
itics, and uniformly works with the Democratic 
party, of which his paternal ancestors have been 



adherents since Jefferson's time. At the town meet- 
ing in April, 1866. he was elected Justice of the 
Peace for the townshii) of Tecumseh, his term be- 
ginning on the following 4th of July and continu- 
ing four j^ears. louring the ensuing ten years, he 
ran twice for member of the Lo\ver House in the 
Legislature, and twice for Prosecuting Attorney of 
Lenawee County, on the Democratic ticket, and 
was handsomely beaten in all four contests. It is 
hardly necessary to state that he was on the minor- 
ity side, but upon each occasion he polled more 
votes than the straight party ticket. 

In September, 1869, Mr. Stacy was chosen a 
School Trustee in the Union District, comprising 
the village of Tecumseh, and was elected Director, 
in which position he served until resigning to enter 
upon his law practice at Adrian. He returned to 
Tecumseh in the spring of 1871, and in September, 
1872, was again chosen School Trustee, and filled 
the position of Director of the Board for twelve 
successive years, retiring in 1884, when he declined 
a re-election. The present reputation of the Te- 
cumseh Union School is largely due to the labors 
and zeal of Mr. Stacy during these years. In April, 
1871, Mr. Stacy was elected Supervisor of Tecum- 
seh Township, on the Democratic ticket, although 
the township gave a normal Republican majority 
of nearly 100, and discharged his duties so satisfac- 
torily that he was re-elected in the spring of 1872. 
In April, 1873, he was defeated for the same office 
by Alfred D. Hall, Republican, by a majority of 
two, and was afterward twice defeated by the same 
gentleman. He goes, however, upon the principle 
that all is fair in a war of this kind, and takes his 
defeat in the best manner possible. After the Dem- 
ocratic administration came into power, and the 
term of Frederick Rosecrans, the Republican Post- 
master at Tecumseh, was about to exjHre, S. C. Stacj' 
was one of the prominent candidates for that office, 
Init his father. Judge Stacy, carried off the prize. 

Mr. Stacy has been for man3' years connected 
with the Universalist Church of Tecumseh. He 
was Superintendent of the Sunday-school for twenty- 
years, and served as a member of the parish 
Trustees for about the same length of time, most of 
the time acting as Clerk of the board. Mr. Stacy 
suffers somewhat from the infirmity of partial deaf- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



327 



iics>. :ni.l il u:i.- wi, :i<-<.,,init ,4 thi> tlmt li,' iv 
from liis law practi.-e ■■nid t'iit.eiv<l iiim,ii th.' |>r 
sioii of joiirnalisiii. With the exception of 
Applegate, of the Adrian Times, he is now Ihr 
est editor in continuous sei-vice in Lenawee ( oi 
He wiehls a ready pen, is an enthusiastic lo\ c 
his profession, and is recognized by his lirelhii 
the craft as one of the leading joni'uaJisl- of S( 
ern Michigan. 



ROF. L. 

) prietor 



BROWN, Principal ami pid- 
Brown's Business University. 
(^I^ one of the well-known institutions of 

I I Adrian, has contributed largely to the ed- 
ucational facilities of the city in having established 
one of the best colleges of its kind in the State, [t 
comprises a thorough and comi)lete course of i)rae- 
tical education, which cannot fail to be of use to 
men in all de|)artments of trade, and is fully of .is 
much advantage to the artisan, mechanic and 
farmer, who often labor at a disadvantage because 
of their limited knowledge of the rules which gov- 
ern general business transactions, as to those con- 
fined principally to commercial transactions. 

Mr. Brown has the advantage of being well known 
in this section of the country, where he has passed 
the greater part of his life. He is the son of a well- 
to-do farmer of Raisin Township, and was born at 
the homestead, north of the city, on the 2()th of 
October, 1860. His parents, Samnel and Rhoda 
(Knapp) Brown, were natives of Rochester, N. Y., 
and came to Jllchigan with their parents early in 
life. The Knapp family settled in Adrian Town- 
ship, and the young people after their marriage be- 
gan life together on a farm in Raisin Township. 
They are now numbered among the most highly 
respected residents of this township, where they oc- 
cupy a comfortable homestead and are spending 
their later years in peace and comfort. 

Prof. Brown pursued his first studies in the com- 
mon schools, and completed his literary course in 
Raisin Valley Seminary. For a more practical ed- 
ucation he entered the Detroit Business University, 
where he took a full course, and soon afterward put 
his acquirements to the test by engaging as book- 



B. Cook A 
if residence i 



of De- 
return 

igenial 
iiinier- 
osition 



keeper for the lirm of (). B. Cook A Co., 
troit. His next eliange o 
to Adrian, where he as.-un 
to his tastes, becomiiii; 1' 
ciril Department of the 111 

view the estalilishnient of .'Mi institution which 
should vary in some particulars from anything of 
the kind heretofore projected, and he commenced 
operations on the third floor of the VA'heeler Block, 
at the corner of Maumee and Winter streets. From 
that modest beginning has grown the university 
which is now attracting favorable attention from 
lioth educators and students. The course includes 
double and single entry book-keeping, actual busi- 
ness practice and correspondence, banking, com- 
mercial law, penmanship, political economy, busi- 
ness arithmetic and spelling. The |inpil who mas- 
ters these in this institution will be indeed finely 
equipped for the ordinary business of life in com- 
niercial circles. 

The university started in Decenilier, 1<S«4, with 
a class of five students, and in December, 1887, 
there was a regular attendance of over 100. Fur- 
ther comment is scarcely necessary, and another 
year will probably report a still more generous ap- 
preciation of one of the most lauthible undertakings 
in the citv. 



EMUEL McCORMICK, a i)rosi)erous farmer 
of Riga Township, may well be considered 
pioneer of this county, as the farm which 
he now owns was covered with the primeval forest 
when it came into his possession, and he had to un- 
dergo all the toils and privations of the early pio- 
neers in clearing it and rendering it fit for cultiva- 
tion. This part of the county was settled more 
slowlj- than some other portions, owing, doubtless, 
to the swampy character of some of the land, 
though when it was cleared and drnined it was 
found to be rich and productive. 

Mr. McCorinick was born in Butler C(.>unty, 
Pa., March 21, 1832, and is the son of Will- 
iam and Margaret McCormick. (For their parental 
history see the sketch of M. McCormick). His 
earl}' training was such as to make him manly, 



•^1^ 



328 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



solf-ivli;u,t. iiiul iiHlu>l,.i.m>. mu.'l. lH-ynii,l his 
years. After ;ui atlvinlniirc .if a tVw years at a 
public school he was sent out lo work to assist ill 
the support of the lauiiiy, and reinlered this service 
to his parents until he attained his majoi'ity, when 
the 3'ounger meniliers of the family were old eiioiigli 
to work, and the parents' burdens were lightened. 
He then started out into the world beyond his na- 
tive State to make a home for himself, and came 
directly to Riga Townshii). Here he procured 
work at farming, receiving $10 per month for his 
services. He carefully saved his earnings until he 
had enough to buy a yoke of oxen, and then he 
rented land, doing themostof his farm work and the 
greater part of his marketing for several years with 
cattle. In the year 1854 Mr. McCormick's parents 
and their family came to Riga and settled in the 
southern part of the township. The father con- 
tracted for a tract of land, lint died before his plans 
were matured for the removal of his family. 

When our subject first settled on the place he 
now owns it was heavily timbered, and for some 
years after he continued to rent land until he had 
enough of his own cleared for profitable cultivation. 
He now owns 100 acres of land, sixty -five of which 
are cleared and under good tillage, while he has 
erected good frame buildings, well adapted to farm- 
ing jiurposes. 

Mr. McCormick was united in marri.age, .July 1, 
1877, with Miss Sarah Hamilton, a native of But- 
ler C^ounty, Fa., and daughter of John and Mary 
Hamilton. Her father was born in Ireland and 
came to America when a young man, locating in 
Pennsylvania, where he met and married Mary 
Gibson, also a native of Ireland. After their mar- 
riage they made their home in Butler County, Pa., 
and there the father died Jan. 29, 1852. Some 
years later the mother removed to Riga Township, 
where she spent her last j'cars, <lying Nov. IG, 
1881. Mr. and Mrs. McCormick's marriage has 
been blessed by the l)irth of one son, (ieorge E., 
Nov. 10, 1878. 

The haril years of toil have early brought their 
reward to Mr. McCormick, who is scarcely past the 
prime of life. Thirty -three years have passed 
since he left his Pennsylvania home, with little if 
any capital, except youthful energy and a deter- 



iniiialion to make his own way in the worhl, to 
make a pia.-e and a ii..me for liiiuself. He is now a 
citizen of a community to whose |)rosperity he has 
contribute<l much, and is the owner of a good 
farm and a pleasant home, where, with the attend- 
ant blessings of a good wife and child, he may pass 
the years in comfort and enjoyment before old age 
comes. Mr. JleCorniick is an active and hearty 
su|i|iorter of the IJepublican party. 

^^^ OLOMON BROWN is at present repvesent- 
^^^^ ing several insuranc^e companies, among 
ljjl/j| which are the Hartford, Phrenix, Connecti- 
cut, of Hartford, Conn., and the U. S. 
Mutual Accident Association, besides some others. 
Mr. Brown is an attorney and has lieen Justice of 
the Peace for some time; he has also a collecting 
agency. He came to Clinton more than fifty years 
ago, and has transacted business here for twenty 
years, and been Justice of the Peace for four years. 
The subject of this notice was born in Monroe 
County, N. Y., on the 22d of July, 1824, and is the 
son of K. N. Brown, who was also a native of Mon- 
roe County, where he operated a distillery and 
conducted a hotel. He was there united in mar- 
riage with Miss Margaret Smith of that county, and 
remained until after the birth of seven children. 
They then came to Michigan and settled in Bridge- 
water Township, Washtenaw Count.y, where Mr. 
Brown resided until his death, which occurred in 
1874, at the age of seventy-four; his wife died in 
1883, at the age of eighty years. 

Our subject was the eldest son and second child 
of the parental family. He came to this State with 
his parents, and lived at home until his marriage, 
in Fayette Countj', Ind., with Miss Sarah Mcll wain, 
a native of that State. Early in life her parents 
came from South Carolina, and settled on a farm 
in Fayette County, where they resided most of 
their lives. Mrs. Brown was reared under the 
parental roof and clied at her home in Clinton in 
1879, leaving five children — Calista, Francis E., 
Lou A., Ida and Carrie. Calista was formerly a 
teacher and lives at home; Francis E. is engaged in 
the hardware trade in Clinton: Lou A. is a teacher 



••^h 



.^h 



•► 



320 



^h 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



line. 



Ciirric is ilu! wile (,f .lulm I.. Kislil.:iu-h. 
one child, Ralpli: Mi-. Ki,-lil.:in-h i- :i I'^hhh 
Our snlijcft \\-;ls ;i secniKJ tiinr m.-iniccl. 
ton, to Miss Jane A. Lid.lel!,:! naiive of Ni 
State. Mr. Brown xv;is oiiua-eii in the li 
business here six vears. ,an<I opcratcil llie 
water mill near Clinton for six years. 
Mrs. B are members of the C'ongrci>ati(in.-iI 
In politics he is a Democrat, and has luc 
dent <jf the Village Cmincil fi.r some time. 



^^. AMUEL UNDERWOOD. Am(mo the well- 
^^^ known families of Lcn.awee County I, hat of 
(^£^1 the Underwoods occupies a prominent and 
honorable place. John Underwood, the 
father of our subject, was one of the early settlers, 
became a well-known and highlj' respected citizen, 
and was a most excellent man. He was one of the 
hardy and industrious pioneers of this section of 
the West, and during his life chopped and logged 
more than 200 acres of heavily timbered land, thus 
helping to prepare a rich and pleasant heritage for 
the younger generation who should come after him. 
He died at his home in Ridgeway Township of j)ar- 
alysis, Nov. 13, 1880, at a ripe old age. 

Our subject was the seventh child of his parents, 
and first saw the light of day on his father's farm 
in Ridgeway Township, Sept. 2, 1845. He was 
reared at liome and remained under the parental 
roof until a year before his marriage, when ho went 
to Ontario, Canada, where he purchased a piece of 
wild land. He was not satisfied with the outlook 
there, however, and sold out and returm'd to the 
county of his birth on fot)t. Soon .■iftcrward. 
May 30, 18G8, in Clinton, Mich., he was united in 
marriage with Miss Mary Mill.son, who was al^o a 
native of Michigan, where she was born at Bridge- 
water, Washtenaw County, and was the daughter of 
John and Ann (Guiett) Millson. both now de- 
ceased. They were natives of England, the father 
being of Yorkshire and the mother of Leicester- 
shire. They came to this country ami wvw mar- 
ried in Detroit, and settled in the then unbroken 



forest, in P.ridgcwatcr Tnwnslii|.. Wa>ht(>ii:iw ( onn- 
ty, being among the earliest sellh'i~ of that .si^dion- 
Here, hy iudefatigal.I.. induMry. they elinnnated 
fr,m] 111,. wilderiKss a go.xl farm, whirh continued 
to lie Ihcii- home until their death. Th.' mother 
<lied -At the agv of liflyHvo .-uid the f^itluT at the 



>ur sii 
o hei' 



ly her inarriasie 



■n H. 

Abo 
lased 
Inch 



M IS. 

the 



It the lime of his ma 
e has continued to li 



■ since. He now 
has a fine bod.y of 140 acres of well-improved land, 
which is drained by more than seven miles of un- 
derground tile ilrainage, making it well suited to 
the production of ail kinds of cereals and oiher 
farm products. The land is exceedingly fertile, hav- 
ing produced as high as 100 bushels of oats to the 
acre, and other crops in proportion. There is a 
good set of farm buildings and all other appliances 
necessary to the modern agriculturist. Mr. Under- 
wood is a stanch Democrat in politics, and has 
been Township Treasurer two years. Socially he 
is a member of P>bie Lodge No. 09, in Tecumseh, 
of which he is Junior Warden, and belongs to the 
Chapter in Council No. 2."., in Clinton, and to 
Adrian Conimandery No. 1, and i- the lirst Knight 
•j'rmpl.ar ever made in Ridgeway. 

EDWARD P. ALLIS. The |ieople of to-d.ay 
who are enjoying all the comforts of civil- 
; ized life in the West, seldom pause to con- 
sider how the present state of affairs has been 
brought about. If they give a glance backward to 
the pioneer days, the past seems more like a dream 



330 



A^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



th;m !i reality, whoso scenes nnd Incidents can by no 
means beappreeiatefl by the present generation, and 
wiiich. even to those who partiei|i:ited in the events 
of that time, seem more like a fal)l<' nf another 
sphere than auythins' connected even remotely with 
the present. A large majority of the men who 
came to this section in the forties, arrived here 
forewarned and forearmed, not with gold or imple- 
ments of agricultnre, but with strong hands and 
brave hearts. Necessity made them fertile in ex- 
pedient and prepared them for every emergency. 
They did not expect lives of ease, or couches of 
down, but bravely camped out under a tent or in 
their wagons, if necessary, until they cduld prepare 
a more suitable liabitation. 

The subject of this biography was in nowise be- 
hind those of his compeers who were willing to 
make sacrifices and endure iiardships for the sake of 
their posterity. He emigrated from a comfortable 
and well-appointed home in New England, where he 
spent his early life and where his birth took place in 
Franklin County, Mass., Feb. 9, 181!). He was 
reared on the farm of his father, and in 1844 set 
out for the great West. Although intending to 
eventually become a tiller of the soil he could not 
at once enter upon a career which he had marked 
out for himself, but wisely chose that which appeared 
most expedient, and first engaged in running a saw- 
mill. He was thus occupied for two or three years, 
until he h.ad enough dollars in his pociiet to secure 
for himself a tract of land. He located first in Rome 
Township, where he lived for a period of twenty 
years, and whence he removed, in 1864, to Mad- 
ison Township, locating on section 8, where he built 
up a good homestead and has since remained. His 
property embraces seventy-two and one-half acres 
of land, which by his perseverance and industry is 
now valuable, and he has a snug dwelling, tasteful 
within and without, a good barn, and other improve- 
ments nece.ssary to the comfort of the modern 
farmer. 

Our subject was married in Hudson Township, 
April 2, 1851, to Miss Hannah Jennings, who has 
now been the partner of his joys and sorrows for a 
period of thirty-seven years. Their union has been 
blessed by the birth of three children, the eldest of 
whom. Elliott W., still remains with his parents 



under tlie home roof; Lucius F. married Miss Sa- 
mantha Gander, and is farming in Madison Town- 
shi]); he was born in Rt)me Township, July 11, 
1H.")7, and his wife Ajn-il 2(5, 1859; they have two 
children^ — Edward D. and Arthur L. Miss Mary 
AUis, the only daughter of oui' subject, re- 
mains at home with her parents. Mrs. Allis was 
born in New York State, Aug. (3, 1821, and is the 
daughter of Zera and Polly (Whaley) Jennings, 
natives respectively of Massachusetts and New 
York. They spent the latter part of their lives in 
the Empire State, where their remains are buried. 

The parents of our subject, Solomon and Anna 
B. (Dickinson) Allis, were natives of F'ranklin 
County, Mass., where they spent their entire lives, 
the mother dying about 18()3, and the father about 
1823. Mr. and Mrs. A. .'ire regular attendants of 
the Presbyterian Church, to which they give their 
support and influence, and our subject, in politics, 
affiliates with the Republican party. He has held 
some of the minor offices of the township, and is 
distinguished as a law-abiding and order-loving cit- 
izen, who is always willing to make sacrifices for the 
good of those around him. He has inherited in a 
large degree the substantial traits of his New En- 
gland ancestry, who were of Scotch and English de- 
scent, and early settlers of Blassachusetts. His pa- 
ternal grandfather, Lucius Allis, located in Franklin 
County in 1764, where he became a wealthy and 
prominent man, serving as Selectman of the town 
of Conway, while he was also Captain of the militia, 
and later, represented his county in the Legislature 
of the Bav State. 



,^^EORGE EXELBY. Under the modern 
II ^— , method of conducting business the volume 
^^^ of travel in all sections of the country is 
much increased. The time was when the merchant 
went once or twice a year to the market, but now 
the market, through its thousands of representatives, 
visits the merchants half a dozen times a year, and 
thus there is a constant stream of travel up and 
down the land. Like begets like, it is said, and 



•►Hh-^ 



■•►Hl-^ 



HI-* 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



this going and eoniing of husiiic^ mhu \i:\> 
iiarl its effect upon the general puiilic ;inil they 
travel iiiore tlinii tlicy iliil ht-l'orc the iii.'.'ins (if 

of the pe(.)plo has ealleil into existence in cveiy city- 
village, town and hamlet in the country, houses of 
public entertainment, and the business of a hoti'l- 
keeper has grown to be on<' ol' the most iuipoiluiil 
in the country, tor his rchitions with the |iublic :\w 
very intimate. 

Mr. Exelby, who was formerly >iiic<ir the »ell- 
known general farmers of Ridge way 'I'ownshii), where 
his home was on section 9, is now the pr^pi-ietor of 
the Exelby House iu the town of Hritton. Besides 
120 acres of land on section 9 he owns IGO acres on 
section 14, and 80 on section 15, and 180 acres of 
the various tracts are under a good state of cultiva- 
tion. Mr. Exelby was born on the .sth of March, 1 s;i(;, 
at the old homestead on section 9, and is the son n( 
George Exelby, who came from England in 1831. 
and immediately located on a new and unbroken 
farm on section 3, in Ridgeway Township. After- 
ward he removed to section 9, and purchased what 
is now known as the old homestead, where he re- 
sided until his death, April 18, 1861, which was 
occasioned by being thrown from a, wagon by a 
runaway. The mother of our subject was Mary 
Thaekray, who was born and reared to womanhood 
in Yorkshire, England. She died at the home of 
our subject in 1880. The parents were both active 
members of the Methodist Church, and during his 
life the father held nearly all the local ollices of the 
township in which he lived. 

The early life of the subject of this sketch was 
spent at home with his parents, where he engaged 
at work upon the farm during summer and attended 
the district schools during the winter months. In 
the fall of 18(j2 Mr. Exelby was married in Ridge- 
waj' Township to JMiss Ann, daughter of Eenner 
Palmer, an old and respected citizen of Lenawee 
Count}'. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Exelby 
settled on a part of the old homestead, where they 
made their home until October, 1887, when they 
came to Britton and took possession of the hotel 
which now bears their name. On account of his 
genial and sociable nature there is no doubt that 
Mr. Exelby will prove to be an excellent landlord. 



tlie iiifthi 
■A\\an> n( 
d Mr>. K 



■<t( 



uiiih 



■*► 



I'.-dter married Jane 
(• hotel with their 
mcd Allen: Edgar 
I they liv<' (in the 

was born on the 



I'ali 



Its. Mrs. Exelby was b. 

nestead on the 4tli of August, 1841. 
Slie was ('(luc-atcd at Ridgeway and resided at lu^me 
with her [larents until slic liecame the wife of the 
subject of this >kctrli. in politics Mr. Kxelhy is a 
stanch Democrat, and labors for the success of In's 
l)arty upon all proper occasions. He has filled the 
ollice of Township Treasurer, the duties of which 
he discharged to the satisfaction of the people. In 
his new calling Mr. Exelby will receive the en- 
couragement and good wishes of all his friends, and 
the time is not very far distant when his house will 
become very popular with the traveling public. 



T^jtvICHARDCADMU 
lUi-; men of Macon T 



Among the intelligent 
shii), who have been 



!Mi\\ l!ii'gpl.V identified with its business and agri- 
^^ cultural interests, none occupy a more hon- 
orable position than the subject of this biography. 
He is a gentleman by birth and breeding, high 
minded and honorable, and one who in the many 
years he h.as spent among the jieople of Lenawee 
County, has never deviated from the path of recti- 
tude or been led to perpetrate a mean action. To 
the best of his ability he has dealt justly with his 
fellowmen, and enjoys the esteem and confidence of 
all who know hiiu. 

JMr. Cailmus came to Lenawee County more than 
fifty years ago, arriving here in the fall of 1833, 
when a lad ten years of age, with his father, Abra- 
ham Cadmus, who had made the removal from Lodi 
Township, Seneca Co., N. Y. There our subject 
was l)orn Aug. 27, 1823, and his first recollections 
are of farm life and his early pursuit of knowledge 
in the district school. Abraham Cadmus was a na- 
tive of New Jersey, and was the .son of Richard 



•^^ 



33-2 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Cadimis, Si'., who was also born and maiTierl in that 
■State. Tlie first representatives of the family in 
this country emigrated from Holland during the 
Colonial days, and most of them were tillers of the 
soil. 

Richard Cadninsand his wife became the parents 
of four children, three sons and one daughter, of 
whom Abraham, the father of our subject, was the 
second child. They left New Jersey and located 
in Seneca County, N. Y., the children all being 
reared in Lodi Township. Abraham Cadmus was 
there married to Miss Johanna YanVleet, whi> was 
of the same ancestry as her husband, but a native 
of New I'ork State, it is believed. They took up 
their abode at the old homestead and in due time 
became the parents of four childi'en: Mar^' A., who 
married J. M. Miller, .and died in Clinton County, 
Mich., in 188G, leaving two children; Peter, who 
died when a young man in Macou Township; Rich- 
ard, of our sketch, and John, who is married and 
one of the well-to-do farmers of Raisin Township. 

In 1833, Abraham Cadmus, accompanied by his 
family, started for the Territory of Michigan, in 
the hopes that in due time he would improve his 
condition financially. They made the journey via 
canal and lake to Detroit and thence by ox-team to 
Macon Township, this county. They traveled 
laboriously over a rough road, in many places 
scarcely marked out of the heavy timber. The peo- 
ple of the present day who journey in their palace 
cars have but a faint idea of the discomforts to 
which the early emigrants were subjected, and the 
heroic courage required in their undertakings. We 
read, however, of few who turned back discouraged 
at the prospect, for they were men and women of 
undaunted resolution and admitted no such word 
as "fail." 

The Cadmus family located on section 32, upon 
a tract of land which had scarcely been visited by 
white men. and upon which there was not even a 
path from the main thoroughfare, which for want 
of a more suitable name the settlers dignified as a 
"road." The father secured eighty acres from the 
Government, and moved his family into the log 
iiouse which had been erected for their accommo- 
dation. They made themselves as comfortable as 
possible and formed their plans for the future, which 



were destined, however, to grievous disappointment 
by the death of the father a few months later, which 
oecui red under the most distressing circumstances, 
lie had occasion to visit Tecumseb, and during his 
absence the weather turned extremely cold. Upon 
his return he became so chilled and benumbed that 
he was unable to reach home, and froze to death 
within a half mile of those who, had they known 
his condition, could quickly have I'escued him. 

The widowed mother, after this calamity, kept 
her children together and provided for them as well 
as possible under the circumstances, and they in 
turn assisted her in supplying their common wants. 
She was subsequently married to Simeon Davidson, 
whom she survived a few years, and spent her last 
days with her daughter in Clinton County, her 
death occurring after she was seventy years of age. 
A few years after the arrival of Abraham Cadmus 
in this county, his father, Richard Cadmus, with his 
wife, also journeyed to Michigan, where they spent 
the last years of their lives in Macon Township, 
dying at a ripe old age. 

Our subject remained with his mother until reach- 
ing his majority, andthen received as his portion of 
the estate forty acres of the old homestead, upon 
which he put up a house and began to make other 
improvements necessary to a complete home. He 
subsequently added to his landed area, and has now 
Ifjd acres under good cultivation and with suitable 
buildings. He was married in Ridgeway Township, 
Aug. 12, 1845, to Miss Elizabeth, daughter of Asa 
and Lydia Russell, who came to this county in 183-1. 
The father spent his last years in Raisin Township; 
the mother is still living, being now eighty-six 
years of age, and makes her home with her son 
Asa, of Macon Township. 

Mrs. Elizabeth Cadmus was born in Plainfield, 
N. H., Aug. 16, 1824, and came with her father to 
Michigan when a child ten 3"ears of age. She was 
the eldest of the family and the offspring of Chris- 
tian parents who reared their sons and daughters to 
those principles which rendered them desirable and 
valued members of society. Mrs. C. continued 
under the home roof until her marriage with our 
suliject, and by this union became the mother of 
three children, tw(_> now living. The mother died 
on the 2iJth of March, 187.5, at her home in Macon 



■•►Hh 



•►Hl^^^ 



.KXAWEK COUNTY 



Township. The eldest 8011, Wallace P., is operat- ! must have been a small, stniggiing village with but 
ing the homestead; he married Miss Mary Haiglit. few inhal)itants, presenting a very different ippear- 



a native of Canisteo, Steuben Co., N. Y., who laim 
with her parents to Miciiigaii. where they iuciited ii 
Ridgeway Township. The nidlher. whii>c iiiMiilei 
name was Polly Green, died in Cass Coinily ; th- 
father, Stephen P. Haight, a shoein.Mkor by tradr. i 
.still living and a resident of Hidi^ewny TowuMii| 
Wallace P. and, his wife ftlary are the parents ,,( and afb 
one child, a son, Herbert R., and .are livii,- in .Ma- lilteen 
con Township. The deceased dauuliler. Ibiiinab |ii>rket. 
A. Cadmus, became the wife of*;. 1'. Waring, a ofeigbl 
sketch of whom will be found el.-i'wbere in llii- vcl- his .linn 
ume; Mr. Waring subsequently married lli'lcai A. if. Tli; 
Cadmus. j Green. 

Our subject and wife were active ineiuliers of the ! the eml 
Methodist Episcopal Church, in which .Mr. Cadmus enable I 
is Class-Leader and Trustee. I'cilltically. he and uc'd lai 
his son vote the straight Demi)cratic ticket. The 
homestead is one of the most valuable and well a|>- 
l)ointed in the towii.ship, and indicates on all sides 
the hand of taste and the exercise of good judgiiuait 
in its operations, yir. Cailnms i> one ni' the rep- 
resentative men of his t.ownsliiii. and his opinions 
are held in universal resi)ecl. 



e from the thrivin,^ .-ity of to-day o 

rbitants. with its lai-e buMiiess bl, 

nianidactnring interests, institu'id 

. an<l tlie inultitndinous things that 

val in that town he spent in Freii 



d su 



-^mB&m^m 



J^OHN CAIN is ...ne of the lea.lmu tanners 
Fairfield Township, win, ha- won pro.-peri 
solely by the exen-i,-e of an indonnlal 
energy and perseverance. He u:,~ b, 
April 2, 1819, in (Jenesee ('(nnity. N. 'I'., .and 
the son of Pati'ick and iMary C.ain. Our snbjc 
was a lad of more than usual pluck .and en<iL;y.a 
at the early age of eightei'ii spirileilly delerniin 
to go out into the world to .see life for liiniM'If. a 
seek his foitnin' in the ureal \Ve>l. A.a-ordin^ 
he turned te.ward the Tiaiitory of Mielii,-an. tliou 
he had onl^ money eiiuugh to p.av his fare li df 
the way. He was obliged to peilorni the rest 
his journey on foot, working his w.ay .alonu'. .anil 
whole year was thus consiuned in llii- e\ entl'nl joi 
iiey. At length, weary and )'oots<nc. with lii> p:i 
on his Itack, he entered the town of Adrian, wh 



years nmger, aim mm seuieo on nis o 
the midst of a dense forest, which llieii 
large a [wrtioii of the county. 

Then conuneneed for .Mr. Cain lho.se years of un- 
remittinu toil whieli on!)' the early settlers of a 
countrv <'an know, who have forests to fell, Stumps 
to uproot, and sometimes swamps t<, drain, before 
the soil is even fit for the plow, .and he must be 
possessed of splendid eouiagi'. -reat [xiwer of en- 
durance, and must not l,e lacking in [Kitiencc. who 
would accomplish this beivtdean task. Our subject 
lacked none .,f these essentials of Mi.aa-s. He af- 
terward tr.ade.l the Land lie bad taken up for .an- 
otlna- cii;lity a(ics on section Id of the sanie town- 
ship, .\ftcr li\ inii in Kiijlinteii years. he exchanged 
bis land Ibei'c. n\ enty aca'cs of which he had cleared, 
!■,„■ cioblv .a.ae- on' se,-t,ion IH n( Fairfiehl Towu- 
sliip. whi<-h forms a part of hi< [.resent farm. This 

..nllnr,'. He lias sin.a' added fifty .acres, and now 



■ted 



,s. He may wl 
ha-a,'hieved si, 



^h 



•►HI-4^ 



3:U 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



4- 



.^h 



plish, and his is an example worthy to be followed 
by the youth of the present generation. 

Mr. Cain has been married three times, his first 
marriage taking place in Rolliii Township, with 
Sophia Marlott, in November, 1842. She was born 
in 1823, ill Seneca County, N. Y., and was the 
daughter of John Marlott. She bore Mr. Cain two 
children, one of whom died in infancy; Charles, 
the surviving child, was born in Fairfield Township, 
and still resides here, where he has married Mar- 
garet Stuck, and has one son, John. Mrs. Cain 
died in Fairfield Township, about 1857, aged thir- 
ty-four years. Jlr. Cain's second marriage oc- 
curred in 1858, in Fairfield Township, with Miss 
Ann Scoville, who bore him one child, who died 
in infancy; the mother died in 1859. Mr. Cain 
was again married in Fairfield Township, to Miss 
Patience Sprague, June 17, 1860. She was born in 
Schuyler County, N. Y., July 4, 1844, and is the 
daughter of Amasa and Mai'y Sprague. She came 
to Jackson County, Mich., in 1847, and in 1860 
came to Lenawee County, where she was married 
to our subject. 

Mr. Cain takes an active interest in all that per- 
tains to the advancement of the town, and in his 
administration of several minor offices to which he 
has been elected by his lellow-townsmen, he has 
done all in his power to further the cause of good 
government, and to insure the prosperity of the 
town. 

EBENEZER FJSK. The name uf tliis genlk- 
tleman is widely and fiivorably known 
throughout this county, as he was one of its 
early settlers, and has been largely instrumental in 
assisting to bring it to its present importance. He 
was endowed by nature with those qualities of mind 
and heart which naturally inclined him to liberality 
and benevolence, and has never been liackwinil in 
contributing of his time and means to ti.ie |)r()jccts 
set on foot for the development of the resources of 
this section of country. He was brought up a Con- 
gregationalist, and rendered material assistance in 
erecting the chiiii'li of this (Ifiiciniiuntiuii in West 
Adrian, andsincv that lime has lu'cii /ictiN e in keep- 
ing the society together, and raising llie necessary' 

< » 



means to sustain it. In politics he is a stanch Re- 
publican, and in business has been uniformly suc- 
cessful. 

Mr. Fisk is a New Englander b}' liirth, having 
first opened his eyes to the light in Franklin County, 
Mass., Aug. 28, 1815. His father and his grand- 
father were both named Ebenezer, and both were 
natives of the same county as our subject. The lat- 
ter has had in his possession since a lad of thirteen 
years, a cane which was then 300 years old, and 
which, as may be supposed, is held as a iniceless 
relic of the past. libenezer, the third, like his 
father and grandsire, was bred to farm pursuits. 
Both his father and grandfather learned the cooi)- 
er's trade, and his grandfather spent his last years 
in Franklin County, where his death took place at 
the age of ninety-one years. He had survived his 
excellent wife a quarter of a century. The latter, 
before her marriage, was a Miss Barnard, also a na- 
tive of Franklin County, Mass. The great mission- 
ary laborer, Miss Fidelia Fisk. was a cousin of our 
subject, and pursued her pious labors until her 
death, July 26, 1804, when she was forty-eight years 
of age. 

The father of our subject married, at the age of 
twenty-five, Miss Hannah Terrell, who was born in 
Abington, Mass., and was of New England parent- 
age. They settled upon a farm near the old Fisk 
homestead in Franklin Count}', where they remained 
until 1822. Mr. Fisk then purchased 200 acres of 
l.md in the same county, and there spent the remain- 
der of his days, dying in 1 847, at the age of sixty-two 
years, and leaving a large property for those days. 
The mother continued at the homestead, remaining 
a widow until her death, and living to be eighty- 
two years of age. The parental household included 
nine children, seven sons and two daughler.s. Of 
these four are living besides our subject, and re- 
corded as follows: Daniel, the eldest, is a minister of 
tlie Congregational Church at Newburyport, Mass. : 
Isaac lives on the homestead; Frank, Mi-s. Mather, 
lives in Paincsville, Ohio; Chnriolte, Mrs. Slate, in 
Massachusetts. 

Our subject coiilinued at home inilil twenty-three 
years of age. lecciving a limited education, and 
working on llie iMrm and in a sawmill until the fall 
of 183.S. Then, determining to come to the West 



■•► 



*?. 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



335 



and grow up witli the country, he marie the journe}' 
mostly overland, after leaving tlie Lakes, and after 
reaching Michigan, only remained twenty-four 
hours, going back the next day to Toledo. In the 
fall of 1839, he returned and located on property 
which his brother had secured two years previously, 
but after a year's residence here returned to M.assa- 
chusettsand lemained until 1S41 llelnd not how 
ever, given up hi> wcsteiii sp(i_ulition uid ictnin 
ing, again purcliased the piopcit^ wIikIi h( hid lu 
fore occupied, upon which wrs (nil> i lo_ hou^^ 
Upon his marriage, Nov is lh41 hi md hi-- 
bride took possession of till II liinubU K^iduKt in<l 
proceeded to establish a homi In 1^42 Mi 1 isk 
erected a modest frame buihhu^ whith >u)hced 
initil 1S70, when the present moiU ni md lonitoit 
able dwelling was erected 

The wife of our subject w i^ (oiiin iK Mi^- 1 li/ i 
beth Smead, daughter of Liitu^ md \^un i Suu id 
who came to this county in \'^ti «hdc ]\lKhiL,in 
was a Territory, making the longjoume} tioni then 
birthplace, Shelburnc, Mas-- Mi Smtid ( unt of i 
fiimily of farmers, and in (common with his limther 
pioneers vigorously engaged in llie cultivation of 
the soil. He and his estimable wife, as the result 
of temperate habits and good morals, lived to an 
advanced age, Mr. Smead dying at the age of eighty- 
seven, and his wife when ninety-four years old. 
They were the parents of a large family of children, 
of whom Elizabeth, the wife of our subject, was 
born in January, 1817. She was mai-ried at the 
age of twenty-five and became the mother of five 
children: The eldest son, Rufus 11.. was boin .Vug. 
17, 1.S44, married Miss Eliza Cordelia Harder, of 
New York, and hiis three children; he is canying 
on farming in Adrian Township. Ebenczer was 
born in 184(3, and died in 1.S4!); Edward P. was 
born Nov. 15. l.S4s. married 
daughter of Abraham Pmn-her 
the}' have one daughter, Anna 
years of age; this son remains 
Herman S. w:is born Aug. 3, 1 1S5 
peuter and joiner; Anna E. wai 
and is the wife of Clarence Fn 

The father of our subject wa; 
and was particularly active in 
school work. Indeed this seems to h: 



Mi 



1C(•^ I'., 
ra, and 



^anra, i 


ow llnee 


1 the 1 


HMotc.-id. 


5.-), and 


is a, car- 


)rn Sept 


ID, I85(), 


of Adr 


ail. 


nan of* 


ee|) piety, 


irch am 


1 Sunday- 



characteristic of the Fisk family. Rev. Pliny Fisk, 

an uncle of oui' subject, was a missionary to Smyrna, 
.■md a br(jther has Ijeen in the ministry I'or the last 
forty years, lie has attempted to witlidr.Mw, but 
his congregation wi.iuld not acce|it ids resignation. 



5f^#l^c=EE5- 




I n,Hs (1,1(1 Lipo-sitii, 
m I ni,luid Junt 8, 
I t tin- (oiintiN with his initnts 
lodi \( II- old 11r\ lind(d in 
NoN \oik lui 1 is-lt md m tin suniimi ot tint 
\LU mo\ultoUtKi N ■i whiit OUI subject it 
tended the public schools When theSchocjl lins 
tK- ot Utica oiginizcd i f u e ic idi nn he wis one 

o( tiR hist diift ot schohi- sdc( t(d S i ittu 

w 11(1 hi-, pueiits umoved to Roim N ^ uid that 
ended his att( nd lUK. it m hool Surc tlieu lu h is 
puisued his stiidus 111 tliit bioaikifuld tin punt 
iiig office 

In .Tunc, 1 .S55. youn.si Applcgatc entered the ofticc 
of the Rome Dallii SphUik^K and served .-i four years' 
api)renticeship, at the expiration of whic^h he went 
to New York, and worked at the case, doing an 
o(!c.asional job at reporting. He cast his first vote 
tor President for Abraham Lincoln ill l.sdl). The 
work on which lie was engaged in New York was 
interrupted by the riots of 1S(;3, and he went to 
his home in RcMiie. While there, learning that the 
Adrian W'nlrli Tourr was for .sale, he visited the 
city, purcha.scd an interest in the paper, .-md took 
editori.al cliariie of it in the last week in October, 
1KG3. In Septemlier, 1 sC.".. (ien. ilumplirty having 
inirchased an interest in the li'((/'7/ 'l'nire,\ that 
pa,per was sn|ierseded by tin' Tluu s, Ww tiist num- 
ber of which made its appearance Sept. II. ISC,,-,. 
A consolidation w:is effected .Ian. I, |,S(;7, with the 
A'.i7»<,sv7o;-. and the publication has since been carried 
oil under the name of the Tivien and Exjiosiior, and 
the \\'(,lf/i Tniri'i- snspendeii publication. Mr. Ap- 
plegate lias contiimed hi^ editoiial coime<-fion since 
he first assumed it. 

Mr. Applegate has never aspired to the holding 
of any public oflice. He was elected a member of 
the Bepulilican State Central Committee, when 



•►-■^ 



•► 



h 



LENAWKE COUNTY. 



• ^m ^ 



Zachariali ^Chandler was Chairman, and was ap- 
l)ointed by him a member of tlie Executive Com- 
mittee of that body. When James McMillan was 
chosen Chairman of that committee. M r. Applegate 
was, also a member, and was again appointed a 
member of tlie Executive Committee, which posi- 
tion he holds at this writing (November, 1887). 
He was appointed by Gov. Croswell, a member of 
the Board of Commissioners to locate and establish 
a. State school for the blind. When that board had 
concluded its labors, he was appointed l)y (Juv. 
Alger, a Trustee of the instit tion for a term of 
six years, which position he now holds. On the 1st 
of July, 188C, Mr. Applegate purchased his pai-tner's 
interest in the Times mid Exixtsitur, and has since 
been its sole proprietor. 

This paper occupies an enviable position in the 
annals of Michigan journalism, and as an expo- 
nent of political thought and policy, stands among 
the foremost of the Republican papers in the State. 
Its pages are clean and its arguments dignified and 
convincing, while it wields an influence within tlie 
region of its circulation second to none. Mv. Ap- 
l)legate, its i)ropvietor, deserves credit for the emi- 
nent position in whi<'li be has i)laced the paper. 

,^^ TErilEN ALLEN. This gentleman, laic 
^^^^ a resident of Madison Townshiji, was liorn 
lft/_J)) not far from, the Atlantic coast, in i\IorrJs- 
town, N. J., where he spent his early life 
up to the age of eighteen years. Pie was born Dec. 
•Jl, 1795, and in 1836 set out for the young State 
of Michigan, during its early settlement ;nid but a 
short time after Lenawee County had been ex- 
plored. He was accompanied by his wife and eight 
children, and his outfit consisted of two covered 
wagons drawn by hoi'ses, and containing the house- 
hold goods and i)i-ovi.Hon>. They traveled .-ifter 
tlie manner of tlie eiiii"i-;iiit,s of those days, camiiini. 



Ill CO. 
iblic 
■d. 
The 
i,w C( 



ivsi.lr 



Lo(li. Washte- 
Mr. Allen had 
Township, this 



county, where there was a log house and small barn, 
and taking possession later, he lived there with his 
family from February until June. Then finding a 
more desirable location in Madison Township, on 
sections 4 and I), he secui'ed possession and at once 
began the building up of a homestead, which he oc- 
cupied until called from his earthly laboi-s, on the 
!)th of March, 1 880. The first purchase of Mr. Al- 
len in Madison Township was 820 acres, for which 
he was to pay $15 per acre. He cleared the entire 
tract, and erected a brick house and other sub- 
stantial buildings. His farming operations were 
conducted with uniform good judgment, and the 
estate in due time was regardeil as one of the most 
valuable in the township. 

Mr. Allen was married, while a resident of Sen- 
eca County, N. Y., to Miss Deborah Sutton, who 
was born Oct 27, 179G, and was the daughter of 
Benjamin and Mary Sutton, of Scotch- Irish de- 
scent and natives of New Jersey, whence they re- 
moved, after their marriage, to Seneca County, 
during its early settlement. The nine children 
born to Stephen and Deliorah Allen are recorded as 
follows: Benjamin S is married, and farming in 
Madison Township; Mar}' is the wife of Elihu B. 
I'ond, of Ann Arbor, Mich. ; Esther was first mar- 
ried to C. D. Y. Alexander, who died in Madison 
Township in 1860, and she is now the wife of James 
A. Bayless, of Kansas City, Mo. ; Silas L. is farm- 
ing in Hudson Township; John W. is fanning on 
section 9, in Madison Township; Gilbert T. died 
July 20, 1858, when twenty-seven years of age; 
Louisa C. married James Bayless, and crossed the 
Mississippi into Missouri, where she resided a few 
years aiid where her death took place in 1871; Lewis 
T. died in ijifancy in Seneca C'ount}', N. Y. ; Ph<ebe 
M. died at the parental homestead in Madison 
Township in Februarj', 1854, when an interesting 
maiden of seventeen j'ears. The wife and mother 
departed this life at the homestead, April 6, 1877. 
She was a ti'ue type i:)f a jiioneer matron, and was 
ill all respects the suitable comiianioii of her hus- 
b.Miid, enduring bravely with him the eai-ly strug- 
,^les and the toils incident to building up a home in 
a new country. 

Mr. Allen sei'ved as Justice of the Peace for a 
iiLimlier of years and for several years was County 



•►--11-^^ 



LENAWKE COUNTY. 



33; 



L'sse.1 
set hi 






U\ pi'K 



.Superintendent of the Poor. He po.^si 
peculi.'ir ideas of human liberty which 
bitter oppositi..n t.. tlic iii^l ilulicn ..r ~Im\ 
he fougiit witli hi,- v>>\rr .mihI lii> iiiMiK'iu 
as tliere was any necessity for bnttiing .-i 
monstrous wrono-. He was ;i delegate ti 
Convention that assisted in the oruanizai 
Republican party in .bick-oii ('(iiinty, in 
is credited with tiie hnudr of h.-ivinuMiivc 
to the organization, lie was liberal a 
spirited, and often contributed lo ih,. ua 
poor and needy from lii> o\\n pii\alc 
was often remarked that the nnfortnnalc 
turned e,mpt}'-handed fi-oni his door. ' 
record as this his children may well be pi 
descendants years hence, ivhen they pern 
perfect record of his life, will point witl 
one whose name is held in affei 
hrance throughout Lenawee Coniil 



I^SAACN. PILP.EAM is one of the prosperous 
I and well-known farmers of K'idgew.ay 'I'own- 
J ship, residing on secti<ui 17. wlini' he [lur- 
chased a farm in 1867, wliicli lie lias -luce o\vncd 
and cultivated. He has eighty ancs of line laud 
under a high state of cultivation, well sl(ic'kcil with 
good farm animals, and supplied "ith a coiufort- 
able residence and coniniodions out-buildings. 

The father of our subject was Joseph Pill)e:im, 
who was born in Kent County, England, and came 
alone to the United States when eighteen years of 
age. He landed in New York, and after living in 
that State for a short time emigrated to Michigan, 
locating in Tecumseh. He did not remain there 
long, however, but removed to Hidgew.ay Town- 
.ship, and after living for a year with a Mr. I.ain- 
liertson, who was the first settler in the township, 
entered a tract of timber land on section !), where 
he proceeded to laboriously clear a farm, and 
where he made his home until his death, which oc- 
curred in 1862. He was twice married, his first 
wife being Sarah Bolton, who became the mother 
of six children, and then departed this life. After- 
ward i\Ir. Pilbeam married Mrs. Mary A. Bodkin, 
formerly Frampton, who was a native of England, 



whence she came to the United States alone when a 
young woman. She is still living with her daugh- 
ter. Mrs. .Margaivl ('a>well. of Milan 'i'ownship, 

Monroe Co.. Mich.. ,at a g 1 old age. By her 

iiuioii Willi .Mr. I'ilbeaiii >lie became the mother of 

fi\e ehil.beu. of wlicuii our subject was the eldest. 

K.aae N. I'ilbeaui was born Feb. :i, 1846, and 



Mi- 
ni. 



ity 



gna 



. The only injui 
the impairment 
-.hii^s and exposur 



' roi )f , a.ssisting in 
ulmg the neigh- 
)ffered. Sept. 1, 
Isiuan in the United States 
i Ki\or, and joined the 
iveiil lo the front ami was 
al varbuis p<u-ts along the 
le received in the service 
his health by the varion.s 
if army life. At theclo.se 
lionorable discharge, and 



count. 

Feeling now 
time to .selecl 



Mr 



ing on his own ac- 



xin deemed it 
accordingly 

uianied in Cliiitcui County, Mich., in 1867, to Miss 
.4rlett,a llobhui, who i,- a native of New York State, 
and vMuc when a young woman with her parents to 
Michigan. Her father, Samuel Holden, still lives 
in Tecumseh; her mother died in Blissfield, Mich. 
(;)ur snbjeetV household contains five ciiildi-en — 
Chester, Lavinia, Gertrude, Irene and Sylva. In 
politics Mr. Pilbeam is a Republican. He is re- 
gaided as one of the reliable men of the township, 
and is .-i pi-ogressive and successful .agriculturist. 



— :>'^^^Vt^^t5<^^ 



mentlv 



Mi 



innected with 
e of the old- 
1 is at present 



J^/OSEPll S. KIES, 
the Clinton \Vo< 
I est settlers <if tli 
' repi-esenting this iudiistiy in the various 
States adjacent, a position for which he is eminently 
qualified by his general knowledge of men and 
things, and his naturally fine business capacities. 
He has lieen a resident of this county since the 
spring of 182!), when his parents made the long 
journey from Cayuga County, N. Y., to seek their 
fortunes in ihe western (country. 

Our subject was born Jidy 13, 1820, in Cayuga 



'\ 



-•►^ll-^ 



33H 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



County, mill .accompanied his parenU to tlii> State. 
The jouniev was made via canal fvoui Buffalo, and 
thence they started by the lake steamer " William 
Penn " to Detroit. Tiiis boat was commanded by 
Capt. Hoyt, an old friend of Alpheus Kies, the 
father of our subject, and after they had been ont 
two days it became disabled and they were obliged 
to put in at Dunkirk. From there they took the 
steamer " Enterprise," and arriving in Detroit six 
days later secured a team, and loading their effects 
upon a lumber wagon they and the goods were by 
this means conveyed to their destination. Their 
route was scarcely marked by a wagon track, and 
in some places almost impassable. Upon their ar- 
rival within the limits of Clinton Township they 
found there one building, a "shanty," near the site 
of the present town and standing in the woods 
between what is now Clinton and Saline. Alpheus 
Kics took up a tract of Government land, 240 acres 
in extent, lying on sections 4 and 5, Clinton Town- 
ship, and embracing the greater part of the present 
corporation of Clinton Village. Mr. Kies donated 
from this a lot of one acre each to a carpentei' and 
a blacksmith, to encourage them in establishing 
their business. This was in keeping with the char- 
acter of the man all the way through ; he took a 
heart-felt interest in the progress and development 
of his adopted county, and employed the best means 
in his power to assist in bringing about this result. 
The place upon which the village of Clinton now 
stands was then known as Oak Plains. Here the 
elder Kies put up the first house, and there was but 
one building within forty miles on what is now 
the Chicago Turnpike. The log house which Mr. 
K. put up for the use of liis familj- hi time became 
the stopping-place for many a traveler through that 
section. As time passed on he began dealing in 
real estate, and was permitted to behold the trans- 
formation of the wilderness into smiling farms and 
valuable homesteads. Mr. Kies named the town of 
Clinton in honor of DeWitt Clinton, an early Gov- 
ernor of New York State, and at one time a candi- 
date for Vice President on the Democratic ticket, 
which Mr. Kies uniformly voted. The death of 
this early pioneer and thoroughly good man took 
place at the homestead of his son Joseph, after 
many years' labor, in October, 1864. 



rill' subject of our sketch spent his early yenrs 
under the home roof, and after starting out 'for 
himself engaged in farming for a time, and also 
carried on a nursery fcjrsome years. He early gave 
evidence that he had inherited the capabilities of 
his honored father, was wide-awake, ambitions, and 
never idle. He became the owner of considerable 
real estate and was- foremost in the organization of 
the industry with which he is at present connected. 
This enterprise was inaugurated under many difH- 
culties and discouragements, and iiad it not been 
for the determined man at its head, would soon 
have succumbed to the pressure. The buildings 
were put up in 1 867, and the following year Mr. 
Kies was made President of the company, and had 
the general supervision of its affairs until 188(i. 
The Clinton Woolen Mills are now one of the most 
flourishing manufactories of the kind in Michigan, 
averaging now 1,800 yards per day, and have been 
kept in operation since the wheels were first put in 
motion. This can be said of only one other insti- 
tution of the kind in the State, and speaks well for 
him who lias been the nioving spirit and kept them 
going when many a man would have been dismayed 
at the prospect and given up in discouragement. 
The machinery of the Clinton Mills is of the most 
modern and improved pattern. The building is a 
substantial brick structure with four stories and 
basement, liesides its otHce adjacent. Their product 
is shipped to many of the Eastern and Western 
States, and the company gives employment to 
nearly 100 hands. A fire on the 11th of Decem- 
ber. 1887, did great damage, entailing a loss of 
several thousand dolKirs. 
j Mr. Kies, besides iiis responsible duties in con- 
I nection with these mills, has been quite prominent 
in local affairs, serving as Supervisor and Justice of 
the Peace, besides filling various other offices in the 
I township. Like his father before him, he is a 
} stanch Democr.at, politically, and with his estima- 
i ble wife, is a member in good standing of the Epis- 
j copal Church. Socially, he belongs to Blue Lodge 
I No. 175, A. F. & A. M. His residence is one of 
the attractive features of the town, and he numbers 
his friends by the score < >n the northern line of Lena- 
wee County. 
I Mr. Kies was married in Clinton Township, Sept. 



^h 



"■^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



lughU-r III' 
;ivi.lv.ifSM 



■2S. 1,S4(;, to Miss Fr.-i 
ami Lueretia Parks, nati 
and Middletowii, Conn., and early |>i(inc(>is of tins 
county. James Parks rlicd in Clinton in l.s.")'J, and 
his widow survived him until Nov. it, l.ss.i. J',, 
Mr. and Mrs. Kies there were born five children, 
namely: James A., who died in is(l;f; Mary Ida, 
the wife of Dr. Samuel Chandler, of \\aslil< nau 
County; George A., of Elkhart, Iml.: Katclhc wife 
of Fred Field, editor of the Tceumseh Netrs, of Man- 
chester, and Willie J., of Elkhart, Ind. Mrs. Kies 
was born in Meadville, Pa., Oct. 19, I Si.'!, and came 
to Michigan with her parents when a child of seven 
years. 

The mother of our subject was in her girlhood 
Mi.ss Elizabeth, daughter of Calvin and Elizabeth 
Lazell, of the old town of Sempronins, Cayuga Co.. 
N. Y., who were the parents of six children. She 
was born in Ashfield, N. 11., ( )ct. I n, l T'.tO, and dieil 
in Clinton, Dec. 20, 1S77. The father of our sub- 
ject had two brothers who were in the French and 
ludian AYar, in which the elder was killed; another 
died of smallpox. Joseph P., Sr., also enlisted, 
subsequently serving under Oen. Montgomery, and 
was at the siege of Quebec. One of the l.reithers 
had a very nice powder horn which has been pre- 
served now uearly 100 years, and is in possession 
of our subject, being prized by him as a memento 
of the old Colonial days, and the great struggle for 
liberty and natir>nality in which his ancestors took 
I)art. 



-irw^l 



^^^rw- 



^ ljt,ELCOUE y. FiSK, a jjioneer farmer now 
\jjj/l residing in quiet retirement at his iialatial 
W^ home in Clinton, where he has lived for 
nearly sixty j^ears, came here with his father May 
•24, 1830. He was born in York rowiisliip, Li\ . 
ingston Co., N. Y., on the ■.".)tli of .hme, l.s-ja. 

The parents of our subject were Benjamin B. and 
Lydia (Aldrich) Fisk, natives of Connecticut and 
of New England parentage. Benjamin Fisk was 
reared in his native county and there learned the 
trade of a blacksmith. They were united in mar- 
riage in 1816, and after the birtli of two children, 
Cj'rus B. and Leander, they removed to the town- 
ship of York, Livingston Co., N. Y., where the 



falhei- followed his trade 
three more childien wi 
Welcome v., Horace .an< 
the family came acrois t 



•^-11-4- 



339 

r seme time, during which 
born to them, namely: 
Jen. Clinton B. In 1830 
Lake in the " Peacock," 
which had a very stormy voyage, landing in De- 
troit al the end of eight days. When the family 
arrived ni what is now the village of Clinton, the 
father had about $1.50, and in order to secure a lot 
on wlii(!h to erect a shop, the first in the place, he 
h:ul to trade some cloth and bedding, and had only 
got a fair start in life in this new country when 
death called him to his linal reward, his demise oc- 
curring from typhoid fever Sept. 28, 1832. He 
was an honest and upright man, a Universalist in 
religion, and in politics his symimthies were with 
the Democratic party. He was the first of the early 
settlers buried in this place. 

The mother of our sulijei-t was born on the 1st 
of April, not;. After the de.-ith of Mr. Fisk she 
I was a second time married, in 1 841 , to Deacon Will- 
iam Smith, of Jackson County, Mich., who died in 
1844. In 1846 she became the wife of Rev. Rob- 
ert Powell, with whom she lived for about thirty 
years, and survived him four years, making her 
home with her son, Hor.ace A. Fisk, whose family 
made her declining years quiet and peaceful. She 
was laid to rest at the ripe age of eighty-three 
years. She was one of the pioneers of this section, 
nobly discharging the onerous duties that fell to 
the lot of those who braved the hardships of this 
country at an early day. She was a consistent 
Christian, quiet in her deportment and yet strong 
in the hour of atliiction. The community honored 
her an<l Christians reverence her name, while she 
has left to her descendants an example worthy of 
their emulation. Mrs. Fisk became the mother of 
one child aftei' her arrival in Clinton, Benjamin 
W., who died young in 1840. The eldest son, 
Cyrus B., died in 1.S4(;, three years after his mar- 
riage; his wife and child had died before. Leander 
took to wife Mrs. Fannie (Ellis) Wilson, and is a 
merchant in Oakland, Cal. He was for years con- 
nected with the Fargo Express Company. Horace 
A. married Jane Bi'own, and owns a good farm in 
Bridgewater Township, Washtenaw County. Gen. 
Clinton B. Fisk, now in Sea Bright, N. J., is a well- 
known temperance advocate and a prospective can- 






■.^-*-^ 



lp:nawee county 



didiiU' for the Presidency. He was married Feb. 
i;!. l.s.-,0, in C'oldwatcr, Midi., to .lonetta C. Crip- 
piii. 

Our sul)jccl lost his father early in life and had 
only limited opportunities, earning his own living 
since ten years of age. When a boy he learned the 
trade of a mason, though he never followed it 
much, as his inclinations led in other directions. 
While in Detroit on their way to this county, he 
had an experience which nearly proved fatal. While 
crossing the stream near the landing to see a bear 
show, he accidentally fell in, and remained for some 
time before he could be rescued. He was removed 
to the hotel, and with proper treatment was with 
ditiiculty resuscitated. He remembers to-day as 
distinctly as if it occurred yesterday, the feeling 
experienced by a drowning man. This adventure 
has been a constant reminder to Mr. F. that life is 
uncertain. He was on another occasion since com- 
ing to Clinton nearly drowned while bathing, since 
which he has learned the art of swimming, and 
thinks it a duty of parents to teach their children to 
swim. Mr. Fisk was actively engaged in business 
for forty years in Clinton. During twelve years 
he was connected with E. G. Cook, who is now 
doing business in Tecumseh, and during this time 
they bought largely of wool and all articles of farm 
produce. Prior to this he had been engaged with 
his brother. Gen. Clinton B., for several years, con- 
ducting a general store. He is now, in company with 
an extensive firm of stock-raisers, carrying a ranch of 
1,600 acres of land in what is known as North Park, 
Col. They have a fine herd of nearly 2,000 head 
of cattle. 

On the 13th of March, 1850, Mr. Fisk was mar- 
ried in Clinton to Miss Amanda M. Vaughn, a na- 
tive of Varysburg, N. Y., who came to Michigan 
with her mother when fifteen years of age. 8he re- 
ceived a good education and followed the profes- 
sion of a teacher for some years; her death took 
place March i:i, 1866. She became the mother of 
ff)ur children, two of whom are living, Frank and 
Grace. Frank married Nellie Meyer, of Newton, 
Iowa, where he makes his home, and travels for a 
Chicago house: Grace is the wife of Porter C. 
Smith, who conducts the meat market in Clinton, 
and they have three children— Eva B., Leander V. 
-^ 



and A\illic P. The name of Mr. Fisk"s deceased 
children were, Leander D., the first born, who di§d 
at the age of sixteen months, and a second son of 
that name who died in April, 1 884. He had mar- 
ried, in San Francisco, Cal., Miss Alnieda Ross, who 
is yet living in that State. 

Mr. Fisk was a second time married, in Clinton, 
toward the end of 1866, to Mrs. Mary C. (Felton) 
Vaughn. She was born Jan. 2, 1830. and came 
from ClarcDCc Ibillow, near Buffalo, York State. 
She died ;it her home in Clinton, this county, June 
18, 1887. By her former marriage she had two 
daughters — Mary E. and Eva C. The former mar- 
ried Willis G. Mann, and resides in Newton, Iowa, 
where he owns a wagon factory. The latter mar- 
ried Charles M. Hinsdale, also of Newton, Iowa; 
Mr. Hinsdale travels for a Chicago furnishing 
house. Mr. Fisk is a member of the Episcopal 
Church at Clinton, as was also his last wife; he 
is a life-long l^emocrat. 



<|l lilLLIAM TAYLOR, one of the good cit. 
\jqJ/j izens, excellent men, and successful far- 
W^ mers of Ridgeway Township, is the subject 
of this sketch, who.se land lies on sections 10 and 1 1, 
where he owns seventy-one acres, nearly all of 
which is well improved. He is a native of York- 
shire, England, where he was born in 1820, and 
.was the son of John Tayloi-, a farm laborer, who 
spent his entire life in that county, where he died 
at the ripe old age of ninety -six years. He mar- 
ried Ann Harrison, also a native of Yorkshire, 
where she died at the age of fifty. They were of 
pure English descent, and were members of the 
Primitive Methodist Cliui'ch. They were exem- 
plary, religious peoi)le, and led moral and upi-ight 
lives. 

Our subject spent his boyhood days in his native 
country, where he was reared to manhood as a far- 
mer's son. When the proper time came for him to 
choose a wife and begin the work of establishing a 
home of his own, he was joined in wedlock to Mary 
Todd, also an English woman, who was born and 
reared in Yorkshire. In due time they became the 
narents of three children, all born in England. Our 



•►Hh-^ 



•► 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



.•Ul 



subject then becoming dissatisfied with his prospects 
at home, concluded to try his fortune iu the Now- 
World, to which so many people from his euiinliy 
were then emigrating. He accun.lingly ranie luihis 
country with his wife and children, landing in New 
York, and soon afterward migrated to the State 
of Michigan, where they located in Ridgeway 
'I'liwuship. Lenawee County, (vhcrc. three years 
later, he Iniught the property im which he now 
resides. When he bought this Land it was nearly 
all in its primitive condition of unlnoken prai- 
rie,, but lie at once set abmil preparing it for 
cultivation, and by his untiring industry in tin- 
course of years ha- made of it an excellent farm. 
He has also ciceled good farm building-, .•(piipped 
it with ,il;i iciill iiial machinery, and slocked it with 
an excelleni <-l,-i,-s of cattle .and other farm animals. 
Mr. and .Mrs. Taylor .'ire the p.'irents of six chil- 
dren, four of whom aie now living; Itoliert mar- 
ried Elizabeth Lister, and Kaitii is the wife of 
Thomas Loebster; they reside in Uidgeway Town- 
ship, engaged in farming. P'rancis chose for Ids 
wife Helen Wilson, and they are also residing on a 
farm not far from the homestead; .lohii i> now in 
Florid.a. While they lived in tlie old country Mr. 
and Mrs. Taylor were members of the Primitive 
Methodist Church, as their parents were before 
them, while iu politics Ah'. Taylor is a stalwart ' 
Democrat. 



■!«^EN. WILLIAM Iir.MPHKLI . one of th 
III . , most, nroini t citizens of Lena wee Coiintv 



)St prominent citi 
^^ and whose history will he peiiiscd with in- 
terest liy a large proportion of its old residents and 
intelligent i>eople, was luiru .lune 1-i. is-js. in 
Canandaigua, N. V. His father, -lolin Humphrey. 
Esq., was a native of Hopewell. Hunterdon Co.. .\. 
J., and born in May, ITDS. John Humphrey left ; 
home when a youth of seventeen, and going to 
Geneva. N. Y.. commenced. Sei.it. 20, ISl'), to learn I 
the blacksmith's tra.le <,( .Moms ll.all. 

In ^SL'.-| Mr. Humphrey inanied .Miss -lane, a ; 
daughter of .Moses Hall, .and iu the winter of I si'.s 
he went to Canandaigua, N. V.. where he est.alilished 



about ten years. Then selling out he, in the sum- 
mer. if 1.S38, migrated to iMiehigan, which li.ad lately 
been admitted to the Lniou as a Slate. He located 
in Hills.lalc County, where he h.ad previously takeli 
up a ckiim of 1 GO acres of timber land, and upon 
this he now located, bringing with him his family. 
Upon this land was a. rudely constructed shanty, 
Imill ,if split logs, .-md exactly ,ine rod s(iuare, 
which, with the t\yv a.a-es that had been broken, 
lainstituted the impic.v.an.'jils. .John Humpiirey 
put the shanty in repair and m.ade it as comfortable 
as p,,>siblefor his family, and they occupied it 
three or four years. He then put up a large log 
cabin, which at th.at tim<. was cmsidcred (jiiite a 
pretentions structure, and iu which the father dwelt 
the remainder of his life. Ue passed away on the 
10th of October, 1«70, being over .seventy-two years 
of age. 

.Tohn Humphrey wasa man of great force of char- 
acter, and became prominent in township and county 
'affairs. Ho kept himself well posted upon matters 
of general interest, and besides holding various 
local olljces, was in IS-l,", a member of the State 
Legislature. 'i'he mal.au.al great-grandfather of 
(_)ur subject was .John Hall, the tenth and 3'(.)nngest 
child of Richard Hall, who was the .second child of 
.lohn Hall. Sr.. the hrst .settler of Hashing Ridge, N. 
.[.. in the valley of the Passaic. The Hiill f.amily 
was of Knglish descent, and these records are the 
earliest of its history in America. Mrs. Jane (Hall) 
Humphrey was born April 2."i, ISOli, and is now 
deceased. Her son William, our subject, passed 
his childhood and youth .after the manner of mosl 
r.arnu'rs- .-ous of that ihiy, making himself u.sefnl 
about Ihe homestead, and attending the district 
-chool until 1848. lie stib.sequently spent twowiii- 
leis ,-it school at (ieneva, N. Y.. the learning he 
leeeived (.uly stinml.ating him to desire more, and 
he afterw.ard attended the Commercial College at 
Cleveland. Ohio. In the fall of 1 S."i 4 he returned 
to Michigan and became clerk in a store at Adrian, 
holding the position until the ontbi'eak of the late 

On thehrst call for troops Mr. Humphrey enlisted 
in Company D. 2d Michigan Infantry, being mus- 
tered in as Captain at Ft. Wayne, on the 2.")tli <if 
May, IStil. He .sjicnt tlie winter with his regiment 



4 



342 



u 



LENATTEE COUNTY. 



f 



at Washington and in the . following spring, being 
assigned to the Army of the Potomac, they marched 
to the front, and took part in the Peninsnlar cam- 
paign. Capt. Humphrey was in the battles of 
the 2d Infantry, the history of which it is hardly 
necessary to recall, as they are familiar to all readers 
of the history of the Rebellion. In 1 8G3 he received 
the rank of Colonel, and the year following was 
made a Brigadier General by brevet, and had com- 
mand of a brigade until the close of the war. He 
was faithful to his duties as soldier and commander, 
and is content that his record should remain practi- 
cally unwritten, like that of hundreds of other brave 
officers and men, who did their whole dutj- and 
expected no other reward tlian the approval of 
tueir own consciences. 

Upon his retirement from the army Gen. Hum- 
phrey purchased an interest in the Adrian Watch 
Tower, a Democratic paper, which he changed to a 
Republican, and became one of its editors. In 18G0 
he was elected Auditor General of the State, and 
the duties of that ofHce compelled him to abandon 
his journalistic career. He filled this position four 
successive terms, and in 1875 was appointed War- 
den of the penitentiary at Jackson, occupying this 
position- also four terms, and giving general satis- 
faction. Gen. Humphrey, in 1883, invested a part 
of his surplus capital in the Adrian Brick and Tile 
Machine Company, an enterprise which has been 
highly appreciated by the people of this section, 
and accordingly yielding handsome proceeds. 

The marriage of Gen. William Humphrey and 
Miss Mary E. Sinclair was celebrated at the home 
of the bride in Adrian on the 9th of October, 1867. 
Mrs. Humphrey is the daughter of an old and well- 
known resident of this county, Daniel D. Sinclair, a 
sketch of whom will be found elsewhere in this Al- 
miM. The home of our subject and his wife is located 
on Winter stieet, and in all its appointments indi- 
cates the exercise of cultivated tastes and ample 
means. There is but one child in the household, 
Kate, who was born in Lansing, Mich., Dec. 31, 

187-J. and is now an interesting-young lady of fif- 
teen yi:ir>. She is now being trained and educated 
in accordance with her destined position in society, 
and it is hardly necessary to say is the y>y of her 

larents' hearts. 



R. A. F. TUTTLE, late of Clinton, this 
county, was one of the most prominent 
and successful physicians of the county. 
He was a native of Niagara Falls, N. Y., 
where he was born Aug. 9, 1827, of New England 
jiarentagc, and died at his home in Clinton or the 
8th of January, 1884. His father, William J. Tut- 
tle, was a blacksmith by trade, and at the same time 
an educated man. The mother's maiden name was 
JNIary A. Cleveland. 

William J. Tuttle came with his family to Michi- 
gin, and settled in Ann Arbor, where he was well 
and favorably known, and occupied many positions 
of trust, being a man of ability and integrity. He 
and his wife were active workers in the Episcopal 
Ciuirch in that place, and also in Clinton after their 
removal here. In advanced life they came to Clin- 
ton and made their home with their son, our subject, 
for the last ten years liefore their death, which 
occurred at the ages of seventy-six and sixty 
respectively. 

Dr. A. F. Tuttle was the second child in the pa- 
rental family. His elder brother, Dr. Henry D. C. 
Tuttle, was for some years connected with the regu- 
lar army as Assistant Surgeon, and in the Rebellion 
as First Surgetm; he died at Silver Lake, Kan., in 
1H83. Our subject came with his parents to Ann 
Arbor in his childhood, and was there reared and 
educited in the public schools. When fifteen years 
of age, he was requested by his father to select a 
profession, and he chose the practice of medicine. 
He at once connected himself with Drs. Sager, 
Douglas and Gunn, and was with them three years 
bef(Me the college of Ann Arbor was organized. 
He was graduated .at Geneva, N. Y., which then 
contained one of the princi]ml medical schools of 
the country, and also took a course of lectures at 
Cleveland, Ohio. 

After graduating at the age of twcuty-thr(>e. our 
subject located in Clinton in 1850. He began the 
practice of medicine when there were but few ad- 
vantages f<jra physician. The country was sparsely 
settled .■iiid in:niy of tlie people were in debt, while 
he liimseir wns in poor ciieumstaHees. lie was not 
easil3' discouraged, however, .and he proved to be 
veiy successful in his practice. Soon after his 
arrival in Clinton, Dr. Tuttle was united in marriage 



f 



LKXAWKE COUNTY. 



.■543 , 



with Miss Laary L. Clark, wlm had ('(mie hei'e 
some time before. For ^ome yi'ar< licfnie the Doe- 
tor's death they were lueiiihers <,f the Kpiseopal 
Chureh. uliile in i„,lit,ie> he was a Democrat. 



pin 



HANCV K. Fri.l.KH. after a Ion- 
spent mostly in agricidti 

__^ suits, is now living- comparatively i-etired in 
the village of Clinton, where he took up his resi- 
dence in 188;'). He owns forty .acres of \ahiahle 
land, which is supplied witli lirst-elass buildings, 
and has been a resident of fjcnauee County since 
the spring of 18(J1. 

Mr. Fuller when first pitching his tent within the 
confines of Clinton Township, engaged first as an 
agent for the Singer .sewing-machine, and subse- 
quently operated a planing-mill foi- several years. 
He then repaired to the city of Detroit and for 
fourteen months resumed work for the Singer. He 
still retained a fancy for this part of the State, and 
accordingly, returning here purchased forty acres 
of land in Clinton Township, upon which he settled 
and which he occupied until his removal to the 
village. Whatever he has attempted has been well 
done, and his home and its surroundings display 
good taste and industry, while he has alw.ays been a 
peaceable and law-abiding citizen and a valued 
member of tlie community. 

The native place of our subject was ^piinglield, 
Erie Co., Pa., where he was born No\. I."j, I8.;i. 
He is the eldest child of Alvah and Su.sin (Drnry) 
Fuller, natives of Herkimer Comity. N. ^■.. where 
they were reared to mature years and whence they 
both removed to Erie County. I'a., liefore theii- 
marriage. In the latter place their lives and fort- 



unes were nnileil. am 
down ui)on the farm. The fallie 
middle-aged, his death occunin 
mother is still living and a resii 
She i.s seventy-six years of age 
period has been a consistent men 
odist Episcopal Church. 

Our subject was reared in his i 
upon reaching manhood was m 



.Iidy 3. 1855, with Miss Mary C., daughter of An- 
drew and Betsey (Deck) Fabrique, of French and 
German ancestry. Mrs. Fabrique died in 1839; 
Mr. Fabrique was subsequentlj' married andijis a 
resident of Clinton, being seventy-seven years of 
age. Mrs. Fuller was born in Herkimer County, 
N. v., .Sept. 13, 183G, and was the only child of 
her mother, at whose death she was but three years 
of age. Mr. Fabrique was a carpenter by trade, 
which he carried on in both New York and Penn- 
syhaiiia dui'ing his early manhood. Mrs. Fuller 
was iiui a child when the family removed from the 
Empire State, and was reared .and educated in 
Edinboro, Pa. Of her union with our subject 
there has been born one child only, a daughter, 
Clara A., who resides at liome with her parents. 

Mr. and .Mrs. Fuller came t.. the West .a few 
years after their marriage, and with the exception 
of two years have since been residents of this 
county. Mr. F'uller is quiet and unol)trusive. deal- 
ing little with public affairs, but votes the straight 
Republican ticket. 



1^^^ A'nilAS L. DAVIS. The subject of this 
sketch is a farmer, residing in\ section 30, 
in Dover Township. His parents were 
Phineas and Elizaljeth (Lane) Davis, na- 
tives respectively of Vermont and New Jersey. 
The paternal gr-a,ndfatlier of our subject, John Da- 
vis, w.as a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and 
took [lart in the battle of Valley Forge and other 
important engagements. His maternal grandfather, 
Malhias Lane, also .served in the Revolution, being 
an officer in the di'agoons. 

After their marriage, the |iarents of our subject 
settled in New York, and during the War of 1812 
the f.atiier scr\ ed as a soldier. They remained in 
New \oik until 1821), when the}' emigrated to Me- 
dina County, t)hio, where the father died in June, 
184.".. .Mrs. Davis remained in Ohio until 185(1, .at 
which time she moved to Morenei, Mich., spending 
her remaining years with her son Mathias L. Mr. 
anil Mrs. Davis were the parents of ten children, 
nine girls and one boy. 

.Malhias L., whose name stands at the head of 



344 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



this sketch, was born in Spencer, Medina Co., Oliio. 
May 19, 1833. llis erluoation was obtained in tlie 
district school, and durino; his youthful years he re- 
mained at home Mssisting on the farm out of school 
hours. At the age of seventeen he ieiinied the 
shoemaker's trade in his native town, inid foHowcd 
tliat occupation tliere for a few years. In l.s.")4 he 
removed to Williams County, Ohio, and pursued 
the same occupation until 1855, when in February 
of that j'ear he ciunc to Lenawee County :ind set- 
tled in Morenc-i. wliere he carried «.n liis trade with 
considerable profit. 

Mr. Davis was married in Morenci, March 23, 
1856, to Jane Hause, who was born in Greenville, 
Mercer Co., Pa., Sept. 28, 1835, and is the daugh- 
ter of Peter and Anna (Trexler) Hause. Her par- 
ents removed from (xreenville. Pa., to .Seneca 
Township, Lenawee Co., Mich., in 1852, where Mr. 
Hause died in 187;>; Mrs. Hause is still living. 

On the 3d of September, 18(14, Mr. Davis, fol- 
lowing in the footsteps of his father and giand- 
fathers, became a soldier in the service of his coun- 
try. He enlisted in Company F, 4th Michigan In- 
fantry, and served as Sergeant of his company until 
the close of the war. At Murfreesboro he was 
stricken down with the typhoid fever, which .seri- 
ou.sly impaired his health, but he remained with his 
regiment until it was mustered Dut of service at 
Houston,_Tex., which place it had roMclicd un its 
waj" to drive Maximilian out of Mexico). The ex- 
ecution of the Austrian rendered further effort un- 
necessary, and Mr. Davis lelurned to Morenci, and 
resumed his former occiipntioii of shoeniaking. en- 
gaging in the Imol ami -hoc trade until 18G'.l, when 
he sold out. He took this step |):irtly on account 
of ill-health, and partly on account of the duties 
attendant on his position as Deputy Sheriff, to 
which office he had been previously ap|Kiinted. 
He continued to live ill Morenci inilil the f.MJl of 
1875, when he removed to Dover Township, and 
settled on eighty acres of land on section 30, whicli 
he had received in exchange for property in .Mo- 
renci, and where he has ever since made his honu^, 
giving ids attention to agricultural pui'suit>. 

The union of Mr. and Mrs. Davis has been lilcssed 
by the birth of six children, of whom the record is 
as follows: Alouzo died at the age of three j'ears 



.^h 



and four months; Frank married Amanda Deline, 
and resides in Gratiot County, Mich.; Cora died in 
DSOo, at the age of three years; Preston S., Ulj'sses 
H. and Cary A. Mr. and Mrs. Davis are valued 
residents, not only of Dover Township, but of 
Lenawee County, where they are much esteemed for 
their sterling traits of character. They are both 
conscientious members of the Methodist Eijiscopal 
Church, where Mr. Davis has performed the duties 
of Steward for many years. 

Politically, Mr. Davis is an active niendjer of 
the Kepublican party, with which he intelligently 
casts his vote. He held the office of Deputy Sher- 
iff for several years, while foi' three years he was 
Marshal of Morenci, and has been Constable besides 
filling other minor offices. Socially he is a mem- 
ber of Rowley Post No. 258, (t. A. R.; he also be- 
longs to Masonic Lodge No. 95, of Morenci, and is 
likewise a member of Lodge No. 73, I. O. O. F., 
and of the Camp. 

JrjOIIN FOlvBKS, n pros|ierous farmer residing 
I on his comfortable homestead on section fi, 
i Dover Township, was born near Palatine 
') Church, N. Y., March 1, 1808." His father, 
Alexander Forbes, was born in Herkimer C'ounty, 
N. v., and in that county spent his entire life. The 
maiden name of his wife was Betsy Kessler, also a 
nati\e of New York, whose last days were spent in 
Cayuga County, that State. They were the par- 
ents of ten children, live sons and five daughters. 

Our subject w;is the secoml child of his parents 
in order of l)irth, and grew to manliood and mar- 
ried in his native county. After marriage he con- 
tinued to reside in the same count}- until the spring 
of 1835, when he removed to Michigan, and took 
up a tract of land comprising 145 acres, on section 
7, Dover Township. The clearing of this tract of 
will! hiiid seemed a formidable attempt, but he set 
to work with ;i briive heart and willing hands; his 
courage ovcrc.-niie :dl obstacles, and he succeeded 
in clearing ;i l;iriii, on wjiic-li he erected good build- 
ings, and made other substantial improvements. He 
resided on this farm until 1882, when, having an 
opportunity to sell at a pecuniary profit, he did so, 

m^ 




? 










Residence: OF Stephen C. Lombard. 5ec. 4. Rollin Township. 






4 




ReS.OF JeSSIAH WE5TERMAU ,5EC.i3. RlGA ToWNSHIP. 






A /'~--''t<i,,'. 



uf^'tirii: - 












M^'f ^. ^ '^ _- "^'^--r^^t 



r ^r 






I to 






:^^M:;£^ 



Residence of Roswell Bennett, Sec. 12. Rolli n Township. 



•^-*^ 



»► ■ < • 



r.ENAWEE COUNTY. 



Mr. Downs vv 

Kipley Tow, 

l,s-.';i. His 

iiU-hes- Count 

i.vliooil. whon 

iix- of an iii.liil 



>li. 



and afterward bonght 120 acre.-; of hind on section j Lenawee County among the foremost of the State. 
6, which he now occupies. 

Mr. Forbes has been tiuee times nianied. !lis 
tirst marriage took place in the Stale of New York. 
where he was united to Angeline Crim. Siie bore 
him ten children, of whom the record is as follows: 
Elizabeth is tiie wife of Richard McKen/.ie. of Ihnl- 

son Township; Ti thy married Mary E. .lones, 

and resides in Clayton: Ihniirl nianied Martha 
Brown, and lives in Dundee, Mieli.; Ahira i^ the 
wife of William W. Herron. of Ohio; I'oliy is the 
wife of Eug-ene Terwilline.. of Wexford. Midi.; 
Angeline die<l when ahout t"i-nly years ot' ;ii;e; 
Mary J. was the wife of Henry Kulotr. :in.l die.l in 
Hudson Ton'iiship; William .1. w:is a nii'iidiei- of 
the 11th Heavy Artillery of .Miehiii;in. ami died of 
typhoid fever at Vickslmre; .I,,lin \V. died when 
about six years old : .lohn E. m;inied Celi:i D.arhy. 
and resides in Hudson. .Mich. The mother of these 
children died in Dover Townshii). .Inly IC, 1807, 
Mr. Forbes' second wife was Mrs. Mary Perkins, 
widow of John T. Perkins, and she died in Hudson 
Township. Mr. F. again nianied. in DoNcr Town- 
ship, Mrs. Elizabeth Cerrow, -a native of New Ko- 
chelle, N. Y. She is the daughter of llirain and 
Deborah (Ireland) Lefferts, and widow of Ransom 
Cerrow, who died in IHtJG. 

During his residence hen' of over h.alf a century 
Mr. Forbes has witnessed the wondei'ful growth of 
this township from a mere settlement in the wilder- 
ness to its present condition. He should he held 
in the highest respect and veneration as one of the 
very few brave pioneers of the township in its in- 
fancy still left among us. lie is a \;dued menilier 
of the Baptist C'hnrcii, while in polities he is a 
stanch Republican. 

'^^^ mmr-^^^ 



ly. to .Mis^ Sophr, 
ton ( ounty. \t.. ' 
a ehild. After tl 
sulijeet uelit to 
II,, Hand PurelKis, 

He .s.ion.old out. 



born on the Holland Purchase, 
ip. Chautauqua Co.. N. V.. Nov. 



The tiealment lic^ here 
ather was such that the 
him nanoved from his 
•n learned the tnnle of a 
ty-oue ye;ns of age was 
■ Augusta. Oneida Coun- 
ely.a native of liennilig- 
, to Oneida County when 
i;ige. the parents of our 
. X. Y., and then to the 
.Ml-. Downs eiigaiivd for 

me. l.siM.came to Miehi- 



illiei 



It was he who orgai 
ton, by gettin.ii' tog 
tians, and meeting 
Clinton. 11 

a Is,, tirst C 
s,.euie<l th.' 



•rk aii,l De 


l.N' .a eh 


the .■hi 


nlier, but 
ivh. He 


r~t miuislei 
mil frieu,l, 
me ,.f the 


t,, pn- 
,,M Kl 


ler P,>u 
,,f Chr 


,■11. .Mr. 


hv his fait 


1 ;,ii.l 1 


,'sian,ati,. 


, on his 


Th,. wi,|,,w 


,.f Mr. 


D.,wn> ^ 


.■IS ;iea,in 


.Mr. Waril. 


ami lat 


•r she he 


eame the 


es M,>rgan, 


ami ,lie 


I in Mae 


m Town- 


,e of sixtv-t 


ve veai 


s. 





4 



1/ ENRY P. DONVNS is 

'~\| spected resident of 
where he has resi,l,,l 
the exception ,.f tnu- 
Pike's Peak, Col., ah,,ut tliirl 
thus early to this pait of th, 
nessed, and after he reachi',1 
in bringing about those inqi 



[■1 St. .hilm, and 
.11 Ciunty, thij 
)iir subject lost 
il. Atteuvears 



1 Wan 
,le of 



•► 



34.' 



LENAWEE COUNTY 



shoemaker, under the instriietiou of Mr. Anson 
Roff, of Clinton, and also worked at the spinning- 
trade five years in this town. 

Mr. Downs was first married, in Mat'un Township, 
to Miss Calista M., daughter of Deacon Charles 
Morgan, and born in Genesee County, N. Y. She 
came to Michigan with her parents when a child, 
and was reared in Macon Township. She died at 
her home in Clinton, Dee. 1, 1881. Mr. and Mrs. 
Downs became the parents of Ave children, only 
one of whom is now living, Frank E., who is en- 
gaged as a weaver in the woolen-mills at Clinton. 
The deceased were Flora S.. Jennie M., Willie H. 
and Harry M; all died young. Our subject was a 
second time married, to Mrs. Frances M. (Shaw) 
Witham, who was born and reared in Lynn, Mass., 
where she married her first husband, who died in 
Boston. She afterward came to Michigan, where 
she married Mr. Downs. By her first marriage she 
has one child, Emmie, the wife of Frank Frebble, 
of Lynn, Mass. 

Mr. Downs owns n comfortiilile home in Clinton. 
He has been De.acon of the Baptist Church twenty- 
four years and has held other oHicial positions. He 
is also President of the Board of Trustees, while he 
and Mrs. Downs are active members of the church. 
In politics Mr D. is a Republican and an advocate 
of temperance principles. 



l^3i- 



i 



(^ W.ELLIS. The subject of this history was 
^yLlI one of the earliest pioneers of Southeastern 

llfls Michigan, and came to this country when 
^ the land was mostly the property of "LTn- 

cle Sam." lie is a native of Benton Center, Yates 
Co., N. Y., wiiere his birth took place Nov. 7, 1821, 
and is the son of Charles Ellis, a native of the same 
State, and of Scotch-Irish ancestry, who all his life 
fc)llowed farming pursuits. The paternal grand- 
father, William Ellis, a native of Ireland, spent his 
last years .-it Benton Centei-, where his remains were 
laid to rest. II.. w:is niMrried to Miss .leniiiiui Fcn- 
ton. of Scot.-li descent, and they reared a family of 
sons and daughters. 

Charles Ellis, the father of our subject, upon 
i-eaching manhood was manicd to Miss Charlotte 



Coleburn, who was born and reared in New York 
State, and traced her descendants back to Holland. 
After the birth of eight children, they started 
for the young State of Michigan in the spring of 
1840, and after a tedious journey made by way of 
canal, lake, and overland by means of ox-teams, 
located in what is now Clinton Township. Here 
the father took up an unbroken tract of land, upon 
which he effected some improvements and resided 
for a period of sixteen years. The death of the 

j wife and mother then broke up the househohl, and 

t the elder Ellis took up his abode with his son. our 
subject, in Macon Township, where his death oc- 
curred in the spring of 18t>5. Charles Ellis was a 
stanch Democrat, politically, and both were mem- 
bers of the Baptist Church. 

A. W. Ellis spent his childhood and youth in his 
native State, and after the family came to Michigan 
made himself useful in assisting to build up the 
primitive homestead which subsequently became 
his jtroperty. In January, 1844, having formed hi* 
plans for the future, he secured a wife and help- 
meet in the person of Miss Margaret Aten, whom 
he married at the home of the bride in Tecumseh 

i Township. Mrs. f^Uis is the daughter of Garrett 
and Elizabeth (Hendershott) Aten, natives of 

1 Pennsylvania, where they were reared and married, 

{ being at the time of this interesting event resi- 
dents of the town of Jersey. Not long afterward 
they removed to New York State, settling on a 
farm in Groveland Township, Livingston County, 

, which became the birthplace of their eight children. 
These included five sons and three daughters, of 
whom Mrs. Ellis was the sixth child and third 
daughter. When she was eight years of age Mr. 

I Aten resolved to change his location and seek a 
home among the wilds of Michigan. There was 
little at that time t(j attract the emigrant, but from 
the location and the quality of the soil it was pre- 
dicted that in time, by the exercise of industry and 
enterprise, there would grow up a State rich in 
resources and vvell worthy the efforts of men of res- 
olution anil energy. The jt>urney to Southern 
.Michigan was etfeeted hiboiiously via the canal and 
lakes, and overland by ox-teams, and at nearly 
every season of the year there n)ight be seen scores 

j of emigrants, with their faniilies, plodding their 



-4*- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



way to the uuttied territory. The father of Mr.s. 
Ellis in nowise lacked the qualities reqiiirod to make 
this venture a success, lie iiitclied liis tent .iniid 
the forest of what was afterward Macon To"iu.lii|>, 
first l)ut up a log cabin, tlien felled tlie trees .■ircumd 
it, and after the lapse of 3'ears had brought ei^lity 
acres to a good state of cultivation. He lived to 
rejoice in the advance of civilization nnd tu sec 
the opening up of valuable fai'ms aroMud liim.and 
finally closed his eye.s upon the scene,~ of ('.•nth at 
the advanced age of ninety years. 

Mrs. Ellis was reared among the i)i(.inecr ?.ceufs 
of Southern Mieliigan. and bocanie familial- with Ihe 
housewifely duties in \\hicli tlie iu;iidcr,s <il' Ihusc 
days were wisely and thomuglily trained. She re- 
mained under the home rnof until liei- ni;iiii.-ii;e, .Mnd 
by her union with our subject becanie the nn)tlKi' 
of eight children, of wiioni two, llnldali and C':\iiir. 
died when quite young. The eldest Min. ( layton. 
married Miss Elizabeth Lightfall, and is nninbered 
among the prosperous farmers in the vicinity of 
Pennington Corners; Almeda, the wife of Jdlin 
Sones, is living with her husband on a farm in Ma- 
con Township: Libby, who married William Ester- 
brook, resides on a farm in Franklin Township; 
Charles married Miss Mar3' EI)bitt, and they occupy 
a home w'ith his parents; Garrett D. married Miss 
Elfa Thomas, and is operating the homestead; Mar- 
tha became the wife of C. Hendershott, of Clinton 
Township, and is now deceased. Mr. Ellis ami his 
sons vote the straight Democratic ticket, and with 
his excellent wife he is a member in good standing 
of the Baptist Church at Macon Corners. 



- ^a -is;. 



l|^iJ)(iAK K. WELLS, who is fiuniliii 
IJU) throughout Ridgeway Township 
/J^^ its most successful farmers and re 
nessmen, was thrown u|)on his own resonr 
life, and has played his [).n I lir.-ively :in( 
in the midst of man}' obstnch's. lie i 
possessor of a good proi>crty. and will 
pass his declining years in e;isf .-unl c( 
without anxiety as to the means ol' hi- m 
His present residence is near Britton 
which he came in 1884, ;ifter retirinu fi< 



3 -•19 



his 



ive labors of the farm, which still i-enir 
possession and is now operated b.y a tenant. His 
\ill;ige residence is (irobably one of the finest in the 
place, and he is there surrounded by all the com- 
loiis of life, while the friendship of the men who 
h:ive known him so long and so well cannot be 
othei-uise than a pleasure and a satisfaction. 

Mr. \\'ells. in 18G3. soon after his m.'uringc. ranie 
wilh his young wife to Ridgeway Township and lo- 
cated on a tract of unbroken timber land on .section 
17. They faced the task before them with bravery 
;ind resolution, expecting nothing for a few j-ears 
but liaivl labor and many privations. They were 
loitnnntcly blessed with good health and strength, 
:ind in diH' time began to realize that they were not 
laboring h, v..,in. The soil under .■! failhfnl process 
of cultivation began to yield liountifnlly. and one 
improvement after another appeared upon the home- 
stead. The first rude dwelling was superseded by 
.1 more modern residence and the rude sheds gave 
WAX to convenient barns and other buildings. Mr. 
Wells was fully appieciatcd by his fellow-townsmen, 



Ili-I 



isi'h; 



.Mr. Wells is :i native of 
County, this State, ami was li. 
lather^ Russell Wells, wa- a 
Stiite, and when a yonni; in:i 
wlu-re not Inuu. afterw.-n.l he 
w:iv Township, to Miss Delih 



n-. Monroe 
S, 1.S40. His 
New York 
o Michigan, 
L'd. in Ridge- 
i n;itive also 



of the Empire State, who came west wilh her par- 
ents after reaching womanhood. She only lived a 
few years after her marriage, her death taking place 
wlien her son, Edgar R., was a child two years of 
age. Mr. Wells survived his wife until 1851; 
liotli died ;it Iheir home in the city of Adrian. 
Our subject w:,> tlu- only .liil.l ofhis parc-nts. and 

auc^va- t:iUen into the home ,.r his uncle. .b,lni 
l.inn. of Khlgewny Township, with whom he re- 
mained until re.'ichint; his majority. Not long after- 
w;ird he w.-is m:irrie(l in Ridgew:iy Township, on 
the 12tli of August, I.SG;1, to .Miss .Sarah Exelby, a 
native of this township and born Jan. 4, 1844. Mrs. 
\\ ells continued under the home roof until her mar- 



^h 



-•►Hl-^ 



^■-i. 



3.iO 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



ringe, receiving a good education at the conamou 
i-fhools and being trained in all the housewifely 
duties. She is a ladj' of many excellent qualities 
and has proved in all respects the worthy heljjnieet 
of her husband. 



^^ HE.STER J. COKBETT. late a resident of 
\\\ n ^''"^'"-V'''' 'i'«"'»sli'P- "'as born July 16, 1.S33, 
^^/ and closed his eyes upon earthly scenes at 
his home on section 20, May 9, 1883. His father, 
Clark E. Corbett, a farmer bj- occupation, was one 
of the earliest pioneers of Lenawee County. He 
took up a tract of Government land in Palmyra 
Township, and spent many years in its improve- 
ment and cultivation, building up a good home 
where he spent the last _years of his life in ease and 
comfort. 

The subject of this sketch was but a child when 
he came to this coinitj' with his parents, where he 
spent his boyhood and j^outh. He was a bright and 
intelligent lad, and during the gold excitement of 
California was one of the first from this section to 
join the caravan on a tour of exploration among 
the mining regions of the Golden State. The entire 
journey was made overland with teams, and upon 
his arrival there young Corbett engaged for a time 
in mining. A few months of this occui)ation suf- 
ficed him and he retraced his steps homeward, tak- 
ing up his abode in Palmyra Township. Here he 
was married, April 10, 1861, to Miss Almena J. 
Bird, and the young people took up their residence 
on a o6-acre tract of land on section 16, and began 
the building up of a home. Their plans, however, 
Avere interrupted by the outbreak of the Rebellion, 
Mr. Corbett considering it his dut3' to assist in pre- 
serving the Unicm. Li 1862, he enlisted in the 18th 
Michigan Infantry, and fidfiUed all the duties of a 
soldier until the close of the war, when he received 
his honorable discharge and returned home. 

Mr. Corbett now resumed his farming opera- 
tions on his lirst purciiMse, wlijch he subsequently 
added to and in the couise of time built up a tine 
farm, provided with a handsome and sidtstantia! 
house and barn, besides the various other structures 
recpiired for the (-onvenience of the progressive .-ig- 

1h^ 



riculturist. Mr. and Mrs. Corbett became the par- 
ents of one child only, a son, Clark W., who vvas 
born Sept. 8, 1873, and is now at home. 

Since the death of her husband, Mrs. Corbett has 
superintended the management of the farm, and is 
keeping up its old-time reputation as one of the 
most valuable estates in Palmyra Township. She 
is a lady of much intelligence and well fitted for 
her responsible duties. Her parents, William and 
Lucretia (Stanton) Bird, were natives of New York 
State, whence they emigrated to the Territory of 
Michigan at a time when they had to cut a part of 
their way through the heavy timber. Mr. Bird 
took up a tract of land on section 22, in Palmyra 
Township, and for a number of years carried on 
farming and carpentering. He finally opened a 
grocery store in Palmyra, which he conducted until 
no longer able to look after it Ity reason of the 
serious illness which terminated in his death. Feb. 
9, 1846. 

Mrs. Lucretia Bird survived her iuisband m;niy 
years, her death taking place in July, 187o. .She 
was a native of New York and born July 29, 1802. 
Of her marriage with William Bird there were born 
six children, four of whom lived to mature years 
and whom the mother nobly kept together and edu- 
cated after the death of her husband. Mr. and 
Mrs. Corbett united with the Methodist Episcopal 
Church early in life, of which the former remained 
a member until his death and with which the latter 
is still connected. The family rank among the 
first in Palmyra Township, and are noted for their 
high moral and religions principles and more than 
ordinary intelligence. 



[f^^EV. LEVI C. CHASE has been one of the 
V^ familiar figures of Raisin Township and 
\'s \\ vicinity for the last forty-four years. He 
^©)is recognized as a gentleman highly' gifted 
y nature, and one who has made good use of his 
l)portnnities of reading and study, so that he is 
ilical scholars and most 
The larger 



numbered amon<>' the best bi 
intelligent men of Lenawee C<_ 
part of his life has been devoted to the Christian 
ministry, in which he has labored as a faithful stew- 
ard, exerting a good infiuenee, anil setting an ex- 



■<• 



-^^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



t 



iiiiiple worthy of imitation. The main points in ;i 
history of nnnsnal interest are snhstantiaily as tol- 

Our subject is tiie son ,.f Rev. Levi 11. ( hasc 
who was liorn in tlic towiisliip of Vrovidence. Sain- 
toga Co., N. Y., in ISdii. He was reared to man- 
hood in the Kmi)ire State, .•uid althnugli I, rained :nid 
educated amid tiie inaiiifiild rMipl(iynirnl> i>\' I'mihl 
life, acquired a iaii;c fund cf nsrlni intoiiiKitidn. 
while he was <if tJKit tiioughtful and stndi.Mi* niituiv 
which enabled liiui to retieet deeiiiy, and to ict.-iin 
what he had learned. His ancestors t'<ii- nniny L;en- 
erations were Americans, but the family originated 
in England, and were distinguished as remarkable in 
both strength of body and mind. Their tem|)erate 
and correct haljits had served to build up the physi- 
cal frame, while by this means their mental capaci- 
ties were beyond the average. 

The father of our suljject, after reaching man- 
hoon and forming his plans for the future, was 
united in marriage with one of the most accomplished 
and worthy' young women of his neighborhood, 
namely, Miss Anna Haviland, who had been one of 
the childhood associates of her hnsl)and. She also wns 
of American parentage and English aneesti-y, Imt 
unlike her husband, was slight in stature. She wa> 
great, however, in kindness of heart, and all those 
virtues which cast such lustre upon the character 
of a wife and mother. The marriage of this talented 
and worthy pair was celebrated in Niagara County, 
Oct. 24, 1826. Soon afterward they located on a 
farm in that county, where the}' continued seven 
years, and then concluded to cast their lot with tlie 
pioneers of Lenawee County, Mich. 

Mr. and Mrs. Chase arrived in this county in Sei)- 
tember, ISri.S, making the journey by lake and teams, 
and settled in Raisin Township, where the father 
secured a large tract of land on sections 2y and ;i i. 
It was then an unbroicen wilderness, and no neigh- 
bors nearer than two or three miles. Mr. and Mrs. 
Chase, however, w^ere young and strong in hope 
and prepared for every emergency'. Tlioy set ti > 
work with a will to establish a home in the wildei - 
ness, and succeeded beyond their expectations. 
This was only brought about by the strictest econ- 
(uay and the most incessant industry, but notwith- 
.standing the outla3' of manual labor required, Mr. 



Cha.se k. 


pi sle;idll\ 


in vi( 


tivation 


.f the mi 


id was 


tilliu- o 


■ the M)il 


lie 



time and opixirtunity :ift'o|-ded, and he employed his 
leisure hours and tlie long winter evenings in ac- 
qnirinu a fund of useful knowledge, in which lauda- 
ble nmbilion he w:i~ .'ilily M'e.mded by his excellent 
wife. lie niMde the Bible one of his text books and 
(■lil.Miued a wouderfid kuowied'je of the Seriptures. 
His memoiy was .something remnrk.-dile; he could 
repeat passage after passa<ic. ami \v:i> seldom at 
fnult ill his tlieorii-^ or sl:itemeiits. He had been 
reared in the t^iaker faith, lint limilly joined the 
Free-Will Baptists, and on .account of lii> .Mii-ular 
ability, was .so(m afterward chosen .and oialaiued a 
minister in that church. 

Mr. Chase, however, would not lie bound by any 
creed, but became in effect a refoniiei-, and taught 
the Scriptures after the sim|)lest manner, and as 
near as he understood them in their literal sense. 
He was careful and conscientious in all his w.^ys, 
and found many who sympathized with him in his 
peculiar irle.as. They bamled loiicther and estab- 
lisheil what they denominated the Christian Church, 
whose doctrinal points were l)ased as nearly as they 
under.stood upon the Scriptures. Mr. Chase was an 
earnest follower of the precepts taught by the Apos- 
tles, and believed in baptism by immersion for the 
remission of sins. He believed also that the world 
ivas to be purified by fire, and eternal life and the 
presence of Christ were only to be known to the 
faithful followers of the Messiah. The sincerity of 
Mv. Chase in his beliefs was never for a moment 
questioned. In these he closely trained his chil- 
dren, .and his son, our subject, was one of his most 
cheerful and affectionate pupils. Rev. Levi H. 
Chase departed this life at his home in Raisin Town- 
ship, Oct. .5, 1877, at the age of seventy-one years 
and six months. His excellent wife still survives, 
and makes her home with her s<m, Franklin N., who 
is farming on a part of the original homestead in 
Raisin Township. The aged and revered mother 
has now passed her eightieth year, but is still active 
and in good health, and liids fair to live another 
decade. 

The subject of this history (irsl opened his eyes 
•► 



f 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



U, Ihf liiiht Mt the lioim-stcadof his parents in i;:ii,siii 
■r..unsliii), .liily 17. 1843. At .an cnrly -.ige it uns 
(liscoveivd that he h:id inherited Inroely of the 
talents of his fathei- !in<l tlie virtues uf ids mother. 
He was of a serious and dceiiiy religious turn of 
mind, and' in early youth was recognized as a fit 
subject to bear the mantle of ids sire in fntnre 
years. To this end both i:inr(Mits and son labored, 
and the result lias been one wliieh tin- father before 
his deatli viewed with satisfaetion. and in which the 
living mother now rejoices. After completing his 
primary studies, he took a course at Raisin Institute. 
and subsequently was cnlied to the ministry and 
took charge of the churcii of liis fath(!r in Raisin 
Township. The Christian Church at this point em- 
braces eighty-three members, and besides conduct- 
ing weekly services, Mr. Chase labors elsewhere in 
the State and beyond its borders. lie is a fluent 
speaker, and possesses a knowledge of the Scriptures 
which enables him to n.se those unanswerable argu- 
ments which serve to convince the most skeptical. 
He was reared amid the quiet pursuits of farm life, 
which he has always loved, and which now serve as 
a recreation from his more toilsome and responsible 
duties. 

The wife of our subject is a most intelligent .and 
accomplished lady. She was formerly Mi.ss Sarah 
A., daughter of John and Anna (Demund) Cod- 
dington, and assumed the name of Chase on the 1 3th 
of March, 1864. The wedding was celebrated at 
the home of the bride in Adrian Township, and was 
an event over which the principals received the 
congratulations of friends, both far and near, as it 
was the establishment of a household founded upon 
the highe.st moral character and more than ordinary 
intellect. The j^oung people comnienced life in 
Seneca Township, where they lived two years, and 
then removed to Adrian Township, where they spent 
.seven years, and from there to their present home. 
Thej' enjoy the esteem and confidence of the people 
who have known them so long and well, and who 
bespeak for them a continuation of their happy and 
prosperous life. 

The parents of Airs. Chase were liorn and reared 
in New York State, whence they emigrated to the 
young State of Michigan the year after its admis- 
sion into the Union. The father entered a tract of 



l;ind in Lenawee County, where he built up a good 
homestead, including 136 acres, and where his death 
took phice in 18,t->. The property is now in posses- 
sion of tlieir only son, Peter Coddington. The 
aged and reveied mother is yet living, making her 
home with her children, and is in the eighty-first 
year of her age. Mrs. Chase was the only daughter 
of the iiarental household, and w.as born in Seneca 
Townshi]), this county, Feb. 26, 1844, She received 
a thorough education, and for some time before her 
marriage was employed as a teacher. The only son 
of our subject and his wife, Elbert J. by name, was 
l)orn May "26, 1871, and is a bright and promising 
youth now pursuing his studies in Raisin Valley 
Seminary. Rev. and Mrs. Chase, as may be sup- 
posed, have taken a warm interest in the success of 
the temperance movement, and are avowed Pro- 
liiliitionists. 

■ t > i@: — ^ l * 

EDWIN COOK. One of the representative 
men of the township of Franklin, as well as 
? one of the thrifty and successful farmers and 
stock-raisers, is Mr. Cook, who came to the county 
in May, 1861, and first purchased land on section 3, 
Franklin Township. After making considerable im- 
provements he sold this farm, and purchased sixty- 
five acres in the same township, and ten acres near 
by on the same section. He now lives on section 
19, where he owns a good propertj'. 

Mr. Cook is by birth a native of Hadley, Mass., 
where he was born Nov. 30, 1812, and is the son of 
Job Cook, who -also was born in Massachusetts, and 
reared in Hadley. He was a blacksmith by trade, 
and married a lady by the name of Hannah Camp- 
bell, who came of Scottish ancestry. For some 
years after marriage Mr. and Mrs. Job Cook were 
engaged in Hadley, Mass., where they were among 
the active society people. The father died of con- 
sumption at Hadley, at the age of forty years; his 
wife survived him some years, and died at the home 
of her daughter, Mrs. Martha D. Turner, of Frank- 
lin Township, where she was visiting, at the age of 
about sixty years. 

At the death of his father the subject of this 
biography was but eight years old, but he then be- 
gan to earn his own living, working for Sylvanus 



■^h-.- 



-*^i 



LENAWEE COUNTY 



:i:.s 



I)i 



)f' II: 



.M:i>s., 



Ml 



M: 



wh 



WH.S hum and 


ic.'iifd 


ghter of Iln 


■.•ii'i' ('. 


•, who si.niii 


4' lioin 


1 .lid (':i|i(. 


Mi|.> 


s a ,-n,n.|M-n 
ed aixl died i 


. Al 1 . 

1 Had- 



maker's trade. () 

Cook wa,- united ii 

Miss Loviea ('. Se 

in Hadley, and 

and JMaiT (Stand 

prominent faniilic 

Standish, of Puritan fame, 

Seymour was a farmer, and 

ley, Mass., where his wife also died, both ripe in 

years. Mrs. Cook was the eldest of a family of twu 

sons and four daughter-, .■in.l was hum at ll.ulley. 

Jan. (1. ISl I. She w.'isa nienil.er ..f the fungre-a- 

tional Church, .and died at her lunne in Franklin 

Township, Oet. 10, 187;-). 

After Mr. Cook's marriage, he removed U> West 
Avon Township, Livingston Co., N. Y., and there 
engaged in business as a manufacturer of Ixxits -^m] 
shoes. At tiie end of thirteen years spent in tliis 
place, he traded his property for a farm in Ken<lall 
Townshi]), Orleaiis Co., N. Y., and there liegun tu 
fai'm on his own aeeount. Sonie time after he sold 

Y., where he engaged in buying and selling grain, 
etc., for two years. He then sold out and came to 
this township, which he has made his home ever 
since. Mr. Cook was a second time married, Nov. 

12, 1.S79, in Franklin Townsliii), to AL's. Charlotte, 
widow of Richard Osborn, who was born in Ovid 
Township, Seneca Co., N. Y., June 18, 181(5, where 
he was reared, and in December, 184'2, was married 
to Miss Charlotte Tillyar, al.<o born in Ovid, Seneca 
County, Aug. 24, 1819, and daughter of \\'illiam 
and Mary (Gray) Tillyar. Her parents were mar- 
ried in New York, and afterward settled in Seneca 
County, where they lived the I'emainder of their 
days on a farm in Ovid Township, at which place 
they were active citizens. The father was born Oct. 

13, 1779, and died Aug. 11, 1833; the mother was 
born Nov. 22, 1782, and died Jan. 17, 183G. 

After Mr. and Mrs. Osliorn h.ad been some time 
engaged in Seneca County, they came to Findlay. 
Hancock Co., Ohio, and thence, in l.S(i;J. to .Michi- 
gan, where they purchased land in the township of 
Tecumseh, which he sold some years later, and com- 
ing to Franklin Township, purchased ninety -three 



aeres .,i, seetion 19. where he w.m> en-auv.l until his 
death. In eonneetioM with lii> l.r,.ther P'rank he 
had Ueeii engagecl in the p,,nltry Inide. and in 
DeeemlM'r ha.l goii,. with :i Large lot of dressed poul- 
try to New York City. On his return trip he was 
killed in the most dis:istrou> rnilway aedilent of the 
age, the terrible Ashtahula (Ohio) dis.aster. His 

.Mr, Cook had hy hi- lir-l marriage f,,ur children, 
one now living, Iviwiii Chirenee. wh., t..ok to wife 

.iceupy the farm l.eloniiing to Ml'. Cook. 'J'lie de- 
ee.'ised wei'e S:irah S.. who became the wife of Ed- 
win W. Turner, now deeeased. and afterward of J. 
I'". Smith, now of l'"ianklin: she was born March 
Id, Is.lT.aud died Now I. 1S(!8; one child survives. 
Susan K.. who w.-is lioiii May."), IS39, and died 
April L', is.-u : Henry I)., who was born Nov. 1 ;i, 
1.S42. and died May -.'2. ist4. and Claivne,., who 
was born iNIarch 19, IHoo. Mr. and .Mrs. Cook are 
niembersof the Congregational ( hnreh. Air. Cook 
is .lustice of the Peace, and in polities is a liepub- 
lie;ni. 



■^^ilrtM- 



RANCLS H. WHITINt;, widely and favor- 
ably known throughout Alacon Townshiii. is 
one <if its most skillfid .■md successful far- 
mers, and has been a resident of this county forover 
a quarter of a century. His tine farm (»f l(i7 acres 
is plea.santly located on section 12, near the old 
Ridge road, where it attracts general attention from 
the ])asserby as indii'ating the homestead of a well- 
to-ilo citizen and a man of good standing in the 
coranuinity. 

Mr. Whiting is a native of this .State, having 
been born in Monroe, Aug. 27, 1<S37. His father, 
George AVhiting. was one of the pioneer settlers of 
Alonroe County, locating there at a time when the 
cabins of white men were few and far between. He 
was born in Penn Yan, Yates Co., N. Y., where he 
s|ient his childhood and youth, and was married to 
Aliss Elizabeth Spalding. The mother of our sub- 
ject was a Vermont lady of excellent old New En- 
gland stock, from which sprang many eminent man 
and lovely women. George Whiting, upon leaving 
his native State, i)roceeded directly westward to 



->-ll 



3.-. 4 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Ahmidv ( nuiily, Mich., where he engaged first as a 
(hy-gdoil.- tlcrk, and' later in mereliandising tin his 
own account. He liad built up a profitable trade 
and was ver^' prosperous until the brenUing up of 
the "wild-cat" banks, at which time many business 
men were iinancially ruined. 

In 184!), George Whiting crossed the plains to 
the Pacific Slope, and until 1 8.'r2 engaged in mining 
in Califcjrnia. In the fall of that year lie returned, 
via the Isthmus, to his old home in Michigan, and 
soon afterward settled in Washtenaw County, and 
engaged in farming in York Township. He built 
up a comfortable home once more, and there his 
death took place, in 1873, when he was sixty-three 
years of age. I;Ie had suffered considerably from 
ill-health some time before his death, and his finan- 
cial troubles, it is believed, hastened this sad event. 
Politically, he was a firm adherent of the Demo- 
cratic party, and took an interest in all the leading- 
questions of the day. The mother is yet living, and 
makes her home with her daughter, Mrs. Fidelia 
Burham, of Milan Township, Monroe County, and 
is now aged about seventy years. 

Our subject was the eldest of the parental family, 
and remained under the home roof during his child- 
hood and youth, receiving a common-school educa- 
tion. After passing his twenty-second birthda\', he 
started out for himself, and coming to this county, 
located in Macon Township. Here he met and mar- 
ried Miss Yiana Berdan, the wedding taking place 
in Tecumseh, Dec. 29, 1859. Mrs. Whiting was 
born upon the farm which is now owned by her hus- 
band, June 11, 1833. Her father, David Berdan, a 
native of New York State, came to Michigan after 
his marriage, and took up a tract of Government 
land on section 12, in Macon Township, where he 
established a comfortable home, and where his death 
took place Oct. 3, 1881, when he was seventy-four 
years old. His wife, the mother of Mrs. W., was in 
her girlhood Miss Harriet Cannon; she preceded 
her husband to the silent land in 1874. They came 
to this section of country in the pi«meer days, and 
endured in common with the early settlers the hard- 
shiiis and privations of life in the nndevelojied West. 
They were known as hard-working, honest people, 
who had a thorough contempt for a mean action, 
and trained their children to habits of industry and 



those moral principles which would enable them to 
lake theii- place among good and worthy people. 

Mrs. Whiting was reared and educated in Macon 
Township, anil remained under the home roof until 
hoi- marriage. Of her union with our subject there 
wore born three children : William W., now a resi- 
dent of Pratt, Kan., and Ella and Roy J., who are 
living at home. Our subject and his wife located 
first at Saline, whence they removed to Tecumseh, 
and from theie came to the farm of which our sub- 
ject now has the management. Mr. Whiting, politi- 
cally, is a National Greenbacker, and while a resi- 
dent of Washtenaw County served as Deputy Siieriff 
two terms. 



|[_^ IRAM B. ABBOTT. Being a represeutat 
'Jfjjl^ citizen of Lenawee County, as well as i 
^^ of the (irosperous farmers and large lai 
(^ owners of Franklin Township, we take pie 



native 

one 

land- 

leas- 

ure in presenting to his friends this brief review of 
the life of Hiram B. Abbott, together with the ac- 
companying portrait. Coming to this State when 
in the vigor of early manhood, scarcely twenty-one 
years of age, Mr. Abbott, though barely past the 
prime of life, may well take pride in what he lias ac- 
complished in his adopted State. 

Our subject was born in Niles, Cayuga Co., N. 
Y., Dec. 27, 1 830, and here he grew to manhood. 
He was fairly well educated in the common schools, 
but in the great school of experience he gained that 
practical knowledge by which he has achieved his 
successes. His early life was spent on a farm, 
where he imbibed a taste for agricultural pursuits, 
and so chose farming for his life work. His par- 
ents were Daniel C. and Catherine (Burch) Abbott, 
who were born in the same place as our subject. 
After marriage the}' made their home in their na- 
tive county until their removal to Fairfield Town- 
ship, this county, where they spent their declining- 
years, the mother dying Oct. 8, 1868, and the 
father in October, 1880. They had seven children, 
three of whom are now living: Lovina, the wife of 
Philander .Savage, residing- in Adrian Township; 
H. B., and Orrin L., who resides near Addison, this 
county. 

In the fall of 18.t1, attracted liy the glowing re- 
ports of the wonderful agiicultural resources of 




H.m MiMr 



lh-4« 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



357 -^1 



Michiyiui, ciur jiilijccl, willi lii~ |i;nviit- .•lud mw 
l)i-otlier, left tlieir home in ( .-lyuga Comity, :ui(l 
came to Lenawee County, settling in Fnirlield Town- 
»\\i[). With the exception of two years spent in 
Dover Township, Mr. Abbott lias since resiileil liere. 
Witli untiring- industrj', fiacketl liy sound conitnon 
.sense and good judgment, he has become the owner 
of one of the largest farms in the township, embiai- 
ing nearly 330 acres of well-tilled soil, on which lie 
has erected a neat dwelling nnil goo<l farm bnii.l- 
ings. 

In the accunuilation of this property, Mr. Abbott 
has not lacked the a,ssistance of a good wife, as early 
in manhood he wedded Mi.ss Juliette W^ood, the 
marriage taking place in Royalton, (Jliio, Dec. 14, 
1854. She was also a native of New York State, 
and is the daughter of David and Eliza (Briggs) 
Wood, natives respectively of New York and New 
England. Some years aftei- marriage, her parents 
removed to Ohio, settling tirst in Lake County, 
whence they afterward removed to Fulton County. 
where the mother died, .June '2ij. 1882; the father 
is still living. They had seven children, namely: 
Juliette; Eliza, the wife of Perry Hamlin, residing 
in Morenci ; Minerva A., deceased ; John B., who 
resides in Ohio; Susan A., the wife of S. Clarke, re- 
siding in Ohio: George, deceased, and Jerome, who 
resides in Ohio. 

Mr. and Mrs. Al)l)0tt have liad two cliildren— 
Sellick G. .and Dorliska S. Sellick ( ;. was burn Sept. 
27, 1855, .and lives with his iiarents. With the joys 
of parentage, Mr. and Mrs. Abbott have also snf- 
fered its sorrows in the death of tlieir beloved 
daughter, Dorliska S., wife of Franklin Fox, of 
Fairfield Township, Sept. 13, 1 MS J, aged twenty-live 
ye.ars. Mr. Abbott is a prominent member of the 
Masonic fraternity. Though not aspiring to olllce, 
betakes an interest in public aftaiis. and vot^es with 
the Republican party. 



;lit ch: 
the fri 



wh. 



\\. 



f^^ TEPHEN CARPENTEH. The gentleman 

'^^^ whose name stands at the liead of this 

]l^^ sketch came to Lenawee County fifty years 

ago when a boy ten years of .ago, and since 

that time has resided within its limits. He is of 



■acler which has been the 
iidship of most men with 
to ileal, and w.as a worthy niem- 
ony tli:it first ventured into the 
1 set about the estalilishment of 
lioiiies for themselves and their children. Mr. 
Carpenter has l:i bored industriously, always willing 
to i)Ut his shoulder lo Uie wheel, ami lias been 
wisely content with the >liaie of this world's goods 
which Providence allotted him. His acres, though 
not so broad in extent, perhaps, as some of his 
neighbors possess, are highly cultivated, and are 
undoubtedly fully as valuable. He owns the north- 
west quartei- of section 28, Madison Township, 
has good farm buildings, a fair assortment of live 
stock, and the ini|)lements required for carrying on 
hi.s operations successfully and profitablj". 

.Mr. ('arpenter wa> born in Starksboro, Addison 
Co., \'t., April 7, 1S27. I<^ight years later his par- 
ents removed to l'',rie County, N. Y., and from 
there in IS37, to this State. They located upon a 
tract of Land in Raisin Township, which the father 
of our subject transformed into a good farm, and 
where Stephen resided with his parents until the 
spring of 1875. He then removed to his present 
homestead in Madison Township. He has all his 
life been familiar with farming pursuits, which have 
satisfied his sensible ambition, as he is quiet and 
unostentatious in his habits, preferring the society 
of his family and content with the esteem and con- 
fidence of his neighbors. He has filled the various 
minor offices of his townsh:p, and dnring the early 
days, when the counsels of sensible men were most 
needed, he w.as quite prominent in matters pertain- 
ing to the general welfare. 

A few months before the twcnty-fiftli year of his 
age Mr. Carpenter was married in Adrian, Jan. 28, 
1852, to Mis> Helen !•;. I'.radish, who was born in 
Madis .11 Township, this county, Sept. 22, 1830, 
and was the first female child born in the town- 
ship. Her parents, Curren and Rhody S. (Cora- 
stock) Bradisli, were natives of Wayne County, N. 
Y., and came to Lenawee county soon after it was 
opened for .settlement. They located in what is 
now Madison Township, probably- before its or- 
ganization, and became familiar with all the hard- 
ships and difliculties of pioneer life. There was not 



■♦HI- 



358 



*4. 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



a cnbin in sight of the place where they pitched 
their tent, nnrt they lived to watch the settling- up 
of the country arourd them, and to rejoice in i1> 
prosperity. Upon retiring from active hdior ihcy 
moved to the city of Adrian, where the ilcitli of 
the father took place in 1 SGi), and tliat <>f llie mother 
in 1870. 

Mrs. Carpenter was the elde>t diild of licr par- 
ents, whose honsehold inclnded Unw .-tms and fonr 
daughters. She and .Mr. Carpenter liecamc the 
parents of nine children, of whom but four ;uc iv- 
ing. The five deceased died when young. The 
son, .Stephen E., died at the age of six years. Mr. 
and Mrs. Carpenter are members of the Society of 
Friends, and in politics, Mr. C. is a Kepnblican and 
a Prohibitionist. His parents, Elihu and Ann;i 
(Varney) Carpenter, like himself, were natives of 
the Green Mountain State, and Stephen was their 
youngest child. 



s-i-i 



J'^' OSEPH C. NEWELL, of Deerfield Townshii., 
is comfortably locat(!d on section 36, town- 
ship 7 south, range 5, where he owns sixty 
y acres of good land, fifty acres of which is 
cleared and contains a good set of frame buildings. 
Of this he took possession in the sjjring of 18G6, 
when there had been but little attempt at improve- 
ment. He has made a li.tle headway each year, and 
has surrounded himself and his family with every- 
thing necessary for their well-being and comfort. 

A large number of the early settlers of Lenawee 
County claim their birthplace in the Empire State. 
Among them is our subject, who first opened his 
eyes to the light in Edinbnrg, Saratoga County, 
July 14, 1823. This also was the birthplace of his 
father, Lowry Newell, where he was reared to man- 
hood and married. In the spring of 1846 he re- 
moved to .Jefferson County, and from there to a 
point near the town of Tamelia, where he carried 
on agriculture in a moderate manner a few 3'ears, 
and then removed to Alexandria where he spent 
the last days of his life. He married, in eai'ly man- 
hood, Miss Hannah Chapman, who w;is also a native 
of Saratoga County, and wlio died in Alexandria 
some years before the decease of her husband. 



Eleven o: the twelve children born to Lowry and 
llann.ah Newell lived to mature years. Joseph C, 
in common with his brotiiers and sisters, attended 
school wiicn a hay iluring the .summer season, and 
as soon :is (.hi enough to be of some assistance on 
the farm, w:is introduced to its various employ- 
ments, in which he was engaged until reaching his 
seventeenth year. He then went to Watertown to 
learn the trade of a cabinet-maker, but five or six 
months later was taken ill, and returned homo. 
Upon his recovery he went to Sackett's Harbor, 
where he commenced learning the car|)enter's trade, 
and followed this calling in that vicinity several 
years. From there he removed to Dexter, and es- 
talilished a door ar.d sash factory, wiiich he carried 
on until 1H54. 

^Ir. Newell, in the summer of the year mentioned, 
resolved upon a change of location, and coming to 
Michigan purchased eighty acres of timber land in 
Somerfleld Township, Monroe County. He put up 
a log house, which lie occupied with his family 
until the year following, and then removed to the 
town of Monroe, and took up his old business as a 
manufacturer of sash, doors and blinds. He con- 
tinued at this three and one-half years, when he 
returned to his land, and began in earnest its im- 
provement and cultivation. He sold out in 1861, 
and during the following five years was engaged as 
before in his old factor}'. In 1867 he purch;ised 
his present pi'Oi)erty, and settled here in May of that 
year. 

Mr. Newell while a resident of Jefferson County, 
N. Y., was married on the -sth of November, 1847, 
to Miss Susan Marsh, who was Itorn in Hounsfleld, 
Jefferson Co., N. Y., June 16, 1S22. Her father, 
Moses Marsh, was a native of Vermont, and among 
the earliest pioneers of Jefferson County. He pur- 
chased a tract of timber land, where he felled the 
trees and opened up a good farm, upon which he 
remainiMl until after the death of his wife. Then 
he reniovcil to St. Lawrence Count}-, but liefore his 
death returned to Jefferson County, and spent his 
last years in the town of Hounsfleld. The mother 
of Mrs. Newell was, before her marriage, Miss Sarah 
Bntterfield, a native of St. Lawrence County, N. Y. ; 
she died at her home in February, 1834. Mr. and 
Mrs. Newell are the parents of two children : Edwin, 



r 



-^*- 



4 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



359 



who iiian-ied Miss Mary 
Townslii|i, anil resides at f 
the wife of (iersiiani Hiiil 
Howell County, Mo. 

Mr. Newell cast hi.s tii 
John ]'. Hale in i.S.^.L'. .■nn 
pai'ty, witli whom lie ren 
which time he has voteil 
served as Highway Conn 
as School Director in lii> 
years. 



Carp, 



1 J' 



i;.|.u 

issc,. 



w 



*— ■^t^-^^!-«ff5«^— * 



[fWAAAM C. FISIH^^H. M. 



sell was one of the most. |iroiniuenl ami act- 
ive members of the profession, and a citizen liehl 
ill the highest esteem. His infant years were speni 
on the other side of tiie Atlantic, he having been 
born in England, Jan. 7. l,s;i(». \\hen a child foni 
years of age, his parents, William and Sarah (Higgs) 
Fisher, emigrated to the United States, and not 
long after setting foot upon American >oil mad< 
their way to Michigan, taking up theirabode in tin 
cit}' of Tecnmseh in the spring of 1840. The}' re- 
mained residents there until their decease, dyiiijj 
within a month of each other, the f.-ither first, in 
1875. 

The primaiy education of Or. Fisher wa> con- 
ducted in the schools of Te<nimseh, and .ifter goiiiij 
through the High School he entered the odicc ol 
Dr. Hamilton, under whose instruction he read nuMli- 
cine for .several months and then entered the Stalt 
University at Ann Arbor, from the medical de- 
partment of which he was graduated. Soon after- 
ward he commenced the practice of his profession 
in Tecuni.seh, in which he contiuucil .■ictiscly en- 
gaged until his fatal illne.ss; his death occiiiicd oi 
the 10th of May, 1879. In addition to hi^ cxU'ii- 
sive practice he held a half interest in the drug busi- 
ness of Fisher & Hendryx, and later, witli hir 
brother-in-law, Dr. H. Baker. The tirni of Fishci 
cfe Baker was a very flourishing one at the time oi 
tiie death of Dr. Fi.sher. 

The marriage of Dr. William C. Fisher and i\Iisi 
Abbie Murray was celebrated jit the home of Uu 
bride, in Tecnmseh, Jan. 1, 18(30. Mrs. Fisher is ; 



of grea 
.f \. Ml 

1 iinlil .'I 



ilt-ure and refii 



<{ V: 



iiiid the daugh- 
■jnt, where he 
lighter Abbie, 
which or.-iinvd Si.|,t. 1 I, is:;,s; her |i;ireiitsare now 
ilccrased. Doctor .-hkI Mrs. Fi>lii"r li:id no children 
of tlicii' orfii, but ailoiited a little girl, uli., -till re- 
mains with .Mrs. F. The f.amily residence, a haiid- 
>ome and commodious brick structure, is pleasantly 
located on Chicago street, and considered one of the 
most attractive features of the town. 

Dr. Fisher took a genuine interest in the building 
up of Tecnmseh and the prosperity of its jieoiile, 
and left a large estate. He was one of the most 
prominent and influential memliers of the Baptist 
Church, ol' which lie was a Trustee for many years 
and .-i leader of the choir; he also otfici.ated as Su- 
perintendent of the Sunday-school He served on 
the School Board as Moderator and Director for a 
number of years, and was particularly interested in 
educ.-itioual iii>tiliitions. aiding liy his means and 
influence the establishment of .■<cliool> .-nid the other 
moans adopted for the general welfare of the peo- 
ple both young and old. Politically, he was in- 
clined to be conservative, but usually voted the 
Kciiublicaii ticket. 



■■(cr. 



:^53-.o 



De 



.Mi 



ANIEL KETCIIUM, conduct 
j troit division of the Lake Sh' 
gan Southern Railroad, is one of the vet- 
erans of the train service in the AVest, be- 
i;iiniiiig his career as a railroad man over forty-five 
years ago. In reward for his long term of faithful 
service he enjoys the reputation of being one of 
the most skillful and reliable men engaged in that 
calling, .•mil not only numbers a host of warm 
friends among llic men of his calling, but as a long- 
time resident of the city of Adrian, enjoys the es- 
teem and confidence of its best citizens. 

Our subject was born in Seheuectadj', N. Y.,Ocl. 
19, 1828, and is the eldest son of Daniel and Elea- 
nor (Barhydt) Ketchum, natives respectively of 
\Viiisted, Conn., and Schenectady, N. Y. The ma- 
ternal grandfather, Jerome Barhydt, was a descend- 
ant of an excellent old family, which emigrated 
from Holland to America in the Colonial days. 



•► 



3(50 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



wliile the KcU-lninis were of Kngiisli ilcsccnt. Dan- 
iel Ketclmin .and lii.s wife, soon ;ifter their nianiago, 
settled in a modest lionic in tiie city of .Sciienectady. 
where the f.ather engaged in railroading, and wliore 
both parents spent the remainder of their lives. 

Our subject acquired his early education in the 
public schools of his native city, and began his ca- 
reer as a railroad man with the Schenectady & Sar- 
atoga Railroad Company, where he was employed 
in switching cars. Mis first promotion was to the 
position of fireman, in which he was employed dur- 
ing the sunnner season, as the company' suspended 
operations in the winter. From there he went into 
the emjiloy of the Troy & Schenectady Railroad 
Company, entering the office at Schenectady, whicli 
he kept in order and did what little writing there 
was to be done. His next step upward was to the 
position of baggage-master, receiving a salary of 
$25, and boarded himself. Mr. Ketchum next 
engaged as fireman on the Tro}' & Saratoga Rail- 
road, and subsequently entered the shops in Troy, 
where he became an expert machinist, and before 
reaching his twenty-first year was running the night 
engine on the Troy & Schenectady line. His next 
removal was to Taunton, Mass., where for a year 
he was similarly engaged, and he then entered the 
employ of the Buffalo & Erie Railroad Company, 
with which he was eng.aged until making up liis 
mind to come West, 

JNIr. Ketchum, soon after his arrival in Adrian, in 
the spring of 1855, entered the emph)y of the Lake 
Shore ife Michigan Soutliern Railroad as engineer of 
a passenger train running between Adrian and 
White Pigeon, but some months later he was obliged 
to abandon the work on account of failing health, 
and then engaged in the grocery and drug business 
at Adrian. His old tastes, however, would not pei'- 
mit him to be content with this mode of life, and a 
year later found him back at his old business, but a 
step higher up, as he had been promoted to iiassen- 
ger conductor, which position he has held now for 
a period of twenty-two years. 

Mr. Ketchum, while a resident of Sciienectady, 
was united in marriage with Miss Maitha E. Rich- 
ards, the wedding taking place at the home of the 
bride on the otii of March, 1853. Mrs. Ketchum is 
the daughter of Ellis and Emeline Ricliards, natives 



of Ashland, Mass. Mrs. Ketchum' was born in 
Noithboi-o, that State, March 30, 1834, and her 
union with our subject resulted in the birth of six 
children, four of whom found early graves. Those 
surviving are Mrs. W. II. Crane and Fannie C. 

\J(^ ON. CONSH)ER A. STACY. This aged 
|»f^) and honored citizen of Tecum.seh came to 
/Iv^^ Len.iwee County the year before the Terri- 
^p) tory of Michigan was admitted into the 
Union as a State, and continued the pursuit of his 
law studies, which he completed the follovving year. 
In April, 1S37, he was admitted to practice, and 
since that time has been a bright and shining light 
in the legal profession of Southeastern Michig.an. 
He is the offspring of an old and honorable family, 
which settled in New England during the Colonial 
days and became widely and favorably known, es- 
pecially throughout the State of Massachusetts. 
His father. Dr. Consider H. Stacy, was a native of 
New Salem, and was born and reared on the farm 
which had been in possession of his ancestors for 
several generations. In 1S14, when a young man, 
he migrated to Hamilton, N. Y., where he taught 
school several years and in the meantime pursued 
the study of medicine with the noted Dr. Havens. 
The father of our subject began the practice of 
his profession in Hamilton, N. Y.. an<l followed it 
successfully until his death, in 1840. The j'ear 
succeeding his arrival in JIadisou Country, he was 
married, Aug. 21, 1815, to a most estimable lady, 
Miss Polly, daughter of Seth and Polly Bass, of 
Hamilton, liy whom he becanie the father of nine 
children, of whom Consider A., our subject, was 
the eldest. Mrs. Polly Stacy was born in Pittsfield, 
jNIass., in 1795, and departed this life at her home 
in Tecnmseh, in 1876. 
I The first representative of the Stacy family in 
j this country crossed the Atlantic from Lincolnshire, 
^ England, making a settlement on Cape Ann, Mass. 
The male members of the family were largely en- 
gaged as sailors and farmers, and the eldest son for 
generations was named Consider, after the custom 
I of the old Puritans from whom they si)rang. The 
I .Stacys and the sons and brothers of the Bass family 



•►^h-mr; 





t 


















•►- 


T *' 










] 


LENA-\VEE 


COUNTY. 


.sni 




served as soldieis in the Kevoluti 


)n;u'y army, 


bate Court of 


Lenawee County, and was twice rc- 




GraiKlfather Rufiis Stncy fighting d 


rectly under 


elected, >ervii 


g in that capacity three full terms, 




Gen. Stark at the battle of Benningt 


m. lie w:i. 


or twelve ycai 


In l-si.'i he formed a partnershii) 




stationed for several months at Ft. Si: 


nwix. in the 


with Thomas 


M. Cooley, now President of the 




wilderness, where the city oV Koiue. X 


. v.. i> now 


Inter-State Co 


iimeree Commission, which eoiitinncd 




located. The gTeat-gr:nidf:ithcr. .In 


L-itlian I'.a.ss. 


three yeai-. 






served with the Massachiisctls niimitc 


men .-It Lex- 


i;ans<mi. Pros 


ciiting Attorney of Lenawee County, 




ingtoii and Bnnker Iiill..'ni<l snl,sc,|u<- 


tly :is a reg- 


.Mild hel.l this 


ofliuc until the new constitution 




ular in the Continental army. lie w; 


s one of the 


of IS.V) caiiK 


into force. In the latter year lie 




"forlorn hope" under Col. .'\lc\:indc 


I- Hamilton, 


was nppoiiitc. 


by (o.v. McClelland, a member 




who stormed one uf the liritish rcdoi 


bts .■,1 Ynrk- 


of tile State 


lioar.l of Kdnc.ation, .■iml ren.lered 




town, and was thus instrumental in t'oi 


ciiig the sur- 


ellieient servi 


■e in organizing the Slate Xornial 




render of Lord Cornwallis, closing hi 


< services in 


S.'hooi :n,d e 


ecliiig the first building for its use. 




the war with the rank of Captain. 




Mv. Slaey > 


•rved on the School Board of Tecuni- 




The subject ot this sketch was l.oin 


in Hamilton. 


sell twenty-six 


siieee->ive ye.ars. tilling the positions 




Madison Co.. N. V., .bm. C, IMT. : 


nd had only 


at ditfciviit til 


les of M. .delator and Director. The 




meager opportunities foi- olit:iining : 


n education. 


.onsolidath.u 


.f three-epar.-ile xliool districts in the 




but those few opportunities wci-e im| 


n.ve.l to the 


village into tl 


e pre-ent liiioii District was accom- 




utmost. He attended the onlinnry . 


i.-trict ^cllo.ll 


plislu'd tlin.n 


pli his elfoit>. In l.s.5-2 he entered 




untd he was eleven years old ami wa^ 1 


hen admitted 


ii;to a law p: 


rtnership with Kdwin B. Wood, of 




to Hamilton Academy, where he eo 


itinued four 


Teciimseli. wl 


ieh continued twenty years. In the 




years. During these years he spent 


lis spare mo- 


meantime, in 


8;")8, he w.-is the Democratic ninee 




nients mixing pills in his father's di 


ug-store and 


for Congress i 


1 this Congressional district, but was 




attending the post-otfice. Dr. Stacy 


being at that 


defeated by I- 


enry \\al.lr..ii. of Hillsdale, the Re- 




time Postmaster under (icn. Jaekso 


1, was known 


pnblic.-in c-nic 


idate. Ill l.sCT, Seovel C. Stacy, 




as a "buck-tail" Deinocr,-it. 




the son of oui 


subject, having been admitted to the 




Young Stacy, in Maicli, |s.'. 1. \\h 


-n seventeen 


bar. father .-in 


1 s<.ii rorined :i partnershii) under the 




years of age, commeneed (he >tud,\ 


of la^v with 


lirm name of 


'. .\. A- S. ('. Staey, and in January, 




Peter Morey, who th<'n lived .-it !• 


:itoii, X. v., 


1,S70. the liri 


1 removed its ollice to Adrian, still 




whence he removed in I^:;."j. [<> 'l\ 


cnmseli. this 


eontinning to 


reside, howi'ver, ;it Tecum.seli. The 




county. In Augu>t. ls:i(;. at the > 


.lieitation of 


followinaye:, 


■ the -oil returned to Tecumseh f,nd 




his old preceptor, he joined him here. 


and ha.- now 


e-t:il.|i>he(l a 


iianeh law <illice, the management of 




been familiarly known to the people 


if this region 


wlii<-li lie .•out 


lined until in November, 1874, when, 




for over fifty years. I'pon his an 


ival here he 


l.ecomiiig iiitt 


rested in the newsiiaper business, he 




entered Mr. Morey's otliee. where 1 


e eompleted 


piirelui-ed the 


Tecnnis,.h I/praM, with which he is 




his law studies and snbse(picntly been 


lie the |iart- 


now eoniieete 


1. 




nerofMr. M., who had then been: 


ppoiiiled At- 


.ludge St.ai' 


■ eontiniied his Adrian law oltice un- 




torney (ieneral of the State. 




til 187l', and 


heii beeaine the partner of William 




The evident talent and studious 


ial.il- of the 


A. rnderw.H 


d, with whom he continued about 




young attorney secured him a rendy | 


is-|iort to the 


>even years. 


At tlu' expiration of this time his 




confidence and esteem of the p,'..ple .. 


l.lii- -eetion. 


younger son. 


lames A., billowing in the footsteps 




In 1838 he was elected .lustiee ot th. 


I'ea.-c. -eiv- 


of his father 


and brother, had been admitted to 




ing in this otfiee four ye;ir.-.. In Isi". 




the bar. and 1 


It her and son formed a partnership 




the partner of Fernando C. Ileam.iii. uhu i^ widely 


nhicli .■oiitiiu 


ed until the de:ith of the latter, in 




known throughout Sonlhe;i>t<Tn .\li<'h 


gau.alid eon- 


April. ISSl. 


.l.ames A. .at this time was also liold- 




tinned with him until the lattei- ienio\ 


cil to Adrian. 


ing the odie 


■ of .Mayor <if the eity of Adrian. 




' In IsiH Mr. Siaey was elected -ludg 


■ of the Pro- 


.ludge St:u:y 


n the winter of l«s;;-Si.l, deeming it 



#-ll-4« 



t 



r 



3R-2 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



wise to concentrate his business, closed np the 
office at Adrian and gave his whole attention to his 
praetico in Tecinnseii. In .lunc, 1 886, at the ex- 
piration of the tern^ of Fredericiv Rosecrans, as 
I'dstmaster, tlie name of Judge Stacy was sent to 
tlic President with the recommendation of Con- 
gressman Eldredge, and the aiipointment promptlj' 
endorsed by President Cleveland was as promptly 
confirmed by the Senate. Judge Stacy assumed 
control of the office on the 1st of August, 18SG, 
and is the present incumbent. 

Judge Stacy was united in marriage with Aliss 
Mary M. Walker, of Broome County, N. Y., Aug. 
19, 1838, and a few days afterward started with his 
bride for his new home in Michigan. Mrs. Stacy 
is the daughter of David Sliapley and Lois AA^alker, 
and by her union with our subject became the 
mother of seven children, of whom but three are 
living, namely : Scovel C, proprietor of the Tecum- 
seh Herald; L. Loana, who is principal assistant in 
thcTecnmseh post-office, and George N., who holds 
au important position in the ollice of the News and 
AdiMJcafp at Elgin. 111. One son, Alphonso D.. 
was killed by the cars in Tecumseh, Dec, IG, 1876, 
when twenty-six years of age. James A., as al- 
ready stated, died April 9, 1881, while Mayor of 
Adrian, and two little gti-ls died in infancy. 

Although Judge Stacy has more than counted his 
threescore years and ten, he enjoys good health and 
his mental faculties are unimpaired. His life has 
been a remarkably active and busj' one, and he has 
hosts of friends all over the county, who will pray 
that time may continue to deal gently with him 
while he passes down the sunset hill of life. The 
Judge's family are mostly connected with tlie Uni- 
vcrsalist Church at Tecumseh. 



4^;^^- 



(^UGUSTrs 
^O a tine fan 



UGUSTrs F. DAXIKLS, the |ir()prietor of 
ith good improvements, has 

J'~|I\ been a resident of Madison Township for 
^^ the last forty-foin- years. He has by his 

enterprise and industry established himself in tlie 
confidence and esteem of the people of this section 
and is regarded by all as a most worthy and useful 



citizen. His boyliood and youth were spent among 
the hills of the Old Granite State, where he was 
born March 12, 181."), in Ilillsboro County. From 
there, when a young man twenty years of age, he 
migrated to Rensselaer. N. Y., and occupied him- 
self as a cooper, which trade he had learned from 
his father in New Hampshire. 

Mr. Daniels, however, about 183.S believe<l that 
he could better his condition by lemoving faither 
westward, and accorilingly left the Empire State 
and canio to Michigan, locating first in Medina 
Township, in the extreme southwestern part of this 
county, wlicre he followed farming and coopering 
for a period of four years. Thence he removed to 
jNIadison, spending three years in the latter place, 
after which he removed to Adrian and engaged in 
carpentering, to which he seemed naturallj' adapted. 
He was remarkably handy with tools and without 
serving a very lengthy apprenticeship became a 
skilled mechanic. He put up as many as twenty 
houses in Adrian and then, deciding upon another 
change of occupation, he purchased a tract of land 
in Madison Township, where he has since been en- 
gaged in farming. Here he has labored with his 
usual good judgment, and he at least should lie 
satisfied with the results. 

Mr. Daniels, before leaving New FJngland, was 
married first to Miss Mary Ranney, a native of 
Ashfleld, Franklin Co., Mass., where the wedding 
took place at the home of the bride. Of this union 
there were born three children, namely : Martha, 
now the wife of Tunis J. Carter, of Seneca Town- 
ship: George, who married Mrs. Louisa Taylor,- and 
lives in iNIorenci; and Frendiuo E., who married 
Miss Mary Riter, and is engaged at masonry in 
Cambridge Township. The mother of these chil- 
dren departed this life at her home in Madison 
Township, in January. 1878. 

On the 7th of March, 1880, our subject was 
a second time married, to Mrs. Loretta L., 
daughter of Francis and Betsey E. (Carpenter) 
Howard, and widow of John V. Sammons, who died 
in Rome Township, May 19, 187'J. .Airs. Daniels 
was born in Starkey, Yates Co., N. Y., Aug. 15, 
183.'i. Her parents came to Lenawee County in 
1837, settling in Rome Township, where the father 
died May 29, 1884; the mother is still living and 



■•► 





- 


f 




->- 




. ■ I 


•^ 


LENAWEI 


: COUNTY. 3n3 . 


j 




has arrived at an advaneutl age. The parental 


tion in Scotland, and they settled on an island upon 






family inehideri five children, of whom .Mrs. D.'iniels 


the coast of Ireland, called Island Magee, but it is 






i> tlie eldest. The father of .l,,hn l'. Saiiirih.i;.. 


not known whether the family named the island, or 






Sam|ison SiiniiLioiis liy name, was one of Uir |iioueei> 


the island named the family. Her mother was Miss 






of this connty and e.stahli.^hed one of tiie rii>t liotels 


Annabclla Sailor,, also of Scotch ancestry. J.ames 






at Adrian, where he officiated as •■ mine iiosf " for 


.Moi-elan.l ( lM ) died on his farm where he was born. 






.■1 period of forty years. 


in IS-JS. while his «ife died in the same place in 






Tlie parents of our -idijeet w.'re (.cor-r and 


IM-'. 






Nancy (Smith) Daniels, natives of New Hampshire, 


Our subject lived at, home until he was .about 






who after their m.arriage settled in llill-Iion, 


foui'teen years old, when he was bound out to learn 






Connty. N. II.. wlu-ivthey siient the remainder of 


the linen-wi-aver's trade with a rcdative and name- 






their lives. The elder Daniels followed the, p- 


sake, in his native county. He followed weaving 






er's trade, the nn)st of his life altli.Mi-li tlie 


about two years, and in l.s;',7 went to the histor- 






possessor of a farm upon which he li\ cd and super- 


ical town of Ft. I'atrick, (m the coast of Scotknd, 






intended its cidtivation. The parental h<nkseliold 


where for nearly two yeai's he worked upon the 






included twelve children, si.\ of whom lived to ma- 


improMincnts the (iovernment was then making 






ture years, but are now all deceased except three. 


in the haiiior. In the fall of 1«;!!) he returned to 
Irel.and. and rem.ained until the following spring, 






^^><^^-#«^ 


when h<' went liack to Scotland and worked in a 
large iion fouudiw. where smelting machinery was 






riAMKS MOL^KLAxM). a retired f.miidrynian 


manufactured. 






and machinist of Ailiian, who now h<ilds the 


Mr. Jlor.-land <-ame to the United State.- in liS4I, 






1 position of resident en<i-iueer and .superin- 


.and to the State of Michigan in 1 S43, Stopping first 






1^^ tendent of the steam and water supply, at 


in Hillsdale C<iunty, where he remained one year, 






the .State Reform School for <4ii-|s. is a native of 


and then came to Adriiui, where he learned the 






Ireland, and was liorn on the 1 llh of Feluuaiy. 


trade of a wheelwright, and later that of wagon 






1810, in Connty Down, Ireland. His falh.T. .also 


and carriage making. After completing his trade 






James Moreland. was horn in the same i)lacc, 


he loinied .a partnership with William Nixon, for 






where he was a farmer, and owned and op.'rated ,a 


the maniifaetine (.f wagons and carriages in Adrian. 






farm, where his father, also of the same name, lived 


At the end of four years this partnershi[) was dis- 






and died. 


s,,lved. and Mr. Morelan.l then engaged in manu- 






The wife of .lames Moi-ejand (1st) was Ann 


facturing hull-boring 1 nn.rtisiug m.achines, of 






Seott, who was horn in the same county as her 


whii-h he \v!\> the |)at(aitee. After continuing in 






husliaud. 'I'lie ancestors of tlie Moivland family 


this liu-ine,vs a long tim.' he formeil a joint .stock 






came from Sia,tl.and. durin- tin- time of the i-eli"- 


company for the manufacture of these goods, but 






i.m~ perse.aition. and the name uas taken from the 


owing to bad management the company was eoin- 






moorland in the lowlan.ls of that country. .lames 


pelli'd to i-lose its works and go out of existence. 






Moreland ( I'd ) marrie.l Miss .Mar-aret Curry. 


After this .Ml-. .Moielan.l engaged as a m.achinist in 






about the year ITss. by whom h<- had six ,-hildren. 


thc' shops of the .Michigan Southern .V Indiana 






His first wife died about the year Isdl. .and alx.iit 


Railway whiei, were h.cated in Adrian, and con- 






two years afterward he married .Aliss j-'annie Mai^ee, 


tinued ill its scrvica' two years. He then formed a 






by whom he had six children, four s-n- and two 


partiieiddp with .S.ainuel Stephenson, of Hudson, 






daughters, .lames, the subject of <his sketeh. beinu 


and bought a fonndi-y and machine-shop in that 






the third son and fifth child. .Mr.-. Fannie .Moie- 


village in Isi;:;. 'I'liere they manufactured station- 






land was born in County Antrim in ITsu.and w.as the 


aiy engines .and .agricnitur.al implement-, and con- 






daughter of John Magee, of Scotch extr.ael h.n. Her 


tiiiiu'd in this business .about three years, when the 






' ancestors were among the first to lice from per.-ecn- 


establishment was transformed into a uri.stmill. of 


I 


gfc 




■ fe 1 




•^^ 






"• 




. 


i 





•►^l-4• 



364 



•^•r 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



whicli Stephenson & Moreland continued the pro- 
jirietors. In 1881 Mr. Moreland leased his inter- 
est in the mill to Mr. Stephenson, who is condiict- 
iuii- the business at the present time. In the month 
of August, 1881, Mr. Moreland secured the posi- 
tion of superintendent of steam heating and water 
supply, at the State Reform School for Girls, a posi- 
tion which he holds at the time of the writing of 
this sketch. 

M.ay 30, 18411, Mr. JNIoreland was married to 
Miss Ann, daughter of William and Martha (Small) 
Stephenson, of County Monaghan, Ireland, and 
they have liurl four children, as follows: Fannie 
Jane, born in Adrian, April '21, 1850; Robert S., 
born Feb. 8, 1854; James II., Feb. 19, 1857, and 
William T., born in Hudson, July 7, 1864. Mrs. 
Ann Moreland was born iu County Monaghan, 
Ireland, in 1829, and died in Hudson, this county. 
in 1871. She was a sister of Dr. K. and John 
Stephenson, of Adrian, and came to America with 
her brother John in 1847. She was a good wife and 
kind mother, and her children cherish her memory, 
while her good counsel and watchful, tender care 
are still remembered by them all. On the 1 4th of 
May, 1873, Mr. Moreland was again ni.arried, the 
lady of his choice being Mrs. Elizabeth Yund, of 
Moscow, Hillsdale Co., Mich. She is the daughter 
of Robert and Olive Strong, of Lansingbnrg, N. Y. 
She came to Michigan with her parents in 1^32, and 
settled in Washtenaw County. 



ylLLIAM F. K1N(4. The names of those 
men who lent their aid in the building up 
of the beautiful city of Adrian will be re- 
membered by a grateful posterity long after their 
clay tenements have crumbled into dust. No man 
can count his life as having been in vain who h.as 
established a business upon a ririn ))asis. and contrib- 
uted to the .advancement of a city by erecting 
buildings wiiich will remain as a monument to his 
industry and enterprise long after he has p.assed 
awjiy. These thoughts are naturally snggested in 
contemplating the career of the honored citizen 
whose name stands at the head of this sketch, and 
who was born and reared among the .Scottish hills 



in the county of Stii'ling, where lie began life Sept. 
11,1 832. His jiarents, Peter and Christina (Archi- 
bald) King, people of blameless lives and modest 
means, were also of Scottish birth and parentage, 
and spent their entire lives on their n.ative soil. 
The father was principally engaged as a general 
merchant and died in 1836, while the mother passed 
away in 1853. 

Young King completed his common-school edu- 
cation at the age of fourteen years, and then re- 
paired to the city of Stirling to learn the watch- 
maker's trade. In this connection it may be proper 
and interesting to note his surroundings during the 
six years which he spent in this famous old city. 
Stirling, in the beauty of its site, rivals Edinburgh, 
being located at the declivity of an abrupt hill 
where a spacious main street leads to the castle which 
was the favorite residence of James >'., and con- 
tains the palace and parli.ament house built by him. 
From this castle is obtained a view unequaled for 
beauty in all Britain. Among other consjiicuous 
structures is the church in which James VI., the son 
of Mary Stuart, was crowned, together with the 
remains of various ancient ecclesiastical edifices, 
and old walls and bridges of historic fame. Not 
far from Stirling was fought, on the 24th of June, 
1314, the famous battle of Bannockburn. 

After leaving Stirling,, where he had worked a 
year as a journeyman after completing his appren- 
ticeship, Mr. King went to Grennock on the Clyde, 
and was employed there at his trade nearly three 
years. In 1850 he resolved to cross the Atlantic 
and seek in the New World a fulfillment of those 
ambitions whicli he seemed little likely to realize 
upon his native soil. Uiion his arrival iu this 
country, he made his way directly westward to this 
county, and at once found employment with a Mr. 
J. J. Newell, of Adrian, with whom he remained as 
assistant until the fall of 1861, and was then taken 
into partnership by his emph)}'er. 

The firm of Newell & King continued until 
May, 1803, when the junior partner withdrew, and 
iu company with James Thompson, embarked in the 
jewelry and watch-making business, continuing un- 
til in December. 1871. In the meantime the^- had 
erected the tine lirick -^tore on the south side of 
Maumee street, and upon the dissolution of the 



-•►HI- 



-t\-M» 



\^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



36r 



partnership, Mr. King' openeil 
stnro, which lie carried on iiiiti 
given hi,-; altcntion principally 
iie>s. Ill ISSG lie made a vi-i 



jcwehy an 



anil lins ■ 



ScoU; 



• naturally lie .<ii[)posed, lia.d 
during tlu' [icridddf his thirty yrar,-" idiseiiee greatly 
changed, many uf lii^ old friends liaving passed 
away, wliile strangers filled tiieir places. There was 
a satisfaction, however, in wandering over the old 
tramping gronnd. and herelnnu'd with a sen-e nf 
melancholy plea>nre which can only he appreciate. I 
by those who are placed in similar eirenmstaiices. 

The wife of oir subject was in her gii'lliood Miss 
Sarali jM. Fegler, a native of London. Ontario, C'an- 
ilda, where her hirtli took plaee Oet. 21. is;;i. 
While still an infant her pareiil.- came to Monroe 
County, this .State, but snlisecpiiMitly removed to 
New Brunswick, N. J. , where they lived until 18il), 
and then returned to Michigan and died in the city 

of Monroe. Their danghter. Sarah M mtinued 

with them until her marriage with our subject, 
which was celebrated in .Vdriaii. .June 4. 1 SCO. 
This union resulted in the biitli of four ehildren, 
namely: S. Helen, William F., Cliarlcs E. and Jes- 
sie I. The King residence is one of the old land- 
marks of the city, a handsome and substantia! 
building, with attractive surroundings and all the 
aiiplianees of refinement and ample means. 

JIv. King- has been quite prominent in local affairs 
and uniformly- votes the Democratic ticket. An 
ample iiroportion of his capital has been expended 
ill the erection of several valuable Imildiugs in the 
city, which are mostly ijccnpied by business lii-ins. 



D 



^ ■ 



KHARIJ C. FULLKU. 
who have falh'ii into w 
natural niche in life, the 
^^^tory is an admirable am 
For many years he has roinvsent 
mill interests of Fairfield and ' 
thorough understanding' of hi'- 
natural qualifications necessary 
prosecution. 

Mr. Fuller came to this point 
in 1871, to settle permanently, ai 



Among the 


men 


hat appeared 


their 


subject of th 


s liis- 


1 w,.rthy ex: 


mple. 


■d th.'sawan 


1 grist 



T.il( 
It up 



ings in which he is now carrying on business. As- 
sociated with him at that time was Robert Seger, 
whose interest he afterward purchased and has since 
c-.oried on the business alone. At this he has li.ad a, 
thorough experience, beginning when a young m.an 
the operation of a mill in Orleans County, N. V. 
At the .same time he was eng.aged in farming, and 
continued there until the fall of 18.')3, when he made 
his way to the West, and first .set foot in Lenawee 
County. He lirst followed bridge building for a 
few months, ami tlieu returned cast as far as Vigo 
County, Ind,, where he was employed in a sawmill 
about a year, id'ter which he made his ijermanent 
residence in this eounty. In the meantime he had 
visited the States and Territories west of theMissis- 
siijpi, Utah, Idaho and Montana, engaging in min- 
ing considerably, and gaining a useful experience 
wdiile noting the different manners and customs 
of people from various portions of the globe. 

Richard C. Fuller was the youngest of eleven 
children, the offspring of Martin and Martha ( Law- 
rence) Fuller, natives of New York State. After 
marriage they crossed over into the Dinniuiou of 
Canada, where Martin Fuller engaged in farming, 
ami with his (Estimable wife, spent the remainder of 
lii- days. Our subject was born in Craraahe, Prov- 
ince of Ontario, April Ki, 183;3, anil spent his early 
years at the farm of his father. L' pon reaching the 
twent3'-first year of his .age, lie made his way to the 
Empire State, and locating in Oi-|eans County, en- 
gaged in farming and milliug until setting out foi' 
Southeastern Michigan. 

.^h•. Fuller was married lirst in Vigo County. Ind., 
to Miss Mary Showalter. a native of that State, who 
bore him one child, a daughter, Katie .^L T.. who is 
now eng.aged in the photograph ljusine.ss in .Minne- 
apolis, Minn. Mrs. M.ary Fuller departed this life 
at the home of her husband in Mediu.a Townslii|i in 
1.SG3. Mr. Fuller was mairied the second lime, in 
Adrian, to .Miss Mary A. Collins, who was born in 
New York Stale, .and came with her ()ar(aiN to this 
county in IS.U. She remained with the latter 
until her marriage, receiving a fair education, and 
becoming familiar with the duties that would lit ber 
fill' a wortln- wife ;uiil mother. Of her union willi 



our sni.ject 
I namelv : M: 



A., F 



A., C: 



.Marth; 



3GG 



LKNAWEK COUNTY 



Elgin. The parents of Mrs. Fnllei' were natives of 
New York, and the father now lives at Adrian. 
The mother died in February, 1880. 

Mr. F'uller, socially, is a member of the Masonic 
fraternity, and |)olitically, a Republican. He lias 
little to do with public affairs, however, preferring 
to give his attention to his business and his famii}'. 

-^>y •.D*o.^^><^;^..o*o.- <<— 



Ij ACOE C. GAMBEK, farmer a 
|i residing oil section 16, Dover 






d carpenter, 
rownship, is | 
the son of Daniel and Lydia (Kaiser) Gam- 
(^!i^ bee, both of whom are natives of .Seneca 
C'ounty, N. Y. They were reared and married in j 
their native county, and after marriage lived there 1 
for awhile, but subsequently moved to Reed Town- 
ship, Seneca Co., Ohio, where they resided until the i 
death of the husband and father, which occurred 
March 29, 1884. Mrs. Gambee is now living in I 
Ionia, Mich. They were the parents of eight chil- 
dren, two of whom died in iiifane}^. Tiie names of j 
the children are: Mary, Jacob C, Charles, Saraii A., 
Samuel and Christina A. 

J. C. Gambee, of whom we write, was born in i 
Seneca County, N. Y., Nov. 30, 1838, and was only 
two years of age when his parents moved to Ohio. 
He tiiere attended the public schools, and assisted 
his father on the farm, remaining at home until 
twenty-one 3'ears of age. He then apprenticed him- j 
self to a carpenter for a term of th:ec years. Soon 1 
after the expiration of his apprenticeship, the late j 
Rebellion broke out, and in September, 1862, he 
enlisted in what was known as Hoffman's Battalion, 
and was employed in garrison duty on Johnston 
Island, (Jhio. for two years, after which the battal- t 
ion was absorbed in Company D, 128th Ohio In- 
fantry, lie served until the close of tlic wai, re- 
ceiving his discharge in June, 1865. lie Ihcn re- 
turned to his home in Seneca County. Oliio, and 
formed a partnership with his brother-in-lnw. .b)iin 
L. Shirc^y, and carried on the business of cabinet- 
making for a short time, when he sold out. In 
April, 1866, heeame to Lenawee County,and worked 
by the day, carpentering or fjirming, for nearly two 
years. 

Mr. (ianibee was married in Do\ ei- Township in j 



1868, December 31. to Miss Deborah Sutton, the 
daughter of Pharis and Hannah (Foote) Sutton, of 
whom a sketch is given elsewhere in this volume. 
Mrs. Gambee was born in North Adams Township, 
Hillsdale Co., Mich., July 6, 1838. 

Mr. Gambee, after his marriage, purchased a 
farm of sixty acres on section 16, in Dover Town- 
ship, where he has since lived. He has erected a 
good residence and other buildings, and has a pleas- 
ant and comfortable home. He followed his trade 
the greater part of the time after coming to Dover 
until the spring of 1886, but since then has devoted 
iiis attention entirely to agricultural pursuits. 

Mr. and Mrs. Gambee are most excellent people, 
possessing the confidence and esteem of their neigh- 
bors and acquaintances. Socially, Mr. Gambee is a 
member of Clayton Lodge No. 278, A. F. & A. M., 
and of Rowley Post No. 358, G. A. R., of Clayton. 
Politically he is a Democrat, and votes uniformly 
and conscientiously with that party. 



^^ 



/^ HARLES F. SMITH is the owner of a well- 
(1(^1 improved farm of 120 acres on section 16. 
^^i) of Ridgeway Township. In 1843, at the 
age of twentj^-one, he settled on his farm, which 
was then an unbroken wilderness. At the lime of. 
purchase he could pa}' only $50, but he has since 
improved his land, paid every dollar on it, and has 
also bought good property in Tecumseh. Mr. Smith 
was born in Yorkshire, England, in 1821. His par- 
ents were John and Alice (Flockton) Smith, the 
former, a farmer in Yorkshire all his life, died 
at the age of fifty -seven years. His wife afterward 
came to this country, and died at the home of the 
siiliject of our sketch, at the age of seventy-seven 
years. Both she and her husband were consistent 
memliers of the Episcopal Church, or Church of 
England. 

At the age of fourteen years Charles began to 
earn his own living at agricultural labor. When 
twenty-one j'cars of age he emigrated to the 
United States, and coming westward to this State, 
locale.] at once on the farm he now owns in iiidge- 
way Townsliip, wliieh w:i,- a poition of the school 
section, and bougiit ljy him when those lands came 

•► 



-4^ 



■*► 



u 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



into the inarket. He was man-ied, in Riclgevvay, to 
Miss Ellen Liipton, daughter of TlioniMS and Mary 
(Cooper) Lupton. who had cunR' \n Aiiicii(:i tiom 
England, their native liouic, nhrii i-Illi-n \v:is luit 
two years old, and f\yM. hH-iU-d in Dotioil. ulicrc 
her father followed h\> trade of n cMriHMiter. Later 
her parents came to Hid>ieway, pnreiuised 'and, and 
made it their home until their death. IMi's. Smith 
lived at hcmie until attaining womanliood, reeei\ing 
her education in tlic .listiict schools of this ••ountry. 
She is the mother of eleven cliil.lien. as follows: 
Mary, wife of Meeker llincs, who is li\ ing in Ridge- 
way; Albert, who took to wife M ivs 'I'ilda Miller, 

wh.i married :\Iiss Nettie Laraln^e. and is living on 
a faini in this township: and |):nins. Lena and 
Charlie, who are at home; the other live are dea<l. 
Mr. and Mrs Smith are members of tlie Methodist 
Episcoiial Church. Li politics Mr. S. is a I'rohibi- 
tionist. feeling that in the tot:il suppression of tlie 

unfortunate fellowmen, whose appetites are destroy- 
ing them. 



^^ 



<* OHN LAN]X)N set out for the \Vc 


St in the 


1 spring of 1S4.'!. to seek his fortun<\ ; 


nd eom- 


''~\\\ '"f^ '"'^" '■^'''^ county located in tl 


e woods 


^^ upon ground which was afterward 


included 


in Rowland Township, where he lived for 


a perioil 


of forty years. He reclaimed 20(1 a, -re- 


fr.m, the 


wilderness, brouglit the soil to .'i hiuh slate 


..fculti- 


vation, and in the couise of tiuje pio\ idei 


hinrselt 


with all the modern conveniences for fari] 


tU'J. 


Mr. Landon po.ssessed in .-i nioi-e than 


.rdin.Mr\ 


degree the resolution and industiy leipiiri'i 


tomak( 


pioneer life a success, and h:is Ihc.mic the 


.wn.-r ot 


a fine property which enables him to -pen 


1 his de- 


dining years in the midst of ease and [.le 


ity. H( 


was located near the bank- of Round L 


ike. an. 


after the country was settled up. provide. 1 


boats tl 


ply thereon for the convenience of [jicni 


■ p.-irtio 


and other excursionists, lie wa- then m.-i 


•i-ied .HiK 


with his estimal)Ie wife h.-.d his full slia 


e of tlu 


trials and hardship- of life in a ihw s, 


lllement 


The women of those days posses-c.l the 1 


rave :ini 


intrepid spirits of their husbands, and 


labore. 



equally with them in building up the homestead and 
|)roviding themselves with the necessaries of life. 
Mrs. Lanilon. in the idisenee of her husband, would 
often by the, -lid of her dog chase a (h-er into the 
lake and keep it there until Mr. L. came home to 
complete its capture and pre|iare it for the future 
consumption of the family. 

The subject of this liiogr;ipliy was l.ioni in Dela- 
ware County, X. V.. Nov. ■_".). ISII, and is the son 
of Silas Landon, a nati\e of Connecticut, whose 
father, .Tolin Landon, removed from that .State to 
Erie County, N. Y.. where lie engaged in farming 
and died at the ;iiie of seventy ye:us. He had been 
accompanied by his wife and family, and (irand- 
mother Landon :it the time of her de:itli w.as :d.out 
the same age as her hu-li.and. Their -on Silas was 
I'eared to manhood in iOiic Comity. X. Y.. where he 

moved to Tompkins County, where he spent his last 
years, dying Sept. ■'>. \syA). at the age of abmit 
forty years. 

Young Landon continued with his parents until 
twenty years of age, and was then man-ied to Miss 
Lueretia, daughter of Michael Handy, of ^■ermont, 
where he silent his entire life engaged in farming 
pursuits. Mrs. Lueretia Landon was born in Ver- 
mont, March 11, Lsio, and died at her home in this 
coiuitv, •bin. -JT, I.S74. She h:iil become the mother 
of five children, three of whom are now living. 
Silas was born Aug. .'.i, I s i:;, is married and the 
father of live ehildicn living, and lives in Clayton: 
Wealthy w,a- born April i:;. I s;:!;'), and died Septem- 
l.er 2;l b.llowino; Wealthy ( I'd ) was born Ai.ril I'll, 
ls:;7, and is the wife ol' (.ilbcrt Crillin. of Ohio, 
and th.' niothei- of -ix children; ( ornelia was horn 
.March L', ISt-J, became the wife of II. e'randall. of 
Round Lake, and died April I'tl. LsTC: Lewis was 
born .Inly .-io, IS47, is married and a resident of 
Addis(m. Mr. Lan<lon was :i second time married, 
in I,s7 I. to .\Ls .bine ((.r.andy) Crane, daughter of 
Ldmiind (.randy, and widow of Amos R.Crane, 
who w.as lioin in .New Hampshire and subsequently 
ienn>\ed to New York State. Her parents came 
to thiscounly in ists. locating in Uaisin Township, 
where they died when .about seventy-four years of 
:me. Their household included a family of tifteen 
children, of whom seven arc now living and Mrs. 



•►Hl^ 



•►-■-4« 



36S 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Landou is next to tlie youngest. Slic was united 
in marriage to Ainos R. Crane in Raisin Township, 
and lie followed the trade of ;i carpenter. Tliey 
were the parents of tinec children — Charles H., 
Dorcas J. and Mattie A. Charles H. was bf)rn in 
Adrian, Nov. 28, 1853, and is now married and the 
father of one child ; Dorcas J. was born Jan. 1 4, 
1856, and is the wife of R. G. Cidle}-, a farmer of 
Gratiot County, and the mother of one son, John 
G.; Mattie A. was born Nov. ;!0, ISG'J, and is liv- 
ing at home. 

The maiden name of the mother of our subject 
was Nancy Beadle. She was l)(>rn in Delaware 
Couiit3% N. Y., and died in Kollin Township, this 
county, in 1873, aged about seventy years. Her 
father, Abraham Beadle, was a New Yorker by birth, 
and conducted a hotel at Middleton, where he died 
when ninety-two years of age. His wife also died 
at an advanced age. Mrs. Landon's mother was in 
her girlhood Miss Dorcas Dean, of New York, who 
died in Raisin aged abtmt seventy-four j'ears. Mr. 
Landon is an old-school Jackson Democrat in 
politics. 



■-^3.^^ 



■^If^^ 



>^^i^ 



<Sp>]DWARD F. MUni, one of the oldest set- 
jU) tiers of the town of Clinton and this part of 
jljrz^ Lenawee County, is by birth a native of 
Jefferson County, N. Y., where he first opened his 
eyes to the light on the 30th of March, 1828. He 
was reared amid the quiet scenes of farm life, and 
received his education in the common schools, after 
which he learned the trade of distiller, which he fol- 
lowed some years. In 1854, during the California 
gold excitement, he started, via the Isthmus, for 
that land of promise, and upon arriving there ap- 
plied himself to the brewing business and followed 
it for eighteen months. This experience .satisfied 
him in regard to that section of country, ;ind he re- 
turned to Michigan and took up farmiui;, in which 
he was occupied for the three years following, lie 
then abandoned agriculture and established himself 
in the meat trade, in which he accumulated a small 
fortune, dealing mostly wiiii hx-al ordei-s. He in- 
vested the greater portion of hi- rapiliil in village 
property, and is consequently one of the li^adiug 



men, and intimately connected with its various in- 
terests. His residence is one of the handsomest 
and most valuable in the town, and comprises a 
home replete with all the comforts and many C)f the 
luxuries of life. 

Mr. Muir. Oct. 5, 1852, w:is married, in Clinton, 
to Miss Lucy Corey, wIkj was a native of New 
York State, and came to this count}' witii hoi' par- 
ents when but a child. Of this union there have 
been born five children, two of whom died in early 
childhood. Arthur W. is successfully operating the 
business of his father at the old stand; he mar- 
ried Miss Etta Stanfield, and they have two chil- 
dren — Frank and Blanche. Carrie is the wife of 
C. W. Johnson, a resident of Detroit, and an agent 
for the " Associated Press:" they have one child, 
a daughter, Nina. Mina L. is iat home with her 
parents. Mrs. Muir, with her two daughters, is a 
member of the Jlethodist Episcopal Church. jNIr. 
M., politically, is an uncompromising Democrat. 
During the Mexican War he enlisted in the 1st 
Michigan Infantry, but saw no active service, being 
in ill-health much of the time. 

Mrs. Muir was born in the town of Alcott, Niagara 
Co., N. Y., Nov. 1, 1829. She is the sixth child 
and second daughter of Levi and Mary (Coats) 
Corey, the latter of whom died in this county when 
her daughter Lucy was a child seven years of age. 
She was a native of Vermont, of New England par- 
entage, and a lady of deep piety, being the greater 
part of her life a devoted member of the Methodist 
Church. Her parents' household included six sons 
and two daughters. The Corey family came to 
Michigan in 1836, and located on a farm in Frank- 
lin Township, where the wife and mother died the 
following year. Levi Corey was the second time 
married, making an alliance with Miss Mary Rich- 
ardson, by which they became the parents of one 
son and three daughters, all of whom are living and 
residents of this countj'. 

After a residence of tive years in Franklin Town- 
ship, Mr. Corey took up his residence in the vil- 
lage of Clinton, where he established a brickyard, 
which was probably the second institution of its 
kind in that locality. He lived to an advanced 
age, retaining his activity and energy in a remark- 
able manner, and died in .March, 1874, wheneighty- 



-•►HI-* 



LKNAWKK COUNTY. 



six years old. Mrs. .Mar.v Corey is >lill 
makes her lioinc witli .-i (l:mglitor in Clin 
Mrs. Muir u.-is M'vcn yv:^\■> n\,\ wlicn > 
Michigan witli iu-r |Kiicn1s. She t(iol< ki 
books and acquired an excellent educnti 
several years before her marriage was ( 
a teacher. 



l.llV loll 



^|^|L^?^^- 



i;; 



<|p5)DMUND K. SMITH. The farm lH.|,,nui„- I,. 
m this gentleman, one of the best <-oniliirlr(l 
/r-<^ i and most attractive in Ridgcw;iy Township, 
became his property nearly twenty years ago, and 
the indications are that he has made excellent use 
of his time. The fields are conveniently laid off 
and neatly fenced, aii(i the residence and .>ul-linild- 
ings. of the best description, are pnt up in a tasly 
and substantial manner, combining beauty ami util- 
ity in the most attractive form. The lionie-tead 
includes eighty .acres of laml. f;-,irly stueked with 
good grades of domestic auinials, and. it is hardly 
necessary to say, provided with all the implements 
for carrying on agriculture after the most approved 
methods. i\Ir. Smith, besides this pro|)erty on sec- 
tion .'55, owns flirty .-ii-res on sectiun ■_', .•mil ninety 
acres on sectiun I, in Uidgeway Tuwiiship. 

Our subject has spent his entire life in this sec- 
tion of country, having been born on tlie homestead 
which he now occupies, April IG, 1842. His jiar- 
ents, J.ames and Amelia (Walley) Smith, were na- 
tives of England, who came to Michigan in the 
[)ioneer days and endured, in common with the peo- 
ple about them, all the hardships and privations of 
life in a new settlement. A sket<'h of James Smith 
will be funnd elsewhere in this work. K.lmund 
p.assed hi> early years after the m;mner of most far- 
mer's sons and availed himself of the instruction 
given in the common s(-hools. He was married in 
the twenty -eighth year of his .age. Feb. 23, 1870. to 
Miss Eliza Iloagland, who was born in Macon Town- 
.ship, this county, Sept. 8, 1847. IFer parents, .lohn 
V. and Anna (Doremus) Iloagland, were natives of 
•Seneca County, N. Y., where they were reared and 
married. They came to Michigan on tlieir wedding 
trip, journeying after the manner of tlmse d.MVs, liy 
eaiial, hike, and overland with teams. .Mi-. Iluag- 
land located a tract of land in Alacon Tt>wiiship, 



his estiiiialile wife -pent tin 
liolh N\eie:ictivememlieiM 

Her lather. I lic.-illy. was 

was quite |)roniineiill\ ideii 
They labored imlii>liiiiii>l 



tilii 



under iif his days. 

Metliiiili>tChiircli. 
ng Kcpnblicaii.aud 

\Nitli liic.-il politics, 
iiiany \ears, and 



were greatly respected by the |icople around them. 
The homestead of !•-'(• acre> is now in the hands of 
the members of the f;imil\. 

Airs. Smith spent her cliil.llioi.d and \nu\U under 
the paicnt.'il roof, and w:i> cihicated. like her hiis- 

b.and,in the .iistriit -el Is. She is an ami.able and 

pleasant l;idy, and li\ her m.-iiringe with our subject, 
became the niullier <if :i sun and daughter: Ar- 
thur, born June iL', ls7L'.and Anna, .Innc 2;'., 187(5. 
Our subject anil lii> wife lueated un the f.-irm which 
they nowucciipy immediately after their marriage. 
Mr. Siiiiili piissesMil Millie means at that time, and 
has lieeii uniformly furtun.-ite in his labors and in 
his investments. Like his father before him, he is 
a solid Democr.-it. pulitically, linding in tliat party 
the nearest a|)prcKu4i to his iileas of popular govern- 
ment. Throughout his life he has always been a 
public-spirited gentlemen, and takes a warm inter- 
est in the general welfare of his fellow-rownsmen. 

HLO C. SKAGER settled on the farm in 



m 



w4. II w.-is then a tract of woudland 
nliraced in tin- district known as Cotton- 
wood Swamp. riiere was a log house on the place, 
and about live .ici-es of it had been cleared of the 
timber. He now has the entire forty acres of it 
cleared and well tilled, .-iml has ,.rected a g.iod 
frame barn and a comfortable dwelling. 

Mr. Scager is a native of Pierpont Town>hip, 
Ashtabula Co., Ohio, where he was burn A|)iil 8, 
l.s.-iG. His falher, Curneliiis I). Seager, was burn 
in the tuwn uf I'helps, N. V. (lis father, the grand- 
father of the subject of this narrative, is suiiposed 
to have been a native of the same State, and of re- 
nu)te Holland ancestry. The latter removed to 

about three miles fi'iim the line of Ashtabula 
-•► 



4 



^►^-^ 



\ ' n7o 



LKNAWEE COUNTY. 



t 



County, Ohio, and imiiroved a farm on which he i 
i-esideri until his death, whicii ocouiTed about 18GB. 
He lived to see the (■(Miiily "here lie had located 
well developed, and grow t'ldni a wildcrne.ss to a 
rtourishing section of tlie State. Tiie father of our 
subject was reared on jiis father's homestead in 
Crawford County, and there married Miss Mary ! 
Turner. She was born in Massachusetts, the old 
Bay State, and her father, Carmi Turner, a native 
of the same commonwealth, was a pioneer of Pier- 
pont Township, Ashtabula Co., Ohio. [ 

A few years after marriage Mr. and Mrs. Seager, 
tiie parents of Philo, removed to Pierpont, Ohio, 
where he bought a small tract of land comprised of 
thirteen acres, on which he ])uilt a small log house. 
A few years later he erected a frame house at 
the crossing of two roads, over wdiich stage lines 
passed, and there he opened a hotel for the accom- 
modation of travelers. He afterward sold his 
property there and bought twenty-five acres in 
Richmond Township, and engaged in farming. He 
remained there until 1846, when he disposed of his 
property and removed to Sylvania Township, Lucas 
County, and bought eighty acres of land in the wil- 
derness, on which he first built a log house. He re- 
mained a resident of that township until his death 
in 18G4. He had in the meantime cleared nearly 
one-half of his land and put up substantial frame 
buildings. His wife also died in their home in Syl- 
vania. 

In the little log house which his father first built 
on his removal to Ohio, Philo Seager, of whom we 
write, first saw the light of day. He was ten years 
old when his father moved to Lucas County. Deer 
and wild turkeys vvere then very plentiful in that 
locality, and occasionally a bear put in an appear- 
ance. Our subject was educated at the pioneer 
schools, and in the intervals of attending those edu- 
cational institutions assisted in clearing the land 
and tilling the soil, and was thus employed at the 
home of his parents until his enlistment, Dec. 3, 
1861, in Company K, 3d Ohio Cavalry. His regi- 
ment was attached to the "id Brigade, 2d Divis- 
ion, 1st Cavalry Corps, which became a part of the 
Armj'of the Cumberland. He veteranized in 1864, 
and served until after the close of the war, taking 
part in many important battles, among whicli may 
.^s 



be mentioned tlie following: Shiloh, Pittsburg 
Landing, Stone Rivei'. Chickamauga, Lookout 
Moniitaiu. wns witli Kilpatrick in his raid lu-ound 
Atlanta and .bincsliciro, and in the battles of Frank- 
lin and Nashville. He was honorably discharged 
wMth his regiment at Columbus, Ohio, in August, • 
1865, and returned home. He had fought in the 
States of Kentucky, Teiuiessee, Mississippi, A,la- 
liama and (ieorgia. 

Before going into the army Mr. S. had l)ought forty 
acres of wild land in Sylvania Township, upon 
which he settled after his marriage in 1866, and he 
and his wife commenced their wedded life in a log 
house which he had previously built, and there 
made their home until 1872. In that year they re- 
moved to Malvern, Mills Co., Iowa, where Mr. 
Seager engaged in railroading for a year. In 1873 
they removed to Riga Township, and in the follow- 
ing spring they settled on the farm where they now 
live. 

Mrs. Seager's ninideu name was Anna .1. Vick- 
ery ; she was born in Richfield, Lucas Co., Ohio, 
M.ay 1, 1839. Her father, Nathan Vickery, was 
born in Rensselaer County, N. Y., and was the son 
of Eli Vickery, who was a native of England, who 
came from that country' when a young man. Eli 
bought a large farm in Rensselaer County, and 
spent the remainder of his life there. The father 
of Mrs. Seager, Nathan Vickery, was reared in his 
native county, and there married Miss Juliana 
Rusk, daughter of William and Lydia (Husted) 
Rusk, natives respectively of Ireland and New 
York. In 1838 Mr. and Mrs. Vickery removed to 
Ohio and made a settlement in Richfield Township, 
Lucas County, among the earl^^ pioneers of that re- 
gion. They lived in a small log house on a tract of 
timbered land which Mr. Vickery had previously 
purchased. In that little cabin Mrs. Seager was 
born. Her parents continued to reside there until 
within a few years of their death, spending the last 
few years of their lives in Riga Township, Lenawee 
County, where Mr. Vickery died July 27, 1882, at 
the home of his daughter, Mrs. Mary Roberts ; his 
wife died iu the same place Aug. 7, 1887. To Mi-. 
and Mrs. Seager have been born twd children — 
William E. and Charles D. 

Our subject and his amiable wife have gained the 
w^ 




>^&»r.**M^ ,^ 



m 



%ff^^ *»- ^ |i' 




Tayf^^-i^ 



-^^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



371 



respet-t .and good-will of jtII in the coniniiinitv 
where they now m.ake their home. Mr. Sealer is a 
prominent nicmlior of Seott Post. (i. A. i{.. of 
Blisstield. 



ALVIN CUANl 



prouiinii 



C citizen of Adrian, comes of New Yori< >tMck. 
II and was born in Wayne County, near Pal- 
myra, on the 2.")th of Decemlier, 181(3. His falliei. 
George Crane, was a native of Massachusetts, and 
was born Marcli ;!1, 1783. The mother. Charity 
Lincoln, was born in Bristol, Mass., Anu'. 7, 17.S-2. 
and was the daug'hter of Benjamin and Elizabctii 
(White) Lincoln, of English .ancestry. 

The parents of our subject were married in JLiss- 
achusetts, and soon afterward became pioneer set- 
tlers in Wayne County, X. Y.. wliere they continued 
to reside until their removal to .Michi.^an in May. 
18;!3. Upon their ai-rival in Lenawee County, they 
located on section 18 in what is now the township 
of Palmyra, where they entered upon and cleared 
the farm upon which they resided until tlie de.ath 
of the father. April 17, l.s.iU; the mother survived 
him until Sept. ■21,1863. They were the parents 
of seven children, four girls and three boys, all of 
whom grew to manhood and womanhood, excepting 
the first born. The names of these children are as 
follows: Phila P., Elizabeth W., Rowena C. (ieorge 
L., Benjauiin L., Calvin and Clarissa P. 

Calvin Crane passed his early boyhood in his 
n.ative county, where his opportunity for an educa- 
tion was only tiiat of the common or district school. 
When he came with his parents to Lenawee County 
he was sixteen years of age, and after that time he 
w.as deprived of the privilege of even a district 
school education, but was sent three months to a 
select school in the town of Raisin. In the fall of 
183() he was allowed to return to the .State of New 
York, to spend the winter in the completion of 
his school education, and returning he reniaine<l on 
the farm with his i)arents until he attaine<l twenty- 
one years of age.. During this time his father was 
one of the Connnissioners of the county, and after- 
ward served as Supervisor and represented the 
county one term in the Legislature. He took an 
active part in building v\\) Ids county, and was 



known everywhere as "Uncle (ieoi'ge Crane." 
He was one of the commissioners who took part in 
loeatin- the Eri.- A- Kalamazoo l;Milr..ad. which 
was llie pioneer ro.-id west from I tiea, .\. V., and 

wns f the Directors of that road until his 

death. l''cii' snnie year- lie acted as President o!' 
tlie cMiiipany, and also w.'is civil eng'ineer in build- 
in- the load. 

On tlie 7th of Eebrn.ary. lS4t. Calvin Crane was 
married 1m Di.burah Power, of Oakland County, 
Mi<-li.. but formerly of Ontario County, N. Y. 
She w:i> born on the 1 Htli of November. 18-20, and 
was the dauiihter of Arthur and Mary (Dilling- 
ham) Power. After his marriage. Mi-. Crane set- 
tled on .section 18, Palmyra Township, on a part of 
the old homestea(L where he was engaged in gen- 
eral farming, and also turned his attention to sur- 
veyiuLi. at the time his father was connected with 
the railroad. In 1 s.'iii he w;is chosen as assistant 
resilient engineer, and had charge of the rebuilding 
of the "Kalamazoo" now known as the Lake Shore 
Railroa<l. He also assisted in surveying and con- 
structing the Michigan Sonlhern Road, running 
from Monroe to Adi'laii. His iiosition as assistant 
resident engineer on the JUchigan Southern contin- 
\ied about a year, and he also occupied the position 
of lesident engineer at Toledo Station for sec- 
tion of the road known as the "Air Line Divis- 
ion"' of what is now the Lake Shore it Michigan 
Southern Road, from its conception to its comple- 
tion. After completing the construction part of 
the work he was appointed purchasing agent, and 
it was iiia<le his duty to buy supplies for the vari- 
ous departments. After serving a considerable 
time in this capacity he was compelled to resign on 
account of failing health, and he returned to the 
farm, upon which he remained until 18(;4. In 18(17 
he was appointed Civil Engineer for the city of 
Toledo. (.)hio, and held that p( sitiou until 1872, 
when he resigned and returned to Adrian, where he 
ha> since resided. 

Since hij. return to Adrian, Mr. Crane ha- almost 
wholly retired from active business and his farm is 
cultivated by tenants. His farm in Palmyra Town- 
ship comprises 300 acres, which is well improved 
and contains good buildings, while he also owns a 
farm in Ogden Township consisting of 220 acres. 



•►HH^^ 



■•►Hl-^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



t 



He erected the brick residence in vviiich he icsides, 
on the corner of Maumeo and Locust streets, in 
isr,,-,. 

Mr. nnd Mrs. Crniie have one son, Artiuir 1'.. 
who vva.s born on tiie 7th of July, 1H46. lie en- 
tered Yale College, from which he was graduated 
in 1870, after which he took a two years' course at 
the Columbia Law School in New York City. In 
1872, after completing his law studies, he went to 
Germanj' for the purpose of acquiring a knowledge 
of the German language, and spent one year in 
Heidelberg College, and attended lectures on the 
old Roman law. He returned from Germany in 
1874, since which time he has been practicing his 
profession in the city of Toledo, Ohio. Mr. Cal- 
vin Crane has held various offices in the gift of the 
people, having been Supervisor one terra, Assessor 
and llisj'hway Commissioner several terms. 



\¥,'AMES J. SNEDEKER, one of the pioneers 
li of Lenawee County, was Ijorn not far from 
I the sandy, sea-beaten coast of the Atlantic 
(^// Ocean, in Monmouth County, N. J., June 
29, 1802, and departed this life at his Iwmie in 
Adrian Township, Feb. 10, 1874. He is remem- 
bered as being the possessor of all Christian and 
manly virtues, and his name is held in kindly remem- 
brance by the associates of his own age, who still 
siu'vive, and by numbers of the present generation. 
Mrs. Snedeker, who still survives him, became his 
wife Feb. 14, 1837. 

Mr. Snedeker came to Michigan in 1829, and pui- 
chased 160 acres of land in Adrian Township, where 
he spent the remainder of his days. This was six 
years before the admission of the Territory into the 
Union as a State. As may be supposed, the land in 
this vicinity was still mostly in a wild and inicnlti- 
vated condition. Mr. Snedeker the first year cleared 
a small portion of his purchase, and thej'ear follow- 
ing put up a shanty, in which he kept bachelor's 
hall until his marriage. His chosen bride, Miss 
Plucbe Vanaken, was the daughter of Benjamin II. 
and Rachel Vanaken, natives respectively of New 
Jersey and Pennsylvania. Her parents had emi- 
grated from their home to the West in 1821, and 



-^»- 



located first neai' the young cit}' of Detroit, then 
in its infancy and giving little indication of its 
future importance. A few years later they removed 
10 Fairlield Township, this county, but later took 
up their abode in Hillsdale, where both parents died 
at an advanee.l age. Their daughter I'h.elie was 
born Feb. I J, ISU. 

Mr. and Mrs. Snedeker became the parents of 
four children. Their eldest daughter, Emeline A., 
now Mrs. Jonathan Howland, of Adrian, was born 
Feb. 20, 1838, and is the mother of four children; 
Adeline A., Mrs. Reuben Sayers, was born Oct. a, 
1839, and is the mother of one child; Dvvight and 
Duane (twins) were liorn Nov. 17, 1845; Dunne 
died March 4, 1869. Dwight Snedeker was reared 
after the manner of most farmers' sons, and received 
an excellent education, having attended Adrian 
College for several terms. As a lad, he was bright 
and ambitious to excel, and has always kejit u|) a 
course of reading, by which means he is well posted 
upon matters of general interest. He has been con- 
tent with farm life as an occupation, and remains 
upon the old homestead where he was born. He 
was married, Dec. 26, 1867, to Miss Adelaide, d.augh- 
ter of Peter Bogert, of Adrian Township, and born 
in Adrian, Jan. 3, 1850. Her father was one of 
the early pioneers of Lenawee County, and a native 
of New Jersey. Her famil,y is of German ancestry, 
an<l the grandfather of Mrs. Snedeker crosse<l the 
Atlantic in time to serve as a Revolutionary soldier. 
They were people of prominence, wherever located, 
and invariably made their mark in their commu- 
nity. Dwight Snedeker and his wife are the parents 
of two children, named as follows: Maud E.,born 
June 24, 1871, and Florence M., Aug. 17, 1874. 
Maud E. is a natural artist of fine capacities. 
The male members of the family for generations 
have been Democratic, politicallj^and have exerted 
a marked influence upon the party in this section. 

James J. Snedeker distinguished himself as one 
of the most valued pioneers of Lenawee County, 
and during his younger years was prominent in ad- 
justing landed interests for his neighbors, and other 
peo|)le in the county. He was known as a man up- 
right and honest in his transactions, and one in 
whom tl'.e communitj- reposed great confidence. 
His wife, Mrs. Phabe Snedeker, was well fitted to 



T.'i 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



be ilie cumpanidii of her husband, and endured with 
heroism the trial- and dillicultics of a pioneer wife 
and mother. 



Th: 



V nn.l favor- 
o>t siH'eessful 
estate in the 
ed a vaUial)le 
1., Washtenan- 
•ouiity. N. Y., 
upon eartlily 
IS thi- .canity. 



\I7 EVlt'. HlCIIMONl). 

(P Clinton TownMiip wa, 
jLM ably known as ,,n.' .. 
ueneral farmers, aiid licsidcs h 
northeastern part of this connl 
traet of land in iiri.lgvwMtcr T 
County, lie was lioin in llei 
Dee. 11, ISllU, and elosed lii; 
seeiies at his home in Clinton '1 
Jan. 7, 1887. 

Mr. Richmond was the son of a fainierof modest 
means in the Empire State, whci-e he was re.ared to 
agricultural pursuits, and n'mnined until reaching- 
his majoritj'. In eoutcmplation uf his plans for the 
future, he decided to cast his lot with the pioneers 
of .Southeastern Michigan, and came to this county 
in the fall of 1830, locating in Pontiac Township. 
Thence, not long afterward, he removed to Wash- 
tenaw County, and was there married, March 2, 
18.'J7, to MissSarali Warner, of Freedom Tow'nshi p. 
Mrs. R. was born in (rroveland, Livingston Co.. N. 
Y., Dec. y, 1«17, and was the fonrtli child of a 
family of six. the offspring of Samuel ;ind Elizabeth 
Warner. She was a maiden of sixteen years when 
her parents left the Empire State and came to 
Michigan. They located in Freedom Township. 
Washtenaw County, and built up a good home from 
the wilderness. Thei-e the parents siient the re- 
mainder of their days, Samuel Warner departing 
this life Oct. 8, 1840, and his wife Elizabeth some 
years later. Both were well advanced in years. 
They were most excellent and worthy i)i'ople, and 
held in the warmest regard by all wh<i knew them. 

Mr. and Mrs. Richmond l)egan life together on a 
farm in Washtenaw County, where they continued 
to reside twelve years, and then coming to this 
county, located in Clinton Township, wherc^ they 
were soon numbered among its highly i-espected 
citizens. They labored together for man^' years as 
consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, in which Mr. Richmond, for a long period, 
olliciated as Trustee, and occupied oth .n- responsible 



offices in coimectit)n with church matters. He was 
liberal-minded and public-spirited, assisting accord- 
ing to his means those entci-prises which were cal- 
culated to be for the best, iutei-ests of the people. 
He was a Democrat, i)olitic.-dly, with decided views, 
and ever fearless in su|iport of what he believed to 
be right. 

Mv. and Mrs. K'ichm.>nd l.c<-amc the parents of 
seven children, three of whom were born in Wash- 
tenaw County. Their eldest son. Mason, married 
Miss Delia Crawfoi.l. ami is cngagcil in milling in 
Jackson ('(juiily: .Iciomc, also a miller, isa resident 
of the same county, and marricl Miss Ophelia Bro- 
craw; Samuel W. is at present in Arizona; Eliza- 
beth is the wife of Lathram .Miller, afoundryman at 
Chelsea, this State; Sarah married James Halladaj', 
of whom a sketch is given elsewhere in this Album; 
Charles is eariying on the livery business in Oregon; 
he married Miss Ida Tompkins, of Dallas, that 
State; William is tlu' only child remaining at home 
with his mothei-, and is still unmarried. 



•N^^s 



R. JOHN L. TUTTLE, a prominent man 
) and leading physician and surgeon of Clin- 
ton, is a good representative of the regular 
school of phj'sieians. He received his med- 
ical education in the Michigan State Llniversity, of 
Ann Arbor, and was graduated by that institution 
March 2;), 1871. 

Dr. Tnttle at once located in Clinton, and liegan 
a career of successful practice, at first with bis 
cousin, Dr. A. F. Tnttle, now deceased, but foi-m- 
erly an early physician at this place. For about 
two years our subject pi-acticcd with his partner, 
but since that time has condui-te<l the business on 
his own account, lie is b}- birth a native of Green 
Oak, Livingston Co., Mich., where he was born 
March io, 1849. His father, John L. Tnttle, had 
settled on a piece of Government land in Green Oak 
Township, having come there from New Hamp- 
shire, in which State he was born Feb. 8, 1807. He 
was there i-eared on a farm, receiving a good edu- 
cation, of which he made use in after life in 
teaching school. He came to this Stale in 1 8;J2, 



374 



LKNAWEE COUNTY. 



and after locating, was maiTied at Ann Ailior, .luly 
19, 1834, to Miss Delia J. Cleveland, a daugliter of 
David Cleveland and a descendant of Moses Cleve- 
land, who came to America on the dear old May- 
flower. Miss Cleveland was born in the Province 
of Ontario, Canada, on the 7th of Maj% 1807, and 
came to the United States with her father in her 
girlhood. The family located at Ann Arbor, where 
the father worked at his trade of millwright. His 
wife had died in Ontario previous to their coming 
here, and he departed this life in Jackson, Mich., in 
the eighty-fourth year, of his age. The paternal 
grandfather of Dr. Tuttle was John Tuttle, a native 
of New Hampshire, where he died when his son of 
the same name was a child. 

After his marriage, the fathei- of our subject lo- 
cated on his new homestead, on which he lived and 
which he had brought to a high state of improve- 
ment at the time of his death, in 18Co. He was 
a solid Republican and took an active part in local 
politics, and for years held most of the principal 
township offices. His wife died at the home of our 
subject, June 18, 1878. They were b,,tli consistent 
members of the Episcopal Church. 

Our subject was the youngest of six children, two 
sons and four daughters, of whom one only is living 
besides our subject, Eleanor C, who married Orrin 
P. Safford, a druggist of Flint, Midi. Dr. Tuttle 
was reared on a farm and received a good common- 
school education, and two years after the death of 
his father took charge of the farm and managed it 
successfully until he cdmijleted his education at Ann 
Arbor. 

On the 27111 of November, 1873, Dr. Tuttle was 
married, in Flint, Mich., to Miss Jennie E. Safford, 
who was born in that place on the 9th of January, 
1851, and is the daughter of Orriu^Safford, 8r., who 
is now ninety-two years of age, and lives with his 
son Orrin P., in Flint. He came from Woodstock, 
Vt., to Flint, Mich., when he was twenty-one years 
old, and unmarried, and early became connected 
with the public affairs of the county of Genesee, 
where he held both county and township offices. 
He was twice married, his last wife being Abigail 
Jennings, who died leaving two children: Orrin P., 
a druggist at Flint, and Mrs. Dr. Tuttle of this 
notice. By his former marriage he had one child. 



the State of 



•Mh-^ 



Chiules Snfford, a teacher, n 
California. 

Mrs. Tuttle was reared at the home of her par- 
ents and received a liberal education. She is the 
mother of two children — John L. and lilla J. The 
Doctor has met with considerable pecuniary success 
since coming iiere and owns two nice properties in 
Clinton. He and his wife are Methodists in their 
religion, and sincere and active Christians. In pol- 
itics, the Doctor is a Republican of the strictest type 
and is a member of the Village Council and School 
Board. 

AVID B. OSTERHOUT was formerly a suc- 
cessful farmer on section 34, of the frac- 
tional part of Ridgeway Township. He 
was one of the earlier settlers of Lenawee 
County, becoming a citizen in 1842. He was born 
in Lodi Township, Seneca Co., N. Y., ow the 9th of 
January, 1826, and is the son of John and Sarah 
(Bailey) Osterhout, who were born in the State of 
1 New York, in which commonwealth they lived, but 
I did not become citizens of Seneca County until 
after their marriage. After the birth of all their 
children in the latter county, they, with a portion 
of the family, came to Michigan in 1SS42, and at 
once settled on the farm (;n section 33 of the frac- 
tional part of Ridgeway Township, which at the 
time of their settlement was an unliroken wilder- 
I iiess. John Osterhout and his wife lived here until 
they both died at an advanced age. They were 
both pleasant people, and valuable members of so- 
ciet_y. Mrs. Osterhout was a sincere and consistent 
member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 
I politics Mr. Osterhout was an influential member of 
I the Democratic party, with whom he always affili- 
ated. Their son, David B., the subject of this sketch, 
remained at home until his marriage. 
I Mr. Osterhout was married, on the 1st of January, 
j 1850, to Wilmina Hoagland, who was born in the 
township of Romulus, Seneca Co., N. Y., on the 
13th of January, 1828 (for history of her parents 
see sketch of Thomas V. Hoagland.) Mrs. Oster- 
j liout was about six years of age when her father 
landed in Michigan, and always lived at home and 
I received an excellent common-school education. 



.»-ll-^ 



LKNAWEE COUNTY. 



375 



After her marriage to Davifl H. Osterhoiit they set- 
tled on a farm of ninety acres on section 34, all of 
which were in Ridgeway Township, exi;epting 
twenty acres which lay in Macon Township. Here 
Mr. Osterhont succeeded in managing the farm to 
the best advantage until he died on the iUh of Feb- 
ruary, 1879, his death being caused by consumi)- 
tion. He was a Republican in politics, and as such 
was elected to the ofHoe of Road Clomniissiouer. 
In every and all respects he was a good citizen, and 
highly esteemed by all who knew liira, and his death 
was mourned by a large number nf friends and 
neighbors. 

Since the death of her husband Mrs. Osterhont 
lias managed the farm skillfully, successfull3- and 
profitably. .She is the mother of five children, three 
of whom are deceased. The names of the living- 
are: Lavern, who married Nannie McCarby, Sept. 
5, 1884, but she died shortly after, and her husliand 
then married Hattie Beevers, and is now living on 
a 50-acre farm in Ridgeway Township; and Orant 
H., who resides at home. The names of the deceased 
children are: Mary K., who was the wife of Stephen 
V. Dibble, and died July 20, 18«2; Cla.-a, who 
died Sept. 8, 1880, aged eighteen years; and Henry 
11, who died April .'), 1858, aged three years and five 
months. Mrs. Osterhont i> a nifuibci- of the Chris- 
tian Church, and devotes nnicli of her lime to sii<-li 
work as will enhance the interests of the church. 
She is a considerate neighbor, and her influence for 
good and benevolence is felt throughout the neigh- 
borhood. It would be but proper to add that Mr. 
Osterhont enlisted during the war with Mexico, and 
served his country for eighteen months in that land 
of chapparal. 



17 ON. WILLIAM c:ORBIN is the junior 
\\fyi-. member of the firm of Lamby & Corbiu, 
jtv^ canners of fruits and vegetables, composing 
^1 the Adri.'iu Packing Company, with which 
he has been connected for the last ten ycMrs. He is 
at present resident member of the Board of Con- 
trol, receiving his appointment fr(jm (iov. liegole 
for a period of six years, and has now held the 
position four years. 

The subject of our sketch first saw the light in 



Nichols, Tioga Co., N. V.. July 30, 1825, and lived 
at home until he was fifteen years of age, receiving 
only a common-school education. At that age he 
went to Burlington Flats, Otsego Co., N. Y., to 
learn wagon-making, but Ix'ing dissatisfied with the 
treatment he received he remained only one year, 
when he went to Chittenango, where he worked for 
his board during one winter and attended school. 
In the spring of 1 843 he went to Buffalo, and 
thence by steamer tc) Detroit, where he landed 
about the 1st of July. From Detroit he went to 
Dundee, Monroe County, where Mr. Dunham, a 
brother of his step-father, resided, and engaged at 
farm labor. He afterward worked on the Michi- 
gan Southern Railroad for .some time, and then we 
find him running a gri>l and saw mill which he 
had leased and was operating successfully at Dun- 
dee. In 1 847 he entered the mercantile business, 
opening a general store at Petersburg, and con- 
tinued at merchandising for about fifteen years. 
While here, he bought the water-power and mill 
property at Petersburg, in company with John W. 
Conlogue, and operated it for several years. He 
was also Postmaster for twelve years at Petersburg, 
receiving his appointment from President Pierce. 
He at one time owned about 2,000 acres of land in 
Monroe County, a p;iit of whicii consisted of valu- 
able farms. He was the lirst Station Agent appo'nted 
at Petersburg by the .Michigan Southern Railroad 
Company, and held the position about fifteen years. 
He was Towushii) Clerk, Justice of the Peace 
twelve years, and Siipci'visor three terms. He 
was elected State Sen.'itiir in 1 .si;;i, and was a 
member of the constitutional ct)nvention in 1867. 
He lived in Petersburg until 1872, when he re- 
moved to the city of Adrian, where he has since 
resided in an elegant and commodious house, with 
beautiful surroundings. 

Horace Corbin,the father of our subject, was born 
in Charlestown, Sullivan Co., N. H., and learned 
carpentering. On the Sth of January. 1824, he was 
united in marriage with Frances, daughter of 
Thomas and .Sallie (Murphy) Wright, by whom he 
had two children — William and Horace. Horace is 
now a lawyer of Plymouth, Ind., and has been 
Judge of the court there and member of the State 
Senate. Mrs. Horace Corbin was born March 1 3, 



•^^ 



•►HH^^ 



LKNAWER COUNTY 



^\- 



ISOC, at Nicliol^, N. Y. 'IMie fntluT died M.-ircli 
31, 182S, and Mrs. Corbin was mnrricd a second 
time, April 19, 1829, to Elieu Dunham, with whom 
she lived over fifty years. They came to Michisjan 
in the spring of 1863, and settled in Petersburg, 
Monroe County, where she died in March, 1 88(1, aged 
seventy-nine years. Mr. Dunham died Sept. 4, 
1879. To her second husband she bore six chil- 
dren, only two of whom are living: James W., a 
merchant of Petersburg, and Ellen J., the wife of 
David A. Curtis, a Metliodist preacher, now super- 
annuated. One son, Edwin A., was a soldier 
in the war of- the Rebellion and died in the service. 

An important event in the life of tlie subject of 
this biography occurred on the -iOth of Deeeml)er, i 
1849, when he was united in marriage with the 
lady of his choice. Miss J^liza Ann, daughter of 1 
William and Margaret Drew, of Dundee. Mrs. 
Corbin was born in Clarkson, Monroe Co., N. Y., 
March 10, 1827, and came to Michigan with her 
parents in 1831, settling in vSomerlield, Monroe j 
County, where she taught school seven years, and 
then moved to Dundee. Her mother is still living [ 
and makes her home in Dundee, but at present is 
staying with our subject and is in her eighty-sev- ! 
enth year. Mrs. Corbin is a lady of natural ability 
and refined and cultivated tastes, and adorns the 
society in which she and her husband aie distin- 
guished members. Mr. Corbin also is a gentleman 1 
of fine presence and pleasing manners. They have 
been blessed with seven children, three of whom are I 
living, namely : Mary M., Mrs. P'rank A. Douglas, j 
of Houghton, Lake Superior; Alice E., who married 
R. P. Humphrey, and lives in Sioux Falls, ]Jak., and 
Edward A., who is a lawyer of Chicago, 111. j 

Since his residence in Adrian, Mr. Corbin has ' 
been identified with many important enterprises. 
He was one of the original incorporators of the 
Adrian Paper Mill Company, and was its Presi- 
dent seven years. He subsequently engaged in the I 
hardware business, and finally became a member of 
the Adrian Packing Company. He has been a 
member of the Board of Education nine years, 
three years of which he was Secretary. He was 
elected a member of the House of Representatives 
in 1880 from the Second District of Lenawee 
County, which is stronglj- Republican, he being i 



the only Democrat elected foi- at least twenty 
years. Mr. Corbin was elected Mayor of the city 
of Adrian in 1883, and again in 1884. He is a 
member of Adrian Lodge No. 19, A. F. & A. M., 
and has filled all the chairs, while he has also taken 
all the degrees in Masonry, including the thirty- 
third, which is the Scottish rite: he is also a mem- 



of the 1. O. (_). 



'-^-^^^i^H^t^^^^^ 



1\ ANUEL.McCORMICK is a highly re- 
spected citizen and an early settler of Riga 
Township. He is well regarded in the 
community as a kind neighbor and good 
citizen, possessed of sound judgment and good 
common sense. He is much interested in the polit- 
ical affairs of the nation, and always casts his vote 
with the Republican party. 

In the year 1854, William McCormick, the father 
of our subject, a worth}- citizen of Butler CountA', 
Pa., left his old home in that county, and with his 
wife and children came to Riga Township, this 
county, where an elder son had preceded them. 
They moved into a vacant log cabin in the south- 
ei-n part of the township, and the father soon con- 
tracted for land on section 33 of the same town- 
ship. The negotiations were completed satisfac- 
toril}', but before his plans were matured for the 
removal of .his famil}^ his death occurred, Oct. 20, 
1855. Thus in only one j'ear after their removal 
into a new country, his family were deprived of 
the care of their natural protector and counseloi. 
He was a native of Washington Country, Pa., where 
he was also reared, and after his marriage with 
Margaret Gray, also a native of Pennsylvania, thej- 
made theii- home in Butler County in the same 
Slate. Her death occurred in Riga Township in 
1881, at the age of seventy-one 3'ears. Her father, 
James Gray, was also a native of the Keystone 
State, but spent his last years near Portsmouth, 
Ohio. To Mr. and Mrs. McCormick were born the 
following-named children: Lemuel, Manuel, Will- 
iam O., James, Marj' E., Margaret J., Peterson, 
Henry C, Christina and George W. 

Manuel McCormick was born in Butler County, 
Pa., March 21, 1834, and grew to manhood in his 
. ■» 



LENAWEE COUNTY, 



native town, attendino; the public school and assist- 
ing in the support of the faniil3'. He was twenty 
years of age when he accompanied his parents ti> 
this State, and the sudden deatli of the father 
threw greater responsibilities on the otiior ujciuIkms 
of the family. They were soon settled on tlic land 
for which the father had contracted, and uuv sub- 
ject and his bi'others set vigorously to work in fell 
the trees, remove the stumps and drain the land, 
preparing it for tillage: in this hnrd work they had 
the encouragement and co\ni>ri n( ihciigood mother. 
After assisting in clenrln- (his land. Mr. .AI,-('(,r- 
mick bought land .■i<ljoiniiig tlie houicstctMl. which 
he still owns and occupies. When he first settk'd 
thereon, it contained a log caliin, and list- or six 
acres were partially cleared. As Ihc result of these 
years of energetic toU. he now h:is forty acres of 
fine plow land, and twenty acres' of the remaining 
forty are partially cle.-ired, while he has uood. sub- 
stantial farm buildings, all showing evidences of 
care and thrift on the i)art of the owner. Mr. Mc- 
Corniick has never married, but although ho kee()S 
a bachelor's establishment, his rooms .arc nt'at and 
homelike. 



Ml 



f the North, East 
It Is one of the 



Th( 



mb, 



/^.^^ AMUEL KNIEFEN 

lumber for every sei 
and West. The amount of capital I 
industry Is simply fabulous, and It 
great sources of the wealth of the St 
ject of this sketch belongs to that ai 
producers that has made Michigan so famous m 
mill products. Our subject is tho well-known and 
successful sawmill man of Britton's Station, Ridge- 
way Township, where he commenced in 1 882. His 
estalilislnneut is an extensive one, and has a capacity 
of lo.oOO feet i)er day. He was formerly en- 
gaged In the lumber business in another part of the 
township, and has been engaged in the business con- 
tinuously since 1872. Since coming to Hrltton's 
Station he lias increased the capacity of his mills 
very materially. 

Our subject was born on the old Kulffen home- 
stead, located on section ;U, In Kidgeway Town- 



ship, on the Gth of March, 184:). He Is the second 
son and fourth child boin to Isaac L. and Elizabeth 
(Fow'le) Kniffen, who wi^re natives of New York. 
and were reared to maturity in Seneca County, that 
State. The father w;is a ship cari)enter by trade, 
and while living in New York State followed that 
occu|>ation for a time, and then turned his attention 
to farming. About the year 1840 he came to 
MIcliieau. joiirneylug by way of the Erie Canal and 
the L.akes to Monroe, and then across the country 
by team, and pui-<-hascd timber land in the town- 
ship of .Macon. A year later he came to section 
34. HIdgew.ay Tounshlp. an<l purchased a tract of 
wild land, wliicli he lnipi-oved and lived upon for 
sonic years. Aflcrw.anl he changed his location to 
-eetioii 11, in Hidgeway 'I'ownshlii, where he bought 
220 acres of land, .\boiit the same time he pur- 
chased a sawmill, wlilch lie o[)erated several years. 
and then tr.aiisfened It to his son, the subject of this 
sketch. After qnittini! the mill business he en- 
gaged in f.-n-miiie initil his death, which occurred 
on the oth of Seplemlier, I.S81, at the age of sixty- 
six years. His wife still occupies the farm, and 
under her sui)ervislon it is successfully managed. 

Mr. Kulffen lived at home in this township, and 
received what education he has in Tecumseh. On 
the l.'ith of Eeliruary. 1877. In Ridgevv.ay Township, 
he wa- married to Miss Angle, daughter of 
Henry and Aniamla ((Joddard) Hoagland. (For 
history of family see sketch of Thomas V. Hoag- 
land. ) .Mrs. Amanda Hoagland was the daughter of 
Lyman (iodd.ard, who died of yellow fever while 
in the service during the War of 1812. She sur- 
vived her husband and married Samin'l Willis; 
they arc now both dead. Mrs. Kniffen w^as born in 
the township of b'idgeway on the 7th of August, 
184.5. She was deprived of the care of her father 
at the age of six years, and remained with her 
mother until her marriage. She was well educated 
at Tecuuisi'li, and wlieu ipilte young beg.an teaching, 
which occupation she followed for twelve years 
preceding her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Kniffen 
have two children, Blanche and an infant unnamed. 

Mr. Kniffen owns 120 acres of good land in 
Ridgeway Towushi|). ,a enod residence and lot in 
Britton, and the mill property which he operates. 
Ill the wav <if otHclal positions he has tilled the 



•►Hl-*^ 



"•► 



378 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



w 



office of Township Clerk, and discharged the duties 
of that office promptly and satisfactorily. He is a 
true blue Republican, and can be depended upon 
at all times to render valuable and eflicient service 
to that party. Mrs. Kiiiffen is a menilier of the 
Christian Church, in vviiich she is a faithful worker 
and constant attendant. 

-^iS^-i^i?. ,^#!«^ «^;«f-^«fi?* 

HITK CLEVELAND, a well-known rep- 
resentative of the farming interests of Te- 
cumseh Township, was born in the town of 
Groveland, Livingston Co., N. Y., July 8, 1826. 
His parents were .Tohn and Almira (Loomis) Cleve- 
land, the former a native of the same State as him- 
self, and the latter of Bedford County, Pa. 

John Cleveland and Almira Loomis were married 
in Living'.ston Countj', and there passed the first 
few years of their married life, hi 1830 they de- 
termined to migrate to Michigan Territory and try 
their chances in that more newly settled country, 
which was even then regarded as a Territory des- 
tined to become a great State, noted for its varied 
resources. After coming here thej^ settled in Rai- 
sin Township, three miles from Tecuraseb, in the 
green woods, where Mr. Cleveland improved a farm 
on which they spent the remainder of their lives. 
In 1842 the father died, leaving his wife with six 
children to care for; two diildren had died before 
he passed away, while the dtlicr six are still living. 
The good mother, assisted by her elder children, 
faithfully provided for her family until the_y were 
able to care for themselves. She was spared to 
them many years, dying in 1884, .at the veneralile 
age of eighty-three. 

After the death of his father. White Cleveland 
remained on the farm until he was twenty-one 
years of age, when he started out to obtain work 
elsewhere, beginning those years of h ird and uiue- 
mltting labor which have resulted so nuich to hi.- 
advantnge from a worldly point of view. He may- 
be said to liave iiegun at the lowest round of fort- 
une's ladder and to have worked his way up stead- 
ily until prosperity is his. He worked in the eni- 
l)lo3' of others for seventeen years, prudently sav- 
ing his hard-earned money, and then bought a farm 



for himself, which contained sixty-three acres; this 
jiroved to be a fine investment as he afterward sold 
It for double the purchase price. He then bought 
another fairly well-improved farm of ninety-nine 
acres in Tecumseh, and has since torn down the 
original buildings and replaced them with better 
.nnd more substantial ones, until his farm is one of 
the neatest in the neighborhood, and contains three 
l)nins, one large and conveniently arranged for his 
stock. He has increased the acreage of his farm 
by further purchase, until he now owns 132 acres 
of land. He has been engaged in mixed husbandry, 
and at one time handled sheep on which he realized 
good profits. He has been a good cattle feeder, 
selling each spring *800 to *!iOO worth, and has also 
dealt largely in hogs. 

Mr. Cleveland was married, in October, 1863, to 
Mrs. Harriet Lembarger, a widow, whose husband 
was a soldier and died during the early part of the 
late war. At the time of her marriage with Mr. 
Cleveland, she was residing in Tecumseh, and had 
one daughter bj' her first marriage, Eva, now the 
wife of John T. Byce. Mrs. Cleveland's parents 
were Robert and Phebe Plank, the latter of whom 
died some years ago, while tlie father is still living 
and makes his home in Franklin Townshiii. Mrs. 
Cleveland has been an active and efficient helpmeet 
to her husband, and three children have been born 
of their union: Grant and Brant O., twins, the lat- 
ter of whom died in infancy, and Don Carlton, who 
is now attending school. 

Mr. Cleveland has never held office, but has at- 
tended strictly to his business. He is keen and 
shrewd in his dealings, and is possessed of more 
than ordinary jndgment. 



-4t^B- 



.#4h 



'/OHN H. ZKLUFF, one of the prosperous 
j and successful younger farmers of Ridge- 
] way Township, is the suriject of this sketch. 
/ He now owns 132 acres of fine land on sec- 

1 2, which is supplied with first-class farm build- 

■;, and is well furnished with excellent live stock. 

■subject was born Sept. 12, 1.S44. at Dundee. 

nroe Co., Mich. His father. David Zelnff, 
a native of New Jersey, where he grew to man- 

0^ 



■•► 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Iiood, and from there, in common with so many other 
residents of New England and the Middle States, 
he emigrated to Michigan, and was married in 
Monroe County to Miss Loix;a Russell, who was a 
native of New Vcrk State. The parents ■mv still 
living in Teenniseh, and are engaged in running a 
small farm. 

When our sulijeet was a child of six years his 
|)arents went to I'tiea, Midi., where they settled, 
and where he scent hi> l.oyhou.l and youth, and 
i-eceived his eduratiun. Whenhe wasaJMUit twenty 
years old his family returned to Kidgeway Town- 
ship, and it was here that he was united in marriage, 
on the ■2\st of March. 1867, with Miss Eliza .1. 
Pocklington. She is a native of England, where 
she was born In Yorkshire, J;ni. •_' 1, \f<'.>', but 
while still an infant her parents emigrated to the 
United States, subsequently settling in Michigan. 
She is the daughter of William and Ann (Lock- 
land ) rucklington, who are still liviny-, and (■ulti\.ite 
a .")(i-:icre farm in Ridgew.ay Town.-hip. After his 
marriage our subject settled on section I 1, Hidge- 
way Township, where he continued to live until 187;"), 
wiien he bought the homestead upon which he has 
since resided. This he has cultivated in a very 
skillful and successfnl manner, and i> now the owner 
of an excellent farm, which li<' has actpnred solely 
as the result of his li.anl w.ii'k and habits of thrift 
and economy. 

Our subject's marriage has resulted in the birth 
of six children, as follows: Eugene, Serene, Cass, 
Frank, Flora and Linas. hi politics Mr. Zelnff is a 
Democrat, and has filled the office of Highway Com- 
missioner. His estimable wife is a member in good 
standing of tlu' Uaptist Church. 



AN FORD TENANT 
parents to this con 
about forty-seven y 
field Township he has since 



living there continuously with 
three years, in which he served ;i 
Union army. He was born in 
N. Y., Jan. 14, 1841, and a few 



• when an 


in fa 


s ago, and i 


iDe 


nee made hi 


s ho. 


the excep 


ion 


IS a soldier 


in 1 



father, Joseph C. Tenant, decided to cast his lot 
with the pioneers of the young State of Michigan. 
He settled, with his wife and three children, in 
what was then a part of Blisslield Township, but 
now in Deerfield, and purchased forty acres of 
lieavily tiniliered land. His first work was to select 
the most desirable location for a cabin and then cut 
down the trees in order to make room for the 
structure, which was put up after the primitive 
fashion of those days. It wa> aljout ten feetsquare, 
with a Hat roof covered with Ijark underneath and 
outside with boards. This structure the family oc- 
cu[)ied for a number of years, and until the father 
couhl put up a good log house. Subsequently he 
erected a .set of frame buildings, .and at the time of 
his death w.as the owner of eighty acre.- of good 
liuid and a comfortaljle home. He rested from his 
earthly labors in July, 1874. 

Joseiih C. Tenant was born in Ivl in! iur,u, Saratoga 
Co., N. Y., and was the son of Constant Tenant, a 
native of Rhode l^hmd, and a farmer ijy occupa- 
tion. The latter, while a young man, removed to 
Sarjitoga County, N. Y., and there spent the re- 
mainder of his life. Joseph C. learned the trades 
of blacksmith and gunsmith, which he carried on 
in his native county until his removal to this State. 
He had married, in Saratoga County, Miss Phadie 
Armstrong, who became the mother of six children, 
and died at their home in Deerfield Township on 
the •27th of i\Iay, I 8.^7. The eldest son, Seymour, 
lives in Deerfield Township; \Villiam died when a 
5'outh of fifteen years of .age; Harriet C. married 
Asa Diver, of Deerfield Township; Theodore died 
at the homestead when nineteen years old, and En- 
gene is a resident of IMonroe County, this State. 

The early years of oui' subject were spent amid 
the wild scenes of pi(meer life, and he I'emenibers 
when the woods abounded in wild game: when the 
wolves howled around their cabin door and the few 
Indians who yet reniaiiiecl often came and peered 
among Ihv Irees at the abode of the intrn<ling white 
man. He continued with his parents until twenty 
years of age, but before he had reached his major- 
ity there came the first call for volunteer troops to 
assist in putting down the Rebellion. He enlisted 
.Sept. 1. ISC 1. in Company K. Nth Michigan In- 
faniry, and served until the .'ibth of September, 



•► 



380 



a 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



f 



1864. He endured all the hardships and privations 
of life in the army, experienced many hairbreadth 
escapes, and participated in many of the important 
l)attles of the war. He was present in the conflicts 
at Stone River, Chickamauga and Mission Ridge, 
and marched with the army of Gen. Sherman from 
Chattanooga to Atlanta, and was engaged in the va- 
rious battles of that campaign, including the siege 
of the latter city. He met the enemy in many 
other engagements and sitirmishes during hi.< term 
of service as a member of the gallant regiment, the 
famous 11th Michigan. He fortunately escaped 
wounds, imprisonment or serious illness, and at the 
expiration of his time received his honorable dis- 
charge. 

Mr. Temiiit, after laying aside the accoiiteiments 
of war, returned to his peru-efnl home in Deertield 
Township, and the first winter occupied his time in 
chopping wood. Afterward he was engaged in a 
steam sawmill until 1S71. The spring of tiiat year 
he rented a tract of land in Deerfleld Township, 
upon which he worked four and one-half years, and 
saved up a snug sum of money, which enabled him 
to secure the land upon which he now resides. This 
consists of forty acres and lies on section 35, and 
was formerly a part of Ridgevvay Township. The 
excellent group of frame buildings, which add to 
its value and which serve .all the purposes of the 
moderate farmer, were erected by Mr. Tenant and 
are the result of several years' labor. He keeps a 
small head of cattle and the horses required for his 
farm work, and lives comfortably, without being 
harjissed by hard lalxir or an undue amount of 
care or anxiety. 

Mr. Ten.ant, on the 3d of July, 1871, Justin time 
to celebrate the '-glorious Fourth," took unto him- 
self a wife and helpmeet. Miss Sarah Diver, who 
was born in Monroe County, April 1, 1851. Her 
father, John Diver, was also a native of Monroe 
County, and the son of Andrew Diver, who w.as 
boru in Canada, and came to this section of coun- 
try when Michigan was a Territory. He made his 
home in Monroe County, and there spent his last 
years. Jolui Diver married Miss Nancy Ch.amber- 
lahi, who began life not far from liis own hirtii- 
They lived in Monroe County until l^lU. 
tliey came to Deerfleld Township, where lliey 



now reside. Mr. and Mrs. Tenant have two chil- 
dren living — Hattie and Clarence, aged thirteen 
and eight years respectively. Their little son Per- 
ley died when nineteen months old. 

The property of Mr. Tenant h.as been accumu- 
lated through his own industry, as he had no capi- 
tal whatever to begin with. He may be properly 
classed among the self-made men of Lenawee 
County, where he has arisen to a good position so- 
cially and financially, and ranks among the best 
elements of this section. 



J^NDREW A. RUSSELL, son of one of the 
1@/lJI early pioneers of Lenawee County, came 

I IX to Southern Michigan when a lad of four- 
th' teen years, from Seneca County, N. Y., 
where his birth took place April 24, 1820, and where 
his boyhood and _youth were spent. He has since 
that time been a resident of Fairfleld Township, 
and is the owner of forty-two acres of laud on sec- 
tion 30. His residence and the adjacent buildings 
are commodious structures in good repair, and his 
home with its surroundings indicates the supervis- 
ion of a well-to-do and responsible citizen. 

The parents of our subject, Samuel and Betsey 
(Spragne) Russell, were natives of Dutchess Count}-, 
N. Y., and Andrew was the sixth child in a family 
of ten. The father engaged in farming pursuits 
his entire life, the la^t years of which he spent in 
Fairfield Township. A sketch of his brother, 
Charles C, a well-do-do farmer of Fairfleld Town- 
ship, will be found on another page of this work. 

Young Russell continued under tlie home roof, 
learning to plow, sow tind reap, and becoming fa- 
miliar with the various other duties of farn; life. 
Upon reaching manhood, he chose for his wife one 
of the maidens of Fairfield Township, Mi.ss Clarinda 
Edwards, and they began life together in a little 
home on section 30. The young wife only lived 
eight months after her marriage, and IMr. Russell 
was married the second time, to Miss Margaret 
Salsbury, who died at her home in Fairfleld Town- 
ship about 18()9. His present wife, formerly Miss 
.Jennie Barnes, was born Aug. 19, 1839, and spent 
her early years at the home of her parents in Sen- 
eca Township. Mr. Russell is the father of one 



'J a- 






1 



tf 







Residence of Levi B Ford, Sec 5(t-9-s) Riga Township 







Residence OF Twos C Isley.SecI Palmyra Township 




Residence of Cornelius Gilson,Sec.15.Deerfi eld Township 



Hh-* 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



3 S3 



i 



child only, a daughter, Annie L.. the child of the 
present Mrs. Russell. Besides tlie cnltivntion of 
his farm, the soil of which is very feitilc. lie is en- 
gaged in stock-raisinsj. 

Mr. Rnssell nieddh-s very little uilli puMic :if- 
f:iirs. hut since reachini; his niaj.uity has uniH.iialy 
voted the straight Democratic ticket. He is a man 
who attends strictly to liis own concerns, and finds 
his greatest satisfaction in the matters pertaining 
to his little farm and family, 

J I USTU>S LOWE. The sni)ject of this sketch 
I is one (if the old settlers and prominent citi- 
zens of Ridge way Township, where he has 
' resitled for more than forty years, and has 
heen chosen to fill a nuniher of local offices, having 
heen Justice of the Peace for eleven years, High- 
way Commissioner, Town Assessor, Snpervisor. and 
Drain Commissioner for the county. 

Our suhject was born Nov. 10, LSly, in Onon- 
daga County, N. Y. His father, John Lowe, born in 
1790, was a native of New Jersey. When the latter 
was still a child his father, Daniel Lnwe, removed to 
Kindciiio.ik. N. Y., and sulisequently to Onondaga 
County, lieing among the first settlers of that re- 
gion. He went ten miles to attend the raising of 
the first house erected in Syracuse. Li the sjiring 
of l.s:>7 he emigrated to Michigan, selecting a claim 
where the town of Raisin now stands, wiicre he 
ei-ected a log house. This |)laee he sold in is.w;. 
and moved to Jackson County, where he lixcd for 
seven or eight years, and then went to liarry Counly- 
where he remained witli one of his sons until his 
death in IS.^s. 

In 1812 the father of our .subject was married to 
Miss Mary Skutt, of Onondaga County, N. Y. 
This marriage resulted in the birth of ten children, 
four sons and six daughters, of whom our subject 
was the oldest. His mother, a native of .\ew Vorlc 
was born in 1799, and died in Hrooklyn, Mich., in 
1838. Our subject was reared by his grandnmther, 
Mrs. Jane Lowe, from the age of nine months unti) 
he was thirteen j'ears oU\, and n'ceixiMl liul ,a \ ery 



^t 



meagre schooling. In 
mother to Michigan, 



833 h( 
•eachi 



and- 



Ti 



m.seh 



journey of seven days on the Erie Canal, fourteen 
days on Lake Erie and five daj's overland from De- 
troit. At the early age of eighteen years Justus 
Lowe started out to make his own way in life, work- 
ing for a time by the month at whatever he could 
lind to dc. Hy unremitting industry and rarcfid 
saving of his earnings he was enabled to gradually 
accumulate some capital, which he invested from 
time to time in land, of which he ;it one time 
owned 78.T acres. 

On the Uith of July, 18:17, our subject was 
luiited in marriage with Miss Mary Lainberson, 
who was a daughter of Conrad .and Lydia Lamber- 
son. of Ridgeway Township. Of this union there 
have been born eleven cliihlren, of whom nine grew 
to maturity. They are recorded as follows: Conrad 
L., liorn June -i.'i, 1 .s38, is farming in Ridgewaj' 
Township: John W., born Nov. 11, 1842, was an 
artist and died in Trinidad, Briti.sh West Indies, 
Aug. 21. 1S(;7: Adeiia M., born (Jet. II. 1841, 
is the wife of James L. JMcIntyre, a faimer of 
Raisin Township; Jay J., born April 23, 1847, 
is farming in Ridgeway Township; Mabelle, born 
Aug. 12, 1852. is the wife of Edward DePuy, a 
farmer living in Saline, Washtenaw County ; Elea- 
nor ('., born Nov. 2, 18.-,3, is the wife of F. M. 
Henr}', of Lowville, Lewis Co., N. Y. ; Logier L., 
born April 7, 1850, resides on the old homestead 
engaged in agriculture; Amiable, born Dec. 23. 
IS.'w, is at home; KIdridge L., born Sept. Id, 1 8(;0, 
i. at school at Janesville. Wis. ; a son an.l daughter 
died in infancy. The wife of our subject was born 
at Camillus, N. Y., Dec. 28, 1820. Her f.ather was 
a native of New Jersey, and her mother of New 
York: the formci-. born in I7s7, <lied in Ridge- 
way Township in IsCw.and the latter born in 17!>1, 
died at Camillus. N. V.. in 1823. 

(.)ur subject is a man of remarkable powers in 
many respects, .and lias been an extensive wi'it<'r for 

early history of Ridgeway Township .and its first 
settlers. He has a most w<inderful fund of facts 
.and incidents connected with the pioneer days, and 

meeting. lie has been .-loscly identified with the 
iKjlitical, religious and social movements of his time 



■•► 



•►Hl^-^ 



3ft 4 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



and section, and has borne an active part in all en- 
terprises tending to the benefit of the community 
and the welfare of the people, and to all of which 
he has been a liberal contributor. A.s a public- 
spirited citizen, he has assisted in making the roads 
of t..e township, and has been active in every way 
for the development and upbuilding of this section 
of the State. Although now past the allotted period 
of tln-eescore years and ten, A[r. Lowe is still a re- 
markable man, both in his physical powers and 
mental faculties. He has been an extensive trav- 
eler, and his habits of close observation have givcii 
him a fund of information which makes him 
a most entertaining companion. He has excellent 
conversational powers, frequently rising to genuine 
eloquence, and at times, in matters of a sympathetic 
nature, is able to melt to tears. . 

In July, 1887, our subject and liis wife celebrated 
their golden wedding. It was a most interesting 
and delightful occasion, being attended by scores 
of relatives and old friends, and the aged couple 
received many tokens of remembrance. Much of 
Mr. Lowe's success in life is due to the good man- 
agement and wise counsel of his most estimable 
wife, who continues to be his sympathetic friend 
and helpmeet. 



e 



H ARLES G. STOWERS, of the firm of Stow- 
ers & Fitzgerald, grocers of Adrian, estab- 
^' lished himself in business at this point in 
187H, and in company with his able partner, com- 
mands a lucrative and steadily increasing patron- 
age. Although quite well advanced in years, he 
retains his old-time vigor and activity, and from 
his long residence here stands very high in the con- 
fidence and esteem of the people. 

The subject of this biography is a native of 
Chester County, Vt., and was born Dec. 21, 1812, 
during the progress of the war of that ])eriod. 
His father, John Stowers, was also a native (if the 
Green Mountain State, where he was boin in IT.S.'i. 
and was the son of one of its earliest pioneers. 
John Stowers followed mercantile business, and in 
early manhood married Miss Sarah Morris, a native 
of A'ermont, born in 1778, and the daughter of 



•►Hl-^*- 



Uriah and Sarah Morris. After their marriage, 
the young people repaired to Pennsjdvania, but 
subsequently removed to New York State, and lo- 
cated in Jefferson County on a farm. In their de- 
clining years they repaired to Watertown, where 
they died, the father in 1844, and the mother 
in 187.5. A remarkable fact was that Mi', and 
Mrs. Stowers were both twins in their res|)ective 
families. 

Charles G. Stowers was the third in a family of 
five children born to his parents. His brothers are 
all deceased, and the remaining sister, Mrs. MaryS. 
Mann, is a resident of Watertown,N. Y. Our sub- 
ject was a mere boy when his parents settled finally 
in the State of New York, and his childhood and 
youth were spent after the manner of most farmers' 
sons. After having come to years of discretion, he 
engaged in manufacturing confectionery at Water- 
town on his own account, but subsequently removed 
to Great Bend, Pa., where he carried on a trade in 
dry-goods until coming to Michigan, in 1855. 
Upon his arrival here he at once opened up a gro- 
cery store in the city of Adrian. He had at that 
thne a capital of $25, and investing this as judi- 
ciously as possible, located on Main street, and in 
due time, by close application to business, built up 
a flourishing trade. He was finally obliged to en- 
large his facilities, and removed to his present 
stand in the spring of 1884. The business is now 
located on South Main street, and since 1879 Mr. 
Fitzgerald has been a member of the firm, assum- 
ing the more active cares of the business. 

Mr. Stowers, in the spring of 1844, took to him- 
self a wife and helpmeet in the person of Miss Clara 
Allen, of Watertown, N. Y., who was born April 
15, 1822. Iler father, Elisha Allen, was one of the 
best-known citizens of Jefferson County, and there 
spent his declining years. He was a native of 
Ciiarleston, Montgomery Co., N. Y., and was born 
.lune 26, 1786. His wife's birth occurred on the 
28th (.f March, 1785. Elisha died April 13, 1873; 
Elizabctii died Oct. 20, 18G5. They had a f.imily 
<if ten children, of whom four are still living. 

.Mr. and Mrs. Stowers continued in the Empire 
Stale until 1855, and became the parents of two 
sons, one of whom died in infancy, the other at 
the age of eighteen years. Subsequently, with a 
•► 



-^^ 



LENAM'EE COUNTY. 



3 85 



desire to replace as far as possible the lost ones, 
they adopted two little girls. "Im letnniiipd vvitli 
thera until reaching womanhood. .Tuli:i A. is nnu 
the wife of George H. Miller, of Wyiiiidotle. Kan., 
and Alice married Kranlvlin Smith, and is living- 
near Adrian. 

Mr. .Stovvers .Ntartt'd onl in politics as an old-line 
Whig, but later identified himself with the Kepnli- 
lican party, to which he ha.* ever been true. His 
substantial and comfortable dwelling is located at 
the corner of C'omstock and Front streets, where 
he and his amiable wife live in ease and plenty, and 
where the frequent visits of their old fi-iends pnive 
to them a never-failing source of pleasure. Here 
in this home thev have lived nearlv thirty years. 



aHARLKS A. I'Ut'KLlNdiTON. It is pecu- 
liarly gratifying to the thoughtful and <>li- 
^_ sei'vant individual, to note in how many in- 
stances, in this county es|)ecially, the property that 
was gathered together so laboriously by the early 
l)ioneers, is being carefully preserved in the family 
by their sons. The subject of this biography, like 
many of his neighbors, is the possessor of his 
father's homestead in Ridgeway Township, where 
he first opened his eyes to the light on the 2.stli of 
March, 185.3. He was reared to farming pursuits, 
and being naturally indnsti'ious and ambitious, is 
now numbered ,'imong the most enterprising and 
successful agriculturists of his townsiiip. His pr<]|)- 
erty includes 140 acres of choice land lyiny imi sec- 
tions 17. and 1 8, .and is [lecnliarly adapted to the 
growth of the various cereals. Tliis portion of 
Ridgeway Township is in all icspeets \-ei-y desira- 
ble, being highly productive and easily tilled. 

John Pocklington, the father of <ini- subjeel. u.as 
a native of England and emigrated t(i the I'nited 
States when a young man, selecting his residence in 
Raisin Township during its lirst .settlement, i.atei- 
he was constrained to ch.ange his location, and to(ik 
up the hand which, un.lei- liis skillful nianagenient. 
was transformed into the \'.alu.alile f.arni of to-d.ay. 
Not long after coming to this county, he was mar- 
ried to Miss Julia A. Allen, a native ol \ew York 
.State, where she was reared to womanhood, and 



whence she came with her parents to Michigan, re- 
maining with them in their home in Ridgeway 
Township until her marriage with John Pockling- 
ton. Her parents died in Ridgeway Township in 
middle life. 

After their marruiiic, .bihn Pocklington and his 
wife settled on the unbroken tract of land which 
their son now occupies, and which h.is been so 
greatly changed from its primitive condition. They 
remained there until the spring of 1882, when, feel- 
ing that they had labored sufficiently, they turned 
over the property to their son, and purchased a 
small farm of sixteen acres in the same town.ship, 
where they are now spending their declining years 
in ease and quiet. The father is about sixty years 
of age, and the mother sixty-two. Although not 
connected with any church organization, they have 
lived truly Christian lives, doing good as they had 
oliportunity, and seeking to set a blameless exam- 
ple before the rising generation. John Pockling- 
ton cast his first Presidential vote for Horatio Sey- 
mour, in 18(18, and since that time has lieen an un- 
eomiiromising Democrat. 

The subject of this sketch was the third child and 
second s<m in the parental family, which included 
seven children. lie continued with his parents 
until reaching hi- majority, when they transferred 
the homestead to him .and retired fr .active labor. 

to the old [il.ace in the spring of 1878, having been 
married. February 7 of that year, to Miss Sarah J. 
Travis, a rj.atixe of Macon Townshi|), who was born 
.Inne 2;'.. l.s;Vl. 

Mrs. Pocklington is the daughter of Jerome K, 
and Matilda (Harriott) Travis, natives resitectively 
of New York and Michigan. Her father emigrated 
fiom the Empire .State to this county when a young 
man. and hei'e met the lady wlio sulise(|nently be- 
came his wife. He took up ,a ti.a.-t of land in Ma- 
con Township, and improved a good farm, which 
he occupied with his estimable partner until they 
were both called to their long home, neither living 
beyond middle age. Mr. Travis was a good citizen 
and a well-educated man, and for some years was 
engaged in teaching. He was Democratic in jioli- 



•►Hl 



^L 



',sri 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



! 



tics, and filled the vai'ious local offices of Macon 
Township. Both parents were members of the 
Dutch Reformed Church. 

The wife of our .subject couipleteil lier educa- 
tion in the Clinton schools, and like her father, de- 
veloped into an intelligent and competent teacher, 
which profession she followed for some time before 
her marriagv. She is the mother of one child, Guy 
T., who vvas born Jan. 7, lb7',), and is now an in- 
telligent lad nine years of age. Mr. and Mrs. P. 
are general favorites in the social circles of Ridge- 
way Township, and Mr. Pocklington, politically, 
gives his su[)port to tiie Prohiliitiou party. 

JOHN S. KINNEY, undertaker, and dealer in 
furniture, Tecumseh, Mich., is of New En- 
gland origin, and was born in Alford, Mass., 
Nov. 1 4, 1 8-27. Mis father, Thomas Kinney, 
was a farmer and wagon-maker, and the maiden 
name of his mother was Lucretia Dodge; both were 
natives of Massachusetts. After marriage, they 
settled in Berkshire County, in the western part of 
the Bay State, and remained there many years. 
i>ate in life they removed to Allegany County, N. 
Y., and there spent thei.- last days. They were the 
parents of four children, three sons and one daugh- 
ter, who all lived to maturity, though but two now 
survive, the daughter and the subject of our sketch. 
The early life of J. S. Kinney was passed in 
Allegany County, N. Y., whither he iiad gone with 
his parents when very young, and the educational 
advantages enjoyed l)y him were those of tiie com- 
mon schools of that county. When he was eight- 
een years ot age his father died, and our subject 
then started out to seek his own living and estab- 
lish for himself a home. He worked at anything 
he found to do, being variousl}^ engaged in farm- 
ing and other occupations. 

Mr. Kinney's niarria.ge with Miss Claris-.a. liresie, 
of Allegany County, N. Y., uerurreil in 1847. 
They continued to reside in that county until ISGl, 
when they removed with their family to Cleveland, 
Ohio, where Mr. Kinney engaged in the cari)enter 
and joiner's trade, becoming a successful contractor j 



and builder. He afterward received a flattering 
offer, which he accepted, to become Superintendent 
of a vineyard comprising eighty acres of land, 
owned and conducted by a stock company, and 
held this lucrative position thirteen years. Com- 
ing to Michigan, subsequently, he invested a part 
of his capital in Tecumseh Townshij), purchasing 
the place now known as the Gilmore farm, lying 
west of the city of Tecumseh, and after securing a 
desirable tenant, went back to Ohio. Six 3'ears 
later he returned to Blichigan, this time bringing 
his family with him, and took possession of his farm 
in this township, which he managed for himself 
until 1882, when he sold out and moved into the 
village of Tecumseh. In 1883 he embarked in the 
furniture and undertaking business on the corner 
of Chicago and Railroad streets. He moved to 
his present stand in October, 1886, occupying the 
building known as the Agricultural Building, which 
was formerly used as a manufactorj^ for farm im- 
plements. Here Mr. Kinney has a full line of all 
kinds of furniture, and a large assortment of under- 
taking goods. He has a good hearse and is ready 
for all calls at short notice. 

Mr. and Mrs. Kinney became the parents of three 
children, two of whom are living. The death of 
AV^illiani L., the eldest son, occurred while the fam- 
ily were living in Ohio, where he was accidentally 
shot while out luuiting. Alma F. is the wife of 
George H. Tansley, of Tecumseh, and Walter S. is 
in the store with his father. The enterprise and 
business capacity of Mr. Kinney' make him a val- 
ued citizen of Tecumseh. He is a member of Bige- 
lovv Lodge, of Cleveland, Ohio, F. & A. M., and 
likewise of Chapter Thatcher. 



YW/ AM l<> SMITH. The subject of this sketch 
II and his estimable wife have accomplished. 
Il much in life, as the sketch below will show. 
i^M-' They have accumulated considerable prop- 
erty and have surrounded themselves with all the 
material comforts of life, but that which gives 
them the most comfort in their declining years is 
that the}' have given the world a family of children 
who are a credit and honor to them, and the com- 



••► 



LENAVVEK COUNTY. 



ninnity is made bettor for their lives. Mr. .ind 
Alr>. Smith have obeyed implicitly the iiijinictidn 
t.. -Iiriiiii- up the chihl in the w,-iy lir .should -... .-lud 

this tlu-y have .-i h.-ippy snhjec't for their r,,nteiH- 
platioii. 

Mr. Smith and his wife now live in retirenirni 
on his farm of 120 acres of well-improved land, cm 
section M.5, in the fractional part of Hidneway 'I'owii- 
-hip, the line between .Macon .-nid liiducway Town- 
ships passing through his In. use. lie is a native of 
Yorkshire, England, liorn ..n the nth of .May. iso-j. 
and w.is reared and edinvited in tli.al countN. In 
1830. when twenty -eight ye.-ir- ofaui'. he liade -ood- 
liye to the scenes of hi^ childhood nmi his native 
land .and .sailed for the I'nited Slate.-, and after an 
exceedingly rough and tempestuous voyage, landed 
in New York on the 9tli of November. He lived 
in the State of New York about three years engaged 
in gardening on Van Skikc's Island, in the Hudson 
River, near Troy. In the fall of 1833 he oanie to 
Michigan and was employed as a common laborer 
for three years, and then purchased eiglity acres of 
wild laud on section D, in Ridgeway Township. He 
improved that farm and then sold it and came to 
his present location, buying the farm where ho has 
lived since 1854. 

Mr. Smith was married in Tecumseh Township. 
on the 8th of November, 183G, to Mi,ss Amelia 
Whalley, who was born in the suburbs of the city 
of Dublin, Ireland. She came to the [Inited States 
with a sister, before she was nineteen years of age, 
and at once settled in this county. She is the 
mother of eight children, one of whom is deceased. 
The surviving children are: Hannah, tlie wife of 
Abe Herrington, who is living on a farm in Macon 
Township; George W., of whom a sketch is giverj 
in anotiier place in this volume; Edmund, who mar- 
ried Miss Eliza Hoagland, is a residentof Ridgeway 
Township, on a farm; Solomon, who lives with his 
father; Harriet, the wife of Thomas V. Hoagland, 
of whom a sketch is given elsewhere; Sojihia, de- 
ceased ; Gilbert, who married Miss Mary Hrown. 
and is living on a farm in Ridgeway Township, and 
Albert, who married Miss "Tib" Anten, and is resid- 
^ ing on a farm in Milan Township, Monroe County. 
Mrs. Smith belongs to the Society of Friends, but 



d is a n 
oih hi-l 



ip.al Clinich. 
:-h esteemed 
litv in gon- 



M-al, for then' excellent ipialities ami benevolent 
lispo.-itions. .\ir. Smith i> an nn.Mverving Demo- 
■r.at. and by both work and speech has for many 
/ears proved his de\otion and tidelily to the prin- 
■iple> of flitil parly. The childivn they have 
■eared to niauh.MHl and womanho,,,! are all well 
ettl.Ml in life and are all married with the excep- 

ion of Solon The homes of none of them are 

rery distant from the old homestead, and the visits 
.f.all of them to the father and mother are fre- 
puMit and he:irtil\' welcome. 



-5JE<:i^ij(>H^-»" 



/J^aHARLES R. DiIJOIS, one of the successful 
(|( young farmers on section 3, Ridgeway Town- 

^^'' ship. own>< >ixty acres of g,,od Land, ad.-ipted 
to the growth of fine grain. He was lioin on the old 
homestead in Ridgew.ay Township, on the 12th of 
November, 1849, and is the son of John DulJois, 
who yet occupies the original homestead, which was 
purchased by him at a very early date in the set- 
tlement of Michigan. Our subject spent his early 
life at h<mie, where he lived up to the time of his 
marriage, which event occurred in Raisin Township 
on the 3d of !March, 1871. The lady with whom 
he entered into this contract was Miss Sarah Bee- 
vers, who was born in Raisin Townshii) on the 6th 
of May, 1851. She is the daughter of Benjamin 
and Elizabeth (Lee) Beevers, natives of Yorkshii'e, 
England, who were reared and married in that 
country, and emigrated to America, becoming early 
settlers of Raisin Township, where the_y have always 
resided. 

rents of Mrs. Dnliois were born twelve 

whom three died in infancy. They 

William. Nov. 5. 1845: Ann 

IS-ti); Sarah, .M.ay (i, 1851 ; 

; (reorge, Aug. 23, 1850; 

Capitola, April 13, 1859; 

18112, and Leona, Nov. 15, 

loin in Yorkshire, England, 

Township, this county. Mrs. 

ihood at the home of 



To the p: 
ildrcn, of 



were born as 


follow^: 


Elizabeth, .1 


llv I.'S. 


Anna, .Ian. 


0. 1855 


Jane. July 1 


;, IH57; 


Harriot E., 


July s. 


18t;9. William was 1 


the others ii 


Raisin ' 


DuBois was i 


eared to 



!*M' 



•►Hh-* 



- ► ■ <• 



LKNAWEK COUNTY. 



! 



lu'l- |).-irciils, Mild wn- cr|n.':il,Ml in tlu lli!j;ll Scli,„,l 
;il Tecuiiisch. Slie i,s tlic iiiotlicr nf two c-liiUircii 
—Ernest ;iii(l .Mary Klizahftli. Since tlieir mar- 
riage Mr. and .Mrs. DiiHuis liavf liv.^d i.n the farm 
which they now ocfupy wiiii the exception of three 
years, and through their joint efforts have earned 
the iiumey with which to pay for it. In tiieir busi- 
ness affairs tliere has been the greatest harmony 
between them, and whatever efforts tlie hnsi)and has 
made have been ably seconded by the wife. 

Mr. and Mrs. DuBois are active and energetic 
young people, and in their social relations occupy 
an enviable position. They are active members of 
tiie Christian Church, in which Mrs. DuBois tills 
the position of organist. Mr. DuBois has been 
Township Treasurer two years, and handled the 
funds of the township judiciously and to the satis- 
faction of the people. He is a Democrat, first, last 
and all the time, and contributes liberally of his 
time to the maintenance of that ]iarty. 



J'|OH^■ PATTERSON is a retired farmer and 
I resides in the city of Adrian. He is seventy- 
I seven years of age, and has spent over half 
/ a century in this locality, having first come 
to Lenawee County fifty -six years ago. Mr. Pat- 
terson was born in Ireland on the 1.5th day of 
December, 1810. At the age of seventeen years 
he emigrated to America, accompanying an older 
brother, and landed at the city of New York. 
From there he went to Lockport, N. Y.. where he 
was employed as a farm hand for two years. In 
the spring of 1831 he came to Lenawee Count}-, 
and stopped in Adrian, near which he obtained 
work upon a farm and at a sawmill. Soon after- 
ward he went to Hillsdale Count}', wiiere he pur- 
chased a piece of land consisting of 160 .acres, 
upon which he made improvements and cleared off 
a portion of the timber. On this farm he began 
raising wheat, and in this branch of agriculture 
attained considerable success, raising in one year 
1,000 bushels, the quality of which was very fine, 
and which received the admiration of all the far- 



iiicMs in tlie neighborhood. After remaining on this 
farm I'nr nine years he made a return trip to his 
iialive lonntiy for the purpo.se of recuperating his 
health, and upon his return to Michigan he ex- 
changed his l()0 acres in Hillsdale County for forty 
acres lying near Adrian, receiving the difference in 
value between the two farms in mone}'. He im- 
proved these fort}' acres and resided there for two 
years, and then purchased 100 acres on the River 
Raisin, and added to them until he had 200 acres in 
that locality. This farm he began vigorously to 
improve, clearing the timber from it, erecting a 
good brick residence and tjvo commodious barns. 
He continued to make his home on this farm until 
he removed to Adrian in 1866, where he has since 
resided. He disposed of his 200-acre farm, which 
lay in and near the town of Palmyra, for $11,000, 
and pureha.sed a farm of 110 acres in Adrian Town- 
ship, which he still owns, but leases toother parties. 
On this farm there is a good house and barn. 

On the 10th day of January, 1841, Mr. Patterson 
was married to Miss Jane Farrah, of Raisin Town- 
ship, this county. She was born in England, in 
which country she lived until fifteen years of age. 
at which time she accompanied her parents to 
America. Her family were early settlers in Lena- 
wee County. Her parents were Thomas and Mary 
(Temple) Farrah, who both died in this county, 
the father on the 20th day of January, 1852, and 
the mother on the 1st day of October, 1872. Mrs. 
Patterson was the eldest in a family of six children 
who grew to manhood and womanhood. Her par- 
ents became settlers of Lenawee County in the 
year 1838, and continued to reside there until their 
death Mr. and Mrs. Patterson have but one child, 
a daughter, Mary li., who is the wife of Lindley R. 
Harkncss, now a resident of Elkhart, Ind. She has 
ttvo children, named Freddie L. and Jennie E. Mr. 
Patterson erected his present residence, which is a 
commodious frame structure, in 1878, and since 
that time has devoted considerable attention to 
beautifying and making pleasant its surroundings. 
Mr. and Mrs. Patterson have so arranged their 
affairs that they may live in comfort ajid ease the 
balance of theii- days, and they enjoy the respect 
and esteem of all the people of Adrian and of the 
portions of Lenawee County in which they have 



LKNAWKE COUNTY. 



resided. IMi-. P,attei-.son is :i strong ;i(llicrciit to the 
l)riuci|)les of tlie Heiinblican party, and always votes 
tliat ticicct. He wa^ WlhimIiI up in tlie Kpiscopal 
faitli, wliii.-t liis wife is a niembor of tlie noble 
Soeietv of Friend>. 



.Mr. CI 

a,In|,f, 



L ini|)ortfint 
(one River, 
Knoxville. 



-»^J> 



.^^VAmdK V. CHAT 

ill e*' cessfnl agricnltnr 
^Xi^yil of Lenawee Cour 



lU thi 



iKOKtiK F. CHANDLER. Ai 

sts and prominent citizen,^ 
mty, is the subject of tlii- 
biographical notice, who is engaged in his inde- 
pendent calling on section 36, Riga Townshiji. 
The parents of Mr. Chandler were Thomas and Re- 
becca (Baker) Chandler, for parental history of 
whom see sketch of T. G. Chandler. 

George Chandler was born in East Kent, En- 
gland, Dec. y, 183f). His opportunities for acquir- 
ing an education in his native country were very 
meager, for while the school privileges of England 
were very limited at that time, he being the eldest 
son of his parents was obliged to work as soon as 
large enough to assist in the support of the family. 
He came to America with his parents in 1854 in the 
sailing-vessel "Christiana," and arriving in New York 
City on July 6, proceeded at once to Wayne County. 
N. Y. As soon as he conveniently could after lo- 
cating there, our subject commenced attending 
school to make up for the deficiencies of his neglected 
education, attending first the district schools for two 
winters, where he made such rapid j)rogress that he 
was then enabled to enter jMacedon Academy, in 
which he pursued his studies until ISoi^. In the 
fall of that year he went to Ohio, where he attended 
a select school at Morey's Corners through the win- 
ter term, and the following summer he was engaged 
in farming in Richfield Township. In breaking up 
new land which was supposed to have been an In- 
dian camping ground, he plowed up a copper medal 
with Admiral Boscanen's name inscribed on it. and 
bearing date July 26, 1758. Subsequently he 
taught school in winter, and fanned in summer 
until 1861, when he returned to Macedon, N. Y., 
and attended school until October, when he again 
removed to Ohio, and in the following winter taught 
near .Sylvania, Lucas County, that State. 

In August, 1862, during the trying days of the 



R.-i 



;4 lie was tnnisferred U, C..inp;iiiy C, 2d 
ent \eternii Reserve Coip>. He never joined 
the regiment, lio\ve\'ei-. as he was immediately de- 
tailed to do duly in liie Ileal department of the 

post hospital ill Detroit, and here he served until 

suffered iiiiieli with liiseye.s ever since, and at times 
lie e.'iii use them but little. Finally he was obliged 
to relinquish his pedagogical duties, which he had 
rc.^uined after his discharge, and imrsued some 
seven or eight years. 

Mr. Chandler was married, Feb. is. liS65, to Miss 
Augusta Dolph, who was b(jrn in Sylvania, Luca.s 
Co.. Ohio, March 7, 1 848. Her father, Abda Doli.h, 
was a native of New York, and a pioneer of Lucas 
County, where he settled in 1 846. He purchased a 
tract of land adjacent to the village of Sylvania, 
where he cleared a farm and lived until 1875; he 
is now living in retirement in Toledo. The maiden 
iiaiiie of Mrs. Chandler's mother was Amelia Porter, 
and she was also a native of New York; she died in 
Sylvania, in March, IsTi). 

4'lie household circle of Mr. and Mrs. Chandler 
has been completed by the birth of eight children, 
namely: Clinton C, Alberta R., Millie R., Bernard 
\V., F'rank G., Charles D., Merle H. and Kenneth 
(). Millie R. was married, Nov. 24, 1881, to Will- 
iam H. Gibbs, of Sylvania, Ohio, and now living 
on a farm in Sylvania Townshi]). W. H. Gibbs is 
a son of Thomas Gibbs. Mr. Chandler has always 
taken an active interest in public affairs, while his 
intelligence, ability, and e.vcellent judgment make 
him an important factor in the government of the 
town, and he is frequently called upon to serve in 
various official capacities. For four years he was 



•► 



"^^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Drain C'oiiiinitisioner; lie served as Justice of tlie 
Peace four years, and Highway (^mimissioner four 
years; lie is now Chainiiaii of the School Board. 

Mr. Cliniidleris a ineiiiber of Sylvania Lod^c 
No. 287, F. cV- A. :\1., ami alsn „( Page Post No. 
473, G. A. R. In politics \u'\> a Rrpuhlicaii. .Mr. 
and Mrs. Chandler are |)leasant, agreeable people, 
and havi' gnatly .•nded the social development of 
the town. 

1^1 ICHAEL HENDERSHOTT, one of the 
//; IW <-'lf^Gst and best-known settlers of Lenawee 

I li\ County, is a tine illustration of the results 
f of inihistry and energy, having liy his own 

unaided efforts accumulated a valuable property ; 
indeed he is credited with being tiie wealtiiiest man 
in Southeastern Michigan. He owns 600 acres of 
valuable land on section 7, in INIacon Township, 
which he has brought to a high state of cultivation 
and where he has established one of the most de- 
sirable homesteads in the State. Everything about 
the premises wears the aspect of solidity, the build- 
ings being of first-class description, plain but thor- 
oughly well built, and constructed of the best ma- 
terials. The family residence is commodious and 
substantial, set in the midst of well-kept grounds, 
and the barns adjacent, together with all the other 
accommodations for grain and stock, combine all the 
conveniences required by the modern and progres- 
sive farmer. Mr. Hendershott knows all about the 
difficulties and hardships of pioneer life and what it 
is to begin at the foot of the ladder. His career is 
a striking example of what may be accomplished 
by industry and determination, and furnishes a nar- 
rative from which the present generation might re- 
ceive a most excellent lesson. 

Mr. Hendershott was born on the banks of the 
Susquehanna River, in Jersey Township, Columbia 
Co.. Pa., June 8, 1805. His parents, William and 
Mary (Kitchen) Hendershott, were also natives of 
the Keystone State, where the father followed farm- 
ing many years, but finally joined his son in Michi- 
gan, where both parents died at the home of our 
subject. The mother received fatal injuries by be- 
ing thrown from a buggy while the horse was run- 
ning awa}', and met her death under these distress- 



ing circumstances after she had arrived at the ad- 
vanced age of eight}' years; the facher survived 
some years, dying at the age of eighty-eight. 

The subject of this biography was the fourth 
child of his iJiu-ents, with whom he remained in his 
native State until a youth of eighteen years. Upon 
starting out in life for himself he repaired to I.iiv- 
ingston County, N. Y., where he worked as a farm 
l:d)orer some time, and then came to the Territory 
of Michigan, locating in Tecumseh about 1830. He 
subsequently engaged as a stage driver, principally 
between Saline and Tecumseh, and was thus em- 
ployed five years at the munificent salary of $12 
per month. Pjut notwithstanding this, b}' a cour.se 
of frugality and rigid economy, he managed to save 
each year something from his earnings, and in 1835 
made his first purchase of land, eighty acres, for 
which he paid the sum of $200. He subsequently 
sold this for $500, and after this first fortunate 
speculation, began buying land in large quantities, 
not for the purpose of selling, but for cultivation. 
By this means, he not only secured for himself the 
basis of a forturie, but furni.shed employment to 
numbers of men, thus proving a true benefactor to 
many in need. He finally decided to locate his 
homestead here, where he has his land in one body, 
and has spent many years in bringing it to its pres- 
ent condition. 

The lady who with dignity and amiability pre- 
sided over the household affairs of our subject for 
a period of thirty-four years, was in her girlhood 
Miss Rosina Collier, and became his wife in July, 
1834. Mrs. Hendershott was born in Livingston 
County, N. Y., in 1817, of parents who were na- 
tives of that State and whose ancestors were origi- 
nally from Holland. She was but a child when her 
parents removed from the Empire State and located 
in Macon Township, this county, where she was 
reaied to womanhood. Mr. and Mrs. Hendershott 
became the parents of nine children, and the wife 
and mother died at her home in Macon Township 
when about fifty years of age. 

JMiss Louisa Hendershott, the second daughter of 
our subject, was married in 1869 to Cassius M. 
Mills, who is carrying on farming in Macon Town- 
ship; William is married and carries on farming in 
Leslie Township, Ingham County ; John is married 

■ » 



' 


f 




1 rf. -^ -^ 


' -'- 




• T 


r^* 


LENAWEE COUNTY. 393 1 




Mini farms in Tt'cuinsfh 'rowii^liip, while .lesse con- 


ficient capital with whieh to begin business for 




tinues at home witli liis iMlliei-; Cntheriiie is tlic 


himself. 




wife of Martin llen.leishotl. , ,lM:ie,,n luu i.>hi|. : 


In the >|iring of \^i>:\ Air. .Vngeil came to Adrian 




(ieorg-e is marrieil and is .■ilsd r.'iniiiii.t; in Ihi.- lowii- 


and inunediat.'ly erected a fouu.lry, and engaged in 




shil): Kv.'i is nuinie.l .-inil .-i lesi.leiil <,f l)iinl<iik. 


the mannfacture of car-win <-l> .and castings. A co- 




Ollin; MicllMel lives in M iiine.-olM, ainl KhiHT K. is 


|iartnership was shortly aft.a- entered into by .Mr. 




;i iM-.'ietieiiig ])hysirKm ,.1 Diinlviik. Ohi... 


Angel! with 11. V. Kussell. ami the business was car- 




Mr. llen.lerslioU u|h.i, iv^eliin- iiunlioo,! i.lcnti- 


ried (ui successfully hy tiiis lirm for about ten 




fieil liiniself witli tlie old \\ lii- jKirlv. hiil u|m>ii its 


years, after whieh, .Mr. ..\ ugell ha \ ing purchased the 




nhnndonnient cordi.illy eiidiirscd IJepuMie.-in piiii- 


interest (jf his p.arliier. e. .ut iuued to carry on the 




eiplcs. to wliich lie li.-is siiiee ^i\ eii his undivided 


factory under the name of the .\diiaii Car .Manu- 




support. The neee.ssily for toil .-md :nixiety with 


facturing Com|iauy. .Mr. .4ngell enlarged and ex- 




him has passed away, :iiid now, suiioumled hy the 


'.ended his tr.ade to such dimensions that the 




comforts and hixuries of life .-ind llie reaped ol 


employment of .soo men became necessary, and 




friends, he is p.-i.^-jn- his (h^elinin- yenrs in Ih.' e,-i>e 


his monthly pay-roll Mvell.al to over $20,000 per 




Mnd eonifort whieh ;ire his jusl due. lie h.'is >een the 


numth. The produ<-t of the establishment, for a 




wilderness transformed into >niiliii- fields .-md lie.-ui- 


eou.-ider.ablc time. wa> wholly taken by the Nortll- 




tiful elLies, and would nol pmt with his louu .-mkI 


eiii I'.aeilie U.ailniad Company, .and one contract 




rich experience in life, for it i> iIkiI uhieh made of 


entered into with lliat eouipauy amounted to 




him a man nmoiii; men and eontrihiiled to the sue- 


!#l,n()(),(i()(i. lu !s7;i. during the great financial de- 




eess with whieh he has heeu so amply rewarded. 


pres>ion .and the falling oft of business consequent 
upon the panic of th.at yi^ar, .Mr. Angell was com- 




-— , -^^B- ^^ 


pelled to close down his works, for want of work to 
keep the men employed, and they were afterward 
.sold. The pureh.aser was tin- I'.aiinsiilar Car Com- 




ri; ENRY A. AN(;EL1„ for m.any years on.' of 
1[^^ the most aetive .and enterprisin:.; ni.anuf.-iet- 


pany, which operated >ome three ve.ars, and then 




moved the works to Detroit., .Mich. 




%^ nrers of the city of Adri.au. w.a> .ai-.a-ed 


In 188;! Mr. Angell purchased some stock in the 




^H) in mannf.aetnrin^ all kinds of iiou eastiui;-. 


conii)auy known as Alger. Smitli c^' Co., who are en- 




car-wheels, etc., and in Imildiu- railway cars, hul is 


gaged in the lumber business. At that time the 




now living in retirement, lie was horn in thet<.wu of 


<amip.aiiy w.as the owner of over CO, 000 acres of 




Newport, Ilerkimei- Co.. .\. V.. on the 1 ith of 


timber laud, but to this vast tract they have ^eade 




September, \&M'>. and i> the s(ui of Kzekiel .and 


large additions in the last four or five yeas and at 


! 


Cynthia (Brown) .Vn-cll, the father .a native of 


the present time the possessions of the company 




R'hode Island, .and the mother of .Mas>aehn>etts. 


amount to over '.Hl.OdO a.avs. all of whieh is in the 




who had settled in lleikimer County, N. V.. souu' 


Stale of .Michig.an. The hiisinos of this eomi)any 




time after their marriage. Mrs. Cynthia .\ug< 11 w.a~ 


h.as grown to immense proportions, and from his in- 




born in 1 SOO, and died in 1 s.sc. .au.l u.a> Ilic iii,,i,her 


v<'stiueiit in it Mr. Angell derives a very handsome 




of nine children, eight of whom livi-d to m.aiuiily. 


revenue. On the -ilth of February, l!S68, Mr. 




Henry A., the subject of our per-ou.al lucauoir. was 


Angell's father died .at the age of sixty-seven years. 




the second son. .and his youth N\.as p.a>>e<l in the 


He had been a. very industrious man, and during 




C(«nity of his nativity, where he attemled ;i disti ief 


almost his entire life w.n-ked at the blacksmith 




school, in which he obtaineii a fair Englisli edu.a- 


tiaile. and had been measurably successful in the 




tion. At the age of seventeen he went to Spring- 


business in a financial point (jf view. 




field, Mass., and learned the foundry and ear-wheel 


October 4, 1^49. Mr. .Vngell was united in mar- 




busine.ss, at which he worked some t<'u years faith- 


riage with Mi.ss Adelia S. Sizer, a native of Shef- 




' fully, and during whieh time he accumulated suf- 
II i- 


field, Mass., who was born on the iTth of Au- 


■ -«- 






^* 


I 







•►HK-^*- 



i^ 



LKNAWKK COONTY. 



i>-iist-, 1S.'!0. :inil wns the d.inghter of AiumihIjis 
and Elizabeth M. (Collins) Sizer, formerly of fhos- 
ter, Mas.s. To Mr. .■ind Mrs. Angell were l,..ni 
three childroii, .'ill of whom are deceMsrd. They 
have one adopted daughter, iiiioii whom I hey con- 
ferred the name of Mag<j-ie Angvll, who is the wife 
of E. Russell, and is a resident, of C'hicaed. 

The residence of the suliject of tliis sketeli. un 
East Mauiuee street, is one of the most lie:iiitifnl 
and imposing dwelliiies in the eity. It is liiiue in 
size and built of brick, and is most <M)nim(»lioiis. 
The ornamentation ami architectural design are 
both elaborate, and not even in the slightest degree 
has anything been omitted in its construction that 
can add to the beauty of its appearance or the 
comfort of the occupants. The surroundings are 
in keeping, with the e<lifice. and are exceedingly 
lovely. 

In polities Mr. Angell is, aiid has always Ijeen. a 
stanch adherent to the principles of the Republican 
party, although no aspirant for the duties or 
emoluments of public otllce. During the late war, 
when tlie {general (xovernmeut was in need of botli 
men and money. Mr. Angell with rare patriotism 
opened his purse and contributed the sum of $10,- 
000 to aid in procuring volunteers for the army, 
thus avoiding a draft in the ward of the city which 
is honored by his residence. Mr. Angell has served 
as Mayor of the city of Adrian one term, and has 
always closely identified liimself with the city's 
material interests. 

The publishers of this Album present the i)or- 
trait of this eminent gentlemen to their patrons, on 
an adjoining page, as one of the leading represent- 
ative men of this section of the State, and one 
who has heen so long and so largely instrumental in 
the development and growth of Adrian and Lena- 
wee County. 

JT/ OHN H. N YJ.AND. The early years of this 
I gentleman were spent on the other side of 
|l the Atlantic, where his birth took place in 
^^ the Province of Gilderland. Holland. June 
■'), 182t». After completing his education in the 
common schools of his native land he served an 
apprenticeship at the shoemaker's trade under the 



^mnined 



instruction of his father, with whor 
until reaching mauliood. 

Our sulijeei, ill I <s,l4, crossed the Atlantic and 
found hiinself in tlie city of New Vcirk, whence not 
long aftervvard he migrated to Cleveland. Ohio, and 
soon secured employment at hrs trade, continuing 
with one firm for six years. In the spring of 1859 
lie left the Buckeye State, and coming into this 
county, established his present business in Tecum- 
seh as a dealer in boots and shoes. The first year 
he worked at the bench, as usual, hut the second, 
his business having greatly enlarged, he turned his 
whole attention to the trade, and in 1864, in part- 
nershiji with his brother-in-law, George Heesen, he 
purchased a store Imilding in which he continued 
until the spring of 187 it. From there he was com- 
pelled to remove at that time, and he took posses- 
sion of his present quarters, on the south side of 
Chicago street, where he has done business ever 
since. He supplies a large list of customers with 
the best boots and shoes from Eastern m.anufact- 
urers and from his known upright business methods, 
is regarded with enti)'e confidence by a host of 
friends and patrons. 

Mr. Nyland, while a resident of Cleveland, Ohio, 
was manied in April, 1858. to Miss Ilandrena 
Heesen. a native of his own country, who came to 
the United States when a little girl ten years of age, 
with her father's family. Mr. and Mrs. Nyland are 
the parents of five children, two sons and three 
daughters, recorded as follows: Nellie is a clerk in 
her father's store; Jennie A. is a teacher at Orange 
City, Iowa; Frank is at scliool in Tecumseh, while 
Angeline is pursuing her studies in the deaf and 
dumb school at Flint, Mich., and John R. remains 
with his parents. 

The Nyland family residence is a neat and com- 
fortable structure, handsomely furnished and re- 
plete with the evidences of refined tastes .and ample 
means. For a man who Landed in this country with 
a cash capitsil of %4, no one will deny that Mr. 
Nylarid has made good use of his time. He still 
has in his possession th.at identical money in gold, 
as a reminder of other days. Mr. Nyland owns a 
good farm in Raisin Township of 160 acres, sup- 
plied with the necessary buildings and under a fine 
state of cultivation. This is superintended by 



•►Hh 



u 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



390 



himself and workod \>\ hired hands, 
nets add haiidsoniely to hi- ineonie. 

'I'he ])arents of onv sulijeel. I'"iidei 
T. (Vaarwerk) Nyland. were al.-.. n: 
hind, where the nioth.M- died whiU' 
w(.nian. and before lier son John H. 
eountrv. The father is stiU liviim th 



#>•#► 



>p^ IIAHLKS ('. URADISII. a gentleman in the 
[If ^1 |)i'iine uf hfe, is one of the ieadinu- men of 
^\^^'' Madison Township. His parents were Cal- 
vin and ]\[ary A. (Jennings) Bradisli, natives le- 
speetively of \Vayni> and Corlland Connties, N. 
V. The parents of (alvin lira.lisli were Calvin 
and Nancy (Post) i'.railish. who emigrated to 
Lenawee County, Mieli.. in |s;!l, and settled in 
Madison Town>hi|.. Th.^v had twelve children, of 
whoni Calvin, the father of oni' snhject, was the 
sixth in order of liirth. 

Calvin Bradish, Jr., was liorn in Wayne County, 
N. v., Dec. 27, 1808, and in 1833 he came to Len- 
awee County, and .settled in Madison Township 

and purchased eighty acre- more. In ,Ma.di>oii 
Township he married Mi-s .Mary .lennings, and set- 
tled in the .same township. i'he par.'uts of Mrs. 
Bradish were Daniel .-ind l'on\ (Cl.-uk) .lennings, 
the former a native of Otsego County. N. V.. and 
the latter of Coierain. 1-rauklin Co., .M.-iss. Tlu'y 
married and settled tirst in Cortland County. N. 
Y., but afterward removed to \V'ayne County in 
the same State, and there passeil the i-emainder ()f 
their days. The niotlier died July •_'.">. lisCl, .and 
the father survived her until Oct. li, ISCs. They 
were the parents of twelve children, of whom 
Mary A., mother of our subject, w.as l\\v x'cond in 
order of birth. She was boi'n in Cortl:ind County, 
N. Y., Jan. 25. 1814, and to hei' and Calvin Bra- 
dish were born three children — llora<-e C.. Orin II. 
and Charles C. 

Our subject was the youngest, child in the par- 
ental family, and was born in .Madison Township, 
Sept. 28, 1845. He pas.sed his eai-ly years in the 
manner common to most farmers' boys, engaged in 
the lighter work about the farm and attending the 



public schools, but being a studious youth he made 
good progress in his studies, and showed a marked 
;i|ititude for m.-it hematics. This elementarj' coui'Se 
at the disti-ict school was su|)plemented by one 
term'- stu.iy al lliils.hile C. .liege, which he entered 
when about cighleeii years of age. ,'iud liy ,'i, conr.se 
of thre(' terms at .\tlriau Coll. gc. lie sub-rr|ueully 
took a complete eoui.s,. .•,! ()l„ilin (.llcue. uliio, 
and w.as graduated from the cmmereial dep.'irtinent 
(.f flint institution in 1 si'.C,. After finishing his 
studies .Mr, I'.i-.'idish reni.-dned at home for a few 
months .-nid then worke(l out for a short time. Sub- 
sequently he eutcied Kiml)airs crocker3' store at 
Adrian, but only remained there about three 
months, being then called home by the death of his 
father. He at once .-issunied charge of the farm, 
and has since Iteen engaged in agricultural pur- 
suits: he is pro|)rietor of eighty acres of land. Mr. 
Bi-adish w-as first married in Madison Township, 
Feb. 23. 1.S7I. to Miss Kli/.a W. English, who died 
June 13, IS7 1, He was a second time married, in 
Wayne County, \. V.. Ke!). 17, 187(i, to Miss 
Chloe .Sanfor.l. who died Keh. ■_', 1877. He was 
again ni.arried. .luue 2S. fss-j. in Wayne County, 
N. Y., to .Miss Cai'rii' S.-nd'ord. To them have been 
born two children — Edith .M. and Stanley S. 

Mr. Bradish is an important factor in a pros- 
perous .and intelligent community, and has prom- 
iiieutly identitie(l himself with the business and 
social interests of his native town. He has held the 
office of ,Super\isor of Minlison Township four 
terms, and served as Town Clerk eight terms; in 
politics he is a I\ci)ulilican. 

-J"-;;?- »^<^«-^ •v-c-—*- 

LIKE T. SC;OTT, conductor of a through 
J, frerght train on the Lake Shore & Michi- 

gan Sfuithern Railroad, and having liis 

headquarters al, Adri.an, is one of the most promi- 
nent and callable young men on the road. He h.as 
<-hosen a calling to which he seems especially 
adapted, and in which he has gained much knowl- 
edge .and capacity by an experience of .several 
years. Although of a i)ru<lent and retiring disposi- 
tion, he is actively alive to the duties and respon- 
sibilities imposed upon him, and is considered one of 



If' 



-•► 



-t 



-•► 



not', 



LKNAVVKE COUNTY. 



i 



the most reliable men in the eini)]oy of this great 
company. 

Mr. Scott liMs nitule his lion,.' in this county .lur- 
ing his entire life. He w;i> horn in Hid-ewiiy 
Township, May ii>. 18.o2, ;in(l is the eldest son of 
John and Emily (Taylor) Scott, both of whom are 
natives of England, who emigrated to America in 
1849. John Scott was boru in Yorksiiire. June II. 
1826, and was the .son of l.uke and Mary (John- 
son) Scott, who were also of English birth and par- 
entage. The father of the subject of onr personal 
memoir was reared in the agricultund disti-icts of 
his native county, and was married. No\. I I. 1S4(;, 
to MissEmilj' Taylor, a daughtei' of ThouKis 15. .•md 
Mary Taylor. Three years later, with a laudable 
desire to better his fortune, he sailed witli his little 
family for the New World, and on arriv.al came 
West, and settled shortly afterward in Lenawee 
County. He purchased a tract of land in Ridge- 
way Townshij), which he occupied five years, and 
then selling out purchased another not far from it. 
where he remained until retiring from the more 
arduous duties of life. He removed to Adrian, 
where, with his estimable wife, he still resides. His 
dwelling is a handsome frame structure, known as 
No. 45 Frank street, and bears every indication of 
being the home of a well-to-do citizen in comfort- 
able circumstances. 

Luke T. Scott began his railroad career when a 
youth of fifteen years, in 1867, as a section hand on 
the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railioad. It 
was at once observed that he was a lad who kept 
his eyes open to what was going on around liini. 
and would soon be capable of filling a better [losi- 
tion. In 1870 he entered the train service as a 
brakeman, and two years later vvas promoted to the 
position of conductor, which situation he has since 
held. He is unmarried and makes iiis home witli his 
parents. 

Tpv^EV. THOMAS J. LEWIS. Among the 
lILj^ early settlers of Riga Township was Abial 

/ITyil Lewis, father of Thomas J. He was a na- 
wgjtive of Otsego County, N. Y., and when a 

young man went to Wayne County, in that State. 

and there married Iley Belcher. He had been 



reared on a farm. 
County he bonglit 
there lived, |iLirsuin; 
several years. In l.sj 



on his renuival to Wayne 

in Butler Township, and 

occupation as a farmer for 

th his wife and .six children, 



he emigrated to Michigan, via the Erie Canal and 
l.,ake Erie to Toledo, thence by railway' to Sylvvnia, 
and from there liy Warn to Monroe County, where 
a brotlici- of his resided. From the latter he rented 
a farm for Iwo yciiis. In the meantime he bought 
the land now owned and occui>ied by the subject of 
this sketch, which was heavily covered with timber 
at the time. He erected a log house and settled on 
the place in l.'^.'il.and remained there for several 
_years, dealing about forty aci'es of his land. About 
the close of the war his Ijuildings were burned, 
after which he bought a place in Monroe County, 
on the State line, and lived there until his death, 
which occurred Feb. 14. l.s7.-<. His wife's death 
occurred several ye;irs prior to his own, dying in 
Riga 'J'ownship, July II, 1864. 

Thomas Lewis of wliom we wijte was born in 
Butler, Wayne Co., N. Y., Oct. 7, 1837, and was 
twelve 3'ears of age when he came to Riga Town- 
ship with his' parents. He may well be considered 
a pioneer, though a very youthful one, as he ren- 
dered his father much assistance in reclaiming his 
land from the primev.al forest. At the date of 
their settlement the township had settled up very 
slowly, and there were still many indications of its 
original wildness; dense forests environed them, 
haunted by deer, wolves, and other wild animals, 
.and settlements were scattered so that there were 
no near neighbors. There are few, if any, now liv- 
ilig in the township who were here before our sub- 
ject. There was no school in the district when lie 
first came here, but a pioneer one was soon after 
established, which he attended in the winter sea- 
son, the rest of the year assisting his father in the 
labors of the farm, clearing the land, tilling the 
soil, and in the many otheir duties of such a life. 
He remained with his parents until he was twenty- 
two years of age. and then commenced working by 
the month on a neighboring farm, and continued to 
be thus employed for six years. He then bought 
his father's homestead, where so many of his youth- 
ful days were passed, and in 1871 located there 
and has made it his home ever since, with the ex- 





' 




t 






i'' ^ 




^ ' 


-4« 

1 


( 




LKNAWKF 


COUNTY. .^117 ' 










1 




ceptioii of one year, when he leased the 


farm U> a 


education, and at intervals for a |jei-iod of tliiiteen 






"tenant. Me Iia::^ lieen liiohly successful i 


1 his agri- 


vcars, engaged .as a teacher in Lenawee County. In 






rultunil piUMiit.s. nm] ii:is a well tilled 


an.l thor- 


the ineantiuie. howc\er, he had liy no means aban- 






oUi^hly cidtiviited pioin'ity. 




doned fanning pursuits, to which he had betai reared 






Mr. Lewis, l,r>i,l,.> attending to tlie < 


nltiva,tion 


and which 1k' loved, and later in life devoted hhn- 






of hi- farm, has for .-cvei-.a! years Wee 


1 engaged 


sclf exelusively to rural employments. He remained 






he.art and s,,ul in disprnsin- tlie (i,:s\>r\ 


as taught 


:i resident of Lcn.awce County until the fall of 1 S,S2, 






l,y llie (h"-trinc,> of llie Church of Coc 
denoniinatioii he is a ii.-cHsed preacher. 


. of which 
lie is .an 


located in I'ine IJivcr Township, of which he has 






able expoundrr of the beliefs of the sec 




-in,a. been a resid.ait. Although now ovcrsevnly 






represents, .and :i foreihic and liuent spea 


<er. 


y.-ars of .-ige he is <piitc strong and aetiv. and limls 






iMr. Lewis wasniarric.l. Feb. l' 1 . Ls7 


(i, to .Miss 


hi- chier pleasure in making himself useful as his 






.Sarah M. L<i.>. o native of W est W'hee 


ing, Oliio. 


strcaigth peiniils. 






Mer grandfather. Uohert Loc. w.as a f: 


rmer, .and 


The mother of our subject, who in her girliiood 






si)ent the Last years of hi- life in \\o( 


d Couniy. 


was .Miss .\L-irg,aret C. Karber. w.as born Dec. 1 ;!, 






Ohio. The father of .\lr<. Lewis. ,lohn 


L,,e, was 


l.sd.s. ill Cafliii. Cliemuiig ('.,., N. Y., ami became 






horn in Philadelphia, i'a.. au<l inarriei 


. in \V..st 


the \\ib> of Cornelius S. Randolph on the lOtli of 






Wheeling. .Miss L. .Mary llurle.ss. a n.ati 


Vr of IJMl-- 


.lune. is:;s, aftia- the removal of each from tlii' Km- 






rison t'ounty. Ohio, and daughter of 


Is.aac .and 


pirc Stale to Ihis coiiiity. Of tlii- congvnial union 






M.ary (Snyder) llurless. Mr. Ilurh-ss u 


IS a briek- 


Iherewere l„,rn si.x children, namely: Silas, Thoma.s, 






layer, an.l followed his calling foi- nian> 


Ve.ais. h. 


.Martha, .baim-s, C.uneliiis and Henry. Their off- 






LS.u he bought a farm in Wood Con 


ity. Ohio, 


-priiig uiav carefully trained to habits of industry 






where he has lived ever since, an.l win 


•e his wife 


and principles of honor, .and e.arly in life were im- 






died in March. 1 SCo. .Mr. and Mrs. Lew 


s' we.lded 


bued uilh those pious -entimcnts which the parents 






life has been blesse.l by the birth of two 


■hildivn — 


have ni.ade the rule, if their lives. The latter identified 






John (;. and .Anli,', 




them.sches with the I'.aptist Church I'arly in life, of 






.Mrs. Lewis is a. faithful nuunber o 


(he same 


which they still remain devoted and eimsi.stent 






eiiurch .as lua- husband, .and heartily s 


•inpathi/.es 


mem bias. 






with him in his g,)oil work. They ar 


• niiu-h re- 


•i'homas Ix'andolph was a little lad ten yeai's of 






spceted in the eonuuunity for the sincca- 


tv of their 


age wIhui his iianails removed to Madison Town- 






piety and for their good works. 




ship and .aftei-wanl went with them to Palmyra 
Lownship. They resided there ten years, and tlieu 






^_,^.g^%l^,^.^. 




returned to Madison, from which place tlicy re- 
movcil to Cratiot County. Our subject, continueil 






c^^iHOMAS RANDOLPH, sou of < 
l(f^\ earliest pioneers of Lenawia' ( 'i 


me of the 
iiiily, lirst 


with his p.ircnts until twiaitv-sevaai years of age and 
then, being married, took po-session of his present 






ee;i Town- 


homestead. lie is non the proprietor of fifty acres 






ship, March iC. l.S-ll. His parents .arc 


Cornelius 


of land on se.'tion :! 1, Madison Town-hip, where he 






S. an,l Margaret C. (Harber) liandolpli. 


Ihe former 


has earefnlly cultivated the soil .and put up neat and 






a native of Warren County. X. Y.. and 


born No\. 


-iibstiiiilial farm buildings. He has pursued the even 






14. Lsn. The paternal grandfaiJna- of 


inrsubjecl 


tiaior of his way as a conscientious and reliable Citi- 






was also a native of New York Stati'. 


wllcaice he 


/.eii .and is lield in respect accordingly. 






earae to Michigan in nuddh' life .and s| 


Mil his l.a-l 


The m.arriagc of Thomas liandolpli ami Miss 






years in l,euaw'ee County. His s ( '. 


■ melius S.. 


.\li(a. llin.sdalc u.as cchdirated .at the home of the 






was twenty-three ye.ars of .agi' when e.m 


ing to this 


bridi". in .Madison Town-hip, Dec. ■.'(;. I.SC.T. ,M i>. 






i man. lie had, by his own efforls. sei 


li\'e \.mii- 


Uaiidolph is the daughter of Klish.a and Kli/.abeth 
(l)olpli) Hinsdale, who came to this section from ■ 




-»- 


1 -. 




rl i - 


•^- 






IP ■-— - 






J 




I 



398 



^^►HI--4« 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



I 



Summit County, Ohio, in the spring of 1853. They 
located in Madison Township, where the father 
commenced the establishment of a permanent home, 
but was eut'dovvn in his prime, his death occiuriny' 
two years later, in 18o5; his widow survives and is 
a resident of Madison Township. Their family 
consisted of two children onl,y, a son and a daughter. 
Mrs. Randolph, the elder (•hild, was born in 
•Summit County. Ana'. '■). l.s.il. and was conse- 
quently not two ye;u's of age when coming to this 
county, and not four years old when her father 
died. She remained with her mother and brother 
in Madison Town-^bip until her marriage, and is now 
the mother of two i-liildren — LeEUa and Carrie. 

Mr. Randolph, although giving his attention 
mainly to the cultivation of his farm and the em- 
bellishment of his homestead, still finds time to con- 
tinue his support of the Democratic i^arty. with 
which he became identilietl in 18G2. He is re- 
garded as a praiseworthy and reliable citizen who 
takes great satisfaction in the progress and welfare 
of his community and advocates those measures 
tending to this end. He has served as Treasurer of 
Madison Township, but aside from this has declined 
becoming an otfice-holder. 

^p^ AMUEL M. HAMILTON, one of the early 
^^^ pioneers of this State, came to Lenawee 
|j\/l| County in the spring of 183.5, locating for 
a time in Madison. In 181;") he removed 
to Whiteside County, III.. Iml in Fcbiiiary, 1847, 
lie returned to Michigan, locating in Ogdeii Town- 
ship, where he was variously employed until in 
August, 1853. lid tlien purchased 100 acres of 
land on section 18, in Ogden Township, of Benjamin 
F. Butler, who, at one time, owned a large tract in 
this township. 

Mr. Hamilton occupied this land for a period of 
thirteen years, in the meantime erecting good build- 
ings, setting out an orcliard,and instituting various 
other improvements by which he greatly increased 
its value. This remained his home until 1865, 
when he s(jld out and purchased on section 7. In 
the meantime, during the progress of the Civil Wai-, 
he >erved three years in the (ith United States Cav- 



alry, being in the Army of the Potomac. Although 
taking part in over fifty battles and skirmishes, he 
never received a scratch and was never in the hos- 
pital. His career as a .soldier was highly creditable, 
and at the cU)se of the war he received an iionor- 
able discharge. 

In 186;) Mr. Hamilton sold his farm in Ogden 
Township, and removed across the Mississipi)i into 
Kansas, wlierc he i)ur(^hased a large tract of land in 
Saline County. He was in that State din'ing the 
terrible drouth of 1870. .and the gTasshopi)er scourge 
four years l.'iter. He felt after this that lie would 
rather take hischanees in the regular army tlian in 

old reliable State of Michigan, and purchased the 
Jesse Stretch farm in Palmyra Township, where he 
has since remained and carried on general agricult- 
uie and fruit-growing in a higblj' successful man- 
ner. In the latter venture he has been especially 
fortunate, and has an orchard of 200 trees, the pro- 
ceeds of which yield him a handsome income an- 
nually. 

The subject of t>ur sketch was born in Perrinton, 
Monroe Co., N. Y., Dec. 24, 1826, and is the son of 
.lohn L. and Matilda (Durkees) Hamilton, who were 
natives respectively' of Massachusetts and New 
York. Tiie father was born in Cheshire Countj-, 
Juno 1. 1707, and came from an excellent old 
family of Scotch ancestry. He spent his early years 
in the Bay State, and upon reaching manhood 
emigrated to New York .State and purchased a tract 
of timber land in Orleans Count3-, and made it ins 
first business to put up <i shelter for himself and his 
y(jung wife. Then he proceeded with the cultiva- 
tion and improvement of the new farm, but was 
destined to a great aHbction in the loss of his wife, 
whose deatli occurred on the 28th of June, 1832, 
after she had borne her husband tliree children. 
Tliej' were married Oct. 16, 1824, and she conse- 
quently had been the companion of her husband not 
quite eigLt years. 

In 1834, John L. Hamilton removed to Ohio, set- 
tling near Akron, in .Summit County, where he w.as 
again married, and migrated to tliis count)' in the 
fall of 1837. Three years later he removed to Li- 
diana, locating near Cohnnbia, in Whitley County, 
where lie puichased land enough to make two good- 



^^►:«^ 





" 






-^ 






-<• 


•P" 


LKNAWEI' 


COUNTY. r,;)9 , 




sized farms. Tn tlic fall of 1 S.iO he disposed of this 


MissLusanah Richardson, of Cummington. They 






in-operty. ;nid roluniiiiu to tlii> (/ouiily. hjcafed in 


settled in the latter place and lived tliere mitil 1818, 






Seneca I'ownship. and puivliaseil » dd land near 


.and then made the j.)urney in primitive styh> from 






Morenri. A few years lah-r he relired from active 


the Hay State lo Monroe ( ounty. N. Y.,. where Mr. 






lillior, and spent his last years nitli oiu suiij.'cl. his 


H. purcha>,Ml a tr.act of l.ind. .and commenced its 






death taking place July 2;'.. ISliC. 


im[>iovenuait and cidtivalnm. He only lived, how- 






Our subject, on the 21sl of Augu-t. is;,:!, and 


evci-. .about ten years. hi> dratli taking place in 






about the time of his lirsl purchase of land in Ihis 


1.S2S. (Jramlmother llandllon -ubsc.puaitly joined 






county. w.a> n]arried t.. Mis^ Nancy, daunhlcr of 


her .-hildrcn in this r,,unty. and spiait her last years 






.Samuel an. 1 Sarah .\l. (liccker) .\a.sh. ,,f .M.adi^,,n. 


in tlic In.mc of h,a- s(,n. Dr. 1. S.. now a re-ident of 






Their lirst child. Nathan A. S.. u:is born in ( >-dcn. 


Teiaunseh. A> the widow of a Kcvolutionarv sol 






Aug. 1. I.s-Vl: their second 'u. Kvh n .S. May 


dier. -he w.a- always an object of interest, .a- Oba- 






l.S, IS,-,!), .and their young.-st and last child. In.-i S.. 


diah llandlton ha<l assisted in the struggle of the 






May 20. ISCC: they arc rcsi.lent,- of this county. 


Colonist- bir tlieir indepeu.lcnce. 






Mrs. Nrincy llandltou was born near Hamilton. 








Canada, Oct. HI. 1 S:i4. au.l .-anic witli her i)arents 


_^^>;>C^^^*5;!^^.,£V-.— 






to iNlichigau in 1 s;!7. Her father. .Samuel Nash, 








was bofu in Norwich. Conn.. April 10. |s(»;,. and 


/OHN LEVVJS. l'r,,bal,iy no man in the city 






learned the cloth-weaver's tra.lc, wiiieh lie b.lh.wed 


of Adrian i- held in high.a' re-pe,-t than the 






several years, but tiiially turn<'d lii-^ attention t.o 


. t subject of this skclc-h. wh.. came liere in the 






farming. lie was the son of N.athan Nash, also a 


i(@); tall <.f is:;7. during tlie ph.ne.a' day.s. He 






native of the Nutmeg Slate, wlio came West during 


wa- then a lad eleven year- ,,f a-e. .ami ha- re- 






the early .settlement of .Michigan, and lived with 


m.aiiicd ain(,ng the people of Ihi- c.iinty sinee that 






his children until callrd honu' by death. The 


time. His has been a career of r.- than ordin.ary 






mother of .Mrs. Hamilton was in her girlu 1 .Miss 


inUavst. He was thrown upon his own re-ources 






Sarah M. liecker. and «a> burn in New York State 


e.-.rly in lib- and struggle.l agaiiKst many a.lveise 






in ISO'.I: sic- be.'.ame the wife of Sanuiel N.ash on 


ciivuiustan.'cs. .ami tlie fact thathe is m.w nnmb.avd 






the iUh of .lauuary. 1 Sl's, .ami c.anu' with her hus- 


.am.mg the capitalists .and able bnsines- men of 






band t" this county, where she died in Madison. 


l.en.awce County, holding a go(,d -,,cial po-ition. is 






.lune 22. 1 !S(j;!. Sanuiel Nash came tiitlie West 


siiDicient evidence of the industrv with which he has 






with little means, but by the cNcr.-i-,. ,,f ei-onomy 


laborel. and his upri-hl .-our-r in life, without 






.and good maii.agemeut . a.-<piircd a g(,od pr.ip.aty. 


which he uoiild never li.axc attained to hi- present 






When Mr. Hamilton -amc to tin.- cnnty. deer. 


-landing. 






bear.s, wolvr>and wild turkey, uere plentiful. .an<l 


Mr. Lewi- was born in i>ivingston County. N. Y., 






as far as meat was c.,ncern,'c|. he and lii> family 


in M.arch. |.S2Cp. andin tli.at portion of the Kmpire 






lived upon the fat of the land, lb h.-is watch<.<l 


Stat.' a.apiii-e.l thr lir-t ru.liment- of an education 






with the di'ei)est, intei-esl the dc\elopmeut of the 


whi.'h was <a,mplete.l in th.' public .schools of 






rich country aroun<l him. .and during lii> young 


Adrian. His i.ar.mts. .b.lin ami Margaret Lewi.s, 






manhood w.as a<'ti\c in all those enter|aise.-, c.alcn- 


sixMit their Last y.'ar- in Adri.an. John, -Tr., made 






bited to be of benelii, to his ado|ited i-ounty. He 


g.HKl use of his time among his book-S, .and his nat- 






may feel that he has eoutribnted in the fullest mea.— 


ural intelligence and some experience assisted him 






ure to its prosperity, and is tacitly accoi'ded that 


greatly in acquii-ing a gener.al knowledge of busi- 






reverence and respect due tho^c who \'entured into 


ness meth.)ds. The fir-l p.i-iti..n which offere.l iip.ju 






the western wilds, and cast their lot witli the. e.arly 


his leaving -.■h.i,.| was a- .-.lok .,n .a steamboat. 






pioneers. 


whi.'h [xisition he h.'l.lseN.ral yens, and until 1853. 






The p.aternid giandfat her of our -ubjr.-l . ( )b.-Mli.ah 


Karly in lif,' he l.ai.l th.> b.umlati.>u .,f an honest and 






Hamilton, was boiai in I'elliam. .Mass., and married 


iudustri.ais man, ami Ihe e.'..n..my witii which he - 




g^_ 


, 




L_^la 


^^^ 






*"• 











14 4on 



LENA^VEE COUNTY. 



lived enabled him to save each .year a part of his 
earnings. At the date mentioned, on leaving the 
river, he returned to Adrian and was employed in 
the restaurjnit of Mr. Kailess, with whom he I'e- 
mained until enabled to pnrchase the business of 
his employer. This once in his possession he soon 
found himself upon the highway to a competency, 
and wisely invested his accumulating capital in city 
property. He is now the owner of several business 
houses, the rentals of which yield him a handsome 
revenue. 

Mr Lewis votes the Uepnlilican ticket ami watclu's 
with intelligent interest the progress of State and 
National affairs. He has uniformly perforiiied all 
the duties of a good citizen, with the exception that 
he still remains a bachelor and is now about sixty- 
one years of age. His form is a familiar one in the 
streets and universally commands respect. 



()L. RICHARD B. ROBBINS, a well-known 
solicitor of patents, pension attorney, and 
/■' Justice of the Peace, of the city of Adrian, 
is a native of the State of New Jersey, and was 
born April 27, i»S2. From the time he was old 
enough to hold the plow until sixteen years of age. 
he worked on a farm, and at that age was apinen- 
ticed to a blacksmith and learned his trade. 

Believing that the West was the place for a young 
man, young Robbins strapped his worldly effects on 
his back and started on foot and alone for the then 
distant State of (Jhio. Having been deprived of 
the advantages of an education, being at that time 
unable to read or write, and keenly appreciating his 
need, he entered the school of the Rev. Samuel Bis- 
sell, at Twinsburg, Ohio, at which place he spent 
about five years, paying his way bj' his own manual 
labor. In the fall of l^!.')4 he landed in the village 
of Palmyra, where he siient the winter in teaching, 
writing and reading Blackstone. The spring fol- 
lowing he went to Tecumseh, and entered the office 
of Stacy it Wood, making his home with Dr. Hamil- 
ton, and. doing chores to pay for his lioni-d. ShIj- 
sequently he moved to the city, and for some lime 
wrote in the probate office of the Hon. C. A. Stacy, 
llien Judge. The Hon. F. C. Beaman succeeding Mr. 



Stacy as Judge of Probate. Mr. Robbins remained 
in the office as clerk, devoting all his spare time to 
his legal studies, and was finally admitteil to the 
bar as attorney. May 2. 18.5i). 

In 18()() Mr. Robbins was elected Ju>tice of the 
Peace in Adrian, and was engaged in the discharge 
of his duties when the war of the Rebellion broke 
out. Believing: that the country needed his serv- 
ices, he obtained a Second Lieutenant's commis- 
sion from (iov. Blair, with authority to raise a com- 
p.iny for the 4tli Michigan Cavalry then organizing. 
He rtiised his company, and was mustered into the 
United States service as Captain Aug. 1:5, 1862, go- 
ing at once with the regiment to the front. He 
[larticipated in over sixty engagements and skirm- 
ishes, including the hard-fought battles of Stone 
River, Chickamauga and Mission Ridge. At Shel- 
bj-ville, while leading a charge, he had his horse 
shut under him, and was complimented in general 
iirders for gallant conduct. He was jnomoted to 
Major Aug. 2.">, 1863, and continued on duty with 
bis regiment until May 18, IS64, when, at the head 
of his biittalion, in an engagement near Kingston, 
Ga., his left arm was shattered and rendered useless 
by a minie ball, Being at the time some three 
miles in advance of the main line of battle, and be- 
coming weak from loss of blood, it was with the 
greatest difficulty that he reached the point of safety 
within the Union lines. After spending some time 
in the hospital, and being permanently disabled 
from active duty, he was detailed as member of the 
general court-martial, then sitting at Jackson, in 
this State, and was subscquenth' made commander 
of the camp in that city, where he remained on duty 
until the w.ar was over. On the 13th of March, 
180;"), he was made Lieutenant Colonel by brevet, 
for gallant and meritorious services in the action 
near Kingston, Ga. 

^^'hile at Jackson, Col. Robl)ins was elected Jus- 
tice of the Peace in Adrian, serving two terms, 
his last term expiring July 4, 1873. In 1873 
he was elected Mayor by a fair majority, in one of 
the hottest campaigns ever held in this city. He 
was elected to the House of Representatives in the 
State Legislatui-e for 187.")-76, and re-elected in 
1877. In 187y he was elected State Senator, and 
in 1881 he received the appointment of United 



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x--zr. 


^ 


"|» -^- 


•P" 1 


T 




~i 1 ^* 




LENAWEE 


COUNTY. 401 


' 






States Consul at Ottawa. Canada, where he re- 


an old-time sailing-vessel. They came directly to 






mainefl until relieved by the Cleveland .■idniiniMrn- 


Toledo. Ohio, where he worked on the canal for 








tion. Ilaviii- |.revi,>usly scTVed tuu tcnn- m-cept- 


some mouths, when they eame to Michigan .and 








ably a.s Ciiaii-iiiMU ..f the Kepiihlican County Com- 


purchased forty acres of land on section S, Uidge- 








mittee, he was again ehosrn ( 'Ii-iiinian. and miccs- 


\\:i\ Township, in the timbered portion of the 








fully wnidneted the caniiKHun; he hold- th,' |.n>i- 


< ty. He h.ad to get to his hand by a trail, walk- 








tion of Chairman at this time. Ilr was al-o. in llic 


ing on lou- part of the w.ay to keep out of the 








sprino-of ISSC, n^ain elccti'd .lustier ..f the I'c ace ..f 


".■Iter. It, was here he pitched his ten', .and lived 








the eity i>f Adrian. Whil.' a ineudierof the House 


until his demise, which occurred Oct. 1 :;. 1 s.sr,. He 








of Representatives, he was a uieinber of tlir Com- 


h.nl b.aamie the owner of more than I'llO aca-es 








mittee on State Affairs, and Chairman of tiie C - 


of g 1 lauil. and was one of the suceessfnl and 








mittee on the Li(iuor Tiallic. and .advocated tlie tax 


practical farmers i>r the townshij.. while his <ati/.<'n- 








and restraiuinii law as the licst system that could lie 


ship was th.at of .a worthy and la'specl.al man. In 








obtained in the cau.se of temperance. 


politics li<- w.as .a Democa.at. His wife, who die(l 








Be.sides diseharg-ing the duties of r,lie <.IIice of 


in October. ISTd. was a good woman, .a kind and 








Justiee of the Peace, Col. Kobiuus is euuauvd .as a 


loving uuHher, and identified with the .Methodi-t 








solieitor of patents and pension .attorney. In all the 


Clmreh for .some years. 








various positions of trust which he has held, lie has 


After our subject grew to mauliood. receiving a 








always dis.'li.ar-ed his duties faithfully and h.>nestly. 


good e<ininu)n-school education, lie was first mar- 








Being educated to hard lal.or. his sympathies have 


ri(al, in Ridgeway Township, to Kliza .1. (ietty. 








alw.ays been with ihc l.ai.oring .-lasses, and he has 


who xv.as a native of Ireland, but ,at, the age of five 








spent much time au.l money in inventing .and intro- 


years came to America with her panaits. .lames and 








dtieing lab(U-.saving maeliiiu's. souu' of which are ,il- 


M.attie M. (Jetty, who settled in the township of 








rea<ly familiar to the farmers of Lenawee County. 


Ridgeway. and here improved a farm on which 
they lived for in.auy ye.ars. After the death of his 








*—■ -J»t^*<|&5-«S^ ^ 


wife Mr. Celty went to Deerfield Township, this 
county, where he died, ripe in years. Their 








<\ lyiLLIAM rxnEinVOOl). a thrifty, suc- 
\/-J/l eessful farmer .ami stoeU-dealer. located on 


daughter. Kli/.a .1.. lived at home until her ni.arri.age 








with .inr subject, and diial in this township. Aug. 








W^ seetion 1(1, Ridgew.ay Township, has a well- 


■2\. ISSI. She was the ni.ith.'r of nine chihlren. 








improved farm of i:)<» .acres, ,,iie of the best in this 


re.a.rded as follows: ( harles W. to,.k to wife Nellie 








part of the county. If is .an ideal farm to worh, as 


C.ary. and residi.s ,,n a farm in this township: Ar- 








it is neither too dry nor too wet. .and prodma's well 


llinr .1. in.arried .M.amie lioy.a-. of Mac<,ii Township, 








all the eere.als of this latitude. lb- pnrchase.l it in 


livi'son ,a f.arin in this township, .and operates .a part 








1871, and has eret-tecl theiiM.n .a tine lesidence and 


of his rattler's larni : Addie is the wife of L.ab.an 








farm buildings. 


lialicock. .and re^de- in Lrif ton ; ,S, ,phiiua. wife.if 








Mr. Underwood was l„,rn (m his father's ,,ld 


Edgar Exelhy. lives ,m the Lx.'ll.y homestead: 








homestead on section s, of this township, Aug. s. 


.b.lin. l,ovi;i, Amos. Cl.aylion .and Clarence live ;it 








1843. His father, .lohn In.lerwood. a n.ativc of 


home. 








Leicestershire, Knglaiwl, wlnac lie was rear.al t.. 


Mr. Inderwoo,] was niarrid ;i secon.l time, at 








manhood, serving a seven ye.ai^' .appi cnlicesliip l.. 


hi^ own h.mie. to .Mrs. A.lelaidc .1.. d.au.-hter of 








the bu.sine.ss of a miller, was niarrieil t<. Miss Kli/,.a- 


.lo.eph and .Mary A. I'illieam. (For their liisl<.ry 








beth I'iner. Ali.ss I'iner wa^ .also a native ..f tli.' 


see sketch of Isaac N. IMlI.eain). .Mrs. Inderwoo,! 








same shire, and they both came of pure Kugli.sh 


was born in this townshi|i. .hui. 1 ^, 1 s.'i.^ where she 








ancestry. After the birth of two <-hildren, Charles 


».as rcar.al .and ednealial and ni.annal her lli>t hus- 








and Ann, they came to the United Sl.ales in INoO. 


band. Mi<4iael Umhawood, brother of oiu' snl.j(a-l. 








t recjuiring nine weeks to make the ocean voyage on 


who died in this low nsliip. Sept. ■.'■_', is,s|. He left. 






\ 

n^. 


^ 




' 








H 


^* 











402 



i^ 



•► 



t 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



his wife tlie. mother of four children: Tressie, who 
died aged two j'ears, and Libbie, Glenn J. and 
Clifford I., now living at home. 

Mr. Underwood lias been Ilig'invay C'cinunis.sionci' 
for some years. He raises th(.)roii,uhlircd swine, and 
has btiught stock since about 1S7-' in cdnnection 
with his farming, while he has Ijuughl wool in large 
quantities throughout the county. His tine farm is 
drained by over seven miles of tile. In politics 
Mr. Underwood is a Democrat; he and his wife arc 
among the well-known people of Kidgeway. 



Oi 



^ LIVER (iUINCY JON ES. There are among 
young physicians of Lenawee County 
many men of unquestioned talent, who are 
fully alive to the duties and responsibilities of their 
position, holding as they do in man}' eases, the lives 
and interests of a goodly portion of the communitj' 
in their hands. There is probably no profession in 
life calling for the exercise of more skill and judg- 
ment and in which these qualities are of such vital 
importance. Young Dr. Jones is regarded as a man 
well posted upon the various questions arising in the 
profession to which he has devoted himself for the 
last sixteen years, and in which he has a worthy ambi- 
tion to excel. 

Our subject is a son of one of the early settlers of 
Michigan, and was born in the town of Camden, Hills- 
dale Cnunty, April 24,18,51. Hisfather, Dr. Leoni- 
dns M. Jones, a nati\e of Ohio, was born in Paines- 
ville in 1821, and after a thordugh course of study 
was graduated with iionors from the Cleveland 
Homeopathic College. He commenced practice while 
a young man in Hillsdale County, where for many 
years he was one of the leading ligiits, and built up an 
extensive and luri'ali\c prnctire. Abmit LsCl. he 
removed from Camden to Bi-o()kiyn,and there minis- 
ters to the wants of his old patrons while at the 
same time taking life ctMnparativcly easy. 

Dr. Lciiidas M. Jones, after taking ui) his resi- 
dence in IJiJIsdal,. County, was united in marriage 
with the daughter of one of its old.-st an<l most 
highly respected residents. Miss (harloUc A., 
daughter of Benjamin Holcomb, who came to this 



section of country during its early settlement. The 
parental household included three children, and the 
mother died at her home in Brooklyn in the spring 
of 1883. The eldest daughter, Ella, became the 
wife of Dr. House, and departed this life in 1882. 
leaving two sons; Susan C. died at the home of 
her parents in Brooklyn when twenty-one years of 
age. 

The paternal grandfather of our siibjeel, a native 
of Painesville, was of Welsh ancestry, and upon 
coming to the West, about 1828, he settled near 
the site of a little hamlet which was subsequently 
named after him, and followed his calling of civil 
engineer for many years. He had served in the 
War of 1812, and was invested with the rank of 
Colonel. He was a man of much force of character, 
[jossessing fine business qualifications, and died at 
the ripe old age of eighty years, leaving a large 
estate. His wife Lois survived him a short time 
and died in Brooklyn at the age of eighty-four 
years. 

Oliver Q. Jones passed his early boyhood in 
Central Texas, of which ijtate his parents were resi- 
dents for a period of six years and to which they 
had removed from Hillsdale County. Upon their 
return to Michigan and location in Brooklyn, the 
boy attended school there until a youth of seven- 
teen. He commenced the study of medicine inider 
the instruction of his father, and subsequently 
entered the Homeopathic College at Cleveland, Ohio, 
from which he was graduated at the age of twenty- 
one. He then returned to Brooklyn and commenced 
l)ractice with his father, continuing with the latter 
two years. I'roni Brooklyn he removed to Han- 
over, Jackson County, where during a period of 
seven years he was called upon so incessantl}' in the 
duties of his profession that his health became seri- 
ously impaired and he was obliged for a time to 
I'Ctire. Upon regaining his health he formed a 
partnership with his brotherJn-law, R. B. House, of 
'J'ecumseli, which continued nearly three years, and 
then it w.as dissolved by mutual consent. Dr. Jones 
opened his present oflice in the Biduell Block, on 
the corner of Chicago and Railroad -treets. in Sep- 
temljcr, 18,S1. It is fitted up handsomely and con- 



veniently, and there is every 
father before him, Dr. .Junv.s 



•ospect that, like his 
ill before nniny years 



■•►- 





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} 




->- 






^ 


•^" 


LENAWEI- 


COUNTY. 4n:i I 


^* 




Mssnine a position in the medical fraternity equal 


Krastus Park, Lucretia Van Vieck was tiie widow of 






to that of his honored father, whose instruction has 


one I). Mayo. Er.astus and his wife came to iNlich- 






l)fcii (if s(i much service to him. 


igan in IS.'!:., locating near our' subjects pr.'sent 






()i;i- siiliject \v:i-. imnried, Fell. Ill, IsTJ. U> Miss 


h.im.'. ami tnrneil tlieir atl.'Ution t.i .■icri.'ultui'Mi 






Delia Sanford, of .lacUM.n ('..unty, i\Iich. Mis. 


|iur>uit>. The husband retiu'ned t.i N.-w V.uk in 






Jones was born April -'i. 1 s.V.'. .■md is tiic d:Hiuhter 


IS(;2. anil ilii'.l in Wtdworth, at the age ..J eighty- 






of Abram and Mar.-uida Smilord. n.-itivcs of .Mirhj- 


Iwo ye.-irs: th.' m.ither of unr subject .li.'.tin Mi.-h- 






Kan: tlie nnithur died in i s.s;!. The f:imily ie>i- 


ignn .'It the :ige of sixty-nin.'. The parent.'il h.iiis.'- 






dence is plea.santjy locate. 1 :ind the little li.m-ehold 


Ii.il.l c.mtain.'.l ei-ht chihln'ii. .if wli._,m >ix ar.' still 






includes one child only. I.cnidas .M.. n,.w thirteen 


living. 






years of a.ne. ])r. ,lonc^ i^ .m mcml.ei .if the , Stat.' 


Kli.'di Park uorke.l at hom.' until he was twenty 






Homeopathic S,,.-i.'ty. th.' 1 [■dnicnianii S.i.-icty. the 


\.'.'ir> of .'ig.'. after uhich he live.l .iiit for a time. 






Thayr Homcpnthi.- S.K'iety. .•,.,. 1 besides th.. de-ree 








of M. !)., he ;ds.i h.-i.l thnt ..f M. II. S. conferre.l 


makiiin the iii.ist .if su.'li .'luin.es .i- he Ika.l. .'iii.l 






upon him. Socially he belongs to the Masonic fra- 


utilizing the long winter evenings for ijui'poses of 






ternity, being a Knight Temi)lar of the Adrian Coin- 


reading and study, his persistent efforts to gain 






mandery. He and his estimable wife ai-e connected 


knowledge were rewarded, anil he is now a. fairly 


i 




with the Friends' Church of Tecumseh. 


well-educated man. Wlien he wa> twenty-four 
years old. lu' took up a small claim of inin.'ial lan.l 






~^^m^^^ - 


in Wisconsin, whi.-h he afterwani sol.l an.l went to 
New York in 1 S47 ..u a visit. The ^aiiie y.'ar he 






Tf^i LIAB PARK was li.ii'n in Niag.-u-.'i County. 


came to Lennwe.- County, Midi., an.l purchasing 






jlU) N. Y 1 the 2:.M ..f Mnr.'h. ISlT.an.l i> tli.' 


ei-hty .'icrcs of kind, he cultivated it bir live years, 


1 




JL^ son of Frastu-. an.l giun.lsonof Am. is I'ark. 


then s.ii.l it. .-iikI aft.'i'W.-iid liouglit fifty a.'ics where 






The latter was the son of Ilezekiah, and grandson 


h.' iKiw lives. The iatU'r piii.'hase wa. iiKi.le in 






of Robert, wlio.se father's name was Tlionias, who in 


l.s."i7, an.l h.' move.l .mt... i( th.' billowiii.- year; it 






turn was the son of Robert Park. This isa,bout all 


was all cultivable laii.l, ami is now .-in .'.xcellent 






that is known of the early rec.ii-.l of the l^irk family, 


slock f.'irni. 






except that the first ancestor in this eoiiuty .■;inie t.i 


Ill 1,S4'.» .mr subject was unitcl in marri.-ige with 


1 




America in l(;;'.(). Amos, th.' gran.lfnth.a- .if .uir 


Alpha A., daiigliterof Anson Howell, who h.cated in 






subject, wa,^ an ..LI :irmy surg.'.m. an.l .llcl in .New- 


this county in 1 .M'7. sh.' w:i- twenty-tive years old 






York, agc<l abuiil eighty-li\'.' years. lie was twice 


at tlie time of her m.-irriag.'. an.l <lied at her home 






married; the first wife was th.' m.ithci- of Kr;istus, 


in Adrian T.iwn,--hip. at the age .if tifty-nine years. 






onr subject's father, and she die.l in New York, as 


Her father was boi'ii in Suffolk ( .mnty. N. V.. AprU 






did also his second wife. 


i;;. IT.SC. .'in.l wli.'ii tw.'iily ye;ii's ol.l. movi-.l t.i 






Krastus Park, the fathei- of .mr subject, was .-i 


Onlari.. C ..unty. N. V..uli.'re he billow. '.1 InV ti'n.l.'S 






roving kind of man, and spent much of his time upon 


of millwright anil carpenter an.l j.iiner. In the bill 






the water. He owned and lan vessels to Oswego, 


of 1.S27 he migrated to Michigan, ami lo.'at.'.l ICO 






and down the Niagara River, and at one time he 


acres of land on section I'.s, in Ailrian 'I'.iwn.ship. 






owned an.l .iperated a-still-hous.\ an.l was idways 


where he In'olight his wife ami ei-lit children, ami 






more or less engMiiv.l in agri.-idtur.-d puisnil-. lb' 


c.iilinu.'.l t.i livi' iinlil lii> .leath, ulii.'h .icii; re.l 






was l)orn in New Y.irk, ami at an efirly .-ig.' h'ft the 


Oct. ,s, 1,S7;;. Ili> wife w.'i> Charlotte ibicku o.i.l. 






parental ro.if ami starte.l out .m his own n.'i.iunf. 


to wh. 1111 he was iiKirri.'.l ab.mt 1 Sl'O, in New ^'oik. 






He was lirst nuirrie.l t<j Lucreti.'i \'an \leck, ,'i na- 


:iii.l by wliom he ha.l l.'ii .'hihlreii. He;- |«ii'enl> 






tive of Holland, whose people were nni.mg Ih.' first 


were iKiliv.s .if \ .Minonl. .'iii.l .if Puritan sto.'k. and 






settlers on an In. lian Reservation lying Ml.mg On. m- 


h.-r liii.>liaii.l wa> of Kiiglisli . 1. ',-.'. 'iit : -h.' .li.'.l in 






d.aga Lake, N. Y. At the time of Iter marriage with 


Adrian, Midi.. Aug. 2;s, l.'Sia. Our subjecl li;is ' 




a^. 


"ll .. 


^ . 




^^^ 






— ^« 




• 


i 





■<*• 



(0 1 



LKXAWKK COUNTY. 



four ehiMren, reeorderl as follows: Lucretia, Mrs. 
Jiihn J. Hornby, has ahva3's lived at home, and her 
husband cultivates tlie homestead; they have Ave 
children, the eldest of whom died Nov. 18, 1887, of 
scarlet fever. Ella married Charles C. Potter, of 
Dundee, Mich., who is engaged in dair_ying, and has 
a son by a former ivife; Francis is a widower, and 
is farming in Dalvota, wliile Mary is a widow, and 
resides in California. 

In politics Mr. Park is a thorough Democrat, and 
his party has honored him with a number of local 
offices. In 1 804 he was elected Township Treasurer, 
holding the office one year, and subsequently filled 
it during the years of 1867-68. In l.s6!) he was 
elected .Supervisor, which situation he held four 
years, and afterward for three years more; he was 
also Justice of the Peace four years, and has held 
other minor offices. Sneially Mr. Park belongs to 
the Masonic fraternity, being connected with Lodge 
No. 19, of Adrian, in which he is a ])rominent and 
highly respected member; he has been a Mason 
since the war. Mr. Park is naturally of a mechani- 
cal turn of mind, and is an excellent surveyor, tlie 
result of his own study and self-education. 

JlOIIN F. JENKINS, M. D.. a gentleman of 
1 talent and education, occupies an envialile 
I position as a physician, and is a general fa- 
' vorite, both in the business and social circles 
of Tecumseh. He has been a close student and .-ui 
extensive reader in all matters iiei-tniuiug to his 
profession, and li.-is Imilt up a large and |)rolitable 
pnactice in this county. As a financier he has been 
a success, having .acquired a competence, and occu- 
pies one of the handsomest homes in the vill.-igc. 
The residence is a fine brick structuie set in the 
midst of well-kept grounds, and bearing within and 
without the evidence of ••ultiv.-ilcd tastes and am- 
ple means. Few men have aiiived at llie success- 
ful point in life willioiit >trnggie> and s.-icrilices, 
and although perhaps our >ul)je,'l ha> lii.d as few .as 

his natural energy and persevei-ance. 

Dr. Jenkins was iK.rn Sept. Id, l.s;)(;. in the town 
of Napanee, Lennox County, C)nt;nii_i, Canada, and 



^^^^ 



is the son of Edward Jenkins, who was of Welsh 
descent and a farmer by occupation. He spent the 
last years of his life in Canada, and died in 1 870, 
at the age of sixty-eight years. The mother was 
formerly Miss Eliza Embury, a descendant of 
Philip Embury, well known to readers of early his- 
tory as the first Methodist minister in America. 
She passed away several years before the decease of 
lier husband, her death taking place Feb. 5, 1852. 
' 'I'he family circle included nine children, of whom 
all are living, with the exception of one who died 
in childiiood. 

The bo3'h(j(jd years of our subject were spent on 
the farm and in attendance at the district school, 
and when he had made sufficient progress in his 
studies, he entered the grammar school at Napanee. 
After several terms in this institution, he entered 
Newljurg Academy, which at that time bore a rep- 
utation of being the best school in that part of the 
j countr3^ At the age of seventeen he began teacli- 
! ing, which he followed several years, in the mean- 
time fortifying himself further for his duties by at- 
lenda.nce at the Normal School at Toronto, whence 
he was graduated in 18."),s. The intervening time 
from the above date until 1862 was spent in teach- 
ing, and young Jenkins then began the study of 
medicine. He had already determined to locate in 
the West, and as soon as convenient, came to this 
county, and entered the LTuiversity of Michigan. 
< After a full course of study in the medical depart- 
I ment, he received his diploma and commenced the 
practice of his profession in Orland, lud. In June 
following he was united in marriage with Mi.ss 
Susan McQueen, a native of Canada, and daughter 
uf Col. James McQueen, of the Province of Onta- 
rio. Col. Mct^ueen served in the War of 1812, 
and for his bravery and fidelit}' to duty was pro- 
moted from a private to the rank which he held 
until his death, at the age of eighty-five years. His 
wife, the mother of Mrs. J., survived her husliand. 
.•mil was eighty-eight years old at the time of her 

In October. 1 S6;i. i)i'. .lenkins went to New York 
City anil nltendc(l clinical lectures in the large hos- 
|iital.- (if the nieli-oiiolis, including Bellevue and the 
( ollege of I'liysicians and Surgeons. LIpon return- 
ing to the We.-t in the spring of 1870, he located 



^ 



<- 



.►-II-4* 



>KNAWKK COUNTY. 



]»h 



Ihc new nictlKirl; 
being sulimitted 
liiiilt up nil cxteiisiv 



V II 



SouU 


eili .A 


i.-hi- 


111 Ml 


(Ileal S 


M'i 


<jf th 


■ Miel 


i.UMh 


Malr 


aiel rl 




Asso 


aiitioi 


S. .'Ill 


1 i> il 




U 


IWti.) 


lal.Me 


cliral 


Cuiiui 


<>.->. Iici 


Ig 


jiatiii 


4 in i 


,s me 


■tili- 


vbicii u 


.■|> 


W'MSI 


ingtoi 


llllV 


ng: th 


■ lirsl M 


re 


her. 


i.ssT, 


and 


uiiicl 


u:i> ( 


.pe 


('lev 


inu.l 


n |>e 


x.n. 


Diiriiii. 


h 


tioiia 


eapit 


il, D 


■. ,len 


ans VIS 


te 


eipal 


battle 


fielrb 


of V 


irginia. 


as 


Rielimonci, 


also 


taking 


in Ne« 


1" 



fort, and Fortress Monroe. 

Dr. and Mr,s. Jenkins liec.aiiie the 
children, four daughters and one so 
daughter, Eda Bell, died M.iy 7. i; 
of thirteen years; Augusta, the tlii 
Aug. 10. 1875, when but two years 
sinviving are named respectively, 
and Florence, and continue at home 
ents. 



lel. Mi 
1 their 



<3=^=^^ 



If 



ESTKK ()S(;()()1). riiis pioneer settler of 
Sonthea>tern .Michigan eanu' to .M.acun 
Township, thi.-euinity, Oct. I."). LSI.",, .an<lsr-- 
lected a finely located farm on section 28, which he 
stills occupies. It embraces 110 acres of land and 
gives evidence of having been under the careful 
supervision of a skillful and industrious agricult- 
urist. 

Mr. Osgood, like many of his compeers, who .at 
an early period in their lives migrated from the 
Empire State to this county, was born in Lodi. Sen- 
eca Co., N. v., April 2(;. I.s2'.t, and tluae >peiit lii^ 
childhood and youth, fitting himself for the duties 
and struggles of a life which he had decided when 
quite young should be practically commeiioMi in tlir 
far West. The Osgood family is of English de- 



.Mvnl. Ihc fallua- of oiii' siilijcct iiciiig .b.lin, ih,. ,-,,n 
of Wiiliani O-g.M.d. .mimI the lallcr llie son of 
iliibl.ar.l 0>-oud, uho was ;, nnlivr uf ( oiinect- 
i.-ul. uhnv h,. I,,ll,,w.-.l larmiii- .and il is supposed 
sp.ait hisriiliiv lilr. II,' <li,-.| .at :ni a.lv.inec.l age, 
iiavnig pass.'d his our IiiuhIiv.I ■iiid fuurtli birthday, 
aii.l il is sai.l Ih.-ii in lli.at vear he split 10(1 rails 



lie was 



if llr 



huvilily 



..Idcsl men of th;it 
• necessary t<i say 
LilHc is kieiwn ,,f 
igli il i~ supposed 



.f the Nutmeg Slat. 
e.ared ami edue.ale. 



tlie lady wh..ni he n 

Ih.-il she .als., was .a, i 

W iliiam Osg,i,,d 

mani.'d lo N,.w York .slate, and lueale<l in Ovi<l 

meiit. lie married tlica-e Miss Mag-i.' Covrt, 
whuse ancestors were originally from lb>ll.-iml. .and 
the ynung people sel tied down in .a imMh'st home 
at l.odi, and .Mr. O. became pn.pi i.-tor of a small 
f.arm whi.-li he improved .ami wlieie he spent his 
last days, dying when ab,,iil, forly-li ve years of .age. 

widow, and ilied at the age of seventy -si.\. The 
farm t.ak.ai up by Willi.am ( )sgoo(l in his,.arly man- 
li,»,d is yet ill possessi,.ii (if Ihe family. lie had 
two brothers who wwo ministers of the ISapti.st 
Church. 

There were born to Willi.aui and Maggie O.sgood 
a large family of children, of whom John, the father 
of our subject, was the third son; all lived to ma- 
tui'c yi>ars, and with one exception, were all married. 
.lohn remaineil umler the panail.al roof in Lodi 
Townsliip until reaching inanli..oil, and married 
Miss Martha \'an \ leel. a native of hisown county, 
where she was born .May 17, l.s()7. The.y contin- 
ued residents of Lodi Township, where the father 
<licd in IS41, at the age of forty-one years, he hav- 
ing been b(.iru in 1800. Religiously he was a mem- 
ber of the Reformed Church, and politically was a 
deeideil Democa-at. The mother of our subject 
was the ilaughtcr of (Jeorge and Martha (Vorhees) 
Nan Meet, natives of New England, whose ancestors 
laune from Holland in the Colonial days, (ieorge 
Van Vleet was married in New Jersey, and after the 
birth of two children removed with his family to 
fenns\dvania, where two more little ones 



I 

t 



•► 



-•► 



I.KNAWEK COUNTY. 



-. .Marl 
N. v., 

of [w 



ill l.irlli.l.-iy. 

;,,n,l was icaicil in Loili Towii- 

• she iciiiaiiHMl until after the 

left with six eliildnii. n\' ulioin «ur subject was the 
eldest. He was .sixiceii years of age when the_y 
started for Michigan, and t-hcy made their way in a 
tedious manner l,y canal, lake, and overland with 
teams. They hicated first u|H,n a, tract of eighty 
acres, and the niothei-, with the assistance of her 
sons, wasenaliled to bnild up a gc)od homestead and 
surround her family with the comforts of life. Slu^ 
was a lady of much force of character, remarlv- 
ably active and blessed with good healtli, and laliored 
early and late for the gooil of those she loved. She 
is still living, active and intelligent as of old, al- 
though having pa.ssed her eightieth birthday. She 
makes her home with her sou, our subject, and en- 
joys the warm friendship of a large circle of ac- 
quaintances. 

Lester Osgood, being the clilest member of his 
mother's family, was at an early period of his life, 
by the death of his father, invested with serious 
responsibilities which he discharged in a highly 
creditable manner. He continued with his widowed 
mother until after reaching the thirty-fourth year 
of his age, and was then married, Oct. 21. 18C3, to 
Miss Sarah E. Hoaglaud, a sketch of whose parents 
will be found in the biography of Thomas \. Hoag- 
laud, published elsewhere in tliis \(ilume. Mrs. O. 
was born in Romulus Township, Seiieea Co.. N. Y., 
July ■>, 1832, and was but two yiar> ol<l when her 
p.arents came to this State, and look up tlieir resi- 
dence in Ridgevvay Township. She knows all about 
|)ioneerlife in Southeastern Michigan, and the efforts 
required to build up a home from tiie wilderness. 
She continued with her parents until their death, 
being trained in all housewifely duties, and acquir- 
ing a limited education in the common schools. 

Mr. and Mrs. Osgood are the parents of two chil- 
dren, Mary M. and Jennie H., who continue at 
home with their parents. 'I'he daughters and their 

%-^ ^ 



Ml 



■et,'.! with 111 
Osgood, pol 



M( 



dly, 

•riy a I )einociat but now votes witli the 
■nists. lie has ofliciated as Treasurer and 
.Macon Town>lu'|., and ranks among its 



>||{)H^' B. DOWLING. In the year 1838, at 
|| three years of age, Mr. IJowling was brought 
|; by his parents from Somersetshire, England, 
((^/i to Michig.an, and settled in Cambridge in 
May of that year. The subject of this sketch was 
born Oct. 2, 1835, in Somersetshire, where his 
father, Robert I. Bowling, was engaged as a general 
tradesman for several years. The latter'^was the 
-on of a clergyman of ilie ('linicli of Knoland. and 
iiail received a superioi eduiatinii. lli> father had 
charge of a very prominent parish and filled the 
place of Rector for many years, until his health 
failed iiim. Roheit I., the father of John B., was 

1 marricil in Kngland to Miss Mary Bridge, who was 
the dcscendaut of a good family, and a native of 
tho same shire as her husband. 

After the birth of three children, one son, our 
subject, and two ilanghters, the parents came to the 
United states, and made their home in Cambridge 
Township, this (duntv, on a partly improved farm, 
to which Robert I. devoted his energies. He lo- 
cated on section 13, in the township of Cambridge, 
where he took up 160 acres of good land, andm.ade 
that place his home until his death, which occurred 
Sept. 1 8, 1 .S83, at the age of seventy-six. His wife 

1 had died Dec. 23, 1873. They were most excellent 
Christian people, and wei'c worthy and respected 

I members of society. They were mourned and re- 
gretted by -the entire community, when they were 
called to pass from the scenes of this world. 

The subject of this sketch remained with his par- 
ents until twenty-two years of age. and was initiated 
into all kinds of farm labor. On the 15th of 
Oetiibcr. 1801, he was united in marriage, at Adrian, 
Mich., to Miss Elizabeth Bridge, born in Cambridge, 
Aug. 27, 1841, and daughter of William and Abi- 
gail (Clark) Bridge, natives of England and Ver- 
mont respectively. Her parents were married in 





■ 


^ 




-«^ 






-^~ 


•p 






^" 




I^KNAWKI- 


COUNTY. 107 ' 
tioiis (,f life ..Nhibitinga c. .iiscientious regard for 




! 


Caml.ricloc Tuun.lii|,, where they livr.l an<l <\U;\. 






h;iviii<;- rcMchod the ;ig-p of Ihreescoi'c ycnrs. Mrs. 


duty. H(> never enjoyed rol.u>l health, owing 






Ddwiinu w;is renicl [,, w, ,iiiaiih.M,<l l,enc:ith Ihc 








|):ireiital |-n,.f;ilMl srciir.Mi hci' (d lir.-il i, ,ii in Ihc .li>- 


I'.ahnyr.a. .laii. II. Isi'.S. when scvcnly-two years 






tlict scl Is. Shr is Hie liHithcr ul' live rhil<llrli. 


old. 






(inc .if whom is (h^ail — Willis 1!., Kn^viir i;.. Ir.-i II.. 


There is .a, tr.aditioii .among the ■I'ilfany family 






IVrh'v Mini AIIki. 


Ih.at their .ancestors came fr Italy about 400 






After nianiaue Mr. Dowliiiu ihiivIuisimI ..iohu- 


ycai> .a-oand settled in Kiiglaud. They w.a'e e.x- 






.•icivs (if iinpruMMl Inii.l in .S,,uth Kr.-niklin Town- 


p(at as silk we.av.as.and the patn.ny niic nndonl.t- 






ship, which lie aftenv.-ml suhl, .111(1 lioiiulit iiincly- 


tally oiigin.ated from their o,a-iip.at ion. .as the Ir.aiis. 






seven acrj^.s where he ikjw lives, and which lie Icis 


lalion of the word Tillaiiy is, .aceonliiig to Welisf.a'. 






brought to a high .state' of cultrvafioii. in |iolific-. 


.a specie- of g.aiize or V(ay thin -ilk. The p.atern.al 






Mr. Dowliiio- is :i iiicmlici (.f tli.il r.-iphlly growing 


greal-gr.andp.anaits of onr siilijcet. Dr. (Jideoii .and 






jiarty, the indcpciidciit \(ilcis. who wilhoiit rcg.-ird 


Sar.ah (De.an) Tillanw came U< this (amntry and 






for party or party lines, sii|)port the iicst men and 


settled in Norton. .M.ass.. wluaua' llie^' removed a 






the noblest iirinciplcs wheivver they iii.-iy lind lliciii. 


few years later to New ll.ampsliiic. in order to (-(.n- 
duct properly the education of their sons, who be- 






—- ^-^J^^^^r^^^— 


came students of L.artmoilth College. .Mioiit 171)2. 
these sons repaired to Canada, and published the 






^p^EORGE S. TIFFANY, known throughout 


first iiew:,paper at Ni.agara under the patronage of 






!|( (^-, Southern Michigan as the pos.se.ssor of rare 


(tov. Sinicoe. Sylvester Tiffany married Miss 






^^!!) inventive genius, is the son of Judge Alex- 


Elizabeth Kalston. who was of English-Sc(^itch par- 






ander Tiffany, who was born in Niagara, Canada. 


entage, and settled ne;ir the pri'sent (tity of i.'oehes- 






Oct. 16, 179C.and made hi.s way to the Territory of 


ter. N. Y., whence they removed to C.aiiaiidaign.a, 






Michigan in the f.all of 1882. He settled in Pal- 


which was then the center of political and social 






myra, this county, which it was then belie\ed would 


inlluence in Western New York. Ibac .'Sylvester 






eventually become a Large city. Two years later 


Tift'aiiy est.ablished a newspa|>er and his son, Alex- 






he was appointed Prosecuting Attorney of i>ena- 


.ander. the f.atheidf our subject. wIkmi Init ,a, little 






wee County, and in 183() he was elected .Judge of 


boy sal on .a high stool as a (aim|iositor. A few- 






the Probate C^ourt, which office he held eight years 


years ago a coiiy of the Canadian Conaldlxitioii. 






and of which he was second incumbent; he was .also 


established by Tiffany Bros., w.as exhibited in the 






.ludge of the County Court two terms. 


Canadian Parliament hy William Lyon McKenzie, 






.ludge Tiffany was a man of giant intellect, :i 


.■IS .■! valuable relic. 






learned lawyer and a c'Onscientioiis attorney: he 


Alexander Tiffany. >m the .Id of September. 1^2;!. 


1 




hecame prominent in the politics of Southern 


was married to Miss Abig.-iil 1?.. daughter of Dr. 






Michigan and was a member of the Cfinstitutional 


(^.ain and Chloe Kobinx.in. of Palmyra. N. Y., and 






Convention of 18.")0. Five years later he was 


they became the parents of eleven children, (ieorge 






elected to the Michigan Legislature and appointed 


S., of our sketch, was born aft(a- the removal of 






Chairman of the .Judiciaiy Committee. He wrote 


his |iarents to this State in Palmyra, this counts, 






and studied beyond his strength, and during those 


,Iuly 7. 1.s:M, and at an early age it was .•ippareiit 






memorable years wrote and published "Tiffany's 


that he inherited much of the talent of his honored 






.lustiee Guide" and "Tiffany's Crimin.-il Law.'- 


father. l^poii leaving the primary schools |r. en- 






which are to-day considered of great practical value 


tered Hillsdale College, where he (amipleted his 






in .lustice's Courts, and to practicing attorneys 


studies in lS.-,7. His inv.aitive genius l,eg,an to 






generally in the State. Personally he pcjssessed all 


develop before lu^ had re.-iched his majority, and 






the elements of a true and noble manhood, being 


besides other productions of his brain he is the 






honest in all his dealings, and in the various rela- 


successful patentee of a tile machine which bears 




g^^ 




... . 




•^^ 




'» T ^' 




' 


i 





•J»-HI-^ 



A 



LKNAWEK COUNTY. 



Micln,i::iii .-pecirillv. Mr. Tiflanv .■sl.-iUlish.Ml ^,.vci:il 
lU.'umtMcl. Hi..,- fur MMvci- i.ip.. and drain Ule in this 
country, lie w.-is ono of tlio pioneers of inuler- 
gromid dr:iina<iv in .Southern Michigan, and i.s 
generallj- recognized as authority in matters of 
this kind. Hi.* face is a famiii.-ir one at .State 
Drainage Conventions, and lu.s o|iinions receive the 
attention due tliose of one of tiie most intelligent 
and well-informed members of the association. 

Oui- subject was inarried, in December, l.sO.S, to 
Miss Addie, daughter of Fred. K. Tiffany, of Can- 
ada, who carried on farming in the Dominion and 
died there at the age of sixty-seven years. The 
mother of Mrs. T. was, in her girlhood, Miss Char- 
ity Decider, daughter of John Decker, of Pennsyl- 
vania, who was engaged in agricultural pursuits .and 
largely interested in the milling business. The 
Deckers were well known throughout the Ke^'stone 
State, and contributed largely to the success of its 
farming operations. Mr. and Mrs. George S. Tif- 
fany became the parents of two sons and one 
daughter. Frederick was born in .lackson, Oct. 12, 
18(57; Abbie (i., April 27, 187;>, and George H., 
Aug. 1-2. 1M7-1. The daughter died when five weeks 
old. 

Mr. Tiffany, socially, belongs to the Masons, and 
has always taken a warm interest in the prosperity 
of Lenawee County and, as one of its most useful 
citizens, is widely and favorably known. He was 
instrumental in the erection of the Jackson Fire- 
clay Works. His machines have been on exhibition 
at all the fairs in this country, and he receives 
orders from all parts of the United States and from 
Sidney, Australia. 

-^^ o*o.-i5>><^-.o4o -V-- 



J JOSHUA W. THURBER, oneof the old and 
1 honored pioneers of Lenawee County, ar- 
' rived within its boundaries over fifty years 
' ago. He came here, as did many of his 
neghbors, with no capital but strong hands and a 
resolute spirit, and, determined to e>tablish a h(^me 
for himself and secure a good position among his 
fellowmen. He was employed as a farm laborer 



until is-i;i. in Ih.' iiiranl iiu.- (■\eivi>ing the greatest 
economy, and in due time l( Mind liiniscif enabled to 
purchase a trad of Land which hr h.ad sclcclcd on 
section 32 in ALa.lisun Township. Upon thi^ there 
had been no improvenienl,s whatever, but he began 
the cultivation of the soil and enclo.sed one field 
after another, fiii.allj' putting up a modest dwelling, 
to which he bro\ight a bi-ide on the 21,st of April, 
1,S4I. Thus armed and e.pupped for the further 
battle of life, he pursued the even tenor of his 
way upon the same place for over f(|rty years, 
when in the spring of 1881, he wisely retired from 
active labor .and movcil into the town which now 
bears his name and the site of which \h- once 
owned. 

Mr. Thnrber was born April 11. ISU. and is the 
son of Samuel ami Sally (Gage) Thurber, natives 
of New Vork, where they spent their last years 
near Canandaigua. The parental household included 
nine children, and Joshua W., in common with the 
others, received but a limited education, but was 
carefully trained to those habits of industry and 
principles of integrity whieh liecanie the .secret of 
his later success in life, and contributed to his value 
as a citizen and member of society. The family 
were of Welsh descent and it is suppo.sed crossed 
the Atlantic during the Colonial days. 

The wife of our subject was, in her girlhood, Miss 
Rebecca, daughter of Jabez and Catharine Fisk, 
natives of New York, where she was born in Tioga 
County, Aug. 19, 1822, and came to Michigan with 
her parents when a small girl. She was thoroughly 
trained in all domestic duties and those arts which 
conduce s(j much to the comforts of a home, and 
endured cheerfully, with her husband, the priva- 
tions to which they were subjected during their 
early life together. They became the jjarents of 
four brielit children and li.ave been called to mourn 
the lo^sof all. The eldest daughter, Gertrude G., 
became the wife of Dr. George W. Bowen, surgeon 
of the .oth Illinois Colored Cavalry, and died in 
Arkansas in 1 8(!.5 ; her remains were brought home 
and interred in the cemetery at Madison. Mary J. 
became the second wife of Dr. Bowen, and died at 
her home in Toledo. Ohio, on the 25th of March. 
1880: Lsabella married Stephen P. Richardson, a 
farmer of Madison Township, and passed away in 



•► 



•►HI- 



•►-Il-«i^ 



-•►Hh-* 



LKNAWEK COUNTY, 



409 



the f:ill of 1.S7(;; Ainus 


tlK. y,un,-esl ,• 


nM and 


()iil\- sDii, met his death 


by drdwiiini,' i 


1 i;:ii>in 


River in the ninth year ot 


his age. Mr. ; 


ml Mrs. 


Tliurher in their deep 


ifflietioii liave 


md Ihe 


syuipithy "f the entire r 


niiiniinity; their 


in.ss is In 



tliem irrei):irable l;iut tliey do not nioni'ii ;is tlio 
without hope. 

Mr. Thurber has watclied with deep int.'i-<>,.t t 
develo|)nient and iii'owth ot l/ciKiwee t'oiiul v, .-u 
in Ids prime was one of the l(>adin- men of tJ 
township. He waspublie-si)irited and librr.'d, .■\ 
ready to assist those in \wc(], :uid did all in 1 
power to encourage the settling up of tin,-. siTth 
by an enterprising and intelligent cl.-iss of peop 
lie e.xerted his intluence to encourage thccstablis 
ment anil maintenance of schools, and I'Ver ga 
his voice and vote in supjtort of those nieasiu 
calculated to build up the community, socially ai 
financially. He served as (Jverseer of Ilighwa 
and was also connected wit.h tlic ,'sciiool Board. 1 
ca.st his first Presidential vot,e foi- .lackson. and I: 
since lieen identified with tlic Democr.-i.tH- partv. 



T^T'LEMINO Mc.MATH. Fron; its e.- 
y^, tory Mr. McMath has been a, : 



P 



/*)) factor in promoting, by his until 

zealous labors, the development and g 
Dover Township, where his homestead is h 
secl,ion •_'. In the early days of this conn 
much looked to for advice nnd counsel, m 
taken a consjiicuons part in the -(iv.auine 

county and township. For tlin i foni' 

was ('(junty Superinten<leiit of the I'oor 
Suijcrvisor of Dover Township lor tv 
wliile he was also Justice of the I'e.icc an 
Public for mauj- years. In the .■idnnnisl 
tliese various otflees, he siiowed the al 
sound judgment which have cliara,cteri/.eil 



Mr. McMath was born in Seneca C'ountj% N. V.. 
Jan. 14, 1808, and is the son of Col. Samuel JNIc- 
,Math, a gallant officer of the War of 1812, in wliich 
he held a Captain'.s commission. He was a n.ative 
of Pennsylvania, where he married Miss Mary Jack- 
son, also a native of that State, and settle<l in Sen- 



eca County, K. Y. In the spring of l,s2G, Col. 
McMath came t(.) Michigan for the purpose of ob- 
t.aining a farm, and selectcrl a tract of wild, un- 
bi'oken land in \Vashten:iw County. He remained 
to cic.'ii- it .■nid prepare a, honje for his family, while 
his son FU'ining, of this sketch, who had come with 
him to Michigan, returned to Seneca Count}-, N. 
Y., to harvest their crops. Jn the following year, 
during tiie ab.sence of his son, the C'olonel was taken 
sick, and so<in the useful career of that brave and 
honest man was ehwd by death. In October fol- 
lowin"- the sad de.illi of the father, the mother came 



(o Washten.as 
children, and 
Xih-s, Mich, 
property had 
tinned to livi 
years. 

In the sprii 



)ur subject and six 
of her daughter in 
.>f Col. .McMath, his 
d our subject eon- 
County f(.)r several 



;■ of 1.S2'.) :\Ir. .McMath made a mem- 
oi-al>le journey to Ids old home for the purpose of 
si'cnrine a bride in the i)crson of .an old friend. Miss 
Fliza Pruden. He performed the entire journey 
t)n horseback through Canada, and was united to 
the lady of his choice April 24, 1829. She w.as the 
daughter of Moses and Mary !<:. Pruden. and was 
born March Ml, ISO:). .Mr. McMath returned with 
his bride to his home in Washtenaw County, and in 
1835 they came to Lenawee County and bought a 
tract of land in Dover Township, on section 2, 
where they established .a new home, .and thus be- 
came pionceis of this township. .Ml-. .Mc:\Iath has 
cleared his farm, enacted good buildings, and made 
many other substantial improvements. He in- 
creased the (original acreage of his propertj' to 200 
acres, by the |iiirchase of an SO-acre tract, but he 
.afterw.ard dispo,sed of a like amount. 

Seven children were born of the marri.age of Mr. 
and Mrs. McMath, namely: Francis, Roxanna, 
Klizabeth, liliza, Laura A., Fleming and Esther. 
Francis married Mary E. \\'ait, and Roxanna is the 
wife of James H. Shepherd: Elizabeth married S. 
D. Yanghn, and died in Dover Township, Jan. 26, 
18.57; Eliza is the wife of CUiarles I. Shaw, and 
Laura is the second wife. of S. D. Yaughn, while 
Fleming married Julia Deming, and Esther is the 
I wife of Charles Gilbert. Mrs. McMath, the devoted 
j and faithful wife and mother, passed away on the 



•►Hl-^ 



••► 



410 



JJiNAWKK COUNTY. 



3d of Decciiihcr, 1SS7, at the vwierablc age of 
seventy -eight years. She was a devout and con- 
sistent member of the Presbyterian Church, where 
she had been a conunnnipant since she was fifteen 
years of age. 

Mr. McMath is helil in much rcvei'ence among 
the citizens of tliis community, as one of the oldest 
residents and as one of the few pioneers still left 
here. He has been a stanch memlier of the 
Presbyterian Church since 18-26, a period of sixty- 
two years, and he took an active part in the organ- 
ization of the First Presbyterian C'hurcli of Dover. 



JAMES H. SHEPHERD. As a'representative 
of the intelligent and progressive agricultur- 
ists of Lenawee County, and a worthy de- 
scendant of a noble and honored sire, we 
take pleasure in presenting a biographical sketch of 
the gentleman whose name appears at the head of 
this notice. His father. Rev. Paul Shepherd, was 
born near Penn Yan, Y'ates Co., N. Y., in 1804, 
and was of German and Scotch ancestry. Asenath 
Mack, the mother of our subject, was of Scotch ori- 
gin, and was born in Canandaigua, Ontario Co., 
N. Y'., in 1810. Her marriage with Jlr. Shepherd 
was solemnized there in 1826, and they first settled 
near Penn Yan on a farm owned by Mr. Shepherd's 
father. Aftei' remaining there a, short time they 
removed to Allegany County, in the same State, 
where they lived about two years. 

In the meantime Mr. Shepherd had taken up the 
study of medicine, and had fitted himself to enter 
upon the practice of that profession, but while at- 
tending a protracted meeting at Angelica he was 
converted, and then determined to change his pi'o- 
fession and enter the ministry. He relinquished 
the further study of medicine, and with his family 
removed to 01)erlin, Ohio, where he entered the 
theological department of Oberlin College. He 
was already well versed in the Latin and Greek 
languages, and after two years' study was graduated 
from that college. In 1835 he came to 3Iichigan 
and was induced to go to Allegan County, near 
Saugatuek, and take charge of the colony which 
had been established in that place. He also assumed 



charge of the Singa]..,re Mission, uhich was com- 
posed of the Ottawa and Pottawatomie Indians, 
and became well versed in their languages. He re- 
mained in charge of the colony and mission two 
years, and then removing to Kalamazoo County, 
he jjroached both in Comstock and Galesburg, lie- 
ing ordained at the latter place. He afterward set- 
tled in Plainwell, Allegan County, and from there 
was called to Constantine to settle his father's es- 
tate, after which lie ofirae to Lenawee County, and 
in 1841 commenced a six years' pastorate in Me- 
dina Centre. At the expiration of this time, he 
came to IDover Township, and vvas here engaged 
in the ministry the following ten years. 

Rev. Paul Shepherd vvas a stanch Abolitionist 
.and devoted to the cause of the slaves, pleading in 
theii- behalf with learuing, eloquence, and spiritual 
unction, and making his moral force felt wherever 
he vvas known. After the repeal of the Missouri 
Compromise, he went to Kansas and took an active 
part in the bloody struggle between freedom and 
slavery that was enacted on that soil, and which 
finally resulted in the admission of Kansas into the 
Union as a free State. He was Chaplain of the 
Territorial Legislature, and vvas a member of that 
body whicii drew up the noted Topeka Constitu- 
tion. He was a close friend of John Brown, and 
two of the meA who took part in the raid at Har- 
per's Ferry had often found shelter and protection 
under his roof. He was fearless in expressing his 
views at all times and under all circumstances, but 
received no bodilj- injuries. In 1859 he returned 
with his family to Dover Township, and remained 
there until his death, which occurred in November, 
18G0; he died in the harness, preaching until the 
time of his decease. His name will long be re- 
membered in connection with those illustrious 
friends of the oppressed, VYilliara'Lloyd Garrison. 
^Vcndell Phillips, Charles Burleigh, John Brown, 
and other loaders of reform. His widow was after- 
ward married to E. W. Waite, a cousin of Chief 
Justice Waite, and died in Dover Township, this 
county. Of her union with the Rev. P. Shepherd 
six children were born, of whom the following is 
the I'ecord: Jane E. was the vvife of Samuel Beuham. 
of Dover Township, and died in Kansas in 1858; 
James H. ; Martha is the widow of Rev. H. P. Rob- 



»^l-^ 



insdii; 


S:iuiler> K. r 


;s 


de 


, i 


1 


AseriM 


,h (lied in infM 


n< 


\ : 


W 


ill 


Jos^epl 


, Mo., heiny 


li 




le,- 


^ 1 


.loscpl 


Heraia. 
snbjeel of Ihi 




<e 


eh 


„ 


Alley; 


MV Co.. X. V. 




)e 






Michii 


,an with hi.s |j 


ir 


nt 




he 


iviiinii 


ed with them 


1 


nli 


1 > 


xl 


tending the ounnno 


1 


-rl 




s. 


llion e 


ition he ncquii 
itei-ed the en 




•' 


ul 
ot 


stn 
A 


at C;ii 


andaiguii, Lei 


:\\ 


(•( 


( 


OH 


in liie 


r mill and st 


.!■( 




UK 


1 


eleven 
lidine 


years, since 
in Dover To 


^^' 


sh 


1 
1'- 


1 


more 


icli\e ont-do( 


.r 


W( 


rk 


w: 


his |)n 


tially fniiinii 


h. 


ill 


1. 





LKNAWEE COUNTY, 



polities he 



if In 



he 



Mi 



.McM; 



whe 



Sixty a 

buildinos and 
luents. 

Mr. She|)hei( 
April 7, 18.".-', t 
of Ypsilnnti. !\I 
l.S.'U. .She i.s the ihinghter of Fleming- .-uhI 
(Priiden) MrMath, of whom a sketeh aiipeai 
where in thi.s work. Into the home of Mr. am 
Shepherd have been born six children — Frank, 
Kddie .1.. Ida .1.. William F. and Otis II. 
married Susie .McMillan, .-nid resid.-s in Cheli 
County. Mich., of which he is Judge of I'r 
Eliza died in infancy, and Kddic married 
Angel, and is eng.aged in the drug bnsiu 
Adrian, being n member of the linn o| Wagn 
Shepherd; Ida .1. isfho wife of .bihn M. Abb 
Dover 'I'ownship; William J. married ivnm.-i 
and resides in the same township, and Oils 
attending the High .School at Adrian. 

.Mr. Shepherd isa man of notein his .■omiii 
his ,, pinions are highly valued, and hi^ iiilbu 
exerted to |)roinote the moral and social inter 
the township and the country at large. Me w 
elected Supervisor of Dover Township in is'; 
served continuonsl}' the ensuing ten years, f 
year being Chairman of the Board. Mr. sh 
is a member of Clayton Lodge, F. k A. M., 



n.ship 
iiativ( 



and in 



411 

h Republican, believing, hon- 
II the principles put forth by 
.Mis. slicplicrd are C(msistcnt 
oi' ihe I'icsbyteriaii Church, 
I is .-III l':icler; he is also Super- 



■■(s&'. 



jp^jKN.IA.MlN 1'. KMFRY. Adrian Township 
[Li^ w.'is p.-iiliciihiily fortunate in being settled by 
/^ T .■m intelligent and enterprising clas!» of peo- 
v^^y pie, many of whom came from the Empire 
state. They brought with them their strict, old- 
fashioned notions of iiiiln-tiy and integrity, which 
they carried with Ihem in their daily lives and 
transmitted to their children. The suliject of this 
biogia|)liy, a native <^if that section of country, is 
.111 admirable example of perseverance and resolu- 
tion, which only those who li:ive watched his career 
for the last thirty ye.-iis can ap|)i-eciate. Suflice it 
to say that he has made his mark in the community 
which has known him so long and well, and in which 
he will be remembered gei: 

Mr. Emery is a native 
N. Y.. where hi' w.-i 



.\iig. 



.May C. ISI.S: the par, 
The mother pa.ssed aw:) 
band, her de.-ith t.'ikiii- 
.Tune N. I.s7.;. Tlic | 
si,bj..ct. Kz<'kiel F.i„.-r\ 
where he spent liis eiiti 
vance<l age of eighty 
years as a Revolution.a 
to the rank of Corpor;i 
reared a family of chih 
father of our subject. 



itious hence. 
Cattaraugus County, 

'.abcth (I'ierson) Emery, 
.leisey respectively. The 
icc..l.aii. 2. 1788. and de- 
cent homeste.a.I of his sou, 
< were married in I .s-J".'. 
ii.aiiy years aftei' her hus- 
n- fdso at the homestead, 
•nial grandfather of our 
as als,. a u.ative of Maine, 
life, and died at the ad- 
irs. lie had served live 
soldier, ,and was promoted 
lie married a widow and 
II. of wliom .leshnrnii. the 



roof until reaching his majority: this lady passed 
away some years before the death of her husband. 
In 18LS the father of our subject migrated to 
Ontario County, N. Y., where he employed himself 
as a farm l.'iborer, and saved money enough to buy 
sixty acres of land. This he sold three years later, 



•► 



I 



41: 



i.knawep: county. 



aii<l piircliMscil M, f;irin in CaUMraiijiUs ('(.imty. which 
he occiipicl until tlip summer of 1 S:iO. ■I'lK'Tcrri- 
tory of MiohigMii u:i> tlicn .■iM.r.McMiiu l.'ir-c imnilicrs 
of adventiu'ons s|iirits. anil ycmni; iMnciy (|cci<lcil 
to cast his fortune with the pioneers of this seetion. 
He journeyed from Detroit hy means of an ox-team 
and took up a claim of eiulify af^res near the present 
homestead of his son, thrcr ncics of which was 
cleared from the tiniher, Imt upon which there were 
no buildings. He put up a log house the first ye.ar. 
and began gradually to extend the clearing and cul- 
tivate the soil, lie was remarkably active and en- 
terprising and took a keen interest in the .settling 
up of the country, doing everything in his power 
to encourage the immigration of an intelligent and 
useful class of people. He assisted them in locat- 
ing their homes, and was foremost in the establish- 
ment of the pioneer schools and churches. In early 
manhood he had identified himself with the Demo- 
cratic party, but later became a Whig, and M|ion 
the abandonment of the old party cordially en- 
dorsed Republican principles. 

The father of our subject continued in the pos- 
session of his first purchase until 18;U, when he 
sold out and removed to what was then Logan, but 
now Rome Town.ship, where he purchased a quar- 
ter section of land and put up a log house, which 
he occupied with his family until ISSii. In due 
time this also was turned over to other hands, and 
he purchased the land included in the present home- 
stead of our subject. Upon this there were no 
improvements of any kind, and Mr. Emery pro- 
ceeded as before, building his third log house, and 
which continued his abode until his death. His 
efforts in the building up of this portion of Lena- 
wee County were fully appreciated by those ac- 
quainted with the man, who had learned to esteem 
him at his just value. He was kindly and hospita- 
ble in manner, possessed more than ordinary in- 
telligence, and built up a record of which his de- 
scendants may justly be proud. It may be truly 
said of him that his life was not in vain, and his 
name is held in grateful remembrance by the peo- 
ple of Lenawee County. The maternal grand- 
father of our subject, Henry Pierson, was a native 
of New Jersej', whence he removed while a young 
man to Ontario County, N. Y. He had served an 



apprcniiccship at the trade of a tanner and currier, 
.and at one time operated quite extensively on the 
Atlantic coast, as a contractor. He was born M,ay 
IC), 17(;2, and died in Ontario County .at the .age of 
eighty-foni- years; his wife had died souk; years pre- 
viously, in is;;(). He was the >on of an English- 
man, who was born Alay I, IGIM), and who emi- 
grated to America many yeai's '[Jiaor to the Revo- 
lutionary War. 

Ikmjamin V. ICmery was but a child when his par- 
ents came to thi> county, where he pursued his first 
studies ill the subscription schools, and later at- 
tended a select or private school. His training was 
carefully watched over by his father, and being nat- 
urally fond of books, he became more than ordinarily 
well informed. At the death of his lamented parent, 
he purchased the interest of the six heirs, and made 
preparations to continue on the homestead, to which 
he bnuight a bride in the spring of 1852. The 
maiden of his choice was Miss Catharine, daughter 
of \\illiaiii Miles, a native of Vermont, who died 
in this county in the prime of life, aged fort3'-flve 
years. Mr. Miles was one of the i)ioneers of Dover 
Township, and an expert hunter and trapper. Mrs. 
Cath.arine Emery was born Sept. 1 2. 1 834, and 
departed this life on the .".th of February, 1864, 
when but thirty years of age. Of her union with 
our subject there were born six children, as follows: 
Lydia was born Feb. 26, 1853, and is now in Jack- 
Miii; William .1. was'born Feb. 2, 1855, is married 
and engaged in farming in Ottawa Count3'; Jer- 
main 15. was born Jan. 4, 1857, is married and a 
resident of Washtenaw County; Bertha E. was born 
Oct. 12, 1858, and is the wife of C. D. Baker, of 
Adrian Tonniship, while Ida M. was born Jan. 18, 
1862, and continues at home with her father: ftliles 
died when eight months old, 

Mr. Emery was married a second time, in 1864, 
to Miss Emily M. Miles, whose father. Ira L., was a 
native of Vermont, and her mother of Germany. 
Blrs. Emery was born in Adrian, May 27, 1836. 
Her paternal grandfather, Nahum Miles, w.as one of 
the pioneers of Jackson County, this State, and died 
there at the age of sixty-eight years. Her father 
was a carpenter by trade, but was fond of agricult- 
ural pursuits, and became possessor of a small farm 
in Jackson County, where his death also took place 



-*^h 







^ 








-4« 


•► 


LKNAWRI 


COUNTY. 41!? , 




when of the same :ige as his fallier; liis wife liad died 


land from the Holland Purchase Company, where 






in middle life, when thirty-five yt'ar.s of :iii' • 'I'lie 


he put up a log house, ami in which his daughter, 






children of r.mjniuin I', and Kuiily M. Kuum y miv 


Ch.arh.tte M., the mother . if ,mr snbje.'t, was born. 






iv<-(,nled a^ fulluu.; Heanieu wa.s hum Jan. l' 1 , 


He fclleil the trees from .inite a laige .area, and 






l.siw;: Benjamin P.. Dec. l's, IsCT; Kittic M.. Sepl. 


(ailtivat.al the soil until l.s;;4. when he resolveil to 






IS. 1S(;8; Eleanor A.. Fell. s. i.sTl; (MMtrndc .\1.. 


push further westw.ard. 






Sept. 27, 1.S7.".. and Alice M., .Mai-ch 1. 1 sT.', ; they 


With his wife an.l three ,-hil.lieii, an.l an onttit 






are all at home with their |iarenls. 


.aiusistiiii; of a pair of oxen, a team ...f li.uses and 
three .a.ws, Thomas Comst.ick starte.l for the Ter- 






..^ . ■ •- • g^!% ■* • . . ■ , 


ril.iry ..f Michigan, and aftci- a j.mrn.'y .if seveii- 
le.a. .lay.s lan.le.l in Lenawee ('..iinty. Within a 






■ ^''^S^ ' • * • 






\|P^I>(;AK K. nNDEK'WOOl), a well-to-do 


sli..rl tim.. 1h- ha.l enter.al ■, ti.a.-t of 1 I'd acres of 






lU farmer of I'almyia Town^hii), lia> [a^sv,\ ln> 


C.v.aiim.ait laii.l .m seclhui :;(i. Palmyra Town- 






was on -ection L',s. in thrs lu»n>hip. Nov. •). l.slT. 


ship, wheiv h,. put lip .a I.I- cabin, an.l after his 
f.amily u.as .amibirtably .■stalilished, s.et himself in- 






He was reared to the varioii> employments of farm 


.lustrioiisly .al w.irk to .-Icar a way the timber and 






life, wliich he f..ll<,w> from clioi.e. and to which he 


prepar.' lltr s.)il for i nit i v.ati.m. Their iieiiihbors 






.seems specially a.la|)ted. He carries on .•i.i^ricnll nrc 


wcr.- few .and f.ar belwetai. an.l .at night the w. lives 






in the sensible .and slrai.uhtforward m.anner certain 


h.iwl.al i-lose bithe d.Mir. |:pou .me oc.-asioii .lur- 






to insnrc sm-cc-s. an.l as a man and citizen po.s- 


ing III.' .alis.ai.a^ of the hiisb.aml ami father, a bear 






sesscs the (pialiti.- mo.st hiuhly e.^tc.-med by >nli- 


i-limbed int.i lli.' pig-pen .and w.as making away 






stantial and reliable nuai. 


with .me .if its inmales wluai the iii.ither, with the 






Our snliject is the .son of Ivluin .and C'h.ailotte 


(a.urage peculiar t.i the wix.'s ,,f the pi.mcers. 






M. (Comstock) Underwood, natives rcs|iecti vcly <if 


marche.l oul.aml suwa'chal in .hiving the intru.ler 






Wayne and Harmony, ('h,anttin(|nM Co.. N. V. His 


aw.ay. Thomas Comstock labore.l Industriously for 






maternal grandfather. ■I'h.mi.as ( .,mst,,ck. was l,orn 


a niiiiib.a- ..f years, and then retired to the home of 






in Snnderland. lintland Co.. \t.. Oct. C. IT'.Ml. and 


hi- .l.au>ihtia- Chailotte. where hisdecea.se occurred 






was the .son of .lason Con.stock. of the same |,lace. 


about 1S7-.'. The m.at.a-ual -r.aii.lmother was in 






who followed farming ther.^ for .a time, and later 


her girlh.i.i.l .Miss Lucy Smith, an.l hei marriage 






removed to Burlington. He li\cd in the pioneer 


with Th.iiii.as Comst.ick l.i.ik place on the oth of 






days of the (ireen JNIonntain State, when his near- 


{■"ebru.ary. ISM. She was born in Cambridge, Wash- 






est market was at Troy, N. Y.. to and from which 


iii-ton Co., N. ^ .. .Ian. 1 :;, 1 7'J:i, and was the 






places he went with a team, and died while m.aking 


.laii'iht. r .if Sanfor.l an.l Prisi-illa ( Wliipp.i) SniitI; : 






one of thcs.. journeys. His .s,,n Thomas was th,. 


.-lie di.'.l at Ihc h.imi'st.-a.l in P.almyra '['.iwuship. 






eldest of live children, .an.l .at the lime ,.f his fa- 


•lhe\ were th.' p.aiviit> ..f 1 w. . .■hil.lr.ai Ii...-i,l>.s Char- 






ther's death was .a lad nine years of .age. He ivside.l 


l.itl.' M.— .Sanbir.l ^.. wli.i.li.al in Palmyra T..wii- 






with his mother live years lon-(a-, then took up his 


ship in is:;,-,, .ami ,S,ai.M-a T.. wli.i.se .lealli t.i.ik 






abode with his pat.aiial -randiiK.thcr in Camhrid-e. 


pl.ace ill th.' same l.u.alily III.' s.alne yeir. 






Wa.shington Co.. N. V.. where he r.an.ained until 


■Ihe m.itlier ..f ..ur siilij...-! r.Mii.aine.l with her 






i-eachiiig his m.ajoiily. He llaai returned to Ihir- 


par.aits .hiring her .•liil.lh.io.l .ami youth, .an.l be- 






lington to take posse>Mon of hissharc of his tallua's 


.■am.' profl.a.ait in .all th.is.- arts in wlii.'h the pio- 






farm, and resided 111. ae until .about isii;. In th.' 


i.,..a- iiiai.lcns to.ik pri.le. Sl„. l,.arn,-.l l,, -pin an.l 






winter season, while th.' sm.w Lay tlii.-k up..n the 


we, v.', an.l when .,f suilabl.' at;c. bein,- toii.l .if her 






ground, he starle.l .ml with .a ^l.'i'ih f.ir Chantau.pi.a 


b.M.ks. w,a- .■.insi.l.av.l .piit.' e.pial to 111.- task .if 






County. N. V.. uhciv he .au.t.auplat.al ni.aNinu In- 


l.-.a.-hiiiu the y.iuth of li.a- n.iglib. ,rli,,.,d. her first 






future home. 'I'liis uas ilurinu tli.'c.aiiy M'iM.an. nt 
' .if that region, ami he se.aire.l a tract of limber 


.luli.s ill Ihi- .liivcti.in b.auii in l..n,awe.' .lunction 
District. She was united in maiiiage, April ■>■>, 




a^_j 




^ 


^* 


•^ 1 










■ 


J 





•►HI-4* 



LENAWEE COUNTY, 



t 



1841. with Edwin Underwood, a native of De 
Ruyter. Madison Co.. N. Y., where his birth took { 
place May 12, 1.S17. His f.atluT, .John I^iuliTwoud. 
was a native, it is supposed, of Allnuiy County. 
whence he removed to .Madison County in cariy 
life, and from there to Monroe County, .settling in I 
Williamson Township, where he continued until 
1833. Tlien. cduiiuii to the Territory of Michigan 
he entered a tract of (iovcrnment land in Ogdcn 
Township, this county, where he lived two years, 
and then removing to Adrian for three years j 
he operated the only tlouring-mill there. Thence 
he returned to his farm, which he occupied eleven 
years, and subsequently exchanged it for a tract of 
land oil section 30, in Palmyra Township, where he 
carried on agriculture until resting from his earthly j 
labors. 

Edwin Underwood was sixteen years of age when | 
he came to this county with his parents, and re- 
mained under the home roof until his marriage. [ 
Afterward he operated on the farm of his father-in- 
law three years, and tlience removed to Palmyra ! 
and took charge of a flouring-mill, which he con- j 
ducted eight years. The year following he was in 
the same business in Raisin Township. In the I 
meantime he had purchased ninety-seven acres of , 
land on section 30. where he now engage:! in farm- 
ing, and continued until lii> death in May. 1881. 
Edwin and Charlotte .M. rnderuood l)ecame the | 
parents of three children, rc^corded as follows : J>ucy j 
C. was born April 6, 1843, and became the wife of | 
James R. Steele, who was engaged in farming at 
Palmyra, where she died No\-. 10. 1873; Edgar E.. i 
of our sketch, was the .serond ciiild ; .lolin T. was 
born Jan. 23, 18.57, and was reared on the farm. 
He completed his educati(jn in Raisin Valley Sem- 
inary, and married Mi.-^s Anna Martin, of Blisstield ; 
he departed this life Feb. 7. 1887. His wife is a ' 
native of Butler County, Pa., and the daughter of 
James and Margarette (Hamiuel) Martin. 

Our subject was re.aved to farm pursuits, and re- 
ceived his early education in the district school, 
after which he entered Raisin Valley Seminary and 
ctmipleted his studies. The farm which he now oc- 
cupies is a part of the original tract entered from 
the Government by his maternal grandfatlier. I'his 
has been brought to a good state of cultivation, and , 



supplied with the necessary and convenient build- 
ings required by the modern agriculturist. 

The wife of our subject, to whom he was married 
ill 18G7, was formerly Emma J., daughter of Hiram 
and Elizabeth (Harve3^) Butler, and a native of 
New York State ; she was born in Genesee County in 
1S48. Mr. and Mrs. Underwood have one child 
only. M daughter, Clara C, born in 1874. who con- 
linnes with her i^arents. Our subject gives his 
l>riiicipal ;itteiition to his farming interests, though 
he is siilliciently interested in politics to cast his 
vote at general elections, and uniformly votes the 
Republican ticket. 






1 



OIIN C. HARVEY is the son of Stimpson 
and Polly (Crane) Harvey, who were natives 
of Massachusetts, where the father was born 
April 30, 1780, and the mother April 17, 
1787. After their marriage they settled in that 
State, but desiring to better their condition, they 
moved in a short time to Farraington, Ontario Co., 
N. Y. Here the father died March 2, 1828. and the 
mother remained until the fall of 1833, when she 
migrated to Lenawee Country, Mich. With her 
c.-une her four sons — George C, Barzilla, David S. 
and John C. : another son, Harrison, died in New 
York wiien quite young. Of this family two only 
are now living: George C. residing in Lenawee 
County, Mich., and John C. After coming to 
Michigan the family lived a year or more in Pal- 
myra Town.shiiJ, when the mother purchased Gov- 
ernment land in Madison Township, sections 13 and 
2 1, on which they settled and continued to live 
until the time of her death, which occurred Feb. 

Our subject w;is the youngest of the parental 
family, and was born Oct. 22, 1820, in Farmington, 
Ontario Co., N. Y., whence at thirteen years of age 
lie removed with his mother and brothers to 
Ixiiawee County. Mich. Reared on a farm, and 
with scliool privileges necessarily limited, he iin- 
]iio\cd .-ill hisopportunities for accumulating inform- 
ation, and a perusal of this brief sketch will show 
what may be accomplished by industry, frugality 



■•►41-^ 







f 




^^ 




^4* 


*^- 








r.ENAWEE COUNTY. 415 ^ 


1 




;i,iid porsevernuci.', in tlio brief space iif a lifetime. 


their daily lives. Their liome is the center of a 






With the coura.ue and ambition of yoiitli. and a 


generous liospit,alitv whicli ij freely dispeu.sed to 






discerning judgment and wisdom wortliy of ma- 


their numerous friends and acquaintances. Their 






turer years, at tiie early age of fifteen \w toolv the 


names will long be cherished among those of the 






sole charge of his motiier's farm. ]}y his good 


worthy pioneers who assisted in establishing Madi- 






managemeiit. econom\- and tin-ift. he made a grand 


son Ton-nship. .and in developing its resources. 






success in his agricultural venture, and now o\vus 








this same farm of 17i! acres, lie lias erected ample 
and o<mvenicnt bnilding> for carrying on his work, 


-'•^-^4ij{?^'^^^' 






and here he resides in comfort: he is a self-made 








man in every sense implied by thai, tvrm. 


1 JSAAC .llM)r;i':, contractor. st,.ne and l.rick m.a- 






In all his works our subject has been assisted liy 


1 son an<l plasterer, is among the prominent resi- 






his faithful coadjutor, Mrs. Harvey, and to her 


l\ (I.a.ts of A.Irian 'C.wnship. He is a native 






counsel and efforts he is largely indebted for Ids 


of iMigl.and. where he was bin-n in the town of 






sueei'ss. Ilis wife's maiih'U name was Ma,r\- A. 


Wisbech, on the Isle of Kly, Candirhlgeshire. on the 






Uuderwood. and she is a daught<M- of Kdward and 


l.sth of Ocl.ibcr. I.s2:i. 






Anna C. (Mitchell) i;ud.a-w<M,<l. |j,,tli natives of 


The p.aivnls of our subject wca'c Moses and Han- 






DnU'hess Ccmnty, N. V. They wcic uunaicd in 


nah (Ponos) .ludge, who were marrieil in Kngland 






.Madison County, that St.ilc. .■uid at once removed 


and becanu' the parents of eight children, four sons 






to Wayne County, wluu-e they were cngage<l in 


and four daughters, of whom Isaac was the third. 






fai-ming for several ye;n->. They, with their four 


Me was reared at home and recave.! .a go.ul edu- 






chil<b-en, emigrated to this county in is:i(;. an<l 


cation from his father, win. was a line .M;h(jl.ar. and 






settled in Palmyra Township, where they passed 


by reading and studying goo<l books. Heengaged 






their remaining da.ys, Mrs. Underwood dying 


in farm work with different employers until 1854, 






Feb. L'ti. IStJl. and iMr. Un(h<rwood. .Mav is. l.sT.s. 


when, with a desire to the l)etterment of his fVirtunc, 






Their children were Hilary A.; Thoma.-. now rcsid- 


h,' ba.le a<licn to liis native land an.l end.arked f..r 






ing in Palmyra Towu.hip: Lydia and Cornelius. 


America, landing at Xew York City on the 20th of 






now dece;ise<l. Mary A. Underwood was liorn in 


.Ma\ . th.at year, lie cament(mee to Adrian, Mich., 






the town of Williamson, Wayne Co., N. V., .Inuc 


arii\ing on the 2(;fh of M.ay, and engaged as a 






■29, 182(;. and was therefore, ten years old when 


laboicr. He tin n learned the trade of a stone and 






her parents moved to Len.awee County. Her mar- 


brick mason and pl.astcacr. with Iv C. I'erkins, with 






riage with Mr. Harvey was ceicbr.atcd i,, I'almyr.a 


whom he worked eight years, .and >ince tliat time 






Townshi)!, Aia-il 2!). \S-\:,. To them have lieen 


has contiiuu'd contracting .and building. He was 






born five children, but three of Ibis baud — U.a.vid 


connected in business with Cilbert, Cl.-irk some five 






.1.. Mary L. and Clara K.-died in early life. The 


years, and is now in parlncrsbip with .M. M. Thomp- 






two surviving are Anna Maria .and Cornelia P.. who 


s.ui. the style of the lirm, which was csl.ablished in 






still brighten the home of ihcii- |)aienls. 


I.S72, being Thompson A- .ludg<'. They have built 






Jlr. Harvey is an upright and conM'icnliou.- citi- 


many of the tincsl struclun's in Adrian, among 






zen, and enjoys the respect .and conlidcnce of his 


whi<-li .arc th<. Industrial IIonu-,the college, jail an.l 






neighbors and fi-ieuds. lie is a g(an.al conip.aniou 


many fin.' r.^sidtaua's ami .ither bull. lines. 






at all tinu's. takes delight in hnnting, .and is .as de- 


Previous t.> leaving his hom.' in ■•white cliffed 






voted to the pi.<cat<irial art .as ever the renown.-d 


^Albion." on l,h.' 2(;tli .if Pebrnary. IS.".l. Mr. .fudge 






angler Izaak Walton was. In politics he is .a 


'l.'d t.. the altar Miss Kliza .I.am.-. a native of 






.stanch Repul)lican, and conscientiously endorses tlie 


March, Cambridgeshire. Kngl.an.l. with whom he 






principles of that party. Ileaud hiscstimablc wife 


.•anic to the Unite.l .States. Their union has been 






were brought up in the Society of Kri<aids. .and the 


blessc.l with a ffunily ..f eli-ven chil.lren. nine of 




a^_ 


^ peaceful tenets (if that sect aj-e e.xemplilied in 


wh.uH survive— Sarah K.. William A., Isaac .1.. 


1 


•^^ 






*"• 




t 







416 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Henry M., Mary A.. Berta Grant. Walter E., Eva 
A. and Nettie M. Sarah E. is tlie wife of J. 
Wethev.s; William A. married Miss Ida Bnrch, and 
is a resident of the citj' of Adrian. 

Mr. Judge has a commodions residence on Bud- 
long street and is surrounded by all the comforts of 
life. He enjoj's the c<jnftdenee and and esteem of 
the community, and is entitled to credit for the 
position to which he has attained. From a humble 
beginning, he has risen by his own industry and 
business tact to a position of easy competence and 
influence, and sets before the rising generation a 
bright example of what may be accomplished by 
hard work and economy. 



> h:^S ^ 



rj^ ENKY L. UURLBUTisa resident of sec- 
2.T. Fairfield Township, where lie owns 
T fine farm of lisd .-icres, on which are good, 
;-omfortable buildings and fine improve- 
ments generally. The parents of our subject were 
Henry and Elmira (Jennings) Hurlbut, the father 
born in Albany, N. Y., and the mother inNorwalk, 
Conn. In the summer of 1818 the father removed 
to Ohio, over the Alleghany Mountains with teams, 
spending from May until July on the journey, and 
settling in Norwalk, (Jhif), where he assisted in 
building the first house in that city, which he after- 
ward occupied. The moMier did not make tlie 
journej' with her husband, but joined him the fol- 
lowing spring. There tluw spent the remainder of 
their lives, his death occurring in the fall of 1851, 
and hers in 1885. To them were born seven chil- 
dren, five sons and two daughters. 

The subject of our sketch was the eldest of the 
parental family. He was horn in Norwalk, Conn., 
Feb. 2, 181.S. and w:i> aii infant in his mother's 
arms when they came to Ohio, where his life was 
passed to the age of fifty years. He learned the 
trade of a carpenter, whicli calling he followed un- 
til he came to Michigan, in December, 18C7. Mr. 
Hurlbut was first married, in Norwalk, Ohio, to 
Nancy, daughter of William and Mary (Stewart) 
Carter, the former boru in New Haven, Comi., and 
the mother in New York State. They fiist settled 



in York State, in what is known as the •' Holland 
rurchase." and afterward went to Lorain County, 
Ohio, whence thej' subsequently removed to Nor- 
walk, in the same State. After living in different 
places in Ohio, the mother died in Lorain County, 
and the father died in Michigan, to which place he 
had removed. 

Nanc}' Carter, the first wife of our subject, was 
liorn in what was known as the " Holland Purchase," 
N. Y., and by her marriage with our subject be- 
came the mother of three children — Charles L.. 
JMary E. and William H. Charles married Julia 
Fuller, and resides in Adrian ; Mary E. died when 
twenty years of age. in Erie County, Ohio, and 
V\ illiam was drowned, while on an excursion from 
Toledo to Put-in-Bay, June 24, 1867. Mrs. Hurl- 
but died in Norwalk, Ohio, on the 6th of May, 
1848. and Mr. Hurlbut was a second time married, 
Oct. 21, 1849. to Matilda, daughter of Thomas and 
Jane Gurley. natives of Ireland. They emigrated 
to America when Matilda was a child, and lived in 
AU)any, N. Y., about two years, when they came to 
Huron Cdiinty. Ohio, where they died, the mother 
in Janu.Mry. 1.^68. und the father in the spring of 
1872. They had seven children, two sons and five 
daughters, who lived to the age of maturity. 

Mrs. Hurlbut, the eldest of the parental family, 
was born in Ireland, Dee. 18. 1821. By; her mar- 
riage with our subject there were born two children 
— Frederick T. and George E. Frederick T. mar- 
ried Ada Vaughn, and resides in Fairfield; George 
E. married Alice Coah, and lives in Toledo, Ohio. 
In politics Mr. Hurlbut is a Democrat. 



-^n^l 



g^?%iT, 



^^, UCHIE R. BOYD is one of Michigan's most 
1. @/LiI promising young farmers and stock-raisers. 
3/ I'S He is an active, thrifty and practical young 
[1^1 man, bringing a well-trained intellect to 

bear on the great agricultural problem of the day, 
how to till the earth so as to produce the best re- 
sults without impoverishing the soil. 

Our subject was born in Kaisin Townshi|>. this 
county, Aug. 10, 1858, in the home that liis father 
had built when the town was in its infancy. He 
was carefully reared undei' the parental roof. re. 




Residence of Mrs. Ann 5 Harsh Sec 50 Ogdln Township 










M 



Evergreen H edge Farm ' Re5 of H W MAvrjARD, Sec 5 Dover Townsh ip 




*^u^ 



u 



LENAWEE 


COUNTY. 419 ' 




coiving the advantages of the fine educational sys- 


father's farm in Tecumseli Township, on the 8th of 




tem of liis native State, and finished by attending 


Eebrnary. 1851, and is the son of Rufus and Charity 




the Raisin Valley Seminary, and afttTwar.l Adrian 


(Upilike) Keyser. the former a snccessfnl >tock- 




College. After leaving tlie latter insliintioii lie 


dealerand farmer. 'I'lic i^ran.lfather. who was named 




worked at home on the farm until his father's dcatli. 


Henry, emigrat<al to Miehig.an in Is.'IO. where he 




He now owns the old homestead, whieli contains 


bonght land in Teenm-eh Township, now the town- 




some 210 acres of tine arable land. i»n section l.'i. 


ship of Clinton, on which lu' lived until a few years 




and keeps the farm up to the same higli .-.tate nl' 


beb.le hi^ .leath. wlii,-h o(a,uired in the same towu- 




cultivation to which his fatiier had hrouglit it. 


-hip at the advan.-rd :ioe ..f eighty-four years. His 




Mr. Boyd was married in tliis townsliip at tlie 


uirr. whos.. mai.ien name was Sallie Conner, had 




residence of the bride's paicnis. .Ian. 1, iss2. |,, 


pi-eeeded him to hei I'teriial rest a few years befoi'e. 




Miss Ella Holdridge. th<. dau.ulUer of Horace and 


in al I Ihe ei-htielli year ot her age. 




Adeline (Hollaway) Holdridge. a lii^lory of whom 


Unfus Key>er was but a boy when he came with 




appears in tliis Ai.ijim. The briiie w.as iiorn in 


bis father to Michigan, ami assisted in the anluous 




Raisin Township. .Sept. ."), isii;', ami here received 


labors of building np a home, which lie shared with 




a part of her education, which was coiupleted by a 


his father until his majority, learning to be reso- 




course in tlie Tecun)sch schools. She is an active 


lute, frugal anil iminstrious. Finally, after working 




and influential member of the ]'resbytei-ian Chureli. 


tlic homesteail two y.'ar-. he Manred .a title to forty 




and a good, consistent Christian woman. .Mr. and 


acre-, of Laii.l in Te.aimseli Town.-.hip. to whii'li he 




Mrs. Boyd are the parents of two chihli'en— Law- 


a.lded until he ,,wned al bi^ death l':MI .aiaes of 




rence and Carroll, both bright and interesting little 


weU-iniproVed land. So,,n after tlii> pnrehase, he 




ones, who are the pride of their father .and mother. 


was united in marria-e with .M is. Ch.ai ity Lpdike. 




Mr. Boyd is earnestly intere.-ted in the political 


who diedat-thc birth ..f twin ehihlreii: onr sniijeet, 




que.<tions of the day. and holding the s.ame vieu> 


.and a sister Matilda, who died at the u-v of si.\ 




that his father did concerning the gix-at principles 


months. Kefns Key.scr w.as a second lime married. 




that underlie the Government of this country, snp- 


to Esther Updike, a sister of his lirst wife. Th.^y 




l)orts the tenets of the Democratic p.arty. Although 


lived togetlK'r twenty-two years .and b..,aine the 




a young man. iie merits and retains tlie respect and 


parents ..f two .■hildreu. n\ wh,,m .Milbiun. the ,,iily 




esteem of the entire connniinity. who regard him 


.surviving <'liild. is attending s.'hool at Te.nimseh, 




as one of their lie.-t faianers .and most nprii^ht .and 


IMr. Keyser was again married, to Elizaiieth Shafer. 




honorable citizens. 


and died at his home in 1878, at the age of fifty- 
two years. Intelligence, good juilgmeiit and tact 




->' ^^■■- ■^.■^:^~^^■■u --i—.^ 


were qualities that went to make up the Miei-essful 




'1 )»;ESLEY B. KEYSEK. Tlie subject ..f this 


buyer .and seller of s|o,.k he proved himself b, be. 




\rJ/i biographical sketch resides on .a tr.act of 


A life-long I)e a-at, nnswcaviu- in his convic- 




V^^ 135 acres of Land in Clinton Township, .sec- 


tions, he melited .and enjoyed the conrnhaice of 




tion 17, and is one of the substantial and vi-orotis 


those who knew him. He was Commi>Moner of 




young farmers wh(.) dis(a)V(M' and diffuse new ideas 


Highways bn- srviaal years, the duties of which 




among the thoughtful who foUow .ai;ri(ailtnial pur- 


otiice he failhfiilly performed. 




suits. His beautiful home, from wlii.'h : nehant- 


We now return to the one whose ii.ame adorns the 




ing view of the surrounding i-oiMi( ry may be had. 


head of this article. Ke.areil at b.onie, surrounded 




is named "M.aple Hill .Stock Kami." the ,aii,honious 


with home h.ve, with edneatioiial facilities, eagerly 




title of a beautiful and valuable |H-opcrty. Mr. 


taken advantage of. coupled with .a fca-tilc mind. 




Keyser makes a specialty of slocK- raising, .and lii> 


we have here a pra.fi.-al, >ti,mg man, with a well 




farm is well supplied with buildings adapfi'd to that 


rounded character. In bis early lib' seh,,o| teach- 




calling. He located here in KSHo. 


ing engaged his attention for several years. He se- 




The subject of this sketch was born on his 


lected as a bride Miss Emma Welch, who wa^ born ' 

.. . 


' ^, 


^^ -^.T 






i 





120 



L E^: A W E E COUNTT . 



4 



ill Franklin Township, Dec. 1'.). 1S5.3, andis tlic 
.laughter of William Welch, now living in Clinlon. 
Her father was formerly a successful farmer in 
Franklin, where his wife died several years ago. 
Mr. Kcyser first owned a farm of fifty -seven acres 
in Franklin Township and located there in 1874. 
He removed from there to the old homestead after 
the death of his father and remained until he re- 
moved to his present home in 1883. 

Mrs. Keyser vvas reared and married in Franklin 
Township, and liecanie the mother of four children, 
one of whom is deceased. The others are named 
Leora E., Leon K. and Ethel May. Mr. and Mrs. 
Keyser are meinbers of the Presbyterian Cliurch at 
Tecuinseh, and Mr. Keyser is now bearing the hon- 
ors of School Inspector and Justice of the Peace, 
while he has held other positions of trust, always 
with credit to himself and satisfaction to the com- 
munity. He is a progressive, intelligent and popu- 
lar young man. Democratic in politics, but able to 
see in political principles more than partyisni 
means. 



IIRISTIAN KUNFY 



and enterprising fai 
_ ' is a native of Fay 



)f tlie successful 
mers of this conirnunity, 
ette, Seneca, ('o.. N. Y., 
where he was born Juno .'), 181(). Here he grew tt) 
manhood, and here, vvhen but a verj' young man, 
being but nineteen years of age. he was united in 
marriage, Nov. 20, I83n, with Miss Mary A. <Tam- 
ber, who was of the same youthful age. !\Ir. 
Kuney's parents were Henry .-ind Susan (Brown) 
Kuney. natives of Pennsylvania who settlei] in 
Seneca County, N. V., where they spent many years' 
of their wedded life, and where they died, the father 
in June, 1863, and the mother about 1832. They 
had eleven children, namely: Samuel, Catherine, 
Margaret. Jacob, Henry. Joseph. Christian, Abrani. 
Susan, Levi and Martin. 

Mrs. Kune_y's i)arents were -John and Kli/.alietli 
(Warner) Gambei-. and llicy were likewise natives 
of Pennsylvania, who ,-ctllcd in Seneca County. X. 
v., .and there made theii- liouic for many years. 
They had seven children, a.s I'ollow.s: Henry, Mar- 
g.arct. Elizabeth, .Sarah, M.ary A., .lolni and (^'orge. 

<> 



Mr. and Mrs. Kunej' began their married life in 
their n.ative town, building up a home there and 
rearing a large familj' of children, two of whom 
died, Abraham when four years old and Louisa at 
the age of nineteen. Those living, nine in number, 
are recorded as follows: John A. married Sarah A. 
Plate, and resides in Seneca County. N. Y. ; Perry 
married Amelia Br3'ant, and lives in Dover Town- 
slii[i; James married Martha Turner, and lives in 
Madison Township; Ellen' is the wife of William 
Xothnagle. and resides in Seneca County. N. Y.: 
Luther married Alvilda Mann, and they are living 
in Madison Township; Harlan married Lucy Wood, 
and resides in Deerfield Township; Se3'niour mar- 
ried Aurilla Bates, and lives in Madison Township, 
while Elton and Leroy live with their parents. 

In the year 18C3 Mr. Kuney, though approach- 
ing middle age, being then forty-seven years old, 
with the energy and enterprise that had always 
characterized him, made a new start in life. . Leav- 
ing the home of his early youth and manhood, 
where he and his wife had passed so many years of 
their wedded life, and seen their children growing 
up .around them, he came to Michigan, and here in 
JIadison Township, Lenawee County, he purchased 
240 acres of land on sections C and 7, whereon the 
latter section he founded his new home. His fine, 
well-cultivated farm, with its comfortable dwelling 
and other .substantial farm buildings, shows the re- 
sults of his untiring industry, guided by good judg- 
ment. Kow, in life's decline, Mr. Kuney may well 
look b;ick with pride on what he has accomplished 
in both his natixc .'liid liis adopted States. A busy 
life has left Mr. Kuney l>ut little time to take part 
in the jiolitical affairs ul' his country, but when oc 
casion offers he votes with the Democratic party. 

*-^!^>-^«^ -E^t^^gi^* ^^5t~=.^5»e- ■ 

if' ON. WILLIAM H.OSBORNE becamearesi- 
Ijlji dent of Tecumseh about 1881, and is num- 
J^^^ bered among its most prominent and well- 
(^ to-do citizens. He came to this section of 
country in the pioneer days, assisted in subduing 
the primitive soil, and for a i)eriod of probably 
forty yeai-.s has been closely identified with the in- 
terests of Lenawee County. In 18G4 he was elected 



'^ 



r.EXAWKE COUNTY. 



;i member of the Michigan Legislature, re-elected 


opportunity to acquire useful information. He em- 


to the position in 18G(), and served on several im- 


ployed his leisnre hours in the perusal of instruct- 


portant eomniittees. Dnrini: the late Rclirlli.Mi 


ive b.joks, and after leaving s.dio.il was engagv.l ,as 


and before, he was a derided anti-la v. .it man. and 


a, teacher three winters in his nativ.^ State, .me 


was activel.v interested in llie cause of hnnjaii free- 


winter in Maunice, Ohi.).an.l .me winter after .-..m- 


dom. He attended tlie convention at rittsburgii. 


ing to this county. 


when John P. Hale was nominated fur I'residenl. 


The father of ..ur >id.ject n|..m .•.,ming t.i .Michi- 


.and stood l,rav,-!\- up under Ihr -ti-ma ,.f b.an- 


gan in !s:;0. l.K-Mt.Ml .m thes..uthhalrof se.-ti.,n 2n. 


called an Abolitiunist. casliuu cue i>f the liist three 


in .Mac.,n T..wnship. which he operated nine years. 


Vote^ iiolled in Macon 'l^ownship a-ain>t the perpel - 


an.l in is:;;) turn.Mnt ..ver t.. William II.. wh.. rc- 


nation uf human bcmhi-c. Subsequent Iv he l.e.-nuc 


laine.l p.i>se>si.in ..f it until his removal t.. hi> \il- 


a Fi-ee-s.-iier. and linall\ a i;c|adilicaii. tiie prima- 


lage Inane. In the meantime he cicare.l .ami ini- 


plcs (if which party h<- lia,~ uphcM Ihnmuh >uu>hinc 


pn.v.Ml •.'•.'(1 :na-es. .ami er.".4eil a large frame h.iuse 


.and >toiin for a j.criod of <.\cr thirlv \ears. In 


withtw....r three .■onim...li.ins b:irns besi.les two 


the building up ami impr<_)vement of Macnn Tuwn- 


baiement h.mses: he also |au-chase.l another farm 


sliip, there are few men who iiave been more active, 


.ai si'cti.m L'l. In addith.ut.) the labor and re- 


and whose lalajrs have resulted in mi.ie real bcaiclit 


sp.msibility in\..lv...l in l.a.kiug after the.se e.xten- 


to tiiis cause in l.en.awct' County. 


sive int(av>t>, at th.^ s.ili.atath.u ..f his townsmen 


Mr. Osburue was b.,rn in ( )\ id, Seneca, Co.. N. V., 


he sei-ve.l .as .lusti.a.. ..f tla- I'eai-... Sch.iol Inspector, 


Oct. ■>'.!. ISlA, and i> llie s.,n of Thomas Oslx.rne. a 


Highway C..mnii->i..ner and r..wn Clerk. The 


native of Ma>>a<-lni-etls. wliere he was born in 17s 1. 


li.h'lity with whi.-h h.. .li-.-h.arg...l th.^ duti.-. . .f th.^s.. 


and reared to manhood. He then migrated to thi' 


\ai-i..ns p..,.iti.ais, naturally rcsnUr.l in hi> ele.-tion 


State of New York, and cast his h.t with the pio- 


I.I Ih.. higher .illice of a Slate Legislat.ir. 


neers of Seneca Conuly. 'laidng up a liact of 


The marriage .if II, William H. Osljorne and 


land in Ovid Township, he lived there until about 


.Mi.s Ann Hex W.iodw.ar.l, was eelebrate.l at the 


1848, during which time he ha.l iN'om.^ the ..wner 


h.ime of the bride. April -JC. 1 S:;(;, whih^ our snli- 


of 300 acres ..f land, and then selling out he pro- 


j,.ct was a resi.lent .,f Ovhl. N. Y. .Mrs. Ann II. 


ceeded once more westward and took np his abode 


Osb.irne was th.Mlanghtia-of .lohn an.l Saiali W.iod- 


in Lenawee County. During hi> hilia year- he 


war.l. .if II.M-t.ir. T..mpkins Co.. N. Y.. .and w.as 


m.ade his InniM- with hi> >on William II.. .at who-e 


li.irnin Lomhrn. I-aiglan.l. in lS-_'(): she became tln^ 


residence his death oeeurred ,,n the lUh of .M.ay. 


m.ilh.a .if .in.- .-hil.l. .ami .H.mI in Abeam, this 


l,s:,.|. The mother of mir subjeel. .Mis> .Mary lli,- 


i-ouiity. De... -.'1. islli. Th. ir .langht. r. Mary Kliz- 


garth. of Ovid. N. Y.. w.a^ married to Thoma.- < )- 


;di,th. was born in Ovid. N. Y.. S,.pl. 1(1. Is:;:), ainl 


borne about |S(I2. She waOiorn in Ireland in 


is the wife of .lolni K. Hi.'ks. of Tciaimseh. .M.ari-h 


its;;, an. 1 came to thi> country with her pmvuls. 


:;i). isli', Mr. Osboine marri...! for his se.-.m.l wib-. 


.lohn an.l ,Iane II. .garth, when a .-hil.! ,.f M-vca, 


.Miss ,\laiy .lane, d.aughl.a- .if |)a\id an.l .MaiT 


years. They l<.catc.l in Siaic-a C..nuty. .\. Y.. an.l 


Ko.it... .if Ovi.l. N. Y. The s.'v.ai .•hil.lr.ai .if this 


there spent their last year,-. Mrs. ( tsborm^ came to 


)narriag.- a)-e re.-oi-.l..l as f.iUows: Anna lle.v was 


the West with her hn,-bau.|. an.l .lid in franklin, 


li.Da) April 11). isi:;. .-in.! is the wib- .if .bihn .1. 


this county, in 1 s.'jO. 


Hagerman, a pr.iminent lailma.l man an.l a resi- 


Mr. ()sbor\ie reccive.l a g 1 e.lui-ati..n, pursu- 


.lent .')f C.il.irado Spi-in,L;s; S.iphia .\I. w.as born 


ing his studies at Ovi.l .\ia.lemy. an.l Liin.a .an.l 


April 10, ISl.-,, becainc th.' wif,- of (o-oigv 1,. 


C'asenovia Sianinari.'^. .Vlth.mgh .h't,ei inine.l from 


Ci-av.-s. of .Milwauk.M'. Wis., .ami .li.al at h.a- home 


the tir.st to be a farmei. h.- was bright en.mgh t.. 


there Mar.'h L'a, ISS-I; Thomas was b.iru Feb. l'2, 


realize that tin- e.lui-al.-.l man. what.^vcr might be 


IS 17, an.l .iperates the ho),i.. farm; h'cb.'.-ea .1. was 


his station in life, always h.cl .an .a.lv.anlage over 


born Jnne 2SI, l«4y, ami is (h.- wife .if II. airy C. 


' the Ignorant one, and he availeil himself ..f every 

^h-^.— : 


Lowe, of Detroit; .loseph W., twin br.itlua- of Ke- 



T^ 



12- 



LENAWF.E COUNTY. 



becca, is fanning in Macon Townsliip; Irving 8. 
was born June 21. 1851, and is engaged in tlie lum- 
ber liusiiu'ss and also in farming in Teeuniseli 
Tounship; William H. was born (Jet. 10, 1853, and 
is engaged in tlie iron business in Miluaiii<ee. 

Mrs. Mary Jane Osborne was born in Schenec- 
tady, N. Y., May 12, 1820, anrl is the daughter of 
David and Mary Foote, natives of Ireland, who 
emigrated to America in 1798, and located in Ovid, 
N. Y., where the mother died in 1851 and the father 
in 1855. Mrs. Osborne is a highly intelligent and 
cultivated lady, and greatly respected in the social 
circles of Tecumseh. 



"V- 



m^-^^ 



ARTIN ODELL, a gentleman in easy cir- 
cumstances, is comfortably located on a 
good farm in Fairfield Township, among 
whose people he has siient his entire life. 
He was born .at the homestead of his father, Dec. 5. 
1842, and received a more than ordinarily good 
education, attending Adrian College and taking a 
course in Bryant & Stratton's Business College nt 
Detroit. From the latter institution he was gradu- 
ated with honors, and fully armed for the further 
business of life. He has always been fond of rural 
pursuits and h.as wisely decided to follow the occu- 
pation of his f.ather before him. 

The parents of our subject, John ( '. and Mary A. 
(Geringer) Odcll, were natives respectively of 
Orange County, N. Y., and the State of i\Iaryland. 
The Geriuger family removed from Maryland to 
the Empire State at an early pei'iod, where John C. 
Odell was married, and not long afterward came with 
his young wife to Fairfield Township, tiiis county. 
Here Mr. and Mrs. Odell spent the remainder of 
their lives, the mother passing away on the 8th of 
May, 1884, and the father Oct. 2;!, 1886. Their 
famil}' included one son and five daughters, of 
whom twci ai-e living and have families of their 
own. 

INIartiu Odell was the eldest of Uic parental fam- 
ily, and not long aftei- completing his college course, 
began to make arrangements for the establishment 
of a home of his own. He was married in Madison 



Township, March 28, 1867, to Miss Mary F., daugh- 
ter of Israel and Amanda (Olds) Hale. Mr. and 
Jilrs. Hale were natives of Massachusetts, in which 
.State they remained f(n- several years aftci- their 
marriage. They came to Michigan in 186(j, settling 
lirst in Shiawassee County, but removing, however, 
a few months later, east as far as Ohio. They con- 
tinued in the Buckeye State until the spring of 
1881, and then returned to the West and located 
in Seneca Township, this county, wiiere they now 
reside. Mrs. Odell, who vvas the third of their four 
children, was born in Norwich. Mass.. Dec. 7, 
1848, and contiiuied with her pai-ents until her 
marriage. 

Mr. and Mrs. Odell became the parents of five 
children — Elmer S.. Leroy M., Burton H., Mary E. 
and John C. The last named died in infancy and 
the others are at home with their parents. Our 
subject and his wife are among the leading mem- 
bers of Fairfield Grange No. 278, containing at the 
present time about seventj' members. Mr. Odell, 
politically, is a decided Democrat and a strong 
temperance man, while religiously, he is a Univer- 
salist, belonging to the association at Fairfield ; Mrs. 
Odell is prominently connected with the Methodist 
]<4:)iscopal Church. 



\j?RA S. NICKEUSON. One of the most at- 
ll tractive homesteads in Madison Township is 
/li pleasantly located on section 14, and comprises 
1 oO acres of valuable land, with a handsome mod- 
ern residence and substantial out-buildings. The 
farm stock and machinery are of the best descrip- 
tion, and everything about the premises indicates 
the exercise of cultivated tastes, and ample means. 
Mr. Nickerson, the owner of this property, not long 
ago [lassed his sixty -second birthday, and as the result 
of a worthy life and temperate habits, retains a 
large proportion of his youthful energy and indus- 
try. He has been a resident of this county since a 
child ftnir ye.-irs of age, when he came from Waj^ne 
County, N. Y.. with his parents, Lewis and Betsey 
(Blood) Nickei'son. 

Our subject was l)oru on the 25th of February. 
182G, and spent the first four years of his life in 





■ 




-^ 


.^ 






•p 








LKNAWK]' 


COINTY. I-2.'. . 


1 




— __„__--__--- — 








his iialiv (•(,uiity. >.inoe which he h:i> Ih-.m -a ic-i- 


Wail t.iok pla.'.. Al.aivh 7. 1 s.-.s. in .\l:i.li-...ii T.iwu- 






(Iciit ><( .M;ulisi)ii 'I'ownsliii). tin's couiily. Ilcic hr 


ship. After Ilieir marri.auv they scl,ll..d in D,,v,-r 






p,n-sM.'.l Ills prim-iiy stu.Iio in the imui.ct srh,..,ls. 


TownMiili on s.M'ti.iii .'.J. ami iv-i.h'.l there the re- 






MM. las s 1 a- ..hi r,i,>ii-h. his s,.|vi,'cs «(MV nlil- 


main. ler .if th.-ii liv.'v. his ,|,..at,|i ...Tuning Feb. 1 1 . 






izrd ill nssistin^ l,<.(lcvc-h,|) lUr s..il .■ni.l hiiihl ii|. 


is.s;;. Airs. N.aa.- W.anvn w.as born in .Armenia, 






Ih.' honii'slrad. One ,.1' ihr hrsi iHi|,oil.-ml -.lc'|,- 


Dnl.-hess (',,.. N. v.. s,.pl. 1. 1,S12. :iud <aine with 






toWMi-d tlu" (.sluJilishinciit .if n, li..iii.' f.ii liiiiis.-if \v.i~ 


lui lather's family l.i AI i.liig.aii in 1 .s.ii;, uh.'ic she 






his l^;u■|■ia,l;.^ which t.xik plac.. in l'illsf..nl. Hills- 


live! in AI.adi~.iii TowiiMiip until her mariiage. 






dale Co.. Mi<-h.. ( K'l. .-., IS.-.d. His .■h..s,.ll hl-idr 


Sh.' was .an e.ainest, Chrisliaii wom.an, .ami at the 






was Miss Sarah K.. dauiJiliU'r of K. T. aii.l .Maiia ]•'. 


tim.'of her.h'alh. Al.aivh C. l.'^sT. w.a. I'iv>i<lcnt .if 






(Iloxie) Watson. The Litter were natives ivs|,.m'|- 


the S.iiith Dover Women's Kor.a-ii AI issi.m S.ii'iety, 






ively of New IIam|)shire and New Y.nk. and raim^ 


whi.-h p..Mti..u -lu' ha.l hidd t.ir eight year-. She 






to Lenaw.a. Coniify in 1 ,s;;,s. h.eatiim in :\la<lis,,n 


w.as .a w.iman of rale lovelin.'Ss .if eli.aiaeter, be- 






Townslii|i. where they spent the last y.'.ais .if ilieir 


L.ve.l l,y .all who kii.'W h..r, ami ••her .-hildren rise 






hinji- and^excellent lives. The death of the fallier 


up.-iml .-idl h.a- blessed." 






took place on the .'il.'it of January. ISSl', and that 


The- hither of .lur siibjeet was ..f l^uak.a- .•inteee- 






of the mother on the !2th of Felirna.ry of llie same 


.leiits. but hit. a- III litV 111' ilep.arte.l fnuii the f.-iith 






year. The household .-iivlr .-.iiisisl,.,! .if four chil- 


.if his fatluas. becoming .a convert to Aletho.lism. 






dren: .Sarah Iv. Alls. Niekeison; Sus.an ,M., who 


In l.st:l he nuite.l uilh the Aletlio.lisl l':iiis(aipal 






died in infancy; Laura M.. the wife of Curren Wil- 


Chur.-h. .-iml for i ly long y<'.ars was ;in .a.'tive 






son, of Dakota, and Sylve,ster E., whodiedin Madi- 


workia- in lli.-it s.ieiety. He ^^a- Supia iiiteml.'nt of 






son Township aboiit 1.S4II, when three y.'ars .if ai;e. 


the Suu.lay-s.-h.iol b.r several y.'ai-. and Cla.s.s. 






The p.arents rein.ive.l lirst from Ontario C.ninty, N. 


Leader for ..ibout tw,aity-live years. He was 






Y., to Ohio, where they reniaine.l a short time ami 


an affceti.inate husbaml ami father, ami at 






then came to this county. 'J'hey were pr.i|iii' hiuhly 


his dealli th<. iio.u .ami ueialy l,.st .a, sincere 






res|iected by those who knew them, and ucre wi-1- 


fri.aid, b.r his -■liaiity aiel 1 .eu.'Vol. n.-e were iiu- 






comed to the new State as a, v.alue.I :i.-(piisili.iu to 


bouudeil. He had beiai Supervi.sor of the l.iwn- 






its intelligence ami n-speetaliilily. 


ship, ami held .ith.a- olliees. To him and his wife 






Mr. and Airs. Ni,-k,.rs,,n are (he parents of one 


were born live ehildiaai — Darwin 1 1.. 11. im. a-, Har- 






child only, a, daughter, Ida \ ., who is now the wife 


riet D. Isaa.- Newton an<l Melvin K. Homer was a 






of Robert Savage, a farmer of Aladison T.iwuship; 


member of Comp.aiiy I. I.sth Alichigan Infantry, 






they h.ave one child, a son, Invd N.. born Aii.l;-. 2-1. 


an.l uas taken piis.iner Alaii'li 21. I.SG;!, at Dan- 






issr,. Mr. X. has liej.l the .illi.-e of T.iwuship 


ville. Ky. He was painled .-iml sen! to Camp Chase. 






Treasurer, ami politically, gives his entire support 


Ohi.i, where he die.l April 7. llarri.'t L. is the wife 






to the Prohibiti. Ill movement. lie is .a member in 


of Milo Bovee. of D.-v.a- T.iwuship: Isaac N. mar- 






good st.andiiig of the Alasonie fraternity. 


ried Nancy Ilalst,.:id. .ami r..si,les in Dover Town- 
ship, while Melvin was :i tea. -her in Seneca Town- 






-> 4-#- ^■ 


ship, anil died tlua'e Dee. 2(;. 1.^71. 

I):irwin 11. Warr.ai w:is born on section .--12 <if 






■*v ARWIN H. WARREN. Prominent ain.ing 

J the agriculturists of Dover 'I'owiiship 

rrij -f^ stands the name of the geiitlemaii whose 


l).i\er Township. Al:i>'21. 1 s.')'.!, and was reared on 






his f.'itlua's farm. He attended the conmion 






seh.Mils an.l Ih.' 0:ik Orove Academy at Medina, 






biography is brielly gixcii in this sk.'leh. 


and .after .■ompleting his stmlies [w taught two 






His parents were I.saae and Delia ( Wail) Warren. 


terms. At that time .■■ame :i call bir more volun- 






the fonner born in Farmington, Ontario Co., N. 


teers to a.ssist in supiiressing the late Rebellion, to 






Y., Sept. 11, 1812. He caine to Michigan witli his 


which he promptly responded by enlisting Aug. 11, 






' ' parents in 1834, and his marriage with Delia A. 


1.S62, in Company I. 1 ."^th Michigan Infantry. Me 




-»- 








•^" 






^» 




■■ 


1 





.^1 



4- 



LKNAWEK COUNTY. 



line hiiok liuii^e. uliicli is iX'pletc willi all Uic rori- 
veiiienoes of modoni life, and lias made many dthei- 
good iiii|)i-oveiiieiits, while he has increased its aie:i 
by a fui-ther |uiivli;is,. of 140 acres. 

Ml-. Wanvii wn> luarried in Dover Township, 
Sept. .'), IrtG;"), to i\Iiss Ann M.. danghter of Jona- 
than \V. ami Lydia (Moore) Austin, the former a 
native of Salem, Mass., and the latter of Bradford, 
Vt. The i)arents were married in Bradford, where 
they lived five or six years, and then in 1830 came 
to Lenawee County in the very earliest days of its 
settlement, taking up the first land that was settled 
in Fairfield Township; theyr then retnrned to their 
home in Vermont, where they continued to live for 
.some years, and then came back to Michigan and 
occupied the land which Mr. Austin had taken up 
in 1880. After living there about two years they 
removed to Seneca Township, and settled on the 
present site of North Morenci, whence two or throe 
years later they came to Dover Township and set- 
tled on section 31, where they died. Mr. Austin's 
death occurred Sept. i), J 864, while Mrs. Austin 
passed away July 30, 1871. They were the parents 
of six children, tlu'ee of whom lived to ninturity. 
Louisa, Roswell M., and one unnnnied died in in- 
fancy. Lydia E. married A. F. Brown, of Chicago; 
Adeline is the wife of Hiram Bovee, and lives in 
Gratiot County, this State. Ann M., wife of our 
subject, was born in Dover Township on section 31, 
Aug. IS, 1840, and taught school Ave years pre- 
vious to her marriage. Of her union with Mr. War- 
ren three children have been born, namely: Eva 
E., the wife of Levi J. Deline, of Dover Township, 
Harriot E. and Delia L. 

Mr. Warren has boon School Director and In- 
spector, and has tilled the office of Drain Commis- 
sioner. He is Secretary of the 18th Michigan In- 
fantry Association, and is also a member of 
Rowley Post No. 358, G. A. R.. and is Senior Vice 
Commander of that post. CampNo. lil. Sons of 
Veterans, organized in January, 1888, was named in 
-<• . 



II crop con'osijondent for Dover Township ever 
(■ till' enactment of the law authorizing such a 
ospondout, and is one of the County Committee 
DoviT Township for the burial of indigent de- 
.(■d Mildiois. Mr. and Mrs. Warron are active 
nbcrs of the Methodist Episcopal Church, while 
\\:in-oii is Siipcrintendontof the Sunday-school, 
h:i> bold the position of Class-Leader since the 
til of bis f:itlicr. In politics he is a Prohibition- 
mikI in the fall of 1880 he was candifiate for the 
islatiirc on the Prohibition ticket. 



-m- 



-ie4- 



HILLIP H. KELLS. The bone and sinew 
forming the business portion of a locality^ 
are made up largely of its manufactories 
vvhi6h, as a section of country develops, be- 
come a necessity to its existence as well as its prog- 
ress. Without them it invariably retrogrades, as 
we often see in the example of towns from which a 
factory or a railroad depot has been withdrawn. 
Too much credit cannot be given to those who have 
risked their capital and their time to establish an in- 
dustry which, perhaps, in the changes of the world 
may bring more profit to others than to its projectors 
or its legitimate heirs. These thoughts are sug- 
gested in looking upon the flourishing industry 
which was established by the subject of this sketch, 
and is now carried on by himself and his sons, un- 
der the firm name of Kells & Sons. The necessity 
for brick and tile developed a necessity for the 
manufacture of the machinery required to carry it 
on, and Mr. Kells was one of the pioneers in this 
business, to which has been also added the repairing 
of engines and boilers. 

Mr. Kells established his present works in 1871, 
near the Lake Shore depot, where he wisely began 
operating on a modest scale. He associated first 
with Heniy Angell, who coutiuued with him three 
years, when the works were removed to No. 82 
North Main street, where the firm of Fair & Dodges 
weie operating a foundry, and were employed by 
Mr. Kells in making his castings. After the retire- 
ment of Mr. Angell, Mr. K. associated himself with 
with John I. Napp, but the partnership continued 
■» 



t 



-^ 



li<;na\\i>:k t'ouNTV, 



only tu-elve inonths. In the iiK';uitiiiic, llii' .-ons nl' 
oiii- subjcft, who wei'e In-iyht .iiid iiitclligoiil yoiini; 
iric'ii, hail gainccl a o'ood insight into thcii' Inlhc r'- 
InisiiK'ss, and as his nt'xt he.-^t chuicc he Uwk Ihiiii 
inl.i iiartner.shil) in Aii-nst. 1 S,S-i. an.! iviiiuvci \hv 
worivs t(i Norlli Main slivt. near the <-(iu, l-hous,.. 
The niacliine-sliop oeenpies an area, <il' :i.S\(;i feel,, 
tlie foundry :!4x3(; feet, and the Mack.-iuilh-hup 
li!x-'G foot. Tliey nsnally give em|>l(iyiiii'iil in 

twelve men, and tlu' faetoiy has 1h „■ .,ur ,.f ihe 

importanf features aniong tlie imhislries of the <-ity. 
proving a source of l)rofit to its projector as well a- 
a benefit to numbers of the hiboriug chisses. Mr. 
Kelhs has been continuously advancing in the knowl- 
edge of his business, and has develop,.,! c,)nsi,ler- 
able inventive taleiil. being tli,' imtcntee of the 
conibiueil auger, brick anil tile machine which li.-is 
come into very general use. It eniUr.ic's slrcuLjih. 
durability .and speed, awl is now turned out in l:irge 
numbers, orders being received from all over the 
United States, from Maine to C^alifornia. 

Mr. Kells is a native of Columbia County, N. V.. 
where his birth took place April I, l<si;!. His 
father, Abraham Kells, was also a nalivi'of llu'l-]ni- 
pire Stat,,', and the inotlu-r in her girliio,),! was .Miss 
Zuba Thornton, the ,laiigliter of a b'evolut ionary 
soldier, who after the close of his militaiy career, 
settled in Columbia County, whore Mrs. K. was 
born. Abraham Kells and his wife after their mar- 
riage settled in Columbia County, N. V., ^\hv\■r they 
reared their f.-iniily. and spent the remainder ol their 
days. Their .sou, Phillip II., contiuueil under the 
parental roof until twenty-two years of ag,'. .-md 
ea,rly in life developed the tastes and tah'Uts which 
have since made of him a successful business ucni. 
Leaving the farm, he learned miilwi-ightiug, at 
which he worked seven years, when he entereil a 
machine-shop at Hudson, Columbia Comity, and 
steadily worked his way upn.ard until he bi'came .■ui 
expert as a machinist, and comm.auded the i>cst 
wages given at that time. In is,i2. he p:it,'nted 
the second successful mower evei- made in the 
United States, and five .years later he left his native 
State, and going- to New Albany, Ind., engaged in 
the manufacture of reaping and threshing machines. 

After gaining a good foothohl, and feeling justi- 
fied in taking upon himself the responsibility of 



iiiaintaiuing a family, j\Ir. Kells was married 
.Mi-.- Ch.-irlottc Shehioii. :, n,-itiv.. n{ Liviu-s 
County. N. V., wher,' >li,> w:is Imui, in ISlC. Sj, 
thcd.'iughtia- of .l,,b ■■ind Maiia (HiM/ee) Shehl 
nat,iv,vsof N,nv V.M-k. will, wh,,ui sli,. K'Uiaiiied in 
her marri.-ige. Oiu- ,,ul,j,.,t au,! his wif,- Ik^.^'ui 
lo-elli,.r ill a ui,»l,>>l w.iy, .■in, I ma.l.. it a |ioiiit 
liv,. uilhiii llH'ir iii,-oui,'. In ,lue liiii,' the h,iu 
hold i.jrel,. ^v:,^,.|l^lre,.,l by the birth of ,-ix chihir 



M.. I'hill 
.v. C. Ch 



plei 


tv. ail 


1 .-ill the ,.vi,h'ii,-,.s , 


thr. 


iigh t! 


,■ ex,..rise,,rnlin,'da 


Mr. 


Kells 


la.- m,.,l,lle,l very lilt 


t,TS 
\-ol, 


w!l,h' 


tin- lini,. of iuiportai 
the l!epubli,-:iii party 



am, .lacob 
he wife of 



ilort ; 
bilill 



j-^ we,' County, is a, resident of Adrian. He 
i> :i native of the State of Ohio, and was 
born ill South Amherst, Lorain County, May 14. 
l.si.'i. His parents were Madison and Augusta 
(.Moon) Keynolds, the former of whom was a native 
of the Stat,' of New '^'lu-k, ha ving been born on the 
shores of Lake Cliiiiiipl.-iin. His uiolher w.-is Ihe 
ilaiigliter of Lmluig M,„,ii.and w.'is born in Avon. 
Lor.'iiii Co.. Ohio. She was niarri,'d in her native 
county, ami reuiained there until l.s,-,0, wlu'U the 
family move.l to Sonierlii'Id. .Monroe Co., .Mich., 
uher,. ^he ,li,'<l in I.SSC, ami where the b.'danee of 
the family still resi,le. 

-lauH's 11. lleyiiol.is, our -.iibject, is the third in a 
family of four ehildri'ii. ami a,-i'ouiiKiiiicd his par- 
ents, at the age of live yea.r,s, when they moved to 
Monroe County, Mich., where he attended the 
graded schools at Petersburg until he was thirteen 
.years of age. He then entered the seminary at 
Ypsilanti. .and in that institution pursued his stud- 
ies for nearly four years. During this period he 



•►Hh-4*- 



■•► 



t 



;na\vkk county, 



i)(.)th 



llie iirmy twiec, but wns rc- 
(•(•oiiiit of sizf and nop. Still 
. he .■ilii'iw.ird enlisted nml 
;,|i Mirhiuan Heavy Artillery, 
iicdic-ii dc|Kn(nirnt, as huspi- 

renipou.ulino |Mvsrril.ti.>n>. 



jectei 

persevfiinu. Ii(i\vi-\ci- 
was aec('|>ii'(l in ihr ill 
and he served in llie i 
tal steward. :ind in 
until the close of the war, being- naisVered <.ul, .ai 
the 9th of May, 1S«5. After hi,^ return from the 
army he entered the office of Dr. 1). W. Loree. at 
Ridgeway. After remaining vvith him for a while 
he matriculated in the medical dep.artment of the 
Michigan I'nivei-sity. at Ann Arbor, and was grad- 
uated fi'oni llie Detroit .Medical College in 1871. 
He located in I'almyra in the year 1 8(58, where 
he re.sided and continued in the practice of his pro- 
fession for a period of fifteen year.s. During this 
time he was elected Township Clerk- and serve(l 
two years, and also served two years as Superintend- 
ent of Schools. 

On the 21st of October, 1869, Dr. Reynolds 
was married to Margaretta V. Steele, of Palm\'ra. 
who was bom on the 27th day of January, 184;"). 
She was the yoimgest daughter of Solomon and 
Laura (Downey) Steele, who were natives of Nev, 
Vork. To Dr. and Mrs. Reynolds have been horn 
two daughters — Bertha L. and Florence A. In 
188o Dr. Reynolds moved to the city of Adrian, 
where he has continued his practice and built up a 
good business. He was Master of Palmyra Lodge, 
A. F. ife A. M., several ye.ars, and High Priest of 
Blissfield Chapter. R. A. M., for five years. In 1884 
he was appointed as United States Examining Sur- 
geon for pensions, which position he still holds, and 
is .also the surgeon for the Lake Shore & Michigan 
Southern Railroad. 



W¥~~ >*-35^S^3^':^ 



DWIN A. KNOWLES. one of the early set- 
rs of this county, is the proprietor of 120 
•es of land on section 20, in Adrian 
Township, where he has cairied on farming for the 
last thirty year?. His life has been simple and une- 
ventful, marked by indusUy and honesty, and he 
has won the esteem of his fellow-citizens, being 



intrusted by them with the various local offices and 
otherwise receiving evidences of the estimation in 
which he is held. 

Mr. Ivuowles was born in Wayne County, N. 
Y., Aug. 2o, 1833. and is the son of Jonath.an 
and Betsy (Davis) Knowles, who were natives of 
Middleton, N. H. The father was born April 1;"), 
1791, and died Aug. (!, I8,')l ; the mother was born 
Jan. 2,5, 1792, and died Feb. 27, 18.51: his grand- 
parents, Jonathan and Sally Knovvles, were also 
natives of New Hampshire. Jonathair Knowles 
owned a moderately sized farm in Wayne County', 
whence he (;ame to Michigan in 1847, locating in 
Adrian Township, this county, and here our sub- 
ject spent his younger years, studying in the dis- 
trict school during the winter, and in the summer 
making himself useful about the homestead. He 
remained under the home roof until his parents 
were called hence, and no more required his filial 
care. The parental family included four sons 
and one daughter, all still living and residing in 
this county: David D., a n.ative of New Hamp- 
shire: Calista A., the wife of Almon Galloway; 
Branaird C l)orn in Vermont; Edwin A., and 
Cassius R., a native of New York. In 1851 our 
subject started out for himself, employing his h.ands 
at whatever he could find to do. He was em- 
ployed here as a farm hand until 18,58, and then 
made his first purchase of laud, selecting thirty-five 
acres which is now included in his present home- 
stead. Here he has labored industriously and has 
been fairly prospered in the cultivation of the soil, 
and in his investments. 

Mr. Knowles, while a resident of Adrian, was 
married, April 20, 1 854, to Jliss Elizabeth A., daugh- 
ter of John and Aleuda (Drake) Galloway, of Mon- 
roe County, Mich. They were natives of AYayne 
County, N. Y., and came to Michigan about 1820, 
locating near Pontiac, Oakland County; they subse- 
quently removed to Monroe County,- where the}- 
both died, John Gallowii3' was the son of Capt. 
James Galloway, of Palmyra, Wayne Co., N. Y. 
Mrs. Knowles was born Aug. U, 1833, near Pontiac, 
Oakland County, this State, and of her union with 
our subject there are three children: Cullan E. 
wiis born Sept. 4, 1856, married Miss ICmma Cook, 
of Adrian, and they have four children, two 



►Hl-^ 





' 




' 


r 


«fc 








■ -*- 


•^ 








\^ 




• 


LENA WEI 


: COUNTY. i-2'J 






hoys and lw<. liiiis; CiutoII A. uus h 


.rn April 0, 


and was born in Lai.icer Cemnty, on the tilth day 






l,S.-,.s. niurri^Ml Mis> Kv.-i, .bni-litcr 


<,( l-Mw.ar.l 


of S..'pteiiili..r. ISII. 11.' is lh.'s..ii ..f Harm. in an.l 






Kniuiil. ..II.' uf tlK- |ii..ii.-.T M-lll.'is 


n( L.aiaw.r 


Eiiielili.' r.arn.'s, wh., w.'iv ii:itives . .f the Stale .if 






(■.iiiiily,:ni.l is ..n Hi.' Iniiii uilli his f.-i 


b.M': (':i»iii- 


\'eiiii.iiit. Ili>b.iyh l.la\- w.r,' p.'i>,M'.l in hi- ii.'i- 






.\l. \v.-i> l...ni ()<■!. 1 1. 1 si;:;.. -111,! iiiiini.' 


1 .\Ii,".le>-h'. 


tiv.' .■.iiinly, wh.'iv 1 btaiii..! a priinaiy .'.lii.-,'!- 






.lauiihl.T .if .l.i.'.J, A. llMr.hi.T. a -Is.'t 


ll <>{ whoiii 


fi.iii iu th.' .'..111111. Ill .-<'li.i..l>. .\fl.'r arriviii- al th.' 






will h.' f.Hiii.l (111 aii.>th.T \Ki'j.r in lhi~ 


-\i,ia m; he 


pr.iper .'ig.' he eiit.T.'.l Ih.' Sl.'.l,' |T|,i\ ,.|'.Ml,y ..f .M i.'hi- 






is larinin- in .Mcliit..>li ('.Mintv. Dak 


, an.l i,-, the 


gan at Ann Aib..r, wii.i'.. li.' dilig.'iitly pursue. 1 lii^ 






fatlierof one .-hil.l. a .lauuiil.a'. 




stii.lic- f..i- M'V.'ial l.'iiiis. rp.iii l.'aviiig m'1i..,i1 Iu' 






The male nu'inh.av ,.r Ih.- Kiiowh'> 


laniily h.ave 


eiig.'iL;.'.! in 111.' iii.'iiiiifa.'tiiiiiig bii.-iiies>, iii.'iking .-i 






for several geii.'iaU..ns v..l,r.l Ih.' .Mi 


light Deiii.i- 


sp.'.'ialty .if fiiniitiiiv. In 1 S7 I h.' .'.'iiiie t.i .V.Irian, 






(•rati.' ti.'Uct., an.l hceu .iiiilv pr. .iiiiii.ai 


1 in iiolitii'S. 


an.l initi.'ite.l th.' .'iiti'ipris.' wlii.-li has gn.w ii into the 






Edwin A. has hcLI the vari.ius I.„-:il ..Hi. 


.■>..f A.lriaii 


A.lrian Fiiriiitiii-.' .M.'iiiiif.'i.'f.iry. in what w.-is kii..wii 






'rowiiship, anil his estimable wife is a 


member .if 


as the ••OldL'onistock Buil.liiig." .•..inni.'U.'iiig ..n a 






the ('oiii.|-egati.iiial t'lun'oh. 




small scale, and. in that m...l..'st inaiiii.'r ..'.-irrie.l ..ii 
business for about ten y.'ais. By this tim.' his 










husiiies> had grown t.i such pr..p..rti. .ns that larger 


















an.l ni..r.' .■oiiiin.i.li..iis .piarters were doniaii.led. 






Tp-i-jl RTON S. BARNES i,, the i 
,IL^ the Adrian P^irnilure Mannfai 


roprielor .if 


and he constructed the buihlings in whichlie is now 






tory, which 


located, and which are near the the tracks of the 






,'/|m^)V was established by that yentl 
^"^0^ spring of 1S7;1. ■nii> institiiti. 


Milan in the 


Lake Shore & Michigan S.iiithern Railroad, thus 






.11 nianiif.a.'t- 


affording the be,-t sliip|.iiig facilities piossible. The 






nres all kinds of hardw.i.Ml finnitiin'. 




power used in thi> .'stnbli-hiii.'ut is steam, an.l the 






finds a ready market, ii.it .mly at Ilmii.- 


biit ill va- 


engine and boilers are iii.nl.'ls .if mechanism. In 






rions parts of the IJnil.'.l Siai.-. I'h 


■ sizf .,f th.. 


June. 18.SG, the pri'M'iil pl'iiil was niergeil int.. a 






main building in wliii-h his lni^in.'ss is 


•an-i.'.l III! is 


stock company, with .Mr. liarnes as Tresiilent, an.l 






■t4xl-2.') feet, three st.iries in h.'ight w 


th liaMM.i.Mit 


W. E. I'.ark.T, .if D.'lr.iit, Treasurer: :in.l Victor 






nnderneath, an.l an L 40x1 u'o (.■.■I, 


liiv.. sl.iri.>> 


( u.'l.'lir.i.'ek, S.-.'iet.'iry. 






high, which also has a basement. The 


-Iry kiln an.l 


On the Uth .lay ..if February. liSGT, Mr. Barnes 






engiiie-liouse, with machinery r.i.iin>. i 


:iii..tlicr .an- 


was united in marriage with Miss Louisa M. (iil- 






nex of (SOxlon feet. Tliis inip<i>iii,u 


vil II. ■tin-.' is 


bert, a .laughter of George and Susan Gilbert, e.f 






composed of brick, ami is in;i.l.' pr: 


.-li.-.ally liiv 


Teciimseh, this .'..iiiily, wh.. was born ..n the '.Itli 






proof, and contains all the lat.'st :ii 


.1 lii..>t iiii- 


of .July, IHti. Int.. them have lieen born three 






proved machinery use.l in furniture in; 


iiiila. •lining. 


children, wli.iM' names are .is foll..w>: Bertie (i.. 






The nnmber of men emphn'cd varie 


from 1(11) 


Nettie and L.nii- S. 






to 200, the latter luunber being Ih. 


full force 


Although 11. 1 p.ilitieiaii, iH.r .'in .-ispirant for any 






when the factory is running al it- 1' 


ill .■ap.acity. 


political prelVriii.'iil, Mr. Barnes h.'is twice been 






The men enipl.iye.l in tlii> establi,-hi 


iiMit .are llie 


elected to repi-.'s.'.il lii> want in the City (..mn.'il. 






most skillful that .-an be pro.aire.l by 


b.' p.ayiii.ait 


an.l ii.itwithsfaii.ling hi> natural .li-.inrlinati..ii to 






of good wages. The jiroduct- <<i iiii- 


iiaiiiif.a.'t..iy 


I1..M aii> .illii'.'. .riul.I 11. .1 lu'lp being please.! at the 






are disposed of to the tnel.' and 


t.. iii;iiiy ..f 


apiire.'iati.in in wlii.'h he i,- liel.l by his fell.iw-cili- 






the country merchants of .\li.■hi^.lll. 


I'll.' Ailriau 


/eiis. lie >erve.I with I're.lit l.i liini-elf and honor 






Furniture Manufact.iry li.a> in.a.l.' .a i-.>i 




to his .'.instiluency. giving the same atteiiti.in t.i 






ond to no other cstalilishnient in the \\ 


.■,v|.ii..t.,iily 


the business of the .'ity th.'il. h.' In'>t..ws iip..ii his 






on account of volume of product, but 


ili the -t.'l-- 


..wn affairs. 






ling quality of the goods manufacture. 




As a respecte.l an.l Mi.'.tessfiil bu>ine.-.^ man of 






Mr. Barnes is a native of the State 


if Michigan, 


A.lrian, and one of the le.'i.ling reiiresentative cit- 


' -*- 










^^* 


* 









•► 



-^^ 



430 



4 



LKNAWEK COITNTY. 



^\- 



izens. tlie piiblislicrs of this volume lake <>i(>:it 
pleasure in presentino- the portrait of Mr. Barnes in 
connection with this sketch, as one of the men who 
has been so laro;ely connected with the business 
life and developnient of tlie resonrccs of Lenawee 
County. 

EDWIN SMITH, a farmer residing on section 
28. Fairfield Township, is the son of Simeon 
and Abigail (Moslier) Smith, natives of 
York State, and of New England and English ances- 
try. After marriage they settled in Tioga County, 
N. Y., and later removed to Huron County, Ohio, 
where the father died, after a residence of seven 
years. After his dcalli the family came to Leuawee 
County and settled in Fairfield Township, where 
the mother died. They had ten children, six girls 
and four boys, of whom our subject and Edward, 
twins, were the youngest. They are the only sur- 
viving members of the family, and Edward resides 
at Lyons, Fulton Co., Ohio. 

The subject of this sketcli was born in Tioga 
County, N. Y., Oct. 13, 18;J2. He accompanied 
the family to Ohio and subsequently came to Fair- 
field Township with his mother in 18o3, wheie lie 
has lived most of ilie time since. In ISGl lie left 
for California, via the Isthmus of I'anania, for the 
benefit of his health, and engaged in mining tor 
two and one-half years. When a young man he 
was engaged in teaching, and he is quite noted from 
the fact that he has the longest beard of any man 
in the United States; it measures almost eiglit feet. 
He was engaged with P. T. Barnum one seas(;n, 
and has liecn connected with museums in different 
parts of the country, and has visited nearly all the 
principal cities of the United Stales. 

Mr. Smith was married in ^'airfield Township, 
Jan. 1, 1860, to Eliza, daughter of James Green, 
of whom a sketch ajjpears in another part of this 
Album. Mrs. Smith was born in Toledo, Ohio, and 
died in Fairfield T(nvnshi|i, Aug. 19, 1871. .She 
became the mother of three children — Gcoi-ge 
E., Francenia and Edwin. George married Eva 
Schomp, and resides in Fairfield Township; France- 
nia, Mrs. Seth .Seward, lives in Fulton County, Ohio, 
while Edwin is at home. Mr. Smith was a second 



time mnrrie<l, in Huron County, Ohi(.>, to Anna C.at- 
lin.;iud she died Dec. _'!. 1M77. He wasagaln mar- 
ried, in Williams County. Ohio, May 24, 1886, to 
Fannie, daughter of Michael and Martha (Camp- 
bell) Fiser, and widow of Joseph Garwood, by whom 
she became the mother of two children, who died 
in infancy. She was born in Seneca County, Ohio, 
Feb. ."), IH4I. The mother of Mrs. Smith died in 
Senecu County, Ohio, in l.s.")l. while the father is 
still living. T'hey liec-nue the parents of four chil- 
dren, three girls and one hoy, of whom Mrs. Smith 
was the .seconil. Mr. Smith is a member of Fair- 
field Lodge No. 12.'). F. iV A. M., and in politics he 
is a Reinibliean. 



w 



;ILLIAM F. EMONS, a successful general 
fai-mer of Macon Township, owns and occu- 
pies a small, but well -improved tract of 
land of sixty acres on section 34. This homestead 
is doubly valuable to him on account of its associa- 
tions, being his biithplace and the homestead of his 
parents. He first opened his eyes to the light March 
12. 184.i, and is the son of Jacob Emons, who was 
born in Farmersville, Seneca Co., N. Y.. and was 
there married to Miss Rebecca Covert, a native of 
the same county. The father of our subject served 
a regular apprenliceship at lilacksmithing and be- 
came a skilled mechanic. He was one of the earliest 
settlers of Southern Michigan, coming to this coun- 
ty about 183.5, and taking up a tract of Govern- 
ment land, from which he built up the present com- 
fortable homestead, and where his death occurred 
Dec. 20, 1867. 

The father of our .subject, upon first coming to 
this secti^)n of country puj-chased 100 acres of land, 
and in connection with its improvement and culti- 
vation, followed his trade for some years, working 
a portion of the time in the village of Ridgeway. 
Ho was a man of kindly and generous impulses, and 
enjoyed in the highest degree the respect and confi- 
dence of his neighbors. The mother only survived 
her husband ten weeks, dying also at the homestead 
in Macon Township. The parental family included 
two sons and four daughters, who .are all liv- 



■•►4I-* 



•^IV^ 



lenawep: county. 



431 



iiii;-, .•mil inan-ieil. nn.l tlip yoinigesl uf u'li(,i,i i> our 
.■^iibjfrt, William P. 

Mv. Kinoii.s \v.-is tMliiCMt.Ml ill Mic ilislri.-l >cIhk,1. 
iiiifl when hecoiiiiny of iiinrii.-mc'ililc .-iiic went nvci- 
into Rirlgeway Townslii|. lor lii> \,\u\v. .Mis> Soplii:, 
Smith, to whom \w w.'is iii:uri(ii in 1S7'.). i\h>. 
Kmons is the daughter of .l.-nues Smilh. of Uidge- 
way Township, a sketch of whom will lie foiinrl on 
another page in this work. Slii> wax liorii at the 

undei- the home I'oof until her uuiiriagt'. Soon 
afterward the yuuug people eommeneed life together 
at their present homestead, which Mr. Knioiis has 
operated successfully, and continue>;i v.-ilueci meui- 
ber of the community. Politically, he i> .ni uncom- 
promising Democrat, and his estinialilc wife is a 
member in good standing of the ('hri>tian Church. 



¥|A1RUS P. SLAYTON. after an active hnsi- 
{|| ness career of forty years or more, has wisely 
.^jlj retired, and in a pleasant honu' in the village 
\(^)) of Tecumseh, is enjoying Ihe fruits of .a 
well-spent life and a consciou.sness of having |)er- 
forini'd his part well in the great ilrani.a whei-e so 
many fail. His early years were de\iiteil to agri- 
cultural pursuits, and subsequently he engaged in 
merchandising, his first efforts in this line being in 
the town where he has since continued a resident 
and to which he came in the spring of IStil. 

iMr. Slayton upon locating in Tecumseh began 
bu>'ing and shipping grain and other farm produce 
to the inarkels at Detroit and Toledo, and gradually 
branching out he introduced agricultural imple- 
ments, including the general machinery of the f.arni. 
taking first the smaller articles .■ind linally leaping 
and mowing machines and liinders. i:poii liuiling 
it necessary to increase his facilities, he (>rected a 
large brick storehouse embracing an area of 70\ 
130 feet, and two stories in height, located alon- 
the tracks of the Lake Shor.' A- Michigan Soiitlua-n 
Railroad. Mr. Slayton couiinurd the active over- 
sight of his business until th<' spring ot l.s.s,",. and 
was then succeeded by his son, diaries A., who 
had been his partner .since reaching his majority. 



This son has inherited largely the business capaci- 
ties of his father, and is thoroughly posted in every 
di'pai-tiuent pertaining to his r.illini;. 

Our subject was born in Vates County, N. Y., 
March 1, l.si;), and is Ihe son of Reuben and Esther 
(Watkins) Slayton. natives of IMassachusetts. , His 
)iareiits removed from the Hay State to Yates 
County, \. v.. whciv tlie f.allier improved a farm 
from the wilderness and spent Ihe l.a-t years of his 
life, his death taking |>l;ice about is-i.",. when he was 
seventy-six years old; llu' motlua- survived her 
hush.and .about ten yi-.i\-^. :ilso ilyiug at the old 
homestead. (M the twelve chililreii comprising the 
parental household, sexcai live(l to mature years, 
but .lairus I', is now the sole survivor of the family. 
The lioyhood and youMi of our subject were spent 
in Yates and (Jntario Counties, N. Y., and his 
studies were completed in Can.andaigua and Rush- 
ville. He then occupied himself in teaching for a 
time and subsequently was employed as a clerk in a 
dry-goods store. He commenced business for him- 
self as a general merchant in I S4 f. but three years 
later he abandoned the tow n for the country, locat- 
ing on a farm near the |il.aee of his birth, which he 
occupied for a period .,f eleven years. After dis- 
posing of llii- property lie came to the West and 
his subsequent course we have already indicated. 

Mr. Slayton. while a I'esident of his native State 
was married, in .lanuary, 1 .S4;i, to Miss Mary A. 
Fowler, of Steuben County. N. Y., who was born in 
June. 1819, and was the daughter of A. and Lydia 
(Guild) Fowler, natives <jf Nesv Yfirk and long 
since deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Slayton spent the 
first few years of their married life in the Empire 
State and became the parents of three children: 
August \V., who is now a |irosi)eri>ns wholesale 
lumber dealer of Tecumseh; Charles A., who has 
already been mentioned, and Mary F., the wife of 
-losepli Waring, engaged as a salesman at Tecumseh. 

Our suliject while .always taking an active inter- 
est in ixilitics, has worked for others rather than 
himself, and with the excei)tion of filling the posi- 
tion of Deput}' Sheriff, has uniformly declined to 
become an oHice-liolder. He h.as been a member 
of the Republican party since its organization, and 
during the agitation of the slavery question, fear- 
lessly expressed his opposition to holding any por- 



43-2 

tioii of II 
satisfneti 
wee Con 
the proti' 



LENAWKE COUNTY. 



(1 in bondage. Me haji wntclici 
<■ tzrowUi and development of 
ii.i li;i- eontribuled his full qui 
id iiii|iortance of the townshiii. 



ALTER ROBINSON, the siil.ject of this 
\l sketch, was horn in Wayne County, N. V., 
\\^ ])oc. 17, ISls, and is the son of ISai-tU^tt 
Robinson. The ■ireat-orand father of our suliject 
was a native of the North of Ireland, whenee 
he emigrated to Massachusetts, where the father 
of our subject was born March 12, 1776; he died 
in Palmyra. N. Y., Jan. 2.5, is.ol. The mother 
of our subject was born in Massachusetts, SeiJt. 
25. 1781, and also died in Palmyra, Sepi. l.S, 1853. 

Walter Robinson started out 'for himself in life 
at the age of thirteen, deriving in a store until he 
was twentj'-three years old, and obtained his educa- 
tion by attending school out of office hours. After 
Ills marriage he worked his father-in-law's farm 
three years, when in 1 84G he struck out for the 
great West, and coming to the city of Adrian, Mich., 
was engaged in the livery Inisiness eight or nine 
years, during which time he also operated a United 
States Mail route. He then opened a book and 
jewelry store, which he carried on four j-ears, and 
then in 1858 traded for his jiresent home, consisting 
of 1(10 acres of laud in Adrian Township, Lenawee 
County. Twenty-four hours after he had made the 
trade he was ready to move upon his farm, and on 
this place his children were born, and lie has made 
it his home continuously ever since. 

Mr. Robinson is, ijoliticall}', an ardent Re))ublican, 
and has always been an active worker in the inter- 
ests of his party. In 1867 he served one term as 
a member of the Michigan Legislature, and for 
years he has been prominent in the various meet- 
ings and conventions of his party. He has a wide 
aeqnaintance throughout his State, having traveled 
one year with the Michigan State Insurance Com- 
pany. He was Deput}' Revenue Collector during 
186;{ and 1864. His farm consists of a fine body 
of land under excellent cultivation, and produces a 
diversity of grain and stock. It is well equipped 
with buildings and agricultural machinerv. 



^^ 



Tlu! wife of our sulijcct was MLss Charlotte D., 
.laiiiihter of Robert .Tohuston, the son of William 
.lohiiston. Mho was a, native of New York City, 
.•iiid a fanner, li;iniess-maker and currier, whose 
father eiiii-rated IVoiii Seollan.l to New York City, 
and' was by trade a barber; in religion he was a 
strict Presliyterian. The great-grandfather of Mrs. 
Robinson died in Dutchess C'ounty, N. Y., while her 
great-grandmother w.'is of (lerinan descent and had 
large possessions in New York. William .lohnston 
served in the Revolution.ary War. and wa> dis- 
charged at Newburg without having received pay- 
ment for his services. The father of Mrs. R. came 
to Michigan in 1859, and his wife one year later- 
They both died in this State, the mother at the age 
of seventy-one .years, and the father at the age of 
eighty-eight. Robert Johnston was a farmer and 
merchant in earl}' life, and was for man}' years an 
Elder in the church. In politics he was an old-line 
Whig of strong convictions. The family were all 
excellent and highly respected people. The house- 
hold included five children, of whom four are now 
living. Charlotte D. was born in Cayuga County, 
N. Y., Oct. 15, 1833. The family on the mother's 
side was of Welsh descent. 

Our subject was first married tt) Elizabeth O. 
Johnston, who was a sister of his present wife, and 
was born in Dutchess County, N. Y., Sept. 25, 1820. 
She died July 30. 1856, in Adrian, Mich. The 
chihlren of the first marriage are recorded as fol- 
lows: Ann B.. Mrs. Jarvilla Chaffee, was born M.ay 
20. 1851, and h.as five children; AYalter B. was 
born Dec 2, 1853, and is working in a bakery in 
Geneva. N. Y., as an engineer; ICber J. was born 
May 4, 1856, and married Miss Adella Chaffee. The 
childien by the second wife are thus recorded: 
Charlotte E. was born April (!, 1858, and is at home 
with her parents; Lucius O. vvas born May 18, 1860, 
and has been for five years in the drug-store of 
Hart A' Shaw, in Adrian: William L. was born 
March 12, 1862, is a natural musician and artist, 
and is now in California for his health; he attended 
Adri.an College and has an excellent education. 
Meta K. was born May 28, 1864, and is clerking 
in a dry-goods establishment in Adrian; Mabel was 
born June 23,1866, and died Aug. 22, 1886; Hat- 
tie L.. liorn Aug. 2, 1 .^68, is at home, anil is stud}'- 



•►Hh 





■' 




f 




-«- 


■ ■-' ^^ 




' ■ -!■ 


-'- 


•^^ 




LENAWEE COUNTY. 4:VA A 


^* 




ing- iiiusic, for which she has iiatiini 


talent: Lester 


of our subject. After their marriage Mv. Knight 






F. xv:is born .Sei)t. 10, 1S70, mid is « 


orking at home 


,ass.:..-iated hiiu.self in partnership with his wife's 






witli liis fMthfi-: Clara I., was l.nrn 


\ng. -22. |s7l'. 


bi-.itherand .■arrie.l .m shoemaking in Northaniptoii 






and i> alMi at hunic altnidinu \hv 


.listri.-t s.-h.K.l: 


until th.' year l.sili, when he exchaiiged his prop- 






LulUrv ]\. wasl.orn KrI,. .■;. 1 ST:,. .■ 


n.l is ,al home. 


erty in ti.wn for a f:iiin. where he took care ..f 






as is also Culiou M., boni N-.n. D. 


ls77. Mr. K. 


his.age.l nn.th.a- until her .U-atli. which t...,k phi.-e 






lost lunr childivu liy his ru>t uife 


11 infan.'y. 


.iboiit l.s:.'.-,. 






.Mi>. i;,J,insu„. an .■stiinahlc lad\ 


. is -A member 


■Ih.' mother of our snbje.-t was..f W.dsh aii.-..,stiy. 






..r llic I'lvd.ytriian Chnivli. an<l is 1 


ighly r.'sp.'cte.l 


an.l th,' male m.'mhers of the Little family ha,l ben 






l)y a lain., curie of friends. 




wh.'i, hei- M,n William was Imt tu,, years of ,'.g... 






..-^^^^^^ 


-- 


Knistn,- Knight subs.'qn.'utly marri.'.l .Mis> Lia-y 
Smith, of ISlandb.rd. .M,-is-.. and she .lie.l in Clu'ster- 






V viLLiAM I•:^■I(;IIT. a pi. 

\J// Michigan, crosse.l its l,„r.l, 
m/ l)cen .•uhi.ittol ii.t..lhr r, 


•s heb.re it ha.l 


li.'ld when al.,int fort> -tiv.' ye.-irs of ,-ige. His third 

wifV was MissTh I.M-.'i Cushm,'in, a native of (Iro- 

t.m. M.'iss.. anil ot :i promiii. 'lit family. One of her 






He had made the joiini..y nvcrh 


n.l and by the 


brot.hers wfi.- .-i iiiJssion,'iiy .'imong the Iii,li,'ins in 






Lakes fr..in the Stat.- .)f Massai'hiiMt 


Is, wh.avlie w.as 


Kansas f,,r a number ..t y.'.'ii-. .She also .li.'d i,. 






li.)rn near X.)rtliaiii|.t..n. .Ian. 17. 1 .^ 


• 7. ll.-isfnlly 


Chesterli.'lil, ami Kiasin- Knight w.-is marri.'d the 






ac(]nailitcd with .all 111.' .l.-laiN .•! 


.i..u.aa- lib', its 


fourth time, to a daughter of .Sampson Hill, who was 






dangers, difHcnlties and |)ii\ .■itii.ii- 


. .and h.a- .l.me 


a miller by trade, which business nn.sl ot th.' Hills 






l)erhaps as nnich as .any ..tlua- man 


uli.> assist. 'il in 


in that section .if .^..nntry had foll.iw.'d f.ir years. 






the early dcvelopnieiit .)f i.enaw.' 


■ C.innly. II,' 


This hi. ly cam.' t.ihcr d.'ath by .lr..wning. Near 






has l.ceii the enonrag.T ..t th.^se 


ent.Tpris.-,. eal- 


tlii'ir hoin.' w;is a str.'.am, an outlet of a w.'ilcr rcser- 






dilated to advan.'C tli.^ int.Tests ,,f 


h,' ii.Mipl,'. ami 


M.ii. th,' banks of whii'h gave w:iy, ami the water 






has assist.'.l b.ith liy his nutans and 


nllnen.-.' in th.' 


riLshing down Mv.'pt ,'iwav th,' lions., an.l Mrs. 






...-tal.h.shment ..f reli-i..n~ an.l .'du. 


.■■th.iial institn- 


Knight with it. Sev,'r,-d otli.'is lost their lives by 






li.,ns. II.- IS now n.-aily .■iuht.N-..n 


■ years .,f age, 


this >a.l .'i.-.-nlent.. wlii.-h h.'ippencd about l,s77. 






and may l...>k ha.-k with ^al isfaetna 


np..n the r.'c. 


\\illi:im Knight iem:iiiied ,m th,. liom..slea.l until 






i>r.l of a l.)ng- and well-spent lite. 




about twenty y,.,'iisot agi'. availing hims,'ir,,f the 






Our subject is the son of Krastus 


.ind the giaml- 


limile.l .'.lin-atioii atfoidi'.l by th.' district k'Iio.iIs. 






son of .I...sliua Knight, the latter ot 


wh..m u.is the 


and obtained a thor.Mii:li kiiowlcdg.' of tanning. 






s...n .if an Knulishman wh,. .aoss. 


1 th.' Atlanti.- 


.\t this .lu.' Ill' started ,mt b.i hims.'lt. working by 






wh.ai a y.nng man an.l h..-ale,l i 
wh.a-e he marri.'.i an.l iv.aivd his t.- 


1 ( unn.'.'ti.ait. 
niiiy. His s.a. 


111,' nth in his native .•oiiuty. and tli.'ii migrated 

t,, .\..u .ler,s,y. .'iml worke.l on the I'.-ili.sades as a 






.I.,sliua wa>l».rn in ( onne.-t ient. an. 


1 di.ai at an a.i- 


>liip .■.■irp.'iiler .,iu' season. 11.' then returned to 






vanc.-.l ag.': h.' f,,ll.,w,.l farming : 


n.l also .-arri.Ml 


.\his-acliii.s,'tts. when. b,r some time he was variously 






on shoemakin- lie m'IV.mI in the 


i;ev..luti.mary 


..mployc.l torah.iut thr.'.' y.'ais. He woik..,l on the 






War. and f..r his bravery and lidel 


ly t.i .Inly wa- 


larm ot his nn.'le u.'ar ( ; re.'iiliehl. ami .-i paft .it the 






given the rank ..f Lieutenant. Hi 


s wit.' w.a~ th.- 


tinu' C'irii.'il th,. m,'iil a ilist.-ince of seventy miles 






.laught.a- ..f Eiihraim Wright, Ks. 


., a pr.iinin.'nt 


tlu-,ingli ten town- of Franklin County, while he was 






and w.iithy farmer .)f M.as,-a''lui>.- 


t-; li..lli spent 


also eng.'igi'd -upi'i-intending the fanning depart- 






their la^t years in ( 'h.'stcrli.'ld. .\I 


IS,-. Th.-ir s,„i 


in. 'iit of a self-supporting s.-ho.il calh'.l F;illenliurgh 






Kr.astns. tli.- fath.'r ni .,nr subj,..-!. 1. 


allied th.- Ira.l.' 


Aea.l.niy. 






of tanner an.l sln.emak.a-. and np.a 


i.'.a.-hing m.aii- 


In th.. spring of 1 .s;!4. Mv. Knight start, 'd for the 






h.....l. was marrie.l to Miss l'.,lly I 


.iltl.', win, w.is 


T.'nitory,.t .Miehigan, .-ind loeat.'.l lirst in Rome 




g^_ 


, , ..f Welsli anc.-stry, an.l uh.. laa-.a 


me till' thia- 




I 


•^^ 








*^* 




'. 




. 





■<^ 



434 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



acres of land. Later, upon a visit to Adrian Town- 
ship, lie determined that this locality would suit 
him better, and he therefore traded his first pur- 
chase for the laud included in the present home- 
stead, which he has occupied since that time. Rome 
Township was then but thinly settled, and young 
Knight being still a single man found great diffi- 
culty in finding a convenient place to board, and 
this also assisted him in his determination to make 
a change. When Mr. Knight took possession of his 
land in Adrian Townshi]) there were upon it no 
improvements whatever. He first began clearing 
off the heavy timber, and during the summer and 
fall put up a log house, having in view the establish- 
ment of domestic ties a few months later. That 
humble dwelling remained the home of himself and 
family until the fall of 1841, when they moved into 
a more pretentious structure, under the roof of 
which they have since been sheltered. 

Mr. Knight had labored industriously through 
the summer and fall of 18;i4, and as December ap- 
proached, he decided to indulge himself with a 
choice Clu-istmas gift; accordingly on the Soth of 
that month he married Miss Anna S. Smead, the 
wedding taking place at Tecumseh. They took up 
their abode in the new log house and in due time 
became the parents of seven children. Their eldest 
daughter, Mary Sophia, is the wife of A. J. Hood, 
a prosperous farmer of Adrian Township; Myra A. 
was born Dec. 11. 1X40, and became the wife of J. 
S. Lane, principal of the Ivist .Side High School at 
Jackson City; she died on the 12th of P'ebiuary, 
1874. William H.; .Jnlia E. is the wife of Alfred 
Edwards, who is farniiMg in Adrian Township; 
Margaret was born Dec. ;jO, 1847, and died on the 
13th of May, 186.5; Charles A. was born Sept. 8, 
1849, and died in Lincoln, Neb., Dec. 3, 1872; 
Herbert E. was born May ;')0, 18.52, and is working 
the home farm. 

Mrs. Knight was the daughter of liufus Smead, 
and was born in Bolton, Warren Co., N. Y., Sept. 
14, 1810. She was twenty-four years old at the 
time of her uian-iage, and died at the homestead 
in Adrian Township, July 4, 18X5. Her father 
was a native of Montague, Franklin Co., Mass., and 
came to Michigan in the spring of 1834; he lived 
to be eighty-three years of age. Mr. and Mrs. 



Knight, earl3' in life, identified themselves with the 
Congregational Church, and with two of their 
neighbors took the first steps toward organizing the 
church, which is now composed of forty-seven mem- 
liers. Their hnuse of worship is located in Adrian 
rown>liiii. ii(:ir .Mr. Knight's home. The edifice 
w!is put up about twenty-five years ago, and to the 
task of keeping it in repair and encouraging those 
measures necessary to the maintenance of the sc)ciety 
Mr. Knight has been a i;heerful and liberal contrib- 
utor. Upon the establishment of schools in this 
section of country' Mr. Knight was appointed 
to organize his district. Indeed he has been fore- 
most in all good works, and is one of those men to 
whom the county is indebted for its standing and 
importance. 



^h 



;011N T. WIGGINS, a native of this county. 
[ and one of its most industrious and enter- 
! prising .young farmers, owns foi'ty acres of 
(^^' choice land in Macon Township, of which he 
took posscN>ion in the spring of 188L Here he has 
good iiiipi-ovcnicnts, in the building of which his 
own ingenuity and industry have been largely exer- 
cised, for besides being a first-class farmer, he is a 
natural mechanic, and has a good knowledge of the 
cariK'nter trade ;it which he served an apprentice- 
ship in his cai-licr yeai's. 

Our subject is the eldest son and child of Daniel 
\Viggins, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in 
this volume. He was born at the homestead of his 
father in Uidgewa.y Township, Sept. 25, 1850, 
V here he silent his childhood and youth, and re- 
ceived a good education in the schools of Ridgeway 
and Macon Townships. He I'emained under the 
p.'irental roof until twenty -six years of age, and was 
then united in UKU-riage with Miss Martha Cheever, 
eldest (hiughtcr and child of John Cheever, whose 
personal biography is given in the pages of this 
Ai.iii iM, and who has been a resident of Macon 
Township for over thirty years. 

Mrs. Wiggins was born in Macon Township, Jan. 
19, 1852, and spent her childhood and youth after 
the manner of most farmers' daughters, receiving 
her education in the district schools, and a careful 
home training in all useful household duties. She 



LENAWEK COUNTY. 



■l8o 



-I 



is :i hidv of iiuifli intelligence, :ui(l is the mother of 
one ehild, a <langhter, Fanny .1.. who was liorn 
March 24, 1«77. Mr. and Mrs. Wiggins after llieir 
marriage continued in Kidgeway Tovvnslii|) until 
taking possession of their pivsent lioinestcacl. Mr. 
\V., politically, votes the straight Uepul.liean ticket, 
and with his estinial.le "ilV is a ineinhcr in -ood 
standing of the First Christian Church in Hidgeway 



KNUY il. lABEK. 



retired farnu 



**':!:;::':;:::',':: 



nawee County. Iiy ye 
It lalior. coupled with shrewil l.i 

the enjoyment of well-earned leisure. Mr. T.-il.er ^ 
horn in Herkimer County, N. V.. March i".). is 
His parents, Benjamin aiul Elizalntli (llunipiui 
Taber, were natives of New J^iglaud. and after tli 

ma rri.ige .settled in Herkimer (' liy. X. Y.. o 

farm, although Mr. 'i'aher was ,■, coper l,y tra 
They resided in Herkimer several y('ars. then 
moved to a f.arm in Manchester. Ontario Conn 
and there made tiioir lioiiu' some years. 'I'here a 
the mother's death took |ilacc Sept. 1 1. l.s.V). 
isr.i Ihc' fatherreni.ivedto II illsdale County. Mi< 
and settled on a farm with his youngest son. l',eii 
mm F. Taber. Jr., with whom he r.'uiained ui 
his death, M.ay 11. l.s.'iT. aged eiiihty-two ye: 

father of eight childi'cn, five daughters and tli 
sons, si.x of whom grew to maturity: they w 
named as follows: I'amelia,. Sarah A.. (J.aylord 
Calistia, Henry H.. Elizabeth, Harriet and P.ei 
min. Jr. ( )nr >nliject is the only surviving im 
ber of the family. 

The youth of Henry II. Taber was |.assed in 
native State in attendance at the connnon schoi 
He was early trained to those habits of indns 
and frugality which hclpeil hiu] to attain piosper 
in later life. At the age of sixteen he went 
Pittsford, and servi'd an .•ipprentic-e.-<ln'p of th 
years to the tinner'- trad.-, lb- then returni'd ho 
and actively engaged in .■insisting his father on 
farm for sonu' years. 

On the -.'.jth of April, l.syj. ,Mi-. Taber ua> m 



ried t(.) Aliss Lucy B. Upton, the daughter of David 
:nul Mary (Marsh) Upton. She was born Oct. 28, 
IsiC, in Victor, Ontario Co., N. Y. She was care- 
fully tr.ained in home duties, and received a good 
e<lucation, which enabled her to teach school. After 
nnin-iage Mr. :ind .\Ir-. Taber settled on a farm in 
(hitario County, where they lived three years, or 
until the spi-ing of I s^-j. wlien they came to Michi- 
gan and settled in W.-ishtenaw County, remaining 
si.s months. They then removed to Hillsdale 
County and settled on a, farm in Wheatland, where 
they lived until isr,.'.. In th.at yeai' .Mr. Taber 
bought l-'Dd acres of clH.iee land on sections I'l; and 
■-'7. in .VdriMii Township. Lenawee Comity, which 
they m..ved up,,u and made their home, and with 
inilomitnble eueigy and persevei-anc'c Mr. T.alier at 
..nee <et to woik to nndvc this a nio.lel farm. lie- 
sides attending to the cultivation of the soil, he 
paid great attention to the rearing of choice blooded 
stock. In this venture ho met with marked suc- 
cess, and seenre.l a number of lirst-elass premiums 
for his line cattle at State fairs. In the year I .S,s7 
.Ml-. Taber retired from active labor, and lujw makes 
his hon.i- ill the eit,y of Adrian. After retirement 
he -old a part of his farm, and rents the remaining 



'S ti 



To Mr 

lowing el 



d .Mrs. 



have been born the fol- 
Xorman I!.: Mary E.. who died 
when eighteiMi month- old; A.lrlbert. wh<i married 
Ella (iunsoius. and is now de.a'ased. leaving one 
d:iugliter. Lena .M.; Henry II. . .Ir.. residing on the 
f.arm: Siouc. the y.iimgest. die<l at the :ige of four- 
teen niuiillis. l-'or forty-nine years iMr. and Mrs. 
Taber have shaii'd life's joys ami sorrows together. 
They I'lijoy iJie full i-oiithhaice and esteem of their 
neiuhliors and friends. .Mr. Taber's busy life has 
not permitted him to mingle much in public affairs, 
yet he lakes an interest in them, :ind in polities is a 
Uepiibli.'aii. 



ff-S ICIIAUI) ILLENDE.X. .Ii... the descendant 
of an ol.l Eiigli-h family. ,-l,,sely allied to 
till' nobility. w:i> boin in ( antiabiiry. Kent 
County. England. .Inly S. Isl'I. Six years la- 
parent- eiiiigr:iled to the Inited St,:ites. and 
thetatlur shortly afterward purchased a farm of Mie 



-r 



^i^lr 



436 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Holhiiid Laiiil ('(iin|inny. in Pembroke, Genesee Co.. 
N. v.. ;uiil lived only seven years thereafter, his 
death ocenrring in Febiiiary, 18:i7. The mother 
survived for a period of 1 wenty-ciuht years, during 
which time siie liad heconie m irsi<l<.nt of Michigan, 
where she died. .Inn. ■_".». 1 siWi, in St. Joseph County ; 
her remains were Inid t" rest in Oalcvvood Cemetery. 
Their son Hicliard, of our sketch, remained on the 
farm in Pembroke until tlie fall of 1844, when he 
came to Michigan and was variously employed for 
the following ten years. In 1854 he purchased 
the Amos Aldridge farm, on section 30 in Adrian 
Township, and which is now mostly embraced in 
Oakwood Cemetery. This property he sold in 1865, 
and after a residence of nine ,.rteu years on a large 
fa,rm in St. .losepli County, ivlni'iied to Adrian and 
purchased the ol.l W..l.>ter farn, on section 5. Ma.l- 
ison Township, where he now resides. 

Richard lUenden, the father of our subject, was 
born in Woodchurch, Kent, England, in May, 1776, 
and upon re:i<'hing manhood Ix-e.-une Ihe owner of the 

of Northumberland, was a land-owner and miller, 
and spent his early years in the town of lllendeu, 
which had been tUv residence of the family for sev- 
eral i'eneratii>ns and wliicli had been named in 
honor of <-ine of their ancestors. .b)hn being the last 
male representative ihei-e eariied all its history with 
him when he went to Woodelunvh. For a period of 
150 years there were but tliice male representatives 
of the family, wliieb was a very old and wealthy 
one, and adopted a eoat-of-arms, consisting of a 
half moon and sheaf of wheat with a sickle thrust in. 
They wei-e membei-s of the Church of England un- 
til the advent of John Wesley, when the father of 
our subject liecame a, convert to Methodism. On 
the 19th of Scptenilier, I so,"., he married Miss Sarah, 
daughter of ^'incent and Johanna (irant, of St. 
Nicholas, Isle of Thanet. Kent, England, and they 
became the parents of ten children, the record of 
whose bi)-ths is carefully preserved. All these, ex- 
cept Richard of our sketch, were boi'ii at Wood- 
church. 

The mother of our subject w.as born at St. Nich- 
olas, Dec. 11. 17si'.aud her father was the descend- 
ant. .fan .,ldaud honored family who traced their 
anceslr\ back to Inverness. Scotlan.l.in 111.- twelfth 



•Ae 



century; he was a large manufacturer and accu- 
mulnted a tine property. Thomas Grant, a near rela- 
ti\e of Mrs. Illenden, was the tutor and constant 
companion of George the Fourth, while he was 
Prince of Wales. One of the most highly educated 
ladies of London was formerly a Miss Grant. She 
was often [)resent at the King's levees and Court 
sittings, and for many years an inmate of Lord 
C^ariiarviin's house. The Grant coat-of-arnis is a 
shield with three prongs guarded by two nearly 
nude sentinels with liattle clubs; the crest is aburn- 
iug niouutaiu. and the motto on the scroll beneath, 
'■Stand fast." (ieu. I irant claimed relationship with 
this family and adopted the same coat-of-arms. 
The mother of Mrs. Illenden, f(n-nierly Mi.ss Johanna 
Chapman, listened with interest to the words of 
J(ilui ^Ves]ey and became one of his converts, in 
couseciuence of which she was driven from home. 
Her daughter .Sarah subsequently sat on the knee 
of the great Reformer, and upon reaching woman- 
hood wa> distinguished by the rarest and sweetest 
\irlues of a nolile Christian character. She became 
a tower of strength in the church in her own 
county in England, and did not lose her enthusiasm 
after crossing the Atlantic. 

Mr. Illenden at the age of sixteen years, under 
the intluence of his pious and devoted mother, 
united with the Methodist Episcopal Church, and 
seixed it with lidelity until the (luestion of slavery 
culminated in a division in its ranks. He w'as a 
mcmlier of the convention held near Lockport, N. 
Y'.. in 1843, wiiicli resulted in the organization of 
the Wesleyan Methodist Church. The new denom- 
ination, however, failed to develop his ideas in re- 
gard to slavery and other questions, and he finally 
espoused the Garri.sonian movement. After the 
orjianization of the Michigan Anti-.Slavery Society 
he was appointed its Treasurer, and his house be- 
came the rendezvous of man^^ of the noted cham- 
pions of abolition, including William Lloyd Garri- 
son, wlio became a warm admirer of his Western as- 
sociate. .Ml-. Illenden, as ni;iy be supposed, watched 
('((ually with .Mr. < Harrison the struggle over the 
emancipation cpu'slion. aud I'ejoiced equally with the 
great philaulliropi-t at the triumph of freedom. 

.Mr. lllendeu, while .a, resident of Adrian, w.as 
married, Sept. I's. I s,",;;, to .Miss .Mary Ann, daughter 



-•► 









' 




->^ 1 






-*- 


•p 1 


LENAWEF 


COUNTY. 437 . 


^* 




of Ephrahn and S.-iiali Union, of Rai.sin Township, 


dent that he was to be a nu)st valuable accession 






and they became the ijnr.nt^ of four cliihlrcn. rc- 


to the eoinmnnity. There were tluai but few peo- 


1 




coi-dedas follows: ,(oh.-nin:i was hum Mny i'.:, is;,:,. 


ple around him. only here and theiv the ,-.abin of 


1 


1 


and died Deeernl,.T l'i; toll,, win-; .l.-ssic wa- Ih.iu 


:in adv,ailiir,,ii^ ~ettl(a- liid,len among llie forest 




1 


Dec. 9, 1856, and dii'd April 1/,. 1 sr,.", : AHhiI, IC. 


trees. In c mon with the ,,ther sturdy ^j.iiits,,f 






was born in Adrian. N,.\ . 1 :,, 1 sr, 1 . an,! Kplnaim K.. 


that peri,„l. having put his hand t.i the pl,.w he 






in Three Rivers, St. .l,,srpli ( onnty. this Slate. .Ian. 


n.'V,'!- lo,,k,.,l l,:i.-k. l.iil presM'il his w.ay onwanl en- 






■1. IS70: these boys are .at home with their p.areni,-. 


gaging in the la,b,,rs ami ilulicvs ,,f th,' pi,,i„er, .and 






.^Ir.s. Mary lllen.len wa^ l„,rn in K'iehni, md. In,l., 


.as he h.ad op|»,rtuiiity , ilriving a stak.' li.a,. an<l 






Oct. •-', 1,S2,S, .and e.anie to tlii^ ,a,nnty with her 








parents in l,S:i3. Ilei- (■.■ilhia-, h:|)ln;uni linh,n, was 


^.■ttlennait. N(,w. at IIk^ ,1os,- ,,f a long .and iiselul • 






a native of Fairlield. N. .1., aii-l .a d,'sren,|anl of 








the French Hngnen,il-. The --ne.ah.uy of th,' fam- 


l,,rme,l inl,. .a p,,pnl,.iis ami prosp,.,,, us stretch ,>f 






ily shows that one Union eanie from h'ran,',' in .a 








hogshead, being sentas nieichamlis,' loe-i-ape ,h'alli. 


nior,. hi,-lil\ appreciat.al f,.r hi.> lab,,i>. lie ,,c,ai- 






and landed in New York previ,,n-to I7ii|. From 


pies a i.h'.as.ant h,,ni,- in |)e,a-lie|,I Aillage, and is,ai- 






bini descended the family of thaln.ann' in this coun- 


j.ying.a- h.. ih-MaNcs. all ,,f tbe comforts and many 






try. Ephraini Kuh,n <lie.l .lune :;. IssC. while his 


,.f the luMirhs ,,f life. 






wife Sarah died in Thre,' IJiver-, Ibis Sl.ale. Feb. 


Oiii- snl,j,M-t is a natixc ,,f Sema-a (;ouniy, N. Y., 






■20, 1,S71. 


ami was ai near the town ,,f Ovhl on the Sfh of 






Mr. Illenden wa- prospere,] in hi^ agri(aill ni.al 


.May. ISM. His father. Thomas llemcnw.ay. a na- 






operations, and became p,,sse.M,r ,,f a, valn.ihle larnj 


tixc of the liay Slate, w.as horn ten miles from the 






of -i.-ll) acres in .Ala(lis,,n Township. ,-,,nlaining now 


<aty ,,f li,.slon. t,, which his father. .lason Ibaneii- 






a hands,une and sn lis|,-,ul ial set ,,f brick ami fi'.aim' 








buildings. Lly his course .as a public-spirited .ami 








liberal-minded citizen, alw.ays willing 1,, ,-ontril,nte 


Atlanti<. w,ae his two hrollna-s, Aaron and M,)se.s, 






of his influence and mean~ t,, piililic enlerprisi's. 


who also .s,.ttl,Ml lu.ar l!,,st,,n .ami subsccpiently be- 






Mr. Illenden has fully estaMish.Ml himself in the 


,.ime s,ildicrs in the CoiilimMilal army , luring the 






esteem and confiilence of the people of Lenawee 


i;,'Voluti,,nary W.ar, doing g ls,a\i,-eat the liat- 






County. 


tl,. of liunker Hill. After the in-lependeiice of the 








, . .,, X ..t., ; 


Colonists h.ad biaai .Mahlishcl, .bison Hemeiiw.ay, 














Sr.. w,nl to Sene,-a (oiinly, N. V.. during the ear- 






\T,ASON HEMENWAY. At the c|,,.m. ,,f a 


liest sctthamait of that locality. He pnrch.a-ed a 








long life, although .a m.an may li.ave been 


tr.act ,,f timlua- laml. and ,.p,aie,l up a larni from 








j successful in accumulating this w.irhl's 


the wihha 11,'s-, wli,a-e h,- sniait his last \,'.ar>. .and 






tim 


' goods, there is surely no greater salisfai-tion 
1 the knowledge that he h.as l,e,ai of iim^ t,, his 


near whh'li tlu^ town ,)f ()\i,l grew up. 






fellowmen, and that the world h.as l„.en belt.ei- lor 


cuts rem,,\e,l from ,\lassa,-hiiMtrs t,. S,aie,-a ( oiinty. 






his having lived in it. Th,' rec,,iil ,,f this old and 


N. \. He hNiin.al Ih,. tr.ade of ,-1, ,t hier, .and built a. 






honored pioneer of L,na wee (', unity im-lmles this 


,-.ar.liiig ami dressing mill in <»vi,l T,,wnship. By 






summing np, as he r~ aiiian uifti'd l,y nalnic with 


ye.arsof industry lu- ac.amuilateil a fine tortnne, 






large benevolence that would n<,l ,-(,nl,ait its,'lf with 


which wa- swi'pt .away l.y his going secnritx for 






simply g.atberinu about his own pathway the g,,o,| 


frien,ls. The bitlier of ,,ur subject w.as twic,' mar- ' 






things of life, but u.as ever .an.Ni.ius that th,,se 








around him sh,,nhl enj,,y th,' same hlosin-^. 11,. 


biang Miss .M,a-cy Cillaal. who was born in (,,n- 






mad,, his w.ay t,, the T.a'ritoiy of Mi,-hiuan in the 


uecticail. ami w ho iviiiox cl with her parents to.Xew 






, Slimmer of ls.)(i, .ami within a short time it wasevi- 


y.irk. where her marriage took place. Later her , 




afc 


1— «■_ 




■^*^ 


l^^> 












' 



-|:;s 



•►-»- 



.ENAWKE COUNTY. 



fath' 



Oh 



where he spent the re- 
inaiiiilci- of his days. Thomas and Mercy Hemeu- 
way became the parents of nine children, seven of 
whom grew to mature years. The fatlier died in 
Steuben County, N. Y., about 18o;3. The mother 
subsequently came to the home of her son, -Jason, 
Jr., in this county, and died in Deerficld about 
1 86:.. 

-lason lleuicnway, of our si^ctch, was the third 
child of his parents, and as stion as old enough com- 
■ menced to earn his own living. He made his home 
witli his parents until nineteen years of age. Tlie 
year previously he had p'lrchased his time of his fa- 
ther, and being a natural mechanic borrowed a set 
of carpenter's tools and commenced his career as a 
builder. His first undertaking was a house for his 
father, which he succeeded in putting up in good 
shape, and received the admiring approval of all 
the people around. Upon the conipletion of this, 
he decided upon a change of location, and coming 
to Michigan Territory, located in the embryo town 
of Ogden in Monroe County, where he followed his 
trade continuously for a period of five years. In 
the meantime he had purchased an acre of land and 
a liouse. in Ogden, but in 1837 sold this property 
and took up his residence in Summerfield, Monroe 
County. There he bought a village lot, put up a 
house, and worked at his trade until 1 S40. 

Mr. llemenway now traded his Sniumerlield 
property for a half interest in a sawmill in Deer- 
field Township in this county, to which he removed 
and where he has since resided. He rebuilt the m 
three different times, and invested his surplus cap- 
ital in land which he cleared and improved, and 
where he carried on general farming with success. 
In 1848, he established the first mercantile concern 
in Deerfield. At the time of his coming here there 
was but one frame dwelling in the town, and that a 
very insignificant structure. Deer, wolves and pan- 
thers roamed through the wildci-iicss, and frequently 
surrounded the little hamlel. Mi'. Ileiiienwny was 
a man naturally looked up lo a> the nicuin-agcr (if 
the enterprises which sprang to life a> tlic iiopnla- 
tion increased, and never failed the [jcopie in giving 
his encouragement and snlistantial sujiporl to what- 
ever tended to the general ucllaiv. It, is hardly 
necessary lo say that he lias walrlied Ihe develop- 



ment (jf Lenawee County with the most gratified in- 
terest, and no man has rejoiced more greatly in her 
prosperity. 

Jason Henieuway was first married, Fcli. 13, 1831, 
to Miss Charlotte Canie. who was liorn in Pitts- 
field, Monroe Co., N. Y., and died at lier home in 
Deerfield Township in October, 184(1. Of this 
union there are two children living — Jason, a resi- 
dent of Deerfield, and Charlotte, the wife of Emery 
Burnham, of Council Bluffs, Iowa. 

The second marriage of Mr. Hemenway was cele- 
brated Oct. 17, 1843, with Miss Nancy Burnham, 
wJK.i was born in Blontague, Franklin Co., Mass., 
and died at her home in Deerfield Township on the 
lid of May, ISOa. This union resulted in the birth 
of eight children, seven deceased and only one now 
living, a daughter, Minnie, now the wife of Edgar 
Miilei-, of MicMgan City, Ind. Mr. H. was mar- 
ried thi- tliird time in June, 1862, to Mrs. Chris- 
liana (<irosell) Stone, who was born in the King- 
dom of Wurtemberg, Germany, and came to Amer- 
ica with her parents, Charles and Mary Grosell. 
She was first married to George Stone, who died in 
1861, in Deerfield Tovraship. Of her latter mar- 
riage there have been born four children. The eldest 
daughter, Emma, is the wife of John Sisson, a resi- 
dent of Deerfield Township; La Salle is a resident 
of Deerfield; Oscar lives in Omaha. Neb., and 

! Charles is at home with his parents. 

Mr. Hemenwaj' cast his first Presidential vote 
for Martin Van Bnren, but of late years has been 

I independent in politics. Mr. and Mrs. Flemenway 
are both believers in Spiritualism, and are followers 
of the doctrines taught by that sect. 

If ENRY SMITH. This gentleman is an ener- 
'^ ;etic and enterprising citizen of Tecumseh, 
md pro|)rietor of the Tecumseh Paper Mill, 
vliich is located on the lianks of the Raisin 
1 that village. Mr. Smith is :i native of 
1 icrniaii}', where lie was born Nov. 2, 
|s:;(i. lie received a good common-school educa- 
tion ill his native country, acquiring in addition a 
substantial knowledge of Latin. He was a youth 
of determination and high ambition, and not being 

■» 




•►Hh-^^ 



■<• 



LKNAWKE COUNTY. 



4.3!) 



Siitisfied with the advantages offered him in his na- 
tive country, he resolved to emigrate to the United 
States. 

In 1847 Mr. Smith <et .siil for liie .Xeu \V,,il(l. 
landing in the city of New Vork, wJR-nce he jmii- 
neyed westward across the continent until he re.-ichrd 
the Pacific shore. He renmined in ( 
ye:H>. profitabl3- engaged hi niinin 
.•uul then returned to New Yoik an<l cngagrd in t 
furnituie llu^iness, which he followed several yeai-s. 
In l.s.'iT Mr. Sniitli removed to Lenawee County, 

fully for ten years. In IsCT he dispoMMl 
farm, and moved to the village of Teeuni^cii. wiiei 
lie engaged in the manufacture of furniture. '!'» 
years later his factory was deslniycd by a conli; 
gration. ami 

heavy. With nis accuMdineo energy :in(i | 
end.iarked in a new enterpri-^e ; forming a 
shi[. with his brother and Mr. l.ovett, tlu'v e>ta 
lished the Tecumseh Paper Jlill in 1 .S70. Uiid 
the firm name of Sniifh lir.itliers >t 
mills were operated foi- two ycais. when Mr. Li 
retired, and the Smith Ih-olhi-rs continued 
ness until 1878, when ilein-y Smith purchased tl 
entire interest of his brother, and I 
on the business a> >(ile pn.prietiir. His prineiiial 
manufacture i^ m 
perior quality, .-i > 
ages three terns a < 
for the product m 
quantities to Tole 
falo, N. Y., whil 
nearer home. T 
seh, and is a sn 
stone foundation 
is of the latest and most a| 
Mr. Smith was m:urie( 
Christina Sciimidt, and tl 
following-named childre}i: Li/.zie: (h 
is married and engaged in the papi 
C, who married F. G. Klottenstein, 
Fremont, Ohio, and Maggie K.. w 
In perusing this aeeou.it ,.f .Mr. 
find an excellent 
barking un the sea of active life, t 



for himself without means, through habits of indus- 
try, combined with much excellent judgment, he 

h;is amas.-'ed a handsome competence, and has a 
pleas.-mt home in which are found all the comforts 
and many of the luxuries of life. Mr. Smitii is a 
valued citizen, and has done much to imjinote the 
business interests of Tecumseh. 



KOIifiK PKICK. 'I'lie career ..f this gentl 
man has ben .n 

Is. .■111(1 is one ill whii'h he has 

lecially during the 

Ih took jjlace .Inly 

ill UadiK.rsliiie. Wales, that part of the 

lly devutiMl l(j farming. In this local- 

■ied. and continued to 

me tlie father of five 

Wales -eldom yields 

iiiing there being the 

■.n mined 
s .-iiid used for siaeltiiig both IJrit- 
res. Iiesides being e.xtensively ex- 
ec family, however, not being pro- 
I «cre cililiged to resort to agri- 

l.s.-,l, determined to change his 

thing better for his chii- 

1 been permitted to enjoy in his 

le accordingly gathered together 

■rsuiial effects and set sail for the 

riving m New York after a safe 

of six weeks. 

West, and ar- 

eighteen cents 

- as a gardener 

imething 

farm, and as time [lassed on, 

established a reputation for skill and honesty which 

made his servicers very desirable, and enabled him 

When he 

mulated s.Vhi, he made the first payment 

cres of land in Ividgeway Township, of 

osscssiou and where he remained 

he meantime he added from lime 




■♦- 



■1 in 



^i^l 



LENAAVEE COUNTY. 



to timc! to his real estate until he w; 
I5()0 acres, all in one body, which In 
o-ood sUitc of cultivation. This is 
partly liy his only sou, E. C.l'ricc . 



tiie owner of 
lu'ought to a 
low (operated 
whom a more 
extended notice will lie foiiiid elsewhere in this 
work, while his son-in-hiw, .I.-inics Il.-iiglit, occupies 
foi-ty acres. 

Mr. Price from early youth w.-is jiiously inclined, 
.•uid after the necessity for incess:iul, labor had 
passed by and he was pennittetl some leisure time, 
he devoted his a1;tention to religious matters and 



for a period of ten years was a minister of the 
Christian Church in this county. He expounded 
the Word in different places all over the county, 
and was the chief instrument in erecting the par- 
sonage building at Ridgeway, collecting the 1800 
required for this within a radius of two miles. He 
never received a collegiate education, but from his 
interest in the work seemed always to have words 
at his command, and maintains that he icccived his 
help directly from the Lord, whose f.iilhfiil servant 
he endeavored at all times to be. He took partic- 
ular interest in the religious training of the young, 
working in the Sunday-.school and saying a word for 
the Master upon every occasion where he believed 
that good might be the result. In looking after the 
welfare of the jieople arouuil him he in no wise neg- 
lected the home training of Iii> children, but im- 
planted in them those principU-s which must neces- 
sarily predominate in well ordered lives. 

Mr. Price, while ayonug man in his native Wales, 
was married to Miss Elizabeth .Tones, one of the 
playmates of his childhood, who accompanied hiui 
to the United States and died in Tccuniscli iii 1 .s.r_' ; 
she belonged to the Welsh Independent Cliurcli, and 
was a Christian lady of many amiable (jnalities. 
Their eldest daughter, Elizabeth, is now the wife of 
Allen Kelley, a, farmi-r of Raisin Townshiii; Mary 
married Clarence Morrison, .-i s.ui of one of the 
earliest settlers of this county, .■lud is tiic nmther of 
seven children, one of whom wns married Oct. '.), 
1887; Lydia. remains at home .-iiid [iresides over 
the domestic atl'airs of her father, while Asenath is 



.Ml 



.Mrs .\bi 
le child. 



married Miss Emma DuBois and occupies the home- 
stead. Mrs. Mar3' Price was also a member of the 
Christian Church .■ind a lady held in great respect 
by all wlM. knew her. 

The father of our subject, Thounis Price by name, 
carried on farming in Wales .-lud tlu-re spent his 
entire life. Our subject took a trip to his native 
land Ave years ago and brought home with him his 
brother, Thomas Price, ten years younger than him- 
self. The two are the only members of the par- 
eiitn! family who came to this country. 



HOlM AS J. WYMAN, a highly respected and 
esteemed resident of Lenawee Count}', is a 
native of Fairfield Township, and a son of 
in and Lydia (Carpenter) Wynian (for 
history see sketch of Sheldon Wyman.) 
th occurred June 2C, 1837, and the pLaccof 
lativity has been his home the greater part of 
ife. He was reared on his father's farm, and 
ived an excellent common-school education, 
h was Later supplemented by an attendance of 
terms at the seminary in Ijyons, Ohio. After 
ng school he spent six years in teaching. He 
turned his attention to farming and pursued 
vocation solely for a few years, but since 
), besides attending to the necessary duties de- 
'iug on a farmer, he has been a conscientious 
rer in the vineyard of the Master, earnestly ex- 
uding tlie doctrines of the Primitive or Old- 
lol Baptist denomination, and his genial and 
lly Christian character has made him conspicn- 
ainong the members of that faith. He has re- 
ed no regular compensation for his .services, but 
i amply rewarded in faithfully performing, as 
:is in his power lies,. the work to which he seems 
diarly adapted. He is faithfully aided by his 
(1 wife, whose .sympathy inspires, who.se ap- 
,al eiicoiiraees. and whose counsels tiLiide him 




recci 
whic 



then 
tins 



With the exception of fourye;ii 
County, this State, |)reaching. .M 
sided in Fairfield Township all 
owns I 10 .-leres of Itiud ou seclio 
h.-is ni.adc uiauv ■■md vahi.Mlile i 



it in .Xewaygo 



■•► 



■^•■ 



r-ENAWEK COUNTY. 



has erected ample nnd CDiiifdrlalili' ImiMin^is. Oi 
.Illiy I. 1S(;(). lie w,-isinniri.Ml In .Miss CrVuuh, .I.-H-k 
snii. ulin u:is i„,in ill Slirll.\. Orlc-ilis ( o., N. V..ii 



\rw V< 



(Wliil.ncy) -l.'M-ksnii. ii:il 

■J'lie iiiiiuu uf Mr. .■mil Mi's. \\yni;iii li:is ]<vvu 
blessed by the birlli i.r m.\ rhildrni. lu., ,.r uhoin 
died in inf^mry. 'I'lie ii:iiiirs uf llir tuui- bviiiL; ■■>''• 
Charles, win. i,i:iiTir.l .Miss Kiln ( itiiuiiei-. nii.l irsi.bs 
in Fairlield r.nvnslii|,: .Xni^rlir,,.. Lydia niid Allc'i.-i. 
Politically. Mv. Wyiiuiii is I ),.|il.irinl ir. .Hid .■. ,M,:.lirl, 
a.dhereiit til tin- piiiiciiili^s hiid dnwn by 'riiuiiins 
Jeffers.in. Mrs. Wyni.-iii is a /.eMuiis i,iriiib,.|- uf 
the same church as her liiisbaiid, .-iiid soci.-dly thry 
are both well maiiitainiiii; their pnsiiinii .-is useful 
members of society, beiiiu- the pnniioters nt rdiu-n- 
tiou and the highest of moral principles. 

I<;0XAR1) BI'X'K is .-I biiildei- .•uidcuulractcr 

Adrian, wlieiv he settled s i after the 

ilL^. war, and takes prniiiiiient r.-ink among the 
reiireseiitative men of the comity fur his business 
ability and energy. He was born in l!:iv.-iria, (;ei- 
niany, Feb, 2, 1840, and is the son of .Mirh.-iel and 
Barbara (Reisig) Beck, who .■niigraird P. Ilie 
LTnited States in 1847, landing in fhi- i-ity of New 
York. The faniilj- came to Monroe County, this 
.State, where they settled and where the lather died 
the following year. The mother is still living, and 
is now in her eightj^ -eighth year. To them were 
born seven children, three of whom survive, 

Leonard Beck was the fifth of the parental fan 
and was but seven years of ago when he came 
Monroe County with his parents, lie .attended 
private German school, and then the dislric 
until the age of seventeen years, when li 
to learn the trade of a coo|ier, at uhicli In 
but one year, an<l then went to work to li 
carpenter's trade, wliich lie I'ollowcij imi 
He then enlisted as a private in Ihc drfcn^ 
country, and was enrolled ,a niemlicr of ( 
F, 4th Michigan Cavalry, and was .-cut 1. 
ville, Ky,, and w.as under the roniinand 
Buell, who was in charge of a divisiiiu in t 
of Gen. Rosecrans. Thev went to Tenne; 



II 


rough 


portions 


of Ih 


e States of (;eorgia. 


CI 
!.■ 


It pari 
ickaiii 

. had 


lib (aio 
li-.a. and 


ina a 

1 lilr 

IllU'll. 
shol 


id .Mi.ssissippi. The 

otlici- iiiiport.anl cn- 
their division eoni- 
iiider hiiii uilhin four 


ai 


.Mr. 


'..•i-k wa^ 
att.arli.al 


■'"""" 


(Ml lo th,' position of 


. i 


1 wliii 


h I'.ank h. 


srrvc 


1 until mustered out 


!'■ 


, ISC,.-, 
r,e,'k 


.at Nasia 


illr. ■! 
nrd l< 


.Monroe County, and 


1 


ll.aice 


!o Adri 


Ml, 11, 


s (MMintv. where he 



•kcd 




■.ai piaiter's li'.adc for .1. C. Kaumeicr, 
a biiihler .and conl ractor. with whom lie continued 
for aboni foiirleeii yrais. when he began the same 

fi-eeted m.aiiy of the substantial buildings in this 
city, among which are the Roman Catholic Church 
and the State Industrial School Building for girls, 
the engine house, the i-ity hall, .and a ntimtier of 

In October, IHtlG, Mr. Beck was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Augusta Knapp, a native of Mon- 
roe County. Mich., and daughter of Charles and 
Margaivt, Knapp. Their home has been gladdened 
by the advent of seven eiiildreii, two sons and five 
daughters— Ameli.a, Louise. Kiederiek, Willi.ani. 
Edith, Augusta and Kiiiina. Mr. I'.eek serv.al as 
Alderman of the S.Tond W.ard one year, and then 
resi-iual. lie is a member of the (J. A. R.. and of 
the Woikinginen-s lleiievoleut Association 



|/_ ON. WILLIAM SKWARl) WILCOX, of the 
) linn of Whitney & Wilcox, of the Commer- 
cial Exchange Bank, of Adrian, is one of 
the leading business men of the city, and is 
l.arg.'ly identitied with its material interests. Dur- 
ing his residcniee in yVdrian lie has lieen promi- 
nently eonneeted with the <-ity's ei.minercial inter- 

socinted have been .almost universally successful. 
:Mr. Wihaix is a gentleiuan of excellent taste, which 
is adinir.ably displaycal in the construction of his 
residence and the lieautiful arrangement of its sur- 



"^^ 



^^►Hl-^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY 



The buil(liiii>- itsplf is one of t.lic linest 
ipponnnuT in Mic city, niul the lic(lo;es 

H,iil il ^iiv niT.-iimv.l after the infest .-111(1 



t(i tlie niiiiutest detnil of .-irinii;.: 
li;iriiion.y witii its cxlciioi-. :iiiil 
niai'vel. Tlie Ijiiniv, of wiiidi I 
WHS |-oiiiidp,d in 1880, sinee uli 
come firiiily estal)li.stie(l, .ami li:i 



i-ii;i 



Mr. Wilcox is the son of Austin :iiu\ t'lavissa 
Wilcox, ami nns born in the town of Riga, Mon- 
roe Co., N. Y., on the "iSth of April, 181 9. When 
he was yet a child, his parents moved Into the town 
of Bergen, (Tcnesee County, that State, where he 
lived on a farm, hi.s father at the time managing a 
hotel, stages, post-offlce, etc., the snbjeet of this 
sketch assisting in the work. In the year I 830 our 
subject came west to Milan, Ohio, where he en- 
tered the dry-goods store of Ira Bidwell. as a clerk, 
and remained for a short time. He then removed 
to Adrian, Mich., arriving Sept. 18, 1836, and 
where he was still in the employ .of Mr. Biflwell, 
who had moved his goods from Milan to Adrian. 
He remained in the store until 1840, in which year 
he became a partner of Mr. Bidwell, and the firm of 
Bidwell & Wilcox continued until January, 1844, 
when the latter disposed of his interest to the for- 
mei'. In the spring of that year Mr. Wilcox be- 
gan business for himself, putting upon his shelves 
and counters an entire new stock of goods. He 
continued in this business until the year 1855, a 
portion of which time he had for paitners J. 11. 
Bod well and William D. Tolford. In that year he 
sold his goods to Bodwell, Carey & Clay, the two 
latter being former clerks. In 1848 he was elected 
Village Treasurer, which office he held for one year. 
Soon after discontinuing the dry-goods business he 
started a hardware store, under the firm name of 
Wilcox & Chappell, which firm continued for about 
eighteen months, after which, purchasing the inter- 
est of Mr. Chappell, he continued the business 
alone until l.SOT, when his brother Henry became 
his partnei'. This firm existed for five years under 
the name of Wilcox & Bro., and was then changed 
to Wilcox, Brother & Co., when George A., son of 
W. S., became a partner. He still continues his 



interest in the hardware business, although since 
! SSO his brother and son have had its management. 
In lli.it yi'.'ir he became one of t,h(> owners fif the 
( 'oiiinicici;il Ivvchange Bank. 

Ill l.sCl Mv. Wilcox was elected a member of 
tlie Legislature of Michigan, and held that office 
for two terms. I luring the second term he was 
Cli.'iiniiaii of iIm' Coininitlee on Ways and Means, 
which i.^ the iiio>i iiiiportantctimniitteeof the House 
of Representatives, for it is its peculiar function to 
devise the ways and means of providing the rev- 
enues of the State anil the disbursement of the 
same, through Legislative enactments. In the 
spring of 1865 he was elected Mayor of Adrian, 
holding the office for one year. In the fall of 1870 
he was chosen State Senator, and held the office for 
one term, during which time he was the Chairman 
of the Finance Committee, and in this capacity was 
much aided by his experience as Chairman of the 
House Committee on Ways and Means. In 1869 
he was appointed State Prison Inspector by Gov. 
Baldwin, and was immediately chosen President of 
the Board. In 1866 he was elected President of 
the Michigan State Insurance Company, which 
position he filled for seventeen years. He is now, 
and has been for many years. President of the Oak- 
wood Cemetery Association. He became an active 
member of the Adrian Fire Department in 1841, 
and continued in the same until the paid depart- 
ment was organized, having served for twenty-one 
3'ears. For nearly half a century he has been 
Superintendent of the Baptist Sabbath-school, and 
in that school has instructed the third generation. 

I\Ir. Wilcox was first married at Benton, Ind., to 
Miss Sarah Frances Clay, daughter of Rev. Brad- 
bury S. Clay, by whom three children were born, 
two of whom died in infancy, and George A., the 
only remaining son, who was named above as a 
member of the firm of Wilcox, Brother & Co. The 
first wife died on the 12th of February, 1852, and 
the second marriage took place on the 17th of Au- 
gust, 1854. On that day he was united with Miss 
Josephine Southworth, daughter of Dr. William 
Southworth, of Avon Springs, N. Y. Mr. Wilcox 
has been one of Adrian's most prominent and suc- 
cessful business men, and with a great deal of sat- 
isfaction can look back over his long and honora- 



■•►-■-4« 



LKNAWKK COUNTY. 



ble coinmercini (•.•irocr. A!thi>ugli 
eighth year, he is conipnvntivcly v 
niiiid is as clear upon all lnisincss |i 
tiiirtv-five vears asjo. 



'-t^§^i 



\I(:_<^AK1!IS()N IIAKWOOI). a native ..t this 
W)il i^tatP. (^■niiie to Lenawee Canity in 1S7(I 
i^y^ I'roni Washtenaw County, where he wa> lioin 
{(^ in the town of Pittsfiehl, Aug. C. l.s)(). He 
has all his life been engaged in agrieultural pur- 
suits, and possesses all the elements necessary to 
success. He is regarded as a most worthy and use- 
ful member of society. lui lioiiest man and :i ron- 
seientious citizen, who, wliiU' building up a <-(jui- 
fortable homestead of his own. has always bad a 
care for the welfare of the people around iiim. and 
borne in mind the fact that the influences of one- 
man may produce great I'e.sults, either good or t'vii. 

Mr. Harw^ood early in life w.as trained to liabits 
of industry and economy by liis excellent parents. 
William W. .•aid Polly (Morris) Harwood, who were- 
of English descent, and natives of Now York Stfitc. 
Harrison was the eldest of their six cliildrcn. :ind 
when quite young assumed a brotherly ..Ncrsighl 
of the younger members, who learned to look up to 
liim and depend ui)on his judgment and example. 
William Harwood came to i\Iicliignn in ISl'.'I, .-md 
w.as married in \Vashten:n\ County, where he >[tvu{. 
the remainder of his life, his death oeciirringat the 
old homestead in the f;dl of l.sr.O. The mother is 
living, .and continues at the home which >he and 
her husbanil built up l)y their united effort.-. The 
three remaining mendiers of the family ari> i-esi- 
dents of this State. 

Our subject spent his childhood and youth under 
the parental roof and before reaching the twentieth 
year of his age. was married. .Inly 4, 1S(;(1, to .Mi>s 
Lj'dia J. Hayncs, who was born in Livingston 
County, this State, Nov. C, 1842. Her p.irents. 
Lyman and Betsey (Minor) Haynes, were natives 
of New York, whence they removed to Miehigan 
in 1840, and spent their last days in Shiawassee 
County. Mr. and Mrs. Harwood, after their mar- 
riage, remained for ten j'ears residents of Washte- 
naw Countj', and upon their removal, located in 




D.MLM) B. \ AN DORKN, one of the most 
wiilc-awake and energetic farmers of Adrian 
n>liip. is ])lc.-i>antly U)eated on .section 
1(1, where he has a choiec tract of land, and every- 

a native of Shelby. Orlc.ni- Co.. X. V.. and was 
born .Inly 12, 1S2.>. His parents, Cornelius and 
Nellie (Hagerman) Van Doren. were natives of 
New .ler.sey, where the father followed farming 

removed lo the Empire State, where they continued 
until 1 si.'l;"). In that year, determining to try his fort- 
unes in the West, he came to this corinty and 
pnvch.-ised eighty aci-es of land in Adrian Tcjwnship, 



tiftecn .■icre-. Of the former he look possession with 
his f.'Hnily. .ind commenced the improvement of his 
propeity, remaining u])oii it until his death, which 
took place Aug. 14. l.S-'iT. The mother -nrvived 
him twenty -five years, and parsed away to lier rest 
on the 2d of .I.anuary, liS82. Cornelius \'an Doren 
was born in 1785, and his wife Nellie, Ajiril 27, 
17!il. 'I'hey became the parents of ten children, 

the age of fourteen years, grew to maturity and 
settled in homes of their own. Of these there ;ire 
now living five sons and two daughters. 

Our subject left home when fifteen years of ,age, 
and attended school for a time and subsequently 
engaged in teaching, at which latter profession he 
contiiuied for twenty-three terms in the townships 



t 



•►Hl^^^ 



4 



I.KNAWEE C(JUNTy. 



lie .'ll- 



and consistent Cli 



in tlu' liaii'llii 


-; "1' 


I'stinii ■■iii'l inij 


url:iHl 


the r,th ni Am 


e. 181 


Miss Ahniia K 


. War 


N. Y., and Im, 


■n M: 


the dan^liler i 


r Sol. 



t 



i:il,i\e <.r Oneida founty, 
!, I.s.ll. Alls. \.-iii 1). i> 
iii.l Mnvy (( h.ise) \\:u- 
ren, natives of Cuiiiieclicait and New V,.ik n..,|,ict- 
ively ; the father lioni .Sept. 'J, 17i)7, and tlie mother 
October 9 of the same year. Mr. Warren was a tanner 
liy trade, which he followed in the East until IS.SO. 
then emigrateil (u Mic Territory of Micliigan, and 
locatin,<i- in Ailriaii Township, followed fanning until 
18;")7. Selling out, he went at first to Indiana, and 
from there to Pittsburg, Kan., where his death 
took place in 1872, at the age of seventy-seven 
years. He had been accompanied in his travels liy 
his excellent wife, who survived him a few years, 
her death taking i)lace when she was eighty years 
old. Their four children are all living, the three 
besides Mrs. Van D. being located, one in Kansas, 
one in Minnesota, and the third in Indiana. 

Our subject and his wife became the wife of five 
children; their eldest daughter, Mary A., born Aug. 
4, 1850, is the wife of Cornelius Van Doren, of 
Adrian, and the mother of six children; Addie 
R. was born Feb. 7, I.s.V.t, and dic.l Maivh .Xi, 18C1 ; 
Horace E. was burn March 4, l.sc-j, and died 
Dec. 8, 1883; Arthur N. was born July G, 1 804, and 
died Oct. 5, 1 865 ; and Flora L., who was b(n'n Jan. 8, 
1872, and is at home with lier parents. 

Mr. Van Doren had a little property at the time 
of his marriage, which enabled him to start in life 
comfortably, and of which he has made good use 
and greatly increased its value. In addition to the 
home farm he owns land near by, besides some good 
city property. He has given considerable attention 
to the raising of fine stock for the past few years, 
and in this department has been very Successful. 
He has been Notary Public since 1866, and served 
as Clerk of the township in 1856. Mr. Van Doren 
is a Rei)nblican in politics, believing in that part^- 
lie the principles that are best calculated to preserve 
the form of popular government. With his most 



LVIiX DAVENPORT. In the early part 
1S57 the subject of this biograph3^ 
•IkmI his tent in the wilds of Macon Town- 
• iie purchased 120 acres of land. After 
lie headway toward the imiirdvement and 
(•iilt\ati()ii of Ids farm, he iii(u-ea>ed his real estate 
1)3' forty acres axlditional, and since that time has 
been content to remain in this place, and give his 
best efforts to the building up of a permanent home- 
stead. He has l)een remarkably industrious and 
persevering, and is recognized far and wide as a 
reputable citizen, a thorough and skillful farmer, 
and a valued factor in the agricultural interests of 
Macon Township. 

Mr. Daven|)ort began life a poor man, and has 
arrived at his i)reseiit position, financially, through 
his own honest efforts. His early years were spent 
near the city of Rochester, N. Y., where he first 
opened his eyes to the light Aug. 14, 1832. His 
father, Cornelius Davenport, was a farmer of modest 
means, and a native of New York State. He traced 
his ancestry back to Holland, but the later repre- 
sentatives of the family were mostly residents of 
Pennsylvania. He was married while a resident of 
his native State, to Miss Caroline Decker, who was 
born and reared in Rochester, N. Y. After the 
birth of three children, Cornelius Davenport started 
with his family for the West, making the journey to 
the ^Territory of Michigan via the canal and Lake 
Erie to Detroit, and thence overland to Macon 
Township, this county. Here he took up his abode 
on section 1, in 1834, in the midst of a timber tract, 
and here the parents continued the remainder of 
their lives. They labored industriously for years, 
and succeeded in providing themselves and their 
children with all the comforts of life. The father 
closed his eyes upon earthly scenes about the year 
1859, at the age of fifty-seven years, while the 
mother survived some years, her death taking place 
in 1875, when she was sixty-five years of age. 

Calvin Davenport remained" a member of the 
parental household until reaching manhood, assist- 



-i-#. 



LKNAWPIE COUNTY. 



445 



tiiining a limited education in tlie subscriptinn 
schools. U|)i>n reaching his majority, he was united 
in marriage with Miss Mahala, daughter of .Tolm 
aud I'helie (Augustus) Allen, who were natives 
rc-iMM'tiveiy of Long Island and Canada, an.l nwr 
married in Ontario, Canada. Mr. Alien, who w.-is 
a mason by trade, and a very skillful workman, i-e- 
mained in Canada some time after his marriage, and 
eanie with his family to Mi.-bigan while a lari^e p:ul 
of Maeon Township was open and w,-iitiuu l..r the 
enterprising emigrant to take possession. He se- 
cured a tract of land upon which he worked, and at 
the same time followed his trade as opportunity 
offered. lie and hi< cstimahlc wife continued on 
the land which tlicy hrst located, .-md p;issed away 
when ripe in years. 

The wife of our subject w;i.> born in .Mae.m 
Township, this county. May l."i. lis.'i;"), and wa> 
reared amid the wild scenes of the first settlement 
of Southern Jlichigan. Siie received the sanu- 
school advantages that fell to the lot of her husband, 
and was liained by her excellent mother in those 
useful household duties in which the maidens of 
those days were amliitions to excell. Mr. and Mrs. 
Davenport have two chihlren — Milton A. and .Min- 
nie; the latter is the wife of Bradley Scinlder. who 
is engaged in general merchandising at Fenuington 
Corners. Milt(m A. married Miss Lizzie Lichanl. 
and they occup}' the home.stead with our subject, 
assisting in its management and in it> iab(ir>. Mr. 
Davenpoi't is a Democrat of the old school, a man 
decided in his views, and one who keeps himself 
well [xisted upon matters of general interest. 

il, felLLlAM SKiniCK, a resident on section 
\J ^^'"Madisou Towndnp since IM^.isa 
W^ native of Scotlaml. where he w;is born in 
Lanarkshire on the "i-'id of Febrnaiy, I sioT. His 
father, James Service, who was born in the same 
place in 1784, was brought up a farmer and gar- 
dener, and lived in Scotland until 1 8 Hi, when he came 
to America and lived on a farm near Philadcli)lii:i 
for about two years. He then moved to Susque- 
hanna County, Pa., and took up a farm and lived 



there seven years. In the spring of 1825 he .sold 
out and moved to Canandaigua, Ontario Co., N. Y., 
and lived there until about 1840, when he canu; to 
i\licliigan and resided in this county until his death, 
which <iccurred in 1 .S(;7. About 1 S0(5 he married 
Miss .l.-inncti Sc.itt. (if Lanarkshire, Scotland, and 
they bad ;i fa)uily of nine children, of whom Will- 
iam is the olrlol. .Mrs. .l.-iunctt Service wasb(u-n in 

William Service liveil with his i)ai'ents until he 
wMs .'ibout eighteen years old, when he commenced 
lite for himself, engaging to work for John Greig, 
of Canandaigua, in who.se service he continued 
nineteen years. Mr. Gireig was a Scotchm.an, a 
wealthy and prominent lawyer, and a Whig politi- 
cian who was once elected to Congress. In June, 
182.5, Gen. LaFayette, of Revohitionarj' fame, 
passed through Canandaigua, on his way to New 
Yoi-k. He had been to Cincinnati and other places 
in Ohio, and .'is it was prexions to the present won- 
derful railroad system of our country, the manner 
of travel was somewhat novel, especially to the peo- 
ple of this generation. He w.as the guest of every 
city, village ami hamlet through which he passed, 
the poi)ulace giving him the entire freedom of the 
ciiuulry. From Buffalo he was carried in state by 
a delegation to a i)oint half w.ay between that city 
and Rochester, where he was met by the Rochester 
delegation and carried to that city. From Roches- 
ter, he was conveyed to Victor in great pomp, where 
the Canandaigua delegation received him, A very 
line equipage, with four beautiful gray horses, had 
been sent from Canandaigua to convey him to that 
place, but the old General was an intimate friend 
of Mr. Greig, who had visited him at his home in 
France, and excusing himself from riding in the 
carriage intended for him, rode with Mr. Greig in 
his elegant carriage, William Service being the 
coachman. The party accompanying the General 
ficcupied the carriaue with the four gray horses, 
and were the reciiiienls of much homage, as it was 
supposed that LaFayette was among them. 

In 1836 William Service came to Michigan and 
located 160 acres of land in Fairfield Township, and 
eighty acres in Seneca, and in August, 1842, re- 
moved his family from Canandaigua, N. Y., and 
settled on section 32 in Madison, where he now re- 



I 



^ 



<^ 



- ► ■ <• 



.enawep: county. 



t 



.sides. It was entirely new when lie purchased it, 
but he has cleared the land, built all necessary 
buildings, and made splendid improvements. On 
the 9tli of July, 1830, Mr. Service married Ann 
Bulrees, who was born in Canandaigua. N. Y., on 
the 10th of July, 1808, and was the daughter of 
John Bulrees, of Canandaigua. Mr. and Mrs. Serv- 
ice had eight children, who are recorded as follows: 
Marian was born June G, 1831, and is the wife of 
Eli Sparhnwi<. of Madison Township; William was 
born April 17. 1 s;'.3, and died Aug. 24, 1873; Cla- 
rissa a. (Isl) was born July 30, 1835, and died 
April 5, 183G; Clarissa O. (2d) was born April 25, 
1837, and died Oct. 18, 1838; James B. was born 
Marcli 25, 1840, and is managing the home farm; 
Ann Eliza was born May 29, 1842, and is the wife 
of Charles Gaumer, residing in Madison Township; 
Clarissa G. (3d) was born Aug. 16, 1844, and died 
June 8, 1848; Alexander was born April 27, 1847, 
and died Feb. 28, 1878. The first six were born in 
Canandaigua, N. Y., and the other two in Madison 
Township, this county. Mrs. Ann Service, the wife 
of our subject, died in Madison Township on tlic 
17th of February, 1809. 

./^ ETIi P. SHELDON is a successful general 
^^^^ farmer and stock-raisei-, now occupying a 
\il£_lll good farm on section 17, nl' ('linti>n Town- 
ship, where he has resiilcil -inci- tlic ^llrillg 
of 1883. The farm comprises eighty-seven acre.- 
of land, which is mostly under cultivation with con- 
venient and commodious farm buildings. Mr. Shel- 
don is of good New England ancestry, and is a na- 
tive of Vermont, while his father, Simeon Sheldon, 
was a native of Connecticut. When a young man 
the latter went to Vermont, and was there married 
in Rupert, Bennington County, to Miss Lois East- 
man, who was born and reared in that town. After 
marriage the young couple settled in Rupert, where 
Mr. Sheldon pursued the calling of a farmer for 
many years, and in that Vermont home they reared 
their children to good and useful lives. Later in 
life Mr. and Jlrs. Sheldon went to Illinois to spend 
their last years with their children. They lived for 
some years at Gibson City, and there the father 



<lied very suddenly while scaled in hiscliair, in No- 
vember, 1885, at the age of .seventy-eight. lie 
was a worthy man and much respected for his sterl- 
ing integrity ; his widow is living at the home of her 
daughter. Mr.s. O. A. Oliver, at R.ick Falls. 111., al 
the age of eighty. 

Our subject, who was the fourth child of his par- 
ents, was born Nov. 20, 1838, in the pleasant little 
town of Rupert, and in that town, where his own 
good mother first saw the light, where the days of 
her girlhood were passed, and also many of the 
pleasant years of her married life, he himself grew 
to a strong and sturdy manhood, and from there 
went forth in the service of his countr}^ He en- 
listed in Company C, 14th Vermont Infantry, under 
the command of Cajit. Munson of the Army of 
the Potomac. He engaged in no active battles, 
however, as he was disabled on account of sickness, 
and was finally' honorably discharged at Brattleboro, 
Vt. He then returned home, and soon after, at the 
age of twenty-seven, went to Wyoming County, N. 
Y., and there bought a large farm. 

The next j'ear after settling on his farm in New 
York he was married, on the 30th of January, 1867, 
to Miss Ella Stark, who was born in Wyoming- 
County, in the town of Middlebury, Nov. 10, 
1M45. She was the daughter of John J. and Lois 
A. (Spring) Stark, and was of notable ancestry, 
being a descendant, through her father, of Gen. 
John Stark of Revolutionary fame. Her father was 
born in Oneida Count}', N. Y., and was married in 
Le Ro.y, Genesee Co., N. Y., where his wife was 
born and reared. His wife's parents were natives 
of Massachusetts, and her father, Amos Spring, was 
a soldier in the War of 1812, as was his brother 
Denas, who was killed at Buffalo, N. Y. Amos 
Spring w-as a pioneer of Genesee County, and where 
he settled there was nothing liut woods for miles 
around, it being then, in fact, the most western set- 
tlement in the State of New Y'ork. It was from 
that pioneer home that he was called to take part in 
the War of 1812. In advanced life he went to 
Hermitage, Wyoming County, and there died at 
the age of .seventy-one. 

John J. Stark, the father of Jlrs. Sheldon, was a 
farmer by calling, and was instantly killed in a saw- 
mill in Wyoming County, June 30, 1869, at the 
_^ a^ 



a 



LENAAVEE COUNTY. 



4 



447 



■Aire (if >ixty-seven. His widow is a woiniiii of much 
ciipability and enterprise, and since the death of her 
Imsband slic hus proved up two and one-fourth sec- 
tions of laml in Dakota Territory. Mrs. Sheldon 
was reared in the home of her parents, and received 
exceptional educational advantages, having bcm 
uraduated from the High School atLocliport, iS. Y., 
and also taking a course of instruction at Middle- 
bury Academy. Mrs. Stark is now residing with 
her cliildren. 

After their marriage Mr. nin! Mrs. Siieldon set- 
tled on the farm to which we have referred; if is 
beautifully located in a fertile region, and coju- 
|)rised "i.'iO acres of land, which was fairly well im- 
proved at the time of purchase. During the six- 
teen years that the3' made their liomc there. .Mr- 
Sheldon spent much money and lal)or in bringing 
the land to a liigh state of cultivation, and in l.s,s;i 
lie disposed of iiis property in New York and re- 
moved with his family to .Michigan, where lie piii-- 
chased his present farm. lie ii.-is been ([uite pros- 
perous since coming here, and ha,s made many im- 
provements on his farm, and built up a good home. 
Three children have l)een Ixirn to Mr. and I\Irs. 
Sheldon, namely: Helen L., who was e(lneat.ed in 
Wyoming County, in her native State, and in 
Tecumseh, and is well fitted for the profession of a, 
teacher which she has- adopted, and Fred .S. and 
Louis S., who are at home with their ij.areuts: all 
of the family are comnninicant> of tlie Haplist 
Church. 

Mr. Shehhm is a Hei)ublican in politics. His 
course through life has been characterized by lion- 
orable dealings ."ind a strict fidelity to all the obliga- 
tions imposed upon him as a man and a citizen. 



•-i^^^^ 



&KNRY J. CARLTON, a practical and pros- 
) perous general farmer of Raisin Townshiii. 
was born in Cattaraugus County, N. V.. 
March 20, 1S31, and is the son of Leonard 
Carlton, who was of English parentage, and was also 
born in New York State. Leonard Carlton married 
Diana Howard, a native of the Empire State, and in 
1 836, a few years after his marriage, he with his 



cliildren, of whom our subject 
le to Michigan and settled in 



wife and two small 
was the younger, ca 
Monroe County. 

Le(jnnrd Carlton soon found employment with 
iMr. (ieorgo IS. Ilai'lvton. who was al one time one 
of the money kings of Wall street, N. V.. where 
he had made one of those sudden fortunes for 
which that street is so famous. He came to Michi- 
gan, invested largely in real estate, and was engaged 
ill the ambitious ])roject of building up the city of 
Monroe. Later in life he met with many misfort- 
unes, and finally lost all; and we have the not un- 
usual instance of the aforetime patron being obliged 
to ask a.ssistance of a former employe, which assist- 
ance no .loulit was gladly rendered by Mr. Carl- 
ton t(.i his foriuei- employer. Soon after coming to 
.Moiirue Mr. Carlton purchased the [jroperty now 
known asilie Monro(! Nursery, one of the most ex- 
tensive ill the Stati!, of which, however, he disposed 
in l.s.-,:',. aii<l removed with his family to Raisin 
Towiishi|i, where he Imuglit HIO acres of land on 
sections 24 and 2,.'). With the help of his sons he 
improved eighty acres of this land, and had a fine 
farm well ciiltivateil at the time of his death. Sept. 
S. ISTS. He was .a m:iii of iiiiich eapability and en- 
■ by bis iieighlM,rs for the 
He was a stanch adher- 
party. His faithful wife's 
187!S, a few months before 



probity of his character 
ent of the Republican 
death o(^curivd April 4, 



n Raisin Town- 
in the parental 
emained until he attained his ma- 



ins own. 

Our subject grew to manho.x 
ship, receiving a careful train in 
home, when 

jcn'ity, actively assisting his father on the farm. In 
M.ay, l.s.'):i. he went to Toledo, Ohio, and was mar- 
ried on the ITth of that month to .Miss Sarah E., 
daughter of Oeorge and Azubah (Ransom) Wood. 
Mrs. C. was born in Geneva, N. Y., Feb. 1 9, 1 ,s;36. 
Mr.s. Wood became the mother of four children, and 
dieil when her daughter Sarah was tint four years 
old. After bis wife's death Mr. Wood moved to 
Toledo, Ohio, and there continued to pursue his 
calling of a carpenter, finally returning to New 
York, where he died Dec. 7, 1884. Mrs. Carlton, 
who is the only surviving member of the parental 
family, passed the years of her girlhood and earl3' 
womanhood in Toledo. 63- her marriage with Mr. 



>► ■ <• 



4^ 



lenawp:e county. 



Carlton she becnine the mother of one child who 
died in infancy. 

After his inarrianc, .Mr. ( ';uitoii returned to the 
homestead in R'lisiii Township with his wife, where 
he lived for a few years. ;ind then went to Wiscon- 
sin and remained two years. Then, after another 
residence of three years in Raisin Township, they 
removed to Deerfleld Township, where Mr. Carlton 
was engaged in agricultural iiursuits for seven 
_years, and tiien came to his jiresent farm in Raisin 
Township. This farm conta.ins forty acres of well- 
improved land, pleasantly located on section 25. 
These well-tilled acres, neat dwelling and good 
farm buildings show evidences of Mr. Carlton's 
thrift and energy. 

Mr. and i\Irs. Carlton have )»ecn members of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church for some years, and 
they have gained the respect and confidence of the 
people in this community where they have made 
their home. In politics Mv. Carlton is a Demo- 
crat. 



I 



LLIOT (tRAY. son of one of the earliest 

E pioneers of Lenawee County, has spent all 
his life in Southern Michigan, where he was 
bom in Raisin Township, May 11, 1833. His early 
education was conducted in the primitive schools 
of this section of country', and when becoming of 
suitable years his services were utilized around the 
homestead which his father built up from the un- 
cultivated soil, and which became one of the most 
desirable and valuable in that part of the county. 

Joseph W. Gray, the fathei- of our subject, was a 
native of Jefferson County, iV. Y., where he spent 
ills boyhood and youth, and where he remained 
until migrating to this State, which was then a 
Territory. Not long afterward lie was united in 
marriage with Miss Nella Kitcham, of Tecumseh 
Township, and the daughter of Jacob Kitcham, 
Esq., who was also a native of the Empire State, and 
came to this section of country during its early 
settlement. Joseph Gray had already located 
eighty acres of land, where he kept bachelor's hall 
until his marriage and to which he afterward 
brought his bride, where they commenced life to- 
gether in true pioneer style. He was prospered at 



his labors in tilling the soil. :ind invested hi.s spare 
capital In additional land until he became the owner 
of 560 acres in different tracts. He erected a fine 
brick residence in 1 845, and lived to reach his four- 
score and two yo:irs, passing away at the homestead 
which he h-i.l l.uilt up in February, 1885. The 
wife of his youth iiad died after the birth of six 
children, who are recorded as follows: Jane died 
when, an interesting young lady of sixteen ^ears ; 
Frances became the wife of Samuel Helm, a well-to- 
do mechanic; Elliot, of our sketch, was the third 
child; Maria m;iri-ied B'rederick Gambol, a resident 
of Tecumseh Townshij); Eliza, Mrs. Milton Ross, 
lives in Addison, Mich., and Albert died in child- 
hood. Joseph Gray for his second wife married 
Miss Sarah Cox, by whom he became the father of 
two sons and one daughter — VVillard, John and 
Nellie; the daugiiter is married, and they are all 
residents of this county. Mrs. S.arah Gray resides 
on the homestead. 

(Jur subject completed his studies at the Tecum- 
seh High School, under the instruction of Joseph 
Esterbrook, and continued to make his home with 
his parents until his marriage, which occurred June 
22, 1852. He chose for his life companion one of 
the most estimable young ladies of New Y''ork 
State, Miss Eliza Guthridge, who was a native of 
Black Rock, N. Y., and of Irish ancestry. Iri the 
meantime our subject had secured 120 acres of 
land and had alread}' a comfortable little home, to 
wfiich he brought his bride and where they have 
since lived. The residence is commodious and sub- 
stantial, built of lirick in modern style, and the barn 
and other out-buildings are in keeping with the gen- 
eral aspect of thrift and prosperity which pervades 
the homestead. Mr. Gray became largely interested 
in flour and built up a flourishing foreign trade, 
negotiating with large dealers across the water, and 
finally became associated with the celebrated firm 
of C. A. Pillsbury & Co., and other firms, millers 
at Minneapolis, who gladly employed him to intro- 
duce the product of their mills in Ireland. 

A few years after his marriage the Civil War 
came on, and Mr. Gray esteemed it his duty to lay 
aside his private interests and give his services to 
his country. In May, 1862, he enlisted in Com- 
pany B, 7th Michigan Cavalrj', in the organization 





' 


f 




^^ 




-M* 


•^^ 




T 




LENAWEF 


COUNTY. 11!) ' . 






of vvliieh he assisted and was at once made First 


completed his theological studies at Cambridge, 






Lieutenant. He conunanded tlie company at the 


Enghand. under the tntelnge of the eminent Dr. 






battle of Gettysburg and subsequently took part 


Murdevaut and Dr. William D.-iy. formerly of ().\- 






in thirty-six general engagements, serving two 


ford University. His eln>Meal course w:is con- 






year.s upon the staff of thelamrnted ( mh. ( 'u>ter. 


ducted .at Cambridge University under the iustruc- 






At the i-lo-e of the war. in \st\:,, hr I'occivcd liis 


tnni of 1)]-. (Jeorge Collis.m, Rev. Samuel Hansom 








and i;e\-. t;eorge D.arrington, the two latter espe- 






snit>. In ISCCi. Ml', (m-iv, im- ip:niic(l hy lii> wife 


laally noted for tiieir exi'cllence as tutors. 






and child. ,-ro>M.d 1 lie .MInnlir and vi>itcd Ireland. 


Ml'. W.-islell c(niinienced his clerical studies when 






remaining there al.ont one year, lb' then relnrneil 


ninct.i'cii years of age. and w.-is s<,on afterward or- 






to Michigan, an.l in Is?? connn. need :,s a (i(nir 


daine.l. He w:is i^iven charue of the College 






dealer nnd niM.lc : ih.n- trip to Ireland, rontinuing 


Cliui-ch .at .\ckney. wluai twenty -eight years of age. 






Ins ..prraticns in this direrti.m I., the pn>s,..nl. and 


.•ind continued his p.-istorati' there for a period of 






.•dtdi^vth.-r (a^.v-ing the Atlantic, bark and forth. 


sev.ai year~. lie w;is then sent across the Atlantic, 






twenty -two I;inies. lie has dealt largely iji real es- 


by the Lon.hm Coloni:d .Mivsiomiry .Society, to the 






tate, investing ninch of his capital in l,an<l. and is 


i)(nnini<m of C:in:ida. ami located at Quebec, and 






now the owner (jf abi)nt 110 arres. 


olhcirited .also :it .ither points in the Prt.vince of 






Mr. and :Mrs. ( ;ray arr the parents ,,f un.' s,m an.i 


Ontario. During the nine ye:irs of his labors there, 






three daughters. rer,,rd.Ml a. follows: .b.seph K, 


he wns cliielly instrumental in founding the Con- 






married Miss Eva Campbell, and is .aigaged in farm- 


grcgalionnl College, al Toronto, which was sub.se- 






ing in I'ecumsch Township: Alirc is the wife of 


qnently moved lo .Montreal, llisl.ast work in Canada 






Jo.seph Rynd, of Fairlicid 'I'ownsliip; Mella Ann 


w:is :is pastor in the city of St. Thomas, where he ofii- 






and Mary E. are at honn' with their |)arents. ;\Ir. 


(•iated live years. 






Gray has always voted with the DcMnoeratic party, 


.Mr. W:istell on coming over into the States, was 






but meddles very little with polities, his large prop- 


tti-st stalioni'd at St. Clair, .Mich., where be remained 






erty interests employing tin' most of his time and 


live ye.irs. .-nid upon remo\ ing from there, was 






attention. 


located in Port llnr<m for .-i period of three year.s. 






' -^'^» 'C-^VM' *-—-^ 


Thence he c:une lo Clinton, this county. ,as pastor of 
the Presbyterian Church. He had married, while 






,Tp\\ EV. WILLIAM P. WASTEIJ., a retired min- 
ly^ i.ster of the Congregational Chinch, has been 


in Engl.-md. Miss S:irali S. Lramky, who became the 






mother of a hirge ftiinily, eight of win, in are still 






Ji\ a resident of Clinton \'ill:ige since Ihe spring 


living. .Mrs. Snr.-di Wastell .leparled this life at St. 






Clair, .Mich., about l.sTd. On the 2(;th of January, 






there, with the exception of some years, from that 


1^7•■!. .Mr. \\ . married foi- his second wife Mrs. 






date until l.sT-.'. and during liietinu' of his absence 


Siiridi (Polhemus) \'aii Tnyle. Thislady was born 






was still at work f.n- the .Masb'r. travelinu tln-ongh- 


m Sussex Canity. N. .!.. .Iniie (1. 1. si 4. and came to 






out the United States, lie is of Knglish birth Mid 


.Mi<-hig:iii with her f.-itiier. Cornelius Polhemus, in 






parentage, his infant yeai's having be<'n passed in 


is:;-.'. They located in tlie unbroken forest of Free- 






the city of L(md<m, nheic he was born Aug. 17. 


dom Township, W:ishtenaw County, where the 






1804. 


fnthcr secaired a tract of (Jovernment land, a large 






Henry Wastell, the father of our subject. w;is ;, 


part of wliich he brought to a good state of cultiva- 






merchant by occupation. ;ind died in London when 


tion, and tliia-e spent the remainder of his days. 






his son, William P.. wns but a la<l. Ashle fr be- 


He lived U> be eighty-one years old. and died in 






ing a man of more than ordinary lnisines> ipndilica- 


thesnmmer of l.siill. His wife was in her girlhood 






tious, he was a hue musician. ;iinl was received 


Miss Reliecca Stcv.ms.m. a n.ative of New .lersey. 






among the noliilitv of his native l;ind. ^dnng \\:is- 


Slie surviv<-d her liusb:ind four years, and wasabout 






tell received excellent educational advantages, :md 


taghly \ fars of :igc at the time of her death. Both, ■ 




^ 




■ 


^_ 


^^~' 






• 






-J 





•►Hl-^^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



were active members of the Presbyterian Cbm-cii at 
Manchester, to the support of which they liberally 
contributed durins)- the time it was struggling for an 
existence. Mr. Polhemus was a Democrat, politi- 
cally. Their household inehidcd nine children. 
Mrs. Wastell being tlie flftli in oider ol liiith. 

The wife of our subject was but a small child 
when her parents removed from New Jersey and 
located in New York State before (!oming to the 
West. She was educated there, in Cayuga County, 
and was married to her first husband, Adam Van 
Tuyle, at Clinton Village, this county. Mr. Van 
Tuyle came here a single man from Cayuga County, 
N. Y., and after marriage the young people settled 
on a farm of 200 acres of land in Manchester Town- 
ship, Washtenaw County. Mr. Van T. effected fine 
improvements, and died at the homestead which he 
had built up in the spring of 1870. He was a man 
of good business capacities, Democratic in politics, 
and held most of the local offices. Mr. and Mrs. 
Van T. were the parents of five children, of whom 
two are now deceased; John A. married Miss 
Annie Best, is farming in Manchester Township, 
and is the })arent of six children ; George H. mar- 
ried Miss Frances Sones, and occupies the old home- 
stead ; they have two children. Willard D. married 
Miss Alta Silvers, and is carrying on banking in 
Clinton. 

Mrs. Wastell was left witii a good property in 
Clinton, and is in the enjoyment of a desirable home 
combining all the comforts of life, with a fair share 
of its luxuies. She has been a consistent member 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church for the long 
period of fifty years. 






MKin'EV, 

bom at hi.^ 



III county. w;is i 

fj stead in Adrian Township, Dec. 



^V- 



He is now the proprietor of a 

numbered among the enter|)ris 

young citizens of Adrian T<i\vii 

a full apprenticeship at farm pursuits and is tl 

ougliiy acquainted with tiie methods necessary 



good farm, and Is 
\g and wide-awake 
lip. He has served 



prosecute liis calling successfully, and takes a lively 
interest in the well-being of the people around him. 
encouraging the institutions calculated for their 
advancement, educationally, socially and financially. 
Mr. Hervcy, duiing his childhood and youth, pur- 
sued his ,s)u(lii'> in the district schools in winter and 
worked on the farm in summer. He completed his 
education at Raisin Valley Seminary, and has been 
quite prc)minent in local affairs. He has taken 
great interest in the success of the temperance move- 
ment, and is an active Prohibitionist, having atone 
time been the candidate of that [wrty for some of 
the local offices. 

Our subject is the son of Russell and Lovisa 
(Read) Herve3', the former a native of Durham, 
Greene Co., N. Y., and born Feb. 6, 1807. He 
spent his last years in Adrian, jiassing away on the 
•29lh of November, 1882. The paternal grand- 
father of our subject. Hermon Hervey, was born in 
Dutchess County, N. Y.. Sept. i'l. 1783, and died 
Dec. 2'.), l.s-i;!. He was the son of Obed Hervey, 
Jr.. who w.as born Feb. 21. 1752, .and died in Dur- 
ham County, N. Y., Oct. 26, 1838. The great- 
great-grandfather, Obed Hervey, Sr., was born in 
1722, and died in Durham, N. Y., Jan. 11, 1,S08. 
He was a minister of "the Baptist Church, and served 
in the Master's vineyard until placed upon the 
superannuated list He had married in early man- 
hood Miss Mercy Sykes, whf> was liorn in 1731, and 
died in February, 1814. 

The paternal great-grandfather of our subject, 
like his father before him, was pious!}' inclined, and 
vi'as a Deacon in the church where his father 
preached ; he was also fond of agriculture, and car- 
ried on a farm in Greene County, N. Y. He mar- 
ried Miss Abigail Bell, of that county, Jan. 10, 1758, 
and departed this life Aug. 11, 1817. Hermon 
Hervey, the grandfather of our subject, was bap- 
tised in 1«02, and was ordained in 1808 pastor of 
a church at Durham, Greene Co., N. Y.. where lie 
continued twentj-one years. He then labored in 
different fields until quite aged, and finally returned 
to Durham to spend his last days. He had a remarka- 
ble knowledge of the .Scriptures, and a retentive 
meiuory which enabled him to fortify his statements 
with the truths which were always at his command. 
He also was fond of farm life, and carried on agri- 
•►- 









f 










-*- 


•►- 


LR>\\WK1 


COUNTY. 451 - 


^* 




fultui-e ill Greene County, where he aec-iunuhitod 


William H. Hervey was married to Miss Ella, 






a fine property. He owned about 700 arrcs iif'land 


daughter of John and Mary Marsh, Nov. 25. 1879. 






an.l had an iutnvst iu M^vc-ral mill-. His saw. 


To them have been born two children — Leila. March 






rtoiu-iii.i; and ranliiiii iiiiUs liirnished cmphiyincnt to 


1, is.si, and Bertha A,. Nov. 2;), 1SS2. 






numbers of jjeojUe and yichled t(.i the pio|iiict(>r a 
handsome income annually. His wifr. Ilannali. 


— • •- ■ * • -^>*-^ 






daujihter of J)avid Tyler, was born March •_' 1. i 7.S-t, 


,1; A.MES B. DAY is |,r,,prietor of a tine estate 






and dlcl April -.'l. lsr,2. 




in Fairliel.l T..wn>hip. inclu.ling .'ioo acres 






Russell Ilcrvey. the fatlier of our subject, spent 


„, 


' .if valuable lan.l.m s.'cti.m ;ll. .■.mtaiiiiug 






his childhood and youth after the manner of the 


~^' conn lions „n<l suitable buihiings, costly 






sons of pioneers, bei'oiniuu' familiar both wilh mill- 


farm njachinery .and ,a choice a.s.sortment of live 






ing and agricultural |)ursuits. His limited education 


stock. He has spent his eiitii-e life iu this coui.ty, 






was ,,blnined under dilli.-ultics. a.- he was oMige.I to 


where his birth t.M.k pla.'c ,,n the 2d of JFarch. 






walk a long distance to the subscription schools. 


iSll. His parents. William II. and Charity E. 






Being fond of his Ix.oks. h,.wever, he made gDod 


(Briggs) l)a_v. were natives of New York State. 






progress, and coiiunenced teaching when twenty 


and after their nuu-riage came to tlie Territory of 






years (^f age He had inherited the religions ten- 


Michigan, locating in Fairheld Township on a f.arni. 






dencies of his ancestors, and when twenty-l wo years 


where they spent the renj.ainder of their lives. The 






of age was licensed to [ircach the Nospel in his na- 


father was killed by the fall of :i tree in IS50, while 






tive county. Desirous ol' :i better education hi' 


tlie nujther survived her husband eight years, jiass- 






attended Hamilton Seminary. n..w .Madison I'ni- 


ingaway iu 1858. The parental hou.sehold included 






versity, au<l at the age of twenty-se\en was or- 


four daughters and two sons, of whom James B. 






dained as a, minister and given a pastor's chai-ge nt 


was tlie third in order of birth. 






Heiulersou, .\. Y. 


In common with his brothers and .sisters James 






The first wife of Russell llervey was tl,.' .laughter 


Day was leared at the homestead, attending the 






of Aim.s and Miriam (Harney) Noycs; she ,licd 


district school in winter and assisting in the various 






June 211, l.Sfi). iMr. llervey was ni.-iiiied a second 


farm em|iloyments during the season of sowing and 






time, Dec. 22. ls.-,2. to Miss L,,vi.sa Read, a native 


reaping. After reaching the tweiity-fonilh year of 






of Albert County. N. 1!„ .and born Nov. 1(1. 1S2.S. 


his .age he was married, in Jacks,,H County, this 






Her parents were William and Eunice (Hoai) Read. 


Stati', Dec. 18, 1 Stis, to .Miss Susan E., daughter of 






and they were married April 2'.», ISll). The father 


the late Samuel W. and Eleanor (Abbott) Hager- 






was a n.'itive of Rockingham, Windham Co.. \t... 


man. The p.arents of .Mr.s. Day were natives of 






and early in life wa- li'ft an orphan, and compelled 


S<aiec.a County. X. Y., whei'e they were reared .and 






to provide lor himself. It provc^d ;. goo. 1. altlioni;!, 


ui.arried. nanaiuing there until 1 .s.:;5. They then 






a severe experience, as itdeveloped the sclf-i-cliancc 


came lo this county and resided for a year in Kair- 






which proved the basis of his success l.'iler in life. 


lield Town>hip. uhen they returned to their native 






He acijuired a good pro|)erty, and died .M.aidi 2.'i. 


State, and a year Later came I lack to Michigan and 






1870, when eighty-tu-o years of .age. lUv Read 


Uv\v spent the rem.aiiKler of thiir lives. Their jonr- 






family removed from New liruuswick to .Michigan 


neying- to and from the l-hnpire State were made 






in 18;!7. Mrs. Read died at the honu' of our sub- 


aftia- the in,ann<a of those .lays, with t.'ams, and 






ject, Feb. "21, 1875, and was seventy-nine years old. 


th.'ir l..t was the .■.)mni.>n ..ne ..f pioneers in a new 






Russell Hervey was instrumental in buildiuu ihe 


.-..nntry. .Mr. and Mrs. ilagermau liv.-.l to .a go-.d 






first church in Rom<- Township, and has olliciated 


..Id .age, the father .lying Feb. I ;). 1 ,SS2, an.l the 






as a minister iu this county b.r .-i perio.l ,,f torly- 


mother Oct. 2. 1885. They wer.' llj.' parents of 






five years. During this time he has olliciated .at. 


four chil.lriai — loliu S., Elizabeth. Sarah an.l Su- 






over 11)2 marriages which are recorded, besides 


san !•;. 






• i quite a larae number of which no reconl wa- made. 


The wife of our subject was burn in Fairlield ' 




a^. 


^1 .. 


_. . 


L— ^U 


■^ 






*•• 




- 




i 





f 



452 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Township, Feb. 5, 1 850, and passed her childhood 
and youth in a eoniparatively uneventful manner, 
under her father's roof, acquiring lier education 
mostly in the district schools. She was trained by 
a careful mother to all needful housewifely duties, 
and is a fitting companion to one of the worthiest 
and most highly respected members of the com- 
mmiity. Mr. Day votes the straight Deraocratic 
ticket, but meddles very little with politics. He | 
takes a genuine interest in the prosperity of the 
people around him, and lias served his township as 
Highway Commissioner. Ilis farm is conducted in 
a thorough and sUillfiil manner, and although com- 
parativelj' young in years he has the fine prospect 
of a competence in his old age. 

j^ILBER WEST. Foremost among the skilled 
artisans of Lenawee County is the gentle- I 

7% man whose name stands at the head of this I 
sketch; his reputation as a master carpenter and | 
joiner extends far beyond the limits of this town- 
ship. He also possesses considerable aliility as an 
architect, and being a good draughtsm.an, is ena- I 
bled to make plans for any kind of structure that ! 
he may be called on to build. \ 

Mr. West was liorn in Xorwicli. (.)xford County, 
Ontario, Canada, I''eli. 2.'1. I J^27, and is the youngest I 
but one of his parents' large family of children, i 
His father. Benjamin West, was born In Dutchess 
County, N. Y., Nov. 14, 17iS2, and married, Aug. 
14, 1«0G, Miss Polly Disbrow, a native of New 
York. After marriage Mr. West settled in his na- 
tive county, following the occupation of a farmer, 
and in the year 182o he removed with his growing 
family to Oxford County, Ontario, Canada. After 
living under British rule twenty-one years he re- 
turned with his family to the United States, travel- 
ing by slow stag(« in an emigrant wagon, and at 
length arriving at Adrian, on the 28th of May, 
1844, and soon after settling on section 36 of Raisin 
Township, 'i'lie face of tlu; country presented a 
very different appearance from what it does to-day, 
as a great deal of the land was unbroken, and large 
tracts of the [)rimitive forest were still standing, 
though the country was by no means uninhabited. 



Here, in the home that they had planted in the wil- 
derness, the father and mother ended their days of 
toil, her death occurring .Tan. ;il, 1849. while the 
husband survived initil Oct. 6, 1 8.")8. In religion. 
Airs. West was a Baptist and Mr. West was a (Qua- 
ker, while in politics he was an old-line Whig, and 
a sturdy advocate of the policy of that party. They 
were much respected in the community. They had 
ten children, five of whom are yet living, four sons 
and one daughter, and are recorded as follows: 
Mary married Niles Bowerman: Abraham married 
Amanda Westgate; Briggs married Polly Farling, 
who died, .-ind he was again married, to Mrs. Han- 
nah White; Unlet married Eliza Cottiii ; and Wilber; 
all reside in this township. 

Our subject passed his boyhooti in his native 
|)lace, receiving the benefits of the educational ad- 
vantages afforded by the town, and at seventeen 
years of age became with his parents to Michigan. 
He assisted his father in clearing the land, and did 
other farm work until about 1850, when he and his 
brother Hulet bought 260 acres of unbroken land, 
which they farmed together with good results until 
the year 1 S70. and then divided it .and discontinued 
tlie p.artnership which had continued so long to the 
advantage of both. His farm contains ninety acres 
of well-improved land on section 36 of Raisin 
Township, and forty acres in Blissfield Township. 
Notwithstanding the demands of his other business, 
Mr. West has not neglected the cultivation of this 
farm, whereon he h.as erected neat, substantial farm 
buildings and a pleasant dwelling. 

When he was twenty-six ye.ars of age Mr. AVest 
made a new departure, turning his attention to car- 
pentering, as at that time there was a gre.at demand 
for carpenters and othei- artisa^is in the county. He 
possessed a natural aptitude for mechanics, and 
without serving an apprenticeship, he soon became 
quite expert in his new calling, becoming in time 
one of the most skilled mechanics in the county. 
His services were always in great demand, and he 
h.as built about every kind of structure made of 
timber. From 1872 to 1878 he was in the employ 
of the Chicago it West Michigan Raihoad Co. .as 
bridge builder and constructor of stations, tanks, 
etc. He finally became master carpenter, and often 
had several men in his employ. Many of the fine 



\ 



«f 



^> -* "f 














Residence or Geo. RoHKBACK , Sec. 2a. Ogden Township. 




Resjdence of Geo Gar ling, 5 ec 51. Medina Township 







Residence OF J. B. Hood, Sec. 18. Madison Tov/nshi p. 





1 








,^-—~^ 






•►- 


LRNAAVEE 


COUNTV. 


4.").') 




i-esidenees of this eoiiiitv were construeted iiiidei- 


of Andrew J., was 


the daughter of Henry and Mar- 




his supervision. 


-arct (M<'Murty) 


r.ecis. wh., were ..f S.a.tch .le- 




Mr. Westwas nmn-ied, .liilv :!. lsl7. in liniMii 


-eenl. .loin. Ho<, 


1 .and his wife spent theii' last 




Township, to Mi.-s ("cuilorl ('., dMii^litcr of .I,,hii 


year- in Oilcans C 


Hinly, .\. v., whith.a- Ihe tornicr 




S. and Deborali ((innMi) Wrils. natives of New 


had g(me in ISH 


. .an.l w.as ,me . ,f the piou.'crs of 




Vorlv. They came to .\lirlii-an in IS.'.s. and lo- 


Western N.-.v Yo 


■k. They wci-e th.' parents of 




cated in l;ai>in Toun^liip. wlirre .Mr. Wells he.Mnie 


-even ehildren, fo 


ir iM.ys and lluv.' ,-irls. .,f wln.m 




.activelv en-ii;' ■! a- a lunilier ui<avhanl and farnna-. 


Audr.'W. the sni.j. 


el of this m.aiu.ir. is th.' sixth in 




Tliey were inllnenli.- endMT> of the i;apn>t 


order of birtli. . 


.>hu H.M,.l .Uerl De.-, L'2. ls;!l, 




Chureh, aiidai-.' nou ,le,aa,srd. The naa .nl of tlleir 


and his wife m D, 


.aanber. 1 SHO. Tlu-y w.av among 




children i^ as foilnw>: t'ont.ait M.arried Keiil.en 


fhe moslhi-hly r.' 


pecle.l ciLi/.eusof the (a.mninnity 




Hall, iind is a widow, livin- in Neu Y,,rk; .lames 


in whl.'h they pa-s 


.■,1 ll„> m.,-l ..f th.ar liv.-s. 




married Mary Ann I'atton. ami live< in Adii.aii. 


Th,. snbjeel . 


f 11, j. p.-r-.u,al hi.,;4Taphy was 




Mrs. Wells was born in Warren Connly. N. V.. .Iun<' 


reared heuealli h 


- fath.a's r.M.f. au.l naaavcl his 




1, l,S;iO, and was ednealed under her parents' snper- 


l.rini.ary ediiealio 


, in tl..' <li-tri.'t s.-h.,.,ls .,f his 




vision. receiving- a earefnl home training, which 


native e,,nnty. uh 


.■h »as snpplem.aited by .an at- 




well fitted her for the dntie> ,,r wile and mother. 


tendance at the .M 


illvilleand Albi.ui Academies, in 




To Mr. and Mrs. We.M have Leen horn eiglit 


the JMupil-e Male. 


He came t.. this county when a 




children, two of whom died in infaney. 'i'lmse liv- 


young man of t a\ 


laily-four years .if age, and hei-e 




ing are: JJehor.ah. wife of Henry Fetlerman. lesid- 


ma.le his |>c rmaue 


If li..ine. He ha.l previ.iiisly vis- 




ing in Blissfleld; .lames A., wi,., marrie.l Emily 


iled Ihe Male in 


ISIC. lull ivturn.'.l to New York 




Tarbell, and lives in Fremovit, Neb. ; Angelia. the 


State to (amiplefe 


his i.i'cpar.ali.iiis for his removal. 




wife of E. R. Karnp, living in I'alniyra Township 


In IS.V) he look 


posM.ssi.ui .,f the lan.l which he 




on ,a f.arm; Ida, the wife of David Bornoir, a farmer 


now owns, and f 


le (a.n.lili.)ns of which were in 




of Kaisin Township, and .\(Kdl.a and Alonzo, who 


marketl <-ontiasl, 1 


. Uie picscnt. I p.. 11 if sl.a.d a 




reside at home with tlii'ir paients. 


rude ealuu liuill 


.,f lous .after 111.' m..sl primitive 




Mr. West has served two terms a> .1 notice of the 


fashion, but .Mr. 


1 1. lu't long after hi- -eltle- 




Peace, one term as Highway Commissi., ner. and i> 


nuail. put up a - 


nl.slaiilial st.m.. .1 welliim-li.uise, 




now serving his second term ns Dr.ain Commissioner. 


and add.al oli.er i 


nprovcmculs as tim." passe.l on 




In politics he is a Republican. 


a hi'di st-ite <if ci 


iislilie.l. He hnin-ht his land to 




»?-:^S^fe^r-^ - 


a lu^n sr.iK <u i i 
neighbors, and " 
some inc. ma- .as th 


Is linally ivw.arded with a han.l- 
. result ..f ids lab.u-s. 






On W\v i:illi < 


f .Iiine, IS.V;. .>ur siibjei-t was 




f^^NDREW J. MOOD, a hiehly r.'spected 


uniteil in marriai. 


e with .Miss Mary S. Knieiit. a 




(QVlI niendier of the farming eonmninity of 


dauehli-r ..f Wil 


iam Kniuht ..f this .•..nnfy. a 




Inll Adrian Townslup, like many of liis n<a-h- 


sketch of wh.an 


will lu' bmn.l els.'whia-e in this 




"^ bors. came from the JMnpii-e Slate wIhmi a 


v.,lum.'. ■I'liey.i 


ing p.-ople seftliMl ihiwii lamifort- 




young man, and assisted in thi' development of 


.ably l.,-<-lher .m 


Iheir farm, .an.l in .bie lime were 




this section of the country, lie was hoiii in l;i<lge- 


the ha|.py ptireu 


- .,f si\ .■hililrcii: Their I'ldest 




way, Orleans Co., N. V., May 2;i. is-.'(i. ^nd is the 


ilau-hl.a-. Ella 11 


. ui.aiTi,..l li,.v. Lyman E. Davi.s, 




son of John and Nancy (l!e(a-) Hood, the former 


a i-leriiym.au ..f tl 


.• I'r.Uestant .M.'lli.j.list Church, 




of whom was born in Northnndierland Connly. I'a.. 


wh,, is now l,»-al 


Ml at l!r.M,klyn, N. Y.. an.l is the 




n 1782, and the latter in Morrislowu. N. .1., in 


m..ther .,f liv.' I'l 


il.lnui, .>f whom but tw,. are liv- 




17'J2. John Hood, the father of the subject of this 


ing: ChaH.'s .!.. t 


l„. el.l.'sl s..n .if Mr. an.l Mrs. 




sketch, was the son of Ccorge lioo.l. a resi,!,Mit of 


IIoo.l, receive. 1 a 


iiic .Mlm-ation. and is now a prac- 




' ' the Kevstone .State. Mrs, Nancv Hood, the mother 


licing [ihysician ; 


le .atlciideil Adrian College, and 


-»- 


\ , -- 




^ 


■^" 










r" 







4 



4 



4rir. 



LENAAVEK COf^NTY. 



the Business College of Bryant & Sons, at Buffalo, 
N. Y., anrl completerl his stndies in the medienl 
department of the Michigan State University, and 
is a post-graduate of the class of 1 887. William , 
H. Hood is also a practicing- pli>'Sicinn, a graduate 
from Adrian College and the Michigan Stnte Uni- 
versit.y, and is located at Battle Mountain, Nev. ; 
Herbert N. is following closely in the footsteps T)f 
his brother, being studious ;uid energetic; he is 
engaged in farming on the family homestead. Bertie I 
L. is attending Adrian College and preparing for 
a higher course; Arthur J., the youngest child, is j 
still attending the district schools. The children 
form an unusually' bright and interesting family | 
group, of which the parents may justly be proud. { 
Mr. Hood and his estimable wife are members in ! 
good standing of the Congregation.al Church, with I 
which they have been identified for the past thirty } 
years. At the age of seventeen 3-ears, Mr. Hood 
united with the Presbyterian Church, at Knowles- 
ville. (>rle:ins Co., N. Y., and has led a consistent 
Christinu life ever since. The farm is pleasantly 
located and with its beautiful surinundings forms 
one of the most attractive s|)ots in Adri.an Town- 
ship. 

-^ ^^.^ ^ 



'«^/I)l)IS()N P. HALI.ADAV i> too well 
%EM known in the section where he I'esides to 

j (»■ need special introduction on our part, be- 
^y ing one of the many successful farmers 

ch:u-acterizing the connunnity of which he is an in- 
tegral part. His propeity includes 1 1 (i acres on 
section 6, in Clinton Township, and lies along the 
Chicago turnpike, the popular ajid most extensively 
traveled thoroughfare of that region. Most of the 
land is under the plow and in a good state of culti- 
vation. 

Locating here in ISO 1. time enough has elapsed 
for the maturing of e:irly phins in l.uilding up .'i 
home to 111- n.'itive taste.- and likinu>. and this .Mr. 
H.all.Mday has .■i.-eomplisheil in an a.lniir.-ible man- 
ner. Ontario County, i\. V., was the phi,-.. ,,f his 
birth, which o.n-un-ed .Nov. 1. IM'T. His father, 
James llalladny. w.-is .-ilso a, Vonker l.y hirth. .and a 
farmer by occup;itioii. rji<> latl.r, for the pai'tuei- 
<if his joys anil shan-r of his sorrows, selected .Miss 

■<•— 



P.armelia Bigelow, who also first saw the light in 
old Ontario Connt3\ The elder Mr. H.allada}- de- 
parted this life at his home, Dec. 28, 1880. The 
mother of our subject still survives. Her present 
home is with her daughter in Washtenaw Comity, 
this State, and she has now arrived at the advanced 
age of eighty-three years. 

James Halladay, the father' of the sidiject of this 
personal memoir, came to JSIichigan in 1 1"-:!);!, and 
located in Washtenaw County, where he became 
the owner of a good farm in Bridgewater Tovvnship. 
He vvas a Republican, politicallj', and with his es- 
timable wife, a member in good standing of the 
Congregational Church. They were the |iarents of 
seven children, of whom A<Idison was the eldest 
son and second child. One daughter died Dec. 2.">, 
ISO 8. 

Our subject was reared upon a fai'm. and was 
first married in the township of his nativity to Miss 
Mary E. Howland, a native of JMassachusetts. Siie 
came to Michigan with her parents when a child 
three years of age, and all located in Adrian Town- 
ship, where the family remained until near tlie time 
of the daughter's marriage, when the_v returned 
east as far as Manchester, Ontario Co., N. Y., where 
the parents sjient their last days. Soon after their 
arrival there, our subject and his wife were wedded, 
and after making their home temporarily with the 
latter's parents, until the death of both father and 
mother, two years later, Mr. Halladay and his 
wife set out for Michigan, landing first in Brooklyn 
Township, Jackson County. They remained resi- 
dents of that section for about six years, and then 
removed to their present location. Of their union 
there was bt)rn to Mr. and Airs. Halladay one child, 
a son, whom they named Horace, and who, after 
reaching manhood, sought and won the hand of 
JMiss Lilla Crane, and resides in Manchester Town- 
ship. Ontario Co., N. Y., eng.aged in the pursuit of 
liusliandry, like his ancestors. 

iieing left a widower in early life, what nas more 
nalnr.'il ;ind i)ro])er than that the father <;f Horace 
ll.illad.'iy sho\dd select another life companion, 
which he did in the per.son of Mrs. Rosetta (Marks) 
('li;imlierlain. Her parents, Nehemiah and Cla- 
rissa (Palmeter) .Marks, were natives respectively of 
Connecticut and \'ermont, and were married in 



i 







LF.XAWEI 


COCNTV. 457 


South Cleveland, Ohio. Tlicy engaged there in 


he started for California, via the Isthmus, and 


farming pursuits and died in Cuyahoga Counlv. 


upon reaching the Paciflc Slope engaged in mining 


The}- were most exoellent Christian pcuiilc, :nid 


for about two and one-half years, with ipiite ,s:itis- 


each lived to llie good old age of eighty-two ycaiv 


f.aclory results. 


' Their daughter Rosetta. the wife of nnr Mil.jfrt, 


.Mr. (ireeu. upon returning to Michig.au. invested 


coiitiuurd iimlcr the home roof until her lir>t nnr- 


a part of his c.'ipital in 1(10 acres of land ..u section 


riage. with Cliarles Chamberlain, in Ohiu. After 


L'7. Fairfield Township, where he h.as since made his 


their marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Chamherlaiu t..ok up 


le.mc and given his .attcuth.u to its improvement 


their resideu<-e in Dallas County, Iowa, and lieranic 


;ui.l cnltiv.athm. The rcsidiaicc is .a liau.lsoUM' :iud 


the parents of une >on. Charles D., win, marrie.l 


substantial structin'e. and the various otlna- biiild- 


Miss l-;>telhi Tryou, of l!,.dlord, Ohio, in win.-h 


in,i;s appertaiiu'iig to the farm are highly (ac'dilable 


place he is now engaged with the liiu-keye Oil Fac- 


to the taste ami good sense of tlie proprietor. 


tory. Mr. Chamberlain died in Iowa. .l.-m. i;. Is.'iC. 


In IS.si;, Mr. (H-een, in company with Ilem-y C. 


Mr. and Mrs. Halladay are the parents ,,f three 


I'ratl. erected a ch(>ese factcu'y on his Land, wliicli 


children, all sous: Cebert M.. wh.Huairie.l Miss Ra- 


the p.artncrs have since <.pci:ite.l with excellent re- 


chel Post, resides on a farm in Clinlun T..wuship. 


sults, turning out. about D.'iii pounds of cheese per 


and Oscar II. and Ilciuian, who are etHcient teach- 


il.iy (luring the se;isoh. .Mr. tireeu also m.ade a 


ers in the district .-cliwols. The parents are sincere 


furllua- |.nrcli:,.se of land, being now the ..wma'of 


and worthy mcml.eixi.f the Congregational Church. 


li;i .acres, twenty of whii-h is valn.able timber l:in<I. 


In his political .■ouvH-tious. Mr. Ilalla.lay coincides 


I lis farming operations have iKaai conducted j,, a 


1 with the Republican pai'ty, and dep.isits his ballot 


tln.rough and skillful manner, and he ranks among 


for the candiilates offered bv that organization. 


the solid .anil reli.able men of F.airlield Township. 




The wife of <iur subject, to whom he was married 




in l'"airfield Township. .M.arch 1. ISCT, was f.nancrly 


'^''"''-^—^^5^=^" ~^ 


Mi.ss Clari.s.sa, daughter of I). C. ami Margare't 


f AMKS II. ORKKX. The life of a good man 


(Force) Salsbury. u.atives ,if New York, who came 
to Southern Michigan in l,s|o. They are now de- 


|l sheds its intiuence further than can be com- 


ce:ised. the f.athcr .lying in 1.SJ7 and the mother in 


^_, 1 puted by mere time .and distance. We may 
(^^/ not be able to enunu'rate his acts or give ex- 
presson to the form they take, liut, like the gentle 




summer rains, they work silently and with de<p 


■ bvn. n:im<>ly : Ilarti.' K. Morencc C.. .I;im<'s H.. 


effect. The subject of this narrative, although 




never leading an army to battle, or -tianiiiig a b)rl. 


s.i.utious i;epublic;in..and with his e\c>.llent l.a<lv a 


has labored unostentatiously .and with a purpo>c in 


memliei- in e(,(jd staudin-' of th.' Christian Chuivli 


life, and the people among wh(mi he has lived have 


When we say tinithis word is considered as n,„„l 


been better for his existence: such is their general 


.as his bond amouu' the [.eople who have knoun him 


verdict, given unsolicited. 


:ill his life, further conumait is uum'ccs.sary. 


Mr. Green is a gentleman in the prime of life. 




having been born F<'b. '-'s. Is4ii. in I'";iirfield Town- 


.147/ T '^'■ 


ship, and is the s. f .l.-nnes and Fliza (McCon- 


=5 -^ir^'-'~iV- ''-^-^ ' 


nell) Green, of whom a .sketch will l,e found else- 


'IjSv AVID OANDFR. late a rcsi. lent of .Ma.li- 


where in this Alium. He w.as reai<Ml ai the home- 


i|M^ kn.,wn for:, period of more limn twenty 


Stead in Fairfield Township, receiving a fair educa- 


tion in the district school, and eontiiuied uiuler the 


years. w:is boin in Franklin CountN. Ohio. 


parental roof until twenty-two ye.ars of age. Then, 


in ISIS, where he spiait the yc:irs of his c:n-ly man- 


' desiring to see something of the Western country, 


hood, and e:ime to Aliehigan in April, ISCC. He lo- 







•►Hl-^ 



LENAWKE COUNTY. 



cated upon a tract of impi'overl land in Madison 
Townsliip, wliero lie spent the last years of a well 
ordered and praiseworthy life, his decease occurring 
July 7, 1880. 

When twenty-four years of age Mr. Gander was 
united in marriage with Miss Susannah Hampshire, 
the wedding taking place at the home of the bride 
in Putnam County. Ohio, May "20, 1842. Mrs. 
Gander was also a native of the Buckeye State. 
where she was born in Perry County. June ■>•>. 
1828. Her parents, John and Klizalieth llamp- 
.shire, were natives of Pennsylvania, an<l subse- 
quently removed to Ohi(j, where they spent their 
last years. After marriage Mr. and Mrs. (iander 
settled in Putnam County, whence they afterward 
removed to Allen County, and from there to the 
West. Mrs. Gander bravely stood by the side of 
her husband while he labored to secure a home and 
a comfortable living for his family. The tie be- 
tween them was strengthened by the birth of eleven 
children, of whom eight are now living and recorded 
.as follows: Martha E., the eldest, is the wife of 
Ebenezer Hunt, and a resident of Cherokee County, 
Kan.; Louisa, Mrs. Edward Reed, resides with her 
husband on a farm in Madison Township; Samuel 
married Miss Irene Childs, and is also farming in 
this township; Peter W. married Miss Sophia -Saun- 
ders, and is farming in Dover Township; Samantha 
is the wife of Lucius F. Allis, a successful agricult- 
urist of Madison Township, who is n'lViicd t.. in 
the sketch of E. P. Allis elsewhere in ihi- voIiuir.: 
Maria E. ; Dorothy E., Mrs. George V. Sjiiiih, is the 
wife of a prosperous farmer of Dover Township; 
and Annie A. The children of Mr. Gander were 
fairly educated, and grew up in possession of those 
qualities which have constituted them worthy and 
reputable citizens. 

David Gander pursued the e\en Wwiv of his way 
without ostentation. >iniply perl'oniiing liis duties 

community, lie was uniroi-iniy iniluslri(jus. up- 
right and high-mind, ■.!. and sn.Tcr.l,.,! in accunni- 
latinga comfortalilc lu-opnty. Iravin- to hi-^wid,,w 
lir. .acres of vahiahlc land. >ii|.pbcMl with snihiblc 
farm building-sand goud >tock. .Mis. (.un.lerhas 
been in all respects the worlliy helpmeet of her hus- 
band, a.ssistin"' him in buildiui; up the homestead, 



and encouraging him in all good works and pur- 
poses. She is a lady greatly respected among hei 
neighbors, and has been for many years .a membei 
of the Primitive Baptist Church. 



y:ILLlAM WHELAN is an old and iiighly 
respected settler, and a very successful gen- 
^ „ eral farmer, who came to the township of 
Franklin. Lenawee County, in 1833, whei-e he has 
since lived on section 15, buying at that time some 
sixty acres of unbroken land. This he has de\-el- 
oped into a valuable farm, and plaei-d upon it a 
lirst-class residence and farm building>. 

Mr. Whelan was born in Verona Townshiji, 
(Jneida Co., N. Y., Aug. 6, 1800, and is the only 
child living of a family of ten, seven sons an<l three 
daughters, born to Eli and Desiah (Beebe) \Vhelaii, 
natives of "S'ermont. After their marriage, his par- 
ents settled in Oneida County, N. Y., whence, some 
time later, they removed to Clarkson Township, 
Monroe County, and were among the jjioneers of 
that section of Western New York. The father was 
drafted during the War of 1812, and died in the 
service about its close. His wife came to Michigan 
with her children, and died at the home of her son 
.John, in Franklin Township, some years later, at 
idjout eighty years of age. Our subject was quite 
young at the time of the death of his father, and 
afterward earned his own livelihood among stran- 
gers until his marriage in Clarkson, Monroe County, 
Jan. 1, 1828, to Miss Emily Joslyn, who was born 
in the township of .Sangersfield, Oneida Co., N. Y., 
Dec. 8. 18011. 

Mrs. Whelan is the daughter of Peleg and Cyn- 
thia (Moore) Joslyn, who were born, reared and 
married in Oneida Countj-, N. Y., and moved to 
.Monroe County in 1815, where they imin-oved a 
new farm in Clarkson Township. The mother died 
in that township in middle life, and the father after- 
uaid removed to Erie County, Pa., and there died 
•advanced in years. Mrs. Whelan was the fifth in a 
family of nine children, six sons and three daugh- 
tei>. of whom Mrs. W. and two brothers are the 
oulv ones now living. She is the mother of seven 
ehiltlren, two of whom are deceased. The living 



Eire. Eliza, tlio wife of (ieorgo All 
wife .if Fiske Heebe; Nancy. Ilic " 
K,>kiur; Kiueline. Uie wife,,f Willi 
Mil fn,n„,s uf Franklin T,.wn>l,ip. 
hnsl.and. i,..i-,-nZM HillinuL.n. reside 
llu' InnneMc'.-nl ,.f .Mr. W. Thr d.n-. 
ami .lane. 

In politics .Mr. Wlulan i> a i'r"l 
isagood, npriylit man, ami willi I 
loved and resi)eel,ed bv .all u ho kn..' 



FENAWFK COUNTY, 

Saiali. IIm' ' 'I'Ik'V .aidi 

,\. \Vi>ner; tlic s.akc . 

ell.-iand Ilea- tlirniM'lve.- 



din- np a .•undurt.a 
hrii- clnklrrn. The 
d l>v llic Mrtli of te 
I ii'i rhil.llHMMl. nam 
1.1 W illiam. Kliza I: 



Me 



J^/AiMES (illEEX for the last fifty years has 
1 been pursuing the even tenor of his way as 
I a peaeeablo and industrious citiziai of Fair- 
' field Township, with whose peoi)le he east liis 
loT in the spring of 1 s:i8. His early home w.as on 
the other side of the Atlantic, in C'onnly Antrim. 
Ireland, where his birtli took |ilaee in isd'.i. lie 
spent the early years of his life upon his native soil, 
engaged in fanning m a small way, and was there 
married, May a, 1830, to one of his own eounlry- 
women. His wife, formerly Miss Eliza McC'oimell. 
was born not far from the childhood homi' of her 
husband, June 20, ISl 4. 

In the spring of 18;ll, Mr, .an<l Mrs. (ireen de- 
termined to seek their I'oiinncs in .\meriea, and 
bidding adieu to the scenes of tlicii- cliildlnxid and 
the friends by whom they had been surrounded 
since their birth, they gathered together their per- 
sonal effects and hoarded ;i sailing- sessel bound 
from Liverpool to the city of (Quebec, where they 
arrived five weeks later. Thev la-ossed the border 
and settled in Clinton C<ninty. in the Eini)ire .State, 
where they lived six years, .and then reinovecl to .a 
point near the city of Toledo. Ohio, where Mr. (-i. 
engaged in wmk on the laic (anal. Tliis venture 
not proving entirely satisfacloiy, a year lati'r they 
proceeded farther westward, ami coming into this 
county, located on a tract of land (m section :'.:!, 
Fairfield Township, where they have sine<- made 
tlieir home. 

Mr. and Mrs. Green had much to contend with 
during the first years of their residence in the 
young .State of Jlichigan. but they had eome to 
stay, and w'ere prepared for evciy emergency. 

■<• 



Aug. 20. I.s/ I, 
Sylvester, Uachel 
.lames II, in.an 
married Aliss I., C 
which he to,ik lo 
first wife, who :d- 
i-ann' the wife ,,f 
ried Ann'lia Snii 
Allen, all livine 



lier h. 
V, Wil 



I t.o years 
of E.lwin 
Township, 
.lames II., 



1 ,l.an. .s, ISTi). after 

;, I SS7 : Rachel be- 
1 ; William Fl inar- 
... married Fannie 
•ounty, Mich., with 



of 



Mr. and Mrs, (ireen e.arly in life identilied theiii- 
selvi-s with the Christian Clinreh. .,f which they 
have king ln'<n honored and consistent memliers: 
and in polities Mr, (i, votes with the Republican 
party. The parents of our subject, .lacob and 
Rachel (I'alnier) (iiven. were of Iri^h birtli and 
parentage, .and spent their laitire lives in their na- 
tive county, .Mrs, (ireen was the daughter of 
David and Eliza (Fair) Mc(.'onnell. who were born 
in County Antrim. Ireland, and emigrated to Amer- 
ica in is;!l, 'i'lie father died in Toledo. (Jliio. about 
l.s;;,s. in middle life, and the mother subsequently 
came to lier .lauuliter. in this county, and died in 
Palmyr.a TownshiiK her remain- ww lahl to rest 
in the cemetery at Fairlield. 

— '= — .=: : LijH '?r;y:^iii)Ean:^:;^i f-^-_„ ,., -^ — 

HEl.DON \\VMAN. This gentleman, a 
le of life, has retired 
ml is now enjoying the 
idnstry. He began to 
take u[) tlie duties and responsibilities of life at an 
early age, and was blessed with good health and 
strength which are jireserved in a remarkable man- 
ner, .and finely illustrate the correct habits of life 
to which he has been reared. He came to the 
southern part of Lenawee County in April, 1834, 




I.KNAWKK COLTNTY, 



nuin twcn 


y ycMi-.s i)f ago and ready 


with 


liis future 

Is hulli l,y 


career. lie was adapted 
Ihe advantages to culli- 


ship. 

hoUH 

.lain< 
of 1 


h1 r;ii|-v oi 


aurienltiire by the inoM, 


Com 


.,m1>. :ni,l t 


„■ result is a comfortal.le 


Alon 
Two 


isuf Ncu 


Orii^iand liirtli and pareiit- 
the town of Knpcrt, Ben- 


Ml 

Com 


1.. Mnrch 


•20. 1S14. Wliilc a lad 


her 1 


oved to X 


•w York State and l.^eated 


C;ith 



jeet r, 
his ni 
took 
tl 



ShelUy. Orleans County, where they resided 
nine years. They afterward took up their 
nee ii] .Medina County, Ohin. where our sul)- 
•niained until the .spring of l^:',-!, and before 
arriage started for the \Ve,-t. llis wedding 
plaee in l''airfield Tow^iiship, this county, on 



The l;id_v chosen for 
l^ydia Car[)entei', who 
s Co., N. Y., Nov. 4, 



5d of Novi-nilier. 1 s.iC,. 
his life companion was Mi.s.- 
was born in Shelby, Orleai 
1817. 

INIr. Wyman ha<l ah-eady prepared a home for his 
hride, having purchased eighty acres of land on 
section 20, in Fairfiekl Township, where he put up 
a log house and began to clear and ini]irove his 
purchase. His head was pre-eminently what people 
now denominate '•level," and he seemed from tlie 
first to do just what was best at the right lime and 
place. His course was marked by steady progress, 
and he was soon enabled to add ninety acres to his 
tirst purchase and, after the lapse of years, .added 
180 acres more and becanu> quite an extensi\c 
land-hohler. When, h.)wever, he found himself 
starting down the hill of life he disposed of all but 
lOH acres of his real estate and began taking life 
easier, with less care and lighter labor. He has 
never been willing to leave the old homestead, 
however, and takes deep satisfaction in superin- 
tending the operations and labor perfoiined by 
younger hands. He has served in lii> lowiishii) as 
Overseer of the Poor .and. with his estimable wife, 
has m.aterially assisted in building ujj the Old-School 
Baptist Church of this section, of which they were 
.among the earliest members and with which they 
still continue. 

The living children of Mr. and Mrs. Wyman, 



one exception, are residents of Fairfield Town- 
, and .all married .and lociited in comfortable 
es of Iheir own. They are named respectively, 
I's M,, Thomas .)., Peter; Candace, now the wife 
). \\ . Hickman, and a resident of Delaware 
ity. ind.; Sarah, the wife of John E. Mason: 
i/.o. and Mary, the wife of Isaiah Reynolds. 
others .lied in infancy. 

rs. W yuian came wilh her parents to Lenawee 
ity in is.'l;:!, the year previous to the arrival of 
husband. She is the daughter of James and 
i.-ii-ine (Striker) Carpenter, n.atives of New 
York', both of whom passed to their long home 
years ago. She shared with her husband his toils 
and labors, and equ.ally with him enjoys the respect 
of all wjio know her. The homestead which they 
have occupied so many years is .an object of great 
attachment to them, as m.ay be supposed, and a 
[ilace which h.as always been a pleasant resort for 
their children and the scores of friends whom they 
have gathered .around them during a long and 
worthy life. 



kUKE N. DAMON, proprietor of a millinery 
and fancy goods establishment on Maumee 
.street, Adrian, is contributing his quota to 
the industrial and trade interests of the city, where 
he began business in the winter of 1853. He was 
the pioneer in his present business, and during the 
thirty-four years in which he h.as had dealings with 
the people of Adrian he has gained a sure foothold 
in their esteem and confidence. He commenced in 
a modest way, .and his course has been steadily on- 
ward, until he now commands an extensive and 
profitable trade, and has secured a competence for 
his old £ige. 

The early years of our subject were spent among 
the hills of Cheshire County, N. H., near the town 
of Fitzwilliara, where his birth took place Feb. 19, 
18'22. His parents, Luther and Sybil (Fisk) Damon, 
were also natives of the Old Granite State, where 
the father during the greater part of his life was 
engaged in mercantile pursuits. He was cut down 
in the prime of life, his death taking plaee at 
Fitzwilliam when he was forty-nine years of age. 
The mother survived her husband thirt3'-three 



f 



•► 



*u 



LKNAWEE COUNTY. 



t 



years, her (Icnth taking' phico at Dana, .M.-ix-,.. whrn 
she was eighty-lour years (il<!. 'I'licir family in- 
cluded eleven diiidrou, live Mm> and >iN .lau-ht,T>. 
of whom but three besides onr snlijcel >nrvi\e. .snd 
are residents, two ol' New ilani|isliive. and une of 
Vermont. 

The snlijeot e>f our .sjceteh ua> tlir Ihird child and 
eldest son of his parents, .and in e:irly year> mdned 
a -.H.d knowledge of nunvanlile lnl'.ine^s, Wlnl,' 
still a child he u-.-i,s ni nle acpi.-dnled will, the h.ard- 
ships of life, l,egi::ning I lie strng-le in earnot whiai 
seven years old. and c.-irninL; uhatevei- he could ,al 
different kinds of work. When ten years old he 
entered a store as clerk, ami continued with one 
emplo.yer seven ye.ars. lie followed this oc<-npa- 
tion until reaching his ni.ajority. in the meantime 
living economically, and saving wh:il, he could of 
his earnings. He then set up a country store for 
himself in his native town, and carried on business 
uulil 1S53, when he detersnined to see what there 
was for him in the West. 

Mr. Damon made his w.ay directly from New 
Hampshire to Michigan, and invested his cai)ital in 
a stock of millinery, (.)pening his store in Adriau on 
.Alaunice street, where he continued live 3'ears. 
Then, being obliged t(j enlarge his estal.lishment and 
bring about better conveniences for his increasing 
trade, he removed to his present location, No. 2(j 
Maumee street, where for fifteen ye.-irs he has pui-- 
sued the even tenor of his way. eac.i season .adding 
to his list of patrons, and keeping himself well 
posted npou the minor details which affi'ct in so 
great a manner the success of any bn>ine>s. lie is 
considered thoroughly reliable, ami rightly jmlges 
that in his business, as in most other,'-, his mode of 
action is t,ar more effective than W(ads. In this 
respect his record is unimpeachable, and his word 
is considered as good as his bond. He carries a 
well-selected stock of everything pertaining to his 
line of trade, and his long exiierience has given 
him a good insight into the needs of the pe(j])le. 
The fixtures are of first-class descri|)tion, and the 
store in all its appointments bears the air of thrift 
and prosperity, and furnishes einployment for five 
clerks. 

Mr. Damon, while a resident of New Hampshire. 
was united in marrriage wil,h Miss Esther I. Wale-,, 



I he w.Mldiiig taking place at the home of the bride 
Nov. 1;;. I, si:;. Mis. D.aim.n i,-, the d.au-liter of 
.l.acoliand ,syl\ia A. ( i;.-iiu>dell ) \\':ili.>. de~c,'ii.|,-ints 

of old Ma»achii>etl..- families, and th.'ir I xhold 

included four children. The ,,nly child of Mr. 
.ami Mrs. Damon is a daughter, Edwina,. lH,rn .Ian. 
L's, ISIS. :,nd the wife of W. F. Aycrs, of Adriau. 
Our siihjeel, .-iiiil hi- wife arc .active members of 
111,' .Methodist f.piM-op.al Chinch of Adrian, in 
uhicli .Mr. Damon has ollii-iat.al :is Trn.-tee for a 
luaiod of twenty years .and still holds the olljces of 
Stew.ard and TivMsnrcr. II, • li;i.s :ilways taken a 
lively interest in the progic-:, of his ailo|)ted city, 
an<l has never beei; l.a<-kw.-ii-d in camlrilintiug his 
time, means .and inlluciice in the furtherance of 
tli,,se pi-ojects cnlcailated to insure its well-being. 



^difliii&i:^- 



^llOSKl'II E\EL1;Y. One of the prettiest vil- 
lage homes in r.ritton is occupied by the 
sul..jecl of this sketch, wli.. erected his resi- 
[(^j deuce in the .spring of |ss,J, and h.as since 
b?.:^! gradu.ally ad.ling tlu' embellishments wdiieh 
have m.ade it so valuable and attractive. He has, 
the greater part of his life, been engaged in farm- 
ing piiiMiits, but at tlie date mentioned wisely de- 
chled to retire from active labor. He accordingly 
left tlu- larm in the h.ands of his son, and became a 
member of the ccmimnnity in which he is held in 
the highest regard. His farm property lies on sec- 
tion 4, Ridgeway Township, and includes 110 acres 
with goo<l improveiiients. lie occupied it for a 
perioil of twenty-eight ye.ai>, during which time his 
lalxn-s were prospei-eil. and he invested a part of his 
sur|(lns capital in the east half of the northwest 
quarter, and the wi'st half of the northeast quarter 
of .section l.'i, which is also well cidlivated and im- 
proved with good buildings. This last mentioned 
property was purchased by himself and his sons 
jointly, and they unite in carrying it on after the 
most approved methods. 

The father of our suljject. George Exelby by 
name, was one of the earliest pioneers of this coun- 
t}-, and located in Ridgewa}' Township, where Jo- 



•► 



■^•- 



4fi2 



•►-II- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



soph K. w.-i'^ Uoni Oct. 14, 1 S;U. The fiither was a 
iintivc (if Yorkshire, Kniii;ind, of |)iire English .'iii- 

(■(_)iiiit,y. HhiTf 111' iiinnicd .Mi.^s Mary Thnclfcry. 
The yoiniu' people lor llifir wedding tour chose an 
oeenn voyage to the I niled States, vvhieii consumed 
a period oT lhirlc<'n « ceNs on a rongli sea. Upon 
laniling in New York City tliry nia.lc theii' way by 
canal and the Lakes to Deti'oit, and IVoiii there to 
this count_y by teams. Tlie^' began life in the woods 
in Ridgoway Township, the father having purchased 
forty acres of timl)er land. He made a clearing, 
put up a cabin and occupied it a few years, then 
sold out and purchased the southeast quarter of sec- 
tion I). 

This later [lurchase involved le.-s labiir in its de- 
velopment, and the valia,nt pioneer found himself 
on the road to pros[)erity, and in due time the 
owner of 4.S0 acres of land, when lii> life was cut 
>hoi-t l>y an ac-ciilcnt in llir ^pl•^l^ of ISCl. This 
was III,, tir-1 y.-,r ,.i Hi,. u:,r. .■iimI tlir scliool chil- 
dren in that vicinily IkmI been provide, I with little 
flags to stimulate their patriotism. Passing by the 
school-house with liis te.ani, the horses of Mr. Ex- 
elb^' became frightened, and , lashing forward threw 
him out of the wagon with sueli violence that he 
soon expired. It is hardl_y necessary to say that 
this distressing occurrence w.as a great shock to his 
wife and family, from which it took a long time to 
recover. 'Ihe motlier continued upon the home- 



fe about nineteen years 
md in IB.SO. She had 
ne with her son George, 
>und elsewhere in this 

■ became the parents of 



stead and deparl,',! tl 
after the death of her 
for some time ma,le he 
of whom a sketch will 
work. 

George and Mary E: 
ten children, of whom Joseph E., our subject, wa> 
the second child and eldest son, and the first whit,, 
child born in Ridgeway Township. He continui.,! 
at home, working on the farm and receiving a I'om- 
mon-school education, until reaching manhood, lie 
was then married. Nov. IS. 18.')4. to Miss Letitia 
Linn, daughter of Samuel ami Abigail (Archie) 
Linn, natives of New Vork .State. Her parents 
canu! to .Michigan in 1,S3S, and for many years were 
residents of Ridgew.ay Township. The father en- 
gaged in farming, and died upon tiie homestead in 



1866. The mother, novv nearly eighty-two years 
old, lives with her son John, in Ridgeway Town- 
ship. 

Mrs. Exelby was born in Ithaca, N. V., March 7, 
1 K37, and was only twenty months old when her 
parents came to Michigan, and with whom slie re- 
mained until her marriage. Of her union with our 
subject there were born seven children, of whom 
two, Edward and Eva, died at the ages of two and 
three years respectively. Cornelius married Miss 
Dora Bemish, and became the father of two chil- 
dren. His wife died in 1885. His little daughter, 
Dora, is living with her father at the home of our 
subject. Wesley married Miss Ida Wiggins, and 
they occupy the farm in Ridgeway Township; 
Clarence. Everett and Leonard are at home with 
their parents. 

Mr. Exelby is a solid Democrat, politically, and 
has held the ofhce of Township Treasurer, besides 
being quite prominent in local affairs. He is well 
read and intelligent, and possesses ail the elements 
of an honest man and a good citizen. Besides his 
farm property and his residence in town, which is 
a fine brick structure handsomely finished, he owns 
a store building, where he carries on general mer- 
chandising, taking the lead in this brancli of busi- 
ness at this iioint. 



ICHAEL KARCHER, well known as one of 
the most successful farmers and stock- 
raisers of Macon Township, after years of 
industry, has now practically retired from 
active labor and is spending his declining years at 
the pleasant homestead which he built up on section 
■22, in Macon Township. This property lies on 
what is familia-ly known as the " Ridge road," and 
includes 124 acres with good buildings and modern 
ini|irovements. Mr. K. also owns forty .acres in 
another part of Macon Township. 

Our subject has been a resident of Alichigan for 
a period of twenty-seven years, having come to this 
county in 1861, and soon afterward purchased a 
pait of the land included in his present farm, since 
which time he has given to it that careful attention 
which its present condition indicates. 

Mr. Karcher is a native of Baden, Germany, born 



^h 



■•►HI- 




^^.C^J .A^^. 



-4*- 



••^■^[-^4» 



l.ENAWEE COUNTY. 



465 



i^ 



in the villiige of Spilllmcb, Jan. 23. is-j;!. Ili> 
father, Christopher Kareher, w;i> also of (!iiiii:in 
l)irth and parentage, and folhiuod f:nininu on lii> 
native soil until the s]irinn: of ISC'.i. In the mean- 
time his son Michael, onr snlijccl, had c-oinc lo 
America, and in tliat year sent for his fatiier, ujio 
joined him liere and i<'nKHncd with hiwi until his 
death, in Febrnary. 1 S77, at the age of seventy-eight 
years. The mother ha.d died in her native (Ger- 
many. 

Mr. Kareher, in accordance with the laws and 
cnstoms of hi.s native country, was placed in school 
at an early age and continued under instruction un- 
til a youth of sixteen. In' the meantime he had 
kept his eyes open to what was going on around 
him, and availed himself of such informaflon as 
could be obtained in I'elation to oilier people and 
countries. There seemeil little to encourage his 
ambition upon his native soil, and upon reaching 
his seventeenth year he detern 
there was not something belter 
the water. Repairing to the eil 
he embarked on a sailing-vessel 
and thirty-two d.ays latei- fmind 
city of New York. Although arn..rie slianuers am 
penniless, he soon secured eniplo\ nient as apiinai 
tice to a shoemaker, which sufiiced to mainlaiu hi; 
until he had learned the trade, which he afterwar 
followed in that vicinity foi' some years, llespeii 
four yeais in the South, and in lS(il came to iSIiclii 
gan and took up farnu'ng as his future vocatit)n. I 
this his natural habit of oli>ei vation and his indii- 
try conspired to bring about his sueees-. and th.^s 
who Imow him admit that lie is now reaping Im 
the just reward of his industry and enterprise. 

Mr. Kareher, while a resident of New York City 
was married, July «, l.S.'ii, to one of his own conn 
try women, Miss Anna E. Dingle, who was born i 
Bavaria, Germany, March 2(), ISiC. Mrs. Karcbe 
was orphaned by the death of both i)arents when 
litttle girl ten years of age and eai'ly in life w.a 
thrown upon her own resources. She eoiitiiiii<>d i 
Oermany until 18.50. and upon ero^ino the wate 
located in New York City, where she met her fntni 
husband. Of this union there liav.> been born si 
children, of whom but three are living, uamoH- 
Emma, the wife of Frederick .Miller, who is operat 



I find out if 
oth.Tside of 
ivre, France, 
for America, 
r in the great 



iiig the homestead of her father; Henry, who married 
Mi>s .Vniiie (i. Harold, and is in Addison, and 
■riieo.hira. who li\es \vitli her brother in Addison. 
Those d.M-eased are. .Michael, who died aged one 
ye.-ir .Mild twenty-six ilay>: Edward, who died aged 
nine iijonths and tweiit\-foiir days, and Lesette, who 
died when tliree months old. Mr. .and Mrs. K. are 
nieiiibeis in good standing of the German Lutheran 
Chureli and ;ue good Christian people. Politically 
Mr. Kareher is entirely free from allegiance to any 
political organization, preferring that the best men 
should be elected to otlice, and is quite independent 
in availing himself of his elective franchise. 

jj_^ ON. JOHN J. AUAM, one of the olde.st .and 
li^^^i most liighly venerated citizens of Tecnraseh, 
ll\^' on the -ith of July. 1S2(;, when a youth of 
{(®) t'igbteeii years, set sail from iiis native 
Scotland in a brig of less than 1 -"id tons burden, and 
landed in the city of Baltimore, Md., forty-six 
days afterward, ha\ing been forty-two days out of 
sight of laiitl. He has since been one of the most 
loyal citizens of the United States, and given the 
greater i)art of liis life to the cstalilishment of a 



home and :> position 


in this county, while at the 


same time he h.-is beei 


identilicd with m.Muy of its 


important interests. 




;Mr. Adam was bor 


1 ill the city of Paisley, Scot- 


land, Oct. 30, 1S07. 


'I'be family was largely rep- 


resented in the eilv o 


Edinburgh. Robert Adam, 


the father ,,f our siibj 


•et. \\as a pnnninent builder 


and Ininber dealer of 


l'a,isley,aud traced his ances- 


trv I'aek to .about IC.I 


II. There were among them 



men iiroiiiinent in literature and architecture, in the 
professions and the trades generally. Robert Adam 
departed this life when his sou, John J., was a 
child of two years, and the latter has only a dim 
recollection of him as he lay upon his death bed. 
The mother was formerly Miss Mary Crichton, a 
native of Dumfriesshire, Scotland, and was married 
to Robert Adam in about liSO'f. After the death 
of her husband she left Paisley, and returning to 
her native county, located in Closeburn Parish for 
the purpose of educating her two sons. Thomas C, 
now a successful physician of this county, and John 



a 



<^ 



■•► 



I 



\" 46(; 



LENA WEE COUNTY. 



t 



J., our subject. They were for some time students 
.it the celebrated Wallace Hall Academy, and com- 
pleted their studies in the University of Glasgow, 
from which they were oniduatcd with honoi's. Some 
years since John .1. Adam presented liis dipUjuin. 
from that institution ;is AIn.stci- uf Arts li. tlie Uni- 
versity of Michigan. 

The tirst employment of Mr. Adam after his in- 
rival in this country was that of a te;icher of lan- 
guages and mathematics in Meadville Academy, 
Crawford County, Pa. In this institution George 
W. W. Cullom, of the United States army, was a 
student under Mr. Adam, and went from there to 
West Point. During the summer of 1827 Thomas 
C. Adam joined his brother in this country, and 
subsequently" connnenced the stud}' of medicine 
ill Canton, Ohio. In the meantime botli brothers 
had visited Scotland to effect the final settlement of 
their father's estate. Thomas C, being the elder, 
fell heir to his grandfather's estate, and througii 
the solicitation of his friends dropped his medical 
studies for a time and became connected vvith the 
Republican, Farmer, a weekly papei- of Wilkes 
Barre, Pa., where he remained until the fall of 18.'M. 
At that time he was induced to come to the West, 
and took up land in what is now the town of 
Franklin. He taught the first school organized in 
Clinton and improved his leisure time by working 
his land, upon whieli he put up a log house. Upon 
the outbreak of the Black Hawk War he became 
Lieutenant of a company raised at Franklin, and 
was sub.sequently appointed Division Paymaster, 
with the rank of Major. 

Mr. Adam at an early day was recognized as a 
valuable accession to the intelligent and able com- 
pany of men who had cast their lot among the 
pioneers of Lenawee County. Upon the calling 
together of the convention for the framing of the 
State Constitution, in 1835, he was elected one of 
the eight delegates from this county. The succeed- 
ing three years he was Secretary of the State Sen- 
ate, and gathered more laurels as an indefatigalile 
worker and intelligent and active officer. 

Mr. Adam, in 1839, was elected a member of the 
Michigan Legislature, serving one term in the 
House, and at its expiration was elected to the 
Senate. In January, 1842, he was elected State 



Treasurei-, which position he held four years, until 
his resignation, at the request of Gov. Barry. 
to accept the position of Auditor General to com- 
plete the ollJcial term of Mr. Hammond, deceased. 
After serving another term in the Legislature he 
again :i('cei)t('d the otlice of Auditor Geiier.al, which 
he held until 18.51. He had lived upon his farm 
diu'ing these years and until 1853, when he removed • 
with his family into Tecumseh Village. 

In the last year above mentioned Mr. Adam be- 
came connected with the Michigan Southern Rail- 
road during the construction of the Jackson Branch 
and the Thi-ee Rivers Road, acting as its agent, and 
was subsequently appointed to the same position 
for the Air Line, the Detroit and the Toledo Roads, 
which were being built by the same company. At 
the completion of these he was appointed auditor 
of the company, which position he held until his 
resignation, in 1868. The people during this time 
had borne in nand his efficient service as a Legis- 
lator, and in 1871-72 he was again elected to the 
House of Representatives. During this time he 
introduced many important measures, and was a 
member of the various committees overlooking the 
interests of State affairs. 

Upon the establishment of the University of 
Michigan, in 1837, Mr. Adam was a member of the 
first Board of Regents, and was re-appointed the 
following year. In the meantime he established a 
branch of the university at Tecumseh, and resigned 
his place in the regency in favor of Dr. Patterson, 
who resided at the latter place. Probably among 
all the men who rejoiced at the prospect of a great 
educational institution so early built up in the 
young State, there were none who took a warmer 
interest in its success than Mr. Adam. He gave 
freely of his valuable time to work for its success, 
and contributed of his means in establishing it 
upon a firm footing. Among the names which are 
inscribed upon the tablets of its early history none 
are more worthy of remembrance than tiiatof John 
J. Adam. 

When he was tliirty-oue years of age Mr. Adam 
was married, in August, 1838, to Miss Armenia 
Bradley, daughter of De.acon William Bradley, of 
Franklin, and a pioneer of Lenawee County. Mrs. 
Adam was born in Barre. Orleans Co.. N. Y., 



LKNAWKK COl'NTY 



467 



(»f 



it,(,( 



March 7, 1817, aii.l <U-[' 

ill Teeumseh, July 8, 

were born two children : 

luul Minnie B., Nov. 2; 

tlie wife of Thomtis Adamsoii. i>l' 'l\'curii;-oii 

the former is engiigvil in the jewelry liu>iiii 

Teeumseh. 

For a second time Mr. Adam entered ii 
matrimonial alliance, appreciating the fact t!i; 
is not well for man to dwell alone." On tlic .'i 
November, 1873, he led to the altar Mrs. Cm 
M. Woimple nee Bradley, a sister uf his tirst 
She is a native of Barre, Orleans Co., N. 
was born March 8, 1822, and was the wid( 
John Woimple. 

As one of Lenawee County's most hon<n-e(: 
prominent citizens; a> one of the men of thi> 
tion of the State who have tilled >n well so i 
public positions, and a> ime ol' the pioncei 
Michigan, the publishers of this Ai.niM take 
pleasure in presenting to its patrons the porlr: 
John J. Adam. 



v.. 

n- of 



'^^m^' 



the 



sub 



e FREDERICK MATTIIES. 
arts and sciences of which niai 
there is none more noble than tl 
lecture and building, and in this profes.'- 
jeet of this sketch is recognized as a leading light 
in the city of Adrian. He is comparatively yi>ung 
in years, and was born an<l reared among the people 
who were prompt to recognize his talents and the 
fact that Lenawee County has produced, among 
manj' other men of nliility, one who has risen loan 
eminent place in this line of business. As a drafts- 
man Mr. Matthes is seldom equaled or excelled. 
His fertile mind enables him to at once suggest that 
which will lie most proper and complete for the 
object in view, and his efforts in this direction have 
gained him an enviable reputation. 

Mr. Matthes is a native of Monroe County, this 
State, and was born at its county seat, July 20, 
1854. His parents, John L. and Margaret (Kaumeier) 
Matthes, were natives of Germany, whence they 
emigrated to America and shortly afterward made 
a settlement in Monroe County, where they remained 



until IS(;."i. That y:w lliev removed lo Adrian, 
where they now reside. 

Of the eleven children born to the parents of our 
subject, eight are living, five sons and three daugh- 
ters, foui- of whom continue with their parents. C. 
Frederick w.-is the second son, and was a lad of 
eleven years when his parents took up their resi- 
dence in Adrian. Here he completed his studies, 
and at the age of thirteen years commenced learn- 
ing the carpenter trade, at which he worked until 
twenty years of age. He happilj' chose the calling 
to which he was best adapted, but determined to 
enter its higher branches. With this end in view 
he repaired to Detroit and placed himself under the 
instruction of the well-known architects, Carl 
Schmidt and Julius Hess, in who.se office he spent 
twelve months, when they pronounced him compe- 
tent for all ordinary business in this line, as lie had 
developed unusual talent for it. 

Young Matthes now returned to Adrian and com- 
menced business with his father as contractor and 
builder, and with whom he subsequently designed 
and planned some of the best buildings in the city. 
They have now the contract, as designers and 
draftsmen, for the State Reform School building, for 
girls, besides other important structures to be 
erected the current j'ear ( 1 888 ). They devote their 
whole time to their art and take pride in excelling. 

Mr. Matthes, Sept. 18, 1880, was united in mar- 
riage with one of the most estimable young ladies of 
Adrian, Miss Carrie, daughter of Henry and Bar- 
bara (Mennel) Schwartz, who, like the parents of 
her husband, were of (ierraan ancestry. Of this 
union there have Iieen born five children, namely: 
Clara, Arthur, Hermann, Edwin and Harold. The 
family residence, in its construction and surround- 
ings, gives evidence of the character of its pro- 
prietor, being handsomely finished and furnished, 
and indicating in all its appointments the existence 
of comfoi-t and plenty with most of the relinements 
of life. _ ^^^ 

HARD CLARKSON, whose name is fa- 
a large portion of the people of 
Lenawee County, came with his parents 
^^to Michigan in 1831, when a child eight 
years of age, over fifty-six years ago, and has since 






•►HI-* 



4* 



J^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



been a resident mostly of Macon Township. Mis 
early home was in Seneca County, N. Y., whence 
the family journeyed with their household goods, 
first by canal and lake, and then by ox-teams to 
this county. The latter part of their route lay 
through the heavy timber, and they traveled labor- 
iously by ox-teams over a narrow iuid almost im- 
passable road. The country at that time was vasth' 
different from what it is at the present day, the 
cabin of a settler being a rare sight, and scarcely 
any other sign of civilization to mark the abode of 
human beings. Now the smiling cities, the grain 
fields, and the beautiful homesteads, make a picture 
on which those who have been instrumental in 
bringing about this condition of things may look 
with pardonable pride, while the railroads and other 
facilities of travel render a thousand-mile journey 
quite pleasurable. The Clarkson family, however, 
were not unaware that there would be danger and 
difficulty in their new undertaking, but they had 
counted the cost, and resolved to abide by the re- 
sult. They arrived at their journey's end in com- 
parative health and strength, and proceeded to es- 
tablish the home, which after the lapse of years 
became one of the most desirable spots in Macon 
Township. 

The subject of this sketch was born in Lodi 
Township, Seneca Co., N. Y., Maj' 28, 1823, and 
being so young when leaving his birthplace, has lit- 
tle recollection of it. He was reared aimid the pio- 
neer scenes of Lenawee County, Mich., developing 
into manhood with phj'sical strength unimpaired, 
and with a useful experience which formed the 
basis of his future success. He is now numbered 
among the prominent citizens of Macon Township, 
and has reaped so richly from his industr}', that be 
is enabled to spend the sunset of an active life re- 
tired from labor, and enjoying the ease and com- 
fort which he has justly earned. He has always 
been fond of rural pursuits, and clings to the home 
which he established during his young manhood, 
and which is pleasantly located on section 21, Ma- 
con Township. 

Daniel Clarkson, the father of our subject, was 
born in Woodbridge Townsiiip, Middlesex Co., N. 
J., and was of New England ancestry for several 
generations. His childhood and youth were spent 



in bis ii.'ilJxi- State, and when starting out for him- 
self he migrated to Seneca County. N. Y., and not 
long after Avard was married in Loili Townsiiip, to 
Miss Deborah Cadmus, a nati\t' of iiis own county 
in New Jersey. The Cadmus family were origin- 
ally from Holland, and the father of Mrs. Clarkson, 
Richard Cadnms, removed from New Jersey and 
located in Seneca County, N. '\'.. diirini;- its early 
settlement, where he spent liis last years. 

After the birth of five children, Daniel Clarkson 
started with his family, in November, 18;il, for the 
Territory of Michigan, taking with them their 
household goods, and making the journej' via the 
canal and lakes to Detroit. At that city, which 
was then in its infancy, they secured an ox-team, 
by means of which they made their way to this 
count}', along narrow roads almost impassable 
through swamps and underbrush: these alone were 
the sights and scenes liy which tlie tediousness of 
the journey was relieved. They probably traveled 
many miles without passing a human habitation, 
and finally pitched their tent in the woods some 
distance from any opening, and with not a settler 
in sight. 

Daniel Clarkson took up a tract of Government 
land on section 19, which w.as afterward laid off 
into Macon Township, and put up a rude log cabin 
with a stick-and-mnd chimney and the wide, old- 
fashioned fireplace, before whose cheerful blaze 
men, women and children sat with deep content. 
They passed that winter under many difflculties, 
and in the spring the father commenced clearing 
the land and preparing it for cultivation. This in- 
volved the labor of years, but the parents lived to 
see a finely improved farm around them, and their 
children comfortably settled in life. Mr. Clarkson, 
as time passed, added to his real estate, and before 
his death, in July, 18611, when about seventj' years 
of age, was the owner of 400 acres. He was a 
man of great energy and determination, and by 
prudence and economy acquired a valuable prop- 
erty. Politically, he was an active Democrat, fear- 
less in the expression of his sentiments, and always 
read}' to do battle for what he believed to be right. 
The faithful wife and mother, who had shared with 
her husband and children the vicissitudes of life in 
a new settlement, and been their ever affectionate 



^h 





1 




f 




^^^ 






^ 


•^"^ 


1 r 


LENAWEI 


COUNTY. 4(;:» , 




friend and counselor, passed away tlie January fol- 


turned to Macon Township and proceeded with the 








lowing the death of her luisliand. and when abi.ul 


plans which had Ijeen interrupted by the outbreak 








-ixty-two yeai-s <ild. She \va- ■■( liidy <>( deep piety. 


of the Rebellion. 








and had heen reared in th<' .l,M-trin.> of the Pres- 


The early years of Mi-. Mead were spent in his 








byterian Chnreh. to whieh >lie rnnained faithful all 


native county, where he became familiar with farm 








her life. 


pursuits and received a common-school education. 








Richard Clarkson continued a niendua ,<( Ins 


His parents. Squire and Nancy Mead, were natives 








father's household until reacliint; hi> niajoi'ily, ami 


of Westchester County, N. Y., :ind spent their last 








was married in Mac-on Township. Nov. .;. l.s.V!, to 


years in Noilji Salem, thai comity. Leroy entered 








Mi.ss Mary M.. dan-hler of .l,,lni Osoood. a sketch 


upon his uiililary duties cons<uentionsly and with a 








of whom appears elscwiiere in this Ai.niM. Mrs. 


tull appr.M-ialion of what he had undertaken. He 








Clarkson is a native of the same county .as her hus- 


liecame ,a lueuil.er of Company (;,4th Michigan 








band, ami was born in L.)di 'lown.ship, .l.an. 1. is:!;;. 


Iiif.antiy, enlisting as ,a piivntcand marched to the 








She was thirteen years old when hei- p.arenis can}e 


front with his .aimr.adc.s. His lidelity to duly, and 








to thi.s county, ;uid remained witli them until her 


liis courage and endurance soon rendered him 








marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Cla.rksun commenced life 


noticeable, and al an early ilate he was promoted 








together at their present homestead, the c<>nditif)n 


First Lieutenant of his (aimpauy, .and i)articipated 








of which was then in wide (amtr.ast with its appear- 


with his regiment in some of the most important 








ance at the present time. In due tiuu' Iheii' house- 


battles of the war. He was present at the siege of 








hold was incre.ased l)y the birth of four children, of 


Yorktown and at MechaiLicsville, the battles of Mal- 








whom one is deceased, iMinnic E., who died when 


vern Hill and Antietam, and was one of those who 








two weeks old; Margaret J. remains at home with 


charged across the Potomac into Frederick.sburg. 








her parents, together wit'.i her sistrr Slartha E. ; 


There he was wouude.l by a gunshot in the shoul- 








Ella S. is the wife of .b.hu M. Pennington, a pros- 


der, which for till' time disabled him, and from 








perous farmer of Mac(jn Townshiii, located .at what 


whicli he never afterward fully recovered. 








is familiarly known as Pennington t'oiiiers. 


Lieut. Mead I'onliuued with his regiment until 








Mr. and Sirs. Clarkson. about I.S.si. identilicd 


the snrnanler of i.eeat \ ieksburg, and received 








themselves with the Dutch Reformed Church of 


his lion.iiabl,' discharge with th.' rank to which he 








Mac.m. and Mr. C, politically, is a. Proliihitionist. 


hail lieeii promoted. His services received hearty 








They are regarded among the oldest and most 


recognition by his snpiu'ior olKcers and his com- 








highly respected residents of this , i,ly. while 


rades, and he was presented by his friends in Kew 








their kindness and hospitality .arc pid\ crliial, and 


York Cit\ \\ ith a handsome sword and a silk , sash. 








they have never turned from their door any who 


These ivlics are carefully preserved by his wife as 








were friendless or in need. 


s,a<aed iu<'ment..es of the p.ast. and from which she 








^.-_=,g^|,^^,.^=^H. 


would not willingly [.arl. Licuil. Mead, after his 
f,mr ye.'irs- servic iii the .army, returned to Michi- 
gan and resumed tanning in Macon Township. 








"||7 EROY MEAL) was biuai in North Salem, 


Afbu- Ik' h.ad laid the foiimlations for a future home 








1 (© Westchester Co., N. V., .lau. t. is.'il. .and 


and prepai-ecl for the (aunbu'table maintenance of a 








jiL^ departed this life at his Iduic in .Ma(a>ii 


lamily. he was united in ui.arriage to .Miss .losephine 








Township, this county-, .March i' 1 . 1 ss:;. Ijcing a 


Clark-oii, the wedding t.aking place at the In. me of 








little over fifty-two years ot .age. lie served as a 


the l.iide in Macoii Township. Feb. 1 '.). I.SCT. 








Union soldier during the late w.ar. (aiming to this 


.Mrs. .Mead was horn in Macon Townsliip, A|iril 








county just in time to tadisl in one >,( llic fust 


s. |,s:;s. aiel i^ the danehlerof D.auielaiid Deborah 








Michigan regiments that went to do 1 ml tic in hehalf 


Clarkson. a history of whom will he b>und in con- 








of the Uni.rn. His labors luu-e ,-ons,Mpi,.|it ly i.'.ally 


nection NNith the l.iogi-.aphy of Ri,-hard Clarkson on 




t^ 


L. 


commenced at the close of the war, when he le- 


tmother paue in this \olunie. She was leared to 


1 




C 

' 






*'• 






1 





•► 



470 



LENAAVEE COUNTY 



t 



womanhood under the home roof, and carefully 
instructed in all household duties, being amply 
qualified to reign over the household of a good 
man. The ties of affection were cemented by the 
bii'th of four children, two of whom. Nettie L. and 
Mary E., died at the ages of fourteen and three 
respectively. Those surviving are Blanche and 
Camilla D., bright and interesting young girls, who 
remain at home with their mother. 

Lieut. Jlead was a solid Republican, politically, 
and took a lively interest in State and National 
affairs. In his death Macon Township lost one of 
its most public-spirited citizens, and society one of 
its most valued members. 

Mrs. Mead received a good education, and for 
some time before her marriage was engaged in 
teaching. She belongs to the Reformed Church 
and is a lady greatly respected by her neighbors. 
The farm, which was left her by her husband, is 
quite valuable, comprising 120 acres of land with 
suitable buildings and machinery, and all the ap- 
pliances of a first-class country estate. 

eHARLES Ill^AIPHREY. dealer in books and 
stationery in the city of Adrian, came to 
this county in tlie year 18(il, and is well and 

favorablj' known as a reliable business man, and a 
peaceable and law-abiding citizen. He is a native 
of Ontario County, N. Y., and was born in the town 
of Canandaigua, Oct. 31, Ks;54. His father, John 
Humphrey, was a native of Hunterdon County. N. 
J., and was born March 21, 1798. He left there 
when eighteen years of age, and took up his resi- 
dence in Seneca County, N. Y., where he engaged 
to learn the blacksmith's trade. This occupation 
he followed several years in different places, and 
finally started a foundry at Canandaigua, which he 
operated about six years. 

John Humphrey sold his property in New York 
and came to Michigan, in the year 18o7, locating on 
a tract of land in the township of Wheatland, Hills- 
liale County, the only improvement on which was 
a rude shanty, one rod square and built of slabs. 
This structure he put in repair and occupied with 
his family for three years and until enabled to put 



up a good log house; he remained on this farm un- 
til bis death, Oct. 1 6, 1 870. He was a man of good 
business qualifications, kind as a neighbor and use- 
ful as a citizen. He served his township several 
terms as Supervisor, and represented the interests 
of the county in the State Legislature in the session 
of 1845. He was progressive in his ideas, and did 
everything in his power to advance the interests of 
his adopted county. The mother of our subject, 
formerly Miss Jane Hall, was the daughtei- of Moses 
Hall, a native of Pennsylvania, who migrated to 
Ontario County, N. Y., when a young man, and 
was there occupied in the foundry business for a 
number of years. He acquired a good property, • 
and I'etired from active labor several years before 
his death, which took place at the home of his son, 
in Williamsport. Pa., when he was over seventy 
years of age. 

Our subject remained a member of iiis father's 
household until twenty years of age. He had im- 
proved his rather limited opportunities for obtain- 
ing an education, and developed into a school 
teacher, following his profession in winter and 
working on the farm the i-emainder of the year. In 
the s|)ring of 1856 he spent one term at Hillsdale 
College, vvben his studies were interrupted on ac- 
count of an affection of the eyes. Subsequently he 
resumed teaching as before, and in the spring of 
1858 he journeyed southwest, crossing the Missis- 
sippi into Missouri, where he taught school until 
the breaking out of the late vvar. He then returned 
North, and engaged as a clerk in a store at Adrian 
until the following year, when he invested his cap- 
ital in a limited stock of books and stationery. 

Mr. Humphrey was married, in October, 1863, to 
Miss Caroline, daughter of Nicholas and Amelia 
(Muller) Riehl, natives of France. Mr. Riehl emi- 
grated to the United States when a young man and 
located in St. Louis County, Mo., soon .after his 
marriage, where his daughter Caroline was born. 
Mr. Riehl carried on the business of a florist .and 
nurseiyman, in which he was quite successful, and 
exhibited rare taste and art in the various depart- 
ments of his calling; he died at his home in Car- 
ondelet many years ago. Mrs, Riehl survives, and 
makes her home with her daughter, Mrs. Humplu-ey. 
Our subject and his wife have two children: John 
•► 



^u 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



471 



C. fifteen years of age. and Caroline A.. 
esting little missof thirteen: one son, Willi 
when eight years of age. 

Mrs. Humphrey i.f a laily of luaiiv 
qualities and a devoted incinlicr oi' the 1 
ian Church. Mr. Hunipluiy i> I ).iiiMri:ii 
tics, like his father before liiiii. :uid was 
man one terra, lie lla^ iirvn- liecii .■in olli 
but prefers to devote his tinir lo his Wusii 
ests and his home. The l.-ilii'i- is plc:i.-:inl 
on State street, .■unl is the fiiMpiciit, n-si 
intelligent and enltixaicd people of tin' eo 




I 



at once the names of those fic 
drew his origin, namely: Willi.- 
(Knovvles) Hoxter, native's of Sei 
Y., and old Haddam, Conn.. r( 
father was born Jan, T.'. isos, ;iiid 
13, 1813. The l.-itter removed ui 
the Empire .Sbite when .i child live 
there <leveloped into w, nKinhoo 
future liush:ind. 

The parents of our subject eon 
County, N. Y.,six years .-ifter Iheii 
•May, 1836, started with their liitl 
Territory of Michigan. Williniii I 
a farm in Rome Township, uliicl 
exchanged for I7."i .■leies of hind ' 
the Territoi-ial inad. seven uiile.s 
In 1841 lie entered m l.|.',.-ks,„it h's 
twenty-tive ye:irs afteiu :iril \\:is 

Besides nnnnne his sliop .n,,! ,loi. 
travelers and farmers as far west : 
Hoxter cle.ared and improved eii 
land, ninety-five of the original 
maining in his possession. Mi. a 
Hoxter became the parents of se\ 
sons and three daugiiters. of wh 
was the eldest. The others were u; 
Susan, now the wife of John II. 



IS. W 

Idren. 
■/.eki.-i 

of 1 



illiuni 

tulll 

h W, 

ively 

;oiiiu. 



Heman and William, deceased ; Elizabeth, the wife 
of Bertram Skeels. of Rome Township; .Josephine, 
lieeeased. and an infant son who died unnamed. 

Out subject ".-IS the eldest of the parental family, 
and was lioin in \'ariek. Seneca Co., N. Y.. Jan. 24, 
l-s.j-i. lie u-.as a little lad four years old when his 
p.areuts came to the young State of Michigan, and 
uas reared to manhood at the pioneer homestead, 
lie was never strong in his childhood and conse- 
(|iieutly could not av.ail himself tQ a great extent of 
e\en the liuiitvd .advantages of the district school. 
Ill tiiiu' he lieuaii t.> assist his father in the black- 
smith-shop, finally .serving an apprenticeship of 
three years in Ronu' Township, and followed that 
trade live or six yeai-s afterward. In 186(3 he re- 
moved from Kome Township to Dover and located 
on the land iiichnled in his present homestead. He 
aliandoneil blacksuiithing about that time and gave 
his entire attention lo agricultural pursuits; he has 
now a tini.' est.ate of ninety-five acres, with a set of 



Mr. lb 



Maicli 11. 


Is.Vl. Mrs 


I'haris am 


Hannah .M 


New York 


.and Conn( 


of wliom V 


ill be b.urn 


umc. Slu 


w.as the s 


chihlren a 


id was born 


oiiK a da 


Mr. ami 
nditer Klla 




lambee. a 


.and eim.ai. 


ed in farmi 



tie oxer twenty-two years 
narriage with one of the 
lip, Miss Lois B. Sutton, 
' at the home of the bride, 
loxtcr is the daughter of 
Foote) Sutton, natives of 
lait respectively, a sketch 
II another page in this vol- 
ind in a family of .seven 
Adrian Ttiwnship, March 
-. Hoxter have one child 
,. who is now the wife of 
ideiit of Dover Township, 
Our subject, politically, 
iciples. and he and his es- 
rs in good standing of the 



ORACK l;. KATON owns and occupies a 

iftil farm in Tecnmseh Township. 

was once a part of the old homestead 

)] of Daniel Waring, one of the pioneers of 

ty, and the land of which has been brought 

state of cultivation, Mr, E, took posses- 

— -^ 9^ 



472 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



sion of his purchase in the spring of 1882, and erected 
a fine residence with a good barn and numerons 
out-buildings. Here lie has sixty -seven acres, and 
also has a controlling interest in the old homestead 
of his father adjacent, which ho manages and which 
is occupied bj' his aged mother. 

Mr. Eaton wiis born in Raisin Township, tiiis 
county', at the old homestead near the Tecumseh 
line, Oct. 9, 184:3. His father, James C. Eaton, a 
native of Canandaigua, Ontario Co., N. Y., was 
born in May, 1808, and was the son of James Eaton, 
8r., a native of Massachusetts. The latter married 
Miss Mary Brol^elbanlv, in the Bay State, whence 
soon afterward they removed to Ontario County, 
N. Y., where they lived until coming to this county 
in the spring of 1S2S. James Eaton, ISr., toolv up a 
tract of land on section 1, in Raisin Township, upon 
which he lived and labored many years, and which 
eventually became the property of James C, the 
father of our subject. Upon this farm Horace B. 
was born, and as we iiave seen, it still i-emains the 
propeVty of the family. 

James C. Eaton was a young man twenty years 
of age vviien he came to this county with his parents, 
with whom he remained until his marriage. This 
most interesting and important event in his life was 
celebrated in 1 834, his bride being Miss Sarah J. 
Wheeler, of Raisin Townsliip, and the daughter of 
James and Mary (Rose) AVheeler, natives of New- 
York. The mother of our subject was born in Steu- 
ben County, N. Y., in January 1818. Her parents 
came to IMichigan in is;5l, and she joined them the 
following year. After their marriage James C. 
Eaton and his wife located on section 1, in Raisin 
Township, which was then all a timber tract. The 
father was enterprising and industrious, and entered 
with hope and e(_>urage upon a worth}' career, but 
was cut down in the midst of his usefulness, his 
death occurring Nov. 18, 18.").'!. He had been 
prominent in the local affairs of liis community, 
filling the various township ortices, officiating as 
.School Trustee and ( ouimissioner of Highways, and 
in various other ways making himself useful to the 
people around him. 

The parental household of our subject included 
eight childrt'u, in<> oi' whom died before the decease 
of the father, .lames \V., the eldest son, is in India; 



•^^ 



Amanda M. became the wife of John H. Waring, a 
well-to-do farmer of Tecumseh Township; Charles 
H. was born M,ay 27, 1840. and died about 1869; 
Horace B. of our sketch was the fourth in order of 
birth ; Julia D. and J. Clement. The latter died 
when aliout twent3'-four years of ,age, and was a 
yoiuig man of great promise, fond of intellectual 
pursuits, and a graduate of the Michigan State Uni- 
versity. The mother is still living on the old home- 
stead, and retains much of the activity of her earlier 
years. 

The maternal graudfatiier of our subject, James 
Wheeler, w,as one of the pioneer settlers of Lenawee 
Comity, and a man noted for his enterprise and in- 
telligence. Besides filling the various township 
offices, including Justice of the Peace, and Super- 
visor, he represented this countj' in the State Legis- 
lature, and did excellent service upon various im- 
portant committees. He possessed a remarkably 
strong constitution, and was a man of a kindly and 
generous disposition, which endeared him to all 
with whom he came in contact. He departed this 
life at his home in Tecumseh Township, Feb. 28, 
1857, being in the sixty-first year of his age. His 
estim.able wife survived him about twenty years, 
and spent her last days in Tecumseh. They were 
the [larents of four daughters and one son. all of 
whom are living: Philura, the wife of A. Hood, a 
prosperous business man of Detroit; Betsey, who 
married Joseph Collins, a well-to-do farmer of Raisin 
Township: Ruth, Mrs. James T.aylor, residing in- 
the town of Hart, this State; and James 11., who is 
eng.aged in the clothing business in the city of Chi- 
cago. 

Hor,acc B. Eaton spent his boyhood and youth 
u))on the farm of his father, and became familiar 
with its various employments, while at the same time 
he acquired a good knowledge of the common 
branches of study in the district school. Later he 
entered the State Agricultur,al College at ijansing, 
froip. which he was graduated in 1860. Then, re- 
turning to the farm, he completed his preparations 
for the establishment of a home of his own. 

Our subject, Nov. 11, 1869, was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Sarah A., daughter of Daniel and 
Mary (Harrison) Waring, of Tecumseh Township. 
Mrs. Eaton is the daughter of a well-known family 



-^ 





f 






-«^ ■ 






^_ 


•^ 1 


L LEKAWEF 


COUNTY. 473 ■ 






of pidiieers who were prominent in the early settle- 


pieinises is well ear<'d for. nothing being allowed to 






ment of this county, people of enter|irise .■unl woitli 


lun to waste. The pi'-tiire of the complete country 






who accumulated a good proiierty. Alter iiKiniiinc 


hoiii,. is fully illnstr.-itcd in the Mills farm. 






Mr. and Mrs. E. continued fur :i inTiod (.f ele\.ii 


Mr. Mills was f.urn .at his father's homestead in 






years on the Eaton honjeslead. and until aftei- llie 


.Macon rownship. Feb. i>7, is;^,,",. nearly two years 






death of Mr. IJaniel Waring. Mr. Eaton tlien pur- 


previous to the aduiissicn of Michigan into the 






chased a iiart of the old farm eif the latter, U> uhieh 


Inion as .a .state. lie lit.er.alh grew up with the 






he removed, and where he ha> sin<<' industriously 


coiintiy. and made the most of hi- s,-|i,.,,l adv.-in- 






labored to <aili:iu.'e its lieauty and \ahie. The lit- 


l.aovs. which were, as may be snppos,.d. ipnte limited. 






tle househuld ineludes three brighl eliil.hen, nu.^ 


lie was genial and so.-ial in disposifi.ni, and was the 






son and two dau,:;liteis — losepli ().. ;\iary A. and 


bivorite :imong the vonug people^ in the countrv 






Agnes L. Our Mdijeet and his wife are nieniliers 








in good standing of the Methodist Episcopal 


of the old. Thcs,. qualities were gre.ativ to his ad- 






Church, and are sincere and consistent Christian 


vantage, as his father dhal when he w.as sixteen 






peoiile. Politically, Mr. E. votes the Prohihil-ion 


ye;i,rs<,ld and he was then thrown upon his own re- 






ticket, and is a stanch suiiiiorter of the principles 


sources. I'pon reaching his majority, lie received 






that guide that party. 


the portion which fell to liim from bis father's large 
esiate. ;ind which consisted of 120 .a.avs ,,( laud 
which w.as but little removed from its primitive 






^S«^»»- 


condition. Young iMills at once began to improve 
his property .and piepari^ a home for hi- prospective 
bride. In due time he was married, .hui. 2t), 18(;;!, 






^^UANVILLE MILLS. In the subject of the 


to Mi-s .Maria Fergus,. n. the wiahling taking place 






ill (-— , following sketch we fiml an excellent e.\- 
^^41 ample foi' young men just endiarking in the 


in Clinton Township. lie was peculiarly fortunate 






i„ ll„' s,'l,Mti,,n of a partner an.l helpmeet, as Mrs. 


1 




field of active life, of what may be accomplished by 


Mills i- «id..ly known :is a l:„ly of i„,,re than ordi- 




1 


a man beginning with little means, otherwise tiian 


n.ary ii,telligen<-e. and the clhri,ait 1,,'lper ,,f her 






his strong hands and resolute will. Early in life he 


l,iisb.ai,d in all his iuid,a-takin,us. M„. |,;,- pivsid.'d 






was taught h.abits of industry .and economy, and 


with gra,-e .and dignity , .v.aTiis lions,!,, ,|,1. ami niin- 






amidst the surronndinus of pioneer days, developeil 


i-t,a-,-d to the wants of h,a- lamdy. .always aftia- the 






in mind and body, growing up healthy and strong, 


f:islii<iu ,if .■ nsci,aiti,,us wiP^ .ami m,,tl„a-. 






and well equipped f(n- the strug-le b<.fore him. 


.Mrs. .Mills w.as b,,rn in .Man,'licst,a-, England, 






The work of few nu'U more forcibly illustrates the 


ApriM;. isll'. whia-,' In-r fathia- ('arri,.,! on nicr- 






result of continued labor and persc-\ ci-anre. 


ehaii, Using, but iHimI whil,. i-ompar.iti v,'ly .a young 






The beautiful and comfortable h c ,,f Mr. 


man lot, far from the plae.. of his birth. I'lif mother 






Mills is ranked among the most v.ainable pi-,,perty 


tli.ai c.aiiie with h-a- <-liildicii to III,. Fiiited States, 






in Macon Township. It is linely loratcd on sec- 


.ami .Mrs. Mills re,Mav,M| a prtictii-al iMucation, 






tions 3 ,and 10, and embraces 1 ;i(l .arres. whirl, by .a 


mostly in T,(aimseli, this (a.unty, whiae she had 


1 




thorough process of cultivation has beeome exceed- 


liv,.,! sin, a. a, ■■hil.l. .Mr. and Mrs. .Mills after their 






ingly fertile, and produces in .■ilmndance the rii-hi'st 


marriage lo,-at,Ml iip.m tli.ir |.res<ait, li,uneste,ad. 






crops of the WoKaaine St.ate. I'lie icsidiaice is 


whi,-h at th.at tini.. boiv little r,.s,aiiblam'e to its 






elegant and connmMlions. ami thr adjacent farm 


pia^siail -tat,.. It has r,.<iuired the e\,avise of ^reat 






buildings are of first-class .les.aiption, displaying 


lab.ir .aial wise foivtlionght to bring tli,' farm to its 






upon all sides the existence of .adti\atcd tastes .-md 


pr,-s,ail (-..mlition, a- ,,m. ..f the most .Icsirable liome- 






ample means. There is :i dioicr ass,Mt,uient, of live 


steails in Southern Michigan. In .a,|ilition to gen- 






stock on tlie plac... tin- farm implements ■,ie of the 


eral agriculture Mr. Mills makes a, specialty of sheep- 




1 


' latest ai)|a-oved pattian. and evry thing about, the 


raising, hundling mostly th,' American Merinos. 




afc 




■^*^ 










. 


I 



•► 



^ ^B <• 



474 



LENAAVRE COUNTY. 



Gabriel Mills, the father of our subject, who was 
largely interested in the development of Macon 
Township, was born in what is now Ocean County, 
N. J., where he was reared to nianliood, and recog- 
nized as a youth of more tiiaii ordinary intelligence 
and business capacity. Beftire leaving his nati\-e 
State, he was married to Miss Hannah Collins, of 
excellent English ancestry who came to this coun- 
try during the Colonial days. Miss Collins was 
reared t(i womanhood in her native State of New- 
Jersey, and proved in all respects a most suitable 
companion for her husband, being active, energetic, 
intelligent, and always amliitious for the welfare of 
her family. Both tiie Mills and Collins families 
were of old Quaker stock, and Gabriel Mills and his 
wife, who were reared in the doctrines of the So- 
ciety of Friends, adhered during their entire life 
with pious devotion to the faith which hnd been 
tanght them in their childhood. 

In 18;U, after the birth of three children, (labriel 
Mills and his wife decided to seek their fortune in 
the undeveloped Territory of Michigan. Mr. M., 
the year before, furnished means and sent his 
brother James to this county with a stock of goods, 
and in connection with the .sale of these, he erected 
a small sawmill in Macon Township, near the creek, 
which was the first structure of the kind in this part 
of J^enawee Count}'. This institution was hailed 
with delight iiy the settlers, and for years after- 
ward was extensively patronized, it being difficult 
to fill the orders which came pouring in. The store 
was established in a small barn belonging to Mr. 
Pennington, another pioneer, and from this were 
purchased the first goods brought into Mae( >n Town- 
ship to sell. When Gabriel Mills joined his br(,)tlu'r 
James, his first business was to put up a small log 
house for the accominodation of his family, after 
which he suiierintended the operations of bis store 
and mill, and w.as greatly prosperc.! In his labors. 
He invested his surplus capital in additiuii.'il l.-i.nd. 
and before his death had become the ouncr of more 
than SOO acres. The homestead of li;o .-icres com- 
prised tile west half of the .southwest quarter of sec- 
tion 9, and east half of southeast quarter of section 
S; this l;i.nd the father had brought to a good state 
of cultivation. He had also been active in the es- 
tablishment of scluK)lsand churches, and religiously 



was one of the old-time followers of Elias Hick, 
while politically he was a stanch Whig. He died 
at the homestead in 1857, aged fifty -eight years, 
while his widow is yet living there and has reached 
the advanced age of eighty-two years. 

The wife of our subject, formerly Jliss ^Maria 
Ferguson, is a daughter of John and Caroline (Shnf- 
flebotham) Ferguson, the former a native of Aber- 
deen, Scotland, and the latter of Manchester, En- 
gland. The parents were married in the latter city, 
where the father conducted the business of a cloth- 
ier from that time until his death, which took place 
A|)iil 31, 1848, when he was thirty years of age, 
leaving his wife with three small children — Emma, 
Maria and Frederick A. The mother, in 1850 or 
1851, accompanied by her two daughters, came to 
America, and at once sought the West as her per- 
manent home. They located in Tecumseh, this 
conntj', and Mrs. Ferguson was subsequently mar- 
ried to David Hatch, of Macon Township, where the 
death of both took place some years ago. Mrs. 
i H.'itch and her first husband were members of the 
Church of England. 

Mr. and Mrs. Mills have no children of their own, 

j but in 1881 adopted a little boy, the son of parents 

I bearing their own name. Gabriel, as they named 

i him, is a bright and intelligent lad, and a great 

[ comfort to his foster-parents. Mr. Mills politically, 

uniformly votes the straight Republican ticket, and 

wherever known is recognized as one of the most 

valued residents of Lenawee County. 

YMAN E. HAUSE, a prominent farmer and 
old resident of Ridgeway Township, resides 
on section 4, where he owns a fine property 
of eighty acres, which is known as the old Hanse 
homestead. Mr. Hause became the owner of this 
pioperty in 1878, since which time his skillful man- 
.■igement has resulted in greatly improving it. Al- 
though incurring a considerable debt at the time 
of bis purchase, his energy and industiy will soon 
en:il)le him to clear it of all incumbrance. 

Our subject was born where he now resides, Dec. 
21, 1841, and is the son of Sanford Hause, who was 
born and reared in Seneca Count}-, N. Y., where he 

— •^ 



- 



•► 



LF.XAWF.K COUNTY. 47.5 ' 



grew to manhood and selected Miss Lydia Swart- gioiind. He reached down from liis animal, which 

hoiit for his companion in life. She had heen was sinkinsj deep into the bo;;-, to picl< up l\w hat, 

reared in the same neighborhood, and surrounded Imt was told liy -j voice from under il 1o let it 

by similar influences as her hnsliaud. The paicuts nlohi'. as tlic wearer wns nil lii^lit. .-iuee he liad a 

continued to reside on' a farm in Seneca County uoo,i horse under hiiii : The meat supplied for 

until their lionsehold was increased by the liirth of i-'.-iiher IImu-c's -u.-sls eousisle.l ehi.-tiy "f veuison, 

four cliildren, when, feeling the necessity for better whi<-h wa- pivpMre.l l>y the laudh.id's ndlliful wife, 

opportunities to use the lindted means nt their eom- Snulord Ilause lived to a ripe old age, .-lud died 

mand, they decided to join the tide of euiigr.-ith.u Feb. I.-,, 1 ss.",. H,. iill,.,| the olllee of Supeivisor 

which was then seltiuu toward Southern .Miehiuau, lor sever;il ye:irs. and was uianv times eleeted .1ns- 

and which place .Mecirdim^ly bec:iua- their hcune liee of the I'eaee, being kuowu lor uiany .\ ears liy 

more than fifty y.'a is a-o. The country uas IIumi the taiuili:ir u.inie of --Sipiire lltiuse." lie was a 

in its pi'imitiv;- comlitiou, MUil the settlement behnv eluirl.'r member of the Fir-t Clui-tiau Cliureh. of 

itants other than the wild game and aiumals which a member, as u.-is also her d.-uigbter. Mrs. Corvell, 

the settlei's found there upon their arrival. This ' of Ridgeway. ^\ho i~ now ileeeased. 

sectitm was then very low and flat. l)cing thought 'I'lie oidy opport unities foi education whieh (_)ur 

by many to have originally foi-med :i p;irt of Lake subject enjoyed were tliose <lerivt-d from the eom- 

so much so that it was known as -'the ;\Iuddy own ol>ser\ :itiou and .-i gener.'ii ie:idini: of onod 

Swamp," and was greatly dreaded by travelers. book^ and periodicals. He w.-is a soldier in tla- i.'it<' 

The elder Ilause took up ids home on this fl;il, war, iiaving enlisted Aug. I •_', I SC.-J. in Comp;iu\' I-', 

land, building himself a log but on the iirincipal ( -'(Itli .Michigan lufantry. <-.iuim:Mided l,v (apt. 

ro.ad. When travel began to increase, he eidarged ' Saviei-s, which became a piii'l of the Army of the 

his origin.al cabin and converted it into a public Potomac. ( ompiiuy 1'", lio«(\ er, w.is di't.-i<-lied and 

house, known in those times as a, tavern, which he as-igueil to -uard duty during tlu' whoh' three 

operated for some years successfully and gained the ; years of service, at, .\le\audri.-i. \;i. Our subject 

reputation of being a geninl la iidloiil. The muddy thus ,-:iw little lighting, but w.-is exposed to many 

condition of the roads c tributed to his pro>pei- physical ilaugers and h;irdsliips. from which he con- 

ity, as it frequently necessitated delay on the pnri ti-.acted .-i fe\cr .iml other forms of discise, which 

of travelers, and he kept many of his guests two li;i\ c souie\\ h,-il inipaiied lii^ lu.-dth. lie w.-is bon- 

nights. Travelers would get within a nule oi- so or.ably discharged :o .l.icksou, .luue 1 i. I .s(i."i. and 

of the house, and leaving their wngons in the ' upon his return houu- be resumed his .-igricidtural 

muddy road, would [iroceed to the tavern ;ind put pursuits, in which he has lieen enunecd ever since. 

up, in order to give their worn-out tcMuis .'I ch.-iuce .Mi-. Ibiuse h.is been twice uKirried. his lirsl wife 

to recuperate. The next day they would not gel being .Miss fauma l'(.cldin-iou. to wIk.ui he was 

very far on the other side of the hotel, ami woul-l unite.l Fdi. 17. iscr,. ,.,| l,l;i Staliou. .M -o,- Co.. 

return to the house .and spend .-inother night of i\licli. She was a n.alive of Yorkshire. Fugland, 

comfort and good cheer. born .about 1 .s4(;. .and when :i mere child came to 

An incident told by one of the gucsN who Mopped ibis country with lier parents, who settled in liirlge- 

at this wayside inn will serve to ilbistr.'itc the way Township, this county, where liiey ;ii-c still liv- 

condition of the prinutivc roads in that section. ing. ou .-i ple:is:int littie farm, l'.\- hci- union witli 

The author of the story »a- a ivmI Yankee, and our subject she b.-came the nclber of three ehil- 

some allowance should perh.'ip^ be maile for the e.K- dren — William S., Irv.-i .-nid l-anma — all of whom are 

ercise of his imagination. As he was coming still living at honu'. she died at the liirth of 

through the swamp, so he says, and w,as nearing the \ the last child, Sept. 2;), 1.S75. Mi-, llause was 

tavern, he saw a hat, as he supposed, lying on the i married a second time, to Miss Caroline Kniffen, 

"► W <■ ^ ■» 



•►Hh-^*- 



47G 



4: 



LENAWEK COUNTY. 



^vho was born in Seneca County, N. Y., Sept. 13, 
1839, and came to Lenawee County, Mich., with 
her parents while yet a child. She is the daughter 
of Isaac L. and Eliza (Fowle) Kniffen, who were 
married in Seneca County, the place of their birth. 
They came to Michigan in 1843, locating on a farm 
in Ridge way Township, where the mother is still 
living at a good old age. She vvas deprived of her 
faithful partner in the year 1881. Both were char- 
ter members of the First Christian Church of Ridge- 
way. 

To Lyman and Caroline Ilause one child has 
l)een born, a son, Clarence. Our subject and wife 
arc active members and workers in the Christian 
Church, while in politics Mr. H. is a Prohibitionist. 

^p ARON WHITACRK is a well-to-do farmer 
(|^wj[ l of man}' 3'ears' exi)erience. He and his 

/ipljj good wife are passing their declining years 
(^' on their farm, which is pleasantly located 

on section 16 of Dover Township, and are in the 
enjoyment of the respect and confidence of all in the 
neighborhood. 

Mr. Whitacre is a Penusylvanian l)y birth. His 
paternal grandfather, Robert Whitacre, was born 
Dec. 28, 1739, in Bucks County, Pa., as was his 
wife, whose maiden name was .Sarah Winder, who 
wiis born Oct. 18, 1740. The latter was a relative 
of Gen. Winder. Both she and her husband died 
in Lycoming County, Pa. The parents of our sub- 
ject were of English and Scotch-Irish ancestry. His 
father, J(^seph Whitacre, was born in Wakefield 
Town.ship, Bucks Co., Pa., Dec. 28, 1772. He mar- 
ried Catharine Adlum, who was born in Little York, 
York Co., Pa., Oct. 29, 1770. They settled in Ly- 
coming County, Pa., where tlicj^ continued to re- 
side until their death. Mr. Whitacre, Sr., vvas a 
man of much practical ability and experience, and 
was much looked up to by his neighbors; he was a 
farmer and survcyoi' b}' occu[)ation. He died Majr 
15, 1844, .and his wife died .Ian. 31, IS,")!. They 
were the p.-irents of nine children, six sons and 
three daughter^. 

Our subject was the \-ounj.;cst of his [Kirents' 
children. He was born in Mnucie Township, Ly- 



coming Co., Pa., Sept. 15, 1814. He was reared to 
a farmer's life on his father's farm, receiving a 
sound, common-sense training from his parents. 
He lived with them until he was twentj'-four yeai's 
of age, actively assisting his father in carrying on 
ills farm. 

Mr. Whitacre's marriage to Miss Anna Carson 
took place on the 22d of February, 1838. She was 
born in Shrewsbury Township, Lycoming Co., Pa., 
Oct. 26, 1817. After his marriage he rented the old 
homestead of his father, and commenced farming 
for himself. He continued to reside on that place 
for nearly four years, and then concluded to leave 
his native State and try farming in Ohio. Accord- 
j ingly he removed to Lucas County, that State, 
j where he bought a farm in Spencer Township. 
i During his residence there the wife, who had ac- 
1 companied him from their old home, and had 
bravely endured with him the discomforts of settle- 
ment in a new country, died on the 3d of April, 
' 1846, leaving him with a family of four small chil- 
dren. The following is the record of their chil- 
dren, all of whom grew to maturit}': George, who 
lives in Nebraska; Jacob, who was a member of the 
1st Illinois Cavalry, and died of congestion of the 
brain at Augusta, Ark.; William, who resides in 
Wichita County, Kan., and Sarah C, who is the 
wife of Chester C. Van Dorn, of Adrian Township 
Mr. Whitacre was again married, in Lucas County, 
in January, 1847, to Rachel Gardner, daughter of 
j Robert and Margaret (Crawford) Gardner. Her 
\ parents, after their marriage, had first settled in 
Columbia County, Pa., and thence removed to 
Lycoming County. In the fall of 1842 they re- 
moved from the Keystone State to what was then 
Williams County, Ohio. This county was after- 
ward divided, and the part in which they had set- 
tled was called Defiance County. In that part of 
the Buckeye State they made their home, and re- 
mained until their death. Nine children were born 
[ to them, four sons and five daughters. Mrs. Whit- 
! acre was the sixth child, and was born in Columbia 
County, Pa., April 2, 1817. 

Mr. Whitacre lived in Spencer Township for ten 

years, busily engaged in cultivating his farm, on 

which he made many imiirovements, but afterward 

I had a chance to dispose of his farm at au advance. 

■» 



■^•- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



iulit 



.1 uUk'I 



After .selliiii;' his jiropei'ty he removed with liis fam- 
ily t.) S|iriui;fiel(l. wjiciv lie iciilcd n r:iiiM lur :i 
ye;ir. In l.s;,.". hr Icli Ohi.. ninl I'.iiiu- h. Lrnnu.c 
County for the |.iii|M>>r ..f |iiiich,-i-iiii; :i r:Miii, ;iim1 

seetioii> ir, .■mil -il. He iiimle hi^ hoiilr on Ihr foi'- 

mer .•sectiori. mid eiuTgetic'dly M't to wtnk to hiiiii: 

his land under good lillNgc lie iio\ 

five acres of his land well improvnl, 

commodious and substnnti.'d Ixiildhig 

wise greatly increased the v;duc of his larin. \\lii<-h 

may be classed among the best in the townshi[). 

To Mr. and Mrs. Whitacre have been born six- 
children, two of whom died in infancy. The sur- 
viving children are Ann, Er.-ismus C., Nancy A. 
and Joseph 0. Ann is the wife of . Jacob W'hclc. 
of Franklin Township, this county; Erasinus mar- 
ried Miss Elsie Hamlin, and lives in Dover Town- 
ship; Nancy is the wife of Franklin Allen, of Do- 
ver Township; Joseph niarricd Miss Ennirc Hare, 
and lives in Ckyton, Mich. 

Mr. Whitacre is a man of decided character ami 
sound judgment, is quite cajiable of foruiiuu' oiiin- 
ions of his own, and does not fe.ai- to exprc^s them 
when occasion offers. In politico lie is i<leiitificd 
with the Democratic party, although he is (piite in- 
dependent in his views, ;nid endi'avdrs to vote for 
the best men and measures. 



-•^r^^xt^m 



r^rS^ 



c#«-ri. 



J-^'OHN EXELBY, formerly an old resident of 
Ridgeway Township, is now a citizen of De- 
troit, but still maintains his interest and his 
connection with Kidgeway Town.ship, where 
he was born March ii, 1840, : n<l reared to mannood 
at the homestead of bis father, on section 4. He 
was educated in the common school, and continued 
a member of his father's household until his mar- 
riage, Nov. 21, l.sCO, to Miss Mary McCani, of 
Ridgeway Townshiii. 

The wife of our subject, a native of Canada, 
was born within hearing of the roar of Niagara 
Falls, in the Province of Ontario, June 4, 184;!. 
Her parents were of Irish birth and ancestry, and 
emigrated to Canada in their youtli. The fathei- 
died when his daughter Mary was a young child, 



lut she continued with her mother until her mar- 
■ia-e. In the >priiig ..t l.sCi) lliey l.-ft the Doniin- 
cni foi- S..ulliea.Mern Mieliiean. wliiav .Mr>. I-:, be- 
■anie aeipia iiited willi her tulniv liu>band and was 
n.Mirieil lliat >.Mnie v<'.-ir. Tlii> union resulted in 



An 



Hi 



Hv 



Mr. and Mrs. I- 

year latei- Iheii- pi: 
Rebellion. a> .Mr. 
respond to the i-:i\ 



I., .and Carrie, 
iildhoud. The survivors 
id Anna. .i\l. 

Hill after their marriage, 
Igcway Township, but a 
■ broken in upon by the 
impelled by patriotism to 
lunteers to assist m main- 
le (;th of August. I8(;-_', 

the company being under the command of Capt. 
Se\crs, who is now a resident of Ithaca, Gratiot 
Co., .Mi<'li. The regiment was first ordered to 
Washington, tlieiK'c to Alexandria, \'a., where 
Company F w.as lU'tached and held for garrison 
(hily. :\lr. Exelliy w.-is detailed for duty in the 
( oiiiinissary <U'partnient, in which he remained un- 
til the close of the war, and received his honorable 

a day in reporting for duty. 

Upon his return from the army Mr. Exelby re- 
sumed farming in Ridgew.ay Township until the 
spring of ISDIJ, and then sold out and removed to 
Clinton County where he operated a farm some 
eighteen months, and thence removed back to 
Ridgeway Township, this county, where, in com- 
l>any with his brother Jesse, he ran a sawmill for 
four years. Upon selling out his interest in this, in 
the spring of 187"2, he crossed the Mississippi and 
went to Adams County, Neb., where he took up 
IGO acres of land from the (4overnment near the 
town of .Inniata. This lie occupied until the fall 
of ISTCi, when he determined to return to the 
Wolverine State. He drove with a team back to 
Michigan, arriving just in time to become one of 
the sufferers in the grasshopper sccmrge of that 
summer, and which consideralil}' dampened his reso- 
lution to remain in tliis State. Accordingly in the 
fall of 1877, he returned to his farm in Nebraska, 



^^ 



478 



LKNAWEE COUNTY. 






ivt'liiij;' in llic siuiic UK 
Mr. Kxolby <-(.ntinu(M 
the fall of 1.S7'.), and 
!uns t(. Michigan, nii.l 



:■]■ MS buforc, Willi teams. 
Xcl)raslva tlii.s time iin- 
•II retiinii'd again with 
itcd in Hidgeway Tovvn- 
ship, wlu'iv. in issi |„. pul up tlic iMircst. Hotel, 
located in liril ton. and where iu' ollieiated as "mine 
host" until his removal to Oelroit in liie summer 
of 1.S87. Mr. Exelby now purposes to engage in 
general merchandising, and h.'is the business quali- 
ties neeessary to success. 



-^— .t^lpf? 



,^<=SxKHK.\lIAIl M. SUTTON. One of the most 
I jj beautiful Iiomesteads in Tecnmseh Town- 
li\J!L] ship is owned and occupied by the subject 
of this sketch. It comprises a fine body of land, 
and a hancLsoine and commodious two-story dwell- 
ing, which stands nearly a quarter of a mile from 
the main ruail, and is approaclicil by a beautiful 
avenue, llankcd on eitlicr side liy handsome shade 
trees and ending in well-kept grounds. Every- 
thing about the premises indicates the existence of 
cultivated and refined tastes, and the family are 
among the most widely known and liighly resijected 
citizens of Lenawee County. 

.The first representative of this luime in America 
w\as one .Joseph Sutton, whose fathei- emigrated from 
Lincolnshire, England, and located first in .Massa- 
chusetts. The son suliscquently took up iiis resi- 
dence on Long Island, where bodied between 176,5 
and 1770. He married M'ss Mary Sands, and they 
became the parents of a large family, among whom 
was Moses Sutton, the grandfather of our snbject, 
who was born .March 1.'). 17.50, and maj'ried Mi.ss 
Rebecca Undcrhill. Among their .sons was Isaac 
Sutton, who was born May ;!. 1789, and became the 
father of our subject. He spent his early life in 
New York, and upon reaching manhood married, 
in October, 1810, Miss Sarah Underbill, who was 
born Feb. (>, 171)0, and was the daughter of James 
and Phebe Underbill. The father was a farmer by 
occupation, and departed this life Aug. 30, 1801, 
while the mother died at the homestead in 1872. 

The subject of this sketch was born .June 21, 
1 M2P, in Cayuga County, N. Y., where he was reared 
until seven years of age. He then, in the spring of 



1836, removed with his parents to Michigan, where 
they located on a farm of G40 acres which the father 
purchased near Battle Creek. Upon first reaching 
this section of country, Indians were more numer- 
ous than white people, but the elder Sutton was a 
man of great energy and resolution, and built up a 
good home from the wilderness, spending his last 
days in ease and comfort. After the death of her 
husband, the mother came to Raisin Township, this 
county, where hei- death took [jlace in the fall of 
1871. 

The children of Isaac and Sarah (Underbill) 
Sutton, nine in number, included eight sons and 
one daughter, all of whom lived to mature years. 
Of these, Nehemiah M. was the youngest, and was 
reared to farm pursuits, in the meantime receiving 
a good education in his adopted State. He con- 
tinued under the parental roof until twenty-two 
years of age, when, desirous of a change of occupa- 
tion, he repaired to Detroit and learned daguerreo- 
typing: he still has a picture which he made of his 
mother after the old fashion, and which is in a good 
state of preservation. He remained in Detroit about 
five years, then removed to Raisin Township, this 
county, where he began farming, and continued 
until after the death of his father. He then as- 
sumed the management of the homestead, and in the 
meantime purchased the property which he now oc- 
cupies in the vicinity of Tecumseh. This farm 
comprises 240 acres of land, and besides the resi- 
dence already spoken of, there are about six barns 
and various other out-buildings required for the pur- 
pose of sheltering stock and storing grain. In addi- 
tion to this jH-opcrty he has another farm of 210 
acres in Franklin Township, with an equal number 
of barns, and all the other buildings necessary, with 
the latest improved machinery; he has also twenty 
acres in Raisin Township. As a stock-raiser Mr. 
Sutton has obtained an enviable reputation; his 
stock consist? mostly of horses and sheep, although 
he gives considerable attention to the breeding of 
swine. He sows about 200 acres of wheat an- 
nually. 

The wife of our subject, to whom he was married 
March 13,1854, was formerly Miss Mary E. Sat- 
terthwaite, a native of this State, and the daughter 
of Reuben and Rachel Satterthwaite, who were 



i 



^^ 



i 



-•► 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



among the pioneer settlers of Lonnwee County. 
They locaterl in Raisin Township, where they urrc 
residents for a short time. aiv\ .-ne now (ifirri-ed. 
Mrs. Sutton was horn .Tune 27. is;;:., and u:i,s ic.-iumI 
!it the home of her nncli\ with whom shr o.nl inucci 
until her marriage. T<i Air. and Mrs. Sull.iu tli.Mv 
were born two children: Anna K., now the uilV ..r 
Frederick Stoepel, of the firm of Bnrnh;im. Si,oi|)el 
ife Co., wholesale dry-goods merchants of Detniii,; 
and Mary R., the wife of .hi.mes .S. Wil.son, also a, 
member of the above fiini. 

Mr. Sutton has invested most of his capit.a! in 
Tecuraseh Township, owning nine-tenths of tlie 
Opera House stock in the town. l)esides his r.\-i.en- 
sive farming lands adjacent, which ahogcther ni- 
clude about 470 acres. He is one of tlie solid men 
of his community, who is (lepcnded uiion to further 
its best interests, and has always proved him>elf 
equal to the demands u|)on him; he votes the straight 
Republican ticket. 

J 11 Ohm MAWDSLEV, City Clerk of Adiian, 
l{ has for many years enjoyed the contid<aiee 
It and esteem of those wiio have watched liis 
V career with interest during the years in 
which he has been prominent among the i)eop!e of 
Adrian, and in which he has signalized hivn.self as a 
citizen of good business abilities and generally in- 
terested in the welfare of his community. The 
settlement of this county was largely effected from 
the first by the better class of a foreign-born [lopu- 
lation, who came here armed prineip.ally with stout 
hands and resolute wills, and were niimheieil amcmg 
the most responsible and reliable pioneer- of the 
State. 

The subject of this sketch was born in the city of 
Manchester, England, Oct. 31, 1S41, and is the son 
of William and Elizabeth (Anderson) .Mr 



wdsle; 
Williai 



who were of excellent Scotch aiicesti 
Mawdsley spent his entire life on his n.ative >oil, 
and died near the scenes of his e.arly youth and 
manhood about 1869: the mother is still living and 
now quite aged. The parental household included 
eight children, six sons and two daughters, of 
whom John was the second born. He acquired 



New V. 



•> and e, 
f,,r .\mi 
whicli 1 

lid wa> 



ools 


if his native 


a tea 


■her one rear 


iiuau 


■d .:> a clerk 


cut. ( 


■eiipyiiii^ this 


w ith 


the g 1-uill 


s. Ill 


the spring of 


ding 


III the city of 



iph'd .as a |iaiiiler in the 
elty of N<.w Oik'aiis two years. 

.Mr. .Mawdsley w.a> now Ma/.n! with a strong de- 
sire to vi>it the >c. lies of hi.- .diildhood and youth, 
and aecuidingly. in Im'Ih ii.ary . I ^H'.l, he set sail for 
the shores ..f hi- ii.-itivc England. After a .safe voy- 
age he was weleomeil iimler tl Id roof tree, and 

spent tJirer month- \i-iliii- .among his former 
fi-imids and asM.cialr.-. He had no desire, however, 
to remain there perm:iiiently. and at the end of that 
time set sail again for the United States, this time 
making Chicago his objective point. Ihae lie en- 
gaged ill paintiii- until December, I .S70, when he 
made hi- way t.. tlii.- c,,iiul,v,and in the city of 
Adrian .aitiTcd the .aiiploy of the Illinois Manu- 
factiiiing Company, in wliicli lie cntinued until 
the destiaictioii of tli.' work- liy tiiv. About this 
time, hearing of a good opening in Cincinnati 
for wtu'kuien, he repaired thither, but only staid 
:iboiit three unaiths. Retiii-niug to Adrian at the 
expiration of that time, he became an employe of 
the Lake .Shore ,V Michigan Southern Railroad 
Co.. with which he remaiued fr.,m 1,S77 tol.S84-, 
when he lu-canii' iiit(aeste.l in public matters, 
and evinced such good judgment and aljility that 
he was elected City Ivccorder by .a majority of 
ninety-two votes. At the expiration of his first 
term in this otlice, he was tc-eleeted and is now 
serving Iiis fourth term. lie proved himself a most 
efficient officer, and oiu' ;ilio\-e p.arty factions and 
strife. 

Mr. .Mawdsley. while a resilient of .\drian, made 
the acquaintance of one of its st estimable young- 
ladies, Miss Mary C. .Vnthony. of Mendon, N. Y., 
to whom he was married in January. 1872. This 
lady became the mother of two children, Esther E. 
and jMargaret, and departed this life at her home in 
Adrian, May 8, 187cS. The present wife of our 



-4•- 



■•► 



480 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



siil)joft, to wliom he w;is married in Doceniber, 1880, 
was formerly Miss Alice Nicholson, a native of 
Ilillsrlale, this State, and was born Marcli 5, 1845. 
Her parents are a1 tiie present time residing in 
Adrian. The family residence is ph'asantly located 
at No. y.T Bntler street. Mr. .M., politically, is a 
stanch Democrat, and socially a member of Adrian 
Lodge No. 8, I. ( ). O. F. ; he also lielongs to Adrian 
Lodge No. 10, F. A' \. M. 

^-^ ^ 



^^ IIARLES A. C'HALONER. By a happy 
(|{ dispensation of nature one man is fitted for 

^^(7 one station in life and another for another, 
and happy is he who possesses the wisdom to chose 
that to which he is best adapted. The subject of 
this narrative is carrying on a business which affords 
pleasure and satisfaction to a large proportion of 
citizens, being a new.sdealer of ripe experience, 
witli a fine stock of literature always on hand, and 
also commands a good trade in tobacco and its 
natural accompaniments. He is located in a hand- 
somely appointed store on Maumee street, and is 
mentioned as the leadei- in this department of busi- 
ness in the city of Adi-i.-in. I'cilitically he is a 
prominent Republican, and religiously, an active 
member of the Episcopal Church. Sociallj' and 
financially he occupies an envialile position among 
the intelligent and well-to-do citizens of one of the 
m<jst prosperous towns in the Wolverine State. 

Mr. Chaloner was born in the city of Loudon, 
England, May 22, 182U,of parents who were also of 
English birth and highly educated, both following 
the profession of teacher for many j'eai-s before their 
marriage. Charles J. and Eliza (Latham) Chaloner 
were the parents of four children, all living, and of 
whom Charles A. of our sketch was the eldest. 
The latter, with his l)rothers and sisters, received 
the advantages of a common-school education, sup- 
plemented by a careful home training. He was 
also taught habits of industry, and when a youth of 
fifteen years began serving an apprenticeship at the 
shoemaker's trade, which he followed as a journe.y- 
man for some time afterward. 

Young Chaloner remained a resident of his native 
city until reaching manhood, and three years after 



his marriage, which took place May 13, 185.5. 
His bride was Miss Diana Moore, of Staffordshire, 
and the yOung people commenced life together in 
a modest dwelling in Wolverhampton, Stafford- 
sliire. For three years after his marriage Mr. Chal- 
oner continued at his trade, but the results not being 
entirely satisfactory, he resolved to change his loca- 
tion. He accordingly sailed from Liverpool in 
January, 1858, with his little family, and eight 
weeks later found himself upon American soil, in 
the cit3' of New York. P^roni there he went over 
into Canada, but after a short time returned to the 
States and made his way westward, coming to 
Adrian in September, 1868. Here he soon sec.ured 
employment at his trade and was thus ocenpied 
about eighteen years. 

In the meantime Mr. Chaloner, by a course of 
industry and perseverance, had accumulated a 
snug little capital, and with this opened the news 
and tobacco store which has since developed into 
one of the important business features of the city. 
He was first located on North Main street, from 
which he removed to his present store in 1880, and 
commands a fine patronage from the best residents 
of the city. 

The little household of our subject and his wife 
includes four children, one son and three daughters, 
viz., Annie E., William H., Rosa E. and Laura L. 
William H. is the efficient assistant of his father in 
the store. Another son, Charles J, died in 1863, 
at the age of two and one-half years. Mrs. Chal- 
oner is a lady greatly esteemed in the community, 
and is a consistent member of the Episcopal Church. 
Mr. C. was at one time Chief of the Fire Depart- 
ment at Adrian, and has for years been prominent 
in city affairs and is well known to a large propor- 
tion of its people. 



(^DOLF WHEELER, of the firm of Wheeler 
^O & Aldrich, dealers in boots and shoes in 

jiflk Adrian, is one of the enterprising business 
^J men of the city, and takes a lively interest 

in its material welfare. Mr. Wheeler is a native of 
the State of Michigan, and was born in the city of 
Manchester, Washtenaw County, March 22, 1842. 



■•►HI- 





' 




f 




•^- 






L^^ 






\^ 




LKNA\Vi:i- 


COl'NTY. 481 ' 






llis father ua. 1'|-,,.|ht .1.. ;, u:,\nr uf Cmmh ,l i,.„t. 


laiv of the city ,.r bis residence, and has had an 






whu Wiis born in .Mi.hliclowii, nn.l the ni.-ii.lcn name 


opportunity i.if advancing its interesls .ms a repre- 






of llis iiiothor. nho was Ixmm in l)iiU-lic.-> C'onnly. N. 


sentative of the 'I'hir.l W .aid in the Hoard of Alder- 






v.. uMs Z.-ulia 1!. llcnlKnii. In ls;l|. s,.,,n afu-r 


men, lie is a proniiiiciit ti^ni-ein fraternity circles. 






their marriage, the iiarcnls imn.viMl to flu- Stale of 


and is a member of Adrian Lodge No. 111. A. F. <<■ 






Michigan and seltieil in \\a,--lilena\v Coiinly. Nvjiere 


A. M.: Adrian Chapter No. Id. \l. A. .M.; Adrian 






they remained five yeaiv. :nnl tlien remove.! to Na- 


Council No. I.s. 1!. .V S. .M.: Adri.an Commandery 






poleon, Jackson County, where they purchased a 


No. 4. K. T., and .Michigan Southern Consistory, 






farm, uiion which they lived many years, eni^agcd 


32d degree, A. A- A. Kite. 






in its successful cultivation, 'riience lhe_\ removed 








to Manchester, \Vasht(;naw (Vninty, and subse- 




,„-,vr. — N I 






—.,-*>.• ■■oOa-iJ^'^'./jjjJ-c^a: <^ — I 






quently to Lenawee County, whei-(( the father died 








in the spring of 1.S77, leaving a wife and six chil- 


^fOSKPlI TIIACKH.W, .a resident of Ridge- 






dren. The mother is still living, and m.akes her 




j way Township f..r the Last forty-live years. 1 






hom6 in the city of Adrian. 




came to this section of country with hia par- 1 






Adolf Wheeler, the subject of this sketch, is next 


'(^^ eiit^ when :\ little lad three years of .age. 






to the youngest of the children of the parenl.-d fam- 


H.- is the only son of William and Elizabeth (Locke) 






ily, llis boyhood was passe<l in Manchester, his 


'rii.ackray. natives of Yorkshire. Lngland, and was 






native town, where he .-itlended the public scIukjIs 


born in the same c.Minly in Albion as his parents. 






and acquired a good practical education. Tlieic. 


July 17. is.;il. 'I'hrce years later the latter emi- 






also, he began his men-anlile experienci' by enter- 


grated t(i llie rnit.al States, .and came directly to 






ing a general store as a clerk, and soon after his ar- 


this county, where they siieiil, the remainder of 






rival ill Lenawee C(uiiity he was empl.n.'d by the 


their days, the niotlier p.assiiii. away in June, 1886, 






tirm of Comstock & Wheeler, of Adrian, .-ind .acted 


and Ihi' lather July 1, 1 .s.s7. af thc> ages of sixty- 






in the cap.'icity of clerk until iMil. In that year 


nine anil seventy-two years respectively. 






he was employed by .1. 11. I'.odwell. with ulioni lie 


William J'hackr.ay .and his wif,- were most excel- 






remained until the di^atli of llie lalt<'r, which oc- 


lent ( lirist iaii people, .and .anions ihe early mem- 






curred in l.S(;4. Soon .afterward .Mr. Wheeler 


bers of the First ( liristi.an Church at Ridgeway. 






formed a partnership with Mr. l)el''oc, and pur- 


The f.ather cle.are.l ;i farm from the primitive soil 






chaseil the stock of dry-gocjds and carpets of the de- 


;ind bnilt up :i eomfort.able homestead, enjoying in 






ceased, and continued the business until 1.S72. :i1 


the ineantime the cdiitidence and esteem of all who 






which time Mr. AVheeler disposed u( his interest to 


knew him. .Vfter iiecoming a naturalized Amer- 






his partner. After this he was variously engaged 


ican citizen, he ideiitilied himself wiLh the Uemo- 






until USSl, when he formed a co-ii;i,rtnership with 


cratic'party, of which he remained ,a member until 






Asa \V. Aldrieli,and embark.-d in the bo,>t and shoe 


the day of his death. 






business at No.s. 10an<l \-> Kast Manmee street, 


The Thackray family is of pure Fnglish ancestry. 






where they carry a, full and complete slock of boots 


and largely represent,cd by intellieent and wealthy 






and shoes of eastern manufaetnre : both iiaiUu'rs 


inen. Joseph. ,mr subject, pursued his early edu- 






are well known, and they .are well esl.ablislied in 


(•atiou ill the coinmou schools, and assisted his 






their business. 


father in the cultivation of the soil, and as a nat- 






On tlie 2d of August. Is71, .Mr. Wheeler w.as 


ural result, at the death of the latter came into pos- 






united in marriage with Miss Isabelle 11. llathew.ay.' 


session of the homestead. To this place he brought 






of New Baltimore, :\Iicli., where she was b'>i ii on 


a bride in the spi'ing of IS.Vl. having been married 






the I.St;h of .laiiuary. l.s.'.l , and is the daughter of 


April i:). to Miss Charlotte I'liies, daughter of 






txilbert Uatheway, a well-known and popular citi- 


Moses and Laura (Clifford) Flues, who was born in 






zen of New Baltimore. 


Ridgeway Township, Feb. 22, 1840. JVlrs. Thack- 




•^H 


Mr. Wheeler takes an active interest in the wel- 


ray, like her husband, is of pure English ancestry. 


__^^ 








^" 




■ 




i 





4- 

L i 482 



LENAWKE COUNTY. 



Her father came to the United States when a .young- 
man, and located in New York State, where he was 
subsequently married. After his marriage he came 
directly to this county, and the parents spent their 
last days in Ridgeway Townshi|). Mrs. Thaelvray 
was their eldest child. t)f h('r union with our suli- 
ject there have been horn two children: Mary A., 
the vvifet>f Wesley Uest.er, who i> farming in Ridge- 
way Townshi|i, and i<:iizabcth, liie wife of Will- 
iam Niverson. who is engaged in carpentering at 
Britton Station. Mr. Thackray has served as Town- 
ship Treasurer and Commissioner of Highways, and 
occupied other offices of trust. He was reared liy 
his honored father in the I )eniocintic faith, to whieli 
he still solidly adheres. 



'^-i-y'-'-liril^iiiiiii' /i^ir^ 



JiOHN A. Hh( K. n\ llie linn of Heck Bros.. 
proprietor> of the Tecum-eli Flouring Mills, 
I of Tecumseh, Mich., is one of the leading 
' business men of the city. These mills are 
on the banks of the Raisin River, iu what was form- 
erly Brownsville, a place of some historic interest 
as having been a mill-site for between forty and 
fifty years. Here was erected the first gristmill that 
was built in this part of the county, an old-fa.sh- 
ioned water-mill, and though parts of it have lieen 
incorporated into other mills that have since been 
built on the same spot, none of it is recognizable in 
the present structure. That mill was known for 
hundreds of miles in all directions, and the first 
grist was ground about the 4th of July, 1825, from 
which cake was made to celebrate our National holi- 
day. 

Mr. Heck was born in tiie State of Pennsylvania, 
Aug. 16, 1830, and is the son of Daniel and Mar- 
garet (Heagy) Heck. John A. is the eldest of a 
family of six children, and received a good educa- 
tion in Carlisle, in his native State. Wlien he «:is 
quite 3'oung he went to South Bend, Ind., wliere he 
lived for twenty years, emploj^ed at a salary in the 
management of a large fiouring-mill. During liis 
residence there he was somewhat prominent in pub- 
lic affairs, and was elected to the ollice of Assessor 
of St. Joseph County, which he held for eight years, 
fulfilling the duties of that responsible position with 



much .satisfaction to the people. From Soutli Bend 
lie removed to Flowerfleld, Mich., where he and his 
brother purchased the Flowerfield Mills of Mr. A. 
Hlaek, and operateil them ver.y suceessfull.y for 
eight years. 

In 1874 John Heck came to Tecumseh, and pur- 
chasing the Tecumseh Mills, the Heck brothei-s im- 
mediately began to repair and remodel them 
throughout, putting in a complete roller system and 
adding all the att.'iclunents and improvements, un- 
til everything about the mills is in perfect order. 
They have spent over $20,000 on the mills, and are 
now in the enjoyment of a large and prosperous 
business. Much of the flour, which is of a superior 
grade, is shipped to many of the important towns 
and cities of Ireland, Cork being one of the princi- 
pal places of shipment. The capacit}' of the mills, 
which are I'un by water power, is 250 barrels in 
I twenty-four hours. The Heck brothers are ' prac- 
tical millers of long experience in the business, 
which gives them .areat advantage over inexijeri- 
enced competitors. 

In politics, Mr. Heck was in earlj' life a Whig, 
and later, on the formation of the Republican party, 
he very naturally fell into the ranks of that organ- 
ization, and has ever since been a stanch advocate 
of that part.y, supporting its measures and voting 
for its candidates for office. He takes an active in- 
terest in public affairs, and has done efficient service 
as a menilicr of the Cit^' Council. 



r 



,ORMAN J. STRONG. The snug homestead 
of this gentleman in Madison Township is 
conspicuous bj' its excellent improvements 
and the air of comfort within and around the dwell- 
ing, which stands in the midst of choice fruit and 
shade trees, and otherwise gives evidence of the 
taste and industry of the proprietor. Here he has 
sixty acres of finelj' cultivated land and has, in a 
great measure, closel.y followed the theories of 
Horace Greeley, that a moderate area well culti- 
vated was much more desirable than a greatei- ex- 
tent of land partially neglected. The soil in this 
vicinity is remarkably fertile and yields to the 
hands of the husbandman good results, and Mr. 



•► 



-^•- 



HMN 



LKNAWEE COUNTY. 



483 I i 



Strong', in cun.-eciucnri-, ciijciy.- ;i (-•ouil'drtaliU- in- 
come. 

Our subject \v:i> mi in W.v-l l;li.onili.-M. ( (nlariu 

Co., X. y., Maivl] 1. IS-.'I. :unl is the fldol s.in of 
Charles and Lorin<l:i ( Fi>lK'i) Strong, the fatlirr .-i 
native of Connect lent Mnd llic mother of New Vmk 
State. Tliey loc.-itcd in Ontario County after their 
marriage and thence, in 1853, emigrated i<i .Michi- 
gan, and settled npon a tract of land in rekdiisha 
Township, Calhoun County, where they sjxmU tlu> 
remainder of their days engaged in agri(-uUural |iui-- 
suits. They were the parents of nine children, 
seven of whom are now li\ing and residents of N'cw 
York, Ohio and Michigan. 

Mr. Strong spent his hoylujod and youth tiftcr 
the maimer of most farmers' st)ns, acqniring his edn- 
cation mainly during tiie winlci' season, uiiilc in 
snnimer he assisted in plowing, sow ing and reaping. 
After completing his studies, he engaged for a time in 
teaching in his native State, which occupation he also 
followed .after coming to Michigan, for a iieriod of 
nine years. He had no sooner set foot upon Michi- 
gan soil than applications canu' for him to teach. 
He was engaged as I'lincipal of Union Cit_y (Branch 
County) High School for a time Miciice wrnl to Te- 
konsha Union School, and in 1 s."w was i-liosen As- 
sistant Principal of lIom<r Ac-adcmx'. Callionn 
County, which position he held until 18(10. the 
year of his marriage. His winter evenings were 
mo.stly spent in teaching singing school. In 1866 
he moved to Lenawee County, and Imught his farm 
in Madison Township in 186s. 

Mr. Strong was married rather late in lilV. in 
Madison Township, this county. Oct. is. isctt. to 
Miss Betsey A., daughter of Ch.-nlcs and Ann f). 
(Dennis) Mitchell, who renn)ved from Ontario 
Count}-, N. Y., to this State, the mother aliout 1827 
and the father in 18;36. Mrs. Strong w.ms l.orn in 
Marengo, Calhoun Co., Mich., .Inly s, l,sK), and 
remained with her parents until her marriage, when 
she and her husband located on a farm in Calhoun 
County. Mr. Strong, while superintending the cul- 
tivation of the land, taught school until about 186,5. 
To our suliject and his wife there were born seven 
children, namely: Charles M., Emma A., Dennis F., 
Grace M., Bennie, Clara and Ralph B. The two 
latter are deceased, dying when about three and 



one-half and two years of age, respectively; Charles 
M. married Miss Ida L. Valentine, Sept. 14, 1887, 
and is a resident of Madison Township, this comity: 
his wife is the daughter of .luliii B. and Evaline 
(.Mdrich) Valentine, .and is a young l.ady of high 

Mr. Stiong, although mo.stly engaged with the 
cultivation of his land and meddling very little 
with politics, still finds time to attend the general 
elections, where he usually V(;tes the straight Re- 
publican ticket, lie served as Justice of the Peace 
in Madison Township eight years and has also held 
the otiices of School Director and Trustee, and 
in 187.") was elected the first Superintendent of 
Schools in the township, under a new law creating 
said oflice. For several years he was Secretary of 
Lenawee County Farmers' Club, and for 1887 the 
President of Lenawee County Horticultural Society. 
For the past ten years he has been annually elected 
chorister of the Fl■ee-^^■ill Baptist Church and Sun- 
day-school ill Fairfield ^'illag■e. He has been for 
several years correspondent of a county paper and 
a few State papers. Mrs. Strong also occasionally en- 
gages in the same line of work. It will be .seen that 
time is not w.nstcd in idleness .'it the Strong home. 
He uuiti'd with the ( 'ongrcgatioii;d Church at East 
Bloomfield in about 1 8,")U. .Mrs. Strong belongs to 
the Free-Will Baptist Church, and by a blameless 
life sets a bright example to the rising generation. 



~i—^=t^^'G,^ 



c^^HOMAS G. CHANDLER. When the sailiug- 
//^^ vessel "Christiana" left London in May, 1 854, 
^^^ it had on board, among other passengers, 
Thomas Chandler, his wife, and four of his family 
of six children, among whom was the subject of 
this biography, Thomas G. They vvere bound for 
America, upon VA'hose soil the}' hoped the}' might 
establish themselves in a better position than it 
would be possible for them to attain in their native 
country. They were nearly two months making 
the voyage, landing in New York City on the 6th 
of July. They proceeded immediately to Wayne 
County, N. Y'., and there Mr. Chandler found em- 
ployment for himself on a farm, farming being the 
occupation to which he had been bred. His pros- 



-^•- 



lenawp:k county 



pects were encoiiragino-; wovk was iilciitv, wauv> 
fairly good, and lie was enabled to give his ehildreu 
the advantages of a free school education. He re- 
mained there until 1863, when, having aecumulated 
some property, and desirous of owning a liome, he 
decided that Michigan offered greater inducements 
to one wishing to invest in farming lands than any 
other State. Accordingly, accompanied l).y liis 
wife, he left New York and made the trip to this 
State in a covered wagon drawni by one horse. He 
l)Ought forty acres of heavily timbered land in Riga 
Township, and at once built a house and commenced 
clearing his land, and has i-esided here ever since. 
He was bom in County Kent, England, Feb. 21, 
1S07. and was there married to Rebecca Baker, who 
was also a native of Kent County. She died in 
Riga Township, June 1, ISSIi. The}' were the par- 
ents of six children : Fanny, who married TiionLis 
West, and lives in Australia; Charlotte, who mar- 
ried James Appleton, and lives in Ramsgate, I'ji- 
gland; Gem-ge F., living in Riga Township; Thomas 
G., the subject of our sketch; Hannah M., who 
married John Stiggins, and li^'es in Wayne Countj', 
N. Y. ; and Harriet, who married Amos P. Albring, 
and lives in Riga Township. 

Thomas G. Chandler, the subject of our sivetch, 
the son of Thomas and Rebecca Cliandler, was born 
in Kent County, England, Aug. 8, 1838, and was, 
therefore, sixteen years of age wlien he came to the 
United States with his parents. His oppoitunities 
for acquiring an education in his native counli\- 
were very limited. As soon as he was large enough 
he had to work, performing such labor as a Ik,)}' 
could do. He was first employed, when quite small, 
in keeping the_crows and English sparrows fromliie 
grain fields, and later led the horses to plow. After 
settling in Wayne County, N. Y., he attended the 
public schools, and later the Macedon Academy. 
In 1857 he commenced teaching, and in 1859 went 
to Ohio and attended a, select school at Morey's 
Corner, Fulton C'ounty, and in the vvinter he taugiit 
in Sylvania, Lucas County, in that State. The fol- 
lowing sjjring he entered Adrian College and pur- 
sued his studies there one term. Subsequentlj' 
he went to Monrfie County, Mich., and taught 
there during the winter seasons. In the fall of 18(iO 
he bought forty acres of land in Lenawee County, 



m art 



•►HI-** 



ncliidrrl ill liis present larm. lieing 
now a landed proprietor, possessor of a good educa- 
tion, he felt amply able to support a family, and 
Oct. 10, 18G0, he was united in marriage to 
Miss Rose E. Comstock. In the spring of 1862 he 
rented a log house in Riga Township and com- 
menced clearing his land. He labored very success- 
fully at this until Aug. 31, 186f, when he enlisted 
in Company K, 1 1 th Michigan Infantry, going from 
Cleveland, wlicre he had joined his regiment, to 
Nashville, Tenn. During the battle of Nashville 
he was made Acting Commissary Sergeant. After 
that engiigement he went with the regiment to 
Chattanooga, and served with it until the close of 
the war, and was honorably discharged in June 
1865. During his .absence in the army liis wife had 
looked well after the home interests, and had added, 
by purchase, forty acres of land adjoining that 
which he had previously bought. After his return 
he built a log house on this latter ac(]uisition to 
their farm, in which they have resided continuously 
ever since. He has since added to these purchases, 
and now owns 120 acres of land, seventy-five of 
which are in an excellent tillable condition, and has 
erected good, substantial farm buildings. 

Salmon Comstock, the grandfather of Mrs. Chand- 
ler, was born in 1760, and spent his last days in 
Cooperstown, Otsego Co., N. Y. Here his son Giles, 
the father of Mrs. Ch.andler, was born Aug. 5, 1817. 
The latter remained a resident of his native town 
until sixteen years of age, and then came West as 
far as Toledo, where he remained but a short time, 
and then proceeded to Sylvania, Lucas Co., Ohio. 
There he married and soon after settled in White- 
ford. Monroe Co., Mich., and was one of the brave 
|)ioneers who assisted in settling tliat place. He 
bought a tract of heavily timbered land, and built 
a log house in which there were neither doors nor 
windows, where the family resided for a short time, 
and where their daughter Rose, now Mrs. Chandler, 
was born May 13, 1844. He has his farm now well 
improved, and has erected ample and convenient 
buildings, and still resides there. The maiden 
name of his wife was Electa E. Vrooman, sister of 
Garret Vrooman. For parental history see the 
sketch of G. \'rooman elsewhere in this Album. 
The home circle of Mr. and Mrs. Chandler has 





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i 






^ 




-^ 


*/ 


r- 


LEXAWRE COUNTY. -ts:, ^ 








Serantoii is deceased, while William Seivard and 








Lottie T., DanaO. and Xaiiia K. 


Henry Hamilton reside in Adrian. Of the five 








Ml'. ( 'handler is n wrll-e.luealcil. inlelliuent man. 


(humhters. all are now dead, excepting;- Mrs. Harriet, 








and a> siieli wields a l.eiirliri.-d nilluemM. in tll<' 


widow of Samuel Church, of lier.'ien. where she 








township ;ind eonmiuniu. Ilr i> .a i^Te.-il iva(h'r, 


now resides. 








and keeps well informed on ih.' .•nrreiil. topics of 


Henry 11. Wilcx was rc^.ared .a larima. .and l.e- 








tiie day. an<l this, eoml.inrd wilh a retenlivr mem- 


eaute well skillcl in .all tln^ duti.^s pertainine to that 








ory. makes him - 1 aulliorily on loeal runi umer.al 


oc.aipatiou, re.aavin- .atlhes.anu- tinu' an education 








mattris, II,. MHnrlimrs in.Ud.uvs in lit.Tary woi-k, 


in the common s<-hools. Iikmi aftainini;' manlunxl, 








and .»-c.asion;illy wiil,<.,s for ll,r local newspa|iers. 


he eneaMvd in f.aiiniiie in Cenesec County, N. V., 








He has held the oilic,. of .Insti'T of (he i'cvu-.. ,me 


where he r(an;iined until LSI:'., in which year he 








term ..f four yf.ars. and i« llo^v sriMn-' the s,.,.,.nd 


caiLie to Adri.an. .Soon .aft<a- .arri \ ine in this city 








one in the s.-ime ollita^. He lias always inkrn an 


he I.ecame a cleik in the h.ardw.are store of (ieort>e 








aelive interest in cdni-al ional aflair>, and has hin-n 


P,i<l,vell. and. .afterward returned to his home in 








a memher of the Sel 1 Hoard nn.st of the time 


New Y..rk. 11. ■ ae.Min cmuu' t.> Adrian with his 








since residin.o- in the place, and for three years was 


faniily. and was employed hy W. S. Wilcox, his 








'['(Mvnsliii) .Snpcrinten<Uait, of ScliooU. In politics 


brother, as (derk in his li.ai'dware store. He .acted 








he is a Hepnhlican. 


ii] this capa<-ity for six year-, when he w.as taken 
into the business .as a partu, a-, and the lirni name 
elianueil to Wilcox llrotlna-s. This relation was 








-^mm^^M^- 


maintained until I.s7l. in which year (icorge A., 
sou of W. S. Wilcux, w;is tak.m into the tinu, and 

it has St. 1 so constifntcd until the present time. 

All three of th.^ |iarl,ncrs are well known as live and 








,1/ KNU'V 11. \VI1,('()\, of the lir f Wihaix 


(uier-cfic business num. who have built up a trade 










co-c^xt-ensive with Ihe county. Their busine.ss hou.se 
is locat.-d at No. 1 :; .M.aumec st reef. whi,-h is one 










of the mosl elieibh' sites in the i-ity. It is a hand- 








years, ami <lnrin,- that time Icis earned an enviable 


some, tluve-story brick slrm^tiirc. with ac moili- 










ous ba>ement. and the enlii-e buildiuii is occupied 








aiiee with the pi'oplc extend- into e\eiy nook and 


with the busine-s ,,f the lirm. In a.hlition to the 








(anaier of the connty. as his IniHiiess has lironnhf 


hardware store proper. Iliey have a w.a rehouse. 










which is I'L'x.sO feet, b .r the storage of farm imple- 








The Ih-m of which he is .a mend.er is the oldest in 


nuaits .and m.achimay. .and this branch of their trade 








the same line of Imsiness in the city of Adri.an. and 


l.s ,pntc .xlensive. Tlx^ cst.ablishment is the Lar-est 








the storeroom has liec e one of the welhknowii 


of its kiiel in the county, .and would-do credit to a 








landmarks of the city. 


city of much l.ireer proportions. 








Mr. Wilcox w.as l„,rn in the town ,.f lUa-, n. 


On thi. -JMh of O.^tobia-. ISl;"!, Mr. Wilcox was 








Genesee Co.. N. V., Oct.. I's. 1 s^'l', and is the son 


married to Miss Knuicc .1. Smith, a native of Ma.s- 








of Austin and Cl:iris>a (NetUeton) Wilcox. Hi.s 


.saehnsefls. who w.as born on the --'.SMi ,,f Septemlier. 








father was horn in Madison, Coim.. An,e. -.'.s. ITT'.i, 


l.s-i.-.. and was the dau:jlil,.a- ,,f llervey Smith, Esq., 








and was the son of i-Mnmnd .and Kli/.al.eth (Scr.an- 


,,f Northiuupt.ui. that. Stat.^. Mr. .and .Mrs. Wilcox 








toii) Wih-ox. He w.as .a lilacKsmit li, larmia-. hotel- 


have three chihlivu li\ine, \i/: M.ary K., the wife 








keeper. a,nd I'ostm.aster in llic town of l!er-.ii. 


of Dr. ( . W. IJutler. ..f .\l.mt Clair. N. .1.: Lillian 








where he died Ang.- IS. ls."ii;:tlie moiherdied there 


K.. .at home, and Austin, an active youni: m.an wdlo 








June 10, 1829. Th.'y w.a-e the p.ar(ait.s of ei-hl 


a-i.st- his fatlh^r in llu^ >lor... .Mr. Wileox is a 










naauber of the .Ma-onic frat.anify. In polilh-. he , 




g^_ 


l_ 


_ 




^j 


•^■^ 


r; 

















\ ' 486 



^i^Hh-4« 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



is a Democrat, very pronounced in his views, and 
is a strung supporter of Mr. Cleveland's administra- 
tion. 



;TIN GILLETT. Sohr' noted man ha.s 
said, "The oreatiiess of a country does wA 
depend upon the extent of its territory, 
but on the character of its people." The 
pioneers of a country must necessarily be charac- 
terized \>y courage, great force of character, and 
wonderful powers of endurance, to enable them to 
face the dangers and endure the toils and hardships 
of life consequent upon settlement in a new 
country. We can well believe that the high position 
which Lenawee County occupies among the counties 
of Michigan to-day, is in great part due to these 
hardy pioneer virtues, so well illustrated in her 
early settlers, and it is well, therefore, to perpetuate 
their remembrance and hold their names in rever- 
ence. It is the good fortune of Lenawee County 
that, tliough over half a century has elapsed since 
the first .settlements were made within her borders, 
yet some of her pioneers are still living in her midst, 
and we are pleased to present a biographical sketch 
of one of these to her citizens. 

Austin Gillett was born near Auburn, Cayuga 
Co., N. Y., Jan. I. IsiC. His father, John Gillett 
by name, was a farmei- and ;i native of Connecticut. 
In early life he removed to Xew York State, where 
he married Miss Lois Grifihi, a native of that State. 
After their marriage they settled in Cayuga County, 
N. Y., and remained there for several years on a farm ; 
finally they removed to Monroe County, in the 
same State, an<l there spent their declining years. 
They were the parents of ten children, seven boys 
and three girls, eight of whom grew to maturity. 
Their names were as follows: Daniel, .lohn, Gilbert, 
Electa, Lucy, Austin, Ki>lii:iiiii. ( 'liaunccy, Benjaniiu 
F. and DeWitt C. 

Our subject was tiie fourth >on and sixtli eliild 
of his parents, and received the good practical train- 
ing which generally falls to a farmer's lad, whereby 
he is taught to keep his ej-es open and to use his 
common sense in the daily affairs of life. Coupled 
with this excellent home training he received the 
advantages of an education at the district school. 



He remained in the home of his parents, assisting 
his father on the farm, until his twenty-second year. 
At that age he ambitiously sought newer fields of 
labor, and wisely deeming that a virgin soil would 
give better lesults to the young and energetic 
farmer than ground worn out by long years of cul- 
tivation, lie i-ame to the then new State of Michigar. 
and took up eighty acres of land in Rome Town- 
ship, Lenawee County. This tract was in the un- 
broken wilderness which then almost covered the 
entire township of Rome. Mr. Gillett, with the 
energy and courage of youth, entered upon those 
years of patient toil necessary for clearing and 
draining the land for cultivation. After living on 
this farm for many years, bringing it to a high state 
of cultivation, and erecting substantial farm build- 
ings on it, he exchanged it for a place adjoining, 
and tlierc made his home for several years. In the 
uinnlh (if Ma\. 1872, he removed to the city of 
Adrian and purchased a small piece of land, and 
afterward added to this purchase, until he now owns 
about ten acres of land, on which he has erected a 
convenient, comfortable residence, a good barn and 
other buildings. 

Mr. Gillett was married, Oct. 11, 184G, toMiss 
Eliza Vanauken, of Washtenaw County, Mich., who 
was liorn June "23, I BIG. Her parents, Lewis and 
Jane (AYestfnII) \ anaukcn, were the parents of six- 
teen children. .Mr. and Mrs. Gillett's union has 
been blessed by the birth of one child, Emma J., 
who resides in the home of her parents. Mr. and 
Mrs. (lillett, though well advanced in years, at the 
age of seventy-two are vigorous and healthy. They 
have attained a competency by their own unaided 
industry, and now, having passed the prime of life, 
can sijend their beclining years in comfort and 
in the enjoyment of their pleasant home, honored 
and respected by all who know them. 

Mr. Gillett is a man of decided views, and in no 
way iloes he more forcibly show this than in his 
tcnaciou> adherence to his political beliefs, which 
aie tliosc formulated l\y the Democratic party. He 
has uflcii licen called upon to serve the towns in 
whicli lie has resided in various oflicial capacities. 
He was School ln>pect()r for two years, and at vari- 
ous times lias held other offices of the .School Board ; 
he was Justice of the Peace for Borne Township for 



.^h 



^- 



,j^ gl ^a 



•►Hh-^^ 



LEXAAVKK COUNTY. 



4S7 



jij-ht years; served as Supervisor for three years, 
111(1 :is Assessor for two ye:irs. In the faithful ilis- 
•iia,rii-e of the dutio of the-e oIliciMl |io<itioiis he 
las always cxercisetl a hcnrlirial inlluciice iii the 
iffair> of the town. 



f AKRY I). Illi.L. M. I). The medieal pro- 
ff^'' fession is pidl)alily as worthily represeiiteil 
IL^' in Adi-ian as in any city of similar prelen- 
(^ tions in the W Csl. Il has been ambitious 
1 many direi-iions. ami not llie least ainoiii>- those 
■ho have conlriliulcd to strengthen this ambition 
re its excelk'iit licensed iilij'sicians and surgeons. 
t^iiaeks," liaving litttle encouragement, have gen- 
rally given the city a wide berth. 

Dr. Ilan-y 1>. Hull, who spent most of the 3-ears 
f his iM.yhood and youth among the people where 
e now labors, is one of the most conscientious and 
arefnl practitioners of which the city lioasts, for 
e has the good sens., to keep in mind tlie fact that 
e is now making his recoi-d. I,eing yet a young 
lan. Of New l-ai-l.-ind birth and parentage, he 
egan lib' among the .Mas>achn-clts hills in the town 
f Wcstlield, ll:nnpden Connty, on the :i:;d of.hine, 



first offlee among tiie people who have known him 
since a boy, and since that time he has labored with 
more than ordinary success, and fully established 
himself in tlie <-onlidencc of the people around him. 
He possesses much native aiiility, and keeps himself 
well posted upon the various questions e<msta.ntly 
arising in connection with the medical profession, 
lie served as City l'hysi<-ian three years, since which 
time he has been Pension Kxaininer. and has offici- 
ated for some time as sui-geiin in the employ of the 
\Yabash Railroad Company. Socially, he belongs 
to Adrian Lodge No. li), A. I'. A' A. M. In the 
career \vhi<-h is evidently opening before him he 
has the best wishes of hosts of tViemls. 



iel E. Hi 

o.l .-uhI 1 



St: 



I to Miss Kliza K. Campuell, 
whose biith occurred not far from the early home 
of hei- husband. 'I'liey continncd in Hampden 
County a short linn after their marriage and then 
made their way t.. Cincinnati. < )hi.>. and three years 
later to the city of D.ayton. From tliere. in 1 .stw, 
they came to this county, locating in A<lrian, where 
they n..w reside. The fruit of their union w.-is tme 
child only. Harry I)., of oui- sketch. 

Dr. Hull was :, la. I of thirte.ai ye.ars when his 
parents came to Adrian, ami after pursuing his 
studies two years in the (•ollege in this place, re- 
turned east as far as Clinton, N, Y., ami becairie a 
student at Hamilton C.>lhgc. from which he was 
graduate.l in 1S74. Wishing U> a.lv.an.-.. in the art 
of medicine, he availed himself of the instruct i.m 
aftorde.l in Bellevue C^ollege, Ni'w York City, fr..ui 
which he was graduated in lt<77. He oijcne.l his 



.>^:^, A.MIKL lllNKl.KY, a New Knglamler by 

1^^ the. .hi an.l hon..r,-.l pi. .neers ,,f Lenawee 
'~ — (ounty, of whi.'h lu' has be.ai a. resident 
for a period of tifty-thre.' ycirs, 11. ■ lirst opened 
his eyes i.i the light ann.ng the hills ..f Worcester 
(ounty, .Mass.. n.-ar the l..wn of llarre, .luly 20, 
ISd.'S. He s|n-nt liisv.iuth ami I'arly manhood in 
his native State ami manic. 1 a l.ady of his own 
county. After the l.irih ..f two children they re- 
s..1v.h1 up..n a .■hange of location, an.l made their 
way t.i Seneca C.mnty. N. V.. where Ihey lived 
ar.d carried on farming until the fall of 1«;:54. In 
the montli of Nov.inber. that year, Mr. Hinkley 
first sel foot in this .■(.unty, .selecting his location 
in Fairhehl Township, tlua. .•ailed IJlissfield, where 
h.. has since remainc.l. 

It has b.'en the jirivilege of .Mr. Hinkley to look 
u[ion the face of nature in its wildest asi)ects in 
this section of country, and before the husbandman 
had mailc mu.-h impressi.m ui)on the soil of South- 
ern Micliiutui. ()nr subject possessed the industry 
and resolution which distinguished the emigrants 
from the Bay State, and while engaged in tilling 
t,he soil took a w.arm interest in the building up of 
his townshi|) ami t,he welfare of the peojile around 
him. By the latter he has alw:'.,ys lieen recognized 
a- :i man worthy ..f their esteem and confidence, 
an.l b.r a number. .f years held the offices of Justice 
..f the Pc.a.H' ami Commissioner of Highways. He 

: : . •P' 



•►HI-* 



488 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



is conscientious, politically, as in all olher respects, 
and olinos to the party of his early choice, namely, 
the Democracy. ITis property incliirles eighty 
acres of land, with ooinfortalile farm buildings, and 
he is passing his last years in an easy manner, 
receiving the solicitous care of friends, and enjoy- 
ing those things in life to whicli he is jnsti.y entitled 
by long years of industry and economy. 

Mr. Hinklej- was first married in South Hadley, 
Mass., to Miss Sarah DeWitt, Feb. 1, 1827. This 
lad^' was born not far fi-om the childhood home of 
her husband and bore him seven children, whom 
they named respectively, Sarah S., Sophia J., Sam- 
uel J., Francis B., Fanny, Dwightand John D. The 
eldest daughter, Sarah, died at her homo in Fair- 
field, Aug. H, 1852, and Sophi.a, the seinii.l rhild. 
died in Adrian, May 20, 186-i; the nioilicr -ulrsc- 
quently passed away at the Innnestead in Fairfield 
Township, Sept. 2, 1876. The present wife of our 
subject, to whom he was married in Weston, this 
count}', Oct. 6, 1877, was formerly Miss Mary L. 
Reno, who was born in Wayne County, N. Y., 
Sept. 22, 1847. Of tliis union there were born i 
three children — Mary L., Clara E. and Ida B., who 
are at home with their parents. 

The snows of eighty-four winters have passed 
over the head of Samuel Hinkley, and during this 
long life he has had little to I'egret, having fulfilled 
his obligations as an honest man and a good citizen, 
and sought to do good to tliose around him as he 
had (ipportunitj-. His name will be remembered 
by coming generations years hence when they gather 
together and talk of the men who came to Michi- 
gan in its earl}' days, ;uid 1)\' the exercise of untiring 
energy judiciously applied succeeded in makuig it 
what it is to-dav. 



AVID WOODWARD, of the firm of Wood- 
m wai'd ct S<.in, manufacturers of the Clin- 
^ ton Chilled Plow and Patent Jointer, estab- 
lished liis foundry in 18.i9, and has since 
been successfully engaged in the manufacture of 
these plows. They have a good patent,"one that 
gives satisfaction wherever it is used, and manu- 
facture annually 1,000 plows. The patent jointer 
is Mr. Woodward's own invention. Since l.s7.s 



Mr. Woodward has been extensively engaged in 
small fruitgrowing, having twenty acres of his farm 
devoted to all kinds of apples, peaches, pe.ars and 
small fruits. His fruit farm is located in Bridge- 
water T<nvnship. "Washtenaw County, five miles 
north of Clinton. He raises choice fruits, some of 
the best gi-oun in this part of the State, and has a 
great variety of small fruits, of which recently he 
has made a speci.alty. while his son Frank L. oper- 
ates the foundry. 

Mr. Woodward lirst came to this county with his 
fatiiei', Li-nis. in 1 83u, locating in the township of 
Clinton, where the latter died some years later. 
Lewis Woodward was born in Vermont .and in the 
War of 1812 was a private, arid later a non-com- 
missioned offleer, while his father, Ebenezer, was a 
native of N'ermont and was a private in the Revo- 
lutionary War. Late in life Ebenezer Woodward 
removed to York State, and died in Ontario County 
about 1882. His wife was a York State lady, who 
lived to a ripe old age. The father of our subject 
went from Vermont to Western New York in boy- 
lujod, and was there united in marriage. After the 
birth of their four children, .all sons, of whom our 
subject was the eldest, the parents ca.me to Michi- 
gan by tile Lake route, on the Government steamer 
'■Marcey," and landed in Toledo while it w.as yet a 
mere hamlet. They then took the road, or trail as 
it was genei-ally called, for Clinton, through cotton- 
wood swamps and over corduroy pike on foot, and 
after reaching Adrian they found it necessary to go 
to Palmyra in order to get to Clinton, tinall,y land- 
ing, May 1;'), 1835, in what is now the village of 
Clinton. It was a beautiful country even in its 
primeval condition, and sweetly perfumed with wild 
flowers. The_y bought ICO acres near Clinton, and 
on this the father- of our subject lived for some 
years. He was an active Whig and later a Repub- 
lican, a man of liberality and integrit}', and alto- 
gether a representative citizen. 

Our subject was well reared, and remained under 
the home rt)Of until twenty-eight years of age, when 
he engaged in genei'al merchandising in Grass Lake. 
IMich.. for two years. At the end of that time he 
engaged in farming, and afterward came to the 
town of t'lintou and established his plow works, to 
which lie gave his time and attention until recentlv. 



•^h 



•►-lh-4* 




■^sc 






5 



^^ ^.^j^l-4 






^ ■'-.■'■.^t.-»a^>>;L»iiaaSS»gSi; 



Residence OF Samuel Bryant , Sec. 2. Dover Township. 




Residence OF Peter Jacob, Sec 21. Ogdeis Township 









" 


f 


^ 






*^' 


I.KNAWKI. 


.1. ■ 

COUNTY. 401 . 




^vlien he began the cultivation of fruit. iMr. Wood- 


day-.school. He was a soldier in the War of 1812. 




ward \v;is united in ninrriasje to Miss Lois IkMiiphale. 


for which service he got a Land warrant, which he 




who (•.■line Iroiii S:ir.Mto-:i. N. V.. willi hrr |i.-iiviit>. 


loc.ited in ISarry County. 




and lia> liccn iv.-iicl |irin<'ip:dly in lliis .-(Miuly. Her 


Our snl)jc,'t rem.-nned at luune until he w.'isahout 




father, ulio \v:is a iMniicl-. .lied when she wm> a Miiali 


twenty-live yenrs old, assisting in the lahors of llie 




child, and hci- iiiulhcr i> .■d,-,, draii. Mr. .-ukI .M r^. 


fMrni in -iininier. :iiid in winter .'il tending the dis- 




Wu(»hvni-d h:ivc only niic rhihl. I'lank 1... \vh(. n.nv 


trict school. Later he enjoyed the .advantages of 




opci-atcs the louii(h-y wilh success. IIi' t..(ik lo wife 


the Adrian Lnion School for thi'ee or four year.s. 




. Came \an Tucyic. .-nid ih.^y arc the p.-nci,I> mCmic 


ami thii^ .-leipiii-ed a very l:iir education. At the 




child. Doinia. 


a-e of twenty-tive, lielieviug that the ti nu' had 




:\Ii-. \V()..du.ard has hem I'rcsldcnl ot'lhc Xilla-c 


com. for him to c,,mm.aH-e a careei- in life for him- 




BoanI r..rs..nu' time, and is a nieiuiKT uf the .\la- 


S( If. he purcha-ed -a f.-irm of ninety-six ina-es near 




.s,Hiic fraternity. lie i> aU,. a ehiirUa nieniher „\ 


hi- pre>eut, home, upon which he lived for the ne.xt 




the liiuc Lodge No. 17;-,, Ch:ipter .No. Id, K. A. .\l.. 


>i\ years, and greatly inipro\ed it Ij\ his exertions 




audC;. M. of Clinton Council No. l'C; Past (i rand 


and good mauMgcmenl. He thiai sold {\\\< (arm and 




Master of the C rand Council of Michigan and K. 


went to AllegMu ( ounty. Mich., wluav he Ixuight a 




T. ConimandciT No. 4, of Adrian. In politics lie is 


fjirm of I 10 acres. u| which \u- resided oiu> ve.ar. 




a Democrat. 


and whieh he then tra.le.l for the old Tcachoul 






farm of 110 a.u'cs. Here he has lived evi'r >ince. 




^yUo ' 






and ha- .-dso l.oiiuht sixty a.-ro in Kouu' Township. 




z^^ HAHLIsS W. SI-:LldCCK. i'rondnent among 


All the improvements on this laud, uhicli .-ire now 




(if^ the younger agrieulluriM> of Adiiau Town- 


of .x.elleut (pndity, ha n c hcen ma.le hy the present 




^^/ ship is the ,Mdi>ccl of this hii.ur.aphy, "ho is 


occupant with the exception ..f the house. The 




a native of Lenawee ( onnt-y, where he was iM.rn on 






the i)th of March, I.S(;l, on the original houn'stead 


all the varied grains .-nnl farm products, and i> well 




which his father took up in Adri.an Township, lie 


supplied with liv,: stock of a high grade. 




is the son of Khenezcr L. Selha'k, whos.- father, 


Our >ulijec| was married. Jan. l';',. l.S(;7. to .Miss 




W'Wy Selleck. wa- a ualiv.' of the State of New 


Phmbe .1.. daughter of Ira ;ni<l Kli/.ai.eth ( Ihamhle ) 




York. 


Kelley, of Sene.-,a County, \. V. Of thi- iim.m 




Ehcnezer wa^ horn .Sept. 1 'J, IT'.u;. in Oneida 


three children hav.' hcen horn, namely: Clara L, 




County, N. Y.. and died in Adriiin in l^'elniiary. 


L.,tta !•;. and Kll.ert L. Clara 1. was horn Sept. •_'(), 




1881. lie was nnu'ried to N.ancy Wi'tmore, April 


ISd;). :ind i> now :it home; >he at t,i>nd<><l Adri:ni 




3, 18-22, and eame to .\Ii.-higan in 1 .s:i(;. Ten elid- 


Colleue uidil compelled h\ f:d ling he.'dl li to rest for 




drenwere horn to them, seven of whom are living, 


a time from her -Indies. Lolta K. w.as horn M:nvh 




and named ;is follows: Morris. Naii<-y .Mntdd.-i. 


■.'7. 1S72. and i-:iiso,-it. 1 n- : she h.is at tended the 




Mary houisa, Charlott.^, Harriet Irene. Clmrles 






Wetmore and 11 er Klisha. TIio.m' who Iimvc 


turn and comi.lete her education, fllh.a-t. L. \\;is 




passed away arc Uutli. Cyuthi:i Iv and .lanio. .M i-. 


horn Feh. 7. 1 .S7.-.. an-l :ils,, reui.Min.- :U. home with 




Selleck was a mason hy trnde. Imt folloaed f.-irndng 


hisp:irents. 




for many years. 


.Mrs. Selleck's father ,-ame U, Mi.dnuan in 1 St,;!, 




Ebene/.er Sellcek w;i> .-i njeiidier ..f the ispiseopal 


loc:ilin- in thi> ,'onnty: h,' w:is a tarm,'r. :iud in 




Church, in whieh he W.MS .-maeliv.. and pr inenl 


early lit.' w:is cng:i-ed in l.o.atingon 1 he Krie C.-i- 




figure, and ".'is gie.'itly devotecl to the u(,rk of his 


n:d. He <lied :il hi- (hinnhter's Ikmuc in Lenawee 




church, to wlii<-h he gave with exeee.ling ii I.er.dity. 


County in 1 ss:;. at the :iue of sixty -Ii v,' y.^ars. His 




He never failed to eonti-iliute to the support of the 


\Tidow still Mirvives. .and makes her honu' with the 




nnriistry and the Imilding <if new .-hurehes. :iihI he 


subject of our sketch. H.-r father. Ir:. Kell..y. was 




' ' was also earnest and active in the work of the Suu- 


the .sou of .lohu Kelley, who married Mi.ss t harity ■ ■ 


J^ 




. . . 


■^" 










I 



.^^1-4. 



492 



LENAAYEE COUNTY. 



Covert, and was also a soldier in the War of 1812. 
The family of the Kelleys were principally profes- 
sional men, and were mostly long-lived people. 
Mrs. .S.'s people on her mother's side were natives 
of Seneca County, N. Y. Her mother was a daugli- 
ter of Clement Bramble, the sou of Moses Bramble, 
and her grandmother was Elizabetli Pringle, of 
Orange Count}', N. Y.. whose people were natives 
of that State. 

Politically Mr. .Sellecic lielongs to the Democratic 
faith, and votes the ticket of this party on National 
issnes, but is somewhat independent in local con- 
tests, being disposed to favor the best men. That 
he has been active in politics is evidenced b}' the 
fact that he filled the office of Town Clerk seven- 
teen years ago, and has been selected as a candidate 
for other local offices. He has been active in edu- 
cational affairs also, and for ten years filled the of- 
fices of School Director and School Treasurer in 
District No. 1, of Adrian Township. In the spring 
of 188;"), he was elected Justice of the Peace for a 
term of four years, which office he is now filling to 
the satisfaction of the entire communitv. 



DOORMAN B. 1 
I of a century] 
5) actively engn 



•► 



„ORMAN B. PIERCK. For over a quarter 
Mr. Norman 15. I'iercc has been 
engaged in agricultural pursuits in 
Fairfield Township, and as an enterprising agricult- 
urist has done much to further the interests of the 
community in which he lives. Mr. Pierce was born 
in Orleans County, N. Y., March 2, 1834, and is 
the son of John and Marietta (Reynolds) Pierce, 
natives of Otsego County, N. Y. They reared a 
family of eight children, five sons and three daugh- 
ters, of whom Nfirman B. was the seventh child in 
order of birth. 

In 184() Mr. Pierce, father of our subject, came 
with his family to Michigan, and settled in F'airfield 
Township, Lenawee County, whore he was engaged 
in farming for .'several years. In A|iril. I.s5;j. he 
had the misfortune to lose his wife, while on n visit 
to her old home in New York; she was fifty years 
of age. Mr. Pierce continued to reside in Fairfield 
for some years after the death of his faithful wife. 
In 1857 he started to revisit the home of his youth 
and early manhood, where he had passed so many 

■^ 



pleasant years, but while stopping on the way to 
visit his son in Clyde, Ohio, he sustained a serious 
injury from a fall, which resulted in his death in 
January, 18.57; he had been a faithful citizen, and 
his death was a loss to the community in which 
he had settled. 

Our subject was reared ou .'i farm, ;iiid n^ceived 
a practical training in all farm work, besides, at in- 
tervals, attending the public schools of his native 
and adopted States. He was twelve years of age 
when he accompanied his parents to Michigan, and 
being an active lad he was of great assistance to 
his father in those numerous duties devolving on a 
farmer's son. When he was about eighteen _years 
of age he returned to New York, and there re- 
mained until he was twenty-two years old, during 
which time he was married to Miss Sarah E., daugh- 
ter of Ira I-I. and Sarah R. (Calkins) Remington. 
Mr. Remington was a native of New York, and his 
wife of Nova Scotia. After their marriage they 
settled in New York State, where they continued 
to reside until 18.56, when they moved to Columbia 
County, Wis. In 1860 they came to Jackson 
County, Mich., and finally settled in Grand Rapids, 
Kent County, where they still live ; Mr. Remington 
is a bricklayer. They have reared seven children, 
namely: S. Ifiliza, Helen C, Leonard C, AI. Vina, 
Clara M., Charley R. and Arthur E. 

Mrs. Pierce, the eldest of this family, iv;is born 
in Monroe County, N. Y., Jan. 12, 1835, and was 
united in marriage with our subject Jan. 18, 1854. 
The practical training that she received under her 
mother's tuition in all matters pertaining to the 
care of a household has enabled her to contribute 
materially to the prosperity of her husband. One 
child has been born to hei-, Frank L., who married 
Miss Lora Heminwa3% and resides in the village of 
Weston where he is Postmaster; he is also Clerk of 
Fairfield Township. In the fall of 1856 Mr. and 
Mrs. Pierce went from New York to Columbia 
Cduuty, Wis. After living there three years, they 
removed to Fairfield Township, this county, where 
Mr. Pierce had spent a part of his you^h, and set- 
tled on section 20, which has since been their home, 
with the exception of one year, when Mr. Pierce 
bought and managed a hotel in Weston. 

Mr. Pierce's fine farm of eight}' .acres shows the 



Hl-^ 





' 


' 




-»- 1 






^, 


•^ 1 


I,EXAAVF.F 


COUNTY. 493 • 


^" 




results of careful cultivation. He lias eroctccl •^ul.- 


measles in the army near AVashington, D. C, and 






stautial Iiuildiuirs. well arlapted to the purposes for 


Mary is the wife of Joseph B. Denni.sun, and lives 






which they are intended, and has made many ..tlier 


at Beiitou Harbor. Mich. 






valuable inipn.veinents. Ilis conduilalile 1 e i- 


Onr subject w.as iMirn in M.a.lison Township, April 






pleasautly located. an<l i- Uie eenlei- of mn.'li hospi- 


■20. l,s:;(), and ua- the lirsl, child l.orn in this t.nvn- 






tality. .Mr. and Ml-. I'ien-e are hi-ldy re-aidc'd in 


ship. lb- inil)ili,..| will, the pure air of his native 






the euinninuity as kind neiolduMs and trusted 


soil lho>e ehanents of In^altli and strength which 






friends. .Mr. I'ierce i. a nieml.er of the Ma-onie 


lia\el.een the -e(avl of hi> success in lib'. After 






fraternity, and is .a h'udin.i: Deiaoia'.at of this lown- 


completing hi- primary -Indies in the disliict seh.x.l 






■ship. takin.u an active part, in all matter^ ..f polilic.-d 


he attended the seminary .at ;\Ionroe. after which 






interest. tiioui;li he has never aspiri'd to olliee. Init 


he returned to the homestead and entered in earnest 






h.'vs workeil for the interests of his parly. 


upon the farm i)uisuils. which he has since followed 
with the exc.ption of a lew years, when he was em- 
pl(Aed on the Lake Shore A- Michig.an Southern 






—►>"-£:; ( '>^I'^"k^'^ "^^^ — '■"" ' ^•^"' " 


Ilaihdad m the cap.acity. lirst of brakeman ,aud then 






'"' 


(Ui the Chicago A- Albm l{aih-..ad. \\liich position 






'V, yi, YHON W. HIiADISII. Manv of the peo- 


he wasobliged toi-eliiKpiish on ac(ainut of ill-health: 






in pie who first can,., to Madison Township 


his lailr.iad experhaice enduaced altogctliera iM'iiod 






1 111 were natives ,>f, or des,-en.iants of people 


of tliiitecn ye.ars. I n the spring . if 1 s.")i; ,M r. Bra- 






1 who had heen h..rn in New York State. 


dish, desiiiug a change of scene, repaired to New 






many of them in Wayne County. Among- tliese 


York City wluMv lu^ iH.ard.ul a st<.anua- bonml for 






were nniid)ered th<. parents of our sniiject, Nel.son 


tlu' I'aeitic Coast, After arriving >afely at his des- 






and I'liehe (Wilson) Bradish. who were natives re- 


tiu.ation he was vari.msly em yed in Calib.riiia 






spectively of Wa_yn(^ and Rockland (^unities, ami 


aliout tlnve :,nd ..nedialf years, ivtnr g to his 


I 




both born in 18().'i. They were married in the town 


nativ,. c.Minly in the fall ,,f IS.M). Thereafter for 






of Sodiis on the Sth i>f May. ISi'S, and ;i few weeks 


a time he ,aigtiL:.M| as a stock-de:d(a- with ex.adUait 






later started for the West and settled down upon .a 


result-, and invcst.Ml a part of hi- -urplii- capital in 






tract of land in ,Ma.lis,,u Town-hip. thi^ mtv. 


niiiety-hve a.avs of land in Mmlisim T,,wusliip. 






being niiinhered among the piomaas of 1 s-_'7. 


wheiv he has bnilt lip a homeslca.l entirely credit- 






Upon coming here Nelson I'.r.adish look' u|i a 


able to himself as a man of excadleiit taste- and 






(juavter section of laud in Aladison Township, and 


good juilgment. 






the year following put up a log house on section 


The la<ly who P.r the last twenty years has pre- 






16. After establishing himself and his young wife 


si(bMl with gnua. .and dignity ovia- the lions.diold 






comfortably, he i)roceeded with the cultivation of 


affairs (,f oni- snbjeid,, was formerly .Mi-s Maitlia A. 






the land, and remained there until the spring of 


Denuison, and became his wife dan. IT. isi;7. Mr-. 






18()0, when they retired from active labor and re- 


Bradish is the d.aiighter of Stephenson and Martha 






paired to a snug home near the outskirts of .Vdri.au. 


(Mason) Denuison. natives of New Y..ik State. 






where they spent their declining years. The father 


wliere her father w.as born June.-., Isoc. ,,nd her 






died on the 6th of May, 1875, and the mother, sur- 


mother .Inn.' .'C. isin. They were married in 






viving him nearly five years, p.assed away April 1 1, 


Farmington. Ontario Co., X. Y.. M.arcli .s. ISl'7, 






1880. To them were born six children— iMyron W., 


and not long afterwanl came t,,, .Mi,-hig.an an<l 






CuUen, Anne K., Warn<>i- ('.. :\Iary C. and one who 


located in thiscaainly during its early settlement. 






died in infancy, t'nllen is deceased: Anne is the 


Stephen Dennison w.as one of th,. lirst, men t,o till 






wife of J. W. Baldwin, a. prosperous farmer of 


the soil in Fairlield Township, and renraine.l there 






Madison Township: \\'arner served as a Union 


until the death of his wib-. April :i, l,s.-,;l. Some 






' soldier in the 6th United States Cavalry, .and died of 


years later he took up his abode at the home of our ' 




tfc ] 


^ 




■^^^ 






^* 




. 


1 





■•► 



494 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



subject ill Madison Township, where his death oc- 
uiirred March .'31, 1880. Their ten cliildren are as 
follows: Lydia S., Bernard M., Stephen A., Joseph 
B., Orin D., Mary A., Erastus M., John S., Martha 
A. and Ada J. Stephen is a resident of Berrien Coun- 
ty, Mich, ; Joseph is engaged in the grucery business 
at Benton Harbor; Orin is in the brick and tile busi- 
ness in Berrien County; Mary is a resident i if Kent 
County; Erastus died in infancy; Joliii i> coikIucI- 
ing a milk business at (xrand Hnpids; Ada dit'il 
when about eighteen _years olii: Mnrlh.-i A., llic 
wife of our subject, was born in l-'aii-licld r<)\vii>liip, 
Oct! 19, 1846, and spent the lirst nine year- of ln-i' 
life at the old liomestead. She then wcnl, tn ( oand 
Rapids with her parents, wliere she ifuuuned until a 
maiden of sixteen, tlien returned to Lenawee Coun- 
ty and lived witli her sister, Mrs. Ferguson, until 
her marriage. 'She is now the mother of three 
interesting daughters, namely : Norah Belle. Nina 
Blanche and Nellie Beatrice. 

Mr. Bradish, although by no moans an olHre- 
seeker, has served as Township Treasuier and held 
minor positions witliin the gift of his townsmen. 
Socially, he belongs to the Masonic fraternity, and 
politically, is one of the most reliable members of 
the IJepublican party. 



'^: 



(i^ LFRED II. WOOD, of the clothing ttnn of 
(§n Wood, Crane & Wood, at Adrian, with his 

•jfvk partners, stands at the head of the trade in 
jg* this city. Mr. Woixl is .me of the pioneer 

clothiers of Lenawee County, and has been located 
ill Adrian for nearly thirty years. As is natural in 
a man of enterprise and liberality, he has been 
prominently identified with the best interests of the 
city, holding many of its olHces, and is in all re- 
spects one of the most valuable nieiiiliers of the 
community. The main points of his histdiy are 
substantially as folli)w>: 

Mr. Wood was Ihiimi in the town of Slu^lby. Or- 
leans Co., N. v., Oct. l;;, l.s--".». lie lived on a farm 
with his parents, Leander and .\Iaiia (Cure) \\ nod, 
until sixteen years of age. I'he laniily in the mean- 
time had emigratfd frcnn .\ew Voik to Michigan, 
coming to this county in l.s.!:!, and [lurchased a 



farm on section 18, in Rome Township. Here they 
improved the farm and built up a comfortable 
homestead, where the death of the mother took 
place in Jaiiuarj', 1852. The father subsequently 
removed to Adrian, and died Sept. 10, 18()o. Le- 
ander Wood was born in Onondaga County. N. Y., 
June 22, IS()4, and his wife, Maria, in S.aratoga 
Comity, Oct. 4, 1800. They were mari-ied Sept. 
2;j, 1825, and became the parents of eight children, 
of whom seven are still living. The parents of our 
siiliji'cl well- iieoplo who were highly respected 
wlii'.i.'ver known, and there are many yet living in 
this county t^y whom their names are held in kindly 
remembrance. 

Alfred Wood, in 1.S4G, left the farm and went to 
Adrian, where he completed his education in the 
select school taught by Benjamin Hause. The fol- 
lowing year he commenced teaching in Madison. 
and in June, 1848, engaged as clerk at Adrian, in 
the dry-goods store of John R. Clark. Ilr con- 
tinued in the employ of this gentleman for four 
years, with such satisfactory results that lu' was ad- 
mitted to a partnership in the business in 1852, and 
the firm became Clark & Wood. In 1854 Mr. 
Clark withdrew, and onr subject became associated 
with Col. L. L. Comstock, the firm of Comstock & 
Wood existing until the fall of 1855. In the spring 
of 1 85(1 Mr. Wood resumed his former relations with 
his old partner, Mr. Clark, with whom he continued 
until Jan. 1. 1860. Mr. Wood then withdrew 
and purchased a stock of clothing and furnishing 
goods, and since that time has conducted a first- 
class trade in this connection. On the 15th of I<"eli- 
ruary, 1855, he was united in marriage with Jliss 
Alniira S. Comstock, daughter of Warner and Mary 
Comstock, of Adrian, the wedding being celebrated 
at the home of the bride in this city. The parents 
of iMrs. Wood were natives of New York, and came 
to this county in 1836. 

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Wood are as fol- 
lows: Alfred Willis, who was born Jan. 6, 1857, 
and now junior parlnei- in the clothing firm of 
^^dod. Crane A- Wood, of Adrian ; Gertrude M., 
who wtis )ioin.luly26. 185:1, and is in New York; 
lAIary. who died in infancy, and Eloise, who was 
liorji .lunc- 12. Isr.C, and is at honn'. 

Mr. Wood cast his lirst Presidential vote for 



u 



anil sinre 111: 

.if D.'llKHTa 

Willi llir.\Ia>,. 



1 liJLLlAAl H. MA'IIIKK. a re 

Vi """''" — ■i-^p-thi. 

W of 



COUNTY. 

■riic paiviilal Ik.uscIiuI.I iiicliidcl 
Iwi, .,r '.vli.iii, Miivixr; Williaii 

a r.'SHlcait uf ( ■(.ii>laul iiir. Mi.-h. 
Our snlijccl, >i.chl. Ins Ncnilliln 
i.-nt aii(] .\,Mv Vui-k. ic'Ovinii- 
<'ilii(al.i..ii. and caiiic tii .Mi.-liiL 
man I wiaii \ -l,\v,, years (if auc I 



1'. r. ISaU 



or mostly in Tcciiinscli 'I'liwiisliip, 
■csidcnt. (if tlif villajio. to uhicli he 
■ing- of I.SSO. after tnniiiiu over lii- 
■ liands of n. tenant, lie i> tlie off- 



deiil 
Toui 



Kair laiiiiiy oi lioou in 
li.al, State, in Darien, !•'; 
■2-2. ■riie.Mallier faniil 



riie o 
C'eiiiii 



;'li<j. 



Held County. M.ay 
of Engli.-U aiHH'str 
tliennnie in this e, 
the Mxleeiith e.ai 
our Mllijeet was 

iou-ly, .and an onlaineil niinister, in wnieli saia-ed 
calling he eontiniied ovei- half .a e.ailiiry and li\C(l 
to an advanced age. lie was ea|itnred liy the 
British at one lime on a, Sunday morning while de- 
livering hi.s sermon, and eonlined a prisoner three 
vveek.s on Long Island Sound. 

The grandfather of our snl.jeel. .los. ph Mallier, 
served seven years in the K'evolution.ary War .and 
retired with the rank of Cilonel. lie married a 
Jliss Seott, of Danbury, CN.mn., and they became 
the parents of ten children, among whom was David 
S., the father of our siibj, ■,■(,. D.avi.l S. Mather was 
born in Rairlield County, Conn.. Dec. 1-1, 17:i.-,. 
He learned shoemaking in his yontli ami became an 
extensive manufacturer and dealer in boots and 
shoes, which business he followed during the active 
years of his life. He marrieil Miss Kli/.abeth Fan- 
cher, a native of the town <if Warwick. Orange Co., 
N. Y., and the daughter of S. Famdier. Ksq. After 
his marriage he settled in Darien, Conn., where he 
carried on business nntil^setting out for the Terriiorv 
of Michigan. He arrived here in the month of 
June, 1845, locating near Three Kiveis, where his 
death took place Sept. 20, 1845, when he w.as but 
forty-nine years of age; his widow survived him 
many years, dying in the same place .Inne G, is,s;5. 



isliip. lor wlneh he paid s:;.(;(l per .a,a-e, and 
which h.' iranslornieil inio .a goo.l farm with suit- 
able biiihiiugs. ai:d hnally sold .at, a fair prolit. 
Cpon coming to this county he purchased the uell- 
known property <if Isaac .Vilams. which included 
l-20.a<a-es. located two miles east of the village of 
Tecumseh. Much of this was iii.adc up ,,r day and 
.sand, so well mi.xed that by carcfiii inltivali.m it 
has become exceedingly fertih- and valuable. 

Our subject was married, in Clinton County, 
Mnivh •-'(;. Isk;. to Miss Clarin.bi F., daughter of 
( iintun .and Clar.a llrcwstei-. ii.alivcs of York State, 
and now il.'ceasc.!. she w.as born .Ian. 1, t.S-24.and 
continued witii her paica,!- until her ni.arriage. Mr. 
and Mrs, Mather be.-ameUic par.aits of live chil- 
dren, tuoof whom died in childhood; three lived 
to mature years ami tw,, survive. Harriet N.isthe 

wife .,f Kiifus Hayni 1. a resident of Mason, this 

.State; Ann marrie.l Kiigene Fovett*, a well-to-do 
farniei' of Teciimseh Township; Charles B. died 
wh(ai twciity-tuo ye.ars of age, of consumption. 
.Mr. and .Mrs. .Mather are active members of the 



-^31- 



^^:4^ TEPHKiX TORBRON identified himself 
W^ with the interests of Dover Township, in 
l^J) which he lives, in the early days of its set. 
tlement. and has ever Hiice been a valued 
ami valuable member of the (annninnity. His resi- 
dence is upon a portion of section 14. His parents 
were Andrew and H.aiinah (Hare) Torbi-on, the 
father a native of Scotland, and the mother of 



*► ■ M* 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Dutchess County, N. Y. After marriage they set- 
tled in Dua.neshurg, Schenectady Co., N. Y^., wliere 
they lived until 1829, when they removed to lAIoniue 
County, in the same State. Mr. Torbron's death 
occurred in is;;i. I]i> widow continued to live 
there imtil the fulh.wiii^ yri\i\ when she came to 
Michigan and spent her last years with her son^. in 
Madison Township, dying there twelve years laler. 
She was the mother of four sons — William, Ste|ihen, 
Nicholas and George. 

The subject of this sketch was the second son in 
order of Ijirth, a,nd was born in Scliencctady Coni}ty, 
N. Y., Aug. IS, 18();'(. He was Ijred to tlie life of 
a farmer, and it was early imi)ressed on iiis mind, 
by the example of his worthy parents, that <lili- 
gence and lionesty were the surest guides to a life of 
independence. He continued to reside in New Y'ork 
for stmie years after he had attained his majorit}', 
and in the meantime was married, in Monioe 
Country, that State, to Miss Lydia Wells, a native of 
Ontario County, N. Y., tiie marriage occnrring in 
October, 1832. 

In 1884 Mr. Torbron left Monroe County, N. Y., 
where he had been engaged in farming, and came 
with his wife, to Michigan, to avail himself of the 
cheap land and agricultural resources of the Terri- 
t(iry. They lived in Madison Township a year, 
during' which time Mr. Toibron had a good chance 
to look around the country and decide where it was 
best to locate. In February, 1835, he having de- 
cided to settle in Dover Township, removed with 
his family to the section where he now lives, and 
since that time he has been .actively engaged in 
farming there. He has reclaimed almost his entire 
farm of 120 acres, and has 100 of it in a highly pro- 
ductive state. He has erected good buildings and 
made many other improvements, which have added 
much to the thrifty and neat appearance of liis 
place. The faithful and loving wife, to whom he w-as 
wedded in his younger years, departed this life at 
their home, Jan. 18, 1870. No children had been 
bora of their union. 

Mr. Torbron was again married, on the 20th of 
March, 1872, in Y'psilanti. The maiden name of 
his second wife was Mary E. Whitmore. She is a 
native of Cleveland, Ohio, aud was born Sept. 20, 
1837. Her parents were Earl and Elbra (Pattce) 

%^ '■ 



Whitmore, the latter of whom was the widovv of 
Jesse Emerson at the time of her marriage with Mr. 
Wliitniore. Both of Mrs. Torbron's parents were 
natives of Western New York, and had removed to 
Oliio in an early day. They came to Michigan 
s(jme time previous to their daughter's marriage, 
and settled in Blissfleld Township, but a year later 
removed to Y'psilanti, in this State. They were the 
l):irents (if two children— George and Mary E. 

Mrs. Torbron is a devoted and consistent com- 
nuuiicant of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and 
endeavors, by a blameless life, to set an example 
that will benefit the rising generation. Mr. Tor- 
bron belongs to Clayton Lodge, F. & A. M. In 
politics he is an earnest Republican, and in hearty 
sympathy with the principles of that party. 

Mr. T(n'bron is a sincere Christian, strictly hon- 
orable and upright in all his dealings with his fellow- 
men, lie has never identified himself with any 
church, but is a believer in Christ and the doc- 
trines taught in the New Testament. 



^■^- 



ENRY' C. OWEN, a very thrifty general 
1 farmer, situated on section 8, Clinton Town- 
ship, resides on the old homestead of eighty 
acres of valuable and v\ell-improved land, 
and gives close attention to the details of his busi- 
ness. Mr. Owen was born on his farm on the 10th 
of Noverabei-, 1846, and is the son of Henry Owen, 
who w.as born in Herkimer County, N. Y., and 
reared to farm life until he reached his majority, 
receiving the common-school education customary 
to farmers' boys at that time. He was born March 
17, 1804, and came to Michigan when a mere boy 
and this section of countrj' was yet in its infanc3\ 
He was married in Clinton. Township, July 14, 
1836, to Miss Mary King, who was a native of 
Connecticut, born in Suffleld, July 12, 1807. Her 
father died when she was a child, and her mother 
also passed away in her native State. The daugh- 
ter came to Michigan with a brother. 

Soon after their marriage the parents of oui- sub- 
ject moved upon their farm and busied themselves 
in its improvement. Although Mr. Owen bought 
it of its third owner, it remained uncultivated until 





f 


f 




-«- 






^- 


'^ 


T^* 




^» 




4 LKNAWEl 


: COUNTY. 497 ' 


1 




he iiitiodiicod the i)lowshai-e. Jlcre Ww pMiciils 


June 27. is3(i. in ()nei<ia County. N. Y. He 






resided until their dwilh, the father |)a>sin,o- mvay 


was there rciired to iminhood and learned the car- 






Alls. 1. \^^^K I'olioucd liy the iimlhci- Au<;iis1 17. 


penter's tr.'Hic, which he followed tors,, me time 






one ye.-irhiter. They uviv nieniher^ ..f th.- ( '.m-r.- 


after cominu to this siMte. in ls.-,s. | fc Iims -ine'c 


1 




gational Chineli. mimI jm ,lilie:.lly 1 !„• fallier u :,s m 


turned hi- .-iltention to |.-,rni pur>uits, nnd ha- at- 






Kepniilieuii. llcniy ('. Owni wtis i,i„. only son nnd 


l:iined qiih,- :in envi,-ib]<' re|jiit:it i.Hi a- m -toek- 






the youngvr ot luo cliildren l.oin to hi> |i:ir.'iitv 


-r.nvci-, in which he N.ms lieen ,-uce..s,-ful. 






His sister Elizabeth is now Mr-. Wrlls. tor -krlch 


From tl,e .Morrell family have -prung many .■mi- 






of whom see biography <.r 11. .1. Wells in this vol- 


iH-nt mi'ii and women, nn.i the Hulls als,, were 






ume. Henry (;. was reared on tlir lanii iiiilil lii> 


wiileiy known tlir..n,i;houl. New fhi-l.-in.l as reprc- 






majority, receiving- ;^ common-sci 1 cdnc.-ii ion 


scnlntives ,.r its e,lncr,tion and enterpri-e. Enoch 






such as was ol)tai]iable in the pnblii' scl Is .-il llial 


.Morrell. liic p;it,Tnal gr^indfather ,)f our subject, 






period. 


wa- .1 iiMtive of .Maine, where he was reared to 






On the Kith ot August, lis.s;;, .Mr. Owm Ird i,, 


manln.o.l .m.l married. After the birth ..f sever.al 






the !ilt!u- the mai<len of his choice. Miss Ann:i N. 


children \\<' remove(l uit.li his familv to Oneida 






Oliver, who was born in Rochester, N. 'i'., Aug. IC, 


County, N. V.. dnrin- its e;irly settlement, locating 






18.54. She is a daughter of James and .Martha 


in the township of \ Cron;!. where he spent the re- 






(Hawkins) Oliver. .'It present n-sidinu on a farm in 


mainder .>f his life, lie secured po.ssession of a 






Franklin Tou nship, whi<'h they have o<-ciipie<l since 


lr,-ict,.f wild l.an.l, where he made some improve- 






l,S.'i4. They are natives of Knglaiid, and after 


ments, but did not live to be .aged, his death occur- 






their marriage in 18,57 emigrated to Rochester, 


ring when lu' was fifty-si.v years of ,age. He 






TS'. Y., where they resided until they came to .Miehi- 


married Miss S.allie Ilibbard, a native of Maine, 






gan. 


and .-he also died at the homestead in Oneida 






Mrs. Owen was educated in Fr.anklin .•iml Leslie. 


County, wluai their son Asa, the father of our 






and remained at home until about the time of Ihm- 


subject, was a young man. Asa Morrell was a 






marriage. She is the nnither of two children — 


youth of fifteen when his parents removed to Oneida 






Grace M. and ])wight 11. .Mr. and Mrs. Owen .ire 


County, N. V., to which the jo rney was made 






Congregationalists in their religious liclicf. ;ind 


<iveihiiid with te:ims of oxen .-iiid horse-, and occu- 






politically Mr. Owen is .•!, Republi(%-ui. 


|)ied .six weeks' time. He c(Hitinued with his 
parents in Oneida County until their decease, and 






■ =3 ti ai .^ 


lived to the age of seveuty-tw(j years, his death oc- 
(airring in 1874: the mother had died in 1872, aged 






^T^REDKRICK K. MORREl.L. The subject of 
||— (g; this sketch has l)een a resident of .Alaeon 
/ll, Township since 1870. at which time he lo- 


.seventy years. The father was a member of the 






Adventist Church, in the faith of wuich he re- 






mained until the last. In later years, politically, he 






cated upon eighty acres of land on section 24. 


was a Re])ublican. 






This was partially improved, and after a few years 


F'rederick E. Morrell was reared under the home 






he added forty acres in the same townshi|) .-ind an- 


roof and received the advantages of a common- 






other forty of timber laml farther south in Ridge- 


school education. He became familiar in early 






way Township. He has been a resident of Li'uawee 


years with the various employments of farm 






County for a period of eighteen years, and lias 


life, and was quite content to follow this as his 






watched its growth and development with tlie 


chosen vocation. Upon reaching manhood and 






interest which every intelligent citi/cn feels in re- 


starting out in life foi- himself, he chose for his 






gard to the locality which he selects as liis abiding- 


wife a maiilen of his own township. Miss Henrietta 






l)lace. Our subject is the third son and fifth child 


A. Lawton, to whcjm he was married at the resi- 






of Asa and Laransa (Hull) Morrell, natives respect- 


dence of the bride, March 23, 18t;2. The jjarents 




g^ 


ively of Maine and New York State, and was born 


of Mrs. Morrell, Joshua W. and Matilda (Ayers) ' 


1 








4* 




I 


- 





•► 



498 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Lavvtun, were of New England ancestry, and edu- 
cated in Oneida County, N. Y., where they were 
niavi-iiMl ■■Mid i(Mred thrir fniiiily. J.ater they re- 
moved to Alliiou, Dane Co., Wis., where tlie 
decease of both took iihice when tliey were well 
stricken in years. The father had followed farming 
all his life and was recognized throughout that 
region as a kindly. Christian gentleman, and a con- 
sistent member of tlie Baptist Church. The 
mother had lieen I'eai-ed in the Presbyterian faith, 
to which she clung devotedly until her death. 
The paternal grandparents, Joseph and Nancy 
(Dennison)Lawton, were also born in New England, 
where they spent their entire lives, 

iVIrs. iVIorrell was the yonngest daughter of her 
parents, and w^as born in Verona Township, Oneida 
County, May 14, 1841. She received a good edu- 
cation and engaged in teaching some time before 
her marriage. Of her union with our subject there 
were born three daughters: Lilly L. and Minnie L., 
are at home with their parents, having completed 
their education at the High School in Tecumseh; 
Edith M. became the wife of William Kniffen, of 
Ridge way Township, and died of quick consumption 
four months after her wedding day. Mr. and Mrs. 
Morrell, after their marriage, settled in Verona 
Township, Oneida County, where they remained 
eight years, Mr. M. occupying himself as a carpen- 
ter. They came to Southern Michigan in IMTO, 
and soon afterward took possession of their present 
homestead, which their united efforts have made 
one of the most desir.able and attractive in Ma- 
con Tcwnship. Mr. Morrell, politically, afliliates 
with the Democratic party. Mrs. M., with her 
eldest daughter, is a devoted member of the Clu-is- 
tian Church. 

ELEG C. HAVILAND. Among the early 
.settlers of this township still living, a link 
between the brave pioneer of the past and 
the rising generation, no name is more 
respected than that of Peleg Haviland. He is a 
native of New York, that State which has sent such 
a large quota of her sons to assist in bringing 
Michigan to her present conspicuous and powerful 



J 



position in the Union. He was born in Providence 
Township, Saratoga Co., N. Y., March 'iG, 1813. 
His father was Ingursnn Haviland, a native of 
Dutchess County, N. Y., and the son of .James 
Haviland, who was born and reared in the same 
county. The grandfather, a shoemaker by occu- 
pation, married a lady of New York State, named 
Martha Ingui'son, and they sjient their declining 
years in Providence Township, Saratoga Co., N. 
v., dying at an advanceil age. Ingnrson Haviland 
grew to manhood in S.iratoga County, becoming a 
tiller of the soil, and married Alice Chase, a native 
of that county, who bore him eleven children, 
our subject being tlie third in order of birth; Mr. 
Haviland and his sister Esther alone survive. 

Mr. and Mrs. Haviland removed with their 
family to Royalton, Niagara Co., N. Y., in 1821, 
settling in the unbroken wilderness, where they 
became actively engaged in reclaiming the .soil from 
its virgin state. Conceiving that Michigan offered 
greater possibilities for the enterprising farmer, 
the father of our subject, in the month of May, 
1834, left the home that he h.ad built up by so 
much toil and liardshi[), and with his wife and five 
of their children pushed on to the land of promise. 
Coming to Detroit by water, he there purchased a 
team of oxen which he attached to a wagon that 
he had brought with him, and traveling by that 
slow mode of conveyance they came on the Chi- 
cago turnpike to Raisin Township. Here the 
father and our subject took up 160 acres of unim- 
proved land on section 32, and built a small log 
cabin. 

Less tlian a (piarter of a century previously, the 
Government surveyors had reported that the inter- 
ior of Michigan consisted only of " vast tamarack 
swamps, bogs, and sand barrens, with not one acre 
in a hundred fit for cultivation," and the geogra- 
phers supported this statement. But when; under 
Gov. Cass's vigorous administration, the Chi- 
cago turnpike from Detroit and other roads had 
been constructed inl.o the interior, this view was 
found to be false, and the country began to be 
slowl_y inhabited; the opening of the Erie Canal in 
1S25 gave an added impetus to the settlement of 
Michigan. On this tract of unbroken land the 
family made their home and once again began the 



t- 



LKNAWKK COUNTY. 



499 < 



task of preparing; tin- land loi- (■iilti\ alion. lUil, 
they had not been lung in this new country when 
the shadow of death fell ovci- ilic llnolicild of that 
huniWIc log cabin, and the IiusIkuiiI .•nid falluT \v.-i> 
taken from them. This u-as a grcal -drmw In ihc 
family and to the little commiiiiily in whicji he had 
settled. It is enough to say uf liini that his vvrvy- 
day life was in accordanee with the |irinciiilf> incul- 
cated by the (Quakers, of which sect he was a 
worthy member. The care of tlic faniil\ nuw 

twenty-one years of age, .and nianfidly did he per- 
form iiis part. His niotlu-i- wa- the \\. .rtliy wife ..f 
a [)ioneei', and a Jeading s|)iiit in Ihc Society of 
Friends, iiaving been an KIdcr for -c\<aal ye.ars. 
She was sixty-two years ohl at the time of licr 
death, which took place .Ian. 4. is.-.i. 

Two years after leaving .New \'oik. Mr. llavi- 
land retnrned to wed .Miss j.aiira Sl.adc, of Somer- 
set, Niagara County, the marriage taking place 
June 14, 1836. She was l)oni in Farminglon. 
Ontario Co., N. Y., Sept. 21, I. si'.), and is the 
daughter of Lawton and Pliehe (.Monroe) Shcle, 
natives of Dutchess County, N. V. .\fler llicir 
marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Slade renioxed to Ontario 
County, and thence some years later removed to 
Niagara County; iu the year 1 s;i.') they wciii to 
Ohio, and two years later came to Michigan, 
where they made their home in liai>in Townslii|i. 
until their death at a good ohl age: they were 
esteenie<l members of the .Methodist Episcopal 
Church, .Mrs. Haviland's early years, until her 
marriage, were passed mostly in Niagara Connty. 
under the parental roof. Seven children have been 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Ilaviland. of whom three are 
deceased, namely: Hiram, Phebe and .lohn, who 
were all married. Those living are, llulda. wife of 
Thomas Savage, residing in Adrian 'I'ownship. 
where her husband is proprietor of a meat market; 
Rocina, the wife of Moses Bowei-inan, -Ir.. i-esiding 
in Grand Traverse County, Mich.; Nancy, the 
wife of Stephen Bowerman, living on a farm in 
Raisin, and Emerson, who married Ella Haviland. 
and they reside on the Haviland homestead. 

Mi\ Haviland has always lived on the land taken 
up by his father and himself, and has liuilt for his 
family a comfortable home. He has a good farm. 



w hich <aiul.a,ins 1 ID acres of land under a high state 
of cultivation. Mucii of Mr. Haviland's sucee.ss 
in life is no doubt dtU' tu hi.- early i^xperiences, 
which strengthened ;iii<l developed his character. 
Mr. and Mr-. Ilaviland are nieuibeis of the Society 
of Fiiends. and in their daily lives .an.l kindly 

and goodnes- of the faith whicli they profess. 
Mr. Ilaviland has heen Se(avt.ary of the church for 
over thirty years. I- .a >l iirdy ad voi-ate of Repub- 
lican prin<aples. and has servi'd hi> town faithfully in 
public ollices, having been llighw.ay Commissioner 



^^i^-<^^>^i»»- 



^^ IC H A EL M U LZE R. The name of this gen- 
tleman is familiar among the business men 
of Adrian as representing one of its most 
imixirtant interests, the boot and shoe trade. 
In this he has had ample experience, serving a 
thorough apprenticeship in his native Kingdom of 
Bavaria. The youth of that country are usually 
(atnipelled to serve a longei- time ;it a trade than 
tho-e of America, and ar<> sehhiu) graduated unless 
liecoming thoroughly f.amiliar with that which they 
liave undertak(ui. In consequence they are, almost 
witlnmt exce|)tion, expert workmen no matter w'hat 
their calling. 

Mr. .Mulzer was born June II. 1 .S2G, and was the 
youngest of live children, the offs[)ring of John G. 
and Elizabeth (Rupprecht) Midzer, who were also 
of German birth and parentage. The father tilled 
a small farm in the Kingdom of Bav.aria, and there 
both p.arents spent their entire lives. .Michael, in 
connnon with the chihiren of that country, w.as 
placed in school at an earl_v age and pursued his 
studies until a youth of fourteen years. He spent 
the two years following assisting his father around 
the homestead, and then commenced learning the 
shoemaker's trade. After completing an apprentice- 
ship he visited various cities in the interest of large 
dealers in boots and shoes, and was tlius eni|)loyed 
until in March, 1848. 

I'oung Mulzer had been in the habit of keeping 
his eyes open to what was going on around him, 
and he believed that he could make better headway 



LKNAWEK COUJVTY. 



fiocially and flnaneially on the soil of another conti- 
nent tlian his own. Accordingly, after due prepara- 
tion he embarked on board a sailing-vessel at the 
port of Bremen, and after a voyage of six weeks, 
landed in New York City on tlio otii of May. 
From the metropolis ho made his way directly to 
Southern Michigan, and after a short stay at Mon- 
roe came to Adrian, arriving here on the 5th of 
July following. Soon afterward he engaged with 
the firm of Lennell & Philbrook. who were prin- 
cipally employed in general repairing of boots and 
shoes, and continued with them until August, 1851. 

Our subject, in the meantime, true to the instincts 
which he had inherited from his prudent and sub- 
stantial German ancestry, had lived economically 
and saved something from a quite moderate s:il:uy. 
He now commenced business for himself in a small 
way, and by the exercise of great industry and i)er- 
severance, from the repairing of boots and shoes, 
began to work up a trade in tiiis line wiiich soon 
gave evidence of becoming oni' ol the notalile in- 
dustries of a growing city. Mr. M. at length was 
obliged to enlarge his facilities, and finally branched 
out as a manufacturer, adding tliis department in 
1853. ■ This he abandoned in 1 .S80, l)ut has con- 
tinued in trade, .-nel has built up .-i large and prolit- 
able patronage. During these years there has 
been growing up about him a blooming family, and 
he now has two sons who assist him in the manage- 
ment of the business, and afford him relief from too 
much care. Mr. Mulzer now owns the building oc- 
cupied by his business, and he also is the |)ossessoi' 
of a fine farm just outside of the city limits, half of 
it lying within the town of Madison. This farm 
embraces 1 lOacres. which lias lu'cii lirought to a high 
state of cultivation, and which, with its location, con- 
stitutes it a very valuable piece of property. The 
residence is elegant and commodious, and there is a 
line barn with all the other out-buildings required 
to complete the model country home. For a man 
who arrived in Adrian with<.)ut means, in fact $7 in 
debt, he makes a very tine showing indeed. 

One of tlie most important events in the life of 
our subject, and which doubtless had much to do 
with his success in life, was his marriage, which oc- 
curred in the spring of l.s4'.t, his bride being Miss 
Margaret Finzel. of Adrian, who was also a native 



of Bavaria, and who came to the United States with 
her parents when quite young. The little house- 
hold established at that time, .after the lapse of years 
was brightened by the birth of eleven children, 
nine of whom nrc ■^till living: M. George is en- 
gaged in the lioot, and shoe business, at Seattle, 
Wash.Ter, ; .bihu i<. is in the store with his father: 
Rosa is propiielor of a lloiuisliiiiL; millinery business 
in Adrian; Caroline died when twenty-three years 
of :ige; Christine A. is the wife of I). Campse, and 
lives in Adrian; Mary, K. Conrad, Frederick. Mag- 
gie and L<niis;i nnike their home with their parents, 
Frederick and JMaggie assisting their father in the 
store. William was killed by the falling of the 
graml >t;iiid at the fair grounds in 1870. 

Mr. Mulzer. upwu becoming a naturalized Ameri- 
can citizen, identilied himself with the Democratic 
party, of which he has since been a stanch sup- 
porter. He keeps himself well posted upon current 
events, and takes a lively interest in the prosperity 
of the American people at lai'ge. and especially 
those of his adopted State and county. He has per- 
formed a father's duty by his children in a most ad- 
mirable manner, supplying them with the advan- 
tages of a good education and fitting them to take 
their stations in life as the offspring of a worthy and 
pi'ominent citizen. 

J*^ANn^:L D. SINCLAIR, well known in 
jY business and social circles in the city of 
^ Adrian, among whose people he has lived 
— for a period of fifty -tliree years, is a native 

of Bro.adalbin. N. Y., and was born April Hi. 1805. 
His father, Duncan Sinclar, born iNIarch 15, 1772, 
was the sou of Hugh Duncan Sinclair, and both 
were natives of Scotland and farmers by occupation. 
In 1798 Duncan Sinclair emigrated to America, 
anil not long .-ifterward liec.ame a resident of Mont- 
gomery County, N. Y., where he purchased a tract 
of wild land, upon which he operated two or three 
years, when, selling out, he purchased land in 
Broadalbiu, where he established a comfortable 
home and spent the remainder of his days, his death 
talving place when he was fifty-four years of age. 
He had married in his native Scotland, Miss Chris- 






"^T* 



V..ik. 



4 



tie Me-Naiii^'btiin, :i iiatiNc nl' hi? own coiai 
tlio young people (.'inliaiked on tlio All;uitir 
for tlu'ir brkl:il tour, ni.aking tlio voyiiyc 
country in nine weeks, and lainling in i\c\ 
May 10, 17lt8. They wrre nnioiii: llie e:nii 

iieers of tlic Enipiie Slat.-, ami einlureil in ci u 

with other people aruiind llieui llir li.-ir.l.-hiii- .-umI 
privations of life in a new sellleincnl. 'riicy lie- 
eaiue the parents of leii ehililicn. .-okI the molher. 
after the death of her luishand, reni.ivrd Ic, Hills- 
dale County, Mieh., wliere her -ieath took pl.-iee 
about 184!). The sous, like their lather hefoic 
them, all engaged iu agricultural pursuits with llu' 
exception of one, who learned the Iraile of a nnisiui. 
Duncan Sinclair served in the \\ ar of IsIl'. 

The subject of this biograiihy i- Hi.' eldest living 
member i>f his father's family, lie wa> in early life 
trained to habits of industry, .-ind when a lad of 
twelve years went to Albany. N. V.. when he en- 
gaged with a grocer, foi- whom he oiliciated as derk 
for a period of eighteen monlli-. He then appren- 
ticed himself to a merchant tailoi-. Ira I'orlvr, I'.-n.. 
who was a near ueigblior of M.irlin \'an Huicn, 
afterward President of the I'niled st.-ites. Two 
years later Mr. Ptn-ter retired from business, but 
procured for young Sinclair :i ^ilii.alion wilh ;i lii-ni 
iu Schenectady, where he rem.-uued until twenly 
years of age. In the meantime his latlier had died. 
and he subsequently removed with his mother lo 
Livingston County, N. Y.,and enuauc<l in the cloth- 
ing business three years. In |.s.!(l he reiiaired to 
Albion, and in company with a partner carried on 
the clothing bnsiness there until October, l.s;;i. 

Mr. Sinclair now decided to seek his fortinie iu 
the young and rapidly growing Territory of Mich- 
igan, and was accomp.-inied on the journey by his 
bride of a month. Upon reaching Tremaiiisville, 
Ohio, however, they were induced to spend the 
winter there, Init iu April following they resumed 
theii' jouriie}^ and took up their r<>sidenee in A<lrian, 
where our subject associated liiniself with l):iniel 
Wilkinson, and they continued in Ihe el<.>thiiig 
trade until l.s;;,s. Mr. Sinclair w:is then eleeteil 
Justice of the Peace, and later County Treas- 
urer, holding the latter olHce two terms. .Mr. 
Sinclair, upon coming to this county, ' was at 
once recognized as a man of more than ordinary 



■•► 



l.KNAWKK COluNTY. 



ability, .and aftei- having discharged in a credit- 
.ible manner the responsibilities which had been 
already committed to him was, in 18 18, elected 
Stati' Senator and atteniled the lirst session 
of the Legisl:itin-e held .-it Lansing. hi 1 s4i) 
Cov. K,-nisoin eoniniissioned him Brigadier <ien- 



.\Ii 



s niadi' A.ssistant 
Southern ^V: Nortli- 
ei-u Indi.'Ui:. Uailw.-iy, wliieh p,isil.i,.n he held eight 
years, and was then employed by I'inkerton's 
Detective Agency until the fall of 18;")'.). In the 
spring of 18t;() he w.-is elected Supervisor of the Sec- 
ond and Third Wards of the city of Adrian, which 
office he held for :i period of eighteen years, and 
aC(|uitt,ed himself in .-i niauner highly civilitable to 
his uood jndunieni and .ibility. and to the satisfac- 
tion of II, e |ie,,|,le of il„. town>hii.. He had always 

been intel'esteil in the e^t.-d iii~li nH-nl of educational 

till' i.nblie seliools at Adri.aii, and served on the 
board some years. During this time he had noted 
with intense .satisfaction the growth and progress 
of his adopted city, and has been no unimportant 
I'.-ictor in elevatini; it to its prominent position 

He h.-id ever liecii willing to contribute of his time 
and iiu'ans in the furtherance of worth3- enterprises. 
.and fully established himself as one of its repre- 
sentative men, ;iiid closely identified with its inter- 
ests. 

A few months before 
year, Mr. Sinclair was 
Miss Elizabeth, daughte 
Litchfield. Conn., the wi 
home of the bride in lir 



reaching his twenty-ninth 
married, Oct. 2, 1834, to 
• of Chancellor Hyde, of 
Iding taking place at the 
.ek|iort, N. V. The Hyde 
family was of English descent, and the father of 
Mrs. Sinclair was a farmer by occupation. The 
mother, whos(> maiden name was Polly Birdsey, 
was also a native of Connecticut. :md of Engli.sh 
ancestry. She w.-is bom in Seneca County, N. Y., 
Dec. 31. 181.5. Her parents spent their last years 
in that State. Of this union there were born a 
family of children, of whom the record is as fol- 
lows: Henry was connected for some time with the 
Times, of .Vdrian; Ivlward ^V . is junior member of 
the wholesale drug firm of Myers Brothers ct Co., 



•> j k 4 » 



^ 



."iO'i 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



St. Louis, Mo. ; Daniel C. is engaiied in the drug 
business at Troy, Kan.; Mary E. istlie wife of Gen. 
William Humphrey, of whom n sketcli may he 
found elsewhere in this volume: Harriet M. is the 
wife of Thomas S. Applegate, editor of tiie Adri.in 
Times, whose biogTa])hy is published on anuther 
page. 

Mr. Sinclair, in 1.S47, connected himself with the 
Masonic Lodge at Adrian, and has since lieen held 
as one of its most valued and worthy members. 
He has occupied the offices of P. M. and King in 
Chapter 10, is Generalissimo in Commandery No. 
4, and Treasurer in the Council. He also belongs to 
the I. O. O. F., being the first presiding officer of 
the order in this State. lu this he is now Chaplain, 
belonging to the Patriarchal branch. 

The Sinclair family residence is one of the land- 
marks of Adrian, a substantial and comfortable 
structure, over whose threshold have passed the feet 
of many honored men and women who have long 
since been called hence. Over the head of Mr. 
Sinclair there have passed the snows of eighty-three 
winters, and as the result of a temperate life and 
correct habits he is in the enjoyment of a green old 
age, comforted with the reflection that his life ha> 
not been in vain, and that he possesses the esteem 
and confidence of all those who have known him 
so long and so well. As one of the pioneers of this 
county he is regarded with the deepest reverence 
and respect, and has acquitted himself in the most 
praiseworthy manner as an honest man and a good 
citizen. 



•«'«#Ji 



^^n^er. 



eAPT. BENJAMIN F. GRAVES, who for 
the last nine years has been numbered 
among the prominent citizens of Adrian, 
and earned his title by honorable service in the 
Union army during the late Rebellion, was born in 
Charlotte, Chautauqua Co., N. Y., May 19,1839. 
His early years were passed on the farm, and his 
limited qircumstances compelled him to enter upon 
the active duties of life with a common-school edu- 
cation. 

Mr. Graves left the Sinclairville school in Chau- 
tauqua County in 1859, and repaired to Wairen 
County, Pa., where for the following eighteen 



months he was engaged in lumbering. Early in 
the spring of 18()1 his interests in this field of la- 
bor called him to Pittsburgh, Pa., where he found 
himself in the midst of active pre])arations for war. 
Recruits were being enlisted, companies and regi- 
ments w<;re leaving for their rendezvous, and on 
his way home, via Cleveland, Ohio, young Graves 
enlisted, April -2-2, 18(i|,as a private in Company 
G, 1 9th Ohio Infantry, for the term of three months. 
He accompanied that regiment through its long 
marches into Western Virginia, under Gen. McClel- 
lan, and i)articipated in the battle of Rich Mount- 
ain, July 11. They left that section of country a 
few weeks later, when ' the regipient w.as mustered 
out, but the next day Mr. Graves enlisted in the 
2d 'Ohio Cavalry, and subsequently took part in the 
battles of Independence, Pea Ridge, and a dozen 
other engagements in Southwestern Missouri, Ar- 
kansas, Indian Territory and Kansas. 

In one of the many engagements in which this 
regiment participated, Mr. Graves was badly in- 
jured 1)3' the fall of his hor.se, and in 1863, when 
the regiment was sent to Columbus, Ohio, to re- 
cruit, he was discharged for disability. In the mean- 
time he h.-^d been three times promoted for gallant 
conduct in action. After leaving the I'egiment 
and spending a few months in recruiting his health, 
he for the third time entered the volunteer service, 
with a Captain's commission, but finding that he 
was no longer able for duty, he resigned and made 
his way to Titusville, Pa., where he was engaged 
in the oil business until the spring of 1868. He 
then entered the law •office of Hon. Linus W. 
Thayer, at Warsaw, N. Y., having in view the fit- 
ting of himself for the legal profession. A year 
later he had made much good progress that he was 
admitted to the bar at the general term, at Buffalo, 
N. Y., and commenced practice at Warsaw. 

In August, 1871, Capt. Graves came with his 
family to this State, and opened an office at Big 
Rapids, vvhere he practiced successfully until Jan- 
uary, 1879, then removed to the city of Adrian, 
where he has since resided. During his residence 
in Mecosta County, he was three times elected 
Prosecuting Attorney, and for three terms also held 
the office of City Attorney of Big Rapids. He was 
President of the Board of Education of that city. 



^V- 





i 




f 


-■^ 




. 1 


'W 


1 n 


LF.XAWKI 


; COUNTY. r.rt.S , 






:ind for live years was State Agent of the reforma- 


a captain's commission by the Governor of the 






tory institutions of tile State for tliat county. 


State. Moses Henuett. fatlici- of the (.'aptain. wasa 






Since ( nuix to A(lri:in. V-.n^l. Cnive.s lias l)een an 


f.-irmcr. and pursucil that . .^(aipation in (Jtsego 






aclivc nn'nilier of the lur of l.cnawce County, .-nKl 


( Munty during llic last yenrs of his life. 






has enjoyed a la r<ic and lucrative practice. lleis 


The subject of tliissk..tcli spent the early years 






a, liheral ami public-spirited man. aiw.-iys ready to 


uf his life on a farm, attending fhr district schools 






assist in the pronn)tion of ;iny enterpi'ise that proni- 


of his native coimty cpiite ri'gnhnly, lie there re- 






i>es to :u<l in the welfaiv of the commniuly. An 


(■civcd the rndinu'nts of a good educ.-ilion. which, 






enthn^i;i>tic (nnnd Army man, he has .served thie^ 


by IIh' kindness of .Mrs. Carpenter, wife of the geu- 






terms as (.'ommander of Woodhury I'osl, tw.i terms 


lleuuin for whom he was nnined, he was enabled to 






as Vice President of the S(.nthea,stern (i. .\. U. As- 


complete at llartwick Academy, where he received 






sociation, and is now servin<i- his second term as its 


the full bciu'lits of .-i tliorcmgii coin-se of in.struction. 






President. It is diu' tu him to s.ay th.-it the suc- 


After he was gra<lu.-ited from th.-it excellent in.stitu- 






cess of that oig.'uii-/ation is larucly owiu- l-o his en- 


liou he was well pre].:n-c.l lur the vocation of 






eruT and ability in the mauaji-enK'nl of its affairs. 


teaclier. which he imm.'di:ilcly adopted anil pur- 






lie is now serving as !i nunnlier of the C'oiuicil of 


sued successfully for lu,.|vc yc.-irs. He married in 






Administration of the Department of .Michigan (;. 


lS4(;.and in company witli his f.-ither. licmght a 






A. K.. and has tilled m.uiy positions in this c,mn..e- 


farm lu ()tseg<i County, of whi.-h. ln>wever. he dis- 






tion. At the :iuiui.d eucampment ..f that or.ler 


posed in lS."il .Old removed to Albany, where he 






held at (i rand Kapi.ls in .March, iss-.tu- was prom- 


engaged in the lumber luisiness. In 1 .S.')(; his es- 






inently imaitioued foi- 1 )i'p;irtnu'nt Coinmandei'. 


tablishuH lit was linrued down, .and he then went 






('apt. (J raves, in .Iniu', isdl. was married to Miss 


West to retrieve his fallen fortunes. Crossing tlie 






Klizalieth li.aily. of W.irsaw. N. V.. Mml to them 


.Mississippi, he locateil .'it Ossiau. Iowm. where he 






there wei-e lioin live children, three of wlioni are 


man:iged ;i hotel two .and one-lialf ye.-nvs. when he 






now living— Clinton I'.., Benton F. and Fh.ience 


went to Colund)ia. P, e Co.. Mo., and folh.wed 






E. Upon the removal of the f.ainily lo tliis St.-ite, 


the same business one year. His next move was to 






Mrs. (iraves was in delicate health, .-mhI in .March, 


St. I.oiiis. whiM-e he was engaged in business as a 






ISTC, she p.'issed awny. lu .lunc, 1 s77, (apt. 


commisMon mcrch.ant b.r one ami one-h:df year.s. 








:in.! then g.-ive up that business .-ind went to Castil- 






ter of .Samuel .■Hid Mai-y Kinney, of Senec;,. this 


lian. Iowa, where lie bought some property and re- 






county. Mrs. (Jraves was horn in .May. l,s:;:i, and 


sumed tl.e iliilies ot •• mine host." In 1 .SCX he p,.|-- 






her parents were natives of New V<n-1<. 


manently n'lired from Ihc hotel Inisiness. .-ind re- 






Cai)t. (Jr.-ivcs. politically, is a pron<Hniced Repub- 


tr.accd his steps castw.ar.l as tar :is .Michigan, where 






lican. His lirst Presidential vote was cast fi.r 


he bought 2(10 acres of land in Riga Township, and 






Abraham Lincoln in 1 .SCO. and since that time he 


from that time devoted his attention e.xcliisi vely to 






li;is l,aken .-in active jcirt in the councils of his |>;u-(,y. 


agricultural pursuits, with much success. At the 






often representing it in the State and county con- 


time of his death, which o(-currcd Sept. 1.'), 18.s;i, 






ventions. 


he had eiglity acres of laud under a high state of 






i==^ii-^i'^^^=i 


cultivation. ;in<l coutjriniug good frame buildings, 
well adapted to the [)urp()ses of :i farm. In Capt. 




,^ 


\E<=X,AT1JAMKL CARPKNTKR KKNXKTT. 


Henuett's death the comnuinity sustained the loss 






j jj formerly a resident of Riga Township, was 


of a valued citizen and a genial, whole-souled man. 






il,M born in Marylan.l. ()lsc.o„C,,.. ^■. y.. |),.o. 


of v;iried business e.vperieuccs .and ;il)ility; his 






28. 1H24. lie received his n:niH' in honor of .a 


widow .still cimtinues to reside on the homestead. 






wealthy merchant of that county, N.-itliaiiiel C;ir- 


(_'aptain and Mrs. P.eunett lia<l no children of 






penter. who gave his namesake 5!;">(Hi. ,\.s a uunu- 


their own, lint in the kindness of their hearts they 




r 


bcrof theniiliti.auf his native sUitc. .Mr. P.. w.-is given 


.■ulopted a i^hild and ri'ared him as their own. This . . 


•^ 


L, 




.. . , 


^^^ 


V 










1 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



M» 

504 ^ 

young man, John M., married Anna Durham, of 
Otsegu County, N. Y., but she died in September, 
1881. leaving two children, Thjiddeiis- :uid Ardie 
May. 

Mrs. Bennett, wliose maiden name was Rebecca [ 
Myei-s, was born in Otsego County, N. Y., .July .'U, | 
1824. Her grandfather, Peter Myers, was a farmer 
of Canada, but spent his last years in Cobleskill, ' 
Schoharie C'o., N. V. Her father. Ephraim Myers, 
was born in the Province of (^)uebec, Canada, and 
after marrying in ScholiMrie County, N. Y.,/he set- j 
tied on a tract of limber land, which he had bought ' 
in Otsego County, and improved a farm. The fa- 
ther of his wife, whose maiden name was Maria 
Sagendorf, was born in (iermanj', and came to 
America with his parents when an infant. He was 
reared in New York Citj% where he learned the jew- j 
elry business, and afterward went to Schoharie 
County, where, buying a large tract of timbered 
land, he became one of the early settlers, and there 
died, after improving a farm. 

Mrs. Bennett's father died at his home in Otsego 
County when she was quite young. She remained 
with her mother until she was sixteen years of age, 
and then went to live with an aunt in Albany, 
where she learned the millinerj' trade. She re- 
mained in Albany until a jear before her marriage, 
then returned to her mother. Mrs. Bennett is an 
estimable woman, resi)ected by all in the com- 
munity. 

11^ ULETT WEST is one of the prominent agri- 
l^^'^ culturists of Riiisin Township, and has ma- 
iBS^Jy terially assisted in its growth and prosperity. 
(^) He was born in Norwich, Oxford County, 
Ontario, Canada, Feb. 10, 1830, and is the youngest 
of the ten children born to his parents (for parental 
history see biographical notice of Will)er West). He 
was fourteen years of age when he came with the 
family from Canada to Raisin Township, where he 
completed his education in the primitive log school- 
house, and when not attending school as>i>tcd liis 
father in cle:n-ing iiis laud and preparing it foi- cul- j 
vation. When he became of age, he and his brother 
VVilber bought a farm of '21)0 acres, IGO acres of 
which lie in Raisin Township and eighty acres in | 



4 



Blissfield Township. This they improved and 
farmed successfully together until the j-ear 1870, 
when they discontinued the connection, and Mr. 
^\'e^t became the sole owner of eighty acres of land 
on sections 36 and 36 in the township of Raisin, 
and forty acres in Blissfield Township, which he 
afterward disposed of and bought sixty acres, and 
that he b.-is also disposed of. He now has m well 
cultivated f;um. with numerous well appointed 
buildings, and the necessary appliances for carrying 
on the different branches of farming successfully ; 
his home is lieautifidly located on section 36 of 
Raisin Town>hip. 

Mr. West wa,- iiKinied in Raisin Township, Aug. 
•2i), 1870, to Mrs. Eliza, widow of Levi H. Chase. 
She was born in Royalton, Niagara Co., N. Y., Dec. 
■20, 1827, and came to Michigan when she was five 
yeais old with her parents (for parental history see 
sketch (if Rev. L. C. Chase). Here she grew to 
womanhood and was educated in the home of her 
parents in Raisin Townshi|i. 

By her first niarringe Mrs. ^Vest is the mother of 
six ciiildrcu, of whom the record is as follows: Levi 
F. married Ilattie L. Stevenson, of Washtenaw 
County, and the}' now live on the homestead of Mr. 
West, our subject; Dan married Stella Wells, and 
they now live on a farm in Blissfield Township; Mary 
A. is the wife of Edward Isley, and they also reside 
on a larni in Blissfield Township; Herbert died at 
the :ige of fourteen ; Owen, at the age of twenty- 
two, and Anna at the age of twenty-one. 

Mr. AVest is a profound believer in the doctrines 
of the Christian Church, of which he is a member, 
and he lias done much to establish his cherished 
faith. In politics he is independent, having the 
courage of his opinions, and is swayed by neither 
party nor pt)licy. 



J^ OlIN FISHER, a prosperous farmer and stock- 
raiser of Lenawee County, is a prominent 
citizen of Clinton Township, where he has 
' one of the finest residences in the county ; 
it is built of brick, two stories in height, and is 
beautifuUv located on his farm on section 9, three 



^\- 



••^i-M* 











1 r'^m 




•►- 


LKNAAVKE COUNTY. oO.", 




— -_--- r':iz- 







.■ni.l (.nc-linlf miles fi iTecninseh, .Mnd tuo inile,- 


had bou-ht in 183.'-), an.l the same on which our 




froN, Clintonvillo. His t-um r,,iisisN nf :!7l'.1 Mcrcs 


subject lives to-day. Only a very s,„all p.a,-t of it 






li.ad been cleared and plowed, b,it \W father IIvimI to 






see it f.airly well in,pio\,.d. The family liisl live.l 




t'Mnn lillil<lilVi;> rnliip.llv wilh Ihc lir>t ill SuulluTll 


•in a small lioii-e, Isx-'l fe..t in si/e, bnill in .a ,,ide 




Ali.'liii^.'in. A vi.'W ,,r the .•1,.0-uit iimiiMoi, an,l il> 


niaiiner. a,,d in that hnmble home the lirst tiffeen 




(•iiviinu>. uliicli .■ii-c i-.,i,M,l,.|c.l luodrl-in MiciruHV. 


years of their life i,, 1 lu'ii .adopted State w.av pas>ed. 




ihrw!HHln-n7!dv'!n!'i.'rMir!!'"nv 


veni,a,t ho„>e. whieh late,' -ave w.ay to the p,vsent 




olcoMiKv mihI in .-ill Mh. r.mifon- ,.f lilc. iVoui Ww 


e(nn,,,odions and ele-.anl st.,„et ,iiv ei-eeted by oi,r 




coiiiity. 


snbject. 

Mr. Fisher, Si-., early took .-,, p,-oiiiiM(ait p.-irt in 




TIh'. 1,1,-1, St.: .\l,. V\>\wy l:,kr> .■,n,u„M l,i> f..l- 


the affair^ of the township and State. He was a 




l,,w.cili/,(.ns. Ii.'i> Ihm.,1 Iuo, 1-1,1 .-ilnml o„ l,is |,m,I l.v 


man of -reat sl.-itnn- aiel stren-tli. .-inil characterized 




il,tflli-r,it, H,i(l \v..ll-.|iiv.-l,Ml ii,il,,Mrv. r,„l|il(<.l uilli 


by .-i- mii(-h meiit.-il a~ physical vi-or. which iii.ade 




iiolii'sl ilc.-ilii," a,,'! :,. jinliricMis i-ccii,(.ii,y Ihal Iviinws 


him a vei-\- impoitaiit ai-ce-sion .-,> ,-i member of 




when to >|.ri„l the ii,.p-l r,ccly :,> ui4l :,-. uhn, t.i 


the e.,inmiii,itv. In c-arlv d.-ivs. while a (-iti/.eli of 






.Mii"aclni>ett-.. he w.-is :i 1 )c-,noei-at . lint after he 




WOmIH, of .\I;,v-:l,-llUS,'tt>. .•,,,.! ;l (l,'sr,l„l,-,„t of .-in- 


e.-inie to .Mi,-hi-an he loiiiid himself imnv in sym- 




cestons ul,(> l,.-i,l In,,- mkkIi' ihil Sl-ilr ll,ci,- lioi„(-. 


p-ilhv with the Whi-s, .'iiid aeeordin,-ly idi-ntitied 




Mr. FisluT's f;,tl,c|-. .lol'l, Kisiir,-. Si-.. w:is I,,,,-,, i„ 


himself with that party, but. l.-iler became a member 






of the iicpnblican p.-irty, wlii(-li repl.-i,-e.l the Wiii-s. 




i-C>;,rc,l to tJic ornipations of c-;il)ii„'t-iiK,l^ei-.-i„.l i':,i-- 


lie rcpresentc.l Fr.-inklii, County, .Mass.. in the State 




piMifv,-. He niMiri.Ml. in Kr:uii<lin ( oiinl y. Kli/:il..'l 1, 


l,e-id.-itiii-e for sevei-.-il \eai-s. He died M.-iy .-., 




Iliii. \vl,o \v:i^ Ky hirfh .mikI panMit.i.m' :i .\l.-is,<.„-l,ii- 


IS,;:!, at till- .-,-e of seventy-nine years, and his 




scUs won,:,,,. (Icscrn-icl from ucll-ronn.-cl,..! fnmi- 


wife had departed this ||r,. on the .".il of the .same 




lii'S of New Kn-i:,i,<i ;,„lccnifi,t>. Aflm- tlu-i,' mnr- 


month in the prec^din- year. TIk- latter was a 




rini-c they ,„:,.li' lliei,' home l,i Frunidin (;oi,nt,v. 


woman of rem.-irk.-ibh- physic.-il strcn-th and power 




;,ml tliciT [■(■m.Min.Ml ,,„til nfh'r tl,r liirti, of llu'ii' 


of endm-.-iiK-e, and it wa> .-i -in,-,ii.-,i- coincid.aice that 




ole'vcii chililici. most of uliom livnl to ,,Kiti,rifv. 


they we,-e both fo,in<l dead ill their .•hairs, having 




On tJK" ;;.l of .\h,y. IS,;,;, .m,-. .-h,.! .Mi>. .i,,iiii 


>,,ffei-ed no p|-t'\ ions illne-s. h.-i\in- been tippav- 




Fislior. S,-.. with ni,!.- clillclrcn. I.'ft th.i,- .Ma^>.-,cli,i- 


enlly in -oo,l iiiental.-ind bodily health. They were 




sctls lio,in' :m(l stMilcd oi, 1 !,,• 1 hi-n ion- jo,ii'iicy fo,' 


both earnest liaptists in th.-ir r.-li-ions belief.s. 






.bilm Fisher, of wli,,m we write, was born in 




.•uiv,-i,l,t:l-.- of its fntilr soil and tin.' rlimatr. They 


Charlemont. Franklin ('<,.. Mass., Ang. 4. 1.S2M, and 




joiirncyiMl to Troy. N. V.. .nnil Ihci cmbarlu'd on 


was the yon,,uest but one of his parents' faiiiil-\-. 




the Kric Canal, o,, whh-h they (MmsmmI tj,,. State to 


lie reeei\cd a good prac-tic.il training in the ever^'- 




Bnffalo. the,,.'... I.y way ,,f Lai«' Kiic and l)et,-oit 


d ay duties of life, ,-ind .iii edni-ation in Select schools. 




Kiv<a-. to Detroil. 1 'i-oi,, tli.av they rrl,,,ii<Nl on the 


W hm, he l.eea,,,e ,if .-i-v he took charge of tiie 1 GO 




lake i,, a steamer to Monroe, and weie 1,,-on-ht 


a.-,r> ot la, 111 eomp,isiii- his father's <jriginal p,,,-. 




aci-oss llie e.,i,„t,>' fl-oni the latle,- piaee liy teams, 


(-haM.. on which lie n,adc the priiK-ipal iinprove- 






UH-nts. and by ,-.,dise(|iiei,l p,i, -chases of land greatly 




miles. Finally their Ion- and w,-a,-y jon,-i,ey of 


a-ided to theori-inal extent of his farm. 




twenty' days can, e to ai, i'i,i|. on the -.'-d of .May, 


Mr. Fisher wa- |1|->I maiiie.l in ■leeiimseli \dl- 




lS;5i;, in uh.at i^ ,,ow ( 'linto,, T.iwnship. I„,t was 


l.-ere. Feb. 1 1, IS.-, 1, to Miss Ka,-hel llamton, wIk, 




then a iiart of the new town of ■l'e(ai,,i>el,. .■i,,d there 


was bon, in ■I'ccnniseh in ls;;2. ami was the daiigh- 




, Ihevmade their new l,oim> o„ land wiiiel, th." lather 

I 


tei- of Is.-iae .-md AIniei-a (Iji-wilt) lla„,lon. who 



•► ■ ^' 



1 



506 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



were very early settlers in this county, from New 
York. They lived to an advanced age. her father's 
death occurring in Illinois, and her mother's in New 
York. Mi-s. Fisher died in Clinton Township, Feb. 
14, 1868, on the anniversary of her wedding day. 
She was a most estimable woman, much beloved by 
a large circle of friends : she was a member of the 
Baptist Church, as were also her children, of whom 
she liad three. The following is their record: 
William F. lives at home assisting his father in the 
management of his large farm ; he was graduated 
from the Tecumseh High Scliool, and brings a well- 
trained hitellect to bear on the duties of his calling. 
Ellen R. is an accomplished music teacher, and lives 
at home ; she is also a graduate of the Tecumseh 
High School. Charles H. died at the age of twen- 
ty-four, while in attendance .at the University at 
Ann Arbor. 

Mr. Fisher's second marriage occurred r.t Kala- 
mazoo, Mich., July 31. 1808, when he was wedded 
to Mrs. Zoraida A. Hood, daughter of Dr. K. 
H. and Betsy (Foster) Henderson, natives resiiect- 
ively of New York and Massachusetts. Her father 
was a physician, adopting that profession in early 
manhood, and pursuing it the remainder of his life. 
He was a man of much influence, and was very 
skillful in his [irofession, and met with deserved 
success. After marriage the Doctor and his wife 
settled in Lockport, N. Y.. and there all but one of 
their ten children were born, Mrs. Fisher being their 
eighth child in order of l.iith. the date of her ad- 
vent being June 1 7. is.i-i. In 1835 the family all 
came to Michigan and m.ade their home near the 
city of Ann Arbor. Tlu' Doctor continued the 
practice of his profession there until his death in 
August, 1 838. In his political faith he was a Demo- 
crat, and was quite prominent in the local councils 
of that party. Both he and his wife were of the old 
school of Presbyterians, and rigid adherents to the 
doctrines and tenets of that denomination. His 
wife survived him many years, and died in Ann 
Arbor. Mrs. Fisher is a lady of much intelligence 
and culture, having been finely educated at Ann 
Arbor and Ypsilanti, and taught school for some 
years before her marriage. She and her husband 
occupy a high social position in the township, and 
often extend the genial hospitality of their beauti- 



ful home to their friends. They are esteemed mem- 
bers of ihe Baptist Church. In politics Mr. Fisher 
eaiiiestlv advocates and sujjport^ the Republican 
party. 

JIOHN A. TUWNSKM). The subject of this 
I sketch has had axperience in various lines 
! of business aside from farming, which proved 
' very valuable to him in that occupation, and 
he has resided in other localities, but, like nearly 
everybody else who moves awaj', has drifted back 
to Lenawee County, and is thoroughly convinced 
that there are other places just as good, but none 
better in which to live, than this part of the State. 
Mr. Townsend was born in Dover Township, 
Lenawee Count}% on the 31st of July, 1837. His 
[larcnts were Henr^' F. and Lucy R. Townsend, who 
had three children — John A., Milton H. and Lucy 
A. .Milton H. resides in Dover Township; Lucy 
A. is the wife of A. B. Bedell, and I'esides in Me- 
nominee. Mich. John A., the subject of this sketch, 
passed his early life on his father's farm, where he 
remained until he w.as twenty-two years of age, at 
which time he moved to Adrian, and obtained em- 
ployment as a clerk in the store of W. S. Wilcox. 
After quitting that employment, he went to Ver- 
milion County, 111., and lived in Rossville four 
j'ears, during which time he engaged in farming 
and sheep-grazing. He then returned to Lenawee 
Coiuit}', and entered the emploj' of the Lake Shore 
ii Michigan Southern Railroad, with which he re- 
mained for ten years. Aside from that he has de- 
voted his life to agricultural pursuits. He now. 
owns seventy-three acres of land, which is con- 
sidered very valuable, and upon which he has erected 
elegant, commodious and comfortable buildings. 
Mr. Townsend has been married twice, the first 
marriage occurring on the 21st of May, 1862, his 
wife being Miss Almira H. Todd, daughter of Har- 
vey Todd, who at one time owned the largest por- 
tion of land on which the eastern part of the citj' 
of Adrian now stands. She w.as born in Adrian on 
the !)th of November, 1839, but was a resident of 
Madi-son Township at the time of her marriage to 
Mr. To'wnsend. By this marriage five children 
were born: William H., in Rossville, 111., Aug. 29, 



•^H 



Hl-N 




Rfsidence ofGeo HollOway, Sec 23 Raisin Towwship 




Residence or John A Towimsend.Sec.I. Madisou Township. 




RibiOFNTE (ifJ(;iiu Fusher ,Sec. 9. Clinton Township 



Hh-4^ 







LENAWEF 


COrNTY. .509 


ISGS; 


Louis E., in Palmyra 


Townshi|), July 23. 


[)rcsent, on another page of this Album, a beautiful 


ISGH, 


Charles H.. in Madison 


Toxviiship. Sept. 1-2. 


lithographic view of the residence of Air. Town- 


18G1I- 


Miltun. in Ma.lis.m ' 


•,,uusl,i|,. April 12. 


M-nd witli its JninicdiMle siirroundinL;,-. a^ lliii>lra. 


\^T>. 


Alinira B., in .MM,lis<Mi 


Tuwn>l,ip. N..V. -.'7. 


ti\t'of tiic great ad vanrenient in the .■ireliileetui-al 



lS7;i. William II. m;irried M i>^ Matlie Ander>..u. 
and resides in Adrian: i...iii> !•:. died in Madi-,.u 
Township on the 2:itli ..f August. 1 s,;;i. Mrs. .VI- 
nn'ra I'own^end died in .Madison ■r.>wn>hip. Feli. 
12. l.sTl. She wa> horn, ni.-u-ried and died in tlie 
same house, tli.-it in whii'l. Mr. Town-end now re- 
si<h>. Mu.l in thr same l.uilding her tw(, youngest 
children were horn. 

Mr. Townsend's seeond wile w.-e. SMr:di L. .\ash. 
to wh<.)m lie was m:ii'ried in I'.-dmyr.-i 'i'ownshii), 
J^enawee County, on the 2;)th of Octolier. Is7 4. 
.She was born in Madison Townsliip, M.iy 20, 181."), 
and was the daughter of Samuel .•ind Sarah M. 
(Boekcr) Nash, who were natives of Conneetieut 
ami New Y(n'k i-espeetively. Hei' p:ii-ents emi- 
grated to Lenawee Ci.unty in isnc. and seMled in 
Madison Township, but .-ifteiwaid rennived to Pal- 
myra Township. The mother -li.'d in MadiM,!, 
'I'own.-hip on tlic I'l'd <if .lune, IsC,:;. .-ind the father 
in I'.-ilmyra •i'own>hip, Oct, 1 1). I s7.-.. To them 
were born nine children — Samuel, Nathan, Nancy, 
Harvey T., Gerardns . I., Henry, Saraii L.. Esther 
and Frances E. Samuel resides in Palmyi-a Town- 
ship; Nathan resides in Adrian Township; Xaney 
is the wife of Samuel Hamilton, and is li\ ing in I'al. 
in3-ra; Harvey T. resides in Adrian; (ierardus re- 
sides in Palmyra Township: Henry lives in Saline 
County, Kan. ; Esther is the wife of l)a\id !•:. 
Palmer, and resides in Madison Township; Fi-nnei's 
E. is the wife of Franklin s. Phillips, .-uid has lua- 
home in Ogden T. .wnsiiii,: Sarah L. is the wile of 
the subject of this sK,.t,.ii. 

to the doctrines of the Republican party,. Mnd in the 
movements of that organization lie takes an active 
interest. He is a member in high standing of the 
Masonic fraternity. In all the affairs of life Mr. 
Townsend has been an enterprising and energetic 
man, and in his efforts to improve his idndition in 
life he has been eminently sneeessful. (For sketch of 
Henry V. Townsend, father of the subject of this 
biography, see another page of this Ai.m \i.) 

In connection with this memoir, the laiblisliers 



rts that have been made from the h.g cabins of the 
lioneers. anil the elegance and comfort of life of 
he present citizens of Lenawee County, in compar- 
son with that ..f their forefathers, 

" ;)E(.)R(iK IIOLLOWAV, well kn.iwn through- 



31 

Sterld which he 
father. I'.utlei- 



r| was 
i.'s Ai 



. His 

.Mass., 



I llollov\ 
n in \7> 
until .'I 

il medi 
His Ib-st 



and in comp.any with lus l.roti 
.-Uid Silas. pni-clKised .'.l'O .-i.-re- 
■.'00 inoi-e, .all 1,\ ing in ,,uv It: 
ship. The intersection of llu 
north and south roads ne.ar IIk 
has been familiarly' kn<Avn li 
region for over forty ye.-ns as 
The father of onr subject sele: 
.southwest coinci- of .section : 
from the wihlerness .-md even 
brick residence, with uood bai 
while he reduced the l:ind to 
vation by nu'.ans ,,f fificcn mil 
lUitler llolloway leis ofLni i 
eration with bales ,,| th,. ,.:iilv t 
he did not know where he wa> 
until he could kill some ganu 



Ur .■uii.-r;iled 
N. v.. where 

i lo Michigan. 
Unisin Townsh 

d as a suceessi 



with 
Willi 



Id fan 


ily res 
oplc , 


ideiK-. 
.f this 


iollou 
d for 


.•i\' Co 


i-e th. 


llv ei 


ecte.l 


.a line 



ih-d t 

'S wh 



h 



510 



LENA-\VEE COTTNTY, 



frequently started out before daylight in the morn- 
ing to liuut deer when he was obliged to wear gloves 
on his hands and tie his coat over his head to keep 
the mosquitoes from " bleeding hira to death," and 
of hunting his cows after dark when he was obliged 
til carry a hickory torch to keep the wolves awa}'. 
He was married, April 2, l.':S4<i, to Miss Ann Rich- 
ard, daughter of Archibald liichai'd. of Rai-in 
Township, bj' whom he became the fatlui' <>\ ili;';- 
children, iiamel.y: Ellen Z., who died Ovt. l'i'. 1s7.">. 
when twenty-six years old; George, our subject, 
and one daughter who died in infancy. Mrs. Ann 
Holloway was a native of Count}' Antrim, Ireland, 
and was born May 13, 1818. She came witli her 
parents to this country in her youth, and the family 
settled in Raisin Township, this county, in 1833. 
.She is still living and makes her home with her onl}' 
son, George, of our sketch. .She united with the 
Presbyterian Church early in life and has since been 
a devoted member of that bod}-. Butler Holloway 
departed this life at the homestead, Feb. l.i, 1882. 
He had been one of the most useful members of 
the community, and was a life-long adherent of tlie 
Democratic party. 

George, of our sketch, has sijent his entire life 
on the farm which hi- unw dccupics and which pos- 
sesses for him a far moic than moneyed value. 
Upon reaching manhood he cliose for his wife a 
maiden of his own township, Miss Elizabeth Stretch, 
who was born May 24, 18r)8, and is the daugliterof 
Jesse and Ann (Charlton) Strotcli, wlio for many 
years were residents of Raisin Townshii). The 
mother was of English birth and parentage, and emi- 
grated to the United States witli her parents in earlj^ 
childhood, and died in Raisin Township in 1884. 
Mr. Stretcli continues farming at tlic iioniestead 
upon whic-h lie first hx-ated. Mrs. Holloway con- 
tinued with her parents until her marriage, and oc- 
cu[)ied herself as a teacher in the district school. 
Of her union with our subject there has been born 
one child, a sou, Kcmietli, who is now attending 
school. 

Our subject was the oidy cliilil of liis p.arents, and 
at the death of his father as^iiiiud liie management 
of the farm. He has foi' >ouii' \cai>. Iieeu occupied 
as a breeder of thoroiighlired l)urli;ini cattle, mak- 
ing this industry an entire mk-cc-s. His ]iroperty 



includes 240 acres of land, with an elegant resi- 
dence, roomy and neat barns and other farm build- 
ings, and all the necessary farm machinery. He has 
been quite prominent in local affairs and assisted 
greatly in building up the little village of Hollo- 
way. which was named in honor of his family. Polit- 
ically, he is an ardent supporter of l^eniocratic 
jirineiples. He and his estimable wife are jnoniincnt 
members of the Presbyterian Church, in which Mr. 
H. has oltieiate<l as Elder for some years. 

A lillio-ra|ilii.' view of Mr. Holloway's handsome 
resident' and il-. surroundings is shown on another 
page of this ALur.M. Nothing could . more fitly 
show the marvelous growth of the county since its 
first settlement than the advance that has been made 
in the mode of life of the people, and especially mi 
the comforts of their homes and the elegance of 
their houses. In this connection these views of the 
dwellings of the descendants of the old pioneers are 
doubly valuable. 



■^^^^^^^>k^^^f^^^< 



(^^jHOMAS murphy, the subject of this 
lm^i\ **'^ctch, was born in Tullynuej', County An- 
^^^ trim, Ireland, Aug. 15, 1846, and was reared 
at home to the occupation of a farmer luitil the 
spring of 1S(J8, when he sailed with some acquaint- 
ances for America. They had a very stormy voyage 
and at length reached the United States, where he 
engaged as a general laborer, and remained ten 
years in Tecuniseh, iMich., after which, in 1.S77, he 
purchased his jjre.sent farm, on section 14 of Macon 
Township on the Ridge road. At that time he 
purchased eighty acres, mostly improved, to which 
he has since added fort\' acres on section 1 3, the 
same township, most of which is under cultivation. 

The father of our subject, John Murphj', now 
lives on the farm with his son, and is about seventy 
years of age. He married, in Carnlea, County An- 
trim, Ireland, Mary S;im|ile, who is also living at 
sixty-seven years of age. 

Mr. Murphy was united in uiarriage in Tecuniseh, 
April 3, 1878, to Miss Jennie Anderson, who was 
born at The-Craig, County Antrim, Ireland, on the 
3(Mli of July. ■■'^4S, and caiiir to this country 
with her parcnls in ISCC. The parents settled 



■•► 



-»- 








- 




LF.NAWKF, 
in Mai-on, and there the fntlipr. WilliMin Ander- 


COT INT Y. 




oil 




half miles east. P.'ter Tnrpenn 


i,,U and 


John M. 




son. (lied n few nioiilhs after their .•iri-ivnl. \l\> wife. 


Bird lived one n>il.> south, and ( 


ardnei- ; 


n.l David 




whose maiden name was Kli/.n (uMty. now lixc- in 


UoMi .-ind IJraeklev Shaw. Sr.. Ii\ 


,m| the 


<ame dis- 




Maeon Town>hi|i at tlie a>;c nf sixiy-ciuht ye.-ir.-. 


tnnee north. Mr. T.^u nsend. St 


■phen (. 


r.'ive> and 




Mr. and Mrs. Mnrpliy. of tins imlier, hnv<- l,e<.n 


Constant Itowley ent ;i ro:i.l fn.n 


the Mn 


Ison t.,wn 




verv siieeessful, now (iwninu -1 fnie farm an.l.-,,n- 


line east as f.-ir as Mr. I'avne^. a 


di-lanec 


of three 


i 


siderahle mean>. wliilr Ihev aiv still in llie prime i>\' 


an<l onedi.'iir mile>. which mad 


• a pass 


d,|e r.,a<! 




life. Thev hav.' Ilnve ehildren -.lMme> A., l.i/./.ie 




fall of 


is:;.-, Mr. 




.AI. and Anna V. Mr. ,M . i-< a |>roL;ii->M ve mid liKera! 


Townsend built a lo- shnntv 1 


r.xIS tV( 


t outside, 




nn-ndedman. .Mr. an-l .\h-. M. :n-e meml„.r> of Ihr 


whi.'h w..,s oeenpicMl ..s n horn., n 


itil the 


>pring- of 



^ 



Preshyterian Chuivli. In politic- Mr. Murphy i> .-i l.M.i. In 1 S.!7 he ereete.l a franu- l.arn .•iL'.\4(; 
Repnhliean. feel, which was the only one between ( i ilhcrt ( ia.ye's, 



_,i_jCX*,_A_- 






- ' -f ^^^ ' ■ ' lS.-,7 he was elected .ln>ti.-e of th.' Peace. ;, ml held 
the ollicc twclvi' vears. an. I als., served many years 
ENRV F. -lOWNSKNI) was b<,rn in W.'st- as ( on.-.lMbl,. an.l lli-hwny ('omniis>ioner. ' He al- 
ii morel.and. ihnuhi Co., X. V., on ihr -J.sthof u,,\. |,,ok .-in :icti\.. intcot in the -en.-r.-d impmve- 
' Au.sust, ISl:;. and was the son of ,lohn menl of th.' cmnty ni .-dl rlirecti,m>. and >erved as 
Town.send. win, wa> born in the saim' pl.-ice Diicctcr and .lu.luc of the c.,niitv fail,-, and dealt 
in"i7i)l, and lived there until his death. The ta- t(, -om,. ext-ent in iioiMl -|,,ck. In 1 S.V.I lie erected 
ther was a farnns-. ownin- the farm where he was anclc-anl -ravel brick liou.-. manulacturin- hi- 
boru, and which his father, nis., .l(,hn Towuseml. own brick from ni.-iteri:il on the farm. 
took up from tlie (ioverniiient; his ancestors came On the I (Itli of .liiue, IS.'W;. Mr, 'rown-ciid was 
from England. .lohn Townsend. .Ir.. married Par- m.-inied to Lucy \{.. daiii;hter of .lonath-in .and 
nel, daughter of David Bishop, ,4 Paris. Onei.la .Mary Pcanicll, of Wcslmorel.-ind, ( )neid;i, Co.. N. 
Co.. X. v., by whom he had eight children, live V.. by uhoni h.' Ii:ul three ehil.ben. .-i- b,ll<,u>: 
.sons and three daughters. Henry I'', being tin- eld- John A., born .Inly :;i. ls;;7; .Milton II.. born Nov. 
est. Mrs. Parnel Townseml w.as born iiil!ranb,rd, .1. I s.| 1 . w.'is a >oldier in the wnioflli,. K, bcllion, 
New Haven Co.. Conn., in 17s:i. -ind di.^.l in where he was :i member of C.mpany D. 1 -.'th .M ichi- 
AVhitesboro, Oneida Co., N. V., in .May, ls7;i. gan Inl.inlry, :ind w;i- bndly w.,unde,| :,t C,,rintli, 
Henr3' F. Townsend lived with his parents until .Mi>-.: he occupies and own- a part of the old h,, nic- 
he vvns twenty-one years of age ami was lirought up stead, whii-li now consi>l- ,,f o\cr :;o(i :ieres. I,uc\- 
a farmer. In the fall of is;;,", he came to .■\Iichig;iu. A., born .March i::, I s.| I, is u.,w the wife ,,r A. I!, 
landing at Monro.' .,n th.' Isl .,f N.,vemlier. and Pe.h'll. .,f Cl.ayt.,n. .\Ir>. Luc.\ K. r.-un-end u:is 
came direct t.> Adrian. His tathei- c.im.' to iMi.-hi- b.irn in S.'il.'Ui. W .-i-liingtoii C.,.. .\. V.. <,ii the loth 
gan the in-evioiis y.'ar ami t.iok up r. Hi acre- .,!' lami of F.'brnaiy, I SI 1, .•ind cmiii.' t.i .Michig:ui in I s;',(; 
on sections 7, S. 17 .an.i is. in |)o\ci- T.,\vii>liip, with liei husband. She w;is l.'ft an orphan wh.ui 
while the next year he to., k .Il'o a. -res on -.■clions \ciy young, ami know- but little about, h. a- parents. 
12 and 13, in Hudson Town.-hip. makinL; in :ill :h;o She i- p.af.'ctly famili.ar. h.,\\.'v.a-. uilh pii,neerlife, 
acres of C-iovernment laml. Henry F. \\:i,- gi\eii timl .an fully r.'.ali/.e all th.' trial- .ami h.ardships, 
160 acres on section 7. in Dox.a- T<, unship, wlna-e the li.,pes. tli.' c.mif.irts ;i,ml enj.i\iiieiits (,f settle- 
he resided from the fall <<( IS.;.-, until his .le.ath. ment in a new .•.,uutiy. 

April 13, 188(i. ^^h.•n h.' t,.H,k po,s,.^essi.,n tlier.' Tli.av was no ker.,,-eu.' oil in Lenaw.a' ('..inity 

had never been a tree fell.'. I i,r a i-.,.ad .'Ut tlin>imli. lifty-tlire.' y.'.'irs ag.,. but it wa- ipiit,e :is neiessar\- 

His nearest iieighl)or. Steph.ai \\ . Cr.'ix.'-. who w:is I., have artiti.i.-d liuht tli.'ii .-is now. .Mi-. T.,\vns,'ni| 

km, NMi as a great hnnb'r, lived a little ..vr .,ii.'- was,,ul .,f .-an. lies .in. I m.'U.'ri.il- .,f which t,,,make 

half a mile west. Dani.'l Paym- live.l tw., .-iml .,ii.'- them, aii.l slu' .'..ax.'.i her husbaml b, l,.,rrow a .!(,..■ 



i 



•►Hh-4 



512 



LENAWEK COUNTY 



which belonged to a man in Canandaigua. That 
night Mr. Townsend and his wife and the borrowed 
dog went hunting, and succeeded in capturing two 
coons; in this way Mrs. Townsend procured oil 
enough to furnish plenty of light during the winter. 
The fiist butter she sold was made in the spring of 
1837; Mr. Townsend broke his hoe and needed a 
new one, so his wife let him have what butter she 
had, and carrying it to Adrian he traded it for a 
hoe. Mrs. Townsend in her pioneer life has passed 
through ordeals from which many ladies of the 
present day would shrink. For instance, she did 
not have a new dress during the first four years of 
her residence here, and did not buy n pound vi 
sugar in all that time, but manufactured a small 
quantity every spring, whicli had to last them dur- 
ing the year. 

It is of such people that the population of Miciii- 
gan is largely composed — people who had the cour- 
age to endure the hardships of early pioneer life. 
To that generation the West will always be indebted, 
for it was they who cleared awa.y the forests and 
broke the prairies where the magnificent farms 
now lie. 



iucd 



_^ MOS A. KINNEY. The family hi. 
^/ I '''^''^ gentleman, one of the most 

j IS residents of Seneca Township, and a mem- 
^J ber of the farming community, is in its es- 

sential points as follows: Ills parents, Elias and 
Margaret (Anderson) Kinney, were natives of New 
Jersey, where they were reared and married and 
whence they removed in 1824, to Canandaigua, N. 
Y. This removal bad not been attended with the 
success which Elias Kinney had anticipated, and he 
determined to no into a newei' country and try 
there to better his liiiani-i;il condition. 

The Territory of Michigan was at that time at- 
tracting the attention of man}' enterprising men, 
and the father of our subject accordingly left tlie 
Empire State in 1836, and coiniiiu into the woods 
of Seneca Township, tlii> ronnty, cn-ctcd a log 
cabin, and proceeded towaid Uie establishment of 
;i home. This first dwelling was built in the most 
[aimitive style, the door being liewii from a log, 



and secured with wooden pins, as nails were not to 
be had even in Detroit, while the chimney was 
built outside of mud and sticks. The family con- 
tinued upon the land which the father had entered 
from the Government, and with the aid of his boys 
improved a good farm and added suitable build- 
ings. Here the mother died on the 21st of April, 
1858, at the age of seventy years, while Elias Kin- 
ney followed his aged partner a little over a, year 
later, his death taking place on the 3d of Septem- 
ber, 1859, when he was nearly seventy-one years 
old. 

The children of Elias and Margaret Kinney were 
named respectively, Amos A.', James S., Mary Ann, 
Samuel K., Richard H., Sally Ami, William S., Eliz- 
al)eth M. and John Oxford. Mary and Sally Ann 
died when young, while the seven surviving, with 
the exception of two who live in Kansas, are resi- 
dents of this county. Amos A., of our sketch, was 
born April 28, 1812, in Johnsonburg, Sussex Co., 
N. J., and was a Lad eleven years of age when his 
parents removed to New York State. He there 
developed into manhood, and became familiar with 
farm pursuits, in which he has always delighted and 
been ambitious to excel; his early opportunities 
for education were exceedingly limited. ^\'lleu 
about tw'cntj' years of age, he left home and en- 
tered the emi)lo\' of his ur.cle, James Kinne}', who 
conducted a hotel on Corthuid street, in New York, 
and while there he made the acquaintance of Com- 
modore Vanderl)ilt, who was at that time boating 
and operating a feny. 

There also young Kinney made the ac(iuaintancc 
of another person, wh<j bore an imiiortant part in 
his after life; this was Miss Mary Ann Hay ward, of 
Farmington, and they were married in Canandaigua 
on the 17th of June, 1834. Mr. and Mrs. Kinney 
soon after their marriage bade farewell to their 
friends and acquaintances in the Empire State, and 
started overland with a team for the unknown West. 
For sixteen days they traveled through the wilder- 
ness, and reaching Seneca Township, this county, 
in March, 1835, our subject at once took up eighty 
acies of land on section 17, and the following yeai- 
was joined by his father's family. Me put up a log 
caliin, and after months of incessant labor, began to 
feel that he had done a wise act in coming to this 



^•►Hl-* 



-4^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



seetioii of country. The soil. inidiM- iii-opcr ciiltivn- 
tion, proved to be exeeediiiiily tV'rtilc. .•iiid the pn.?- 
pecl of luiviiio- .■! well-tillecl f.-inii of liis own provcMl 
a ple:isiir,-il)le stimulus to liis exertion^. Indi:iiis 

his c.'ihiii door in l;u'<>(' ntiml>ers; tliey, liouevcr, 
never attempted to molest iiini, :ind he w;is ciireful 
to keep !it ii respectful dist:iucc and treat tlieui with 
|)roper consideration. 

Our subject .added to his real estate until he now 
has a good farm, enibr;iciu.t>' a (pi.-irter section of 
land, upon which he has erected a substantial <lwell- 
ino-, barn, and the other Imildiniis re(|uircil for the 
shelter of stock and the -torin.y of -rain. Tlu' 
home surroundiuifs are exceed inuiy pleasant, the 
hou>e o<-i-npyiusi' a S'lO'l location, and the -round> 
arouml it tastefully laid off .and planted with :i num- 
ber of fruit and ^h.adr live>. 'I'he lir>t real atllic- 
tion which came upon the family was in the death 
of the wife and motlu.'r, which occurred on the l.")th 
of September, 1<S4(;. Of this marriajje there were 
born four children— Henry E.. Ceorue, and two in- 
fants who died unuanu^d. llciu\ K. died wiun 
three years of at>e; Ceorue married .Miss L(.ui>a 
Ashley, and removed to St. ('h;iilc> County. iMo., 
where his demise occurred : their four childicn art' 
Charles. Amos, Bert aiul May. 

The second wife of Mr. Kiiuiey. to whom he w.as 
married in ISl'.i. was Miss Lucinda .M,, dau-htcr of 
Benjamin and Margaret .Stuck, natives respectively 
of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Her |iaternal 
grandfather served in the Ucvolutionary Way. and 
afterward .settled in K-iyette Township. Seneca Co.. 
N. v., where his death Look place in IMM. Ben- 
jamin Stuck died Feb. 10, KS44, and his wife. Mar- 
garet, in 18G0. They were the parents of five 
daughters and two son.s, of whom Mrs. Kinney, the 
second child, was born Nov. 11. l.S-_'2. in F.ayette 
Township, where she attended the district school, 
and developed into womanhood. Of her union 
with our subject there have been born live children : 
Their eldest daughter, Margaret C, is the wife of 
Coleman Young, a well-to-do farmer of .Medina 
Township; MjTon died in childhood: l>'rank .\. 
married Mi.ss Elva Coonrad, and iscariyingon farm- 
ing in .Medina; Mary Lavina died in infancy; John 
A. is at home with his parents ; the latter and his 



brother Fraidv comiileted their studies in Adrian 
College, and are promising and well-i'dncated young 



sors ap|)ointe(i, 
tirst l-'rcsi<lcnti; 



i:i> one of the first Asses- 
thicc years. He east his 
I'or Andrew .lackson, and 
the stanch supporter of the 




gentleman is a 
1 Collins family, 
ame to this county while its i)eo|)le 
struggling with the ditheulties inci- 
)ncer lifi', felling the trees, preparing the 
-loped .-oil for cullivalitm. ami erecting their 
cabin honu's in the wilderness. He remembers well 
the coudict with adverse circumsUuices. ami u|ion 
reaching manhood was fully preiiared for the later, 
though less laborious life, whose labors for him, 
like u.any others, had liccn ren.lcred easier by the 
indu>try'of the lirst s,.t tlei s. 

.Mr. Collins contiiuunl under the home roof until 
twenty-six years of age, and then married and lo- 
cated in Tecumseh Township, wiience he removed 
in the spring of l.ss;; to M.acon Township, and is 

/.en~. lie is the owin'r of |().j acres of choice land 
on section I. mu>t i,\ it under a good state of 
c(dtivation. He w.-is liorn at tlie old homestead in 
Macon Township, Aug. l'O. ls4;i. and is the son of 
Isaac Collins, who canu" to this .section of country 
at an early day. Allen was reared on the hcmie 
f.avni and received his education in the district 
schools after the manner of most farmers' sons. On 
arriving at suitabU' age he took for his wife Mi.ss 
Augu,sta .M,-ipl.->. to whom he was married in .Macon 
Township. ( »i't. Ci. I >iii'.i. 

Mr.s. Collins was born in Yate^ County. N. Y., 
Aug. L'o, IS-i;'.. and i> the <langhter of Albert and 
Ann M. (Lamunyan) .Maples, also natives of the 
Fm|)ire State. ISoth paii'uts were reared in their 
native county, where the father learned the trade of 
a carpenter, and after their marriage, which took 
place in the vicinity of their birth, thev set out for 






•►nt^ 



i 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



the Territory of Micliigaii. They located first at 
Saliiie. uliich ^y.•ls tlicii lint a liamlct, whence Mr. 
M. r.'iii.,vc(| aiNint ISIk to Macon Corners, his 
present home: th<' niollier of Mrs. ( '. died in Wa-h- 
tenaw County in Isis, w hen a yonni; "oni.-in, hciiiu 
hut twenty-eight years old. ."\[r. M.aple- was mar- 
ried a secoinl time, lii.s iireseiil wife liaving hei'n 
Miss Margaret Anselus, of New York State. Slie 
is still living to comfort her aged husband, who has 
now arrived at his tliree.score and ten years, but still 
preserves his old-time habits of industry and keeps 
at his trade whenever able. Mrs. Collins, after the 
deatii of her mother, was taken into the home of 
I.saac Pennington, by whom principally she was 
reared to womanliood. .She was a liright anil in- 
telligent girl, and liy her obedience to iiei- foster- 
parents, secured a warm phtce in tlieir affections. 
They are now in Macon Township. 

Mr. and Mrs. Collins have four bi-ight children, 
all at home, namely: Agnes J., Nina PI, Leroy M. 
and Lsaac W. Shortly after his marriage, our 
subject located in Tecumseh Township, but in 1.S74 
or 1875 he purchased forty acres of land on seotitni 
10. in Macon Township, which they occupied until 
1883, when he purchased his present farm. He is 
a thorough .and skillful agriculturist, and politically, 
a solid Republican. Mrs. Collins is a lady greatly 
respected in her community, and a mendier in good 
.standing of the Baptist Church. 



'^^^M€^' 



S'yj Department at 
y thirty years of 



:NRY C. B0\VEN, .Jk., Chief of the Fire 
Adrian, is but little over 
age, and the fact that he is 
(^) entrusted with the duties of a very respon- 
sible position is indicative of his excellent natural 
capacities. He has been connected with the fire 
department for but one year, but lie takes a lively 
interest in the details connected with it, and is act- 
ive and energetic, giving good satisfaction. 

Mr. Bowen is living among the people with whom 
he has si)ent nearly his entire life, as he was born in 
Adrian on the 28th of March, 1857. He is- the 
eldest son of Henry and Sarah (Cambren) Bowen, 
natives of New York State, who came to this county 
about 1830. The father engaged as an ice dealer, 



and built up a thriving trade, handling large quan- 
tities of ice, and iu fact, commanding the largest 
|iati-onage in this department of i)usiness of anyone 
in the city. Oui' subject received his early educa- 
tion in the city schools, and upon attaining nuin- 
hood was engaged some years on the Wabash Rail- 
road dui'inu its cfuistruction through this section. 

I'lion tlic rclirement of our subject from his 
conneeti.>n with I he railroad, in 1 SSo, he purchased 
the interesi of his I'atlier in the ice business, and 
associating liiniscif with one of his brothers, estab- 

[ lislied what is now familiarly known as the Adrian 
Ice Company, which runs two large wagons, and 
supplies the bulk of the local trade in the city. In 
his present position as Chief of the fire department 
Ml-. Bowen has the management of the four sta- 
tions, which include thirty-two men. The engines 
are of the Amokeag and Silsb.y pattern, and the 

; vehicles are propelled by horse power. Each year 
adds something to the efKciency of the department, 
and Mr. Bowen keeps himself well posted upon 
matters pertaining to this important safeguard of 
life and property. 

Our subject, in the spring of 1883, was united in 
marriage with one of the most attractive young- 
ladies of Adrian, Miss Louise Wies, who, like her 
husband, was born here and grew to womanhood, 
remaining with her parents, Stephen and Katherine 
Wies, until her marriage ; her parents were natives 
of CTermauy. Mr. and Mrs. Bowen occupy a neat 
and comfortable dwelling on the corner of Butler 
and Main streets, and enjoy the society of many 
warm friends. Tlie3' have one child. Olga, who 
was born March 1 3. 1 887. 



^#:^-^> 



ANH':L COLE TINISON. The name of 
this gentleman is widelj' and favorably 
known throughout Fairfield Township, of 
which he has been a resident for twenty- 
four years. Upon first coming to this county he 
purchased 120 acres of land on section 10, now in- 
cluded in his present farm, which he brought to a 
good state of cultivation. There were no improve- 
ments upon it at the time of his purchase, and its 



•> ^m ^' 



•nh 



LKNAWKE COUNTY. 



i-cs of llic I, 
il tim-1, All 



Nrw Y. 



one of llu- liiiest IioiiicsIc-hIs in I 
Our subject w;i.s Imh-ii April T 
sou of ThOHiMS iilid .\nn:i (Cole) 
natives ivspccti vrly of Nf" -Ktsc 
.lolm 1'. Tuni>on. Ill,- pMt,.in:il -nni-lfatlici- ..f o 
snl)jcet, n unlive of New .lei-ey. "ms l.uin in M:, 
ITC:.', and nirin-ieil Mi» l':ii/.:il.etli M iII>t. a, n:iti' 
of Ne« .lei-sev, al.out IT'.M. lle-eiv.il a-a soldi 
in the Revolutionaiv \\'ar. The nialcrnal "lan 



)arents, Daniel 



d Sa 



uatr 



.f Putii 
n Dee. 



'.all (llo 
Iv, N. V 



IS) (' 



.►^h 



I7.S1. The fathei- of our sul.j.'ct w.as I he secon<l in 
a family of eight children, .ail of whom lived to 
mature years. He was lioiai Aui,'. 10, I T'.iT. and 
Anna, his wife, was horn .hdy Id, 1 so:;. After 
their marriage, Blareh i', I Sl'O, they located in Sen- 
eca County, N. Y.. wheu<a' they laanoved t,o 
Schuyler County, and from there, in the fall of 
1841), to Lucas County, Ohio. Mr. Tuiiisou was a 
shoemaker by trade, which occupation he f(jllo\ved 
for a period of seventeen years, and being fond of 
agricultural pursuits, also engaged in farming con- 
siderably. In the spring of 18GI Mr. Thomas 
Tuiiison left the Buckeye State, .and coining to 
Southern Michigan, located on section 10 in Fair- 
field Township, where he and his estimable wife 
spent the remainder of their lives. They lived to a 
ripe old age, celebrating their golden and [tearl 
weddings, and died within a few months of each 
other, the mother passing a way on the-'(;th of .Mar<'li, 
1886, and the father joining his dev<jted compan- 
ion in the better land Sei)tenibei- .'.O of the same 
year, after having lived together sixty-six years. 

The children of Thomas and Anna (Cole) Tuni- 
son are recorded as follows: Elizabeth liecame the 



wife .,f Caleb CrivM'y, .and died in l.ueas County, 
Ohio, Mar<di 17, \XlrJ: S.ar.ah. .Mrs. W illiam C(mk- 
lin, resides in Syra.ai-e, \. V.: f./.r.a ('.married 
Mi^> llarri.'l K uox. of Sehuyha' County, N. Y., ami 
died in Morenei. this .Stale, .Inly l'.;, I ssd ; D.aniel 

C, of our >l<elch, w:i>lhe f Ih child: Susan S. 

is 111,, wife of W. II, W illi.aiiis, a, well-lo-,I,, fainier 
of l.iie.as ( oiiiity, Ohio: .lohii I', lilst, m.arrie.l .Mi.ss 
Helen Tiai llrook, who died while on .a, visit, to 
l.iieas Coiiiily, Ohio, Sept. l':;, 1 s.M' : he :ifterw,-ird 
m.an-i.al Mr>. |.;iviiia I'.rowu, and now roides in 
Wood County, Ohio. I).a;iiel C. ■riiiiison was fairly 
cMhir.ale.l in lli,. e,,mmoii ^eh,,ol>, rem.aiiiin" in his 



year^ of agi'. when he wa^ married and located on 
his own f.irm in Lue.a,-- I'oniity, Ohio, where he 
(ainliniied unt.il coming to this State in th- sining 
of ISlit. 

Mr. Tunison w.as m.anied in Fiiirlield Township, 
this county, .Ian. -J I , |s.-,s, (oMiss Lucy PI, daugh- 
ter of Edward and I'.etsy ( I'ilts) Hodge, the former 
a, native of (H-.aftoii County, N. II.. and the latter 
of ( tiioiid:iu:i County, .\. \. The jiaternal grand- 
parenls (»f Mr>. Tunison were Thomas and i..ucy 
(Webber) Hodge, who were of New England birth 
and parentage, and her maternal grandparents were 
Levi and Hannah ( W ilUur) I'itts, Tlnjiiias Hodge 
served a.s a sohlier in the Revolutionary War, and 
was the father of thirteen children, of whom Ed- 
ward was the seventh in order of birth. Edward 
and his wife, Betsy, after their marriage settled in 
Seneca County, X. Y., and thence, in 18;!6, mi- 
grated to this county. Mr. ILxlge took up KiO 
acres of land in Dover Townshiii, where he re- 
mained about ten years, then removed to Fairfield 
Township, finally taking up his abode with his .son- 
in-law, onr subject, at whose home he and his ex- 
cellent wife spent their last days. He died Feb. 
13, 18tj2, while his wife survived him seven years, 
her death taking place Dec. 31. isdii. Mr. Hodge 
was greatly interested in religious matters, .and had 
been a minister of the Baptist tMuirch in Seneca 
County, N- Y., by which denomination he was sent 
Lo the West as a missionary. He was the father of 



M^ 



51 fi 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



three children: The eldest dnugiiter, Nancy J., is 
the widoiv of E. A. Spoonev, and lesides in Brown 
County, Krin.: Adelplii K. m.-iiricd l.utiu.r 1.. To.hl, 
Mini died in Atcliison, Kan.. N..v. •_'•_'. lS,s2: Lucy 
K., Aire. I'unisun. w.-is liDru in Seneca (imnty. .\. 

Mr. and Mrs. Tunisou, upon coming to tliis 
county, located at once in Fairfield Township, of 
which they have since been residents. Each year 
has seen something added to the value and beauty 
of the homestead, and their union has been blesseil 
by the birth of live children — Lnra ('.. AFary E., 
Anna C. Ella 11. .and Olive A. Lur.a is tiie wife 
of J. W. Mitchell, of iirown County. Kan.; they 
have one child, J). C. Mrs. Mitchell is a well- 
educated and accomplished young lady, and prim- 
to her mavi'iage was engaged as a teacher in the 
schools of Fairfield Township. Anna is a music 
teacher of no ordinary merit. Mary, Ella anil 
Olive are at home with their parents. 

Mr. Tunison, politically, is a straight Republican, 
.and has served his township as Clerk and Treasurer, 
besides being prominent in local aflfairs. Mrs. 
Tunison and her three eldest dangiiters are mem- 
bers of theUegular Baptist Church. 



1 



HARLES A. SLAYTON stands ,at the head 
of the trade in grain and agricultural imple- 
ments in Tecumseh and vicinity, and is a 
gentleman in the prime of life and in the midst of 
his usefulness. He has been well educated, attend- 
ing first the High School at Tecumseh and later tak- 
ing a course nt Bryant, Stratton ct Goldsmith's 
Commercial College in Detroit. 

Mr. Slayton's first position iu the business world 
was as book-keeper in his father's warehouse at Te- 
cumseh, where he was occupied several years, until 
in 1870, when he became the p.irtner of his father 
and they operated together until 188.5. The latter 
then retired from active business and our subject 
continued the business alone, carrying it on after 
the same successful manner that had distinguished 
the operations of the elder Slayton. His building 
occupies an area of 00x71 feet in the main part, 
with an additional sixty feet in the rear, the former 



lieing two stories in height and the latter one story. 
He also has two additional wfirerooms near the 
Ir.ack of the Lake Shore it Micliigan S,,utiiern Rail- 
road and at the depot. At the latter place are 
stored salt, plaster, cement and agricultural imple- 
ments. The business is ste.adily increasing, and re- 
ceives the patronage of the best citizens of the 
township and \ icinity. Its founder was a man of 
upright l)usiiiess methods and excellent natural 
qualifications, and the son is keeping n\) the reputa- 
tit)n of the old house. 

Charles A. Slayton was liorii in Penn Yan, Yates 
Co., X. Y., Oct. 14. 1848, and is the .second son of 
J. P. and Mary A. (Fowler) Slayton, natives of 
New York. Tliej' removed from the Empire State 
to Michigan when their son Charles A. was a lad 
of thirteen years, and located in Tecumseh, where 
they have since lived. Our subject was married, in 
October, 1879, to Miss Alice M. Laing. a native of 
Raisin Township, this county, and born Aug. 6, 
1852. Her father, Benjamin I. Laing, Esq., a na- 
tive of Michigan, was married in early manhood to 
Miss Mary .1. Cone, and is now a resident of Pal- 
myra. Mr. and Mrs. Slayton are the parents of two 
sons — William E. and Percy F., who are four years 
and nine montiis old respectively. 

Charles A. Slayton, in 1882, was elected Justice 
of the Peace, and his first official act was to marry 
a couple, for which rite he had not the usual docu- 
ment at hand. In consequence of that the cere- 
mony was quite brief, but probably asefHcient as if 
he had been provided with an Episcopal service. 
In the spring of 1887 he was elected Township 
Clerk. Socially, he belongs to the K. of II., and 
religiously is a prominent member of the Presby- 
terian Church of Tecumseh, in the welfare of which 
he has alw.ays taken a warm interest and officiated 
as Superintendent of the Sunday-school for the last 
six years. 



^^ HARLES H. RAYNOR. The subject of our 
jlf^ sketch holds the responsible position of Su- 
^^J^' perintendent of the Adrian Gas Company's 
AYorks. which were established in the year 1857, at 
which time Mr. Webster was President and Secre- 



•►Hl- 



,KNA\VKK COUNTY. 



tMi-y. Mr. KaviioiV |M,>ili,,n is mu 
,■1 111:111 or well-b;ihiiu-c(l iiiiiHl, .'ii 
clieiiiic'il kiiowk.(l,i.c. 'I'lic ilctMils 
are so iiiiincroiis and iMiniilicalcil t,li 
and atU'iitiou are ro([iiir('d. 'rii('ta< 
nor lias held bis posilion for >o |< 
disimtablo evidence lli:it lie |jo— c- 
q n i reme 1 1 ts uecessa r^' . 

Mr. Kaynor was liorn in llic rit^ 
on the 12th of January, l«ll. ai 
Charles and lOniina J. (Halsey) Km; 
the same State, where they were boi 
Long Ishind. After tlieir nuuriaov 
the city (.>f New York, where they eontiniied t' 
side, ami established a penuanent home. I'hey 
were the parents of tw(.> c-liildren, Chai-Jes II., our 
.siibjeei. being the elder; his sister. Lydia. married 
R. 15. .McGraw, and they reside in the <Mty of New- 
York. Ciiaries II. was reared |o m.-mliood in 
New York, where he was a pupil in the city seliools 
and obtained a good education. In I s.iT be enuai;ed 
in ^tlie local express business in .\ew \()rk City. 
which be carried on for several years, lueeting with 
considerable success. Having an oiiportuiiity to 
dispose of that business advantageously, lie did so, 
antl then engaged in the ni.-inagenu-nt ol .1 hotel, in 
which his usual good success attended him. In I S7 I 
he concluded to leave the great metropolis of (he 
country and come West, where opportunities svere 
greater for men who had not yet achieved the dis- 
tinction of millionaires. After visiting several 
places he concluded that Adri.-m presented the most 
auspicious opening tV)r him, .-ind locating here, he 
at once accepted hi^ present po.sition, uhicli he has 
held ever since. 

On the Itli of 0,-1.ihcr, 1S7I(, Mr. Uayiior was 
nnirrie.l to Miss Clara I'., da.ughtei- of .loliu Web- 
ster, the former Secretary of the gas company. Her 
parents were New Hampshire people, but removed 
to Adrian some years previous to her marriage. 
jNIr. and Mrs. Raynor have ha<l two childicn: (lar- 
ence W., who was born in September, I .'sT."), :nid 
Emma W., in May, 1877; they are now being edu- 
cated in the city schools of Adrian. Mr. and Mrs. 
Raynor occupy an excellent [lositiou in the social 
circles of the city in which they reside, and their 
home is the center of a large number of devoted 



id .-onsideral.le 


Milistantial business qualities, and llic company with 


of flic business 


which he is couueete<l look upon liini as the main- 


at coustMUl care 


stay in their affairs. 


1 that .Mr. Kay- 


■^—.-t: ♦;•-;:;—;:;■••;» -.-BT-™- 


ng a, time is in- 


1? AFAYE'ITK LADI). Prominent among the 


se.~ .-ill tlic re- 


1 ^ industrial interests of Adrian and vicinity 
J^^. are the cheese manufacturing and canning 


(,f New York 


of various goods eond)incd, successfully carried on 


.1 is the son of 


by the gentleman whose name heads this sketch. He 


■uor. n.atives of 


is the offspring of an excellent old family, and is 


u .-ind reared on 


the son of John Ladd. a native of the Empire State, 


they settled ui 


born July 2:;, 1H0;'i, and the grands.,11 of John Ladd. 


•i>utinued to re- 


Sr., a native of Massachnsctls. The paternal great- 



grandfather of our subject was William Ladd, the 
.son of Ezekiel Ladd. The family is of English an- 
cestry and was first represented in this country 
during the Colonial days. 

The subject of our sketch wms liorn near Braman's 
Corners, Schenectady Co., N. V., Jan. 1!), 1840. 
Ills mother was, in her girlhood, Miss Rebecca 
Disbrow, daughter of Jesse Disbrow, of Connecticut, 
in which State her birth idso took place iii 180S. 
Graudfather Di-brow was .'i slii|)-carpenter by trade, 
and made many triiis between the West Indies and 
New England. Dni-ing the last voyage the vessel 
went down with all on board, and his life; was ended 
at the early age of twenty -six years. After the 
death of her luisband .Mrs. Disbrow removed from 
Connecticut to Eastern New Vork, where her 
daughter Rebecca grew to womanhood and became 
the wife of John Ladd. The parents of our sub- 
ject after their marriage settled on a farm in 
Schenectady County, where they reared a family 
and passed the remainder of their days. 

Laf.-iyette Ladd passed his boyhood and youth .at 
the homestead of his father in the Empire State and 
acquired ji limited cdncation in the country school. 
He was, however, bright and observant, and by liis 
own efforts secured ;i very good knowledge of the 
general methods of conducting business, and in Jan- 
uary, 18U4, repaired to the city of Adrian and be- 
came a book-keeper for the firm of W. E. Kimball 
& Son, in whose employ he remained for a period 
of three years. He then returned to the old home 
in Schenectady Conuty, where he spent one year, 
aud in 1808 purchased a small farm in Raisin 



•►Hh-^ 



M^ 



•►^l-^ 



520 



LKNAWEE COUNTY. 



TuwiLship, this county, and gave his atteation to 
agiicultural pursuits for the purpose of recuperating 
his health. 

Mr. Ladil, in tlie siiring of 18(ii), euterecl the em- 
ploy of the managers of the estate of Daniel A. 
Loomis, of Adrian, as book-keeper and flnanolal 
manager, which he occupied two years, and at the 
expiration of this time returned to his old posi- 
tion with W. E. Kimball & Son. The year following 
he became a partner in the business of wholesaling 
cheese, which he had originated, and continued 
imtil the 1st of March, 1877, under the style 
of Rufus Baker & Co., when the firm was (Vir^- 
solved and Mr. Ladd became associated with two 
other gentlemen of Adrian in the same business, 
which they carried on under the firm name of Clark, 
Shattuck & Ladd. This business was subsequently 
consolidated and conducted by Messrs. Clark, Baker 
& Co., Mr. Ladd remaining a partner until 1880. 
Having disposed of his interest Mr. Ladd in 
1880 formed a partnership with Walter Clement, 
and they began the manufacture of jellies. Sul)- 
sequently they added a canning factory which they 
operated until February, 1 885. Mr. Clement thou 
assumed the management of the jelly factory and 
Mr. Ladd took the canning department. This was 
destroyed by fire, but Mr. Ladd at once rebuilt, and 
the indu.stry has now become one of the leading 
features in its line in the city of Adrian; the new 
factory stands near the crossing of the river at 
College avenue. Mr. Ladd added the cheese busi- 
ness in the spring of 1885, and the outi)ut since 
that time htis been very large. He has in- 
vented a new process for separating the seed from 
tomatoes, by which he can handle 1,000 bushels 
in a day, the machine being operated by three 
persons. The factory is equipped with all the ap- 
pliances for effective and speedy work, and yields 
to the proprietor a handsome income. 

Mr. Ladd has been twice married ; by his first 
wife he had two children — Ida May and James H. 
Mr. Ladd was a second time married, to Miss Lu- 
cmda B., daughter of William and Lowena (Smith) 
Hawley, April 12, 1868. This union resulted in the 
birth of three children, namely: Fred, who was 
born Jan. 11, 1870; Louise, Nov. 16, 1873, and 
John W., April 7, 1877. Mr. Ladd was elected 



Alderman in the spring of the latter year, and politi- 
cally is an uncompromising Democrat. Socially he 
bek)ngs to Adrian Lodge No. 19, F. & A. M. He 
was thrown upon his own resources early in life and 
has attained to his present position by honest labor 
and strict attention to business. The maternal 
grandmother of our subject was in her girlhood 
Miss Abigail Johnson, a lady of much force of char- 
acter, who died at the age of ninety-seven years. 
She was the descendant of a long-lived family, her 
grandmother living to be one hundred years old. 

The first representatives of the Ladd family in 
America were three brothers who came over from 
England on the ship "John and Ann," about the 
j'ear 1633, and settled, it is believed, in Massa- 
chusetts, although one of them may have located in 
Connecticut; one was named Abijah, ])ut the names 
of the others are not known. The next descendant 
of whom the family have any record was Ezekiel, 
who was born at Haverhill, Mass., Sept. 16, 1654, 
and married Miss Mary Folsom, of P^xeter, N. H. 
Their children were Lydia, who was born Feb. 18, 
1688; Mary, Jan. 17, 1690; one unnamed, l)orn in 
May, 1693, and Nathaniel, Nov. 12, 1695. After 
the birth of these children, Ezekiel Ladd removed 
to Stratham, N. H., where his wife Mary passed 
away, and there were afterward no traces preserved 
of him or his children. It is probable, however, 
that Ezekiel (2d) was a son of Nathaniel Ladd. He 
became the great-great-grandfather of our subject; 
his name appears in the records of that time as a 
member of Capt. Charles Morris' company, be- 
longing to the regiment which Gen. Waldo organ- 
ized for the subjection of Canada in 1747; he and 
others were poisoned by the French and Indians. 
He had been married, and the name of his only son 
was William Ladd, the gTeat-grand father of our 
subject. William Ladd followed the sea principally, 
and during the Revolutionary War was a pilot for 
the noted DeGrasse in a battle between this Gen- 
eral and Rodney, a British commander. 

The maternal great-grandfather, Thaddeus King, 
who was a Captain in the Revolutionary War, mar- 
ried Miss Alice Granger, sister of Postmaster-Gen- 
eral Granger, and the}' settled in Suffleld, Conn. 
Mrs. Alice King was a sister to Ehjah Gideon and 
also to Francis Granger, of Suffleld. 

9^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



521 



r 



The children of William and Eliz.-il.cth (\ ininu) 
Ladd, of Abiugtoii, Mass., are recorded as follows: 
Thomas married Jennie Conkhitc; William married 
Norclie Hannou ; Betsey mai'ried Abner (iood- 
speed; Sally became the wife of Joseph Iloatherlon ; 
Mehitable was Mrs. Stephen Curtis; John married 
Alice King; Hannah was the wife of Robcil Estes; 
Leranel married Phebe Ilerrick: Polly married 
Jacob Markel; Susan became the wife of Henry 
Wiltse. and Levi married Eliza Pailor. John Ladd. 
the grandfather of our subject, was born Jan. 17, 
1774, and he and his wife l)ecame the p.-u'ents of llie 
children recorded as follows: Ezekiel was boin 
Oct. 10, 1799, and married Katie l>ester; Hannidi 
was born Dec. 18, 1800, and became the wife of 
Silas Willtur; Lydia was born July 30, 1802, and 
died young; Lydia (■2d) was born in June, 1803, 
and also died in childhood: John was born July 23, 
1805, and the name of his wife is unknown; Alice 
was born Nov. 2, 1808, and jiiairied ICdward Fris- 
bee; William K. was born Xo\. l."i. isio, and was 
first married to Mary Buchanan: the n.-inic of his 
second wife is unknown. Elizabeth \v:i,s boin .June 
5, 1813, and died young; Alonzo was horn .Inly 
23, 1818, and first married Miss Sally Koons; his 
second wife was Sarah Morse. Harriet was born 
Sept. 17, 1820, and became the wife of Jacob Koons. 

The (1 rangers were people of wealth and stand- 
ing in the State of Connecticut. Elijah (Granger, 
Jr., lived near Snlfield, Conn., married, and became 
the father of a son named Francis. Uncle Oideon 
Granger .served as Postmaster Cencral. and was 
very strict in his observance of IIk- S;il)li;ith. It 
was said that Uncle Francis whi[ipcd liis rai one 
Monday morning because she had caught a mouse 
on ^Sunda\^ Elijah (Granger had two or more sis- 
ters — Cynthia.. Sophia, and one at least whose name 
is not known. 

It is with plcastn-e we present on an a<ljoining [lagc 
of this Alv.vm a pc^rtrait of Mr. Ladd. 



JOSEPH P. LEE is remembered as one of tiie 
bra\e sjiirits who came into tlie wilds of 
Michigan the year before it was admitted 
into the Union as a State. He was possessed 
of the brave and hardy resolution so essential to 



the men of those times, and in common with his 
brother piont-ers, endured with stern patience and 
resolution the dilhcnlties and hardships of life in a 
new country. As a descendant of stanch English 
ancestry, he was well fitted for the duties he was 
called upon t(j perform, and distinguished him.self as 
one of the most useful members of the infant com- 
munity, which indue time was composed of a highly 
intelligent class of people who gathered here 
after they found of what leadership it was com- 
posed and who were likely to be their associates. 

Mr. Lee was born on the other side of the Atlan- 
tic, in Derbyshire, England,. in February, 1793, and 
was the son of Joseph Lee, Sr., a farmer of modest 
means who spent his entire life on his native soil. 
The grandmother, in her girlhood Miss Mary 
Pierpoint, was the granddaughter of Lady Pierpoint 
of England, and after the death of her husband, 
came to the United States and located in New 
Jersc}-, where her death took place about 1 840. The 
subject of this history was reared in his native- 
county not far from the place of his birth, which 
occurred Feb. I. 179:;. When of suitable years he 
was calli^l upon to assist in his own maintenance 
and servetl an apprenticeship at the cabinet-maker's 
trade. At this he worked for some time and then, 
not being satisfied with the results, while yet a 
j'oung man he determined u|)on a change of loca- 
tion, and accordingly embarked on a sailing-vessel 
at ijiverpool, and after a .safe voj^age set foot upon 
American soil. He had left behind him his father's 
family which now consisted of six younger children, 
one son and five daughters. He came alone to a 
strange country, but he was inspired with the cour- 
age of resolution, and his intelligent face and earnest 
manner at once secured for him friends and employ- 
ment. He located in New Jersey, and in due time 
formed the acquaintance of JNIiss Dorothea B. Tay- 
lor, who not long afterward became his wife. She 
was born and reared in New Jersey, and was of 
English and Holland-Dutch descent. Her ancestors 
had emigrated to the New World in the Colonial 
days and had, for several generations, been promi- 
nently identified with the history of New Jingland. 
Previous to his marriage Mr. Lee worked at his 
trade in Philadelphia five years, and he now followed 
the same calling for five years in Columbus, N. J., 



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4- 



i 



.522 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



and then moving into the country and locating 
upon a. tract of land, he acquired his first experience 
as an agriculturist. This business suited him very 
well, all that was lacking being more land and 
larger oppoi'tunities. The great West was then hold- 
ing out inducements to the young and enterprising 
emigrant, and Mr. Lee, seconded by the counsels of 
his brave .and courageous helpmeet, determined to 
try his fortune in the Territory of Micliigan. Ac- 
cordingly, in the fall of 1836, he started on the long 
journey, which was made partly by water and partly 
overland by teams, and coming to this county, lo- 
cated upon a tract of unbroken land in Raisin Town- 
ship. He was blessed with good health and hardy 
muscle, and entered with energy upon the labor of 
cultivating the undeveloped soil and building up a 
home. His worthy efforts met with success, and he 
remained upon the land which he had first selected 
until his death, which occurred on the .Sd of July, 
1879. 

Mr. Leo was a man greatly loved and respected, 
not only for his genial and kindly disposition, but 
because he always evinced that liberality and public 
spirit which were so essential in the days when each 
man must necessarily bend the most of his ener- 
gies to supply the needs of himself and his family. 
He kept himself thoroughly posted in regard to all 
matters upon which the welfare of the new country 
depended, and was foi-emost in assisting to institute 
those measures which would build up the commu- 
nity and tend to educate its people. Although no 
office-seeker, he took a lively interest in politics, and 
from first to last upheld the i^rinciples of the Dem- 
(jcratic party. He accumulated a good property, 
owning at one time 145 acres in Raisin Township 
and eighty acres in Climax Township, Kalamazoo 
Count}'. He was never afraid of hard work, but 
put his shoulder to the wheel both at home and 
among his neighbors, whenever he saw there was 
lienefit for either to be derived therefrom, and his 
memory is held in kindly remembrance by all who 
have had the pleasure of his acqu.aintance. 

The wife and helpmeet of this excellent man 
remained Ijy his side for a period of nearly fifty 
years, and preceded him to the better land, her 
death occurring Nov. 20, 187G. She had been 
reared in the doctrines of the Quaker faith, to which 



she loyall}- adhered until the end of her days, 
while Mr. Lee was a member of the Church of En- 
gland. Their daughter Mary E. was liorn in Bur- 
lington County, N. J., Oct. 1, 1 8:54, and was but 
two years of age when her fatiu-r came to Michi- 
gan. She remained under t!ie paternal roof until 
her marriage with Mr. .Toini llandley, which was 
celebrated at the iiome of her [larents, March 2.5, 
1870. 

Ml'. Handley was liorn in Limerick, Ireland, 
whence he emigrated vvhen a young man to the 
United States and located in New York City, where 
he engaged in laboring. Subsequently he migrated 
to the Pacific Slope, spending some years in Cali- 
fornia, and also traveled about visiting most of the 
Western States. After leaving Ireland he had 
boarded a merchant vessel, by which means he vis- 
ited many important foreign ports and gained a 
wide knowledge of foreign lands and different 
peoples. Upon finally settling down he located in 
Raisin Township, where he turned his attention to 
farming in which he has since been successfully en- 
gaged. In 1879, he piu'chased the old Lee home- 
stead where he now resides, and with his excellent 
wife, is keeping up the reputation of the estate 
in a most creditable manner. Mrs. Handle}' in- 
herited largely the intellect of he'' father, together 
with his industry, and is numbered among the intel- 
ligent and highly respected ladies of the commu- 
nity. 



SAAC NEWTON WARREN. The gentleman 
whose history we briefly give below is a well- 
known and highly esteemed citizen of Dover 
Township, residing on his farm on section 32. His 
parents were Isaac and Delia A. ("S'ail) Warren (for 
parental history see sketch of Darwin H. Warren). 
I. N. Warren, our subject, is a native of Dover 
Township, having been born on the homestead 
he now occupies Nov. 6, 1844. He received a 
good common-school education, which was sup- 
plemented by a course of instruction at Oak Grove 
Academy, in Medina Township. After leaving 
school he taught one term ; he then discarded that 
profession, preferring the free and independent life 
of a farmer to the irksome and we.arying one of 



•►HI-4»- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



-!- 



a pedagogue. He accordingly remained on tlie 
homestead, engaged in agriculttirni work, assiiniing 
I lie management of tin- fariri. "liii-h tell to liini after 
lii.s father's death in 1 ss.l 

I. N. AVarren and Mi.ss Nancy Ilalstead were 
united in marriage .Sept. '■>, 1S7G, in Clayton, this 
State. Mrs. Wai-ren is the daughter of Thompson 
and Sophia A. (Beebe) Halstead, both natives of 
.New "Idrk, who married and settled in Cuba, Alle- 
gany Comity, that State, making that their penna- 

nciit h ('. Airs. Ilalstead's demise occurred there 

Nov. 27, I8o0; Mr. Halstead survives, and still 
makes his home in Cuba. They were the paients 
of two children, Nancy A. and Elizabeth A., the 
latter of whom died in infancy. Nancy A. now 
Mrs. W.irren, was born in Cuba, N. V., .lunc I'.i, 
1 84(1. Hefore marriage she was a successful teacher 
in her native State. She came to Michigan in 1873. 
and pursued her vocation as instructor in Lenawee 
County until iier marriage. Mr. and .Mrs. Warren 
have one child, Edith L., who w:is hoin Sept. I'l), 
1882. Mr. and Mrs. Warren arc much re-si)ec ted 
for their iiigh moral worlh. They are influential 
and worthy members of tiic Methodist Episcopal 
Church, and endeavor to carry out in their daily 
Hves th(^ principles uuderlying that faith. For sev- 
eral yeais Mr. W.arren has been Superintendent of 
the Sunday-school and is also Steward of the church. 
In politics he is a Prohibitionist, although he has. 
hitherto, been identified with the KepublicMii p.-utv. 



,I/_^ ENRY HA(;LESS, ,,f Iviirliehl Township, i- 
|r^\ the owner of a good farm on section •.'■_'. 
A^ eighty acres of which lie piiicliased in the 
(^^ spring of IS;-).-!. In I s:,.s lii> put ii]. :; log 
house, of which he soon .-irterward t,ook possession 
and occupied until he coidd substitute a more 
modern dwelling. He had labored industi'iously 
and successfull.y, increasing his landed area to 112 
acres, which he has brought to a good state of cul- 
tivation and made excellent iniprovenients thereon, 
including a fine set of hnildiiigs and the other 
appliances of a model farm. 

The boyhood home of our subject wii> on the 
other side of the Atlantic in Sussexshiie, England. 
where he was born Sept. 25, 1832. He continued 



upon his native soil until a youth of eighteen years, 
and in the fall of 18.50 embarked on a sailing-ves- 
sel bound from the city of London to New York. 
LTpon arriving in this country he made his way 
directly westward, s(.on afterward locating in this 
county, of which lie h.-is >iMce been .-i I'csident. 
After IMr. Uagless had made fair headw;iy toward 
the improvement of a farm, he took unto himself a 
wife and helpmeet. Miss Lncretia 'SI. Carpenter, to 
whom he was married I\I:iy 1, l,S;-,7. Th,' wife of 
our subject was llii' daughter of one of the pio- 
neers <.ir Lenawee County, lienjamin Carpenter, 
Esq., who. with his wile, formerly Eliza M. Wilcox, 
migrated fioMi New York State to this country in 
the thirties l!enjainin Carpenter was the second 
man to enter l.-uid in Fairlield T,,wn>hip. .-iihI lived 
there until about I .s.-,.,. then removed to .Madison 
Township, where he >till resides. The Carpenter 
f.amily included tliirleen children, of whom Mrs. 
Ragless was the lifth in order of birth. She first 
oliened her eyes to the light at the pioneer home- 
stead ill l'":iiilield Township, .Sept. li), 18;!7, and 
continued witli her parents until her marriage. 

Benjamin C.-iipeiiler w.-is a, descendant <if an old 
English family wh,, probably came to the United 
States very s..oii after llie close of the Revolution- 
ary \\:w. The earliest record locates them in New 
York St.-itc, near the cit\- of Llmira, where Benja- 
min was l„,ni on the l>t of .Tune, 1807. Three 
years later his p.-iivnt^ removed t,, Shelby. Orleans 
County, where his father. .Iame> Carpenter, Imd 
piirch.-isi'd a, f.ann. and where the boy was reared to 
m.anhood. ( »ii the I ."'.th of January, 1828, he w.as 
m.arried. in Orleans County, to Miss Eliz.a, M. Wil- 
cox, aii.l in the fall of I s;!2 they i-anie to the Terri- 
tory of Mi.liigau. locating on section 2, in Fair- 
field Township. This land I'lCiijaniin had [lurchased 
fnnn his hrothei- Abraiii, .-iml after Ijuilding a log 
house he to,,k po>.e^sioii with his little family, and 
continued to li\e (here for .-i iieriod of twenty- 
one years. lie cleared tin- heavy timber from 120 
acre- with his own h.ands, fenced it into 10-acre 
lots, .ind [lut up a good house and barn, hewing the 
timlier and .-idjiisting the framework mostly him- 

the perseverance an(i industry of one of the most 
honored and esteemed pioneers of Lenawee Coiintv. 



Hh-^ 



^ 



i 



524 



■•► 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



"When Mr. Carpenter caine to Fairfield Town- 
ship there were but five families. In June, 1833) 
a bear visited some of the settlers and carried ofif 
their pigs, and a neighbor asked Mr. Carpenter 
what lie was going to do when Bruin paid him the 
same compliment. •' Why, I'll kill him, of course, 
said Mr. Carpenter; "just send him here and I'll 
show you." That very night the bear came to Mr. 
Carpenter's, captured a sn-.all pig, and carrying it 
into a swamp, devoured it. He then returned for 
another, when Mr. Carpenter shot him, and the next 
morning (Sunday) he was prepared to supply all 
who came to meeting with bear meat. Mr. Car- 
penter became quite skillful as a hunter and 
trapper, but only killed when it was necessary for 
meat. 

In March, 1853, Mr. Carpenter sold his farm in 
Fairfield and purchased land on section 22 in 
Madison Township, where he now resides. He 
and his good wife, Eliza M., became the parents of 
thirteen children. Five of his sons served as Union 
soldiers in the late Civil War, and one participated 
directly in the capture of Jefferson Davis. Mrs. 
Eliza M. Carpenter was born in Palmyra, Wayne 
Co., N. r.. May 2, 1812, and was the daughter of 
Silas and Cynthia (Taft) Wilcox, natives respect- 
ivelj^ of Rhode Island and Chesterfield, Mass. 
Silas Wilcox was born Feb. 13, 1787, and died in 
Fairfield Township, this county, Aug. 5, 1837, 
while comparatively a young man. His wife, 
Cynthia was born Jan. 1, 171)0, and survived her 
husband eighteen years, her death taking place 
also in Fairfield Townshiii, Sept. 8, 1855. The 
paternal grandfather of Mrs. Ragless, James Car- 
penter, was born in 1785, a native of Orange 
County, N. Y., whence he removed to Orleans 
County and from there to the Territory of Michi- 
gan in 1 833. He located a large tract of land in 
the southwestern part of Fairfield Township, where 
he continued to live until his death, in 1857. 

Of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Ragless, nine in 
number, the record is as follows: Sarah E., the 
eldest, died in 187(j, when an interesting maiden 
of seventeen summers; Thomas H. married Miss 
Mary M. Smith, and is living in Fairfield; James 
B. married Ina V. Hoag, and is also a resident of 
Fairfield; Robert J. married Miss Florence D. Ash- 



bill, and is engaged on a railroad at Saginaw ; Byron, 
Lettie J., Lucy L., William S. and George are at 
home with their parents. Mr. Ragless keeps a goodly 
number of horses and cattle, and raises considerable 
grain, besides the provisions required for the fam- 
ily con.sumption. He is systematic in his labors, 
upright in his business transactions and in all respects 
ranks as an honest man and a good citizen. Mrs. 
R. labored hard in assisting her husband, and is 
deserving of great credit for the part she has taken: 
she occupies an enviable position in society. Mr. 
Ragless cast his first Presidential vote for Douglas, 
and gives his support uniformly to the Democratic 
party ; socially, he belongs to Fairfield Lodge No. 
125, F. e\r A. M. 

The parents of our subject, Henry and Sarah 
(Baker) Ragless, were also of English birth and 
ancestry. Their family included five children, and 
they continued in their native country until the 
spring following the arrival of their son in Amer- 
ica. They then joined him here, locating in Fair- 
field Township, where they continued to live until 
closing their eyes upon the scenes of earth. Henry 
was the eldest of the family and contributed 
greatly to the support and comfort of his parents, 
performing his filial duties in a most praiseworthy 
manner. 



ENNIS O. GRIMES, the owner of a com- 
fortable homestead pleasantly located on 
section 33, in Rome Township, came to 
Michigan with his wife in the fall of 
18G4, and located near where he now lives. In 
1870 he sold this propert3' and purchased his pres- 
ent farm, which he has since occupied. Thts com- 
prises eighty acres of land, under a good state of 
cultivation, with a substantial farm house and the 
other accessories of the country home. Mr. Grimes 
is a peaceable, law-abiding citizen who has filled 
worthily his niche in life, has been honest and up- 
right in his business transactions, industrious and 
frugal in his habits, and in all respects a desirable 
member of society. 

Our subject is the son of Joshua and Eliza 
(Barnes) Grimes, natives of Carroll County, Me., 
and was there born also, on the 9th of May, 1833. 



•►Hh-^- 



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•►Hl-^ 



-•►-1 1-^ 



LENAM'EE COUNTY. 



His paternal grandfather, Barsel Grimes, was a na- 
tive of England, whence lie emigrated when yonng. 
and settled in Maryland, wliere he cnnied on Taini- 
ing and died at a good old agi'. .Icislma (irinics 
learned the enoper's tnid<'. Iml, allcT :i, U-k years 
ahan.loned it f..r tlie more eougeiiial |iursiiit of 
farming, and died in his native eonnty at tlie age 
of sixty-live years. The mother is still living, at 
seventy-two years of aur, and m;d<es her liome with 
lierdanghter. in Marylfiud. Mr. (Jriines ■•ontinned 
a member of his fatlier's hoiiscliold until twenty- 
seven years of age, U(,ridi,^ on llie farm nntil 
reaching his niajorlt,y, and afterward worked ont 
l>y the moiUli. rpon leaving lionie he migrated to 
Oliio, and live-l Ihcac in JM-ie (.'onnty. four years. 
He tlien retnrned to Indi.aiia, and six months later 
made his way 1o this <-ount,y, of which he has since 
been a icsidcnt. 

.Mr. (Crimes was married in hi> native connt\', 
Sept. :!. ISC,:;, to Mi>- S.-ir.-ih .1. Mullcnnix, a native 
of Erie County. Ohi... .and dauuhter of Samuel and 
Susan .Mullcnnix. Their family includes three chil- 
.Iren, still under the home roof: Albert L., liorn 
June 1, l.sci, the eldot. is ;i carpenter by trade and 
works in Rome Township and vicinity; -loseph .1. 
was'born Aug. ;i ISdC.and wi>rks tlie farm with his 
father; (ieorge W. was born Aug. 12, IS7!, and 
remains at iiome; F'ranees N. was born in l.S7y.an<l 
died when three months old. 

Mr. and Mrs. Grimes attiuid the .Methodist Epis- 
copal Church at Clayton. .Mr. (I. has been a mem- 
ber of the Masonic fr.aternity since IsiW.I, and now 
belongs to Cla^'ton Lodge No. l'7<s, lb- has always 
lieen greatly interested in the workings <.if this and 
other orders, and credits them with being the 
means of much good. 



j^5^ EYMOUR HOWELI,, of tlie bai 
^W^ of Howell, Baker A: Co., of Af 
kJ_^ man who h.as made liis wa\ in 
— without the hel)) of otiier.s. He u 
England, and is the son of Rev. .binies ai 
Howell. He received a good common-sc 
cation, and during his after life has been 
reader, and thereby made himself a mat 



general inforniation. He rem.ained with his parents 
until lie was fourteen years of age. when he left 
lionu' and began the battle of life on his own ac- 
count For five years he was employed on a farm, 
working by the month. 

At the age of niiu'tcen years Mv. Howell en- 
tered the volunteer service in IJSIJl, lieeoming a 
memlier of Company F, tjth .Michigan Infantry. 
On the organization of tha,t. c'om|iany he was made 
.Seco:id Lieutenant, .and the regiment was ordered 
to Baltimore immediately after its ..rg.aniz.afion, 
ami in that city passed the winter, in February^ 
1862. Mr. Howell was ordered t,,, Ship Island, Miss.,' 
where (ien. Butler was in c-cunmand. He was pres- 
ent at the capture of Fts. .bickson and St. Phillip, 
below New Orleans, and just above the deltas of 
the AH.ssissippi River, and was also present at the 
capture of Baton Rouge, La. He also participated in 
the siege at Port Hudson, under Gen. N. P.Banks, 
at the same time tliat (ieu. (irant was thundering 
at the rear of \'icksburg for admission. He was 
also at the rednetion of Fts. Gaines and Morgan 
at the mouth of iMobile 15ay. In l.s(;2 he was pro- 
moted First Lienfcnant, ,an<l in .Inly, 1SG3, was pro- 
moted Captain, and in tli.at capacity served until 
Aug. :il, ls(i4. when he was commissioned Major 
of his regiment. .Vfter more than four years of 
faithful service, he was innstered out of the army 
on the 20th of August, 18Gu. The only injury he 
received during his term of service was a wound at 
the battle of Baton Rouge, in August, isc^'. 

Lpon his return from the arm,y, Mr. Howell en- 
tered the employ of the Jackson. Lansing cfe Sagi- 
naw Railroad, serving in the capacit3'' of freight 
clerk for several yea,rs. After several years' con- 
nection vvith tiiat company he was next employed 
by the F"t. W^ayne & Jackson Railroad Co., as chief 
clerk, in the general oflice of the general freight 
department at Jackson, Mich., for several years. He 
then went to Logansport, Lid., where he became 
the (ieneral I'reight Agent of the Eel River Rail- 
roail, filling that |H>sition satisfactorily to the com- 
pany for about eight years. In March, 18.S1, Mr. 
Howell came to the city of Adrian, taking an in- 
terest in, and assisting in inanaging the Peninsular 
Car Works, a branch of which was located at 
Ailrian. He continued in this position for three 

•>. 



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526 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



years, when the works were removed to Detroit, 
Mioh., at which time he disposed of his interest 
therein. He then purchased an interest in the 
banking firm of T. J. Toby & Co., taking the place 
of D. M. Baker, who retired. Tn 1885 the firm 
name was changed to Howell, ISakur * Co., Mr. 
Toby retiring from the firm. 

ELI SPAHHAWK, the subject of this sketch, 
has had a residence of thirty-seven years "in 
Lenawee County, and in that time he has 
been a personal observer of the transformation it 
has undergone, especially in his immediate sur- 
roundings, while he can feel proud of the fact that 
Madison Township has never occupied a secondary' 
position in the matter of advancement. 

Ouj' subject comes of A'ermont parentage, and 
the people of such descent are rated among the 
hardiest and thriftiest of our country. Although 
he was born and reared in the AVest, Mr. Sparhawk 
inhei'ited many of the traits of a Vermonter from 
his parents, who were Eben and Pannie (Hudson) 
Sparhawk, both natives of the Greeu Mountain 
State. The}' first settled in what is now Summit 
County, near Akron, Ohio, and from there emi- 
grated to Lenawee County, Mich., in the fall of 
1851, where they settled in Madison Townshi[). 
Here the father died on the "iOth of April, 1863, at 
the age of sixty 3'ears, while the mother removed 
to Gratiot County, Mich., where she died on the 
12th of April, 1887, at the age of eighty years. 
They were the parents of seven children — Stearns, 
Dyanthia, Eli, Rachel, Henry, Emma and Rachel. 
Eli,Einma and Rachel are the only surviving mem- 
bers of the family. Emma is the wife of Myron 
Livesay, and resides in Clinton County, Mich., 
while Rachel is the wife of Silas Randolpli, and re- 
sides in Gr.itiot County. 

Eli Sparhawk was born in Summit County, Ohio, 
on the 1st of Deeend)er, l.sao. Luring his boyhood 
days lu! took great interest in matters connected 
with farm work, and api)lied himself assidu-ously, 
not t)nl_y to the ordinary routine work, but to learn- 
ing the science of farmiug and the comparative 
values of products, both grain and live stock. 



When not thus engaged he attended a district 
school, where he stored his mind with the knowl- 
edge to be obtained in such schools in those days. 
He was an attentive and studious pupil, and was 
popular with both his teacher and fellow pupils. 
He came to Lenawee County with his parents in 
1 851, and has been a resident of Madison Town- 
ship since that year, where he has been contin- 
uously engaged in farming. He owns seventy-eight 
acres of valuable land, upon which he has erected a 
good house and made other valuable improvements. 
On the 29th of Deceml)er, 185;i. in BLadison 
Township, Mr. Sparhawk w;i> niarrieil to Miss 
Marian, daughter of William and Aim (Bnlress) 
Service (see sketch of William Service). She was 
born in Canandaigua, Ontario Co.,N. Y.,on the 6th 
of June, 1831. Mr. and Mrs. Sparhawk have one 
child, named Elmer S., who was born in Madison 
Township on the 1st of October, IHiia. Mr. Spar- 
hawk is one of the progressive farmers and enter- 
prising citizens of Madison Township. He has held 
the office of Highway Commissioner for three years 
and was elected Justice of the Peace, without so- 
licutatiou on his part, but declined to qualify for 
the discharge of the duties of that office. His 
political affiliations are with the Reiiublican party, 
in which he is an active member. He and his fam- 
ily occupy an enviable position in the society of 
Madison Township, and are held in high esteem by 
all who know them. 



1[^)01!LRT M. BOYD. rromincnt among the 
!L^ intelligent yotuig farmers and stock-raisers 
^ \\\ of Raisin Township is Rol)ert Boyd. He 
^P) traces his ancestry, through both father and 
jnother, back to that hardy race of Scots that set- 
tled in the northern comities of Ireland, and inherits 
in a great degree the thiift and energy character- 
istic of that people, and these, supplemented bjr a 
go(Kl education, are the elements of a successful 
career in his chosen occupation. 

Mr. Boyd's parents were natives of County 
Antrim, Ireland. The grandfathei- of our subject, 



•► 



■•► 



f 





f 




1 












-4» 


•►- 


II 4' 








LENAAVEE 


COUNTY. 


.527 






.lames Boyd, emigrated from tlinl c.miilryto AiiK-r- 


of land originally owned by his father; he a 


so 1 iwns 






ica early in the present century,. -nid located in Liv- 


forty acres of laud in Ridgeway Townsliip. 








ingston County, N.Y., where he prosecuted hi> work 


Mr. Boyd was united in marriage, on th 


■ :dU of 






nsa farmer until his death, uhic'h took pl-ce in the 


March, l,S84,to iNHss Anna M. lirown. of Ih 


- toWU- 






year 1S20. 


>hili. .She i> .a nati\c "( ( )i-ange Ciainty 


N. v.. 






James lioyd. .Ir.. his son. and tlu- I'atiuT ..f ,,ur 


who came to Mi.'higan wh.ai (|uitc y,.unu 


villi lua' 






suhjeet, came to Michigan a> early as the year 1 s.'.l , 


parents, .lame- \V. .ami S.arah (Seymour) 


I'.rouu. 






and made a settlement in liaisiu ■l■ou•M^hi|), this 


Siie was reared an<l cdn.vated in tlli- lown-h 


p. Her 






county. Here he met and marri.'d Nancy Richard. 


parent^ are now living in l<'urd Counly. K:i 


1. .Mr. 






who wasalM.a n.ative of the Kuua'ald Isle, horn in 


and Mv-. I'.oyd h.avc one daughlca'. Li ora .1 


Tliey 


j 




County Antrim. She c.ame to this country with h.a' 


have a pleasant, well a|.|ioinlc<l home, 1 


, Uhicll 






father. Arch ihald liich.aid, uh.u >he was l.ut mx 


lluar gcn(M-oir^ ho>ijitalily .all racls numerous 


friends. 






years ohl. (For the hisl.ay of Ihr Uirh.ard family. 


Ihey .aie .attendants .at. the l'l■e^l.yt<a■i.all 


Churi'h. 






see .sketch of Alexander i^cliard. in Ihi,- Ana m.) 


.Mr. I'.oy.l >eems to li.avc inhclit.'d lln' 


.olitical 






Mr. and Mrs. .lames Boyd, .Ir.. hco.au their marrie.l 


views of hi. f.alhci. .and. like him, Mipp 


at- the 






life with few earthly pos.session> >ave their own will- 


D.auocr.atie parl\. lb- i- iulcre>te<l in w 








ing hands and .stout hearts; yet .\li. l;.,yd, hy good 


|a-onn.lcs the pilbji,' -.hhI. and docs all Iha 


hr can 






judgment, wise economy and |ier-.'\ ei-ing energy. 


to forward it. He has s.M'vcd the fown>hip 


isCl.a'k 






aided materially by the wi-c coiui>el and untiring 


f(a- the term of foiu' yeai>. 








help of his wife, accuuiul.atcd ,■! large i)roperty, be- 
coming one of the most extensive laud-owners in 


^■^■'tS^'C-J^^^Si^-^r- 








the county, lie g.aiucd f..i' liiurM^lf an honored and 










rcspcclvd name, and by his death, which occana-cd 


. ^OIJ.'VTK) (J. IIICK.S e ,,f IIh' n 


specled 






Dec. l';i, l.s.sO, the town in which he h.a.l so long 


f% cili/.ensof M.'idisonTo«iishi|,, c.ame 
'A^ awee County wluai if wa- in il> 


lo Len- 






made his home was deprived of a, good citizen, and 


n fancy. 






the Democratic party lo.st a stanch adh(a-,ait. Ills 


1^ with no otlna- capital than brain .ai 


d inns- 






wife, now [tast sixty years of age. >ni-\ ivcs him. 


clcTand by hi> own im il.abic ,ai(a-y an 


1 persc- 






making her home in Tecaimsch. She is ,a faithful 


verance lias pl.aced luniself in .a position \ 


luae he 






member of the Presbyterian Cluuvh. Their four 


can spend his d.'cliniug years in comfort. . 


njoying 






children— three sons and one d.anghter— are .all li\- 


the fruit- of a life of toil. .Mr. Hick- is a i 


ativ of 






ing, namely: Robert M., the subject of this oio- 


New York, and i- the >oii ..f I'eleg .and 1'.>II\ 


( I'itts) 






■ graphical memoir: .Tame^, who is engaged in the 


Hicks, natives of MassaehuM'lt-. .\fter th 


•ir mar- 






hardware trade at Tecnraseh ; Archie, a farmer of 


riage they settled on .a farm in Ontario 


County, 






Raisin Township; and .leiuiie, the wife of Dr. R. B. 


N. Y., and there four cliildivu were born 1 


. them. 






House, of Springfield, Ohio. 


as follows: Angeline, C.atharinc. Horatio 


(J. and 






Their son, Robert M. Boyd, w.as boiai on the old 


Polly I'. 








homestead, on section 15 of Raisin Townsliii), Nov. 


Horatio C. Hicks, the third child in < 


rder of 






1, lSo3. His father's growing prosi)erity enal)led 


birth, was bornApril2,s. I.si7,and wa> e,arl.\ 


tr.aiiied 






him to give to his son the advantages and facilities 


to habits of frugality .and industry, while 








of a thorough education in the 'i'e<umseh High 


his father on the larni during the int.<a\ als ot 


.attcnd- 






School. After he was gra<luated from this school. 


anci' at the district -clnxjl. !■'. atilied by t 


lis prac- 






he continued to reside with hi.-. i)ai\aits foi' some 


tical Ir.aining, he e.arly ,-tarte<| out to make 








years, thus securing the benefits of .a pr.actical ti.aiu- 


w.ay in the world, and luinini:' his >teps to 


vard Ihe 






ing from his father in his chosen calling. The farm 


Territory ..f .Michi-.an. :i> the country w 


hca-c !!.■ 






where he has since established a h.nm-, (a.nsisis of 


could best pnr,-.ne the ocenp.afioii lo wliic 








L'17 fertile, well-tilled acres, lying on section H), of 


been reare<l, he came l.i laaiawec ( oimly in 


.\ngu>f. 






■ ' this township, and forming a part of the 700 acres 


1836. He soon obtained work at farm 


ng, and 




g^. 






^f 


■^^ 
















i 





4 



»► ■ <• 



lenawp:e county. 



labored by the month for some years, until by wise 
economy he succeeded in saving money enough to 
buy a tract of land, containing seventy acres, in 
Fairfield Township, where he made his home for 
some years, and b}' unceasing industry brought his 
farm to a fair state of improvement. In the year 
1849 he traded this property for land in Madison 
Township, on which he has since made his home. 
The fiirm is finely located on section 25, and con- 
tains 180 acres of fertile, well cultivated soil, on 
which he has erected a neat, comfortable dwelling, 
a commodious barn, and other buildings. 

In these years of toil Mr. Hicks has not lacked 
the encouragement and assistance of a good wife. 
He was married in Madison Township, Dec. 14, 
1845, to Miss Susan BL, daughter of Conrad and 
Sarah (Murray) Holmes. Mr. Holmes was a native 
of New York, while his wife was a native of Ire- 
land, and after their marriage they settled in Mon- 
roe County, N. Y., where Blrs. Hicks, the eldest of 
their eight children, was born Jan. 15, 1825. The 
names of their children are as follows: Susan M., 
.Inhn M.. iSIargaret M., Nancy .J., Mary A., William 
J., Sylvester F. and Isaac AV. Mr. and Mrs. Holmes 
removed to Lenawee County, Mich., in 1834, and 
settled in Madison Township, where Mr. Holmes 
died in 1838, aged forty-four ytnxrs; his widow sur- 
vived him many years, dying in 1«70 at the age of 
seventy-four _years. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Hicks was born one child, 
Matilda E., who died at the age of fourteen months. 
Mr. and Mrs. Hicks are much respected in the com- 
munity for their many good qualities; Mr. Hicks is 
a stanch supporter of the Democratic party. 



successful 
stock-raisers of this county. 
;ronsisting of ninety-three acres of 
land on section 10 of Franklin Township, is one of 
the best improved farms of the township. Mr. 
Wisner located here at the time he purchased the 
place in 1855, and has made it ills home ever since. 
Mr. Wisner was born in the township of Newfane, 
Niagara Co., N. Y., Oct. 29, 182G, and is the son 
of Abraham Wisner, a native of Seneca Count}-, 



N. Y^.,,but of German descent. Abraham Wisner 
was the son of Jehial Wisner, of York State, a 
Revolutionary soldier, and a talented minister of 
the Baptist Cliurch. In the latter part of his life 
he came with his wife to Michigan, where they lived 
with their children until death, at upward of sevent_v- 
six years of age. The Rev. J. Wisner, grand- 
father of our subject, was married three times, and 
tiie grandmother of our sul)ject, Susan Chandler, 
became the mother of nine children, of whom 
Abraham Wisner was the eldest. He was born in 
( )ni.nge County, N. Y., Oct. 17, 179!), and was reared 
there and in Seneca County to manhood, when he 
went to Niagara Count_y, and was there married to 
Sarah Wisner, whose ancestral history is similar to 
that of her husband. 

After the birth of six children, all sons, nl whom 
our subject was the third, Abraham and Sarah Wis- 
ner came in the usual manner across the country, 
requiring two weeks to make the jf)urney, and lo- 
cated on a farm of 240 acres on section 17, F'rank- 
lii) Tow-nship, which the father had purchased from 
the Government in the fall of 18;i2. They built 
a primitive log cabin of the rudest sort, with a 
slick and mud chimney and with blankets for doors. 
This soon gave place to better buildings, which he- 
came the home of the father and mother until their 
death, that of the former occurring in November, 
18G7, while the latter died in May, 1865, aged 
sixty-eight and fifty-nine respectively. They were 
active members of the Baptist Church for many 
years, while in politics the father was a Whig and 
afterward a Republican. They were true repre- 
sentative people, being valued pioneers and estim- 
able citizens. 

The subject of this sketch was reared at home 
until his marriage, Jan. 1, 1850, with Marian M. 
Whelan, at her home in Franklin Township. The 
lady of his choice was born in Clarkson Township, 
Monroe Co., N. Y., June 2, 1831, and is the 
daughter of John and Freelove (Raymond) Whe- 
lan, natives of Livingston Township, Oswego 
County, in the same State. Her parents located on 
a farm in Clarkson Tow-nship, which was their home 
until the birth of two children, of whom Mrs. W., 
is the elder. In May, 1 833, Mr. Whelan came to 
Jlichigan, and took up his hcmie on a farm of 240 



i^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



52!) ik 



acres on section 15, Franklin Township. Diiri 
the second year of his stay here he built a sawin 
wliich was tiie first in the township, .•md very neci 
sary to the iiionecrs in the niljncenl I'niiiiliy. ( 
this homestead the f.-itluT (lied in Orldlier. 1 s( 
aged sixty-five yr;irs: Ihc lu.'llicr. nii .-idive and 
telligent old lady uf i-iiihiy-onc years, makes I 
home with her (laughter. .\Ir>. Wisncr. I'uliticM 
the fatlier was a Repiililic.-iii .-iiid a sU-Miig Alioiiii< 
ist; at his death he owned an eiilire section 
land. 

Mr. and Mrs. Wi.sner's energetie efforts to liu 
up a good home have l)een iiighly sneecssful. M 
W. has no children of her own,buth;is reared nil 
three of whom are dead. In religinn tliey are 
dependent, and politically Mr. Wisner is .-i IJepn 
lican. 



•^h 



J) ACOB A. llARiJER came to Lenawee Coun- 
I ty, from Ohio, in January, 18(i.'), and located 
I on a part of tlie land included in his |ires- 
_ ' ent honn.stead on .section 18, in Adrian 
Township. He lirst purcli.-ised fifty-six acres and 
later added forty, and lived in a log cal)in for nine 
years. During the summer of 1874 he put up his 
present residence, and all the improvements, which 
the passing traveler notes with interest, have been 
eifected by the enterprise and industry of the pres- 
ent proprietor. 

The chihlhood .•uid youth of iM,-. Harder were 
spent in Columbia, County. N. Y., where his ijii-th 
took place April IG, 1827. He is the eldest son of 
George I. and Catherine (Tator) Harder, anil on his 
father's side is of German descent. His pateiiial 
grandfather died, it is thought, in New Vork St;ii.e. 
The grandmother died in Columbia Coinify. N. V., 
at the advanced age of ninety yc-irs. In th.-it 
county, also, George L Harder was Imrn in ISO.!. 
where he remained until twenty-seven years of age, 
engaged in farming and keeping hotel, and from 
there, in 1833, he removed to Western New York, 
locating in Wayne Count.y. The journey was made 
overland with teams, and the family eariied their 
household goods and provisions on the wagon, cani|)- 
ing and cooking liy the wayside, after the manner 
of the travelers of those daj's. George Harder 



luuight and sold different pieces of land, and after a 
residence on farius of five or six years in that part 
of the Empire State, l.iok np his abode in Eairville. 
in the same eounly. and |iurcliasiug a large fr.-inie 
building kept, hotel there lour or five years. He 
subsequently soM out and purchased .'i sujallcr 
building MS a, dwelling for his family, and filled the 
poM'tion of constable thereafter for many years, 
lie also was engaged in the luitcliering business 
.■md. being a well-read man. was fre(|uently cmIIccI 
upon foi- the adjustment of legal matti'is. lie liri.ally 
set, up .MS ,M book dealer and spent the last yc.Mrs 
of his hie in Eairville. passingaway when sixty-fivc 
years old. 

:\Irs. Catherine llardca-. the motliei- of , Mir subject. 
»!is born ill Columbia County, N. V.. I'Vb. 8. 
IS()7, and was married Nov. 6, [x-j:>. She de|iarted 
this life May 22, 182!), when her son .laiajb A. 
was a little over two years old. He h;ul one brother. 

died in his native county. .\ug 17. \x:W. (Jeorge 
Harder, after the death of his first wib', w.ms agMin 
marri(Ml..Tune I'.-i. is:;i. to .Miss Ahum Wiiitrm.an. 
whose fat hc-r H.MS a farmcj- of Cohinibia ('<iuiity. 
Of this marriage there were the following children: 
Catherine N., born Dec. i:t, is;;;',, became tliewif,. 
of I*. 15. Porter, of Osw-ego C.mnty, N. Y., and died 
in Lenawee Couut,\ . .Inly is. 1 ,s.s7 ; Sallic .M. w.ms 
born Der. 2!), ls:;(;, .and di.al .hiiie s, is;;;): .|,,ii„ 
11. was born Nov. 2, |s;is, and is farming in Adri.MU 
'I'ownship, this county, being the oidy survivor of 
thechiklrcn. The third wife of ( Iciu'ge Harder, to 
whom h.' W.MS married Eeb. 27, lS-12, was .Mis,, H. 
E. Moore, who was Inirii Dec. -,, 1S|7. :uid is still 
living in Eairville, N. Y. 

.Ia(M>b A. Harder contiiuuMJ with his father until 
twent_y-two years of age. .Mccpiiring .m limited (mIii- 
cation in the district school. .Mini spent -onie time in 
working out b3' the month. The majority ol young 
men in those days had a setthnl object in view, and 
to this end, when starting out for themsehcs. savi'd 
their money and usually invested it in .a wis<' man- 
ner. Onr subject lived cc,.nomii':dly. and first pur- 
chased .seventy-live aiavs of laud in his native 
(M>unty, where he remained until the Call of Isci. 
In the meantime he w\as married, Sept. 2 1. Is4'.i, 
to Miss Sabrina Dickson, who was burn Sept. 29, 



■*► 



I 



530 



LENAWER COUNTY. 



1 H-iG, in Wayne County, N. Y. She is tlie rlauglitcr 
of Isaac D. and Betsy Dickson, who were also na- 
tives of the Empire State. Tlie Dicl<sons were 
early settlers of Pennsylvania, from whence the pa- 
ternal oTandfather of Mrs. Harder removed with his 
family to Wayne County. N. Y. Mr. 1 >.. the falli<-i- 
of the wife of our subject, like his forefathers, was 
a farmer by occupation, and died when sixty years 
of age, in Wayne County. The mother of Mrs. 
Harder is still living, making her home in Livingston 
County, this State, and is now eighty-eight .years old. 

Jacob Harder, in 18G4, disposed of his property 
in New York and removed to Ohio, where he en- 
gaged in buying horses for the army and also kept 
a livery stable. In January, 18G5, he made his way 
to this State, and his subsequent course we have 
already indicated. He was at once recognized as a 
valued accession to the community wherein he 
took up his abode, and has been quite prominent in 
public affairs, serving as Commissioner of High- 
ways and School Director, being generally inter- 
ested in those matters pertaining to the advance- 
ment of an intelligent class of peoi)le. Like liis 
forefathers, he is an active Democrat. 

Mr. and Mrs. Harder are the jjarents of the fol- 
lowing children: George E., wlu> was born June 
15. 1859, and died Sept. 27, 18G0; Jessie E., vvho 
was born May 13, 18G4, andis the wife of Cassius 
M. Knowles; Mr. K. owns 320 acres of good land 
in Mcintosh County, Dak., and he and his wife have 
one daughter, Sabrina E., who was born Aug. 20, 
188."i. Cassius M. is a >on of Edward Knowles. 
who is well known in tliis countv. 



p^ICHARD H. OsnORN, wh., for long years 
Uf has been known as one of tlie most thrifty 
|, farmers of tiii> section <>( (■(.iinlry. <-aiii.' to 
^''^'^ Southern Mic]ii.<i:iu about is.'.r,. :in.l l.uill 
ic on seclion IS. Mvdna Tuwii>hi|i. 
cxi-chrul old >Cu York family, his 
iiliinm and Calherinr (Davis) Os- 
born, who were boin. reared and m.-iiTiiMl in Dutch- 
ess Counly. .-nid live.l there niilil the ^p,■in^ ,,f 
183G. Then, deciding upon a change of location. 




they made their way to Moi;enci, this county, and 
settled not long afterward near Waldron, where 
they spent the remainder of their lives. 

The sid)ject of this sketch was the fourth in a 
family of eight children, and was born in Dutchess 
County, N. Y.. Feb. 10, 1819. He was reared to 
manhood on a farm, and accompanied his parents 
to Michigan, lieing then about seventeen years of 
age. About that time he started out for himself, 
becoming the employe of D. Wakefield, of Morenci, 
witli whom he remained one year, and from there 
migrated into Hillsdale County, where he lived un- 
til reaching his majority. In the meantime, hi>w- 
ever, he went back to his native State for the pnr- 
|)ose of settling an estate in which he had an intei-- 
est. This journey, a long and dangerous <me at 
that time, was undertaken alone and on foot, and 
tifter much hardship he reached his destinatiim 
three weeks from the time of starting. A part of 
the ensuing winter he worked for Warren Wiley, of 
Dutchess County, and the balance of the time was 
engaged in his own business affairs. He went still 
farther east to Connecticut, visiting among friends 
and relatives there a few weeks during the winter, 
;i,nd the followiim spring returned to this county. 

Mr. Osboiii, lieiii- now reinforced with a small 
capital, pnnhased 217 acres of land in Medina, 
Townshii), where, equipped with a yoke of oxen, an 
ax and a hoe, he began his work of leveling the 
fore.st trees', and piei)ai-ing the land for cultivation. 
I'he labor coudeii-.d into the next ten years couhl 
scarcely be e^tinialed by those of the present day, 
but the results were highly satisfactory. Mr. Os- 
born invested his surj)]us capital in additional 
leal estate, and eventually became the owner of 
about 500 acres; of this his son, Albert D., now 
owns 217 acres. He resembles his father in many 
respects, possessing the same persistent iudustr\' 
which distinguished the latter, and bids fair to ac- 
roinplish as great a life work as did his sire. Eieh- 
;ird Osboru is genial and companionable by na- 
ture, .-in export hunter, fond of his gun, and fre- 
ipieutlv relates man}- of the interesting experiences 

The marriage of Uichard II. Osborn and Mi.ss 
Permelia G.allup. of Medina T.iwushii), was cele- 
brated at the home of the bride. Nov. 15, 1813, 



•► 









-«- 


J r ^t -^ 


•^ 


I.ENAWKI 


: corNTY. r..Ti 




Mrs. (). wMs lliL" (laiigliter of K/ekici :<w\ I'mncliM 


Cr.avo u.a- reared in early life to the busincs- ,,f a 




(;:illu|i, :ni(l wns l.orii ;il iMcllioiinic. ( '.•iiim.I,-i. M:ii< Ii 


f.armer. but sptait >eveiai yc.ai> in buying and .-cll- 




i:,, l.s-_'7. 'I'Im- rcci.id ,)f flic chiMivM Ih.iii In .M i-. 


ing stock. In thcM'.arly yi-.ai- of his i,i.-inh< .od, he 




.mihI Ali>. O-l..,!!! i> .-K |ull.>us: i;irii;inl A. liiMr- 


was united in marria-e with I-;ii/.abctli I )onncI,-<iii. 




ried Ali.ss IhiMi," K. l;.,l.riN. -ind All.<rl 1 ). inani,..] 


who w:,- boinin Schoh.aiic County, .\. V.. M.ay IC. 




Miss l',:nliNr.'i LiiKlciiui.-iii ; llirsr 1 ^^ . . -..ns.-nv r.-niii- 


lso7.:,n,l who came of .an old (tn.aker family of 




ilioili M.Mli,,.-, 'i',,wi,sl,i|,. (.,v\nuU- is 111,, wir,. ,.| 


Seolcli-Iri>h de-e..nt. 




F. V. Wrlolit. u( Wri-lit 'l'uwi,..|iip. Ilill>.|.-ilr 


In is;;:), the Cr.aves f.amily came to .Michigan. 




t'ouiily: Kuiii.a m.-iiri.Ml M. I.. Ili-uins. .,r Wii-lii 


pro.a.cding from I'.nftalo to Toledo. Ohio, by lake. 




Townsiiii), IIillsil;iic Coiiiily; l.V'li.-i 'liol in tlir 


from the filter place bv le.-ini- to this countv. 




eightcentli ycnr of licr :i,ur. Mr.-. r,r !i:i Osl.i.rn 


They m.adc their home here until in .M.areli, I.SCT. 




departed fliis life at t.lie li..iii(<lc:id. .Inly 1.".. l-^M. 


.Mr. Crave- died on the I'.itli of that inouili, and lii> 




She was a lady of many oliniabl.- ,|naliti,-, an.l .,iic. 


wid..w ivmovcd to Yp-ilauti, where she lived with 




.,f the fouiKlcrs ,,f the li.apliM (liiiicli. nf .Mcdiii.a. 


one of lua- danglitcrs until Sciit. 1 .s. l.ssT. wliiai she 




with which her hiisbaii<l also c-Mimcctcl liiiu.-cll'. 


t.Mi was called aw.ay by the .Vngel of death. 




.Mr. (). Ii.-is hccii Deacon for many y:irs !!,■ Ii.-i- 


Arnold Cr.avo was It,.. el,l,.-tsou :nu\ tliir.l cliihl 




contriluitcd <-lieerfnlly and lilicmlly lo the clinrc'li. 


of the parcnt.d familv. and p..|-s..d th(. liist nine 




and is considered one of its chief pillars. When 


yc:ir> of his life in ( fneid.'i County, X. V. From 




Qrst beconiin-' a voter, he idcaitificd hiiiL-clf with 


then. h( came to Michigan with his parents, and 




the old Whii;- liarly. lint since its aUandoiinieiit h.as 


-rew t anhood in these familiar ,-nrroundings. 




cordially siippurt<Ml |,'cpiiMi,-aii principle-. 


On lli(. 2lM. of October. IsCl.lu. .and Mi- .lane 
Kiehniond ..nler,.d into a m.atrimoniid .•illiam.e at 




-€iii ) if;- :;:;■" :^;;i>- 


.Manchester. WaslUeuaw ( ounty, this St..|t(.. Mrs. 
Craves i,- a native of tin. lasCnamed pt'icc.. born 
.lunc 1':), IMO, and is the daughtc.rof Otis .-ind 




,^/RN()ld) T. (JKAVKS is.n very Ihrifly ii-- 


Hani.. I ( W-inlh-nnt) Uichni. .iid. bolli,,f wlnmi w..rc 




natives , if New V..rk Stat.'. .Mi-. Ki. -11111011,1 was 




J^ ;;::i:!:'v;:wn:;:i;::;ie;:\:;';':;^^^ 


born in Ih.. town of I.o,li, Liviiiiiston County. 
wli,.r.. >hc w..|.- niarri..,l. .-111,1 early iii the thirties 






cam,. 1,1 W,.|-ht..naw ('..uiity. Alich., with hi.r liiis- 




plow, .and ill .a lii-li -(ale ..f cull i\ at luii. 


ban-l .111,1 ,.|iildr,'n. ..111.1 1. ..-at,.,! . 111 ..| farm wli.-r.. they 




A nativ<. of .SclH.haric ( oiinly. .\. V., Mr. ( J raves 


|,a.s.se,l (he i,.iiiain,l..r ..f th.ir .lay,-. The father 




was horn Keli. 1 '.l. is;ll. Hi.- f.allicr. W illi.iiii 


dic.l .\,>v. •_':;. est;?, ami the im.tlier .Mar.-h 23. 




(Iraves, was the son of .loci Cr.avcs, .a farmer .and 


1.S7:;. .Mr. l;i,.lim..n,l at a very ,.arly ,lat,. assisted 




linnberman of that State. The latter was of I'hi- 


in buililing the Chicago turnpike, which runs 




glish ancestry, his forefathers having eonu- to New 


through this county. In politics he was a Demo- 




York State jjrior to the Revolntiona,ry War. A 


crat, ,-uid fille.l the olliees of Township Treasurer 




brother of .Toel participated in the s.angninary 


ami C, unity Sln-riff. 




struggle for American independence, .loci spenl. 


.Mrs. (ir.-ives remaincl .-it home with her parents 




raostof his life in the Cat.-kill :\I.Minlain- in New 


until li,.r maiii..|gc. wlnii sli.. ..am,- 1,, iv-i.le in this 




York, in pursuance of his hiisinc- .a- Inmbcrinan. 


c.miity. Sli..i-lh,. ni.,lli, 1 ..f f, piir .liikhvii. nam,-ly : 




but died at the house of .a rclativi' in Koc'lustcr. at 


Matti,. A., a t,...|cli,.r in tli,. .listrnl ,-,.|i.mi1: C h;iilcs 




the age of eighty -sc^vcii ycai->. lie had been mar- 


C., Willie C. ami Anna 1!. Thetw,, .-hh.st ,-oni- 




ried twic.'e, and it was by hi> lirst m.airi.agc that 


pletcl their clucatioii .-it I5r..,iklyii, in .Iacks,in 




William (J raves, the father of tlu' subject of thr- 


C,.iinty. In polities, Mr. Cr.-iv.-s is a. Democrat, 




sketeh, was born. This event oe<Mirrcd in Sch.,- 


but he i,-, not foolishly paitis.in, lj,.ing r.ither inde- 




harie County, N. Y., March 25, ls()7. William 


pendent in this matter, esp,.,.ially in local polities. 


«^ 














i 





•► 



-4•■ 



532 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Mis estimable wife is an active meiulier of the Pres- 
byterian Clnircli, Having no ixilitical aspirations. 
Mr. Graves fiillills all liis ohligations .as a citizen, 
and is esteemed as one of tlie imixirtant factors in 
the business and aaricidtnral community. 



'-^^^^:^^^^^^7<^^ 



t 



I^ICIIARl) II. KIXNKY located in Seneca 
[^[^ To\vnshii> during its early settlement, .and 
/4P\\ taking up 1 GO acres of land on section 8, 
^@) transformed the wilderness into a beautiful 
farm. By slow degrees he brought the soil to a, 
good state of cultivation, and erected one building 
after another, until he now has a shapelj^ and con- 
venient residence, good barns and out-buildings, 
tastefully laid out grounds, ornamented with num- 
erous 'shade and ornamental trees, including ever- 
greens and graceful maple trees. These last were 
set out in the spring of 1850, and stand as giants, 
spre.ading out their branches over, and conferring 
their grateful shade upon tiie head of him who 
planted them. As an illustration of the industrious 
and enterprising pioneer, Mr. Kinney occupies a 
place in tlie front ranks. His straightforward busi- 
ness tran.sactions have given him a good position 
among the representative men of his community, 
among whom he has l)uilt u[> a worthy and honor- 
able record. 

Our sul)ject is the descendant of excellent Scotch 
and German ancestry, and both sides of his house 
came to this country during the Colonial days, the 
Kinney family being represented by three brothers 
who crossed the Atlantic at the same time. It is 
probable they served in the Revolutionary War, and 
one of them tr.ansmitted his patriotism to his soil, 
Ellas, the father of our subject, who served in the 
War of 1812. Previous to this, about tiie year 
1810, Ellas Kinney was married to Miss Margaret, 
daughter of Benjamin and Ann Anderson, of Sus- 
sex County, N. J., by whom he had nine children, 
our subject being the fifth child and fourth son. 
Mrs. Margaret Kinney was born in Philadelphia, 
Aug. 12, 1788, and was of a stanch old Quaker 
fanul_y that came from Scotland previous to the 
Revolution. She came to Michigan with her familj^ 
in 1835, and died in Seneca Township, April 21, 



1858. Elias Kinney was born in Hardwick, Sussex 
Co., N. J., and passed away on the 3d of Septem- 
ber, 1859; the Kinneys were of German descent. 

The subject of this sketch first opened his eyes to 
the light not far from the birthplace of his father, 
on the 3d of December, 1820, and was a youth of 
fifteen years when he came to Michigan with his 
parents, with whom he lived until their decease. 
He assumed control of the homestead when tjven- 
ty-five years of age, tilling the soil and laboring un- 
der the disadvantages of a new settlement until the 
marcli of civilization rendered the labors of the 
agriculturist less laborious and more remunerative. 
AlMUit this time, in May, 1845, he brought a bride 
to the old home, having been married to Miss 
Wealthy Ann Buck, who was born in Whitesboro, 
Oneida Co., N. Y., Dec. 17, 1824. Her parents, 
Chester and Sarah (Briggs) Buck, were natives of 
A'ermont, whence they removed to the Empire State 
at an early period in its history. They came to 
Michigan in 1852, and were i-esidents of Adrian 
many years, whence they finally removed to Ply- 
mouth, Ind., where Mr. Buck died Jan. 13, 1872; 
Mrs. Buck subsequently made her home with her 
daughter, Mrs. C. B. Johnson, of Adrian, where her 
decease occurred on the 12th of May, 1876. 

Richard H. and Wealthy A. Kinney became 
tiie parents of six children : Sarah, the eldest, mar- 
ried William Hart, a physician and surgeon of Pitts- 
burgh, Pa., and is the mother of two children; 
Odell married Miss Mary Ella Driver, and is the 
father of two children, Willie and Luella; they 
make their home in Kansas City, Odell being an ex- 
press messenger on the Topeka <fe Santa Fe Rail- 
road. Ida resides in Pittsburgh, Pa., with her sis- 
ter; Ira married Miss Hattie Lyon, of Medina 
Township, and is carrying on carpentering in Wood- 
bridge, Hillsdale County; Clarence is at home_ 
Mr. Kinney was a second time married, June 15, 
1869, to Miss Mary, daughter of Israel and Lucre- 
tia Wagoner, the former a native of New Jersey, 
though he subsequently lived in Canada. Her 
mother was a Western Massachusetts ladJ^ and 
born April 1, 1787. When nine years of age she 
removed to Bennington, Vt., making the journey 
in a sleigh. From there she went to Shaftsbury, 
and in 1 807, in company with her brother Abel, 



♦■ 



•►Hh-^^ 



^11 



I. i:\AAVKE COUNTY 



she 



journeyed to Western New York, stoppi 
tavia. Her brother clying soon nflerwar 
turned as far castas P-nlYalo. and lnTaine a nienili.i 
of the family of Khenc/.cr Waldron. where she iii. ' 
her first husband, Mr. Lake, who cidist.-d in th. 
War of 1812, not lon.u after their niarriaj;.-. Dui- 
ing this war Mrs. Lal<e lived in Northeastern I'enn 
sylvania, and was there during thcthuihling of Per 
ry's Heet; she lived to rejoiee over the (:ini(nis vie 
tory of tliat fleet. During this war sh<- was i]r 
pendent upon the small iiittance her hushand re 
ceived foi- his serviees, and no person v<>nU\ draw 
this unless present to sign the receipt. I'pon out 
oeeasion when her hush.and was ill, Mrs. Lake rod( 
fourteen miles through a wilderness in the darknes: 
of night after her money, and was peiMnitted t( 
make the journey in .-;afety with that upon wind 
the lives of herself and family depended. After thi 
clo.se of the war they removed to Ohio, where Mr 
Lake died about 1818. 

In isi!), r>ucretia Lake became the wife of 
Wagoner. Mr. W. followed farnung in ()!ii< 
in Huron County, on the 27th of August. 
Mary, Mrs. Kinney, wns born, llcr chil 
was passed at Milan, Ohio, whi<.'h she saw expand- 
ing from a small village to a city of :i,i)00 souls, 
with social and rcligiousadv;i.ntagesof a high order. 
Her education was begun in the coninion school. 
and completed in an a(-M((cniy. She i> a lady of 
more than ordinary iutelligi-uce, and was greatly in- 
terested in the edueation.il affairs of Krie County. 
where she eoniinenced teaching when seventeen 
years of age. Soon after her marriage with Mr. 
Kinney, when his youngest child, Clarence, was 
about three and one-half years old, her mother be- 
came a member of the f.ainily of our subject, where 
her death took place on the 27th of October, 1872; 
the father had died in 1857, when sixty -seven 
years old. Their three children lived to years of 
maturity. Clark Wagoner was of a literary turn of 



Israel 
, and 

I 82(;, 
Ihood 



H-^h 



ninid, and became editor of the Sandusky TI'A/t/at 
the early age of eighteen 3'ears; he was subse- 
quently connected with the Toledo Blaclc, .-ind (lur- 
ing the war was a strong advocate of union and lili- 
erty. 

In 18(;(!, Clark Wagoner, in company with his son 
Ralph, purchased the Toledo Commercial, ;iud was 



largely instrumental in the nomination of R. B. 
Hayes as the Reimbliean I'residential candidate. 
jMr. W, has preservc.l ;,s .'i m.nnu-.'cht of his lilV- 
w,.rk lifty boiuid volumes of newspapers ptd.lishcd 

in ;dl these an act recor<led or an editorial published 
otherwise than in a manly an<l tem|)erate spirit, or 

fidelity to his party's interests, he was .appointed 
Internal Revenue Collector by President Hayes. 
Mis political opinions were formed during the latter 
jiart of Jackson's administration, and he identified 
himself with the Wliig parly, which he only aban- 
doned n|)on the oig;nii/,ation of llie Republican. 
R.Mlph \V,-igoner is a mechanic, and nndves his resi- 
dence in Clyde, Ohio. Mr.s. Kinney is a lady held 
in liigh regard in her community, and has been a 
nunuber of the Congregational Church for many 
years. 



EVI .H':NNIN(-;s. The name of this old 
) and honored pioneer of Lenawee County 

) has been a familiar one throughout this 

section of the country for a period of over fift_y 
years. He came to the Territory of Michigan in 
18:U, landing in Ypsilanti on the 8t.h of INIay, where 
he left his family until he couM determine ui)on 
his location, lie looke<l around in Wa.shtenaw 
County for a day or two, but not being pleased 
with the appearance of the land in that locality 
came over int,o Lenawee and prosi)ect,ed along the 
creek in the western ])ortion. 

Mr. Jennings finally located eighty acres on 
section 22, in RoUin Township, and since that day 
h.as called it home. There were then only four 
families in the township. His first luisiness was 
the erection of a log cabin for the shelter of his 
family. In 18.'i;:> provisions were scarce and flour 
was worth $1.') per barrel at Toledo, while he could 
not iH'ocure this article at any price in Adrian. He 
finally managed to borrow thirty jiounds from one 
of his far-a,vvay neighbors, which, l)y strict economy, 
was made to last the family untd after harvest. 

Mr. Jennings in his early exi)eriencc in Lenawee 
County passed through the trials common to his 



•►Hl^^^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



4 



(lin^l 



■ UK'ii struiiu lit' nuiscic luid 
'conic to slay." 'Iliey were 
iiu'cl every eraergenc}' ex- 
11(1 trom tliis danger they 
Some of tliein. it is true, 

iiiisclc for chcippiug wooil 
they ate the uftener and j 
Mr. Jennings assisted 



lived on lir.-ni \,vv:u]. wl 
witli which to furnish i 
and clearing land, but 
pulled safely through, 
cutting tiie first roads through the forests, building 
the first bridges, organizing the township, .nnd es- 
tablishing the first schools and cluirches. For a 
long period he was regarded as a leader in the en- 
terprises which materialized, one bj' one, and which 
a section of country steadily increasing in popu- 
lation forced upon the people, who cheerfully ac- 
cepted the burden. He served as Justice of the 
Peace, Town Clerk and Highway Commissioner, 
and lived to see the wilderness transformed into 
smiling fields and busy villages, and still continues 
an object of veneration and respect among the 
people who have known him so long and so well. 

The subject of this biography was born in Mil- 
ton, Saratoga Co., N. Y., April 2, ISOs, and is tiie 
son of Henry and Meribah (Dexter) Jennings, who 
were born in New Bedford, Mass., the father in 
1777, and the mother Aug. 16, 1770. Kenry Jen- 
nings, after his marriage, purchased a farm in what 
was then Ontario, but is now Monroe Count}', and 
resided there until his death, which occtu-red when 
he was but thirty-nine years of age. His wife, 
Meribah, survived him many years, continuing at 
the old homestead in Penfield,and was ninety-three 
years old at the time of her decease. They were 
the parents of seven children, of whom Levi, of 
Our sketch, was the sixth son and child. Levi was 
a, little lad six years of age when his father died, 
and was tiien cared for by James Shucraft the fol- 
lowing year, when he was taken into the home of 
••ui uncle, with wliom he remained until he was six- 
teen years of age. He then returned to his mother's 
farm, where he operated with his two brothers five 
years, when the proiierty was sold. Levi soon after- 
ward purchased a small farm near by, where he 
lived until 1<S;)4, then sold out and cast iiis lot witii 
the pioneers of Southern Michigan. 

Mr. Jennings before leaving his native State was 



married, .l:in. J-'. 1829, to one of the most attractive 
maidens i.if Ontnrio Ck)unt3', Miss Ann Crout, a na- 
tive of that county, and the daughter of John and 
Phebe (Sickles) Crout, who was born Feb. 2.'), 
1811, and died in ItoUin Township, April 17, 1852. 
Of this union there were horn seven children, 
namely: Phebe Ann, Clarissa: Mary Elizabeth, de- 
ceased; Henr}' L., Julia, Sarah L. and Flarriet De- 
flora. Phebe was liorn in Penfield, Monroe Co., 
N. Y., Aug. 17. IS.'Jl, and is the wife of Charles 
Langdon, of RoUin Township; Clarissa w.as born in 
this township, April 25, 1835, and is the wife 
of Orson Crandall, of Riley, Mich.; Mary E. was 
born Aug. 16, 18:^7, married George Peters, of 
RoUin, and died Sept. •'?, 1880; Henry L. was born 
Aug. 14, 1839, married Jane Whitney, and resides 
in Litchfield, Mich.; Julia was born Sept. 1, 1842, 
and is the wife of Arnold Bennett, of Bushnell, 
Mich.; Sarah L. was born Oct. 11, 1845, is the wife 
of Joseph Marks, and resides in RoUin; Harriet 
Deflora was born Dec. 19, 1849, married David 
Wooster, and lives in Wayne Count}'. 

The second wife of Mr. Jennings was Mrs. 
Catherine Ann Belcher, and they were married on 
the 22d of March, 1859. Mrs. J. is the daughter 
of William V. and Catharine Ann (Petty) Ditmars, 
of Hudson, this county, and the widow of Andrew 
Belcher. This union resulted in the birth of two 
children : Ida Jane, the wife of William M. Clark, 
a well-to-do farmer of Rollin Township, and Frank 
I., who married Miss Bertha Wood, and is working 
his father's farm. Mrs. Catharine A. Jennings was 
born in Trenton, N. J., April 1, 1835, and in 1842 
came to Michigan witli her parents, who were na- 
tives of New Jersey. The father was born March 
4, 1810, and died in Hudson, this county, 0(!t. 5, 
18G5; the mother was born Feb. 2, 1811, and died 
July 30, 1876. AL'. and Mrs. Jennings are active 
members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and 
Mr. J. has all his life been particularly interested 
in Sunday-school and temperance work. 

Andrew Belcher and Catharine Ann Ditmars 
were united in marriage at the home of the bride, 
in Hudson Township, Jan. 4,1852. Mr. Belcher 
was a native of New York, where he was born March 
16, 1819, and died Oct. 9, 1857. Their eldest child, 
William Y., was born in Hudson Township, March 



•►Hh-^ 



i.i<:nawi.:k county. 



.Mi 



■2, 1864, aud n 
crossed the Mississippi ink) Neli 
now carrying on farming and is 
children. John A. Belcher w: 
18.')7, an<i is farming in Colorado 



f^ ox. STILLMAN W. lii-:i\'iNKTT. one 

y'^'j the best-known men of l.,enawc(' County, 
y now occupj'ing tlic ollicial position of Hi. 
istcr of Deeds, at Adrian. InlK.s||ic;i 



.Ml 



.f the 



id Adri, 
Mr. lie 



nominated bj the Repulilitvin party a> 
date for this position, wa- ch'dcd hy 
majority, and assumed the duties of il 
January following the election. In 
renoniinaUMl and re-elected, and is li 
of the otiice at the time tiiis -liclcli i> 
liennett is one of the ncver->a civinL; 
publicans, and tiie party can depend 
any and all emergencies. In a >oci:d 
lent wa_y his preferences run in tlic ili 
Masonic fraternity, and lie hol<l.- n 
Adrian Lodge No. 19, A. I-". A A. .M. 
Chapter No. 10 and Comnianch^ry No, 
nett is yet a young man, and dnriiij 
achieved success in whatevci- lie lia 
It is appropriate that in this place au( 
the events in his life, and tlioso of 
should be recorded. 

Stillman W. Bennett was born in F 
wee Co., Mich., .Inly ■"0, 
Davis D. Bennett, w.-is b 
raung) Conuty, N. V., M 
s<m of Deacon .Mallliew 
nett, the former of whom \va> born 
County, N. Y., in 17 7s. When he 
fourteen ye.ars old his father nio\'ei 
Barre, Pa. About 1805 Matthew r 
Pennsylvania to Tioga County. N. \ 
purchased a new farm. In isii; lie im 
esee (now Orleans) County, wliere lie 
chased a new farm. In 182G he disposed of tliis 
and purchased another one on the Tonawanda Res- 
ervation, in Genesee County. In 1832 he soiil out 
and came to Michigan, and located 340 acres of 
Government land on section 23, in Rollin Town- 



■^^ 



His 

Tioga 



N: 



I WilU 
ed fro 



pu 



ship, wheiv he live, 
life. He died iu V 
Ali,-.- Nancy Brace, 
by wl 



5 3.5 

ilil Ihe last b'U- years of his 
[ield in bsC).'!. His wife was 
esident of Wilkes Barre, Pa., 
le had ten children, Davis D. being the 
second son and third child. .Mrs. Nancy Bennett 
was born in Sai'atoga Counly, N. Y., ami died in 
Rollin, this county. 

Davis D. I'.ennett left his parents at the age of 
.sixteen, and worked on ;i farm and at lumbering 
until the fall of 1828, wlien he came to Michigan. 
He continued to resiile in Adrian until the fall of 
1829, when he returned to Orleans County, N. Y., 
where he was married. In the spring of 1830 he 
came back to Michigan, and located eighty acres of 
land on section 33, in Adrian Townshij). He lived 
on this farm one year, and then sold it to Harry 
Wood. One year later he purchased 160 acres of 
land ,.11 secli,,i, 2:1, iu Adrian Township: this land 
he sold to .lohh Kayiuoud in l.s:;7, and the same 
year purchased 220 acres on sections 9 aud 16, in 
Fairfield, where he resided until 1868, when he sold 
out to his sfin, Stillman W. Bennett, and since that 
time has resided in Fairlicld N'illage. Since his 
residi^nee there he has held v.arious offices of honor 
and trust, including Su|)crvi.sor for four terms. Jus- 
lice of the Peace four terms, and Town Clerk about 
fifteen terms. In 1848-4<l he was elected a mem- 
ber of the Michigan Legislature, and as such was 
present at the dedication of the first capitol build- 
ing in the city of Lansing. 

Stillman W. Bennett, our subject, remained at 
home with his parents until he was twenty- one years 
of age. He received a good education, attending 
first the district schools of his township, and was 
then a student for two teams in the Adrian Col- 
lege. After leaving school he engaged in teaching 
for several years in Fairfield. Preceding his elec- 
tion to the position he now holds he devoted the 
greater portion of his time to agricultural pursuits, 
and after his marriage purchased his father's home- 
stead, on sections 9 and 16, Fairfield Township. In 
that township he was an active man in .all public 
and political affairs, and shortly after he became of 
age he was elected School Inspector, which office 
he held for several years. In 1873 he was elected 
Town Treasurer, and in 1876 and 1877 was elected 
Supervisor for his township. In the fall of 1878 he 



^ 



^^-^ 



u 



536 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



f 



was elected a Representative from the Secoud Dis- 
trict of Lenawee Countj^ in the State Legislature, 
and there served on several inii)ortant committees, 
and performed much benelicial work on the floor of 
the house. ' It was during this session that the mag- 
nificent now State Capitol at Lansing was dedicated, 
it being just thirty years after the first capitol build- 
ing was dedicated at tliat place, when his father was 
a member of the Legislature, and represented the 
same constituency'. 

On the 16th of January, 18G.S, Mr. Bennett wa> 
married to Miss Mary L. Livesay, daughter of 
James and Orpha A. Livesay, of Fairfield, by whom 
he has had two children — Arthur Livesa_y, born 
April 15, 1871, and Florence, Jan. 20, 1881. Mrs. 
Bennett was born ou the iilth of May, 1844, in 
Fairfield, Lenawee County. Her father was born 
at Horseheads, Tioga (now Chemung) County, N. 
Y., Nov. 7, 1811, and came to Micliigau in 1835, 
but his first settlement was just over the line in 
Fulton County, Ohio, where he resided for a short 
time. On the 14th of January, 1841, James Live- 
say and Miss Orpha Armenia Salsbui-y, the parents 
(if Mrs. Bennett, were married. She was the daugh- 
ter of Philip and Clarissa (Curtis) Salsbury. (if 
Warsaw, Genesee Co., N. Y., where she was boi-n 
Dec. 13, 1811, and came to Michigan in 1830, 
where she died in Fairfield, Dec. 6, 1860. Mrs. 
Livesay became the mother of four children, Mis. 
Bennett being the second child and daughter. 



N|^tvISHOP H. AMES is an honored representa- 
IL^:,^ tive of the farming interests of Hudson 
/^\]l] Townshii), an able, practical man, who, by 
v^^^ good management, has been very much pros- 
pered in his undertakings. He has paid much at- 
tention to the culture of fruit and has achieved 
quite a reputation as a horticulturist throughout 
Lenawee County. 

Mr. Ames was born in Venice, Cayuga Co., N. 
Y.. Feb. 15, 1821. His father, also named Bishop, 
was born in Rensselaerville, Albany Count}', and 
was the son of Elias Ames, who it is believed, was 
also a native of that county. He removed from 
there with his family to Cayuga County about the 

•4« 



year 1800, before the time of railways and canals, 
the removal being made with teams. He bought a 
tract of heavily timbered land adjacent to the town 
of Scipio. and there resided until his death. 

Bishop Ames, Sr., was but a boy when his par- 
ents removed to Cayuga County, and there he grew 
to manhood. His father gave him a farm in Scipio, 
where he lived for a time, then sold out and bought 
another farm in Venice. He was a thoughtful, 
studious man. of earnest religious convictions, and 
in middle age was ordained as a minister of the 
Baptist Churcli, preaching afterward in Venice, 
Scipio, and other places. He spent his last years in 
Groton, Tompkins Co., N. Y. The maiden name 
of his wife was Almira Ticknor, daughter of Joseph 
Ticknor. It is thought that she was born in East- 
ern New York. She died on the home farm in 
Venice, after sharing with her husband the love and 
respect of the people. To them were born eleven 
children, nine of whom grew to maturity. 

The subject of this sketch was the fourth child of 
his parents. Like all farmer boys of that period, 
his schooling was confined to the winter terms, as 
his assistance was required on the farm during the 
remaining seasons of the year. He grew to a strong 
and self-reliant manhood, and from the time that he 
was eighteen years of age until he came to this 
State, he had sole charge of the farm on which he 
had been reared. In 1843 he took an important 
step in his career by marriage with Miss Delia Mur- 
ray, who has in every way encouraged and assisted 
him in his work, proving an invaluable helpmeet. 
Mrs Ames was born in the town of Arlington, Ben- 
nington Co., Vt., Dec. 7, 1819. Her paternal grand- 
father, James Murray, was born either in Ireland or 
Scotland, and coming to America when a young 
man, married Delia Preston. They settled in Ar- 
lington, where he bought a large tract of land and 
engaged in farming until his death. P^dward Mur- 
ray, the father of Mrs. Ames, was born and reared 
on his father's homestead near the Vermont town of 
Arlington, and upon reaching manhood engaged as 
a contractor. He resided in Onondaga County, N. 
Y., while assisting in the construction of the Erie 
Canal, and after its completion he returned to his 
home in Vermont and lived thereuntil 1832. In 
that year he removed with his family to Scipio, 
•^ 



•►Hl-^l^ 



i 



LP:NAWKE COITNTY, 



537 



Cayuffl Co., N. Y.. "Inic li<' 1m,u-1iI ;i hoim-. :uhI 
remained a resident of tli.it town until death. Tiie 
maiden name of liis wife was I'iiebe Mancliester; 
she vvas bf)rn in Jackion, Washington Co., N. V., 
and wa.s a daughter of Elias Manchester, a native of 
Diitclicss County and an ear]y settler of Wasliington 
County, where he improved a farm. He spent his 
last years with his children in Cayuga County. 
Mrs. Ames' mother, Patience (Hoies) Murray, a na- 
tive of Dutchess County, >i. v., died at tlie iiouie 
of her youngest daughter, in Osceola, V:\., and is 
buried beside her huslianil in Sci|iio, Cayuga (.'<>., 
N. Y. 

In 1844, not long after tiieir niuniage, Mr. and 
Mrs. Ames left their old iionie and came to lliis 
.State, traveling via the Krie Canal and Laivc Krie 
to Toledo, and thence by tlie [)rimitive wooden rail- 
way of that day to Adrian. 'I'liey spent the lirsl 
summer in Franklin Township, this county. Then 
they went to Hillsdale County, uliere .Mr. Ames 
bought seventy acres of wild land in Soiuerset 
Township. He built a log house on the pla,(-e, ;uid 
then immediately commenced to clear his land and 
prepare it for tillage. Foiu- years later he sold that 
farm, having improved it greatly, and then lioughl 
in the same township 107 acres of nntillcd land on 
which theiforest trees were still standing. He was 
also oljliged to build a log house on that place for 
his first habitation. He afterward bought other 
land until lie had a fine farm of 240 acres. He 
built two barns and a nice frame house, and con- 
tinued his residence there until l.stjf). 

In the year mentioned Mr. Ames disposed of his 
farm property in Hillsdale County and bought the 
place where he now resides. Here he has 1 lo .-k res 
of land which is highly fertile and capable of i)roduc- 
ing fine crops. He has erected a commodious fr.ime 
house and other farm buildings, his improvements 
ranking with the best in the township. He has en- 
gaged quite extensively in fruit culture, making a 
careful study of the varieties best adapted to the 
soil of this section of the country, so that now he 
has one of the finest and best kept orchards in the 
county, twenty-five acres in extent. He has 
erected on his farm a building especially adapted to 
the cold storage of his fruit and vegetables. 

When Mr. Ames first came to this State he did 



his farm w.nk and inarkctinu witli cixen. He used 
to take grain to Adrian, twenty-live miles distant, 
and sold whea,t at forty cents a bushel. Money was 
^carce and hard to get 



buttei 



At the stores they would 
d pi-udure, liut would not 
give groceries or any kind of eataliles in exchange, 
as tliey were as good as cash. 

The marriage of our subje(;tand his wife has been 
blessed by the birth ._,f four children, two living, 
Ida and H.nry B. Ida is tlir wife of John C. Mc- 
Couan, and the niuliier of live children— Henry B., 
Maud, William A., Belle and .lohn C. ; Mr. and Mrs- 
McCowan reside in Ilesperia, Mich. Henry B., who 
is associated with his father in business, married 
iMiss Inez Ames, and to them have lieen born two 
children. Emily A. and Fern; one child died in 
infancy unnamed; Einily M., the second child, was 
a graduate of Hillsdale College and married Prof. 
J. W. Mank, of that institution ; she departed this 
life at her home in Hillsd.'ilr, April I'C. 1 ,s7!). Mr. 
Ames, our subject, is a Hrpublican in politics, giv- 
ing that party his cordial support. He is in every 
res[)ect a good citizen and commands the confidence 
of all with whom he comes in contact, whether so- 
cially nr in a business wa\-. 




•K-44t^>-^ 



lOMAS (INDEKWOOD, oneof the old and 
honcii-cMl picineers of Palmyra Township, 
uic \[v lia> cai-iied on farming extensively 
1st thirty years, came to this section of 
ry with his parents when a boy nine years of 
age. He still reraemljers the various incidents of 
the journey, which was made principally overland 
and when deer and other wild animals roamed al- 
most undisturbed over the uncultivated land and 
through the timber. He pursued his studies in the 
first school-house in the district, and developed into 
manhood with the strong and self-reliant s|nrit 
which characteiized the youth of that jjeriod and 
this section of country. He has now passed his 
sixtieth birthday, and but a short time since re- 
ceived an invitation to attend the golden wedding 
of two of his first teachers. The scenes through 
which he has p.assed and the changes which he has 
witnessed, could they be depicted in their true 



■•► 



53 S 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



colors, would form an interesting tale and fill a 
good-sized volume. 

Mr. Underwood was born in the town of William- 
son, Wayne Co., N. V., Oct. 20, 18-27. His father, 
Edward Underwood, a na.tive of Dutchess County, 
N. Y., was horn in February, 1800, and his grand- 
father, Joseph H. Underwood, was of English par- 
entage and, it is believed, was born on the other 
side of the Atlantic. It is certain, however, that 
he was one of the earliest settlers of Dutchess 
County, whence he removed to Madison County, 
in 1806, where he resided for a period of fourteen 
years. He then took up his abode in Wa3'ne 
County, when the town of Williamson was hardly 
begun and where, without donlit, he instituted the 
first tanner3' and hai-ness-shop. He followed his 
trade there for a time, but later purchased a tract 
of land where he carried on farming in a modest 
manner, and where his death took place not long- 
afterward. 

The family of .Toseiih Underwood included six 
sons and one daughter. Edward, the father of our 
subject, at the time of his marriage purchased 
twenty aci'es of land near Williamson, but later 
bought out the heirs to his father's homestead and 
took possession of that, which he occupied until 
1836. In the spring of that year, leaving his family 
in the Empire State, he started for the undeveloped 
West, and purchased 200 acres of land on section 19, 
Palmyra Township, for which he paid $11 per acre, 
he having money with him. In the fall of the same 
year he brought his family here. They came by 
team to Buffalo, thence by the Lake to Toledo, 
which was then a small place, and there embarked 
with his team on a steamboat and thereafter 
traveled over the Cottonwood swamp to this coun- 
ty. Of the farm which he then bought a part is 
now included in the present home of our subject. 
At that time there was a log house on the place 
and a few acres had been broken by some emigrant 
with less courage, perhaps, than the one who now 
took it in hand. 

The father of our subject, after establishing his 
family as comfortably as circumstances would per- 
mit in the log house, commenced the improvement 
and cultivation of his purchase. In the course ol 
a few 3'ears he found himself the proprietor of a 



comfortable homestead, wliicii he occupied the re- 
mainder of his life, his death taking place on the 
20th of May, 1878. In the meantime the first 
l)rimitive dwelling had been succeeded b}' a hand- 
some, substantial brick residence, flanked by a 
frame barn, a good orchard and the other improve- 
ments naturally the result of industry and enter- 
prise. A large proportion of the land had also 
been brought to a high state of cultivation. The 
elder Mr. Underwood was a man held in respect by 
his neighbors and esteemed as one who had con- 
tributed his quota toward the development and 
progress of Lenawee County. The mother was in 
her girlhood Miss Anna Mitchell, and was the 
daughter of Joseph Mitchell, one of the earliest 
pioneers of Madisou County, N. Y.. where her 
birth took place in 1806. Of lier union with Ed- 
ward Underwood there were born four children : 
Mary A., the wife of J. C. Harvey, of Madison 
Township, this county; Lydia was unmarried, and 
died when twentj^-seven years of age; Cornelius 
died when a child seven years old, and Thomas 
Underwood is the subject of this sketch. 

At an early age Thomas Underwood developed 
those traits of industry and enterprise which proved 
the secret of his success later in life. He assisted 
his father in clearing the farm, and remained under 
the pai-ental roof until his marriage. Then, with the 
help of his father, he purchased 165 acres on sec- 
tion 1 8, Palmyra Township, twenty acres of which 
was cleared, and upon it stood a small frame house. 
In this he and his young wife commenced life to- 
gether, and since that time Mr. Underwood has 
prospered in his labors and has invested his surplus 
capital in another farm of seventy-five acres on 
sectiou 17. He occupied his first purchase until 
1878, then removed to his present homestead, al- 
though he still retains possession of the other farm. 

The marriage of Mr. Underwood took place 
March 15, 1849, the maiden of his choice being 
Miss Mary Comstock, a native of Niagara County, 
N. Y., and the daughter of Jared and Catherine 
(Hall) Comstock, who removed from the Empire 
State to this county in 1835. They located at first 
in Raisin Township, but in 1846 removed to Pal- 
myra Township. They finally returned to Raisin, 
where the father spent the last years of his life, his 



4 



U 



LKNAWEE COUNTY, 



)30 



death uccuvriiig about 1865. The mother subse- 
quently raade her home with her (iaui>hter. Afrs. 
ru(lerw,„,il. and iia.-scil a«:iy To her re.-t in 1 S.Sl'. 
Mr. .■Hid .Mrs. Coni.stock were hi-hly cihieiited and 
taught sehool some year,> .'dter their m;irria_i;e. Mr.<. 
Thomas Underwood was born Dee. 22. 1 .S2s. and 
by her union with our sul)jeet lias beeonie tlie 
n'lotlier of three elni.lrrn: Kdwnrd (of wlioni see 
sl<etrh): Klla and William. The hilter w;is born 
An- 10. l.SVI, ;ind is ,.n-ii,uvd in farmin- near 
I'itlsfonl. Ilillxl.'d.- ( ounly: h,' rreeived his rdu- 

i.she.l at AdriMi, Colh-e. Kiln wns born .l.-in. :;i. 
IMoa, received .-m .•leademic i-dnc-ilion and for a 
time was engaged in teachina-. >he became the 
wife of Rev. Harvey Widiiey. who was born in I)e- 
Kalb County, hid.. Mareli 11. ISl'.t, and e.jnipleted 
his studies in AdriMii College, from which he was 
gnidnated witii lioii,.i>. He w,-is in-t:ill.-d a> pa>l..r 
of tlie Protestant Metlnxlist Church, and some liniv 
after located at LaII;ir|)e, III., but left the ministry 
to assume charge of (iideon .Seminary, of which he 
was Princip.Mi six years. In ISMI, hr became Prinei- 
IKil of (;;ilpin Ac.-ulcmy !it Kxcelsior. Minn., wlih-h 
jiosition he iield al the time of his death, on the I'.MIi 
of August. 1.S87. .\. widow and three children 
were tiius lier(^ft, the l:itter named respectively. 
Ilallie M., Kdward l . and Kliz;ibcth. 

Could we of the pr.seni day. living ns we are in 
comjiarative ease and comfort in llir home.- plnnted 
by tiiose sturdy pioneers in wli:it u:is om-e a wil- 
dernes.s. be transported lo lik<' surrounding,- a,- 
they. our lie:irts would f.-iil us an.i we w.MihlgiNe 
up in desp.-dr. Their t ri.-i Is .Mud JKirdships would lu" 
too great J'or most of those re;ired in the lap 
of luxury. 



t 



^p^EORGF, A. INGALL. wic 
il( &f, «"it Medina Township, i 

^'S^M acres of valuable l;iiid o 
is cultivated by himself and his 
one of the most desirable lionus 
Lenawee County. Mr. Ingall 
Michigan in November, 184(i, 
lowed his trade as cabinet-make 



had secured sufHcient capital he decided to endjark 
in agricultural pursuits, and aeccjrdiugly jiurchased 
:\ tract of hind, of which lie still rel.-iiiis possession 

Mr. Ingall is of Knglish birth and parentage, and 
Hrst opened iiis eyes to the light May 22, 181y, 
at the mo<lest homestead of his parents, within sight 
of \\-eslraton. .Middlesex County. He was reared 
nioslly ill the city of London and received a liberal 
educ.-ition. Hi- parents. Ch.-irles and .Sophia (Kit- 
lellmt.'r) Ingall. were .-il.-o of ICnglisli ancestry, the 
fallKM- born in Loudon. Dec. IC. 177 1, jind the 
im.lher in Deptford. Kent County. .Ian. L 177'.t. 
They were imirried Feb. 17. 17;».s. and bec:inie the 
parents of eleven children, of whom (ieorge A. was 
next to the youngest. Chnrk's Ingall, after his 
marri;ige engaged in mereh.Mudisiug in London, and 

Kiigli-h iMUiili.'s t<. iKive their children lu-come 
ma-ters of some useful tr:ide, niid our sidiject w.as 
therefore Mpprcniiced to :i c.-ii pi'iilci- and developed 
into ;i builder of consider.'dile skill. Lpoii reaching 
his iiKijority he was married, Aug. 22. IS.ii;, toa 
maiden of his own county. .Mi.ss MaiT Ann llojikins, 
who was boiii .M.ay I. IM I, and was the daughter 
of.Ioscph .•ind Ann (Church) Hopkins, who lived 
at Chilton, in ISeikshire. where they engaged in 

.Mr. and Mrs. lug.-ill. in le.ss than .-i month after 
their marriage set sail for America, arriving in New 
■^'ork City Octolier 18 of the same year. They 
made their home in the metropolis for a period of 
leii years, where .Mr. I. c'.ariied on carpentering and 
cabinet-making, and then ilecided to seek the great 
West. I'pon reaching this .State, he located in 
Shiawassee County, where he followed carpentering 
one year, then took up his residence in this county, 
where he li.as since rem.ained. His experience has 
been similar lo lliat of the other enterprising men 
who .sougiit their homes in the wilds of Michigan 
Territory, except that he was obliged to contend 
with the additional (lilllcnlties of beginning his farm 
labors without ('X|ierieiicc and in a strange country. 
His industry and rcsoliilion. however, met with 
their legitimate reward, .and he long ago took his 
place ill the front ranks of the early settlers. His 
valuable and well :ipp. .iiited homestead bears wit- 



n 



540 



■•►Hl-^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Tiess in the most forcible manner of the extent to 
■n-hich he has labored, and the good judgment which 
has cliaractorized bis investments. 

Mr. and Mrs. Ingall before their removal from 
New York State, became the parents of the children 
recorded as follows: Joseph wag born Sept. 28, 
1837, and is now at St. John's. Mich.; Sophia was 
born Jan. 1, 1840, and died on the ■24th of August 
following; George A. was born July 10, 1S41, and 
died Feb. 13, 1843: Martha H. was born June 6, 
1843, and died March 24. 1844; Isabelle A. was 
born Feb. 11,1 84G, and died December 13 following. 
To the little household there were added three 
more children after the removal of the famil}- to 
Michigan: Maria A. was born May 13, 1850, and 
died March 13, 1863; Charles B. was born March 
13, 1853, and Fredericlc J., Sept. 7, 185G. Tlie eldest 
son, Joseph H.,was married on the 1 3th of October, 
1861, to Miss Julia A. Luclv; he is a blaclcsmith 
and wagon-malver by occupation, and the father of 
two children. Charles B. was married, Oct. 17, 
1875, to Miss Sarah C. Graham; they have two 
children, Samuel and Maude Edith, and are liv- 
ing at the homestead. Fredericlc J. married Miss 
Martha E. Diewy, March 12, 1879; the}' are living 
in Medina Township, and have three children — 
Ralph G., Harlow and Ethel. Mrs. Mary Ann 
Ingall, the mother, died at the homestead on the 
ISth of May, 1875; slie was a devoted member of 
the Episcopal Church, with nhicli Mr. I. is also con- 
nected. 

Our subject cast his lirst rrcsideutial vote for 
Fremont, and has since loyally adhered to the prin- 
ciples of the Republican party. He has been quite 
prominent in local affairs, serving as Commissioner 
of Highways nine years. Township Treasurer three 
years and has also officiated as Assessor and (School 
Director. Soeially he belongs to the .Masi>nic fra- 
ternity. 



f! AC;OB S. RINKIIART is a well-to-do farmer, 
residing on liis comf<n-table homestead in 
Ogden Township, whicli he bought in 1 sCo 
i^^J on his removal from West Virginia. The 
land was timbereil and without drainage, and had 
liithcrto been considered too wet for cultivation, 



.^h 



"<•■ 



and the probability is that had his means been 
greater he would have bought elsewhere. Now one 
would say while visiting his pleasant home and 
viewing his beautiful fields, that it is fortunate that 
he was once poor, as he might have gone farther 
and fared worse. 

;\Ir. Rinehart was born in Preston Count}', Va., 
Nov. 2 1 , 1 83 1 . His grandfather, Thomas Rinehart, 
it is thought was born in Germany, or was of Ger- 
man parentage, and was a soldier in the Revolution- 
ary War, serving under Gen. Washington. He was 
one of the pioneers of Preston County. Va., having 
settled there while it was j'et a part of Randolph 
County; he bought a tract of timbered land and 
cleared a farm, residing there until his death. The 
father of our subject, also named Thomas, was born 
and reared in Preston County, but after becoming 
a man went to Alleghany, Md., and there married. 
After marriage he returned to Virginia and settled 
in Preston County, buying a tract of heavily tim- 
beied land, where he built a hewed log house in which 
Jacob, our subject, was born. Mr. Rinehart lived 
here until 1 864, then disposed of his land, and came 
to Ogden Township, this county, making his home 
witli his children, but spending the greater part of 
the time with our subject, until his death. The 
maiden name of his wife was Anna G. Bohen ; she 
was born in Maiyland of German parentage. They 
were the parents of ten children. 

Our subject was the sixth child of his parents 
and was reared on their homestead farm in Virginia. 
Wild animals were plentiful in that part of Virginia, 
and in his youthful da^'s he hunted and killed much 
game, and participated in many a hunt for deer 
and p.anthers. He lived with his parents until his 
marriage, wliich occurred April 9, 1857, when he 
was united to Miss Delilah Werner, who is of Ger- 
man descent. Her grandfather, Lewis Werner, 
was a native of Germany, who came to America, 
settled in Alleghany County, Va., and died there. 
Her father, Casper Werner, .was born in Germany 
and came to America with his parents. He married 
in Pennsylvania, Miss Judith Schultz, of German 
ancestry, and about 1830 they moved to Preston 
County, Va., and spent their last days there. 

After his marriage Mr. Rinehart settled on a 
farm near the old homestead, and resided there 
9^ 



t 





' ' 


' 




^ 






1 
1 


•^~ 


LENA WE F 


. COUNTY. 541 - 

jieriod of thirty years was Postmaster of Wolf Creek. 




until isi;.-,, but times w(m-c so hard tluit his .■issidn- 






oiis l:il)or brought him small returns, and hoping- to 


He was commi.ssioned twenty times as Notary Pub- 


1 




In'.lU'V his condition, ho sol<l out there and came to 


lic, and in ISIO. was made Deputy United .States 


1 




Lenawee County, where lie settle<l in Ouden Town- 


-Marshal. His career IVoui that time on was one 






sliip. a> hef-.-ie stated. lie had 1. a rely enou-h 


cminiaitly creditable to him as a man and a citizen. 






money to p.-iy f,,r his land, hut his r,,nra,ue ua- - 1. 


In adilition to the duties of his various odlces, being- 






and ho at once ere.-to<l a Muall lYaine Im.usc. in ao- 


.1 man of great industry and energy, he carried on 






eoidanoe with his ine;in>. .and hoi^an cloaring the 


f.aiuiing. .an.l built one of the best homesteads in 






land. His industry and nnlirinii- pcrsevorn.uce have 


Ronu' Township. 






lieen rew.ardod with siieeoss and |jrosi)ority, as ho 


The father of our sid)ject before coming to the 






now has his land all cleared .and h.as erected a fine 


West was married in his native county, Fel). 11, 






set of huildin.us. He has purehased other laud, and 


1830, to Mi.ss Ascnath S. Warner, who was born in 






now has a line f.aini of 1 od aca-es undora <ir)od state 


Phelps. N. v.. .Iidy 1 •_', ISI;;. This union resulted 






of cultivation. 


in the birth of sev.ai eliildrou. namely: Orra C, 






Mr. and Mrs. Kinohart li.avo seven children liv- 


the wife of 1!. C. Knowlos, <.f Adrian; Lydia J., 






ing — Alice, Savilla Annie, Thoma.s Edward, Andrew 


.Mis. (io,ag,. 11. Lane, of Rome Township; Ralph 






John.son, Loo ronce, Emma Loui.sa .and George 


P.. our .Miliject. and four who died in infancy. The 






Lewis. William II.. their lirst horn, dical at the 


mother (h'p.arted this life at the homestead in Rome 






age of ei,i;ht years. The three eldest were horn in 


rown>liip. April 1 l'. IS.-.C. Lyman ^\'. Lakia- was 






Virgini.a. 


married a .second time, Oct. 22, 1,S:")(;, to iMiss Je- 






._.^.;_^4)!^;^_.^^,. 


rusha T., daughter of Benjamin and Lydia Hinck- 
ley, of Johnstown, this State, and they became the 
parents of live children— Lyman W'., Jr., Samuel 






yp^ ALITI I*. I5AKER.. To s.ay tha.t this gontlo- 

L# tieman, who is Postmaster at Rome Conter, 

lK\ i« the son of the well-known Lyman W. 

^ Raker, of Rome ;rownship, is sullieiont to 


H., l)oughi> ,S., (Jraco A., decea.sed, and Lee H. 






Mrs. Jorusha liakor was a native of Batavia, 






Genesee Co.. N. Y., and born June 1. l.s;51. She 






came to .Mii'liigau with her parents in 1845, and 






recommend him to i -e th.an a passing notice. 


thereafter w:is a resident of Rome Townshi)) until 






Lyman W. P.akcr. from the time of'his tirst .•settle- 


her do:ith. which oc.airred in l.s.s:;. 






ment in this township, in the s|)ring of Ls.'):;, was 


Ralph P. B:d<er remained a member of his fa- 






one of its most active and nsefid men. He came 


ther's household until reaching his majority, and 






in before its organization, ami dni'ing the meeting 


then commonced farming on forty acres of land 






hel<l at a looging-bee. he was ni.ado .Secactary and 


wlii<-h he h;id s((ured from his father on a trade. 






iu>tineteil to write to the Pr-e>id.ait of the Legis- 


lie o|.crat.Ml upon this little ('.arm until 1 873, then 






lative ('onu(a'l and a>k if the townshij) might organ- 


purch:iMMl twenty acres :il Wolf Creek, where he 






ize. Thta-e was >oon received ,a reply in the 


lived clev<ai ye:irs; then, deciding ui)on another 






alllrmalive, au<l .at the inooling of the twenty-sov(ai 


chanLic of location :iud :dso of occupation, he re- 






voters of the t.nvn>liiii. .Mr. Hak(a- proposed it to be 


p:iired t<i Rome Cont(a-, :ind |-euting a storeroom, 






called Rome; D.avid Smith, .h-., proposed the name 


purchased :i stock of dry -goods, and since that time 






of Junius. It was put t,o v<,lc by b.allot and Kouu' 


has boon engaged in genor.al merchandising. He 






had three majority. The t'h.airni.an declari-d the 


votes the straight Democratic ticket and, like his 






township shonM be ealici K,,me. an.l .Secretary 


father before him, maintaius a lively interest in the 






Baker so informed the Legi>l,at.ivc Council. 


progress and weltare of the township. About the 






Mr. Baker, in is:;?. w.a> elected .Iu>tice of the 


time of st;u-ting out for himself he provided him- 






Peace and continued in the ollico until probably 


self with a wife and helpmeet, being married, Dec. 4, 






1849. He subsequently repre.sented the town.-hip 


18.-,,s. to Miss Aristeen, daughter of Philo P. and 




afc 


, in the County Board of Supervisors, and for a 


Eincline (Dewey) Phel|)s. Mrs. Baker was born in 




•^^ 






**• 











^l-^ 



^^►Hil-* 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Ontario County, N. Y., Sept. 13. 1844, and two 
years later was brought 'by her parents to this 
county. Tliey located in Rome Township, but sub- 
sequently removed to Osceola County, where they 
now reside. Mr. Phelps when a young man learned 
the shoemaker's trade, which he followed about 
twenty-five years in Micliigan, and then abandoned 
the bench for farming pursuits. He is now about 
sixty-seven years of age. The mother died Sept. 
."5, 1866, in New York State. 

The five children of Mr. and Mrs. Baker are re- 
corded as follows: Rosa P. is the wife of .J. Purchis, 
a harness-maker by trade; they live in Eaton 
County, Mich., and have one child. Cynthia M. 
died Oct. 5, 1879, when an interesting young lady 
nearly twenty years of age; Alma C, Mrs. George 
Fuller, is the wife of a merchant in Franklin County, 
and the mother of two children; Helen M. is the 
wife of Charles Spangle, who is farming in Rome 
Township; Asenath W. and Daisy B. nre at home 
with their parents. The children have all been vvell 
educated and four of the daughters have frequently 
employed themselves in teaching. Mr. Baker is an 
uncompromising Democrat, politically, and was 
among the first appointees to the Postmastership 
under the Cleveland administration. 



-iH^ >-^»;^ i^^'««^''i^;«£^ 



W::; 



ILLIAM D. ARCHER, an extensive farmer 



•^h 



tock-raiser of Palmyra Township, is a 
illustration of the self-made man, who, 
commencing at the foot of the ladder in life, has 
arisen by his own exertions to a high position so- 
cially and financially. Nature provided him with 
an ample share of sound common sense and good 
judgment, and he ,has that independent spirit which 
is disinclined to ask favors, choosing rather to relj' 
upon his own efforts. The result has been that he 
can look around him upon a good property, accu- 
mulated by the hand of frugality and industi'y, and 
can now enjoy the comforts which he has so fairly 
earned. Mr. Archer, like many of the settlers of 
Lenawee County, is a native of the Empire State, 
and first opened his eyes to the light near the town 
of Farming-ton, Wayne County, May 8, 1819. His 
father, John Archer, was born in Washington 



County. N. Y., and was the son of James and Mary 
(English)' Archer, natives of Ireland and Massachu- 
setts respectively. James Archer, the grandfather 
of our subject, immigrated to this country when a 
young man, and located in Washington County, 
where he spent the remainder of his days. 

John Archer was reared to farm pursuits, which 
he followed in his native count}' a few years. After 
coming of age he worked by the month as a farm 
hand for nearly ten years, during which time the 
highest wages he received did not exceed |14 
a month. His example of closely applying him- 
self and saving his earnings, should be an incen- 
tive to the poor boy of to-day, as it plainly shows 
what may be accomplished by industry and econ- 
omy, and the true road to an easy competency in 
his old age. After a decade spent in his native 
county, Mr. Archer removed to Wayne County, 
where he resided until about 1824. He then pur- 
cliased a farm near Macedon, in the same county, 
upon which he took up his abode permanently, and 
where his death took place in 1875. He had mar- 
ried, in early manhood. Miss Axie Warren, who wiis 
born in New Jorse}', and was the daughter of Sam- 
uel Warren, who removed from that State to Wayne 
County, N. Y., at an early period in its history'. 
Tiiey became the parents of six children, of whom 
our subject was the only son. 

William D. Archer attended the public si'hools of 
his native township, and when not pursuing his 
studies, employed himself about the farm, except on 
the occasions when he roamed the woods and fields 
in quest of wild game. He had inherited from his 
father the love of sport, kept Avell-trained dogs, and 
was dubbed by the people of that neighborhood as 
the "fox hunter," and he is said to have killed more 
foxes than any other man in the State of Michigan. 
After his marriage he purchased a farm near the 
town of Marion, where he resided until 1854, then 
decided to change his location and seek the West- 
ern country, which was then holding out many in- 
ducements to the enterprising emigrant. 

Southeastern Michigan at that time was attract- 
ing much attention, .and Mr. Archer, selecting Lena- 
wee County for his future field of operations, pur- 
chased a farm of ninety acres in Raisin Township. 
He cultivated this a few seasons, during which he 







Res. OF John P. Schwab , Sec.^0 Ridgeway Township. 



¥?^ 



[ 



Xt^ 



'^^^''ijf% 



. t ■ 






■D, 



Residence of W.D. Archer, Sec. j. Palmyra Tov/i-ish i p 














^- 



Residlnceof Horace HoLDHiDGE Sec 11 Raisin Township 



-^•- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Iliubc. 



.May 



prospered, and then invested his spare capital 
more land until he liad a sniiy- farm of l-JO ac; 
He occupied this five years, and then iradcil W, 
farm one mile e.ist o{ tiie city of Adrian, in Palm 
Township. This latter lie sohl live year- later. : 

then purchased his present place. Tlii> npr 

1H3 acres, with a commodious brick d\vclliiij4. 
sides large barns and sheds, and all theconvenien 
required by the itroyressivc agriculturist for 
storing of grain and the shelter of slo<-k. The 
ter comprises Short-horn eallle, of which hcexliil 
some of the finest s|)cci mens in Ibis |)art of thecuur 

Mr. Archer was first married ()<1. 17. Is Is. 
Miss Neubelia Higbee, who wa.- born in l'ahii_\ 
Wayne Co., N. V.. .Ian. •-':!. l.s-.'C. and wa> 
daughter of (Jad C. an. I Emily 
parted this life at her home in 

1867. Of this union there were ii tw., cliildi-en. 

namely: Orson II.. who liveson the home farm, and 
Henry C, who is Passenger Agent for the Texas 
Pacific & Missouri Pacific Hailroads,at Dallas, Tex. 

The present wife of oin- .subject, to whom he was 
married in March, 1872, was formerly Miss Cam- 
line E. Calkins, a native of Palmyra Township, and 
the daughter of Lorontns .and .Sophia ('alkins, a 
sketch of whom ap|>e;irs <in another page. Of 
this union there has been born one child, a son. 
Bayard T. Mrs. Archer isa member in good stand- 
ing of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Palmyra, 
and is a most estimable Christian lady. Mr. Archer, 
politically, is identified with the Prohibitionists. 

A view of the handsome residence of .Mr. and 
Mr.s. Archer, with all its beautiful surroundings, is 
given on another page of this Alhu.m. This line 
home is a monument to the energy, industry and 
self-dependence of its owner, as he has literally hewn 
out his own fortune, and what he i)osscsses he owes 
entirely to his own unllagging efforts. 



¥; OHN P. 

I specte.l 

ll ment in 

m! uted so 



n 



fOHN P. SCHWAB is a well-known and 

representative of the (u'rnian ele- 
jur popidation wliii-h has i-ontrib- 
much to the advancement of the 
ricnitural interests of Lenawee County, lie was 
rn in Badeii, Germany, June 26, 1830, and is the j 



son of Joseph and Mary Ann (Witt) Schwab, the 
former of whom died when John was fourteen years 
of age. lie remained in the home <,f lii>niuther for 
some years, and under her iiitluenee .acpiired those 
habits of thrift .and honoty whi<'h c.iMlueecl so 
nineh to lii> success in aftei- life. W ith t his -ood 
home training he also received tlu^ lienelits of an 
education in the schools of his native village. 

At the age of eighteen, Mr. .Schwab determined 

of his eonntrymen, with :i view to bettering his 
fiatune. After landing in the Cnited States he 
made Ills way lo lh.> wotern part of New York, 
•and settiiiiu near Koelie>ter, he lived there three 
years. He tliere fuund the yoiinglady to whom he 
was we<lded, .Miss (.'atlieriiie, daughter of Bern- 
har.lt Miller. She wa> born in Westphalia, (ier- 
iiiany. Feb. :l, ls;il. an.l at the age .,f lourleen 
w:,s .leprive.l ..f .a iiiothei--s eare. When she w.as 
aliont eighteen years ol.l sill' came witii her father 
to America, and n..t loni^' after her .-iiTival was 
marrie.l to Mr. S.^hwab, the .late of th,. marriage 
bein- in April, IS,',:;. Th.' y..ung .-.mpl.. s.night^a 
lu-w hoiii,. in Mi.'hi-an, a> Mr. Schwab 111. Might he 
coulil best pursii.' his eh.isen life wmk wh.a-e tlu' 
soil was not worn .mt by h.nu y.-.ais ..f .-nil i v.iti.Mi. 
They ina.le their h.)iiie .m >eetion 20 of Hidgewav 
T.iwnship. wliere li.^ h.-id bought eighty acres of 
laii.l. t.. whi.-li hr has siii.-e ad.led sixty acres. The 

long yeai>.,f pal i.aitin.bistry, wi^e e,-. my, and 

.-lirewd iiiaiiaeem.nt whi.'h eiisue.l have brought 
their reward in a comfortable h.mie an.l .a pr,„lu,-t,- 
ive and well-tilled farm. 

On the 2(;tli of August. ISTS, a s.a.l b.aea v.anent 
b..fell till' family in the il.-atli .)f .Mrs. S.'hwab. who 
ha.l f.aithfully sh.are.l lif.^'s bunleiis with lu-r hus- 
band, an.l been a Iru.. ni..th.a- t., th.ar .-liildreii. 
Eleven children were born to Iheiu, .;f whom all 
are living except one, lleiny I!., who .lie.l March 
IC, I. SOS. The record of Hie [■emaining children is 
as follow- .Mary isthe wil\> of William Kothdow, 
a farmer in Monroe C<,unty, Mich.; Helen pre- 
sides over her father's home; Theresa is the wife 
of Walter Hackett, a farmer of Monroe Cmntv, ami 
formerly Representative in the Michiean Leoisla- 
ture; M.atilda is the overseer in tln^str.aw works at 
Adrian, Mich; Frances lives with her brother-in- 
■► 



r 



HI-4« 



546 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



law in Monroe Count3f ; Rosa; John P. is at home; 
Celia is a Sistei-, and a teacher of music in a con- 
vent at (iagetowii. Midi.; Herman and Ida are at 
home. 

Mr. Schwab and his family are coninninicants of 
the Roman Catholic Chnrcli. The Democratic 
party of this State has in him a faithful supporter, 
while he is at present serving as Justice of the 
Peace. 

As representative of the buildings in this section 
of country we are pleased to present on another 
page of this Album a view of Mr. Schwab's resi- 
dence with its suroundings. 



^l__^ GRACE IIOLDRIDCtE is one of the success- 
or^': fnl farmers and extensive stock-growers of 
1^1^ Lenawee Countj^ He is at present serving 
{(^ his ninth term as a member of the Board of 
Supervisors for Raisin Township, and in the admin- 
istration of affairs of this office has given universal 
satisfaction. 

Mr. Holdridge is a native of Raisin Township, 
and was born on the -J.sth of August, l.S tO. He 
was reared as farmers' boys usually are, on the 
farm of his father, and passed through the common 
schools of the district in which he lived, acquiring 
habits of industry and study. At a proper age he 
was ])laced as a student in Adrian College, and was 
among the first to enter there after the completion 
of the college. His parents had a family of eight 
children, all of whom are living, except one who 
died in infancy. Of this family our subject is the 
second child and son; all the brothers and sisters 
are married and well settled in life. 

On the 1st of January, I.sr,-2, at the resi<lence of 
the bride's uncle, B. Holloway, Mr. Holdridge was 
married to Mis> Adeline, daughter of Edwin and 
Mary A. (Sober) Holloway, natives of New York-, 
who were nuirried at Lockport, Niagara County, 
that State, ;ind came to Michigan in 18:32, locating 
on (Tovernmenl land in Lenawee County. The fa- 
ther was a .soldier and a scout, was taken pris- 
oner in the early part of the war, and died in one 



of the rebel prisons in the South; the mother is now 
living in Fairfield, at the age of seventy-four. They 
were the parents of nine children, of whom Mrs H. 
was the first daughter and second child, .'^he was 
born in the township of Raisin, on the IGth of 
March, 1840, and was reared in Fairfield Town- 
ship, receiving a good education in the common 
schools. To Mr. and Mrs. Holdridge have been born 
two children, named Ellen R. and Clarence E. They 
are well educated and are skillful telegraph opera- 
tors, operating the instruments which are in the 
house, and connected with 1 50 calls. The daugh- 
ter, Ell^n, is the wife of Archibald Boyd, vvho is 
pleasantly located in Raisin Township on a tine 
farm, and they are the parents of two children — 
Lawrence K. and James Carroll. 

After their marriagq, Mr. and Mrs. Holdi'idge es- 
tablished themselves on the farm whicli tliey now 
occupy, and which was at that time in a very di- 
hipidated condition. They have since put it in an 
excellent state of repair and cultivation. Mr. and 
Mrs. Holdridge attend the Presbyterian Church, to 
which they are liberal contributors. Mr. H. is a 
Democrat in his political principles, and has been 
chosen nine times as the Supervisor for this town- 
ship. 

Mr. Holdridge's land-holding.s consist (if eighty 
acres on section 11, besides seventy-five aci-es on 
section 24, in Raisin Township, and upon the for- 
mer tract is located his very beautiful rural home, 
which consists of an elegant residence, commodious 
barns and other buildings, all of which were erected 
by Mr. Holdrirlge. In the erection of these build- 
ings the most modern style of architecture was 
adopted, and an eye for taste and symmetr}' was 
given to every detail, as may be observed on ex- 
amination of the view of the homestead on another 
page of this work. As a farmer he is ranked among 
tlie foremost, and as a stock-grower he stands 
among the most progressive. In this branch of the 
business he makes a specialty of Short-horn cattle, 
and has for the head of his herd the first "Duke of 
i;,-iisin."' He li;is associated with him in his stock 
operations Mr. (-ieorge Holloway. of thesame town- 
ship, wlio is a practical and enterprising stockman. 
i\Ir. Holdridge started his herd of cattle in 1879, 
and since that time has met with a large measure of 



•►Ht:^^ 



►►HI 





f • 








i-^r — 




T 








1 


LENAWEE COUNTY. .i47 




success. His animals have been exhihi 


ted at a num- 


capital by his energy and diligence, he. in 18.t0, 




bcr of agi-ioultural fairs and stocii slio 


vs, and have 


purch.ased some forty acres adjoining, which he 




been awardiMl nnmei-diis first iirciniii 


ns. The be- 


.added to the original farm. Still another forty 




ginnin.uof :\Ii-. lIoMrid.uv's licid w.is ( 


om the cat tie 


w.-is bought in I.SCII. .VII this was new hind, whicli 




of William Curtis >t C... of Hillsdale 


.M <h.. uhi.'h 


the l„.ys were .-ompelled to elear up an<l improve. 




have more than a Stale reputation for 


their (pi.-ility 


Ou coming here, the father erected a primitive lou' 




and thoroughness of lirccdiu"^. 




ciliin, built in th<. usual st,yle. of rough h.gs. with 




----^-^f^^^tT;^^^^ 


- 


■■■■hakes" made out of basswoo.l logs, for a roof, 
was weighted down with [loles. When this was 




j^l lis. JOSKl'llINK K. .lOSLIN 


a resident of 


chinked in Willi mud, grass and chips, the iMunly 




1/ IW ^\''""'l-f"''l< 'l"""-nslii|., and \vi 


low of Alvin 


thought it quite a eomfortabi,. shelter. In this 




j vL .loslin. was born in Krie Co 


miy, N. v., 


c.-diin Ihey liv<'.l until 1 s,-,S. at which time .Mi'. Jos- 




« .Ian. ;;(!. is;;.-,. sii<' is ilic 


daughter of 


lin erected n c,,mfortable house, where the family 




Seth and Ann (Hoag) Holmes, who w 


•re b,,th na- 


now reside. 




lives of Saratoga County. N. V. lie 


■ pai-cHls re- 


After a continii.'d resi.hnce in this township of ;, 




moved to Erie County, in thf iviipir 


' Stale, when 


half century, the old ],i,.i,eer. Alvin Joslin. died at 




they were young, and residrd lhcr< 


until eaHe.l 


Ins Inun.'. .Inne •.".), ISM. He w.'is one of the l.rav,. 




away by death. Her father. S,.|h Hoi, 


les, was lM,ni 


.■Old stoiitJie.-irted emigrants, who came 1., .Michigan 




xMareh 7, LSDl, and died Aug. 17, 1 .s,s 


;■,, at the ad- 


while it was yet under Territorial goveinnient, and 




vanced age of eighty-four yi-ars; tlu 


mother was 


by hi. inn:ite .■nergv. sound judgment, .-ind d,Ma,ioii 




born Sept. 1. l.S0;3, and died iMareh l' 


), 1S7 1, hav- 


of chaia.'U'r. rendered valuable .assislan,-e in de- 




mg attained more th.an threescore a 


h1 ten years. 


\eIoping its resources, and esi.-iblishing its civil, so- 




Mrs. Joslin was one of a family of niu 


■rl,il,lreii,all 


cial .and religious iiistitiit, ions. Such nieii as he was 




of whom are living. 




are valuable in any c iniiiiity. but iiiiich inorc so 




On Ihe 5lh of Febrviary, l.s.",s. Miss 


• losephine E. 


in the new settleinents on the frontier where their 




Holmes was unite<l in matrimony with 


Alvin .loslin. 


peculiar .•h.'ira.-tcristies ar,' ,,ften<.r cali,.d into phiy. 




who was born in Erie County. N. V.. 


Feb. 1, IS:.'). 


.Mr. and .M r>. Joslin were the p.anaits of seven 




He lived with his parents in the Euipi 


■e State until 


childri'ii. whose record is as follows : Seth W. was 




the fall of Ksa-l, when the family rrnio 


c.ll,, Michi- 


iM.rii Nov. 21. IS.^s, :,iid mairi.Ml .MissCertie ( ). 




gan. On coming here Ihr fallu-r u 


ok up some 


\\'riglit. a ii.-illv<' of Krii- County. \. V.. who was 




eighty acres of GovernmiMit land, whr 


■e .AIr>. Jo- 


born Dec. 12. ISCI. .Mrs. Cerlh' ( ». .loslin is .a 




lin m)w resides. The f.ather of the la 


nily. Willard 


(biiighba- of William and A.ldie Wright, who are 




Joslin, was born April 21), 17'.)."). and 


lied in tliis 


still living at their old In in N(mv Vork. Mr. 




county, Sept. 18, 1S4-2, His wife. S 


rah (Wood- 


and Mrs. Seth .)o^lill .are the parents of one child. 




worth) Joslin, was born in June. 171 


;■,, and died 


Nina (;., wlio was born .laii. 12, ISS7. CharlesC.. 




April 22, 1853. Alvin was one of a 1 


unily of six 


the .second son of Alvin .loslin. was iK.rn April 1 :>, 




children born to them, of whom two c 


aughteis .are 


IS(;2: he was m..,rrie<l to Miss Mary, d.^iigliter of 




the only survivors. The family wert 


ann.ng the 


.b.seph Turner, who w.a> Immii ApriFj.",. ISC.-,; Sarah 


1 


very earliest pioneers of this srcliou o 


eoiinly, .-lud 


A., born .\ov. i, ISC, Lis the wife of Eugene Turk, 




while he lived the ehh-r .\li. .b.sli 


diseliarecd 


of. lacks., n County. Micli.,:iiid the mother of .ine 




with unshrinking energy tliedulii'> de 


■olvingupon 


child; Tl lore.M.. bin-|i Dec. 21. 1 SCll.is now en- 




him as a frontier citizen. He was an o 


d-line Whig 


gaged in te.-icliiii'^ in this t,ownship; Klirii 11. was 




politically, a stanch suppoi'ter of Hen 


ry Clay and 


l..,rn Sn^. 111, 1 s7:;. .-ind .lied March 1:;, 1 s7.-, : Paul- 




his associates. 




ine, born Oct. s, lSS(;,ilie.| in infancy; Alvin, .Ir.. 




After the death of his father, Alvin 


Joslin look 


was born June ;J0, 1881), 


J) 


' charge of the farm, and accumulating 


I little nn.,re 


Mrs. Joslin is a bright, intelligent ami quick- 












. 










54S 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



>► "■ <• 



wilted woniau of considerable intellectual ability; 
she is the correspondent of the Adrian Times, 
and performs considerable literary labor for two 
other leading journals. She is looked up to by the 
community as a prominent leader in all good works, 
and is beloved by her neighbors for her natural 
kindness of heart. 



y;ILLIAM HAYDEN. The gentleman of 
whom wei)ropose to give a brief history is 
arapl}' worthy of notice in a work of tliis 
kind, in which are represented tlie ablest and most 
enterprising men who came to Southern Michi- 
gan during its infancy and have been chiefly 
instrumental in developing its resources. He was 
in his youth the hero of adventures more than 
ordinarily interesting, having traveled quite ex- 
tensively when travel was attended with greater 
difficulty and danger than at the present time. 

Mr. Haj'den was born in Springfield, Otsego Co., 
N. 1'., March 25, 1819, and is the sou of Hezekiah 
Ilayden, a native of Hartford, Conn., where he was 
born June 6, 1777. The fatlier learned the trade 
of a weaver and cloth dresser in his youth, and from 
1811 to 1823, operated a woolen factory in Spring- 
field, N. Y., to which point he removed when set- 
ting out in life for himself. He was a man of great 
energy and decision of character, but his labors 
were cut short by his death, which occurred in June, 
1823, when he wiia but forty-six years of age. In 
October, 1802, he married Miss Hannah, daughter 
of Isaac and Lucy Hayden, of Windsor, Conn., and 
they became the parents of twelve children, Will- 
iam uf our sketch being the tenth child and sev- 
enth son. The mother was born in Windsor, Conn. 
Dec. 10, 1778, surviving her husband onh' a few 
weeks, her death taking place in August, 1823. 

William Hayden. by the death of iiis parents, was 
left an orphan when four years old, and w^as taken 
to Windsor, Conn., and bound out to an uncle, with 
whom he reniaiucil three years, when he returned 
to New York and lived with ant)tlier uncle, in Gen- 
esee County, until reaching his majority. In 1840 
he commenced business for himself, purchasing the 



I shoeshop and tannery of his uncle at Bennington, 

j and in company with a partner operated and en- 
lai-ged the business and continued there until 1846. 
He then disposed of his interest to his partner, M., 

I L. Vosbni-gh, and engaged in the milling and lum- 
ber trade with his brother-in-law for a brief time, 
when he went to New York City and engaged as a 
carpenter in repairing and refitting vessels for sea. 

j About this time arose the California gold excite- 
ment, and Mr. Hayden, being then about thirty 
years of age, joined a company of twelve to make 
tlie overland journey to the Pacific Slope. After 
traveling 100 daj-s and reaching the Platte River, 
cholera broke out among them, to which four of 
the part3' fell victims, among whom was Albert 
Hayden., the brother of AVilliam. The latter also 
suffered an attack from the dread disease but re- 
covered. They continued their journe}', and when 
near the South Pass in the mountains, AYilliam 
Ilayden and another of the party were attacked 
with fever, and, provisions being short, the remain- 
der of tbe party pressed on and left them to per- 
ish. They, however, treated themselves with white- 
oak bark, borrowing a skillet from one Daniel 
Boone, a grandson of the old Kentucky trapper, 
who happened to be roaming over that part of the 
country, and recovered sufficientl}' to overtake 
their company, which dwindled down to eight per- 
sons by the time of their arrival in Sacramento, 
in September, having been since Februaiy on the 
journey. 

INIr. Hayden upon arriving at his destination en- 
gaged in ruining, building and contracting, two 
years, then took passage for home via the Isthmus. 
Five days later the steamer was wrecked 700 miles 
below San Francisco, but fortunately the passen- 
gers were all saved, and sixteen days later taken 
on board another vessel. At this time Mr. Hayden 
met witii a great misfortune 1)3- the loss of his car- 
|)et bag, which contained nearlj' $4,000 in gold, and 
which sank beneath the waves by the capsizing of a 
boat in which he was being rescued. He had ab- 
solutely nothing left, not even a change of clothing, 
and no money to pay his fare home. Finally, to 
his great relief the wife of the Governor of Cali- 
fornia started a subscription on board the vessel 
which was to convey them to Panama, and the sum 

— ■► 



t 



lp:nawp:e county. 



549 -^1 



T 



vol•^■ 



■f tinio. Tho 
.Mr. Ilnvdrn 



all. 



of ^240 wn.x mi.«ed 
Istlimns was cro.'i.'^prl in safcl 
l)OMrd<"(l the fteanicr lor .Nc 
second day out a feait'nl >tor: 
sel was obliged to put into 
While off Cape Hatteras one 
andthe ve.ssel tooI< lire; lb 
subdued, however, and with ( 
aine the ill-fated i-r.aft linall 
midnight, Aug. 20, 1 .s.'. 1 . 

Mr. Hayden now, after a brief rest in Ids native 
town, souglit the West, and in tho fall of 18.") I, 
coming to J.acksou, this Slate, jjurchased from liis 
brother, Henry A., the Vandercook Mills, which he 
operated successfull}' three 3'ears. Subsequently, 
in partnership with Messrs. Reynolds & Hayden, 
he embarked in milling for another three years at 
that point, and then purchased the Globe Mills of 
Tccumseh, the fame of which soon extended 
throughout the State, and which became the most 
successful institution of the kind in Southern Michi- 
gan. Two years later they commenced shijiping 
flour to Ireland as well as other points, chartering 
a vessel for transportation to New Vork. Mr. 
Hayden, in 1882, purchased a large stave and liead- 
ing factory, by which means he was enabled lo 
manufacture his own barrels. Although losing two 
factories of this kind by fire, he quickly recovered 
his losses. Albert Hayden, the uncle of our sub- 
ject, died in Tecumseh, April 10, 1877; his remains 
were taken to C'onnecticut and laid in the old 
burial ground at Windsor, where repose the bodie 
of the Haydens for six generaticnis. William Hay- 
den is in possession of the genealogy of his family 
from l(i30 to 18.59. In 1630 the first represent- 
ative of the family, also William Hayden by name, 
crossed the Atlantic and located in iJorchester, 
Mass., and from him have descended all the Har- 
dens in America. 

William Hayden, on the 18th of December, 185fi, 
was united in marriage with Miss Sarah M., daugh- 
ter of Alonzo and Asenatli Hosmer, of Parkman, 
Tieauga Co., Ohio. Their first residence after 
their marriage was in Michigan, and there all their 
eight children were born. Emily M., the eldest 
daughter, died Aug. 2, 1863, when less than six- 
years old ; William H. and Albert S. ; one officiates 

■^« ^^—^^—^—^^ 



as his father's clerk in the office at the Globe Mills, 
and thcother is at Milan. siipcilntendiniiUie factory. 
Tlic othcr>arcuam(Ml rc-pc-i i v,.|y. Clara 1!.. l.i/./.ie 
v.. S. .Mabel. Levi C. atid .1. Marvin; Ihrvare 
mostly residents of Tc.'uiumIi. 

Mrs. Sarah .M. llaydcu uas born in 1'; rkni.an. 
Old. I, .May 22. \s:)U. Her fatlhi-, a native of Mu\- 
dlc lladdani. Cum... was born Feb. ;i, I 7;)2. ainl 
(lied in I'arkuian, ()lii<,, Dec. -.'S, ISTC. His wife, 
.\~cna11i. was l.orn in Kutlaud. Vt., Sept. .5, 1803, 
.-Mid died at the lamily residence at Parkman, Ohio, 
Ai.ril 20. I St::). The" f.airdly was well and favorably 
known in Ceau^.-i County, where the fallici- c-irricd 



IIGCSTIS W. SLAYTOX, one of the 

MM most c.Mii.-dile busincv- men of Tecumseh, 



with his 



iinber, baled hay, 
office located on 



Chicago street. He is of that age and temperament 
which develop the greatest usefulness and energies 
• <( a man's life, and takvs a lixcly interest in all 
niattt-rs cunnecliMl with the i^rnwlh and prosperity 
of his town. He has been a resident of Tecumseh 
since a youth of eighteen 3ears, coming with his 
parents from his native State of New York, where 
he was born in Steubeu County. Dec. 1), 1.S43. 

Our subject is the eldest son of .Jairus P. and 
Mar^' A. (Fowler) Slaytou. who became residents 
of the Empire State and <'i.nt.iiuu'd there until their 

son had nearly reacheil nianli I, and substantially 

had completed his education. Upon coming tq 
Tecumseh, however, he took an addition.al course 
in the High School here and had already developed 
more than ordinary business qualifications. Upon 
the outbreak of the late war, he laid aside his itlans 
for the future and enlisted in Company E, i8th 
Michigan Infantry, being sent first with his regiment 
to Lexington, K3^ Their time was principalh' 
occupied in skirmishing with the enemy until be- 
ing ordered to the vicinity of Nashville, Tenn. 
Young Slayton subsequently saw considerable fight- 
ing and acquitted himself in a very creditable man- 
ner so that he in due time was promoted to Second 
•► 



•► f ^ - 



560 



lenawf:e county. 



LicLiteiiunt, Battery A, Secoiul United States Col- 
ored Artilleiy. Six months later he was promoted 
Adjutant of all the artillery at Nashville, retain- 
ing this rank until tlie surrender of Lee at Ap]io- 
mattoxand his h.muiable diseliarge in March, ISCfi. 
Lieut. Sla3't(jn upon retiring from the army at 
once repaired to IJetroit, and entered the Business 
College of Br^'ant & Stratton, where he took a full 
course and subsequenth' accepted the position of 
clerk in an exten.sive lnmber-_yard. Some months 
later he put u|) a planiug-mill at 'recumseh, in con- 
nection with a blind, door and sash factory, near 
the Lake Shore depot, which he operated success- 
fully for ten years. Upon selling out he embarked 
in the wholesale lumlier trade and the manufacture 
of furniture, which he carried on until 1883, when, 
disposing of the furniture department he continued 
the lumber business on a larger scale than ever. His 
tr.ans.actions consist principally of contracts, and 
during tiie past year he has furnished the material 
for forty-six sawmills operating mostly in bass- 
wood lumber. He is now familiarly known in 
Northern Michigan as tiie " Basswood King." The 
product of the mills finds ready sale, mostly at De- 
troit, from \vhi<'h it is sliip|)ed after being manu- 
factured into the lighter articles of trade. Mr. 
Slayton has the i)ersonal supervision of his business, 
visiting at stated periods the different points from 
which he receives orders and which altogether han- 
dle about eighteen carloads of lumber per month. 
He gives employment to 280 men and sixty teams, 
and forms one of the important factors in the de- 
velopment of Southeastern Michigan, contributing 
very materially to its reputation and i)rosperity. 
The wife of our suliject was formerly a Detroit 
lady. Miss Cynthia Goodwin, and they were mar- 
ried at the home of the bride in that city, Sept. 
22, 1870. Mrs. Slayton was born June 28, 1850, in 
Royal Oak, Mich., and is the daughter of Seth 
and Polly Goodwin, well-known residents of De- 
troit and people of standing in their comnuinit3-. 
The two children of this union are Earl G., who was 
born May 19, 1877, and Ethel V., Sept. 12, 1884. 
The family residence is a fine structure, pleasantly 
located, and the friends of Mr. and Mrs. Slayton 
are numbered by the score. They are both mem- 
bers of the Presbyterian Church. Our subject. 



politically, votes with the Prohiliition part^-. He 
is Director of the Michigan Flooring and Handle 
Manufacturing Compan_y at Summit City, this State, 
and also Secretary and Director of the Tecumseh 
Celery Company. Socially he belongs to the G. A. 
R., having its headquarters at Tecumseh. 

■ -^ • #'"4^ ' ^^ 



IIARLES W. (JREENLEAF. One of the 
most beautiful farms in Cambridge Town- 
ship is located near the village limits, and 
there is not a more attractive spot in the northwest- 
ern portion of Lenawee County. The dwelling, 
one of the most elegant and commodious in the 
township, was put up in 1874, and is supplied with 
all the luxuries and conveniences of the modern 
country home. The barns and out-buildings are a 
fit embellishment to the farm and the dwelling, and 
the well-kept live stock, together with all the other 
signs of comfort about the premises, form a picture 
truly delightful to the eye. 

Mr. Greenleaf is one of the pioneers of Lenawee 
County, having come to this section with his father 
in the spring of 1836. He was then but a young 
child, having been born Jan. 29, 1832, in the town- 
ship of Mexico, Oswego Co., N. Y. His father, 
John Greenleaf, was a native of New Hampshire, 
where he learned carpentering when a young man, 
which he followed in the old Granite State a few 
years, and thence removed to Oneida County, N. 
Y. There near the town of Harris, he was mari-ied, 
April 2, 1818, to Miss Susan Avrill, who was a na- 
tive of Connecticut, and of New England ancestry. 
Her father's family removed to New York State 
when she was a young woman, and the parents 
there spent the balance of their days. 

After marriage, Mr. and Mrs. John Gireenleaf 
settled in Oswego County, N. Y., where they re- 
mained until after the birth of seven children. 
One child died there. In 1836 they determined 
upon a change of location, and started with their 
little family for the Territory of Michigan, travel- 
ing laboriously after the manner of those days, by 
lake schooner to Detroit, and from there across the 
couutrjr by teams to this county. The father pur- 
chased land on section 28, which was then an al- 
■ ■► 



•►Hl-^^ 



.KNAWEE COUNTY. 



o;<l 



most unbroken^ vvildurness, and moved 

into the lioii.se wliicli was built ulion 

in the njidst of the forest. T 

commenced to fell 

to pi-ep.-irc tlie soil fur cultivation. II 

met with its rew.-nd iu .1 

self surrounded by the comforts for whici 

labored. The mother passed awa}- at 

stead in 1.S57, .aged neai-ly fifty-eight y 

Greenleaf was snbseciuently 

moved to the village of tjuiney in iirahch ( 

where he died May l.S, 1 

eight years of age. He was a very intellig- 

cai)able man, u|)rig!it in his dealings witi 

bors. and with his wife, (he mother of ,,i 

a mendier of h.ngan.l good sInn 

odist Episeo|ial Church. 11 

politics, having been a nicm 

its organization. 

Our subject was i-( 

bridge Township, and 

parental lionsehold until rcaeliing h 

He then set out for himself, 

could find to do, and when twenty-four y 
age, was married, July o, 18;")(;, to .Miss A 

daughter of Geoi'ge and Jane (Ouslcil) > 

who were natives of New .Jersey, and the f: 

farmer by oeeupatit)n. Mr. and Mrs. .Shecli 

also among the 

coming to .Alieliigan Territory in M 

Greenle.af was born in Xewt,.n T< 

Co., N. J., Sept. 2:>, KS34 

but two years of age ni)on eoniin. 

Her father built up a good homestead on ; 

20 in Cambridge Township, dealing 1 20 ac 

land, and tilling the soil in a judicious man 

that it yielded bountifully. II 

old home, and is now |)ast ciuhl\'-tl 

age. The mother d 

aged seventy -five years. .Mrs. (1. was the tl 

order of birth of their ten chihlicn. live s< 

live daughters, seven of whom arc living a 

dents mostly of this county. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Greenleaf tliciv were b 
children only, both still living. The eldest 
George W.. married Miss Ida A. Kane. ;iii<l 
ing ill Rome Township; he has tw(» children 



.M. and Bessie A. Cakvalio L. married Miss Liz- 
zie Ki.se, .and continues with his f.-itlicr at tlie home- 
stead; they have one child. :i >..ii. .Mindrcl C. .Mr. 
,'nleaf. iiolitically. i.- :> -ulid I'r, .hibitionisl. He 
ico. and >ei 
for th 
member of the liluc Lodge No. Kiy. of 
IJrooklyii, Mich., .oid i> Steward in the (iivange 
d. Loth he and his wife belong to 
the I', of II., and Mr.s. (L is .School Direct, .r in her 




IS .a Ke volution 

ee of the Colonies was est«i 

.11, Ot.seg<i Co., N. V 
(1 ■ 
Land Coini.any, in Erie C 

ith, 
age. 

Daniel Bates assisted his father in clearing up the 
farm, and livrd iu Eric County until eighteen years 

of age. when he i un',iccd farming for himself. 

He took .all "article" for soinelaml, .and after living 
upon it ten years, sold his '-chance" for 8400, and 
pureha.sed another farm near the town of Clarence, 
th.at same county, which he occii])ied 
Then selling out he came to Michigan Territ(.)ry, and 
purch.ased 200 acres of unimproved land on section 
10, ill Rome Township. Upon this a log shanty had 
been erected, the only attempt at settlement. .Mr. 
Bates felled the tre<'s and cleared this land, then 
added to it until he was the owner of .".20 acres. 
In the meantime he put up a good frame dwelling, 
with barns and sheds, and became one of the most 
thrifty and nseful men of that section. In addition 
to the building up of his own homesteaiL lie took a 
lively interest in every enterpri.se calculated to bene- 
fit his township and county, and assisted in laying 



•► 



552 



1 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



out, loiiils, l)uilding liridges, school-houses and 
fhuichL's. iuicl by every means in his power labored 
to advanr,. the s<K-i;il and material interests of the 
peoiilr ahout liini. lie died at the old homestead 
on the i;3th of .lanuary. 187S. being quite aged. and 
passing gradually away without [nun and witliout 
apparent disease. 

The mother of our subject, who was formerly Miss 
Priscilla Cole, was born in Lisbon, Otsego Co., N. Y., 
Dee. i, IHOl. Shebeeame the wife of Daniel Bates 
Oct. 11,1818. I lei- father, a native of Providence, 
R. L, served as a soldier in the Revolutionary War, 
and afterward settled in Western New York, whence 
he removed later to this county, and died in Rome 
Township in 1844. The mother of Grandfather 
Bates was a descendant of the Winslows who came 
over in the Mayflower. The p.arental household of 
our subject inclnded nine children, all of whom 
lived to mature years. The later descendants em- 
brace twenty-seven grandchildren and ten great- 
grand-children. 

The subject of our sketch was a youth of four- 
teen years when his father came to this county, and 
he remained at home until twenty-three years of 
age. In 1844 occurred the first important event 
of his life, namely, his marriage with Miss Malintha 
Powell, who was born in Steuben County, N. Y., 
Dec. 9, 1824. Her father, .Stephen Powell, was a 
native of ^'t inxint. where he carried on farming 
during his early manhood, and thence removed to 
Orleans County, N. Y., where he lived until 182:!. 
Me was then married, and settled first in Genesee 
County, where he was Imrni: out, and then sold his 
farm and once more took up his residence in Or- 
leans Country. After one or two removals, he, in 
1845, left the Empire State and came to Michigan, 
settling in Seneca Township, this county, where he 
lived until his death, which occurred when he was 
eighty-nine years old. 

The mother of Mrs. Bates was Miss Margai-et 
Norton, of New York State, daughter of Seba Nor- 
ton, whose father, Caleb Norton, a native of France, 
came from that country to America during the 
French and Indian War, :ind was killed in battle in 
1763. Seba Norton, .Jr., also served in the Revolu- 
tionary War, and died in Ontario County, N. Y., 
when eight3'-two years old. His wife survived him 



and lived to be eighty-eight. He w.as a sharp- 
shooter during his military career, and afterward 
served as a minister of the Ba[)tist Church forty 
years. 

Our subject and his wife were married in Cat- 
taraugus County, N. Y., and soon afterward came 
to their new home in this county, which comprised 
a farm given our subject by his father. Upon this 
eighty acres the young people settled, and Mr. 
Bates turned his attention to the building up of a 
homestead. He added to his real estate, and became 
the owner of 170 acies, all of which he has brought 
to a good state of cultivation, and which is the 
source of a comfortable income. Mr. Bates usually 
votes the Republican ticket, but laj'S no claim 
whatever to being a politician. He has been quite 
}jrominent in the affairs connected with the progress 
of the township, and served as Highway Commis- 
sioner si.\ years. Drain Commissioner four years, 
besides serving as School Director and Assessor sev- 
eral years. The family are all connected with the 
Baptist Church. 

The eldest child of Mr. and Mrs. Bates. Daniel 
P., was born at the farm where they now live, July 
17, 1845, and died on the 23d of February, 1887. 
He had been married to Miss Emily Stearns, and 
they were the parents of one child, a daughter. 
The widow is now living in Adrian. .Tuliet was 
born Oct. 13, 1846, and became the wife of Irvin 
Sayers, a native of Seneca Township, and who was 
born Nov. 9. 1847. The father of Mr. S. came to 
Michigan from the Empire State, in 1837, and car- 
ried on farming the balance of his life. Elnora P. 
is the wife of William H. Hood, and they live on a 
farm near the old homestead. The two children of 
Irvin Sayers are both boys: Arthur P., born Feb. 8, 
1875. and Halsey C, July 2, 1877. 

J'~l OHN C. PORTER. The Porter family, dur- 
j ing the Colonial days, was distinguished for 
I its patriotism, and the paternal great-grand- 
' father of our subject lost his life during the 
Revolutionary War, while assisting in the protec- 
tion of goods and property from the ravages of the 
British. His son, Lewis P., upon reaching manhood 



-l-ll- 



^Ih 



l.KNAWEK C'UITNTY. 



S5o 



settler! in Seneca CuiiiiU, N. V.. mikI u:in there 
married to Miss Tliirza Cole. The paternal giaud- 
fatlier of the latter wns a miller liy ti;i(le, ai,il em- 
ployed by the Government; later in life he al.so 
settled in Seneca County, N. Y., not far from the 
home of Lewis Porter. The latt.er and his wife 
spent the remainder of their lives tiiore. the father 
dying in 1862, at tiie age of seveuty-si.x, .'ind the 
mother in 1867, aged seventy year.-. 

The parental familj' of our subject iaelnded three 
boys and tiiree girhs, of whom John C. was the sec- 
ond born. He first opened his eyes to the light 
June 24, 1822, and was graduated from the district 
school, after which he spent a terra nt the academy 
in Ovid. He had chosen farming for his calling, 
and upt>n setting out in life for himself, was mar- 
ried, Sept. 11, 1844, to Miss Louisa, daughter of 
Sj'lvester and Sarah (Cole) King, natives of Jvew 
Jersey and Dutchess County, N. Y., respectively. 
Her parents settled in the latter county after their 
marriage, where the mother died in 1(S;85, at the 
age of seventy-tiiue years. .Mr. King is still living. 
making his home with a grandson at the homestead, 
and is now eighty-eight years of age. Their fam- 
ily consisted of two sons and four daughters, of 
whom Mrs. Porter was the eldest. She was born 
in New Y'ork, Dec. 12, 1824. and after completing 
her studies in the common school, Mitcuded (iroton 
Academy, in Cayaga County. 

Mr. and Mrs. Porter came to Alichigan imme- 
diately after their marriage, and our subject pur- 
chased a quarter secli<jn of laud in Seneca Town- 
ship, but M few acres .,f wliieli wi^w. cleared. Jii 
September. I.s44, they moved into their new house, 
and Mr. Penter subsequently' added to his real 
estate by the purchase of 240 acres in the same 
township, where now stands the elegant dwelling 
which is the admiration of all the country around. 
The buildings adj:icent are in keeping with the 
residence, and the farm, beautifully located, forms 
one of the most attractive spots in that section of 
country. Mr. Porter has omitted nothing i;o beau- 
tify and enhance the value of his property, and at^ 
the same time has taken a lively interest in the 
growth of the township generally. The Porter 
household in due time included four children : 
Francis H., who is now deceased; Sylvester K., 



i\lio n):irried Miss Melis.sa Rorick ; they have one 
child, a daughter, Anna Lou. Mary S. is the wife 
of :Mark C. Rorick, and the mother of three chil- 
dren — John B., Myrtle and Maude; Hattie is the 
wife of Leroy W. Rorick, of Seneca, and has two 
children — Nellie and C'osper. 

Mr. Porter represented Scnccji in the County 
Board of Supervisors two terms and has been Jus- 
tice of the Peace ten yc.u>.. He wms Postmaster for 
a period of eighteen years, during which time he 
discharged the duties of his ollice in a highly cred- 
itable manner. He cast his first Presidential vote 
for Henry Clay, and now votes the Repul)liean 



lie 



-Mr. Porter made the most of his early advan- 
tages, and was engaged as school teacher in iiis na- 
tive county before (■oming to the West. Both he 
and his (-stimalile wife are greatly interested in the 
siiecess of t,he lempeiaiice ciuise, ;iud have been for 
many years covniocted with the Baptist Church. 
.Socially, Mr. P. belongs to Fruit Ridge (irange and 
the Pioneer Club, the latter of which was regularh' 
organized Aug. i;!, ls:;5, although having held 
meetings previously, and .Mi. Porter was elected 
its lirsl President. 

yARREN GILBERT, one of the early pio- 
neers of Lenawee County and prominent in 
^ „ all good works, has been one of the most 
useful and public-spirited men in this section of the 
(Hiuntry. His highly cultivated farm of eighty 
;icres is ple;isanll3' located on section 32, in Rome 
Townshii), and the family residence is a handsome 
and substantial building, flanked liy a good barn 
an orchard of choice fruit trees, and all the other 
accessories of the modern homestead. Our subject 
took possession of this property in the spring of 
1859, and the indications are that he has spent few 
idle hours and no small sum of mone}^ for the em. 
bellishment of his home, and the enhancement of 
its value. 

Mr. Gilbert was born in Greenfield Township, 
Huron Co., Ohio, Sept. 1, 1821, and is the son of 
Truman Gilbert, whose father came from England 
during the Colonial days and died in Connecticut 

■► 



\ 



Ml* 



•►HI-4^ 



■•► 



554 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



•^h 



at an advanced age. His sun Truman vvas born and 
reared in Connecticut, whence lie eniigTated to 
Ohio and died there in .Sandusky County when 
seventy-nine years of age. Truman Gilbert in oavly 
manhood married Miss Jane McKelvej^ whose par- 
ents were natives of Ireland. The wedding took 
place in Ohio, and they became the parents of nine 
children, seven of whom are now deceased ; the 
mother died in Ohio at the age of forty-four years. 

The subject of this record continued with his 
parents until reaching his majority, in the meantime 
receiving his education in the district school and 
becoming familiar with farm pursuits. At the age 
of twenty -one he took possession of thirty acres of 
land which he had already purchased, and cultiv.-ited 
the soil for three years, after which he sold out and 
purchased a farm of eighty acres, which he occupied 
eleven years. He then determined upon a change 
of location, and coming to this county, purchased 
his present farm, upon which he has brought about 
vast improvements and put up most of the build- 
ings. The lady who has shared his fortunes for the 
last forty-four years was in her girlhood Miss Mi- 
nerva, daughter of Simeon and Mcribah ((ieorge) 
Root. The latter were nntivcs of Vermont, whence 
they emigrated to Ohio about I.SIG, during the 
early settlement of Huron County. From there, 
in 1851, they came to this State, and purchasing 
land in Rome Township, continued here the re- 
mainder of their lives. Mr. Root passed away in 
1870, aged eighty-four years, and his wife about 
1868, aged seventy -six. They were the parents of 
six children who lived to mature years and five are 
3-et living. Simeon Root, Sr., the grandfather of 
Mrs. Gilbert, was also a native of the Green Mount- 
ain State, which he left when a young man and 
settled in New York, where his death took place in 
the city of Syracuse. 

Mrs. Blinerva Gilbert was born in Sandusky. 
Ohio, Sept. 21, 182G, and was trained in all house- 
wifely duties by her excellent mother, receiving a 
common-school education and continuing with her 
parents until her marriage. Her union with our 
subject resulted in tlie birth of four children, re- 
corded as follows: Adelbert W. vvas born Jan. S. 
1845, and died in infancy; Frank S. was born Nov. , 
1, 1847, and married Miss Isabella Nye; he is in- j 



terested in a gas well near Cleveland, Ohio, where 
he resides, and has four children. Austin B. was 
born May 6, 1849, and married INIiss Emma San- 
ders; they are living on a farm near Saginaw, and 
are the parents of three children. Charles ^Y. was 
born Dec. 21, 1851, and married Miss Esther Mc- 
Math; they are living at the old homestead and 
have two children. 

Mr. Gilbert cast his first Presidential vote on the 
side of the old Whig party, but since 1864 he has 
voted the Ueniocratie ticket. He has been a mem- 
ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church for a period 
of forty-seven years, during which time he has 
worked actively in the Sunday-school and given 
cheerfully both of his time and means to the 
maintenance of the society. Mrs. Gilbert also joined 
the Methodist Episcopal Church at an early age, 
and has been an active and consistent member 
forty-eight years. 



\t^ M. BATES i.s a loading representative of 
I jV one of the old pioneer families of the 
@j^ county, and was born in Rome TowMiship, 
^ Oct. 6, 1841'. His grandfather. Daniel 
Bates, was born in Pownal, Bennington Co., Vt, 
Aug. 8, 1800, but removed witii his father, Stephen 
Bates, who vvas an old Revolutioiuuy hero, to New 
Lisbon, in the county of Otsego, N. Y.. when he 
was quite a small cliild. Stephen Bates resided in 
Otsego Count}' until 1811, when he removed to 
Erie County in the same State, where he continued 
until his death, which occurred in 1850. Here 
Daniel Bates vvas brought up and assisted his father 
in clearing np his new farm, making it his residence 
until he had attained the age of eighteen years. 
Starting out in life for himself he took an "article" 
for some land, and lived upon it ten years, when he 
sold out his right for some $400. and removed to 
the town of Clarence, where he lived until 1835. 
During that year he disposed of his propertj" there 
and coming to Michigan, purchased 200 acres of 
land of Job Comstock on section 10, in Rome 
Township. This was all new land with a log shanty 
upon it with shake roof and split log floor. Mr. 
Bates cleared up his purchase and added to it until 



-^^t 



>► ,m <•■ 



4 



>ENAAVK1<; COUNTY 



555 



he owiicrl some 520 acres, and Imilt a good fiaint' 
house with barns and sheds. He was a sturdy, hon- 
est, energetic man, a thrifty fanner and a most ex- 
cellent citizen. He wns always alive to every en- 
terprise that would henelit the town or county, as- 
sisting in cutting roads, building bridges, erecting 
scliool-houses and churcheH, and advancing the social 
and material interests <jf the comnninity. lie died 
here Jan. 13, 1878. In religious belief he was a 
Baptist, h.aving united witli the chnrcli in 1 S.'J-J, 
and always lived a C'hristi.'in life, [lasting .'iw.-iy 
l)eacefnlly at the close. 

Daniel Hates, Oct. 11, 1 81 S. manicd Miss I'ris- 
cilla Cole, who was a daughter of I'eleg Cole, 
of Krie County, N. Y., by whom he had nine chil- 
dren, WInslow, the father of our subject, being the 
ehlest. iMrs. Priscilla Hates was b(,rn in LIslion, 
Otsego Co., N. Y., Dec. 1, ISdl. Her f.-itluT w.-i.-. 
a native of Providence, K. I., burn in 17.VJ, and 
was a soldier in the Kevolulionary War. In I SI 3 
he removed to Erie County, wIumc he roidcd many 
years. He died in Rome, thi> county, in I.Sll. 
His mother was a descendant of the W'inslous. wlm 
came to this country in the Mayflower. 

Winslow Bates resided with his parents until he 
was twenty-three years of age, coming to iMichig.-m 
with them in 1835. He has always been a farmer, 
and was a genuine pioneer, having assisted his 
father in clearing up the farm. When he first lo- 
cated within the limits of Rome TowMshii), settK-rs 
were but few and far between, ami a few log shan- 
ties were the only buildings. In jiolitics Winslow 
Bates was an enthusiastic Repul>lican after the (ir- 
ganization of this j)arty, and has filled the ollicc of 
Highw.ay Commissiduer almo>l rdnlinuously since 
1854. He served also .-is .Justice n( llic l'c;icc for 
one term. He was imiled in marriiige with Miss 
Liisina Sweet, on the -fth of April. lcS43. She was 
a daughter of Philip and Lydia Sweet, of Cold- 
water, Branch Co., Mich. Mr. and Mrs. Winslow 
Bates are the parents of seven children, recorded as 
follows: One unnamed died in infancy : I^ydia P.. 
born April 4, 1845, is the wife n( Henry Pearson, 
of Adrian; Mary E., born Feb. 15. ls4s, married 
Oliver H. Beach, of Rome Center; P. M., of our 
sketch, was next in order of birth; E. Madora 
was born June 4, 1852, and is the wife of Fred A. 



S54, 
had 



Knight, of Rome; Daniel W., born Oct. 27 
is at home, also Ruth E., born Fcli. 7, 1857. 

P. M. Bates remained at home until 
reached the ,age of twcnly-tlivcc years, attending 
school in the meant, inn\ Ixjth in his district and at 
the college in .Vdri.-m. in which latter institution he 
spent some three years. Returning liome, he gave 
most of his attention lo the cidtivation of the farm 
which his father gave him. Being, however, of an 
enterprising disposition and of considerable mer- 
cantile ability, he in 1881, purchased a half interest 
in a store at Rome Center, which was operated as a 
partnership concern until 1884, when he purchased 
the entire interest and is now operating the busi- 
ness alone. 

P. iAI. I'.ates and Miss Emily Smith, daughter 
of l);ivid Smith, Jr.. entered intoa matrimonial alli- 
ance Dec. 25, 1.S72. 'i'hey are the parents of one 
child. Florence .M., who was b.n-n -Inn. 12, 1874. In 
religion i\Ir. Bates is a strict Baptist, and has been 
Deacon of his church for several years. His activ- 
ity in the Sunday-school work connected with the 
church is pr<jviMbl;d. In politics he affiliates with 
the K'cpublican p.arty, in beh;df of which he has 
done very affective work. Ho has been elected to 
several minor offices in the township, and has each 
time had a fair majority, running fifty or more 
ahe.-id of his ticket, showing his jjersonal popularity 
where he is best known. 

In Mdditi<iii lo his mercantile establishment, Mr. 
Bates also operates a large brick and tile factory, at 
which he commenced some four j'cars ago. This 
has bei-n a \ cry successful venture, receiving a lib- 
eral home p.-itron.'ige. The business has nearly 
doubled since its initiation, and the proprietor will 
soon be c:dled upon to enlarge his facilities. 



' HOM AS J. CURTIS, a native of this county, 
((((^\ was born at the old homestead of his father 
Rome Township, Aug. 24, 1842, and re- 
sides there at the present time. The Curtis family 
were among the earliest pioneeis of Lenawee 
County, and were largely interested in the develop- 
ment of its resources.' They possessed in a marked 
the native energy so requisite to pioneers, 



■•► 



•►-11-* 



556 



a 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



and nssisted in building up a homestead from the 
wilderness, leaving to their descendants a rich in- 
heritance. 

It is now fifty-four years since the first log cabin 
was erected in Rome Township, where some years 
later the subject of this sivctch entered upon his 
existence, and in due time began to make himself 
useful in the lighter labors around the pioneer 
homestead of his parents. The latter were people 
of intelligence and good judgment, and gave their 
children the best advantages which the times af- 
forded, Thomas J., in common with his brothers 
and sisters, attending the district school during the 
winter, and confining liis attention to the farm in 
summer. When a youth of eighteen years he began 
working by the month, and taught school during 
the winter until reaching his mnjority. During the 
late Rebellion he repaired to Hillsdale, and on tlie 
25th of March, 1864, enlisted in Company K, 4th 
Michigan Infantry, and served until the close of the 
war, receiving his honorable discharge at Houston, 
Tex., in May, 1866. His duties lay mostly on the 
frontier and iu dealing with the guerrillas. He par- 
ticipated in the battles at Cold Harbor and Peters- 
burg, and was in the first and second engagements 
at Hatches Run, v/iiile his regiment was one of 
those detailed to receive the arras from the rebels 
at the surrender of Gen. Lee. He saw consider- 
able hard fighting and experienced several hair- 
breadth escapes, having, at one time, his knapsacli 
punctured by shots from tlie rebel guns, while, at 
another time, his own gun was shot to pieces. Upon 
one occasion a small tree behind which he partially 
concealed himself, was the means of saving his life. 
Like many of the old soldiers, he could weave an 
interesting volume from the many experiences of 
his army life. 

Mr. Curtis, upon his return from the army, as- 
sisted his father upon the old homestead during 
the harvest season and taught school in winter. 
In 1867 he purchased eighty acres of laud near the 
town limits of Hudson, which he occupied two 
years and a half, and afterward farmed upon rented 
land until the decease of his father. Upon tlie 
settlement of the estate he purchased the interest 
of the other heirs, and is now in possession of 160 
acres, being the greater part of the original home- 



stead; in the meantime he sold the Hudson Town- 
ship farm. He occupied the house wliich his father 
put up in the early days until Dec. 24, 1884, 
when the present handsome dwelling was com- 
pleted and he took possession. The farm residence 
and buildings so well known as the Curtis home- 
stead are among the finest in the western part of 
Lenawee County. They are finely located upon a 
rise of ground and command a view of the sur- 
rounding country, which stretches away on either 
side, and presents in summer a most delightful 
picture to the eye. 

The marriage of Thomas J. Curtis and Miss Ida 
Britten was celebrated at the iiome of the bride in 
Pittsford, Dec. 12, 1868. Mrs. Curtis is the daugh- 
ter of Richard R. and Ellen (Collins) Britten, and 
was born iu Hillsdale County, Dee. 12, 1852, she 
was therefore married on her sixteenth birthdaj'. 
Her father, a native of New York State, was born 
in 1812, reared to farm pursuits, and at an early 
day migrated to the Territory of Michigan and 
located in Pittsford Township, Hillsdale County, 
where his death took place about 1875. The mother 
is still living at the old homestead and is now 
seventy years of age. 

The five children of iMr. and Mrs. Curtis are re- 
corded as follows: Willard R. was born in Hillsdale 
County, May 30, 1870, and is now pursuing his 
studies in Hillsdale College; Manella was born in 
Rome Township, Feb. 6, 1874, and continues at 
home with her parents; Ray R. was born Nov. 29, 
1879; Glenn, June 10, 1884; and Gail, in the new 
house, April 1, 1886. Mr. and Mrs. Curtis are 
members and regular attendants of the Baptist 
Church. Our subject has for j^ears been warmly 
interested in the success of the temperance move- 
ment. In former years he worked with the Repub- 
lican party, but is now a solid Prohiliitionist. 



-~\>\- ->«J2£i2/©-^" 



■^-^7mrf^~. 



•► 



«^ MOS R. COLE. The upright and correct 
iWfuv citizen cannot be valued too highly, for he 
jlflk is an important factor in preserving intact 
1^ the social fabric upon which tlie comfort 

and prosperity of a community depend. This 
thought is suggested in reflecting upon the repu- 



LENAWEE COrNTY. 



tation of the family of which our subject is a 
worthy representative, and the emborliinent of 
those qualities which constitute the liackl)onc and 
sinew of Lenavvee County. 

Mr. Cole was horn in Seneca County. N. Y.. 
May \'.K IS.'iJ). and i.s the son of a well-known pio- 
neer, i;iviii C. Cole, and the brother of Elvin D.. a 
sketch of whom will be found on another page of 
this .Vi.r.iM. Young Cole continued at his fatherV 
homestead, in Rolliii Township, until reacliin,s>- his 
majority, and in the -^priuu; of I Sill crossed the 
Mississii)pi into the vicinity of Ml. \'ernon, Iowa, 
liaviuL' in view the selection of a permanent 
location. lie. however, came back east as far as 
DeKall) County, 111., where he occupied himself 
on a farm until the outbreak of the late war. On 
the ICth of September, 18GI, he enlisted for three 
years in the volunteer service, becoming a in(!mbcr 
of Company L, Sth Illinois Cavalry. The regiment 
was first detailed to the vicinitj- of Washington, D. 
C, and later met the rebels in the principal battles 
and skirmishes of the Potomac camiiaign. Mr. Cole 
fortunatel3' escaped wounds and capture, and with 
the exception of being ill two weeks in the regi- 
mental hospital, w;is able to report for duty at all 
times. At the expiration of his term of service he 
received his honorable discharge, and w.as mustered 
out at Chicago, Sept. 2S, 18(!L 

After being transformed from a soldier to a 
civilian, .Mr. Cole returned to his old haunts in 
Lenawee County, where he lived al)out eighteen 
months, then ti'aded his farm in Ingham County 
for the one he now owns. This ccmpi-isc<l liftv- 
five acres of land, to which he sub>e(incnlly .■i.hh-d 
100 acres, all now luider a line state of cultivation,- 
and upon which he has erected handsome and sub- 
stantial buildings. The dwelling, which was erected 
iu the suuuncr of 1 SS."). is especially i>leg.ant. The 

fine apple orchard and an ass(.)rtment of the smaller 
fruits. The live stock is of the best description, 
and the farm machinery embraces everything that 
could be reasonably rerpiired by the modern agri- 
culturist. 

Not long after his return from the army Mr. 
Cole was married, Nov, 9, 1861, to Miss Elmira 11. 
daughter of Porter and Susan (Brownell; Beal, old 



and well-known residents of Rollin Township. 
Mrs. Cole was born in Rollin Township, July 11, 
1 842, and receiving an education in the district 
school during her 3'ounger years, subsequently' en- 
gaged in teaching. She is a lady of much intelli- 
gence and noted for her charities and her interest 
in the temperance work, belonging to the Ladies' 
Missionary Society, while for two yi'ars she has 
been President of the W. C. T. U. Both our sub- 
jc<:t aufl his wife are memljcrs and regular attend- 
ants of the Methodist Ei^iscopal Church. Mr. 
Cole has served as School Director in his district 
for .-I number of years. 

The record of the four children of .Mr. and Mrs. 
Cole is as follows: Susan L. w.as born Aug. 27, 
ISii."), and on the 4lh of March, 188;'), married L. 
Lewellyn, son of lion. .1. N. Harkness; Celia O. 
was born Feb. 20, 18()S, and was married. Dec. .'30, 
18S(;. to Edward Rawson, of Rollin; Elvira R. 
was born .Sept.."., 1872. and DeWitt C, .Ian. 7, 
187 1. 

A.AIES NICHOLSON is a f.armer residing on 
section 18 of Riga Township, where he owns 
a beautiful farm which has been his home 
^1^1^ since 180;"). This farm, .as well as the fine 
farm adjoining it, at the time of purchase was wild 
and swampy land, and was considered worthless for 
agricultural purposes. Se\ en acres of it w.-is cleared 
land, on which a log cabin had been built, which 
constituted the only improvements at the time of 
sclMi-nient. The wonderful results he has brought 
about by hi> indomit.able laiergy have i)roved the 
good judgment and foi-esight that he disi)layed in 
selecting such an unpromising location for a farm. 
He now has the entire tract cleared, well drained, 
and in a highly productive condition. He has 
erected an ample fr:ujie barn and other necessary 
farm liuildings. and in l8iS(;iie erected a substantial 
brick ilwclling. Besides accomplishing .all this, he 
has [jurcliased and improved a good farm of forty 
acres in Ogden Township, on which his son now 
lives. 

Mr. Nicholson is a native of Montreal, and was 
born .July 17, 1833. His grandfather, James Nich- 
olson, was a native of Yorkshire, England, and 



■^- 



558 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



remained a resident thereuntil about 1825, when 
he came to America with a colony of Englishmen, 
and with them founded the town of Ramsay-, Onta- 
rio, Canada. The Enoli<<h Government gave to 
these colonists 100 acres of land each, besides a 
grindstone and a saw to each three settlers, as an 
inducement to settle in the wilderness and improve 
the country. The grandfather became the owner 
of a fine farm, reclaimed from the wilderness by his 
industry, and there he made his home until death. 
He was a stanch Presbyterian, and worked to pro- 
mote the establishment of that faith in Ramsaj', 
building a church and parsonage on his farm. The 
father of our subject was born in Yorkshire, En- 
gland, and there remained until he was eighteen 
years old, when he came to America, being the first 
of his father's family to come to this country. He 
first lived in Beaver Creek, Vt., an<l was there em- 
ployed on a farm, excei)t in winter, when he engaged 
in lumbering. Ho married in Vermont Nancy 
Churchill, a native of that State, and daughter of 
John and Annie (Hewitt) Churchill, both of whom 
were of English ancestry. After marriage Mr. 
Nicholson lionght a farm close to the city of Mon- 
treal, and there followed farming until his deatii. 

James Nicholson, of this sketch, was one of six 
children born to his parents, five of whom grew to 
maturity, and w.as but five years old when lu^ was 
bereft of a mother's care. He remainoil with his 
father in the home of his liirth until he was thirteen 
years of age, and then, a mere lioy, set out to make 
for himself a place in the busy world. He found 
employment in ra,fting lumber on the river in the 
season for rafting, and during the remainder of the 
year worked in the lumber regions; he was thus 
employed in that hard and oftentimes dangerous 
work until he was eighteen, when he went with a 
raft to New York City. After remaining there a 
short time he came to Lenawee County .-ind found 
work on a farm, and also engaged a part of the 
time in wood chopping. We next heai' of him in 
Canada, whence, after a year's residence, he went 
to Illinois to engage in farming f(;r himself, and 
bought 160 acres of wild prairie land in Vermilion 
County. At that time Kankakee, now an important 
city, situated in the eastern part of Illinois, was but 
a hamlet with only one grocery store, which readily 



•►HH^ 



supplied the needs of its small population. Mr. 
Nicholson purchased three 3'oke of oxen, and soon 
had twentj' acres of his own land broken, besides 
bieaking large tracts of land for other people. In 
the fall of that year he went to St. Louis. Mo., and 
engaged in getting out railroad ties, but he soon 
afterward became sick and had to return to Canada, 
when for three years thereafter he was unable to do 
any work. 'Vhis long period of illness exhausted 
his means, and on his restoration to health he went 
to Toledo to repair his broken fortunes. He was 
employed there for some months in a sawmill, and 
then came to this county and engaged in similar 
work. In 1865 he purchased his present farm, and 
Riga Township has since been his home. He is a 
ra;in of much experience in life, and his early en- 
counter with the world has made him keen and 
ready to take advantage of the means at hand and 
turn them to the best account. He is always hon- 
orable in his dealings with other men, and ii.as won 
for himself a place in the confidence and esteem of 
the people about him. 

During these years of hard labor our subject has 
had the able and active assistance of a good wife, 
to whom he was married Dec. 14, 1851. Her maiden 
name was Rebecca Earles, and she was born in 
Mendon, near Rochester, N. Y., April 10, 1836; .she 
came with her parents to Palmyra Township, this 
county, ill 1842. Her marriage with Mr. Nichol- 
son has been blessed by the birth of two children: 
\Villiam, who lives in Ogden Township, and Melissa, 
who married Charles Mason, of Riga Township. 

iMrs. Nicholson's paternal grandfather. John 
Earles, was born in Greenbush, Rensselaer Co., N. 
Y., and when a young man he removed from there 
to Lake, where he married Rebecca White : he was 
a farmer, and spent his last years in Monroe County. 
The fatiier of Mrs. Nicht)ls..n was born on the old 
homestead in Lake, N. Y., Feb. 15, 1 .S05, and he 
there grew to manhood; in 1834 he accompanied 
John Maloney and his wife and seven children to 
the Territory of Michigan, the entire journey being 
made overland with two yoke of oxen and one pair 
of horses. They located in Adrian, being among 
the first settlers of that township, which was then a 
wilderness inhabited by deer, bears, wolves, wild 
turkeys and other game. Mr. Maloney entered 

•► 



f 



-4•- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Government land, on which he and his wife spent 
their last days in the loo- house which he hnilt for 
their shelter, his death occ'iirrini;' in l.s;!7. He ;ind 
his wife, whose maiden name was I'olly Dust nhurv, 
were natives of Kew Yori<. 

In August. 1834, a short time nflcr thcii- .■iirival, 
Mr. Earles, the father of Mrs. NichoKoii, lunrried 
Mary, daughter of Jolm Maloncy. Tliey returned 
to New York, where tlie^y spent about six years, 'ind 
while tiicre Sirs. Nicholson was born. Returning 
to Lenawee County, Mr. Earles bought a tract, of 
timbered land near Ogden, and there improved a 
farm on wliich he livetl alxint twenty-five years, 
when he (r:iilcd .-i p.nt ol' his f.-irm for village prop- 
erty iu Pahuyr:i, and lived llicre about ten _years. 
He then disposed of that property and l)ought a 
farm in Ogden Township, on wliicli hereside(l until 
his removal to IJlissfield. wlu'i-e he and his wile now 
reside. Thej' are botii ad\.-ini-e(l in yt'ais, and. of 
course, feel tiie infirmities of .'ige very inucli. yel 
they are able to lie about, ;uid still retain their 
mental faculties unimpaired. 

Mr. Nicholson and his wife arc worthy meml.ers 
of the Uuiled Ihvtinen Cliurcli. In politics .Mr. 
Nicholson sustains the policy of t.lie Kcpublicaii 



EWIS G. LESTKRhas 
been a resident of K, 
property is i)lc.-isantl\ 



naturally- fertile, has by a i)ro 
tion become one of the most 
eastern part of the 
resided in the viciu 
property in 18Go,-a 



itv. 



is of o,„„l rultiva- 
sirable tracts in llu- 
Mr. L.. wh.. foiiiK'ily 
.los.'ph, purchaMMl this 
i:e given his undivided 
attention to the building up of his line homestead, 
of which a view is shown on another page of this 
work. 

Our subject is a native of Ontario County. N. 
Y., where he was born .July (1. 1827, and is the son 
of John Lester, of the same State, whose father was 
David Lester, of New England parentage and En- 
glish descent. David Lester spent the greater part 
of his life in the eastern part of Long Island, wheje 



559 

he carried on farming and died at an advanced age. 
He married a Miss Talmadge, who lived to be ninety- 
thive years of age. and also died on Long Island, 
•lohn Lester, the father of our suliject, was born and 
reared on Long Island, and there married Mi.ss 
Eunice George, who was a native of Albany 
County, N. Y., and of English descent. John Les- 
ter and hi< \vifc lived for a time in Ontario County, 
that St:ii,'. wluT.- Ml-. L. followed the trade of a 
shoemaker .-iiid spent the reiu.-iiiider Of his life. The 
p.-irent.-d liu\i>eliold included six cliildren, four sons 
••ind tivo d.-uiuhtcrs, of uliiim Lewis (J. was next to 



sul.ject w: 



•►Hh-^ 



il an(l.-du,-ated in the town- 
ship .if Corhani. where he learned the trade of a 
tanner and currier, and which he practically aban- 
doned .'ifter coming to IMiehigan. He remained in 
his natave St.-iti- until twenty-live j'ears of age, when 
he wentto M i<-higan. locating (irst in the young town 
<if Sturgi>, .-Old was for some time connected with the 
Michigan Sonlhei-n Unilniad. In 1859 he w.as mar- 
ried, at the honie of the iiride in Tecumsch, to Miss 
H:u-riet Seolielil, wbci was born in .Steuben County, 
N. '^■., .Mm)- I I, I8;)(;, and was the second child of 
Knis Sc,. tic-Id, of Dutchess County, N. Y. The 
latter w-is the son of Uufus Scofield, a native of 
Sharon, I'a., .-uid of excellent Scotch descent. He 
married Mi.ss Rhoda Grilhth, of Dutchess County, 
N. Y., and later <-,-iuie int.. Steuben County, taking 
up a large tract of lau<I .-lud in connection -ivith its 
cnltiv.-ition, follo\vin^ bis tr.-ide of cooper until his 
death at .-in :i(l v.-inced .-ige. lioth Rufus Scofield 
and his wife spent their hist ye.-ir> on the old home- 
stead in Stiieben County, Grandmother S. also' liv- 
ing to be (piite aged. 

V.n\- Seolield was bdrii, .'is it is supposed, in 
i)iil(-lu--> Cuuiily. N. Y., where he devohiped into 
manliood and was married to Miss Margaret, daugh- 
tei- of William Miller, a native of Marjdand, whose 
people had been re[iresented in the Southern States 
for several generations and were extensive slave- 
holders. .Mr. Seo(ii-ld continued in the Empire 
■State mitil 1837, ami then made his vvay to the 
Territory of IMiehigan, and took up a tract of land 
in Raisin Township. Here, from the unbroken wil- 
derness he improved a good farm and lived until 
about ls!48. when he removed to Tecumseh Town- 



'•► 



560 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



•^t 



ship, where he proceeded as before, clearino; another 
farm, on which he resided until his death, which 
took place when he was fifty- six years of age. The 
mother subsequently went to live with her daughter, 
Mrs. Lester, and died in March, 1886, at the age of 
eighty-three years: she was a lady of remarkable in- 
telligence and activity, and preserved her faculties 
mostly unimpaired until the close of her life. 

Mrs. Lester was educated in Tecumseh and in 
Raisin Valley Seminary, making her home with her 
parents until her marriage. She is the mother of 
two sons: Clement, who was born March 18, 1860, 
married Miss Frances M. Matteson, and is now a 
resident of St. Louis, Mich., and a minister of the 
Baptist Ciiurch, and Spencer, who was born Oct. 7, 
1866, and remains with his parents assisting in the 
operations of the homestead. Both the Lester and 
the Scofield families have been Baptists for genera- 
tions, although some of the former were Presby- 
terians. Mr. L., politically, is a Republican of the 
first water, and although no office-seeker and med- 
dling very little with public affairs, has served his 
township as School Inspector. 

■ ^=» ^l-*-P" ^= 



JllUfrO SMITH, a successful farmer of Raisin 
Township, is a native of Pi'ussia, where he 
was bom in the town of Breslau, Dec. 3, 
^_^ 1 820. Since his birlh in that far-aw,iy town 
in the German Empire he 1ms led a life fraught with 
many interesting incidents and adventures, having 
traveled much, both in Germany and the United 
States. It would give us pleasure to note his va- 
ried experiences, but the brief limits of a biograph- 
ical notice will permit us to give only the principal 
facts of his life. 

Mr. Smith grew to manhood in the place of his 
nativity, and there learned the cabinet-maker and 
carpenter's trade. Durmg three years from 1840 
he served in the Prussian army in accordance with 
the laws of the land, but this experience did not 
give him a taste for military life, and after leaving 
the army he traveled through the country, engaged 
at his trade, and penetrated into nearly every one 
of the numerous principalities and duchies into 
which that vast empire is divided. He was in Hol- 



stein when the outbreak occurred between that 
country and the Kingdom of Denmark, in the year 
1 848, and as the country was in such an unsettled 
condition that he could not successfully prosecute 
his business, lie left the Fatherland, and came to 
the United States in 1849. He first lived in Penn- 
sylvania, not settling, however, in an}'^ particular 
locality, but working at his trade in various places. 
At the expiration of four years he left that State, 
and, journeying hy a circuitous route, he linalh' ar- 
rived at New Orleans, wliere he remained until the 
war broke out. 

From Louisiana Mr. Smith went to Toledo, Ohio, 
in Mav, 1861, and worked there for a year, when 
he came to Adrian, Mich., in the employ of the 
Lake Shore <fe Michigan Southern Railroad Co. as 
a carpenter, and worlced in the employ of that com- 
pany three years. In the year 1865 he came to 
R.iisin Township, this county, and purchasing a 
tract of land, turned his attention to .agricultural 
pursuits. His f.arm, containing 100 acres, is situ- 
ated partly on section 36 of Raisin Township and 
partly in Blissfield Township. Though Mr. Smith 
lacked experience in his new enterprise, yet by en- 
ergy, shrewd judgment and good management, he 
has brought the land, which was mostly unbroken, 
into a high state of cultivation, and has erected 
commodious farm buildings, admirably adapted to 
the purposes for which they were intended. A 
view of Mr. Smith's homestead is shown on the 
opposite page of this work. 

Mr. Smith was married, in Lenawee Count3', Feb. 

13, 1868, to Miss Margaret, daughter of George 

and Catharine (Heck) Traben, of Adrian. She was 

born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Oct. 18, 1850, and was a 

child three and one-half years old when she came 

til America with her i)arents. They located in 

j Adrian, Mich., where Mr. Traben continued to ply 

I his trade, that of shoemaker; he still resides there. 

at the advanced age of sevent3'-seveB years. Mrs. 

I Smith had the misfortune to lose her mother when 

she was but seven 3'ears of age. She was the mother 

of four children, namely : Magdalena, who married 

William Arold, and is deceased; John, who married 

and lives in California, and Henry and Mrs. Smith, 

twins; Henry married, and lives in Louisville, KJ^ 

The union of Mr. and Mrs. Smith has been blessed 

•^ 



•►HI-* 



LENAWEE COUNTY, 



bj- the birth of five children, namely: Lena, Paul, 
Georeo, Fred aiul Kittie May. J\Ir. anrl !\[r.-;. Smith 
are ounio.-l. faitlifiil mcmhors of the Lullicrnn 
Chiircii. .Mr. .Sniitli i,» ;i Democrat in politics, wliilc 
socially, he has been -j mcnibcr of the 0.1<1 Fdlous' 
.society at Adrian since l.si;-.'. I'licy .-irc both i-c- 
spectcd and esteemed by all in the neiuhlicirhciod. 



ipsj^ AVID E. PALMEU. 
f Madison Townsh 



of 



eated on section 10, mid to the 
departments of his calling has ad 
ing, in which he finds a generous pat^rouai 
which he has made a snceess. He has been a resi- 
dent of this county for over twenty years and is 
numbered among its most reliable citizens. He 
migrated to this section of the country from Wayne 
County, N. Y., in December. 18(Jt!, before com- 
pleting his education, and pursued his studies there- 
after in the Friends' Seminary in Raisin Township, 
of which he was a resident until 1872. Then, com- 
ing to Adrian with a fair knowledge of book-keeping, 
he entered the employ of the Lake Shore <& Michi- 
gan Southern Railroad Co., as receiving and 
.shipping clerk, and was thus <iccui)icd for a period 
often years. Our subject was born in \\'ahv(irth, 
Wayne Co., N. Y., Feb. 23, 1847, and is the son of 
Charles L. and Sarah (Morrison) Palmer, alst) na- 
tives of the Empire .State. The mother died in 
Wayne County when her son David E. was three 
months old, and the boy was then taken to ^'irginia, 
where he made his home seven years with R. Taber. 
He then returned to his native county, of which he 
remained a resident until setting out for tlic West. 
Charles L. P.almer. after the death of his wife, re- 
moved across the Mississippi into Knnsas, where he 
now resides and is engaged in farming. 

Mr. Palmer, in 1882, located ujjon his i)resejit 
farm, which includes seventj^ acres of highly culti- 
vated land. He has assisted in building up the 
reputation of this localitj' as a desirable plaee of 
residence, and is numbered among its intelligent 
men and reliable citizens. The lady who h.as shared 
his fortunes for the last seven years was formerly 



Miss Esther N.ash, who became his wife on the oth 
of February, 1879. Mrs. Palmer w.as born in 
Madison Township, July 20, 1849, and is the daugh- 
icf of Samuel and vSarah (Becker) Nash, who were 
.•iinong the early pioneers of this county. They were 
residents of Madison Township probably for a 
period of twenty years, and there spent their last 
d.ays, the mother dying in ISG.'S and Ihe father in 
187.5. 

Mr. and Mrs. Nash were natives i-espeetively of 
Connecticut and New York, and were the parents of 

nin<- children, all of wli are livin- and. with 

lh(> exception ..f one son. are residents of this 
.-.ainly. .Mr. nnd Mrs. Palmer liecame the |«ients 
of I u-,, children: Charles I)., boiii .Tune l.",, 1 .SSO. 
:ind llarris.in N., win, died in infancy. Mr. I'.Mlnier 
politic.-illy. is .■! straight U<'pnbliean. .-ind socially, a, 
member of the WorUingnuNi's :\Iutnal Aid Associ- 
ation of A<lrian. 

On another page of this vtihime is sIkjwu ;i vievv 
of Mr. Palmer's residence .and ple.asanl grounds, :is 
reiirosentative of the homeste.ads of this section of 



EN.TAMIN HOHNliECK. Medin.i Town- 
ship has been [larticulai'ly fortunate in the 
class of citizens attracted to her borders by 



the fertility of tin 



oil a 


id the 


ma 


ly 


other 


•esi.b 


nts a 


e ( 


>n 


posed 


■ Ian 


he e.a 
1 whe 


1\' ( 
■e t 


•■'.\ 


s and 
■ first 


V th 
.■ be 


It a 


olli 

tent 


l< 


, stay. 


■t been am) 


ily 


■'■^ 


arded 


•nbec 
.•md 


V fan 
the f; 


ily 
ft t 


;:, 


>ne of 
L they 


jrese 


ve wh 


.it tl 


ey 


could 



itliers no moss, they Ik: 
have for the most | 
for their efforts. 

The history of the H 
more than usual interest 
were far-seeing enough to pr 
obtain of it, denotes that they were people of more 
than ordinary Intelligence. It is mostly the igno- 
rant who have no history worthy of preserving, 
or of a character which they would iiotd<-sire given 
to the world. The llornbecks .-ue of English an- 
cestry, and were first represented in this country by 
three brothers who crossed the water during the 



•►HI 



•►Hh-4* 



564 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Colonial days. The grandfather of our subject 
fonght in the Revolutionary AVar, and died at the 
battle of Bunker Hill. He had married and settled 
in New Jersey, and the family remained there, the 
children being reared to men and women and trained 
in those patriotic principles for which the fatlier 
had yielded up his life. Their son James, the 
father of our subject, subsequently did good service 
in the War of 1812, being in the northern division 
of the army. After marriage he settled in Milford, 
Sussex Co., N. J., and there with his estimable wife, 
who was Miss Elizabeth, daughter of Capt. Corne- 
lius DeWitt. of Revolutionary fame, lived until 
after the birth uf two children, when tliey removed 
to Piielps, Ontario Co., N. Y., where their son, 
Cornelius D., was born Oct. 2'.), 1811, and whore 
they spent the remainder of tlieir days. Cornelius 
has resided in Michigan since 1836. 

The subject of this record was born in Milford, 
Susses Co., N. J.. Dec. 21, 1808, and vyas a child 
about three years of age vvlien his parents became 
residents of the Empire State. He grew to man- 
hood there, in Ontario County, receiving a good 
common-school education, and emplo.yed principally 
in farm pursuits. Upon reaching manhood he 
married one of the most estimable 3-oung ladies of 
that region, Miss Phoebe, daughter of Robert Reed. I 
who, like the Hornbecks, was of English descent, j 
His wedding was celebrated with great eclat on vSt. 1 
Valentine's Day. 1833, and on the 8th of May, the j 
following year, our subject with his young wife set 
Out for the Ten-itory of Michigai\. 

Upon reaching Detroit Mr. Ilornbeck left his 
wife with her brother at the little town of Plymouth, 
seventeen miles distant, and proceeded on foot 
westward for the purpose of seeking a location for 
their future home. He halted first upon the pres- 
ent site of Morenci, on the Tith of June, 1834, and 
taking up a tract of (iovernmeut l:ui<l [lut up a log 
house, and going after his wife installed her there 
in October following. They had no furniture, 
neither cliairs, bedstead nor table, liut necessit}' 
proved the "mother of iuvenlion," and they im- 
provised a table out of a barrel-head, while a bed- 
stead, chair and table were iu due time provided 
from some boards and home-made scantling. !\Ir. 
Hornbeck had in monej' only |3.r>0 left after pay- 



t 



ing for his land. Wild game was plenty, and what- 
ever else was lacking they had plenty of wild meat, 
and managed to get through the winter without 
suffering. In the spring the Michigan-Toledo 
trouble was settled, and the commissioners from 
Ovid made the house of Mr. Hornbeck their ren- 
dezvous, under pretense of being land-seekers. 

The neighbors of Mr. Hornbeck and his wife at 
that time vvere few .and far between. In 1835 Or- 
ville Wood worth from New Jersey came and staid 
with the Hornbecks while hunting a location, .and 
was the first man to settle west of the creek. He 
was soon afterward joined by Hiram Farwell and 
William Coy, the latter of whom made his stopping- 
pl.ace with our subject about six weeks before de- 
ciding where to settle. Mr. Hornbeck finall3- sold 
his property to Messrs. Roberts and Armitage, of 
.Monroe, and purchased 'fifty-six acres from Mr. 
Dennis Wakefield on the north side of the road, 
besides eighty acres from Mr. Franklin on the south 
side. Early in the spring of 1835 he struck the 
first blow toward clearing his land which was cov- 
ered with heavy timber, and the labor of felling the 
trees and preparing the soil for cultivation was no 
light task; his milling was done at Adrian and Te- 
cumseh. During those times when men were 
required to exercise the utmost ingenuit}' in order 
to cope successfully with their environments. Ben- 
jamin Hornbeck proved often a " friend in need " 
to those hunting locations, and to those frequently 
who found themselves embarrassed for lack of 
me.ans. He supplied them with provisions and sus- 
tained their failing spirits by his hearty kindness 
and hopeful words. As time progressed and their 
prospects improved, no man rejoiced more over the 
dawning prosperity of his neighbors, and none was 
regarded with w.armer admiration and respect. 

Mr. .and Mrs. Hornbeck became the parents of nine 
children, most of whom are married and have fami- 
lies of their own. James, the first-born, married 
.Miss Libhie Wilcox, .and they have four children — 
Frank. Clara. Freddie and Maud; they are residents 
of Dakota. Elizabeth became the wife of Sylvester 
Packer and the mother of three children, when she 
died at her home March 27, 1886; Judson m.arried 
.Miss Annis Colgrove and took up his residence in 
Saline County, Neb, ; they are the parents of five 



•^' 



■4^ 



^L 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



children— DeWitt, Rosa, Bert. Bertha nnd Penrl. 
This'soii, during the late war. enlisted in an Iowa 
regiment and served valiantly, being witii Slicrnian 
in the famous march from Atlanta to the sea. Aden 
is in Gratiot Count.y, this State; he married Miss 
Maria Beckwith. and they iiave tiircc chilih-cii — 
Lewis, Rollin and Bertha. Benjainin is at hdiiH- 
and 1ms charge of the farm; Lewis is in Kalamazoo, 
having a post in the asylum there; Anna, the wife 
of C. W. Mallory. is the mother of one eliild, Klhel 
L., and a resident (jf Fulton ('<iiiiity. Ohio: Imhihu 
married Melford Baker, and I'i'sidcs in Morciid: 
Jennie has charge of the domc^lic nIT.-iirs of hrr 
father. Mr.s. Phoebe Ilornbcck dc|.Mrl(M| this life 
at the homestead on the ■2i')tl\ of Octcjlier. \>^i'i'.K 
aged fift^'-five years. 

Our subject, politically, votes the straight Demo- 
cratic ticket, and served as Justice of the Peace 
four yi IIS. He was contractor for the first frame 
school building in Morenci, and w:is one of those 
concerned in the building of tlic lir>l log school- 
house in Medina Township. Not a srliool building 
hns been erected in the township in uliicli he has 
not lent a helping hand. His children have hccii 
thoroughly educated, completing their studies in 
the lligli School .at Morenci and Oak (Trove Aca.d- 
em\'. Mr. Hornbeck took a contract from the 
Government to clear and build one mile of the tei- 
ritorial ro.ad running from Toledo, Ohio, to Michi- 
gan City, Ind., and took Jacob Baker in with him 
on the contract. They built the lirst bridge on 
this road that spanned Bean (reek (orTiflin Kiver), 
in the fall and winter of 1!^.'14. 

(^/AUON K, TUFT.S. In the life of this 
#/]| gentleman is illustrated the results of a 

jfr^ sjiirit of resolution and perseverance, by 
Qjj) the aid of which he has si'ciircd a, good 

position, socially and liuanci.'dly, among his fellow- 
citizens. He came to this country sot)n after his 
marriage, prepared to labor with the other enter- 
prising men about him in building up a home from 
the wilderness, and aiding as far as [tossible the 
struggling community in its efforts for recognition. 
He is now known as the owner of one of the most 



beautiful homesteads in Seneca Township, and there 
is probably not a finer dwelling in the county than 
stands upon the quarter section of land which he se- 
cured soon after his arrival here in IS.'iO. Of late 
he has been much interested in stock-raising, and 
li.is for this piii-posc- verv fine barns and shedsfitted 
lip with eveiT convenience. About sixty acres of 
his first purchase was cle.-ired at the time he took 
liossession, and upon it was a small frame house. 
He subsecpiently added eighty acres, and it is hardly 
necessary to state that his present Mnroimdings 

Hioiiey. 'I'he result to llie proprietor can scarcely 
r.-iil to lir otherwise than sat isfactory. 

.Mr. Ttifts w.-is Imru April 1>1. 1 Si.'), in Stafford 
Town-liip. (JcnrM.e Co.. N. Y., and is the fourth 
ehil.l of A.-iroii and .May Tuft.-, natives respectively 
of .Mass.ichii>efls and Coiiuccticiit. They removed 
with their p.arciils to New York State when young, 
.and were married in Oene.see County. The mother 
depart^'d this life when Aaron was a little lad seven 
years of age. 'I'be father continued a resident of 
(ienesee Comity until his ilcath. which occurred in 
I.SS2, .art.a- he hail reached the advanced a-e of 



'I'idV 



rict 



school. After rcacliiiig his majority lie w.as ein- 
ployclasa farm laborer four ye.'irs. and u,-is m.ar- 
ried, .Ian. 17. 1 .s.'.O. to .M i>s .Margaivt. daughter of 
Koswell ami |)oll,\ (Ko>lei) Perry, wle, were na- 
tives of (leiiesee ('ouiit.\'. and for sever:il years resi- 
dents of Saratoga Springs. They finally removed 
with their family to Western New York, where Jlr. 
Perry died in I.si4. aged seventy-four years. The 
mother, .after the death of her liiisband. joined lier 
daughter Margaret in tlii- coimty, and died :it the 
residence of our subject ill lsi(iri. when se\enly-six 
years of age. They were the parents ot four chil- 
dren, of whom Mrs. Tufts, the third in order of 
birlh, was liorn ill (iiaiesee (Jounty, N. Y.. ALarcli 
;j. ISr^it. in a region wliere .schools were few and dif- 
ficult of access. She coiitiiiiied with her parents uu- 
I til her marriage, and l>y her iiiiioii with our subject 
1 liecame the mother of foiii cliildreii: Florence V., 
j the eldest, is at home with her parents; Eva A. is 
I the wife of Harvey Upton, of Medina Township, and , r 



•Mh 



n^ 



-4*- 



ofifi 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



the mother of two children — Willie and Flo.yd: 
Mar}' Ann married Thomas Clarson, who was killed 
in a railroad accident at Blissflel.l in 1883, and she 
is now at home with her parents; Charles L. mar- 
ried Miss Ida M. Deline. and farms at the home- 
stead. 

Mr. Tufts soon after his marriage set out for the 
West, and the young people commenced house- 
keeping in a manner suited to their means. The 
exercise of prudence and frugality brought its 
legitimate reward- as may be seen by a glance at their 
surroundings. Mr. Tufts has always maintained a 
lively interest in the growth of his adopted county. 
He was the first School Director in his district, and 
has held the olHce of Collector for a period of thirty- 
one years. Politically, he votes the straight Repub- 
lican ticket. Mr. and Mrs. Tufts each had a grand- 
father in the Revolutionarj' AVar, and Grandfather 
Foster officiated as a drummer boj'. Aaron Tufts. 
Sr., served in the War of 1812. The family is of 
Irish descent, and the records show them to have 
come of a race conspicuous for their thrift, integrity, 
and all the elements which constitute g(X>d eitizen- 
shiji. 

ETER OUSSEN BAUER, the "village 
)V blacksmith" of Fairfield, at present in part- 
nership with his son, is carrying on the 
various branches of his trade, including 
carriage-making, in which he is among the leading 
manufacturers of the kind in this county. He is a 
native of this .State, where he was born in the cit}^ 
of Monroe, June 10, 1842. He is fairly educated, 
and has " paddled his own canoe " since a youth of 
eighteen years; his parents died when he was 
twelve years old. 

Mr. Gussenbauer at the age mentioned made his 
way into Upper Canada, where he followed his 
trade, which he had already learned, and studied 
for the ministry two years. Upon returning to 
Michigan he decided to abandon the latter project, 
and in the spring of 18()2 came to Fairfield, wliere 
he worked at his trade abtmt twu mouths, and then 
began business on his own account. He established 
himself in a modest manner in a little shop on Main 
sti'eet, and by a course of industrj' and strict atteu- 



tion to business, soon found himself gaining a foot- 
hold among the business men of Fairfield. • His 
orders increased from month to month until he was 
compelled to enlarge his facilities, and was finally 
enabled to build a good shop and also to secure a 
comfortable home for himself and his family. 

Our subject was first married in Fairfield Town- 
ship to Miss P^liza J. Rathburn, vvho was also a 
native of that township, and by her union with Mr. 
Gussenbauer became the mother of one sou. Their 
wedded life was brief, Mrs. Gussenbauer dying at 
lier home in Fairfield, Jan. 25, 1864. Their son, 
.lohn R., a capable and industrious young man, is 
now in business with his father. Mr. (Tusscnbauer 
married for his second wife Mrs. .Al.nrinii M. 
(Winslow) Burapus, the wedding taking place in 
Madison Township, May 5, 1864. Mrs. G. is the 
daughter of Marvin L. and Lucinda E. (^Delano) 
Winslow, and was first married to Urson Bumpus, 
a native of New York, March 19, 1 8,^8, in Stockton, 
Portage Co., Wis. During the late war Mr. Bumpus 
enlisted in the 8th Wiscotisiu Infantry, and was 
killed at the battle of Vicksburg, Miss., May 22, 
1863. She had by that marriage one child, a son, 
Jlarvin, who died when three months old. The 
wife of our subject was born in Hermon, N. Y., 
July 5, 1842. They are the parents of two children 
— Eliza J. and Forest A. 

The parents of our subject, George and Barbara 
(Maurer) Gussenbauer, were of German birth and 
parentage, and emigrated to America in 1839, com- 
ing at once to the new .State of Michigan and 
settling in Monroe County. The father conducted 
a hotel, and there the parents spent the remainder 
of their lives. The household included seven 
children, of whom Peter was the third in order of 
birth. His brothers and sisters living are mostly 
residents o'f this State. 

Jlarvin L. and Lucinda E. (Delano) Winslow 
were natives of Jefferson County, N. Y., where the}' 
were reared and married, and whence they came to 
Michigan in the fall of 1842. They located first in 
Fairfield Township, this county, but in 1855 they 
removed to Portage Countj'. Wis., where the death 
of the mother took place July 16, 1874. Mr. 
Winslow died in Edna. Minn., Jan. 5, 1883. They 
were the parents of thirteen children, of whom Mrs. 



-11-^^ 



LENAWKE COUNTY. 



Oiissenbniier was the sevciiUi. Her brothers :in(l 
sisters now living are residents mostly of A\'isfOiisin 
and Minnesota. Mr. Oiissciil);iiu'r. iiulitically. vcitr.- 
the straight Democratic lickct, and serially, is a 
memlier of Fairfield Loilge No. 12."). F. iV: A. .M. 



.Mirh 



.IN.SLOW BATES, ol Rome Tov 
jii vvlio is fast approaching the sevi 
S of his age, came to the Territor 
igan when a youth of sixteen years, and has >iucc 
that time made his aliiding-i)larc in I-ciiawiM' ( 'dimly. 

He cleared tlie quarter scctii f land v.hi<-h lie 

first occupied, and knows all about llie hardshi[)s of 
life in the pioneer days. He proved himself ccpial 
in strength and courage to the needs of the limes. 
and is one of the men wlmse record is worthy nf 
special notice. 

Our subject was born in I'hie County, N. V.. 
Oct. 11, 1819, and is the eldest son and cliild of 
Daniel and Priscilla (Cole) Bates, the former born 
in the State of Vermont, in IHdO. and the Jalivr in 
Erie County, N. Y., Dec. 4, l.SOl. They were tlic 
parents of nine children. Daniel Bates dicMl at the 
homestead in Rome Township, this county, in 1^77. 
at the age of seventy -seven years and six inontlis. 
The mother of oursubjcct is still livin<;. and makes 
her home with her daughter. Mis. Kcxl'urd. in 
Woodstock. 

The Bates family is 
firsi representative in th 
great-grandfather of on 
Atlantic in IG'iO, and. i 
Rhode Island. He had a son Francis, the great- 
grand tat her of our subject, and Stephen, the son 
of Francis, was the gramlfather of Winslow of our 
sketch. Stephen Bates was born in Rhode Island, 
and from there migrated first to \'ci-mont and then 
to Y'ork State, where he followed farming, and in 
the latter State spent the closing years of his life. 
He was eighty-six years old at the time of his 
death. His wife, Pheba, had [)assed aw.ay some 
years [jreviously, aged seventy-fivo years. 

Daniel Bates, the father of our subject, left the 
Green Mountain State with his parents when a very 
young child. They then settled in Otsego County, 



.f English descent. ' 
s country was the gn 
subject, who cro.ssed 
, is supposed, settled 



X. Y..and eleven years later removed to the vicin- 
ity of Xcwstead, in Erii' County. They after- 
wanl li\'eil four years in Clarence, and from there 
in is:;.'). llu\v came to this county. The journey 
was maile overland lo Buffalo (where our subject 
came near being drc)wned), and there they boarded 
the steamer '-Thomas Jefferson." wdiich landed 
Iheiii at the then small town of Toledo, Ohio. 
From thei-e they journeyed overland to Rome 
Township, this county, bringing vyith them their 
hoi.sehoM i^Dods. The father took up 200 acres 
of land on -la-tiou 10, to which he subsequently 
added forty acres. It was covered with timber, and 
after the erection of :\ log cabin. .Mr. Bates set 
about his contlict with the ,-oil, which, in lUie time, 
resulted in the o|,,.uin'_; up of a -ood farm, and the 
establislunent of a ile>iralile liouiejtead. The fam- 
ily occupied the log cabin ten years, then Mr. 
Bates put up a fr.aine ri^sidence on the tirst pur- 
chase. Later he .ad.lc.l still further to his real 
estate by the purchase ..f a (|uartei- section. lie 
died at the h()me>tead in l.s77. 

The fatlu-r of our s.d)ject in early manhood w.a,-, 
an ohl-line Whig, and afterward joinc.l the Re- 
publican |i:irty. He had married in his native 
county, .Mis> I'riscilla Cole, daughter of Peleg and 
Mar>- Cole, also natives of Erie County, N. Y. 
Their son Winslow, of our sket,ch. remained at 
honn' until twenty-thi-ee years of age and assisted 
in clearing tin' farm. He received his education 
in the district school, and commenced operations 
for himself on eighty acres of huid which is in- 
cluded in his present homestead. It was covered 
with timber, and it was no light task to fell the 
trees and prepare the ground for cultivation. He 
made g(}od headway, howevci'. ami in due time 
added eighty acres more, lie put up buildings as 
his needs increased and Ins means justified, and 
was looked upon by his neighbor- as one of tlie 
thrifty men of the place. Honors were in store for 
him, and his interest in the establishment and 
maintenance of those institutions upon which 
the excellence of a community <lepends at once 
gave him a prominent [josition in local affairs. 

Mr. Bates has been Justice of the Peace for the 
last twelve years, Highway Commissioner the same 
length of time, and School Director twenty years. 



•►Hh-^^ 



U 



068 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



He cast his first Pix'sideiitiul vote for Geii. Hani- 
son, and remained witii the Whig party until the 
organization of the Republicans. He put up. it is 
believed, the first notice posted in the United 
States in connection with the part}-. He has been 
an enthusiastic woricer for its interests since that 
time. 

Our subject was married, April 5, l.S4;5, to Miss 
Lucina Sweet, of Cold water, this State, and daugh- 
ter of Philip and Lydia (Cole) Sweet. Her fathei' 
came from Erie County. X. Y., to Michigan in 
1841, and located on a tract of land near the 
embryo town of Coldwater, where he lived an<l 
laboi-ed the remainder of his life. He passed away 
at tlie age of si.xty-five, and his estimable wife 
wlien sixty-three. Tlie mother of our subject was 
the daughter of David Cole, and tlie niece of Job 
Cole, the cousin of Peleg Cole. This family was 
noted lor longevity, most of them reaching tlieir 
threescore years and ten. Mrs. Bates was born in 
Erie County, N. Y., Ian. 22\lS-2(), and remained 
with her parents until her marriage. She was the 
seventh child and third daughter in a family of 
fifteen children, of whom ten lived to years of 
maturity. Those surviving are residents mostly of 
Michigan. 

The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Bates are re- 
corded as follows: Lydia P. is the wife of Henry Pier- 
son, of Adrian, and the mother of two cliildren ; Mary 
E., Mrs. Oliver H. Beach, of Rome Township, is the 
mother of one child; Philip M. is engaged in mer- 
chandising in Rome Center; Medora married Mr. 
Frederick Knight, of Rome Townsliip; Daniel W. 
married Miss Ella Lapham, and works with his 
father; he is the parent of two children. Erilla, 
Mrs. Koonej-, is the wife of a prosperous farmer of 
Madison Township, and the mother of one child. 



••(2y><^- 



..f 10>s 



^^HARLES B. WILSON, proprietor 
[l( "^ acres of good land on section 30, in Seneca 
^^^ Township, is a son of one of the earliest 
pioneers of this count}'. Simon D. Wilson, the 
father, was a native of Connecticut, and married 
Miss Millicent Baldwin, of Massachusetts. The 
wedding took place at the home of the bride in 
-<• 



Windsor, Berkshire County, and they made their 
home in that vicinity four years. Thence they mi- 
grated West, and located in that part of Fairfield 
which is now Seneca Township, this county, and the 
father of our subject took up 230 acres of Govern- 
ment land, which he transformed into a valuable 
homestead and a part of which is occupied by his 
sou. Here the parents both spent the remainder 
of their lives, the father dying in 1887, when about 
eighty-two years of age, and the mother in 1864. 

Simon 1). Wilson became a prominent man in 
the affairs of this county and was the leader in the 
org.anization of districts and the building up and 
maintenance of the common schools. He served as 
School Inspector for fifteen consecutive years and 
was the first Clerk of the newly organized township 
of Seneca. He held that religion and education 
should go hand in hand, and organized the first 
Sunday-school in Seneca Township, over which he 
presided as Superintendent. Besides our subject, 
who was the second child, the parental household 
included two daughters — Eliza A. and Lucy D. 
Eliza became the wife of W. H. Clarke, of College 
Springs, Iowa, and died in October, 1864, leaving 
five children; Lucy D. is the widow of Roya] 
Hamlin, who was wounded at Gettysburg during 
the late war and died from the effects in 1882. 

Our subject was born at Thompson, Conn., April 
17, 1833, and the following year was brought by 
his parents to this county. He remembers seeing 
the Indians i)ass his father's cabin in the forest, fre- 
quently in squads of thirty and forty, following the 
trail which w-as but two or three rods from the set- 
tler's dwelling. He obtained a limited education 
in the pioneer schools, and as soon as old enough 
commenced assisting his father in clearing the land 
and building up the farm. He was over twenty- 
five years of age at the time of his marriage, this 
interesting and important event taking place on the 
25th of August, 1858, with the maiden of his 
choice, Miss Rosa M., daughter of Rollin R. and 
Susan M. (Casson) Hill, who were natives of Con- 
necticut. They migrated to Michigan Territory in 
1832, locating first in Wayne County, whence they 
removed five years later to Medina Township, this 
county. They spent their last years in the village 
of Morenci, the mother dying in 1872, when sixty- 



►^1 



■^f ^^ 



.KNAWEK COUNTY. 



three years of age, and the father, -hily 4. 1 
eighty-three. They were tlie |iarenfs of < 
(Ireu, five daughters and three >oii>. Mi 
was the third child and wa> l.orn in W.'.yn 
Aug. 14, 1830. She was ahont a ye.-ir ohl 
parents removed to Medina ■rii\vn;-lii|), when- sji 
was reared to wonianliood and imisucd hn- lir.- 
Studies in the district scIkjdI. I.;iter >h<> .■tUendc 
Prof. Barrows' Seminary, at Medina, .-ind ihc V.Mm 
Ladies' Seminary in St. C.-itherine's. ('annda. Sh 
was also greatly -interested in e<lnca( iun:d nialtei- 
and was a very pleasant and inleliigenl lad\. 

Mr. and Mrs. Wilson became tiie i)arents of thre 
children: Their eldest son, Clarence A., is teller i 
the bank of C. C. Wakefield & Co., at .Murenc 
and is entering npon the tliird year of his servic 
with that firm; Lnella .1. is the wile „( Kimik 1 
Smith, Principal of Edison Scliool in Muiio' 
County, Ohio; Charles W. is one of lUv e\ten>iv 
land-owners m Kansas. Mrs. Wilson departed th 
life at her home in Seneca Towns!ii|i, Felj. 1, 1 sh; 
regretted by all who knew her. She was a goo 
wife and a kind mother, and by her death tlie I ami I 
have sustained an irre|)arable los.s; ^he was a mem 
ber of the Methodist Episcopal Clnin-h. 

The homestead of our sulijcct indicates in ail re 
spects the supervision of a thrifty and indusirion 
man, one who has been chiefly interested in atten<l 
ing to his own concerns. He has been School 1)1 
rector and Trustee in his district, for a period o 
nineteen _years; is a (^ood Tenii)lar. soi-ially. am 
politically, a solid Prohibitionist. 

*-^:^-^^>fe?> i^^:*>^==- '^^£-<^^- 



83. aged 


afterAvar<l married William Bnell. and in the year 


o-ht chil. 


1S37 Mr. and Mrs. lUiell reni.ived t,o I.enawee 


. WilM.n 


County. Mich,, and M'tlliMl in Madis,.n 4'own>hip 


('onnt\. 


near Adrian. .Some 1 i.n.. later they renioyrd to 


vhcn hci- 


()nincy, ISrandi County, where Mrs. Hnell died 



prosperoi 
carrying 



JrOlIN L. HAL 
Metlina Townsl 
I tion on section 1 1, and mci'tinL; 
__^!/ success. His parents were Nc 
Polly (Atchison) Hall, natives of N( 
who, after their marriage settled in l\L)ii 
N. Y., where Mr. Hall's death occ 
our subject was a small boy. To hii 
born five children, of whom the record i 
Polly is the widow of Allen Washbnri 
died in Illinois; Lyman D. resides 
John L. ; Huron B. died in Illinois. 



in O 
Mrs 



Hows: 
ezallel 
i'egon ; 
, Hall 



th: 



Wlv 



iscd 



ook 



turned 



M( 



md 



Nrw York until the spring of 183.",, 
■ to .-isrerl.iin for himself (he truth of 

ti> ri.niK to Michigan. He 
t ioxernment land in Lena- 
it then settle on it; he re- 
howeyer. working by the 
cr of that year, when he 
. and spent the following 
■, in that St:i,te. He then 
County to look after his 
of 183G went to Farming- 
ton, HI., where he al.so took up a tract of land. 
He icmaiueil there ;diont two years, working at 
different oii'U|):it ions, but did not occupy his land. 
Two months of this time he was engaged in ferry- 
ing across the .Mississippi liiver at Rock Island. 
He then returned to Lenawee Count}' and com- 
menced cle.-uiug his ti:irt of land, in the mean- 
time working at \■:ll■iou.•^ occn();iti<.nis. For some 
nuniths he was employed at teaming in Adrian, 
and subsequently he was, an employe of the Jlichi- 
gan Southern Railwa}' Company. 

Soon after this time, Mr. Hall took unto himself 
a helpmeet in the person of Jliss Clarissa C. Crane, 
of Madison Townshii), to whom he was married 
Jan. 28, IHol. She was born in New Hampshire, 
Dec. 13, ISli), and is the daughter of Turner and 
Phebe (Arnold) Crane, natives of Massachusetts. 
After their marriage they continued to reside in 
that State for some ye.ars, then after a short resi- 
dence in New llampshire. they removed to Mace- 
don, Ontaiio Co.. N. V.. where they lived until 
about 1832. At that time they removed to Madi- 
son Township, in this State, vyhere they spent the 
remainder of their lives. They had eleven children, 



570 



-•► 



LENAWEE COUNTY 



three daughters and eight sons, of whom Mrs. Hall 
was the fourth child. 

Mr. Hnll and liis iiowly made vvife settled on the 
land that lie had partially cleared ou section 14, 
where they have since lived. With the co-opera- 
tion of Mi's. Hall, I'.e has l)een very successful in 
all his labors, and has added, as he could afford, to 
his original tract of eighty acres until ni>w he has 
a fine farm of 260 acres, containing large and 
convenient buildings, and made raanj^ other val- 
uable improvements. Mi-, and Mrs. Hall are the 
parents of three children, of whom the follow- 
ing is the record : Caroline is the wife of James 
Drown; Harriet I., of Lewis H. Converse, and 
Phebe is the wife of John B. Spooner, all of Me- 
dina Township. 

Mr. Hall has been one of the Poormasters of 
the township of Medina. In social life he is a 
member of Medina Lodge, F. & A. M., of which 
organization he has been Treasurer for upward of 
twenty years. Mr. Hall is a very intelligent, well- 
informed man, and takes great interest in matters 
both local and general. He is an adherent of the 
Republican part}', wiiose principles he upholds by 
voice and vote. 



vi;OHN C. MABEE, son-in-law of the well- 
Ill known Isaiah Lowe, of Fairfield Township, 
_^ l| has been the partner of the latter in the saw 
I^gj^ and gristmill business since 1870. The 
firm of Lowe & Mabee is a popular one with the 
business element of this section, and is noted for its 
straightforward manner of doing business and its re- 
liability. 

Mr. Mabee was born in Royalton, Niagara Co., 
N. y., March 10, 1842. He received a common- 
school education and spent a large proportion of 
his time during his youthful years in the flouring- 
mill of his father, where he gained a good insight 
into the management of machiner}' and other mat- 
ters connected with the business. About 1852 
James Mabee, the father of our subject, started via 
the Isthmus for California, and dying on the voyage 
from Panama to that State was buried at sea. The 



•^\- 



mother then came with her family to this State, lo- 
cating at Jackson, where John C. continued with 
them until nineteen years of age. and was mostly 
engaged in farming pursuits. 

During the winter of 1860-61, the Mabee family 
came to Fairfield Township where the mother lived 
until 1869, then removed to Adrian, where she now 
makes her home. .Soon after the outbreak of the 
late war our subject enlisted as a Union soldier 
Aug. 11, 1862, in Company I, 18th Michigan In- 
fantry, and served faithfully until July, 1865. Al- 
though experiencing the usual hardships and jn-iva- 
tions of a soldier's life, including many hairbreadth 
escapes, he was able to report for duty without a 
single exception, and at the close of the war re- 
ceived his honorable discharge and returned home 
unharmed. 

Mr. Mabee, after being transformed from a sol- 
dier to a civilian, sought his old haunts in this 
count}', and for two years thereafter was employed 
in the sawmill of Isaac O. Savage. The year fol- 
lowing he engaged in farming, but in the spring of 
18G.S returned to his old home in Niagara County, 
N. Y., and engaged in milling there until January, 
1876. At this time he retraced his steps to Lena- 
wee County, taking" up his residence in Jasper and 
forming a partnership with his father-in-law, Isaiah 
Lowe, which has continued since that time. 

Jlr. M.abee was married in Fairfield Township, 
Dec. 30, 1867, to Miss Carrie M. Lowe, who was 
born in this township, Dec. 20, 1846. They became 
the parents of three children : James I., who is now 
at Fa^'ette Normal School ; Bertie, who died in early 
childhood, and Charles R. Mr. Mabee, politically, 
is a decided Prohibitionist, and socially belongs to 
the Masonic fraternit}', the 1. O. O. F. and Fairfield 
Grange. 

y;^ ICHAEL SCHMIDT. Among the many 
sons of Germany who have become citi- 
zens of this State, not one is more univer- 
sal!}' respected than the subject of this biog- 
raphy. Mr. Schmidt was born in Wurtemberg, 
Germany, Nov. 9, 1828, and there the years of his 
childhood and youth were passed. Having arrived 

■» 



.ENAWKK COUNTY. 



^11 



at man's estate, ainl fcclinL; llmt, iiKirc coiilil lir gut 
out of life in a new country, in tlie ypjir l,sr)2 Mr. 
.Schmidt left the land of his nativity and came 
across the 'waters to found for liiuiself a home in 
this western world. 

Mr. Schmidt spent tlic lira few years of his lir,. 
HI this country in Ohio, livini;- two and (ine-lialf 
years in Amherst. Lorain C'onnly. and clgiit and a 
half years in Sandusky County. In 1 .S(i;^ he left- 
Ohio, and coming to Michigan, purchased sev- 
enty acres of land on section 7, of JIadison Town- 
shii), Lenawee Countj', where he has since made liis 
home. He has added to his original purchase until 
he now owns a fine farm of 145 acres, of which IdO 
acres is under a high state of cultivation. lie has 
erected a substantial dwelling and other f.arm \>u'M- 
ings, and has made many valunlile iniprovenients. 

The wife of Mr.;;'Schinidt. who li;is su alily^ as- 
sisted him in building np 'Utis pleasant home, was 
before her marri.agc llosanna Bulil. She is also a 
native of Germany, where she vvas born in the town 
of Wurtemberg, March 13, 1837, and was married 
to our subject in Lorain County, Ohio, Dec. 3i), 
1.S54. Eight children have been born to them, of 
whom five are living, namel}' : George A., Jacob 
M., Fred W., Henry C. and Edward A.; the names 
i.f the deceased were Eliz.abeth R.. John V. and 
Marx J. 

Mr. and Mrs. Schmidt are worthy members of 
the German Lutheran Church, and they carry their 
religion into their every-day lives, as is shown by 
the high esteem in which they are held by all 
around them. .Mr. Schmidt's honest dealings with 
his fellowmen, and his unquestioned integrity of 
character, justify what is said of hiin tliat " his 
word is a liond." In politics Mr. Schmidt is a Re- 
publican, though not a partisan, voting f(M- the best 
men and measures in local elections. 

^-^ ^ 



j^\ HARLES NEGUS is pleasantly located on 
''' section 10, Seneca Township, where lie owns 

280 acres of fertile laud, 140 of which he 
has brought to a good state of cultivation. He was 
one of the early pioneers and has been one of tlu^ 
useful men of Lenawee County, and although bav- 

-4.^ 



%J 



ing met with trials and losses he has also enjoyed a 
i good measure of success. He was thrown upon his 
own resources early in life and his accumulations 
j are the result of his own industry and perseverance. 
Our subject is the eldest child of Moses and 
j Lydia (l^.aws) Negus, the father a native of Rhode 
i Island and the mother of Massachusetts. After 
marriage they settled iu Tern Township, Berkshire 
County', where they remained residents thirty or 
forty years, and then came to this countj'', in 184G, 
and made their home in Seneca Township the re- 
! mainder of their d.a3's. Moses Negus rested from 
j his earthly labors iu 1870, at the age of seventy-five 
years, while the mother survived her husband thir- 
teen years, dying in 188.5, when nearly ninety years 
of age. They were tlie parents of seven children, 
j whom they taught lial)its of industry and frugality 
froui their earliest childhood. Charles, our subject, 
commenced working out when eleven years of age 
ami when he came to Michigan had enough nionc}' 
to buy 200 acres of laml. 

The first visit of Charles Negus to this county 
was in the winter of 1840-41, after which he re- 
turned to his native State and worked out bj^ the 
month two more seasons, when, in 1842. he made 
his second visit. Upon returning to New York 
.state he remainerl but a few days and then decided 
u|)on a visit to New England. In .September, 1843, 
ho started westward again, visiting first New Y^ork 
State and coming on to Michigan in the fall of 
184."i. He had yet some •'unfinished business" to 
attend to in Ontario County, N. Y., and in Octo- 
ber following returned there and was married to 
Jliss Electa A., daughter of John B. .and Chloe 
(Sanger) Brockelb.'ink, whose parents were natives 
of New York and Massachusetts respectively'. After 
marriage they settled in Canandaigua, the former 
State, whe.-c the grand fattier of Mrs. Negus was one 
of the earliest pioneers. The mother died in 1852, 
when fifty-five years of age, while Mr. Broekelbiiuk 
survived his wife twenty-five years, his death tak- 
ing iilace in 1877, when he was nearly eighty years 
of .age. Mrs. Negus was the third in a family of 
seven children, five sons and two daughters. She 
w.as born July 28, 1821, in Ontario County, N. Y., 
where she attended the common school and com- 
pleted her studies iu the seminary in Canandaigua. 



•►^Jl-* 



■<^ 



574 



4- 



LENAWKE COUNTY. 



1 



In the spring following our subject and his young- 
wife came to Michigan and located upon their 
present homestead. They struggled through the 
difficulties of life in a new country faithfully to- 
gether, and in their later day.s are enjoying the re- 
ward of their toil and sacrifices. 

Mr. Negus, in 18GS, built a .sawmill on his farm, 
which he operated three years and it was then de- 
stroyed by fire, involving a loss of $3,000, with no 
insurance. In three months' time another building 
took its place and the machinery was put in motion, 
since which time it has run without intermission 
and is now operated bj' Charles W., the eldest son 
of Mr. Negus. In the meantime the farm opera- 
tions had been steadily carried on in a profitable 
and' skillful manner. 

The three children of Mr. and Mrs. Negus are 
Charles \V., Emma and Eddie D.; the last named is 
deceased ; Emma is the wife of George L. Ackley, 
of Otsego County, Mich., and the 'mother of two 
children — Zenana H. and John E. Charles W. mar- 
ried Miss Eliza Whaley, and they have two girls — 
Maude and Bertha. For the last two years lie has 
served efficiently as Justice of the Peace. 

Mr. Negus cast his first Presidential vote for Gen. 
Harrison, but is now a decided Republican. As 
representative of the prominent citizens of Lenawee 
County we take pleasure in presenting on an ad- 
joining i)age of this Album a portrait of Mr. 
Negus. 



J n AMES BURT REED, a faiiner residing in 
I Ogden Township, was born March 28, ISiO, 
in Seneca County, Ohio, in a town named in 
' honor of his grandfather, Joseph Reed, who 
was one of the pioneers of that county, where he 
bought a tract of land and cleared a farm. The 
town which afterward sprang up on or near that 
land, was named Reedstown to commemorate his 
name. He spent the last years of his life in Michi- 
gan, and died at the iiorae of one of his daughters. 
The father of our subject, it is thought, was a na- 
tive of the State of New York, and when young 



went with his parents to live in Seneca County, 
Ohio. There lie grew to manhfiod, -married, and 
remained until 1S42, when he removed with his 
family to Fulton County, and bought a tract of 
land near Delta. In 18.50 lie sold his property 
there, then returned to Seneca County on a visit, 
and there died quite suddenly. His wife, whose 
maiden name was Cynthia Thompson, was a native 
of New York ; she married a second time, and spent 
the last years of her life in this county. 

Our subject was but ten years ol.l when he was 
deprived of a father's care, but his mother was a. 
thrifty, energetic woman, and well performed her 
part in fitting him for a useful career in life. From 
the proceeds of the sale of their farm, which her 
husband had effected just previously to his sudden 
demise, she bought a place in Seneca County, where 
she lived with her family two j'ears. She then 
sold iter property there, and removing to Michigan, 
settled in Fairfield Township, this county. James 
B. was educated in the pioneer schools (^f Fulton 
and Lenawee Counties, and during the intervals of 
schooling, assisted in the labors of the farm. He 
remained witii his mother until he was twenty-one 
yeai's of age, and then he and his brother bought 
eighty acres of land on section 13, of Fairfiekl 
Township; the land was partially cleared, and 
there was a log house on it. Before settling on 
this land, however, he was married, Feb. 25, 18G3, 
to Miss Lucy, daughter of Franklin and Nancy 
Goodsell, and a native of Portland, Chautauqua 
Co., N. Y., where she was born Sept. 20, 1846. 

After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Reed com- 
menced housekeeping in the afore-mentioned log 
house, and continued to reside on that farm for 
several years. In the meantime, Mr. Reed replaced 
the log house by a more commodious frame house, 
and put up other buildings. In 1 881 he disposed 
of that property^ very advantageously, and bought 
the farm where lie now resides in Ogden Township. 
This farm comprises 100 acres of land, seventy of 
which arc cleared and in a good state of cultiva- 
tion, while a portion of the rest is partially cleared ; 
it also contains a good set of buildings. Mr. Reed 
gives careful and close attention to the cultivation 
of his farm, and is constantly improving it. Mr. 
and Mrs. Reed's pleasant home has been blessed by 



•►rll-* 



LKNAWE1-: COUNTY. 



575 



tlie birth of four ihildivn, 
wife of Myron (c^iiick, of 
Cbarles A., Ervin E. aiirl M:i 
Mr. and Mrs. Reed, tiioi 
cent i-esidents of this town. Ii 
and respect of all in the con 
are honorable and true to 
life. Tliey are active :in(l in 
of the Free Methodist C'inir 
meml)ers. They are botli ii 
of temperance, and Mr. lln' 
ranks of the Prohibition p.-irt 



,>ely : 



^■in:^ 
1 T. 



■■., the 
•nship; 



.ns of 
affnirs 



'-^'t^s* ^-^i j^:^ ""^^^^ 



ICKRO TORRIiV 



IS h 

Ih of 



sslield 
Hi- 
Will- 



O Township on the 
, father, Norman T 

ianistown. Berkshire Co., .M.-i>s., on the iMlb of 
June, 1W)7, and his grandfnthcr, D^ivid Torrcy, was 
born in the same town, wliiir \\ illinm Torrcy, the 
great-grandfather, was a nntivc of ( 'onnccticnt, :ind 
settled in Williamstown abont 17.")0, where lie was 
a farmer. In Connecticut lie was a tanner and 
shoemaker by trade, but after be moveil to Will- 
iamstown he bought a tract of l.-md and ilexoted 
his time to farming. The grand fat I ler of tlie sub- 
ject of this sketch was reared on the faini. Init in 
after life, being a natural mechanic, he divided his 
time between farming and shoemakiug. He settled 
on the old homestead and there died ; the maiden 
name of the grandmother was P^sther AVoodcock. 
Noi'man Torrey spent his boyhood days on a 
farm, and what education he had was obtained in 
the common schools of those days. He remained 
with hi^ parents until he had grown to manhood, 
and then for two se.-i-ons he worked ;iway from 
home by the month. On tlie ■2\>l of September, 
1830, he was mariied to Ann Kriger, .■uid the next 
day after his marriage they started for their farm, 
which he had purchased the year Ijefon- while on a 
visit to Michigan. They came by the \\:\y of the 
Erie Canal to Buffalo, and then by the I.nke^ to 
Monroe, where a team was eng'aged to convey them 
to their future home. Mr. Torrey at once set to 
work building a log house, in which he and his wife 

» -I II, ,. 



liegan housekeeping, before either door, windows 
or chimneys were l)nilt. He made what was then 
known :is :i piinelicon lloor .-ind covered the house 
Willi sliMke-. while lliey li:id no -tovc, but baked by 
tli<' lire:ilace forycMrs: llie nenre-t mill wms located 
;il .\loin-oe. At tli:it tinu' deer woi-e plenty, as were 
nis,, wild Inrkeys, l.e:ns ;ind other g.-inie. He and 
hi> wife U:nv lived t, .ovt her for Ii fty-sc'Ven years, 
smvivin- Mil thi-ir fnniily exe,,-pt two. of whom the 
suhjeet of Ibis sketel, i- Ihe elder. 



mary school, which, during the lir.>t term of hi.-^ at- 
tendance, was taught in a log scliool-house with a 
dirt-and-stick ciiimney and large fireplace. The 
benches wei-e made of logs, split, and pegs driven 
1 in them for legs, while the floor was made of 
I puncheon. That wns before the days of free schools 

reel for e:H li ehild <vnl. .Mr. Torrey :dlerward at- 
j tended sev(n-al terms at Blisslield, ;ind then liecame 
I a student at Raisin Institute for live terms. After 
j completine- his studies he taui;lit school several 
' terms during the winter months, and carried on farm- 
ing in the snnmu'r. Ill eonneelion with his studies 
he performed niaiiii.'il hilior. iissisting his father 
in work upon the farm niilil he w:is grown to man- 
hood, when he and hi.- brothei- bought a piece of 
Land wliicli they jointly farmed for a number of 
years, when they di-solved their partnership and the 

November I, iss:;. :\[r. Torrey was in.arried to 
1 Miss H. \-i..la And.M-son, wh., was born at Wright, 
1 Hillsdale Co.. .Mich., and they have had one son 
i named Norman. Mr. Torrey is considered one of 
I the most enterprising farmers of Blissfield Town- 
ship, and his success warrants that estimation by his 
neighbors. He is an excellent citizen in every re- 
spect, ami eneonraLii- all enterprises calculated to 
benefit the eomniiiinly. In |)olitical matters he acts 
with the Democratic party, but has never been a 
seeker after office. His parents, who are now suf- 
fering the infirmities of age, endured all the |)riva- 
tions .and hard.ships that were entailed upon the 
pioneer settlers of Michigan. Wheli they first set- 
j tied where they now live they were surrounded by 
a veritable howling wilderness, for the forests were 
I dense and were inhabited by the wild beasts of v 



-^ 



-•►■ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



rioiis species. In those days the forests were as 
thickly populated with game as the barnyards are 
now with domestic fowls. 

Everel Torrey, the only surviving brother of the 
subject of this sketch, was born in Blissfield Town- 
ship on the 21st of March, 1839, and has never been 
separated from his parents. He, like his brother, 
is a thrifty and a good farmer. 



! 



R. FRANCIS G RANDY has for a period 
of more than thirty-five j'ears ministered 
»ij^ to the people of Fairfield Village as a phj'- 
sician and surgeon of more than ordinary 
ability, and is also the present Postmaster. lie is a 
native of the Empire State, and was born in the 
town of Root, Montgomerj' County, Dec. 31, 1826. 
His parents, Edmund and Dorcas (Dean) Grand\', 
were natives respectively of New Hampshire and 
New York. The Grandy family left New England 
about 1795, and the parents of onr subject after 
their marriage settled near Glens Falls, whence 
they soon afterward removed to JMontgomery 
County, and then to Waj'ue County. In 1848 they 
decided to come fartlier "West, and located in Raisin 
Townsliip, this count}^ where the father departed 
this life in 185G, and the mother in 1858. 

The parental household of our subject included 
fifteen children, eleven sous and four daughters, of 
whom Francis, of our sketch, is the twelfth in 
order of birth. He was reared upon the farm and 
followed agricniture nntil reaching liis majority, 
up to this time receiving only the advantages of 
the common school, supplemented b}^ a brief terra 
at Canajoharie Academy. He had already decided 
npon the medical profession as his future calling iii 
life, and now entered the office of Dr. Jerome 
Siiibley of Charleston, Montgomery Count}', with 
whom he continued one year. He had in the 
meantime accompanied his parents to this State, in 
1848, and had been a student of Dr. T. F. Dodge 
two years. In .1851 lie entered the medical de- 
partment of Michigan University at Ann Arbor, 
where he took a six-months course, and in the 
spring of 1852 opened his first office in the 



young town of Fairfield. The entire community 
at that time was composed of people who, like him- 
self, were struggling to secure a foothold and pro- 
vide something for tlie future. The young physi- 
cian had his own peculiar trials, but in time he 
found his toil and perseverance rewarded and built 
up a practice wiiich required his wliole time and 
attention. 

Dr. Grandy, in 1871, opened a drug and gro- 
cery store, which he has conducted successfully 
until the present time. He traveled about the 
country in the prosecution of his chosen calling for 
a period of thirty years, then wisely concluded to 
retire from the arduous duties of his profession 
and take life easier. Since the spiing of 1882 he 
has given his sole attention to his office business 
and his store. As a man and a citizen he ranks 
among the representative pioneers of Lenawee 
County, and occupies a place among its social and 
business elements, wliich, wlien he is gathered to his 
fathers, it will be difficult to fill. The marri.age of 
Dr. Grandy was celebrated in the city of Adrian^ 
.luly 11, 1852, his bride being Mrs. Experience 
Compton, daughter of Abraham and Cynthia (Phil- 
lips) Eddy, and widow of Elmer Compton, a na- 
tive of New I'ork who had come to the West, 
though he died in New York State while visiting 
friends there in 1850. Of this union there was 
born one child, a son, Algernon S. Tlie wife of 
our subject departed this life at her home in Fair- 
field. 

Dr. Grandy was subsequently married at Fairfield, 
to Mrs. Anna E. Bacon, daughter of David T. and 
Elizabeth (Whiting) Maynard, of Huron County. 
Ohio, and widow of Charles C. Bacon. She had by 
her first marriage one daughter, Fanny L., who is 
now the wife of Don C* Hoag, of Adrian. Mrs. 
Grandy was born in Ripley, Huron Co., Ohio, Dec. 
13, 1838. Of her union with our subject there 
were born three children : Frank M., Nov. 5, 1871 ; 
Agnes E., Aug. 26, 1873; and Victor A., May 20, 
1879. Agnes died Oct. 30, 1877. The father of 
Mrs. Grandy was born in Seneca County, N. Y., 
July 29, 1808, and in 1833 was married to Miss 
Elizabeth, daughter of Alanson and Anna Whiting, 
of Seneca County, by whom he had six children, 
Mrs. Grandy being the third child and oldest 



-r 



-^^ 



LENAAVEK COUNTY. 



(l;uiglitcr; he died in Huron County, Ohio, Dec. 
■-".t. 18SG. Mrs. Eliziibctl) Mnynard was born in 
Seneca Comity, N. Y., May 2:2, IHl.i. and died in 
Ohio. Jan. 12. 1863. ])r. (brandy, in 1 8.-^;!, was ap- 
pointed I'osLniaster of Fairdcid under the :idininis- 
fraliun of President Pierce, which ollice he hehl for 
two and one-lialf years and then resigned, lie wa> 
appointed to tlie same position under President 
Cleveland, in -lannary. IS.ST. and still holds tlie 

olllce. He uniforjnly votes tlie I)e enitic (i<-ket. 

and has heen cpiite prominent in loral affairs, ihoii-h 
never *n ofUce-seeker. 'I'lie principles of Miisonry 
have always found in him an ardent defender, and 
ho has been a Master of Fairlield I.od<.e No. 125, 
at ilift^^rent times, for the l,-,st twenty yenrs. lb' also 
belon-s'to Adrian Chapter No. 10. lioyalAn-h .Ma- 
sons, Adrian Commandery No. 4, and Michigan 
Sovenugn Consistory of Scottish Rite, of Detroit. 
TIk! Doctor mul his most estimable l:idy are mem- 
bers of Christ Kpiscop.d Cluireh of Adrian. 

Algernon S. (Irandy imirrie.l M i.ss Ida Warring, 
of Fairliehl, and is engaged with his father. To 
them were born si.x children, of w-hom the eldest. 
Charles F., died when about two years of age. The 
others are Walter II.. Helen, IJe.ssie, Arthur ami 
G oldie. 



ORTKR ,M. WEYLIK, with the assistance 

dl i| of his wife and .sons, has built up one of the 
\^' most beautiful farms in Bli.ssfiekl Town- 
ship, located on section is, and ccjmprising 
eighty acres of land, with a line resiclence ami ;dl the 
other buildings required 113- the enterprising nioilern 
farmer. Mr. W^eylie has been particularly dis- 
tinguislied tor his energy and persistence, and is 
numbered among those who have been largely 
'identifled with the agricultural interests of Len.-iwe.- 
County. 

Our subject was born in Allegany County, iS'. Y., 
Jan. 24, 1821. His father, Ephraim W'eylie, was a 
native of Alexandria, Va., where the paternal grand- 
father of our subject owned a plantation. He s[)en t the 
last years of his life in Georgetown, Del. ICplnaim 
was reared ou the farm near Alexandria, and 



when a young man migrated to Tompkins County, 
X. \'., where he was subsequently married to Miss 
•lane Davis. The mother of our subject was born 
in Ludlowville, and after their marriage the young- 
people removed to Allegany County, wiiere the 
husband purchased a tract of lindx-r land .•ind jnit 
up a log house, in which Porter iM., of our sketch, 
was born. In the spring of 1828, Ephraim Weylie 
started to Ohio, accompanied by his wife and three 
children. They traveled by water from Buffalo to 
Cleveland, when the latter city was but a hamlet. 
He located in Elyria, in Lorain County, in the mid.st 
of a tract of timber, where he first put up a log- 
house, and h;iving settled his family comfortably, 
prcH-eed..d to clear nu> land, and in >\w tinu- iiad 
oprn.'d up a good farm. This he .-ifl.a-w.-u-d s.,ld 
and purchased another not far away, which he also 
and which he parted with to settle within 



mprove( 



the lini 
learned 


ts of Elyria,. While in 
the ti-ade of a wagon- 1 


IJaIti 
aker. 


nore 
wliicl 


he 


had 


snmed 


u ICIvria after abandouii 


^ fai-m 


life. 


Ii 


the 


latter 1 


lace both parents speii 


the 


cmai 


ide 


- of 


their d; 
father i 


ys, the mother dying in 
1 December, 18.5.'). 


June, 


8;-. 4, 


an< 


the 



^•►Hh^^ 



I he parent.-il tamdy included eiglit children, seven 
sous and one ihiugliler. of whom our subject was 
the third. The latter was but four years old when 
his parents removed to Ohio, and he there spent his 
childhood .-uul youth amid the wild scenes of pio- 
neer life. He assisted his father on the farm dur- 
ing; the siiiiinier .-mil during the winter emploj-ed 
his time mostly' in a wagou-sli<ip, remaining under 
the home roof until his marriage. .Soon after this 
event he set up a shop in Elyria, where he was oc- 
cupied al his trade until 18.0;'). Thence he removed 
to liidi;iiin and opened a wagon-shop at New Car- 
lisle, where he resided four_years, and then returned 
to Loi-iun County, Ohio, of which he was a resident 
at the beginning of the war and was among the first 
to offer his services in behalf of the Union. He en- 
llsle<l in Company E, 6.5th Ohio Infantry, and after 
a, service of two years, during which time hardship 
and [)rivation had perceptibly affected his health, 
he was discharged on .'iccount of disability and re- 
turned home. 

.Mr. ^\■(•ylie could not, however, be content to 
remain inactive while his comrades were in the field, 
^.►- 



•►HI-4*- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



i 



and as soon as he was able he re-enlisted, in Com- 
pany G, 60th Ohio Infantry, in which he was per- 
mitted to serve until the close of the war, receiving 
his honorable discharge June 13, 1865. Tn the 
meantime he had met the enem3- at the battles of 
Pittsburg Landing and Corinth, and was with the 
army of Gen. Buell during its piu'suit of the rebel 
Bragg. Upon this raid through Kentucky he was 
detailed to the Reserve Corps at Perryville and 
afterward participated in the conflict at Stone River, - 
a memento of which he has yet in his possession, 
consisting of a sword captured on that battle-field. 
He afterward was present at many of the important 
engagements of the war, and on the 2d of August, 
1864, was captured and confined in Libby Prison 
four weeks, whence he was sent, first to Belle Isle, 
and thence to Salisbury, N. C, remaining in the 
hands of the rebels from that time until the close 
of the war. He was liberated on the 8tli of June, 
1860, and returning to Berea, Ohio, spent the win- 
ter following, and in tlie fall of 1866 he came to 
this county. Soon afterward he purchased the land 
that lie now occupies, which was then timber and 
swamp, and has taken the labor of years to bring to 
its present condition. He occupied, with his family, 
a log house until .about 1876, when the present 
commodious dwelling was erected. 

The marriage of our subject and Miss Julia Ibad- 
lej' took place in Elyria Township, Lorain Co., 
Ohio, Dec. 29, 1846. Mrs. Weylie was born in 
Painesville, Lake County, tiiat State, Nov. 2, 1827, 
and is the daughter of Thomas and Abigail (Dake) 
Bradley, natives of Vermont, the father of English 
descent. The latter was the son of Thomas Brad- 
ley, Sr., who was born in Dublin, Ireland, though of 
English parentage, and immigrated to this country 
when a young man, settling in the Green Mount- 
ain State, where he spent the remainder of his life. 
Thomas Bradley, Jr., grew to manhood in Brain- 
tree, that State, where he was married and whence 
he emigrated to Painesville, Ohio, near which town 
he purchased a farm wiiere he carried on agricult- 
ure until 1831. This he then sold and removed to 
a point near Elyria, where he passed several j^ears, 
still amid the quiet of a country life. He made 
one more removal, in 1869, when he came to this 
county and located in Blissfleld Township, where 



his death took place in 1876, after he had reached 
the advanced age of ninety-four years; the mother 
had died at Elyria, Ohio, in 18.")6. 

The three children of Mr. and Mis. Weylie were 
named respectively, Charles F., Louisa and John K. ; 
the daughter died when four years of age in Loraiii 
Countj', Ohio: both sons are married; the younger 
lives at home and conducts the farm ; the elder son's 
residence is just across the road from his parents. 
Our subject and his wife, about 1878, identified 
themselves with the Protestant Methodist Church, 
of which they have since remained consistent mem- 
bers, and Mr. Weylie, politically, is a decided Re- 
publican. 



y,.., RNOLD POPE, one of the iHominent far- 
yu| mers of Lenawee County, and a resident of 
I Is Palmyra Township, was born in Hamilton, 
Madison Co., N. Y., on the 23d of May, 
837, and comes of pioneer parentage. He is the 
son of Horatio G. Pope, who was born in Burling- 
ton, Otsego Co., N. Y., on the 2d of Februarj\ 
1806. Tracing the genealogy of the Pope family 
back, we find that it always occupied a prominent 
position in the affairs of the times during which its 
members lived. Horatio Pope was the son of Ar- 
nold Poi)e. who was l)i.>rn in Burlington, N. Y., 
on the ."»tli of March, 1778, and was the son of 
Gersham Pope, who was born in Bennington, Vt., 
and afterward lived in Burlington, N. Y. 

Arnold Pope, the grandfather of our subject, was 
an agriculturist, and owned a farm in Hamilton, 
Madison Co., N. Y. ; he was a soldier in the War of 
1812. and participated in several battles. About 
the year 1802 he married Hannah, daughter of 
Elihu and Desire Thompson, of Burlington, N. Y., 
by whom he had seven children, Horatio G. being 
the eldest son and second child. Mrs. Hannah Pope 
was born in Burlington, N. Y., March .17, 1782, 
and died in Hamilton. Madison Co., N. Y., July 4, 
186.5; lier husband died in the same place, Dec. 21, 
iscs. Horatio G. Pope lived with liis parents un- 
lil lie «as twenty-one years of age, and worked on 
tile farm. He then worked about fourj'earsby the 
month, and in 1830 he purchased forty acres of 
land in Hamilton, Madison County, where he re- 



^ 





t 


f 




-»- 


. 1^^, . .^ Ol 


. 


*^' 


11 n* 


'^ ^ 


4* 




LENAWKE COUNTY. oTO ^ 


1 




sided until 1856. He added to his fanii until lie 


Street, of I'almyra. They have had tour children. 


1 




owned 130 acres of land, with good linildinu-, and 


only one of wh.mi. Ralph T.. b.,rn in Palmvra. ,lnne 






owned a half interest in a sawmill. I'"(ii- eleven 


-'(•, l.siw, i> n.,u living. He mariicd Flor-i P'ln- 






years he iiianufaetured i-heese, and was also a hirue 


crofl. wli.> w:r~ born in Palmvra. .-inil is tin- .lau'di- 






hop-g-rower. besides earrying on quite an extensive 


ter of .Ja.n.>:iml .l.-nic Hancroft; they reside. m the 






eider-mill. During the wintei- of 1 .s.-,,")-,")(;. he sold 


hom,. farm. Mr-. Arn..ld Pope's father was the .son 






all hiseffcets, and in the following spi-ing he came to 


of .Mfre.l Street, an.l was born in New York City 






Michigan and piirehascd of .l,ji>l Walker a farm on 


-n ih.. -.'.Ml ,,f .Inly. ISO.",. Her niolh.T. uh,,J,. 






>eetion 12, Palmyra '{'ownship. in (lie >pring of 


iu:iid.'n n:iinc was Aliuir;. Clark, was tli.' .laiediler 






ISO'.) the Palmyra Cheese ■■".■letory was huilt on his 


of (o'.iig,. and Aim Clark, of Princeton. .\. .1. 






faini. he I.eiiiu- the projecfoi- and half own. a'. 


Mr. P,.pr is :in active member of Palmyra C rang.'. 






Oh th.' l'.mI of ,);i.nuary, l.s:!!. lloiatiod. Pope 


an.l l.'ik.'s a de.'[) interestin matters relating to ;igri- 






married Miss Diana, daughter of 11, .sea and Han- 


cultui'.al affairs. For severM.I years he wa> a very 






nah Th.ayer, of Hamilton. Madis.m Co., N. V.. by 


etlieient l)ir,'<'l.,r of the s,-h..,,,ls of hi.. .liMrict, and 






whom he liad two ehildren. as r<illow>: Hoi-ua T., 


did much t.i iniprov.' Ih.'ir ((ualitv: in p.ilities h.' is 






who was l„,rn in Hamilton, .Madis,>n Co., N. V., 


a K\-pid.lican. 






-Jan. l.-., 1 s.-).-), and died in I'almyra. .I;im. II, 1S72; 








and Arnold, the subject of this sketch. \.\\r\ H. 


— >'^t^^^t^<^^ 






was an adopted child, and was born in the same 








place, Feb. 17. 1848; she is now the wife of Charles 


V ft/ANTON (;KKE.\ SMrn-I, who is widely 






J5. Conklin, of ()uiney, III. Mrs. Diiui.-i Pope was 


|Jf .-.n.l f.MV..r..b|y kn.,wn throughout Pal- 


i 




b.n-nin Hamilton. X. Y., on the 1 llh of .\prd, 1.S12: 


WH 'nyv.v T.,wn>hip. is pleasantly situated on 






her father was born in Springfield. A[:iss., Nov. 2(i, 


.secti.jn 2--', wh..r,' li.' has built up a line h..m,'st.^-id. 






1784, and died in Hamilton, -Tan. 14, IS7l'; his an- 


and, with lirs .sliniMble l.-i.Iy, h.as r.'ai.'d ;in.l .■.bl- 






cestors came from England, and were M.niong the 


eated a family .,f .•hil.lren ,,f whom tli,..y m.ay be 






eax'ly settlers of Massachusetts. He m.-uried a Miss 


re.as.mably pr.iii.l. The m;iin points in an interest- 






Torrey, of New York State, and .Mrs. Pope was 


ing lit.' hi-t..ry .ai-.' siib>t.-iiit ially as follows: 






their only child. She died in Hamilton, N. Y., .Ian. 


Our subj.'ct w.-is b.)rn in Farmington, Ontario 






(1, IS 17. 


Co.. .\. Y., .Fan. ■.'(;. IS2-J,and is the son of Wanton 






Arnold Pope, the subject of thisskeleh, attended 


Smith, a native ..f lierk.sliir.' County, Mass. The 






the district schools, and assisted his father on the 


patcrii.-il gramlfatli.a- of our subject, Joseph Smith 






farm until he was nineteen years of age. when he ac- 


by u.-im.'. was b.,ni in Sini),hli..hl, England, and was 






companied his [larents on tlieii- removal to l,lii> 


thcr.. minri.d ton, lady ,.f Paris. France. He after- 






county. Din-ing his life he h.-i- n<-ver Immmi separ- 


w.ir.l .•mii;r.-it.M| to the United States, locating first 






ated Ironi his |iarent>, cxcepl foi- t,wo yenrs. .-ind 


in l!.ak>liir.'. .M:i.ss., whence h,' removed to Ontario 






then he lived near by nnd numa-ed flu- farm. Dur- 


County. j\. '»■., .luring its .'arly settlement, about 






ing his residence in this county, he has bought .-nid 


1 7s:;. 'I'licre weri' th.ai but three houses in Canandai- 






sold three different propeitie>. In 1 s,7;; he b.mght 


gmi. .b.M'ph .Smith imr.'has.'.i .•, tract of land which 






on section 13, and resided there one yeai-, when he 


ini'liid.'d the pri-s.-nt sites .if F.armington and Victor. 






sold out and |)nrchased a fanu on section 1 l'. where 


X. Y.. ah.T.' he .-.-irri.'.! .m farming, and erected a 






lie lived one year, and then built the house which 


uri-lmill. whi.'h ligiiiv.|,-iiu..iiu thethst niaimfactur- 


' 




he now occui.ies on the old liome>te:id. Since 


iii- e.-lablishinents ,,f lli.. kinil in that .s.a-tion. He 






building this honse he becnru' the owner of the 


continued in that l.)c:iiity until his.lc.-ith, which t.i.ik 






farm opposite on section l-'i. which he sold three 


place about *! SI.",. 






years later at a great :idvance. 


The father of ..ur Mibj.'.-f was but seven years of 






On the I'.lthof .Inly. 18(c-'. .Mr. Pop.' wa^ m.-ir- 


age when his p:iients became residents of Ontario 






ried to Eli/.a C.. daughter ..f IJ.ib.ai. .-ind Almira 


C.iuiity. X. Y., an.l he there developed into man- , 




•^> 


^ 1 fl. 


.. . 


L-^M 


•^^ 






•"• 




\ 







580 



LENAAVEE COUNTY, 



hood and learned milling from his father. He was 
remarkably industrious and possessed of good judg- 
ment, and liad a fine property in Farmington. The 
last years of his life were passed in retirement. He 
had married iliss Lucy Eddy, who was a native of 
Vermont, and the daughter of Caleb Eddy. She 
survived her husband several 3'ears and spent her 
last days in Canandaigua. Tlie parental household 
included seven children, four of whom lived to 
years of maturity ; Philander, the eldest, died at the_ 
age of nine years; Wanton G., our subject, was the 
second of the family; his next brother, George, 
died in Farmington wlien about thirty years of age, 
and the others have since passed awaj' to their long- 
home, our subject being now the only living repre- 
sentative of the family. 

Mr. Smith received a common-school education 
and remained under the home roof until the death 
of his father. The care of the family then devolved | 
mostly upon him, and he remained in New Yorli I 
State until 1 8G0, in the meantime having married I 
and become the father of several children. In the 
spring of tliis year, desiring a change of location, 
he came to Southern JMichigan and purchased the 
land whicli now comprises a valuable and desirable 
homestead. The line luick residence was put up in 
1879, and is llaiikiMl l,y :i uood barn and all other 
buildings reqniicd by the enterprising and pro- 
gressive agrienllurist. 

Mr. Smitli was married in Wayne County, N. Y., 
Oct. 11, 1849, to Miss i\I;uia Mitchell, a native of 
Madison County, N. Y., and the daughter of Will- 
iam and Melle (Clapp) Mitcliell. She was born 
Dec. 22, 1822, and remained with her parents untd 
her marriage. Mi', and Jlrs. Smith became the 
parents of six children, namely: Mitchell C, now 
a resident of Calmar, Iowa, and a railroad en- 
gineer; Frances A., the wife of E. W. Hutchinson, 
of Oceana County, Mich. ; Henry C, a practicing 
attorney of Adrian; Clarence G. and Clara E. 
(twins) and Lonis G. Clarence G. is a resident of 
Oxford, Iowa, and is also an engineer, while Clara 
E. is the wife of J. D. Kinney, a resident of 
Adrian. Louis G. resides at home witli'his parents. 

The father of Mrs. Smith was born in Dutchess 
County, N. Y., and was the son of Joseph Mitchell, 
a native of Nantucket Island, who removed first to 



Dutchess Count3% from there to Madison County, 
:iiid later to tlie town of Victor3% in Cayuga County, 
wliere his death took place about 1852. He cleared 
a farm from the heavy timber land and experi- 
enced, in common with his brother pioneers of that 
locality, all the hardships of life in a new settle- 
ment. Mrs. Smith was the fourth child of her par- 
ents, and her mother was tiie daughter of Henry 
Clapp, of Dntche.ss County. The latter spent his 
last years in the town of Dutchess, Wayne Co., N. Y. 
Mrs. Smith received a good education and com- 
menced teaching at the age of nineteen years, be- 
ing thus occupied until her marriage. She was 
reared in the Quaker faith. Mr. Smith cast his first 
Presidential vote for .James K. Polk, and has since 
lieen a stanch Democrat. 



nILES P. iMORTON. The old and highly 
esteemed pioneer who bore the name at the 



head of this article, located in Cambridge 
Township in this county, in 1834, among 
th(! band of hardy pioneers who about that time 
commenced to pave the v/ay for civilization into 
these pristine wilds. He made this his home until 
his death, which occurred Jan. 24, 1884. 

Tlie subject of this sketch was born in Mexico 
Township, Oswego Co., N. Y., Aug. 26, 1821. 
His father and mother, John and Eunice (Aldrich) 
Morton, botli of whom are now deceased, brought 
their family of twelve children, of whom Miles was 
the j'oungest, to Cambridge Township, this county, 
in 1834. Both parents were natives of the State of 
Massaclnisetts, removing to Oswego County, N. Y., 
after their marriage. When the}' came here, the 
older Mr. Morton purchased a farm on section 35, 
of the Government, where they passed the remain- 
der of tlieir days. They were active members of 
the Methodist Church, and died as they had lived, 
in the full belief of the doctrines taught Ijy that 
denomination. 

Miles P. Morton was some thirteen years old 
when he came to this county and State, and re- 
mained at home with his parents until he was twen- 
ty-six 3'ears of age, when, having married Hannah 
Allen, he started a farm of his own, putting up a 
•►- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



small log cabin in which the young- couple took up 
their habitation, and then commenced to open up a 
clearing in the timber. Here they lived until l.SGS, 
when Mrs. Morton was called to " IhatCDUnlry from 
whose liourne no tras'elcr returns." 

Mr. Morton was a second time united in mar- 
riage, Oct. 23, 1870. with Miss Lois Van Vleet, of 
Ridgeway. She is a native of Lodi, Seneca C(j., N. 
Y.. where she was liorii Dec. 10. 1 .s:!0, and is the 
daughterof Peter P. and Lois (Swartout) Van \leit. 
Mrs. Morton was the third daughter in a fanuly of 
thirteen children, and was but eighteen months old 
when her parents came to Michigan, in l.S.'i^. Slie 
was reared and educated in Ridgeway Townshii), 
this county, and before her marriage was engaged 
in teaching school. Having discharged the duties 
of that profession for twenty-six terms, she may be 
said to have fully made her mark on the minds of 
the rising generation. Never stern in her manner, 
she sought more to govern the children by love 
than fear. 

After his marriage, Mr. .Morton brought his 
wife to Cambridge Township, where he owned 100 
acres of land, which he brought to a high state of 
cultivation, and erected thereon a fine residence. 
Since his death his widow has carried on the i)lace 
quite successfully. Mr. Morton's worthy career as 
a pioneer citizen, was one cinincntly -nccessful and 
useful to the comnuinity in uliich hr resided, and 
his neighbors and old friends unanimously bo.ar tes- 
timonj' to his sterling worth, integrit)% .and vaina- 
ble services as a citizen. 

GEORGE V. OS(tOOJ) ean)e to this State 
with his parents in isi.j. when a lad eleven 
years of age, and has oceupieil his [iresent 
homestead, on section 2t<. in Macon Township, 
since 18C9. He owns 109 acres, most of which is 
under cultivation, and has effected considerable 
improveuients upon the farm since taking i)ossession 
of it. Like many who came to Southern Michigan 
while it was still a Territory, our subject is a native 
of New York, and was born in Lodi, Seneca County, 
Jan. 1, 1833, together with his twin sister Mary, 



who is a resident of Macon Township. He came 
to Michigan with his mother in 184.5, and pursued 
his first studies in the district school. A more ex- 
tended sketch of his parents will be found in the 
biography of Lester Osgood, published on imotlier 
page in this work. 

Our subject developed into nianhood in .Mneon 
Township and wa> here married, April to. l.S,')7,to 
.Miss Mary E. Bird, a native of this townsiiip. win, 
was born Oct. 14, 1837. Her parents, Hin-tis and 
Mary A. (Bodine) Bird, were natives of New York 
State, whence they came to Michigan as pioneers. 
They located in Macon Townsliip, where llie mother 
died .Inly I. 1 S31), soon after their settlement. i\lr. 
I'lird lived to improve a farm, and was married a 
second time; his last wife is still living. 

IMrs. Jlary Osgood departed this life at her 
home in Illinois, 0<-t. 7, ISlM. She was the mother 
of three children, of whom two, .Murtie li. and 
Clara, died at the ages of ten years and two mouths, 
res|)ectively. John S. married Miss Mary Filz- 
myer, an<l is engaged as a barber at (u'and Haven, 
Mich. .Mr. Osgood while .-i resident of Clinton 
County, III.. imi.roviMl tw(, farms which he disi.oKMl 
of upon coming to this Stale. On llu' lllli of 
Blarch, 18G8, he was married .-i second lime, to 
Mr.s. Anzolette (LaTourrettc) Hunt, who w.•l^ born 
in Lodi, Seneca Co., N. Y.. ,lune IC, 1 <s;!;!, and is 
the daughterof Alindiam .and Piiebe (Bodine) La- 
Tourrettc, natives respectively of New Jersey and 
Peuns3'lvania. They were of French-German an- 
cestry, and both spent their cliihlhood and youth in 
Seneca County, N. V.. where they mari'ied and 
spent the balance of their lives. The father was a 
farmer by occu|)ation, and died when eighty years 
of age, while the mother survived her husband sev- 
eral years and was eighty-eight years old at the time 
of her decease. They belonged t(. the Ueformed 
Church, and the father polilie:dly was a Democr.at. 

Mrs. Osgood was the youngest but one of ten 
children, five sons and five daughters, who all lived 
to be married and have families of their own. 
Tliere has to this time been only one death in the 
family of children. Mrs. (). was reared and edu- 
cated in her native county, and was there first mar- 
ried to Joseph M. Hunt, of Loug Island, who was 
a farmer by occupation, and became a resident of 



582 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



4 



Lodi during early manhood ; he died there March 
21, 1865. Mr. and Mrs. Hunt were the p.-irents of 
one daughter, Sarah L., w>\\ tlic wife of Arthur ('. 
Green, who operates a farm in Unisiii Township. 

Mr. Osgood by his second inarri;ige is the father 
of three children, one of whom, Joseph M., died at 
the age of one month; Phebe and Evelina are at 
home with their parents. Mr. Osgood is a solid 
Republican, politically, and with his excellent lad3' 
belong to the Reformed C'hurch, in which he ofHci- 
ated as Elder. He served as Highway Commissioner 
and represented his township in the County Board 
of Supervisors for three years, while he has also 
served as Township Treasurer two years. 



i^\ HAKLES HENRY AMES,: 



;!tical, ent 



^^^y Hudson Township, where he has lived since 
1838. He was but three j^ears old when he came 
here with his parents. Since that time the township 
of Hudson, which had just been organized, has de- 
veloped from a little settlement in the wilderness, 
with a few straggling log cabins, to a prosperous and 
growing community, with fine farms, and the varied 
industries that contriliute to the needs of .•in agri- 
cultural population. 

Mr. Ames is a native of New Hampshire and 
comes of good stock. He was born in Hillsboro 
County, April 2G, 1835. There is a tradition in the 
family that the first representative of the famih' 
who came to America was one of two brotliers 
who crossed the Atlantic from England. One of 
them settled near Boston, where he pursued his call- 
ing as a blacksmith, and it was from him that the 
famous Oakes Ames, who established the large 
manufactory of shovels and plows in North Easton, 
Mass., was descended. The present honored Gov- 
ernor of Massachusetts, Oliver Ames, is a noble rep- 
resentative of that English mechanic who so long- 
ago worked .-it his .■iin'il in Coloninl ■■ I'.oston Town." 
The other broth. •!■. of wliom our subject is a lineal 
descendant, was a pioneer of KrMiiiingham, Mass.. and 
there he si)ent the remainder of his life activel_y en- 
gaged in farming, dying just prior to the Revolu- 



tionar3' War. The grandfather of our subject was 
nine years old when his father died, and he removed 
when quite a young man from his- old home in 
Eramingham to Petersham, and there niariied Sarah 
Clark. He bought a farm in that town and there 
he aod his wife spqnt their entire wedded lives, and 
in death thej' were not long divided. She died iu 
1814, and he in ISIC. 

The father of our subject was born on his father's 
homestead near that old Massachusetts town of 
Petersham, May 12, 1794. He assisted his father 
in tilling the farm until he was seventeen years old, 
when he commenced to learn the trade of clothier, 
and after working at it for awhile in Massachusetts, 
he removed to Francistown, N. H., and there fol- 
lowed his trade until 1837. During that year he 
visited Michigan, and bought the place where he 
now resides. He returned to New Hampshire in 
the spring- of 1838, and soon after set out on his 
return to this State, with his wife and four children. 
He drove seventy miles to Troy, N. Y.. and went 
thence bj' Erie Canal and Lake to Toledo, and thence 
I'ume by car to Adrian, which was then the western 
terminus of-the railwaj'. He there hired a man to 
take his family .and the trunks containing their 
worldly possessions to the house of his brother 
Charles, where they spent the first night after their 
arriv.al. The next day they removed into the log- 
house that stood on their land at the time of pur- 
chase. This property, now greatly changed, has 
since remained the home of Mr. Ames. There 
were a few acres of the land cleared at the time of 
purchase, and he has replaced the log cabin by a 
neat and substantial modern dwelling. In the years 
of toil that followed, he succeeded in bringing his 
farm up to a fine state of cultui-e, and it has yielded 
him many rich harvests. 

Mr. Ames has lieen twice wedded. The maiden 
name of his first wife, to whom he was married 
Feb. 10, 1826, was Sarah Hubbard. She was 
liorn in New Hampshire, Nov. 14, 1804, and died 
attheir home in Hudson Township, Aug. 11, 1841. 
She was a ti-ue-hearted woman, devoted to the wel- 
fare of her hnsl):in(l and children, and her early 
death was a lo.ss to the community as well as to her 
family. Of this marriage five children were born, 
namely : Sarah Frances, Orlando Scott, William 



•►Hh-^- 



-^-Hh 





I 


f 


-4« 


-»- ■ 






•^ 1 








LEXAWRF 


COUNTY. .58.'? . 


1 




Heniy, Charles Henry and Lizzie. Sarah was born 


house which he has since occupied; this stands on 


I 




Oct. 30. 1827, and maniodWillinui Brown, of Hud- 


the old homestead, which he has since managed. 






son TownshiiK Ori.-mdo w;iOh,iu April •_>:;. 1 s;il. 


He has l)een very sueces-ful as a farmer, and has 






.•uidlivos in Iiulcpondrncc. 1, ,«,■,; \Villi:mi Henry 


kept the old f:irni up to the high conditio;) of tillage 






(lied in infancy ; C'lrirlrs Henry, our sul.jert., u.'i> next 


to which lii.~ father lironuht if. 






to the youngest; Lizzie was born An-^'. IC. 1 s.iT ; 


Our Mihjeet m.'inied. April -.'o. 1 s.-,;i. Mi-- Harriet 






she married Harvey .1. ( iriffcs, and nowresiiles with 


('. Hush, uho w:i.s liorn in Barre. ( )ileans ( o.. N. 






her father. 


V. Her grandfather and father were li..fli nanie.l 


i 




Mr. Ames' seeoiid niarriage, .lunr i' L LsL.'. w.-is 


lOli: the tornier spent his l.-isf yeurs in the Knipire 






with Delia Whittier, who was liorn .Inly -.i, 1 .so:;_ 


State. Kli. .Ir.. moved to Wiseon-in in I.s4(;and 






and died Feb. LS, LSS4. She wn> .-i .i^.-od Mud 


>ettle.| in \\:isliington County, where lie bought 






faithful woman, respected and ,'>lrcni(.d l;y ,-dl. .-ind 


eighty aeio of tinii.ered land and eleare<i quite a 






the mother of two children — .\nna Ahiriaaml Auuus- 


portion of it. e(nitinuiiiL; to reside there until 18.-,.-,. 






tus Clark. Anna was horn Keh. C IS 1 L :ind mar. 


He then s(,ld out. and coming to Hillsdale County. 






ried William Porter, of Hillsdale Cuinty : Augus- 


this Stat.'. M'ttl.'il in I'itf-ford Township, where he 






tus was born Dec. l.'i. Is4(;. and now lives in 


b.iughf anil impr..\.'d a f.'irni opiwsite the home of 






Osceola County. 


our snlij.Tf. He .■<,ntinui'd t., live thereuntil his 






Mr. Ames is one of the olde.-t citizens of Lenawee 


.le.-ith. II,' was :in idile man nn.l prominent in 






County. At the time of his hirtli in tiie u(,od old 


pnl.li.- affairs. lie ivpres.aited his town:<liip in the 






State of Massachusetts in the last century, these 


County B.iai-d ..f Snp.'r\ ism's three terms, anil was 






ITnited States had been independent of Creat 


.a memb.'r ..f the llnds..n S,-hool Board at the time 






Britain only eleven years. He l);is lived under 


of his di'ath.ino.'tol.er, \sl2. In politics he wan a 






every President, and w;itch<'(| this IJepuhlic as it 


firm Repuliliean. 'I'lie maiden name of his wife 






developed from a. -m.-dl Conn'.lcration of States, 


was Evalin.' Ilanl. She u.-is a native of Vermont 






struggling with the pi-oblem of goverinnent, to a 


and spent her last years with her son in Nebraska. 






great and powerful nation. Although his great age 


wheie she died in February, 1887. The married 






renders hinr feeble physically, his mind and memory 


life ..>f our subject and his wife has been blessed by 






are quite vigorous, and he talces a lively int. 'rest in 


the birth ..f three childr.'ii— H. Eliza. Frank 11. and 






public affairs, and can tell many an intcre>ting 


Inez M. 






story of old times. In politic- he was in his 


Mr. Ames has ben a Uepubli.-an ever since the 






younger days a Whig, but he joined the Ke- 


party was f..rmed. .-in.l I'ast his first vote for Gen. 






publicau party when it was first organized, and 


Fremont. 






has stood by it ever since. 

Charles Ames, the subject of this sketch, g.-uned 


..4^ r-^. - - 






-^ - "-iP"^' 






his education in the log school-house of pioneer 








days, receiving his instruction therein, summer and 


Jl_^ lUAM D. ARNOLD .,wns .-ind o.-.-upi.'s a 






winter, until he was large enough U> .assist his father 


If^l well-appointed farm of 1 1 ;, a.'r.-s on secti.m 






on the farm. Thereafter his further attendance at 


|[vJ^' ;«, in F.airfiehl T..wnship. wiinh h.' has 






school was restricted to the wintn- 'terms. The 


(^) brought to a g.ioil stale of eidti\ati.in nnd 






re,st of the year he helped to clear the land and till 


provide.! with a a good s.'l, .,r nuMlern Iniine buil.l- 






the soil. In the years 18.")U, 18r)7 and 1 S;-„s, in com- 


ings. He h.as be.'ii a nsidenl of this eoiinty since 






pany with Eli Bush, afterward his father-in-law, he 


the fall of 187.-,. ;it whi.'h tim.' he came with his 






bought numbers of horses and dro\-e them to Wis- 


young wife to Imild up :i permanent ho.n.'in the 






consin, about 500 miles dist.-int. and there dis- 


West. 






posed of them at a good profit,, lie lived in the 


The parents .>f .nir siibj.'cf. Hiram and .Sally (Ely) 




1 


house with his l)areuts three year> .-ifter inar|-iage, 


xVrnold, were natives of N.'w York State, settling in 




] 


and tlien erected the commodious and comforlable 


Chautauqua County .■ift.ei their marri.age, where 




^ 








■^*- 






^* 




■ 







■•► 



584 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



tliey remained until the deatli of the father, in 1851- 
The mother is still living, making her home at the 
old homestead, and is seventy-seven years of age. 
The family circle included five sons, of whom Hi- 
ram D. was the youngest. He was born in Chau- 
tauqua County, May 13, 1830, and spent his early 
life after the manner of farmers' sons, attending the 
district school and becoming familiar with agricult- 
ural pursuits. 

Young Arnold continued nnder the home roof 
with his mother until the s]mng of 1874, and was 
then married, April 23, to Miss Phusbe L., daughter 
of Thomas and Jane A. (Dunbar) Wilbur. Her 
parents were natives of New Y(irk State, but in 
1855 they came to this county and located in Fair- 
field Township, where the father engaged in farm- 
ing, and where both jxarcnts spent the remainder of 
their lives. The mother died in the fall of 1808, 
while Mr. Wilbur survived his wife seven 3'ears, 
his death taking place IMay •>•>, 1875. Mrs. Arnold, 
their only child, was born in Fairfield Township, 
May 2-2, 1.S57, and lias resided here her entire life. 
Of liin- union wilii our subject there have been born 
two cliildirn— Charlie E. and Carlton O. 

Mr. and .Alis. Arnold, aft. 
Gated upon llicir prcMnt fan 
among the well-to-do and ii 
community more than oi-din 
well educated. 



■ marriage, lo- 

are numbered 

it jjcople of a 

ii\)grcssive and 



r^^ EYMOUR BARRETT, one of the earliest 
^^^ pioneers of Lenawee County, came to tliis 
(li/Jj) section of country in May, 1833, starting 
from Williamstown. RLass., with his mother 
and eigiit children besides himself, his father iiav- 
ing died in Yermont in lS2f<. They made the jour- 
ney to Buffalo via the Erie Canal, and thence to 
Monroe by the steamer "•Ileni-y Clay," where they 
took passage in what was then denominated a stage, 
but which consisted really of a lumber- wag(.>n, with- 
out springs, and in vvhicli tlicy completed their jour- 
ney to what is now Blissfield. 

In Blissfield there was no sign of a town ; the 
oidy traces of habitation were a log house and a 
barn, which stood upon the open prairie. These 



were constructed in the most primitive manner, the 
house having a puncheon floor and a stick chimney, 
with a huge fireplace which occupied one end of 
the structure. Into this the famil}' removed the 
few goods which they had brought with them, and 
our subject had a pony with wliich he drew the 
logs for fuel into the house. Their neighbors were 
few and far between, and his blacksmitliing and 
milling were done at Monroe, twenty-nine miles 
away. Mr. Barrett, howcA'er, was a natural me- 
chanic, and in consequence of this, provided the 
family with many conveniences which they would 
otherwise have been deprived of. As he now looks 
back over the period of over fifty years which have 
elapsed since that time, he can most truly remark 
tliat " truth is stranger than fiction," for many and 
great have been the changes which have passed 
over the face of the countrj'. The sterile land is 
now productive of the richest crops <'f the North- 
west, and the face of the country is dotted with 
beautiful farms and flourishing cities. In the build- 
ing up of these interests our subject has played no 
iniimporttmt part. 

Mr. Barrett was born in Williamstown, Berkshire 
Co., Blass., Feb. 12, 1815, and removed with his 
parents to Vermont in 1818. There his father pur- 
chased a farm of 245 acres in Bennington County, 
.and marketed his first products at Troy, N. Y., by 
transporting them down the Hudson River. After 
the death of the latter-, in 1828, our subject assumed 
the care of the family and the management of the 
homestead, remaining in Vermont until 1830, when 
he sold out and rented a farm of seventy-six acres 
in Williamstown, JNIass., upon which our subject 
and the famil}' remained until coming to the West 
in 1833. 

Ml'. Barrett enjo^'cd but limited advantages mi 
his youth, but possessed much natural ability and a 
love of reading, together wnth a good memorx', 
wliicii qualities have served him well all through 
life. After coming to this section he was the first 
to encourage those enterprises calculated to de- 
veloi) the resources of the country and advance the 
welfare of the people, and vvas practical in all his 
theories to this end. His trade was that of mill- 
wright and machinist, in which he vvas successful in 
accumulating a competency. He carried on farni- 



•►HH^ 



■•► 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



SS.I 



: 



in<i\ also, by iiio.tiis of liircil lu'l[), uhidi In' sii] 
iiiteiulcfl. Dec. 9, ISIO, Mr. llarrfU uii> man 
to jMiss .Sophi.a, daugliter of Ira I'arkci-. In I 
our subject met with a severe loss in tlic desti 
tion by rire of liis barn, mills, seed and corn lio 
uiiicUliad been constructed at a eo>l of ^7.(»l)(l, 
u[iou which he had no insurance. His credit, h 
ever, was lirst-class, and he was soon (■nal)lcd to 
build, and is now conducting a cider-mill, uhicl 
has had in operation thirty-five yc:irs. 

When first becoming a voter Mr. llarrett ule 
tied himself with the old Whig party, but, upon 
ab.indonraent cordially endorsed Kepublicin p 
ciples, which he still sustains, aUhonuh voting 
dependeiitly in local matters. 



\f, OIIN JOIIN.SON. a banker of Clayt.m Vil- 
lage, is widely known througlioul tlii.scouuty 
as one of its most enterprising men and use- 
ful citizens, and one who lins alw.ays been 
willing to labcn- and make sacrifices for the welfare 
of the pi'oi)le among whom he has passed in ;ind out 
for many years and been the object of their highest, 
regard. He is the offspring of an cxc'llcnt ol<l 
family' who for generations were among the hading 
people of New England. Daniel .lohnson, the 
grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born 
at Wfitcrfurd, New London Co., Conn.. March 27, 
1770, and removed to Berlin, I'jic Co., Ohio, in the 
year 1826, at which place he died .Vpril 1 :», is:!(;. 
Ruth Grifflng, wife of Daniel Johnson, was born at 
Lynn, Jse-w L(Midon Co., Conn., Oct. 17, 17(j(;, .and 
died at Berlin, Erie Co.. Ohio, Feb. 21, IS.!!). 

John Johnson, the father of our subject, w.-is born 
in Waterford, New Loudon Co.,(.'onn.. in I7'.)!s,aml 
was the son of Daniel Johnson, a man of property and 
inliuetice. He spent his childhood and youth in 
his native county, where he married a most estim- 
able young- lady? one of his early accoei.-iles, and en- 
gaged in the business of distilling. In 1821; he baile 
adieu to his native hills, and accompanied liy his 
wife and two children, migrated to 15erlin, Erie Co.. 
Ohio, where he cleared a farm from the wilderness 
and occupied it nine years. At the expiration of 
this time the rapidly growing Territory 



Miehi. 



ti.ms sons of the nior,' (■:istciii States, and the fa- 
ther of our subject decided to cast his lot with the 
pioneers of Lenawee County. 'I"he journey was 
made in a tedious fashion, mostly overland with 
te.anis. anrl upon arriving in this comity Mr. J. took 
up a tra.-t of land mostly in Rome Township, on 
section ;)l,aiid embracing 100 acres: eighty acres 
of this lay southwest in Hudson Town.ship. The 
family settled here in the fall of 1835, .and occupied 
the farm which the father built up from the wilder- 

In 18(;2. John Jolmson, Sr., having acquired a 
handsome bank aeeoiuit, determined to retire from 
the more arduous labors of farm life and invest part 



of h 


s e.pita 


in a 


sloek 


if general merchandise. 


He .-1 


•eordiuu 


V sold 


lint, a 


id removing to Lansing, 


.-ISSCH 


iated hit 


iself u 


ith his 


sou-in-law, Aaron Jones, 


and 


•ontinnec 


1 in bi 


Miiess 


until March. KSCo. At 


this 


ime, wh 


le uu : 


\ isit 


o his son, Jasper G., in 


Hud 


,m Nilla 


4V. lie 


v:is tal 


en fatally ill and expired 


Mar. 


h '.). isi; 


"). Tlu 


niotlii 


r. formerly Mtss Abigail 


Skin 


ler. was 


ilso a 


lative 


of Connecticut and born 



at Windsor, Hartford County, Jan. 15, 1802; she 
died al Clayton, Mich., Jan. 2, 1887. The parental 
houseliold included eiuht children, two sons and six 
dauuhlers: .jasper C.. the elilest liorn, is a resident 
of N(n-th Adams 'I'ownship, Hillsdale Co., Mich., 
and numbered among the most prosperous farmers 
of that section: l^ith became the wife of Caleb W. 
Stevens, a well-to-do farmer of Rome Township; 
Ann is the wilV of David T. Rowley, of Hudson 
Township; Mabel, Mrs. Aaron Abbott, is a resident 
of Clayton: Melissa, Mr.s. Emmons H. Marlis, lives 
with her husband in the town of Qnincy, Branch Co., 
Mich.: Mary died at the homestead in Rome Town- 
ship, when twenty-four years of age; .loliii. of our 
sketch, was the seventh child; Elvira, the wife of 
Aaron Jones, died in Leslie, Ingham County, in 
December, 1884. 

The subject of this biography was born at his 
father's houicsten.l in Rome Township, Jan. 1. 1812. 
Ho pursued his lirst studies in the district school, 
then entered the Union School at Adrian, and sub- 
sequently Adrian College, taking in the latter in- 
stitution a two-years course. Upon leaving school, 
desirous of a change of climate and residence, he 

1 *^ 



■)S,6 



LENAWEE COUNTY, 



made his way to Fulton County, Ohio, and engaged 
as a cleriv in a dry-goods store. A year later, be- 
lieving that an additional course of study woidd 
add to his business capacity, he repaired to Detroit 
and entered Brj-ant, Stratton & Goldsmith's Com- 
mercial College there, from which he was graduated 
some months later, feeling well repaid for the time 
and money expended. 

Young Johnson, now reinforced with an added 
knowledge of business matters, returned to his old 
employer, G. W. Thompson, in Fayette, Ohio, and 
continued with him another year. Thence, in 1864, 
he proceeded to Detroit and engaged with the 
wholesale grocery house of J. & G. W. Parker & Co., 
No. 3 Woodward avenue, as book-keeper, remain- 
ing with this firm until the death of his father, iji 
1866. The latter had been engaged in mercantile 
business at Lansing, and the management of this 
was now turned over to .Tohn, Jr. He continued 
there a year, tlien disposed of his interest in the 
business, and in company with a partner, established 
himself at Fayette, Ohio, the firm name bei g G. W. 
Thompson & Co. This venture of our subject not 
pi'oving as successful as he had hoped, he withdrew, 
and in 1^71 located at Tekonsha, Mich., engaging 
there in ^ciieial merchandising for the following 
eight yeais. In the meantime, in 1877, he had en- 
gaged in banking in company witli S. B. Allen, 
under the fii'm name of Allen & Johnson, the insti- 
tution becoming familiarly known as the Exchange 
Bank of Tekonsha. TJiis bank is still in operation, 
owned by the above-named firm, an<l has become 
one of the solid institutions of Calhoun County: 
Mr. J. remained a resident'of Tekonsha until Feb- 
ruary, 1885. 

Our subject was first married at the liome of the 
bride in Hudson, Jan. 21, 1868, to Miss Ida A. 
Brewer, who was born in Attica, Wyoming Co., N. 
Y., and died at her home in Tekonsha, Mich., Jan. 
5, 1885. After this bereavement Mr. J. crossed 
the Mississippi and traveled quite extensively 
through Mexico, Arizona, California and other 
States and Territories, being absent several months. 
He has always felt that this was an admirable in- 
vestment of time and means, and he believes that 
among the wonders of nature in the Old World, 
there can be few which exceed the wild and pictur- 



esque beauty of the western portions of our own 
America. This sentiment is voiced by almost every 
traveler whu has explored the great West, where in 
frequent places the remains of buried cities attest 
the existence of races long passed and gone, whose 
history lies silent and will probably never be known 
to succeeding generations. 

Upon his return to this State, in November, 1885, 
Mr. Johnson purchased a stock of drugs in Corunna, 
Shiawassee County, and associated himself with 
Harry C. Kiune, under the firm name of Johnson cfe 
Kinue, which business is still carried on by these 
gentlemen. (Jn the 1st of February, 1886, Mr. 
Johnson purchased the banking business of H. C. Has- 
kins, of Clayton, and took into partnership Warren 
W. Cooke. The firm of Johnson & Cooke is now 
carrying on a solid and rapidly increasing business, 
and their bank has become one of the indispensable 
features in the business community of Clayton and 
vicinity. It is conducted upon a sound financial 
basis, and the well-known integrity of both mem- 
bers of the firm is a guarantee of its safety and im- 
portance. The present wife of our subject, to whom 
he was married in Burbank, Wayne Co., Ohio, Jan. 
IS, 1887, was formerly Miss Alice V., daughter of 
James C. and Mary Hemler, who was born in LTtica, 
Licking Co., Ohio, Jan. 28, 1853; to this home 
came a son, John C, Oct. 26, 1887. 

About 1863 Mr. Johnson associated himself with 
the I. O. O. F., of which he is a valued member and 
prominent in their councils. He cast his first Presi- 
dential vote for George B. McClellau, and since 
reaching his majority has been, politically, an uncom- 
promising Democrat. He is everywhere recognized as 
a man of upright character, who looks with contempt 
upon trickery and deceit, and who in reflecting upon 
the events of a well-spent life, may feel a just pride 
in the position he has won in the esteem and confi- 
dence of all good citizens. Nature has pi-ovided 
him with a more than ordinary portion of sound 
common sense, softened by kindness and generosity, 
which, while it has demanded- equal rights for him- 
self as well as others, has inclined him to be gener- 
ous and hospitable, the friend of those who are 
struggling to maintain their foothold in the busi- 
ness and social community, and the encourager of 
those enterprises affecting the general welfare of the 



-^* 



"^^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



poople. The force of tin; example presented liy 
such men is worth much in itself, illustriilinii- the 
result of persevenineo. indii-try ;in<I cdrnct prin<M- 
ples. The home ,)f :\Ir. .l,,hnson is ivplele with 
the refinements of life, ami lie and lii> e-.tiin:ilj|e lady 
are prominent in the highest suejal circlrs n( Lena- 
wee County. 



It was a great benefit to the CDnimuiiity in 
ways than one, and the enterprise of Mr. 
■r ill erc'clinu' it uas eiMiinieiMhilile. Fortun- 
wheii he and his I'ltJM'r cMine here, they had 
a sum (if 111(111. 'N. iiKirc than was necessary to 
ase their laiuis. and lieing among the very 
~l pioueeis, tiny had their choice of the land 
i-efeired t(i havi.'sniall farms and nearer neigh- 



RS. LUCINDA JJjTlIER is the widow ol 
Theodorick Lmlier, one of the old pioiieeis 
< if "Eena wee Con 1 1 ty . lie wa> one of tlic 
prominent figures in the scenes of the early 
history of Rome Township, where In- lirsl made hi- 
settlement iu LS.'34. iMr. Luther washoni in South 
Hero, Vt., March aS, 1791), and was the son of Will- 
iam and Eunice (Allen) Luther, the former of wlioin 
was horn in Bristol County, U. L, Sept. ■_'■-<. 177-1. 
and the latter liorn in Bennington ( 
April 7, 1779. Both the latter died in Rome 'i 
ship, where they had located in l.s.'Vi, .Air. I 
Oct. •>, 1841, and his wife .Ian. l'I, 1S;V.'. 

Theodorick Luther resided with his parent.- 
he was twenty-(.)ne years old, and iiy tliei 
brought up as a farmer, and reeeivcil a good 
mon-school education while in the JMiipiic 
The family lived in the neighborhood of I'latt 
N. Y., until !s;;i, and for the last ten yeurs 
residence there Theodorick Luther followed vari- 
ous kinds of a mechanical liiisiiie— . such a- luiild- 
ing barn.s, wagons, sleighs, etc., he h.-ivinga iiat,iiral 
ability in that line. In August, is;31, he came to 
Michig.an, and made a settlement atSuperior, Wash- 
tenaw County, where he resided thi-ee year,-?. In 
the summer of 183-1 he sold out .and came to Lena- 
wee County, locating some lands .adjoining his 
father's, on the west, in Rome Township, wliei-e he 
ever afterward resided. Not being entirely content 
with his agricultural pursuits, during the winter of 
l.So4-35, he in company with bis father, laiilt a 
sawmill on the Raisin River, which ran thioii-h their 
Land, .and with it sawed lumlier. to build their oun 
houses and barns, besides doing eoiisiderable woii, 
for neighbors and new settlers. In 1 .s47 Mr. Luther 
built a steam sawmill, that was for many years 
well and favorably known throughout Rome Town- 



, \'t., 


Edui 


lown- 


3. IS: 


.uther 


April 




K.airti 


. unUl 


N. V. 


11 was 


.Mich. 


corn- 


{ 'haff 


State. 


was 1 


sburg. 


becan 


of bis 


ship. 



On the 29th of Aiiril, l.S-Jl, Theodorick Luther 
mari-ied Miss Am(;lia,, daughter of Natha,niel and 
lielinda Hall, of Isle La iMotte, (irand Isle Co., Vt. 
Mis. Amelia Luther w.as born in Lower Canada, 
April ■_'9, isoi. and became the mother of eight 
children. .a> follou<: .Maria was born Feb. -JO, lS-2-.', 
and is the wife of William Codding, of St. -loseph 
County, .Mich.; (leorge W. ..\. was born Sept. 20, 
ISL':i. .and is a fanner in Adrian Townshili; Char- 
lotte w.as iiorii .Nov. 11. l.S2').and is the wife of 
I Lanioreaiix. of Uonie: Eunice was born Nov. 
!S, and died Se|ii. 27, 1 s;)7 ; Amelia was born 
7, l.s.-io. and is the wife of Seth S. Walker, of 
•Id; these were born in Chazy, Clinton Co., 
Mary w.as born in Superior, Washtenaw Co., 
, April 27, ls;l2, and was married to Lyman 
■e, of Rome; she died .Inly 10, ISCO. Alvira 
.orn in Home downsliip, .May 11. 1.S38, and 
lethc wife of Kans(Uii Cerow, of Dover Town- 
wli.i died Aug. (I, IMWt; Diana T. was also 
born in lioiiie Township, .iiiiie IC, 1.S42, and is the 
wife of 1". II. I)owlliig,of the same township. Mrs. 
Amelia Lullua' died in Rome Township, J.an 24, 
1 S7.'). 

On the 12th of September, l.s7."., Theodorick 
Luther was iiiiitc(l in marriage with Mrs. Lucinda, 
the widow of .\liiiarin K. Armstrong, of Rome, to 
whom she bore two children, n.aniely : James Arm- 
strong, who was born in .Monroe County, N. Y., 
Aug. 10, i.s.;s. and is a, banner in Rome Township; 
' and Carrie L. Armstrong, also lioni in Rome Town- 
ship. March l.s, IS.V.i. 4'lieodorick Luther tilled 
the plae.' of an estimable citizen, a kind father and 
loving liiisbaiid. until .April 2.'i. Ls,s7, when he was 
called from this vale of tears by the Angel of death. 
.Mrs. Lucinda Luther is the (hiughter of Ebenezer 
Jerrells. a native of Connecticut. She was born in 
l"Monr.je County, N. Y., Aug. 4, 1818, and was 



t 



588 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



united ill marriage, Jan. 13, 1835, witii Almarin K., 
sou of William Armstrong, a native of Englaiid. 
who came to this country at an earl}^ day. Alraariu 
Armstrong was a native of the State of New York, 
Monroe County, where he carrier! on farming. He 
came to Michigan in September, 1835, settling in 
Rome Township, where he died in 1873, respected 
by all who knew the sterling worth of the old pio- 
neer. 



J; AMES KNOX, a farmer of Fairfield Town- 
I ship, was born Aug. 12, 1817, in the far- 
i famed Lowlands of Scotland, his birthplace 
' being near Headingtou. His parents, James 
and Agnes (Braids) Knox, became the parents of 
eight children, of whom the subject of this sketch 
was the second in order of birth. 

Nurtured by the simple, wholesome fare of his 
countrymen, and fanned by the fresh airs of his 
native moors, our subject grew to a strong and vig- 
orous manhood. He was early put to work, mostly 
at farming, laboring chiefly for others until 1845, 
when he felt able to place himself in a position of 
greater in<lopendeii(e. liy eiiiiuinliug to America 
and becoming a huKli-ii prii|irietor in his own right. 
Accordingh" he embarked for this land of promise 
with a snug sum of money in his possession, and on 
his arrival in the country, made his way to Jliclii- 
gan, where he purchased 113 acres of land on sec- 
tion 5, of Fairfield Township. Lenawee Count}', and 
on this soil he has established a home and founded 
a family to perpetuate his name in America. B\ 
the exercise of shrewd judgment and thrift, the 
birthright of every true Scotchman, he has been 
greatly prospered in this land of his adoption, and 
added to his original purchase until he now owns 
a valuable farm of 189 acres in Fairfield and Mad- 
ison Townships. He has ei-ected substantial build- 
ings, and has every convenience for farming. 

Mr. Knox has been twice married, the first time 
in the spring of 1 847, to Deborah Boyer, a native 
of New York, and the daughter of Thomas and 
Sarah Boyer, who were the parents of ninechUdren. 
Mrs. Knox was , not long sijared to her husband, 
■ dying when twenty-four years of age, at the birth 



of their first child, in 1849; the child also died. 
In 1851 Mr. Knox was a second time married, to 
Emeline Boyer, a sister of his first wife, and born 
in New York. They passed life together for twen- 
ty-three years, until her death in 1874; she was a 
true wife, a wise mother and a kind neighbor. 
Of her union with Mr. Knox .seven children were 
born: James married Miss Nettie Halloway, and 
resides in Seneca Township; Louisa is the widow 
of John Salsbury; William married Ida Spencer, 
and resides in Medina Township; the other children 
live at home. 

Mr. Knox is much respected by his neighbors 
as aman of sound judgment and sterling integrity. 
It is to such men that we look to give character 
and prosperity to our towns. Although Mr. Knox 
was born a subject of the Kingdom of Great Brit- 
ain, since he has become a citizen of this great Re- 
public he has been a faithful supporter of its Gov- 
ernment. In politics, he is a stanch Republican, 
though he is not an oflice-seeker, but has always 
paid close attention to his business. 



M-'^'B" 



J"^USTUS IFFLAND, formerly an extensive 
farmer residing in Riga Township, was born 
in Germany, Sept. 2, 1822, and attended 
school in his native town during his youth, 
acquiring a good practical education. When he' 
was fourteen years of age he began to learn the 
weaver's trade, at which he continued until he was 
eighteen years of age, when, in accordance with the 
inexorable laws of the Fatherland, he entered the 
army and served as a soldier for nine years. Dur- 
ing his term of service, Germany was not exempt 
from the wars and revolutions which occurred in 
many European countries. The several States of 
Germany and Prussia were struggling for greater 
political freedom, and encouraged bj- the success 
of the French Revolution of 1848, they even at- 
tacked the capital cit^y, Berlin, and finally obtained 
many concessions from their rulers. While in the 
German arm}^ Mr. Iffland took part in several im- 
portant battles. 

After his retirement from the army, Mr. Iffland 
considered that he could make the best use of the 



t 



•►HI- 



4 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



smnll lenfacy of $oOO or ><non he hnd inliciitcfl from 
his mother, by investing it in some land in the 
United States of America, where ho could better 
build u]) a home ff)r himself and family. Aceord- 
ingly in 1851, accompanied by his wife and child, 
he immigrated to this country, and landing in New 
York City, went direct to Lorain County, Ohio. 
There he bought a tract of land partially improved. 
on which stood n log cabin, and in that humble 
home the little famil}' commenced life in America. 
Mr. Itlland was an industrious and persistent w-orker, 
and soon had a well-improved farm and a good ,-et 
of farm buildings. He resided in Ohio until lM(i8, 
when he sold bis property in that State ;uid canio 
to Michigan, where he bought a farm of li)0 acres 
on section (j of Riga Township. This farm is one 
of the best in the township, and is furnished with a 
good set of buildings; here he roun.led out his 
period of existence, dying Nov. .i, l.ss;i. 

In Mr. Iffland's death the community lost ;i use- 
ful citizen, his neighbors a kind friend, and his fam- 
ily a good husband and f;ithcr. His wife, who luid 
been to hini .'i faithful conipanion and helpmeet in 
this land of their adoiition. still survives him. Her 
maiden name was Anna J^ohr, and she was born in 
Germany, Feb. 16, 1822. Her marriage with Mr. 
Ittiand occurred in February, )84'.i. Six children 
were born of their union, namely: Catlieiine C, 
the wife of William Mitchell, of Lhi. Aloiiroe 
County; George, living in Ogden Townshij); M;ig- 
gie. the wife of Henry Rohrl)ach, of Riga Tovvn- 
ship; John, living in Riga Township; I'eter W., 
living on the homestead with his mother, iind 
Charles, a physician practicing in Ida, Monroe 
County, this State. 






J I AMES F. aiUNGER, owner of what was form- 
erly known as the "Evans farm," on section 
I 3S, in Rome Township, took possession of 
this property in the spring of 1882, having 
come to this county from Milan Township, Erie Co., 
Ohio. He occupies a good position socially and 
financially, and is accounted one of the valued 
members of the eomraunity. His farm embraces 



eighty acres of good land, tillable .and fertile, and 
the buildings, tasteful and substantial,>ill bear fair 
comparison with others of the kind in a section of 
country peopled by an intelligent class of citizens. 

Our subject is the seventh child of Elial) and 
Milliccnt (Ketchum) Munger, who at the date of 
his birth, .Nov. 7, 1820. were residents of Huron, 
Erie ( '()., ( )liii). Ephraim Munger, the grandfather, 
li:id removed from Connecticut to the Buckeye 
State a short time previously, and died upon the 
place where he first settled, at the advanced age of 
eighty yeai's. He had been married flrst in his na- 
tive State, and his wife died there when fifty-five 
years of age. The second wife died in Ohio, aged 
sixty-live. Ephraim Munger had a family of ten 
children, of whom Eliab, the father of our subject, 
was the eldest. Eliab Munger was born Dec. 12, 
17S4, and his wife Millicent, Jan. 13, 1786. They 
were married Nov. 1, 1804, and became the par- 
ents of ten children. They emigrated from Con- 
necticut to Erie County. Ohio, and there spent the 
remainder of their lives, the father dying at the age 
of fifty -two, and his wife when fifty-four. 

The subject of this biography continued under 
the home roof after the death of his father until 
reaching his majority. He was then emplo3-ed as a 
farm laborer until his marriage, Jan. 8, 1854. On 
the 8tli of .Innuary following, he purchased 200 
.acres of land in Huron Township, of which he took 
possession anil oceui)ied four years. Then selling- 
out he returned for a time to the old home and 
shortly afterward purchased land adjacent, upon 
which he farmed until the spring of 1882, when he 
disposed of his landed possessions in the Buckeye 
State and came to this county, bringing with him 
his stock and household goods. He has been quite 
successful in his struggle with the soil in the Wol- 
verine State and is regarded as a valued accession to 
the community. 

The wife of our subject was in her girlhood Miss 
Caroline Sweet, who was born in New London, 
Huron Co., Ohio, Oct. 23, 1827, and is the daughter 
of William and Abigail Sweet, natives of New Y''ork 
State. Mr. Sweet was born Feb. 23, 1783, and died 
in Ohio, iiged seventy-six years. The mother was 
• born April 28, 1792, and died at the homestead in 
I Erie County, Ohio, at the same age as her husband. 



-^^ 



•►Hl-^ 



=L. 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



t 



Of their ten cbildren all but one lived to matuie 
years. The family for generations had been ad- 
herents of the Quaker Church. The eldest child of 
Mr. and JNIrs. Hunger, Frank S., vvas born in Huron 
County, Ohio, Dec. 15, 1857, is married and the 
father of two children, a son and a daughter; he is 
farming in Huron County, Ohio. Jabin R. was 
born April 17, 18G2, is married and a resident of 
Rome Township; Clark W. was born Feb. 16, 18(3.'), 
and works the farm of his father on sliares. One son, 
Willie, was born Aug. 10, 1860, and died in Sep- 
tember following. 

eARLTON M. ELLIS occupies a good farm 
on section 20, in Blissfield Township. His 
property includes ninety-live acres of land, 
containing a commodious brick residence with a 
frame barn and all other necessary out-buildings. 
The land is partially drained with tile, and by a 
process of careful cultivation yields in abundance 
the finest crops in Michigan. Mr. Ellis is regarded 
as a good farmer, a kind and reliable neighbor, and 
a useful member of society. 

The early home of our subject was in Potsdam, 
St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., where his birth took place 
Dee. 21, 1829, at the home of his parents, William 
and Mary (Sherman) Ellis, who had located in that 
section soon after their marriage. The father of 
our subject was born in Springfield, Mass., and was 
the son of Ziba P^llis, who during his early man- 
hood followed the sea and made his home at New 
Bedford. He removed first from Massachusetts to 
Vermont and later to New York State, locating in 
St Lawrence County, where he spent the remainder 
of his life. He was one of the early settlers of that 
region and shared with his brother pioneers the 
hardships and difficulties of life in a new country. 
"William Ellis, the father of our subject, was a lad 
ten years of age wheii his parents removed to New 
York State. He was there reared to manhood, ob- 
taining a limited education, and married Miss Mary 
A. Sherman, a native of Hinesburg, Vt. They lo- 
cated on a farm near Potsdam, where they resided 
until 1854, then migrated to Michigan, and locating 

-^ — — 



in the village of Blissfield, there spent the remainder 
of their lives. The mother passed away July 18, 
1878, and the father Jan. 10, 1876. Carlton M. 
attended the common school, assisting in the labors 
of the farm as long as his parents continued resi- 
dents of the country, and after their removal to 
Blissfield he still continued under the home roof, 
but purchased a tract of land in Ogden Township. 
This, however, he never occupied, but sold a few 
years later and purciiased that which constitutes his 
present homestead. Upon this he has labored in- 
dustriously and with excellent results as we have 
already indicated. 

One of the most important steps in the life of 
our subject was his marriage with Miss Mary _Bur- 
nett, which took place at Petersburg, Monroe Co., 
Mich., Nov. 22, 1865. Mrs. Ellis was born in that 
part of Blissfield now included in Deerfield Town- 
ship, and is the daughter of Robert and Amelia 
(Pratt) Burnett, natives of Salem, Washington Co., 
N. Y. They came to Lenawee County in March, 
1835, and are now both deceased. (See sketch of 
her brothers, Edgar and John Burnett, for family 
history.) Mr. and Mrs. Ellis have one child, a 
daughter, Clara L., born Dec. 11, 1871. Our sub- 
ject is a decided Republican, politically, and his es- 
timable lady is a member in good standing of the 
Presbyterian Church. 

The paternal grandparents of Mrs. Ellis were 
born in Dumfriesshire, Scotland, her great-grand- 
father having been Thomas Burnett, who emigrated 
to America late in the eighteenth century and 
settled near Shaftsburj', Vt. His so'n James was 
born in Shaftsbury and removed to Salem, Wash- 
ington Co., N. Y., in 1800, where he purchased a 
tract of land known as the Hoy farm, which is still 
owned by his descendants; he met his death there 
five years later by an accident. His wife was in her 
girlliood Miss Jeanette Edgar. The father of Mrs. 
Ellis was reared to manhood in Washington County, 
where he was married in 1830, and lived until 1835, 
when he came to the Territory of Michigan, settling 
upon the present site of Deerfield. He purchased 
a tract of timber land and remained a resident of 
this county until his death. He changed property 
twice, finally locating on section 11, where he had 
a comfortable home, and died on the 6th of Febru- 



=^ 



I.ENAWEE COUNTY. 



591 



my, 18.56. The nioMior of i\Irs. Klli^. fmi, icily Miss 
Amelia Pratt, was born in \V;ishingt.<>ii County. N. 
Y., and died on the old hoineste.'id in I51issHeld 
Township, .Tan. IG. 1.S72. 

f-^ATHANIEL BALL. Aniony the yoiuii- 
jj men who came to the Territory of Michigan 
^ in the spring of 1833, was Jonatli.an Hall, 
the father of our subject, aud a native of Nevv 
York .State. He took up eighty acres of land on 
section 28, in Rollin Towii.-liip, and there p.-i>sed 
the remainder of his life, dying Dec. 1 «, l.sCO, 
when sixty-two years of age. The paternal grand- 
father of our subject, Nathaniel IJall. was a soldier 
in the Revolutionary War, and it was his hjt to 
suffer many- hardshi[)s and priv.-itious while in the 
service. lie spent his last years in New Voi-k. 
The mother of our subject was in her girlhood 
Miss Julia A. Tingley, a sister of Samuel and .Tohn 
H. Tingley, who arc represented elsewhere in this 
work. She passed away after the decease of iier 
husband, Dec. 31, 187.">, nt the .'ige of sixty -five 
years. 

Mr. Ball, of our sketrli, rontiiuieil a niember of 
his father's household until reaching liis majority. 
receiving a limited odueation in tlie district school, 
and becoming familiar \\ith farm pursuits. At this 
age he started out for himself and followed f;irm- 
ing and carpentering in Ionia County, this State. 
for a period of ton years. During thi> time he 
had purchased and soM three difTei'eiit fann^, and 
returning to Rollin Townsliip In- took up hi,- iT>i. 
dence on the old place and continued with his 
parents during their lifetime. After the death of 
his mother he purchased the interest of the other 
heirs in the property, and is still in [lossession of 
the original homestead. To this he added thirty 
acres by a subsequent pin-chase and also has a farm 
further south. His only brother. Willinm II.. is 
still a resident of Rollin Township. 

One of the most interesting and important events 
in the life of our subject was his rxiarriage, which 
was celebrated on the 1st of Februaiy, 18G(). his 
bride being Miss R. .1., daughter of James and 
Luvinia (Robison) Cummins. Mr. Cummins was 



a native of Orange County. N. Y.. and came to the 
vicinity of Ionia, Mich., in 1862. where he spent 
his last years, aud died when about seventy-six 
years of age; Mrs. Cummins died in New York 
State, Oct. 2,"), 1844. Mrs. Ball came to this State 
bef(jre the arrival of her father, in 1857. She was 
born in Lansing, N. Y., .Ian. 25, 1834, and w.as 
conse(piently but ten years of age at the time of 
her mother's death. (Jf the seven children com- 
[irising the p;irental household oidy three arc 
living. 

To our subject and his wife there were born live 
children, recorded as follow>: .Jonathan W. was 
born in Ionia County, l'"eb. 7, ISO.'), and is now a 
capable young man. and works the farm with his 
father; Luvinia was born Feb. 11. 1867, and eon- 
tiiuu'S at home with her jiarents; Martin T. was 
born .Inne 24. istis. and married Miss Dora, 
daughter of Roswell llennett,a well-known resident 
of Adrian Township, who is represented elsewhere 
in this Ali!U5i; he also is working at home with his 
father. Nellie was born Jan. 15, 1870, and on the 
18th of September, 18,S6, was married to Justin 
Curtis, who is engaged in farming near Cl.ayton, in 
Rome Township; he is the son of Robert Curtis, a 
well-to-do farmer of that township. Julia was 
born Nov. 20, 1S72, and died when three years of 

Mrs. F.all is a la,dv highly esteemed by her neigh- 
bors, and with her husband is a consistent member 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and an active 
worker in the Ladies' Missionary Society. Mr. 
Ball is a Reiiublii-aii in |i(ilitics and gives his sup- 
port to the cause of teinperance. The educational 
au!i religious institutions of this section have ever 
found in him a. steadfast and substantial friend. 

-yf LPHEUS J. ROBERTSON is an extensive 
l( 3/u| i land-owner and a prominent representative 
l/li: of the agricultural interests of Ogden Town- 
(g// ship. He was born in Preston County, W. 

^'a., Jan. 28, 1837, and was the second child of 
James and Elizabeth Robertson (for parental his- 
tory see sketch of George P. Robertson). He was 
but a few years old when his parents left their home 



1^ 



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592 



=L. 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



in Virginia and emigrated to Wayne County, Ohio. 
After living there a short time they removed to 
Medina County, in the same State, whence, after n 
short residence, they came to this State in tlie year 
1854, and located in Ogden Township, where tlie 
father bought a tract of heavily timbered land. 

In assisting his father in clearing this land and 
in its cultivation, Alpheus Robertson acquired a 
good practical knowledge of farming. From his 
worthy parents he inherited those habits of industry, 
which, combined with the principles of honesty and 
rectitude that they early instilled in his mind, have 
made him an honored and valuable citizen. Thus 
well fitted for a useful career, at the age of twenty- 
one he left the parental home to find work elsewhere, 
which, as he was industrious and capable, he had 
no difficulty in procuring. He worked first by the 
month, and later by the day or job. He saved his 
earnings as he was ambitious of possessing land of 
his own, and at twenty-two years of age he had 
quite a sum of money which he applied in the pur- 
chase of forty acres of timbered land on section 1 o 
of Ogden Township. The price of the land was 
1600, and he continued working out to complete 
the payment, devoting his spare lime to clearing 
and cultivating his land. 

On the 6th of May, 1866, Mr. Robertson was 
married to Julia Wilcox, who was born in Wash- 
tenaw County, Mich., March 16, 1846. Her grand- 
father, John Wilcox, removed from New York to 
Seneca Township, this county, and spent his last 
years here. Her father, A. P. Wilcox, was a na- 
tive of New York State, where he married and lived 
until the death of his wife, when he removed to 
Washtenaw County and became one of its pioneer 
settlers. He there married Statira Varnum, and 
removed with his familj' from Washtenaw County 
to Lenawee County in 1848, settling in Seneca 
Township. He bought eighty acres of land for 
which he paid $400, and first built a log house for 
iiimself and family. He had his farm well improved 
at the time of his death in June, 1886; his widow 
continues to reside on the homestead. 

After his marriage Mr. Robertson located on his 
land on section 15, Ogden Township, which he had 
nearly cleared, and had twenty acres of it under 
cultivation ; here he still continues to reside. In 



June, 1 864, lie had made a second puichase of eighty 
acres of timber land on section 16., paying $600 for 
it, and his next purchase was of forty acres on sec- 
tion 15, at the price of $500. In 1872 he bought 
another tract of land on section 15 for which he 
paid 1800, and in 1877 he bought still another 40- 
acre tract on section 15. He now has a valuable 
farm of 295 acres, 155 of which is under a good 
state of cultivation. Mr. Robertson may well he 
called a self-made man, as he owes his position to 
his adherence to the principles of rectitude acquired 
in youth, and to his energy and perseverance. His 
success in life is also in part due to the hearty co- 
operation of his wife, who is to him indeed a help- 
meet in every sense of the word. 

Mr. and Mrs. Robertson are giving their two 
sons, Eugene Herbert and Alonzo Edson, every 
opportunity for a good education; but it is at 
home where, by precept and example, they will 
learn from their excellent parents those lessons of 
wisdoni which will best fit them to be manly men 
and good citizens. In polities Mr. Robertson is a 
strong Republican, interesting himself in all that 
pertains to the advancement of the town or State. 



±^-fr^#H^^ 



^\A1'T. HENRY N. KING, a stair-builder. 
,|f ^_, wood-carver and office-fitter, is a resident of 
^^^-' Adrian, where he is conspicuous among men 
of his calling. Mr King is a native of Michigan, 
where he was born in Bridgewater, Washtenaw 
County, March 26, 1839. The father of our sub- 
ject is Rufus S. King, a native of New York, where 
he was born in the town of Augusta. In 1830 he 
was married, in Monroe County, that State, to Miss 
Mary E., daughter of Solomon Niciiols, Pisq. Af- 
ter marriage they came to Adrian Township, this 
county, and afterward returned to New York for a 
time, when they again came' to Michigan and lo- 
cated on a farm in Bridgewater, W.ashtennw County, 
where he still resides. 

The parental household included ten children, 
five sons and five daughters, of whom Henry is the 
second. He was educated in the old log school- 



r"^ 



.] 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



593 



house, vvitli common slabs for benches, and remained 
on the farm until he had attained his sixteenth 
year, when he left home and engaged to vvork as 
trackman on the Jackson Branch of the Lake Shore 
& Michigan Soutliern Rtiilroad. A1 the end of two 
years he went to Clintdii. whrw he learned the 
trade of a millwright, wliich inchidcd at that time 
pattern-making, as well .-is (■.■ir|ifiitcr and jciiiicr 
work. He then engaged iii Ini-incs- on lii> n\\i\ 
account in Kridgewnter. his transactions extending 
over three ov roiii- tmvn-,hi|i- in Washtenaw Conuty, 
and continued nntil the fall (if 18.5!», when he cn- 
^■aged in the business of tanning and curryinu in 
Freedom Center, in partnership with another man. 
In this he was unsuccessful, losing in a few months 
Sl,OI)i). whii'h was all he had accninnlat.Ml previ- 
ously. He then came to Adrian and engaged in 
work as a car|)enter and joiner until .hin<- 1."). ISC. 1, 
when he enlisted, and assisted in raising .-i ccin)|jany. 
Mr. King was assigned to Coni|)any F. -ITth (Jlii<j 
Infantry, and was made its First Lieutenant. They 
were first ordered to rendezvi>us at Camp Clay, 
removed thence to Camp Dennison, (Jhio, and 
in August, liSOl, they were ordered into the field 
in West Virginia, under (4en. Rosecrans, and 
took part in the following engagements: Cinss 
Lane, Sewell Mountain, Gaunley Bridge, Sumincis- 
ville, Louisville and Charleston, besides sevci.d 
smaller engagements. Mv. King next acted for >ix 
months as a scout, and had several skirmishes with 
the guerrillas. In ScpiendHT. I SC:.'. h," was in the 
celebrated retieat under ( ul. A. .1. Liglitlunn. 
which was a terrible niai'ch of six days .and nights 
without any halt and a ciintinuous fight during all 
the way. In January, 1 SG3, Henry N. King was pro- 
moted Captain, and in that rank he served out the 
remainder of four years. He fought at Arkansas 
Post, Bhick River Bridge, Clinton. R.-iynionii, 
Chickasaw Bluffs, and was engaged at I hi' si(i;e 
of Vicksburg from June, 1863, until its .sur- 
render, on the anniversary of the Decl.nation of 
Independence. In the general assault ni)(in L^pper 
Vicksbiug, June 22, iyt)3, Capt. Kuig lost one-half 
of his company, lacking one man. He afterward 
engaged in the battles of Mission Ridge and Ring- 
gold, Ga., and then marched to the relief of Knox- 
ville, Tenn., whence thej' were oi-dered to Larkins- 



ville, Ala., where he, with his regiment, was vet- 
eranized and received a furlough. 

On returning from his furlough Capt. King en- 
gaged in the battles of Buzzard's Roost. Resaca and 
Kennesaw Mountain, in the last of which he received 
the wound in his forehead, whi(^h was made by a 
hall glancing against his skull, which, however, it 
fortunately did not fracture. He was engaged in 
all the battles in and around Atlanta, and was in 
the celebrated march to the sea, and down as far as 
Andersonville. where he tendered his resignation, 
which was accepted: he had taken part in thirty- 
ilu-ee battles. He then made his way to the North, 
arriving in Adrian Nov. 8, I8G4, where he engaged 
in general building until 18G8, when he devoted his 
whole time to stair-building and wood-carving, locat- 
ing his shop at No. 14 Pearl street. During the busy 
season he emi)loys several hands, and finds ready 
sale for his vvork throughout the .States of Michi- 
gan and Ohio, and as far west as Omaha, Neb., jit 
which latter |)lace he executed the carved work on 

On the tth of Ai)ril, 18G4, while home on his 
v<>teran furlough, Capt. King was united in mar- 
ri.i^c with Miss Frances E. Bolles, of Chelsea, 
Washtenaw County, this State. She is the daugh- 
ter of Fiederick K. and Sarah A. Bolles, and has 
borne t.> her hnsb.'md three children— Fredie E., 
llany U. ami Florence C. Mr. King is a Repub- 
li(.;an in politics, and takes an active part in the 
election of the party ticket. He is a member of 
Adrian Lodge No. 19, Chapter No. Id, K. A. M., 
.■mda member of theO. A. R. 

iSTliS COOLEY, a New Yorker by birth 
and of New England ancestry, came to the 
Territory of Michigan in the spring of 1833, 
and took up ;i tr.-ict of C4overnment land on 
section 9, in Medina Township, where he has lived 
until the present time, in the me.-uitime e.stablishing 
one of the most desirable homesteads in this section 
of country. He has had an intimate .acquaintance 
with the various experiences of pioneer life, having 
come here at a time when he was obliged to cut his 
wa_\ through the forest, working upon one occasion 



-I 

w 



t 



594 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



from 8 o'clock in the morning until 4 P. M., in order 
to get from one-half mile north of where Morenci 
now stands to tlieir present home. The nearest 
mill was at the unpretentious hamlet of Adrian, and 
the method of transportation, an ox-team. Mr. 
Cooley hauled his wheat to Toledo in 1837, the 
round trip consuming tlu-ee daj's. and sold it at 
fifty or fifty-three cents per bushel. 

At that time neighbors were few and far between, 
and in working his farm Mr. Cooley was first 
obliged to level the trees, dig out the stumps, and 
go through a tedious process before tlie soil would 
yield anything (jf value to the hand of the hus- 
bandman. It would seem as if the early pioneers 
instinctively realized the importance of their un- 
dertaking to future generations, and the conviction 
must have given them hope and courage in their 
exhausting labors. We read of few who abandoned 
their first determination to subdue the soil of a new 
country or who gave up their efforts to establish a 
ho;r.e in the wilderness. Mr. Cooley' and his young 
family labored on without a tliought of turning 
back, and in due time began to rea|) their reward. 
In the spring of 1834, he started out with renewed 
courage, and each succeeding year the labor of sow- 
ing and reaping was lessened and the results more 
generous. In due time the log cabin was replaced 
by a commodious frame dwelling, and there grew 
up around this tlie other buildings required for the 
storage of grain and the shelter of stock. ■ The 
homestead is now complete with all those comforts 
and embellishments which tlie advance of education 
and tlie increase of iiopulation, with the other con- 
comitants of civilization, have rendered natural and 
necessary. 

The parents i>f our subject, Leonard and Irena 
Cooley, were born, reared and married in Massa- 
chusetts, and subsequently removed to Erie County, 
N. Y., whence they afterward came to Ann Arbor, 
this State, in 1842. Their family included four 
sons and two (huighters, two of whom are living. 
Justus, our subject, was the fourth child, and was 
born near Phelpstown, Ontario Co., N. Y., Feb. 1), 
1810. He continued at the farm with his father 
until his marriage, on the 4th of April, 1833. His 
bride, Miss Clarissa Baker, was born iu 1816, and 
was the daughter of Appolos and Lucy (Church) 



Baker, who were also natives of the Bay State and 
the father a farmer by occupation. INIr. and Mrs. 
Baker about four years after their marriage re- 
moved to Erie County, N. Y., where the death of 
the former took place in 1 823. The mother subse- 
quently made her home with her daughter, Mrs. 
Fila (Balcom) Murray, where she died in 1848. 
She was buried by the side of her husband in Or- 
leans, Ontario Co., N. Y. 

Mrs. Cooley completed her education in the 
common schools of Hopewell, N. Y., and continued 
with her mother until her man'iage. Two years 
later our subject and his wife came to this county 
and settled on their present farm. They became 
the parents of twelve children, namely: Marj^ Jane, 
William Henry, Orlando, Caroline, Sarah, Justus, 
Herman, Lucy I., Rensseker, Miles, Clara B. and 
James. Those deceased .are Orlando, Caroline, 
Sarah, RensseLaer and James. Mary Jane became 
the wife of Jason King, a well-to-do farmer of 
Gratiot Countj', this State; William Henry is un- 
married and at home with his parents ; Justus m.ar- 
ried Miss Eliza Stytes, and is farming in Gratiot 
County; Herman married Miss Alice Sullen, and is 
one of the prosperous farmers of Dakota; Lucy, 
Mrs. Alonzo Perry, resides with her husband on the 
old John Cooley farm; Miles married Miss Emma 
Wilson, and is farming in Beadle County, Dak.; 
Clara B. is the wife of Cliarles Ashley, of Medina 
Township. 

Mr. and iNlrs. Cooley attend the United Brethren 
Church, and our subject, polilicall3', supports the 
Democratic ticket. He has had little to do with 
public matters, and with the exception of serving 
as Constable, has devoted his time and attention to 
his farming interests. 

0" GDEN COLE, one of the leading cattle rais- 
1 ers of RoUin Township, deals largely in 
thoroughl)red registered Holstein stock, keep- 
ing upon his finely appointed farm a herd of from 
twenty to thirty head, and shipping principally to 
the States of Illinois, Missouri and Kansas. Many 
of these animals are for dairy purposes, and com- 
prise some of the finest blood of this kind of cattle 



Hh-* 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



395 



in the West. Mr. Cole takes pride in his stock 
operations and being ambitious to excel, is fully 
entitled to the enviable reputation which he has at- 
taineil. lie secured the first premium in tlic late 
Fat Stock Show at Chicago, and is in the habit of 
carrying off the blue riblions at the State and 
county fairs on butter. He is engaged largely in 
the dairj' business, shipping annually large quanti- 
ties of butter to Ciiicago. nhure be finds a ready 
market at a good price. 

Our subject is a native of this eounfy, and was 
born at the homestead of his father inRnlliu Town- 
ship. March 1(!. 1S44. His parents, Klmer an<l 
Lucretia (Smith) Cole, were natives of New York, 
the father a twin brother of Elvin C. Cole, a sketch 
of whom will be found elsewhere in this work in 
connection with the biograjjliy of Elvin I). Cole. The 
mother was born in Delaware County, Dec. 4, 
1812, and was the daughter of a New York fanner 
of modest means; slie taught school prior to her 
marriage. (Grandfather Sled served as a soldier in 
the Revolutionary War, and spent his last years in 
Connecticut. 

Young Cole attended first the district school and 
completed his studies in Raisin Yalley Seminary. 
From tills time he and his brother farmed the home 
place, his father having died when our sulijeet was 
about ten years old. When about twenty-eight 
years of age he went as brakeman on the Lake 
Shore * Michigan Southern L'ailroad. where he eou- 
tinued about two years and a half. He then re- 
turned and operated the home place, together with 
fifty -eigiit acres inherited from his father, for about 
three years, when he rented the old Hawkins |)lace, 
and remained tiiere six years, after which he again 
assumed the mnnagement of Ills fa tiler's old home 
place, and in connection witli his own land has since 
that time cultivated the soil anil carried on his 
stock operations with unqualKied success. 

Mr. Ogden Cole, for his wife, selected one of the 
most estimable ^-ouiig ladies of his native (owuslii(i. 
Miss Hannah H. Hawkins, to whom he was ni;uried 
at the home of the bride, Oct. 10, 1863. .Mr.s. Cole 
is the daughter of John R. and Hannah T. (Hay- 
ward) Hawkins, and was born at the old homestead 
of her father, in Rollin Township, May 14, 1845. 
Mr. Hawkins was born in Oxford, England, and 



came to this county at a very earl}' day, taking up 
a tract of Government land in 1834, from which 
he built up a good farm and became one of the im- 
portant men of the county. The Hawkins family 
were prominent in Engl.and, where they were largely 
represented, although having but one boy in two 
generations. One of BIrs. Cole's great-aunts was 
the mother of twenty-two children. They were 
people mostly devoted to agricultural pursuits, and 
almost without exception the possessors of good 
property. 

After their marriage .Mr. and Mrs. Cole settled 
uiion the farm where they now reside. They are 
the parents of three children: Elmer E., who was 
born April 9, 1865, and completed his education in 
t!ie .schools of Hudson; he is now teaching in Wood- 
stock Township, and drives back and forth five miles 
each morning and night. Rosa A., who was born 
Aug. 22, 1870, and makes her home with her par- 
ents, is iiursuiiig her studies in the school at Addi- 
son ; Miua E. was boi'ii March 6, 1883, and was 
the first child born in (irandfather Hawkins' stone 
house. Mrs. Cole was graduated at Raisin Valley 
SiMiiiuaiy. and is warmly interested in the temper- 
ance work and is an active member of the W. C. 
T. I. Mr. Cole, politicaUy, voted with the Re- 
publi('aii parly before the agitation of the temper- 
ance question, but now su|)ports the Prohibition- 
ists. The famil}' have been deeply religious as far 
back as the record is preserved, being mostly ad- 
lierents of the Baptist Church. 



J 



>=f=f=ES- 



., ILLIAM L. ROGEUS. one of the moving 

\m/ ^l'"''''^ '" '■''^' '">il''i"g "P "f Adrian Town- 
V^ slii|), occupies a good farm on section 19, 
and is regarded as one of the most important mem- 
bers of the community. He has been public spir- 
ited and liberal, and since the time of first coming 
here, has taken a warm interest in his adopted 
county. He is a native of Caj'uga County, N. Y., 
where his birth took place May 2, 1816. His father. 
Clai'k Rogers, and his paternal grandfather were 
also natives of the Empire State, and the family was 
widely and favorably known thi-oughout Cayuga 

A^ 



596 



4 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



County. Clark Rogers, for a period of forty years 
followed farming and blaeksmitiiing, and spent his 
entire life in his native county. 

The mother of our subject, who in lier girlhood 
was Miss "Waty Niles, was born in the same county 
as her husband, and died there wiien about fifty 
years of age. They reared a family of eight chil- 
dren, of whom but two are living: William L., our 
subject, and his brother John, who is a resident of 
Elkhart, Ind. William L. remained under the home 
roof until twenty-two years of age. during which 
time he had learned blacksmithing of his father. 
He followed this afterward in his native county un- 
til iy39, then came to Michigan and purchased 
forty-five acres of land in Rome Township, this 
county. He at once commenced the improvement 
of his purchase, while at the same time he carried 
on his trade for a period of twelve years; then sell- 
ing out, he purchased ninety-one acres, which con- 
stitutes his present homestead. It is hardly neces- 
sary to say that there was a wide contrast between 
its present condition and that of to-day. The land 
had been very little cultivated, and there were no 
improvements worth mentioning. 

After the purchase of his land, and having made 
his arrangements for the establishment of a perma- 
nent home, Mr. Rogers, in 1840, was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Susan, daughter of Cornelius and 
Sallie (Dickson) Scott, the former of New York j 
State. Mr. and Mrs. Scott came to Michigan in | 
the pioneer days, and localed on a tract of land in j 
Rome Township, where they spent the remainder of ' 
their lives, laboring after tlie fashion of the people 
of those days to build up a home, and meeting with 
success. Mr. and Mrs. Scott became the parents of I 
eight children, and departed this life in the spring I 
of 1871, when fifty years of age. Mrs. S. ac- 
quitted herself in the most praiseworthy manner as a 
wife and mother, and her death was mourned by a I 
large circle of friends and acquaintances. Mr. ! 
Rogers' eldest daughter, Jeanette, died in 1864, | 
when about eighteen j'ears of age; Lauretta is the ' 
wife of John Anderson, of Ohio; Clark left home 
when a young man, and for fifteen years has been 
"paddling his own canoe;" Louis C. is a resident 
(if New York State, and has a wife and child; ' 
Pearley E. married W. Chambers, who is now de- 1 



ceased ; she is the mother of two children. Hattie, 
Mrs. Charles Chambers, is a resident of Jackson, 
and the mother of one child ; Niles operates the 
home farm : Bell married John Hawley, who is farm- 
ing with Mr. Rogers on shares; they have three 
children. 

Mr. Rogers, for his second wife, married Miss 
Sallie, daughter of Isaac Dickson, who died at the 
homestead in Adrian Township, Sept. .'50, 1882, 
when about fifty years of age. Mr. Rogers isDem- 
<)c:ratic in politics, and has held nearly all the local 
offices of his township, officiating as School Director 
for fifteen years, .and still holding the office. He 
has always been interested in the establishment of 
educational and religious institutions, and has con- 
tributed to the building of two or three churches. 
He was reared in the doctrines of the Methodist 
faith, to which he still adheres. Although perhaps 
not the hero of any thrilling event, he has acquitted 
hiniself as an honest man and a good citizen, and 
receives his reward in the esteem and confidence of 
his fellow-citizens. 



=^r' ARON J. PALi\IER, manufacturer and re- 
1^ 3 /u I , tail dealer of furniture and chairs, in Te- 

jjl (8 cum.seh, Mich., is an energetic and wide- 
^^ awake citizen, greatly aiding the business 

interests of the cit}'. Mr. Palmer was born in 
Greene County, N. Y.. in the town of Hunter, 
Oct. 7, 1830. His father. Aaron P.almer. was bom 
in Pittsfield, Mass., in the latter part of the eight- 
eenth century. He served as a soldier in the 
War of 1812. receiving for his services 100 acres of 
lan.i. 

Aaron Palmer married Jane Terwilleyei-. who was 
born in a town on the Hudson, in Ulster County, 
N. Y.. and after that event they settled on a f.arni 
in Greene County, N. Y. The land was heavily 
timbered, and a complete wilderness, and at the 
time, bears, wolves, deer, and other wild aninitils 
were quite plentiful in that locality. On this farm 
they remained many years, finally selling and mov- 
ing nearer the village of Hunter, where Mrs. Palmer 
died in 18.53. She was the mother of two children: 
Harriet E., the wife of A. E. Morgan, who is resid- 



■^►Hl-^ 



<^ 



L. 



LENAWEK COUNTY. 



597 



ing at Poughkeepsie, N. Y.. and our subject. 
After the death of liis wife, .Mr. Pahner caine to 
Michigan and spent his closing days witli iiis son. 

The subject of our siictch received his education 
in the town of Hunter, attending the common 
schools, and supplementing it witii a course at a 
select .school. He had a natural aptitude for me- 
chanics, •■ind in (.nh'r tli;il this gift might become of 
practical bvuelil t(i liim. lie was apprenticed to the 
firm of (Gilbert & 'riemain, to learn the cabinet- 
maker's trade. He remained with them until tlun' 
failed in Inisiness. after which he went to Puugh- 
keepsie, where he reniMincil (piitr a, time «ith his 
sister. Deciding that he conhl work at his trade 
more advantageously farther West, he started for 
Cincinnati, but meeting a friend on his route, he was 
persuaded to accomp;iny him to Bedford, a town 
near Cleveland. Ohio. At that place he entere.l 
into a paitnershi]) with Culver.^- Kiev, and com- 
menced manufacturing cottage bedsteads, institut- 
ing the first factorj' of the kind in the .State of 
Ohio, no other being established for six years, 'i'lie 
partnership lasted about two years, and after its 
dissolution he reiiiaine<l in l>edlor(i, worUing at his 
trade for other parties. In tiie spring of 1S.')9 I\Ir. 
Palmer concluded to try his fortunes in Michigan. 
He came to Parma, near Jackson, and finding it a 
desirable location, he established a fact oi-\' for mak- 
ing chairs and furnitiu-e, but after ifmaining there 
some years, he removed to Tecnmseh, and found 
employment in the nnichine-shop of H. Brewer, 
with whom he remained al)out ten years. Ju I<s7(; 
he bnilt his present business house and facloi\-. 
which is of brick. 30x(i() feet in size, .-md tlircc^ -toiii's 
in height. For the first three years .Mr. I'almcr 
manufactured chairs almost exclusively, ;uid sold 
them at wholesale, but at the expii-ation of tliat 
time added the manufacture of other fuiniLure, and 
engaged in a retail trade. For many years lie gave 
employment to a number of men. 

Previous to his removal from Ohio, Mr. I'almer 
formed a matrimonial alliance with Caroline Marks, 
ndio was born near Cleveland, in that State. They 
became the parents of four children, as follows: 
Frances W., who is the wife of Henry .Jacobs; 
Aaron, deceased ; Orlando and Caroline. 

In politics, Mr. Palmer is a Democrat, with con- 



servative views, and, although he has no aspirations 
for public olflce, feels it the duty of every man to 
regard his elective franchise with pcculi.'ir lioiioi-. 
He is a gentleman of good financial -tuiidiiig, and 
his integrity and fair dealing arc with.nil question. 



r^^KNRY W. HOWD. a son of one of the 
r jli earl}' [lioneers of RoUiu Township, has spent 
-^^ the greater part of his life in this section of 

energetic and ciitcr|iiisiiig men. Of laU- years lie 
has been dealing in fine horses, piiiicip;illy trottei>. 
and lias also given much attention to slicep-i:iisiiig, 
having at one time about !)(»() licid. This l:itter 

operations in horses, his extensive de:iliiigs in wool 
and his lo.an business. It is safe ti> s.'iy lliat he 
handles the best breeds of horses to lie found in 
Lenawee County, and is in the habit of cMiryingotT 
the blue ribbon at. county fairs. At the head of 
his staiiles is .-i valuable live-yc:ir-oid. -l),,!, Uoths- 

I child," which is v.-ilued .at ijiilOO, and trotted his mile 

I in L':i;'. when four years old. Mr. llowd is located 
on a, fine farm, the property of his mother, with 

! whom he lives, on section ;!:'. iu Rollin Township. 
It i> .-1 line illustration of the mo.lel country home: 

I tli(! residence is attractive in its surroundings, and 
tlie barns and other out-buildiugs are admirably 

j .adapted to the pin-iioses of stock-raising after the 

I st :ipproved methods. 

.Mr, Ilowd is the .scion of an excellent old family, 
and was boni in liollin Township on the .Sth of 
IMay, IKf.s. His paicnts. H.arvey B, and Betsey E, 
(Pitcher) Ilowd, were natives of New York .State. 
His lather ivas horn .Innell, ISlC, and in c:irly 
life operated iu the milling business, but he after- 
ward turned his attention to carpentering in con- 
nection with agri(ailtural pursuits. He came to 
Michigan during the early settlement of Lenawee 
County, and w:is at once recognized :is :i libi-ral- 
miuded aii<l pnblicspirited citizen, willing t.(i do 
his part toward the building up of the county and 
sustaining those enterprises set on foot for the ad- 
vancement of the people. He held the various i 



■•► 



•► 



59S 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



township offices and was Postmaster of RoUiii for 
eight or ten years before the late war. He also 
served as Justice of the Peace, and in his public as 
well as his private life, labored faithfully and con- 
scientiously as one bnilding up a record which would 
in all probability be given to the future, and of 
which he desired his children should never be 
asiiamed. In the family circle he was kind and 
indulgent as a husband and father, and lives in the 
memory of his children as a model of manly integ- 
rit3'^ and worth. Mrs. Betsey E. Ilowd, the mother 
of onr subject, was born in Arcadia, Wayne Co., N. 
Y., Jan. 26, 1821. She came with her parents to 
the West, and was married to Harvey Howd Feb. 
19, 1844. His death took place at the homestead 
March 28, 1875, when he was about flfty-nine ja^ars 
of age. The household included four ciiildren, who 
are named as follows: Amelia, Henry W., Helen 
I. and Harvey. 

Henry W. continued under the home roof until 
reaching his majority, at an early age evincing un- 
common business talent, and then starting out for 
himself he engaged as a dealer in livestock, bu3'ing 
cattle and sheep which he at first drove to Toledo. 
A year later he commenced selling to parties who 
shipped stock to Buffalo, and added to his transac- 
tions the purchase and sale of fine horses. To 
these latter he gave his entire attention after a few 
years, and no man takes more pride in his stables 
or seeks more industriously to keep himself in- 
formed upon all matters regarding tliis noble 
industry. Although ctmiparatively young in years, 
he has alreadj' attained an enviable reputation as a 
breeder, and the future will probably develop still 
greater results from his labors. 



f'^f LVIN I). lilCE. Among the ohi |)ioneers 
@/lJI of this county and prominent business 
jljm men of the present time, is to be found 
1^' the gentleman whose n.ame heads this 

sketch. Coming to this county as early as I84o, 
he has been an important factor in building up the 
county and developing its resources. Madison 
County, N. Y., was the pl.ace of Mr. Rice's birth, 
which occurred on the 21st of May, 1825. He is 



the son of Joseph and a grandson of a gentleman 
by the same name who was a native of the State 
of Jlassachusetts, where he passed all his days and 
died. 

Joseph Rice, Jr., was born May 6, 1780, in Con- 
way, Mass., where he was reared to manhood and 
learned the trade of blacksmith. He continued 
there until his m.arriage with Miss Mary Bushnell, 
which took place in 1802, and soon after.ward leav- 
ing the Bay State, he took up his residence in Madi- 
son County, N. Y., where he occupied himself at 
his trade until 1845. During that year he east his 
lot with the pioneers of Southern Michigan, locat- 
ing in Medina, this county, where he spent the 
remainder of his days, his death taking place on 
tiic 5th of May, 1864. Tlie family of Joseph Rice 
consisted of four sons. Joseph, John, Nelson and 
Alvin, and two daughters, Mary and Eliza, who 
survived him; and Denon, Caroline, Hor.ace and 
Phoebe, who had passed away before tlie death of 
their father. 

The grandfather of our subject had a twin brother, 
]5enjamin, and one of them was drafted into the 
Continental army. As both were heads of families 
they agreed to serve alternately, and while one car- 
ried the musket the other remained at home and 
looked after their domestic interests. They par- 
ticip.ated in numerous battles, and one of them 
fought at Bunker Hill. The Rice family is of 
English ancestry, the great-grandfather of our sub- 
ject having crossed the Atlantic iu the Colonial 
days, and he was the father of four sons. During 
the French and Indian War two little brothers of 
Joseph Rice, Sr., while at pKay in a corn-field were 
captured by the Indians, with whom they lived un- 
til reaching manhood, and were then made chiefs 
of their respective tribes. Subsequently they re- 
turned to the parental home in Conway, Mass., but 
only to visit, utterl}' refusing to resume civilized 
life. The mother of our subject was the daughter 
of John and Mary Burnett, of Chesterfield, Mass., 
and was born there in 1782. She was married when 
twenty _years of age, and coming to tiiis county 
with her husband, died at Medina in the winter of 

Lseo. 

Apollos Drown, father of Mrs. Rice of our sketch, 
was born in Victor, Ontario Co., N. Y„ Sept. 29, 



Hh-^ 



-<^ 



u 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



500 



1S02. Tliere also he was reared to trianhood, and 
was married, Deo. 24, 1824, to Miss LydiaB. Eaton. 
of Canandaigua, N. Y. j\li'. Drown and his fatlier- 
in-Iaw, Capt. Eaton, spent the winter of 1827 in 
the wilderness of JMiohigan, on land aheady pur- 
chased by them near the preMMil, site of tlie viilngc 
of Tccumseh. Mr. Dro ami returned East the next 
year, where he remained until the spring of |8-ii), 
tlien witli his wife and tlieir three little chililren. 
started for their new lionie. The}' made their way 
from Buffalo to Detroit in a schooner, liaving a 
rough passage. From the City of Straits tlieli- 
household goods were hauled hy ox-teanis a dist:iuce 
of nearly seventy -five miles. 

Apollos Drown was for many years Captain of 
Militia, and it is believed was the first to receive 
that commission from Gen. Cass. lie took ui) his 
residence in Medina Townsiiip a few years Ix^fore 
his death, but eventually located in the city of 
Adrian, where he died from paralysis on the Itli of 
March, 1875. lie was the son of Samuel Drown, 
who married Cynthia Turner, and he married L^'dia. 
tile daughter of James and M.ary (Brocklebanlc) 
Eaton, who wiis born in \'ermont, July 23, 171)!). 
The great-grandfather of Mrs. Drown was an otHcer 
in the Kcvolutionary War, and lier father mentioned 
as the proudest recollection of his life t,he fact of 
having seen the ConiHiaiuler-iii-Chief of (lie Ameri- 
can army. When Mrs. Diown was tlirrc years old 
her parents removed to Ontario ('ounty. N. '^'.. 
where she lived until her marriage in 1 sl' I. .hinies 
Eaton was the son of David Eaton, a lilacksinilh ly 
trade, who married Miss Eleanor (Irincnt. I)a\'id 
had three brothers, Samuel, .loscpli .-iiid .lonatlian. 
and the first mentioned entered the Kevolnliouaiy 
array at the age of sixteen years. Mr. Drown and 
his family when on their way to Michigan stai<l 
over night in Detroit with Gen. Cass, who then re- 
sided in a log house. 

Alvin D. Rice i-emained at home wilh lli^ p:irciits. 
and after receiving a common-scho(.l eclucMlion. 
took up hisfather's trade of a blacksinitli. In 18t2. 
at the age of seventeen years Ik; came to Michigan 
with his brother Horace, looking up a [jlace foi' tlie 
family to settle. Locating in Medina Township, 
he worked at his trade for his bi'other about one 
year, and then opened a shop on his own account, 



which he conducted twenty-three years; then sell- 
ing out his property there, he removed to Rome 
Township and purchased some twenty acres of 
ground, on which he put up a blacksmith-shoi). In 
<• iinection with this business he tille.l liis little 
piece of Inml and was lliii> occiiitied until 18S2. 
when lic! erected the fruit evaporating works and 
practically quit blacksmithing. His object in found- 
ing this establishment was to utilize the abundance 
of fruit grown in this vicinity. 

On the :id of .hily, ISIS, Mr. Rice was united in 
marriage with Mi.ss Jane, daughter of Apollos and 
Lydia (Eaton) Drowii. The latter was a native of 
New York, of Now England parentage, and had 
come to this county as early as 1829. They first 
located in Teciiiii-.ch. liiit later removed to Adrian, 
where Mr. Di'own died at the age of seventy-two, 
His wife survived him some six j'cars and was 
called home at the ripe age of eight}' 3'ears. 
iMr. I)r<nvii cleared three large farms, two in 
this county and one in Medina County. Mrs. 
Hicf w;is born in this county. May 28, I 8;;i . She 
is 111.' niolhc'ror seven children, three of whom died 
in iiifaiiey. Th.isc- living are Luey M.. who was 
born Aug. 10, IS.-,L',and inarried CHiarles I). Sickles; 
she is now :,. widow and teaches sc1i,m,1 In the 
city of Adrian. Delo- K. was born Jan. 17, 18;')5, 
married .Miss .\iney Everett, and is residing at Au- 
rora. 111.: Irviu A. was born Aug. 12, 18.57, mar- 
ried ()li\e I'.-iisons. and is engaged in the commis- 
>ion biisiiie,'<> in the Kinllo liuildiiig at Chicago. 
111.: he iiiake> a >peeialty of handling fruit, 
whieli his father prepares b,r market by evaporati.m. 

Company. 'I'he youngest .-on, Oscar X., w.as born 
Nov. 2. IS(W;, and is a memlu'r of the lirm of Uiee 
cfe Son at the present time; he was formerly con- 
nected with the educational system of this county. 
In ixilitics Mr. Rice is a Republican. 



AYTON I'AREER. M. IJ., of Illis>field, 
was horn in Dundee Township. .Monroe 
(^Jf^ C<... iMicli.. on the 17th of January, 1S4(;, 
and is the .stm of Morgan Parker, who 
was burn in Oneida County, N. Y., on tlie 1st of 
January, 1820. The grandfather was Joshua Parker, 



600 



LENAWEE COUNTY, 



of English ancestry, and was born in Hollingsforil, 
Vt., but removed to Oneida in the very early set- 
tlement of that county. He entered land and lived 
in that county until 1825, and then, by the way of 
the Erie Canal, Buffalo, and the Lakes, he came to 
the Territory of Michigan, disembai-king from the 
vessels in canoes, and then, with ox -teams, travel- 
ing overland to Dundee, wiiere he was a pioneer 
settler. He entered a tract of Government land 
which was heavily timbered, and cut out a farm in 
the midst of the wilderness, upon wliich he resided 
until his death. 

Morgan Parker, the father of the subject of tliis 
sketch, vvas but five years of age when lie accom- 
panied his parents to Michigan. Me was reared in 
Monroe Count}-, and made that his home until his 
death. He was ambitious, wide-awake and en- 
terprising by nature, and before he was twent}'- 
one years of age took a contract from Senator 
Christiancy to construct a mill race at the mouth 
of the Macon River. Subsequently he engaged 
in the manufacture of lumber at Petersburg, and 
was still in that business wiien the war between the 
North and the South began. Having always been 
an Abolitionist, and a deadly enemy to the institu- 
tion of slavery, he felt it his duty, when hostilities 
began, to support the Union cause in every con- 
ceivable manner, and very early in the war he 
abandoned his business and enlisted in Company F, 
of the 1st Michigan Regiment of Engineers and 
Mechanics, entering the company with the rank of 
First Sergeant. After raising 300 men for this reg- 
iment, he was offered a Captain's commission in tlie 
15th Michigan Infantry, but he declined this honor, 
as he had promised the men whom lie iiad enlisted 
to go with them. He died at Louisville, on the 
4th of April, 1862, of typhoid fever, and his re- 
mains were brought home and laid to rest in Dun- 
dee Cemetery. 

Dr. Parker's fathei- vvas a very i)opular man with 
all who enjoyed his acquaintance. His facilities for 
obtaining an education vvere very limited, l)Ut his 
natural ability was very great, and by extensive 
reading lie stored his mind with usc^ful and valua- 
ble knowledge. For many years he was a corres- 
pondent of the Detroit Tribune, iiud in that capacity 
displayed much literary ability. He never formed 

-^ 



any connection with religious denominations, but 
he was a thoroughh' upright and strictly honest 
man. accepting the Golden Rule as his creed. His 
sentiments were very appropriately expressed in the 
following, which he often repeated : 

•■ Teiicli nie to feel another" ,< woe. 

To hide the faults I see: 

AVtiat mercy 1 to others show. 

'I'liat mercy show to me." 

He was a man who was thoroughly sincere in 
eveiy act of his life, and his death in the service of 
the Government shows that he willingly gave his 
life for the principles he had always espoused. 

The maiden name of Dr. Parker's mother was 
Rosetta C. Breningstall, who was born in Oneida 
County, N. Y., and was the daughter of Abraham 
and Mary Ann Breningstall, who were pioneers 
of Oneida County, and settlers of Mtmroe County, 
in 1836. She died on the 15th of September, 1881, 
in the fifty -seventh year of her age, and was laid to 
rest by her children, to whom she had acted the 
Ijart of father and mother so long and so well. 
Tlieyhad five children, recorded as follows: Bur- 
ton lives in Monroe; Dayton is the subject of this 
sketch; Dwight lives in Petersburg; Ellen, the wife 
of G. R. Brown, and Frances, of Perry Closser, 
both live in Petersburg. 

Da3'ton Parker was the second son in the family, 
and assisted his father in the mills in the summer, 
while during winter he attended school, until the 
ye.ar 1864, when, on the 4th of January, he enlisted 
in Company K, 6th Michigan Heavy Artillery, and 
joined that command at Port Hudson, La. He re- 
mained in the service until the close of the war, 
Iieing mustered out with his regiment at New Or- 
leans on the 20th of August, 1865, when he re- 
turned to Petersburg. After his return from the 
army he worked in the sawmill during the day, and 
at night and during any spare time he had, he 
studied medicine, and later became a student under 
Dr. J. J. Littlefield. After progressing far enough 
in his studies to enter college, he attended lectures 
at Ann Arbor, in the class of 1872-73, and then 
located in Ogden Centre, where he began the prac- 
tice of medicine. In 1875 and 1876 he attended 
tlie Detroit Medical College, from which he was 
givaduated in the class of '76. After graduating he 

■» 



-^^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY, 



fiOl 



came to Blissfield and entered into partiicisliii) wiih 
Dr. Hal. C. Wyman, with whom lie remained until 
1879, since which time he Ii.is eont-iniicd in pi.-icl ice 
with gratifying success. 

On tlie l.sth of November, IHC.O. Dr. I'mki-r u.is 
m;uMie<l to Emily C. Hancock, who u:is luini m 
Utica, N. Y., and was the daugiitcr <A' .lolm ;iiid 
Charlotte C. (Laphan) Hancock. Siic dii'd mi the 
10th of January, 1873, at Ann Arhor. On (he IC.lh 
of March, 1874, Dr. Parker w.ms .-i second linn- ni.-ir- 
ried, to Ida E. Coggswell, who was Imhh in Pal- 
myra, Wayne Co., N. Y., and is the dauglil.er c.f 
R. S. and Lydia P. (Stretch) Coggswell. This union 
has been blessed with five children — Bertha E.. 15ui-- 
ton D., Brace Morgan, Alma E. and ISeatric.'. 

Dr. Parker takes a leading p.-irt in all soiictiis 
and organizations with which he is I'onncctcd. He 
is a Comrade of Scott Post, ('• . A. K.. oT \vliii-li he 
was the first Commander, lie is a mcnilicr ut' 
Blissfield Lodge No. 114, A. K. ^V A. .^L: of Deer- 
field Lodge, I. O. O. F.; is the Chairman of the Vil- 
lage School Board, was President of the N'illaiic 
Council for two years, and was one of fhc oiii;iiial 
members of the Adrian Pension r>oar<l. In poli- 
tics he is a Republican, and takes an active part in 
the campaigns carried on by that parly. 



ESSE B. ODELL 



resident of secti 



J Fairfield Township, where he is engaged in 
farming and also in operating a sawmill, wliich 
he built on his farm, in (;onipany with his 
brother, Silas J. Odell. Mr. Odell's parents were 
Silas and Mary (Comfort) Odell, natives of Orange 
County, N. Y., whence they removed to Bradford 
County, Pa., and later came to Michigan, settling 
in Livingston County, where the father died abcmt 
1867. The mother aftei'ward came to Lenawee 
County, and died in Fairfield Township in 1K7;"). 
They were the parents of thirteen children, lour of 
whom died young; si.x girls and three boys lived to 
maturity. 

Our subject was the sixth cliild in the family, and 
was born in Orange County, N. Y., March 9, 1824. 
He was reared on a farm and removed with his 
parents to Pennsylvania, where he lived until 185G, 



when he came with his wife nn<l three children to 
Michigan and settled on his present farm in this 
coMnty. Prior to 18G7 he gave his attention ex- 
elusivel\ to agricultural )iursuits. 

Mr. Odell was niairicd in Tioga County, Pa., 
.luly :!. LSI,-,, to Polly A., daughter of Zeiuis and 
Klizalicth (Daniels) Rolicils. natives of Massachu- 
setts. Their death orcurred iu Tioga County. Pa., 
where they had removed. They became the parents 
(if eight cliildren. who i^rew np to man and wonian- 
h<M,.l, f.Mir hoys and four girls. Mrs. Odell was the 
.seventh cliild in onlei' ,,( Inrth, and was born iu 
Berk.shire Counly. Mass., March 7. ISlM. Our 
subject and his wite liceanie tlie parents of three 
(■hildren^Saiah K.. Ilanuah L. and Cornelia K. 
Sarah I',, is the wi.low of .lames Carpenter, who 
died in Kairlield Township in IS72; Hannah L. is 
the wile of (leorgc C. Brown, of the same township; 
Cornelia U. was the wife of Mr. Pentecost, and died 
June 21. ISS7. Mi'. Odell has been Highvv.ay Com- 
missioner over three years, and is a member of 
Kairlield Lodge No. 2(;9, I. O. O. F. Li politics 
lie is a Democrat. 

Silas .1. Odell, brother of our subject, was born in 
C:ii<'inun^ County, N. V., Dee. 14, 1828, and eame 
to this eouiily iu l.S;"i:;. of which he has been a resi- 
dent, iu Kairlield Township, since that time. He 
owns and operates the taiin and sawmill in connec- 
tion with his brother, .lesse I!. lie is also a member 
of Fairfield Lodge .No. 2(;".i,anil Lenawee Encamp- 
ment No. I. iu which he ha- held all the elective 
otHces. 



me ..t the .self-m.ade 
luut}. has a finely ap- 
pointed farm on section 27, in Woodstock 
in^ Township, which he acquired by his own 

industrj' and prudence, basing commenced humbly 
in life and conipai'atively without means. His early 
iiomc wa^ in Lu/.erne County, Pa., where his birth 
took place Oct. 17. 1 S.j2. His parents, Zaehariah 
and Margaret (Drake) Bedell, were natives of New 
Jersey. The father died in this county, while the 
mother lives on the old homestead, section 25, 
Woodstock Township. Of the family a further his- 




r 



■•► 



ha\ 



4 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



tory raay be found in the sketch o)' Lewis Bedell, 
contaiued in this volume. 

Our subject continued at home until eijyhtoen 
years of age, working on ths farm and receiving a 
limited education in the district school. At the 
expiration of this time he commeuced operating his 
father's farm on shares, and after two or three re- 
movals, purchased the Richards farm in Woodstock 
Township, which has been his home since the spring 
of 1877. He has now seventy acres under a fine 
state of cultivation, with handsome and substantial 
buildings. The residence was put up in 1882, and 
the main barn in 1885, and there are few better 
buildings in the township than those erected bj" our 
subject. He carries on general agriculture and en- 
joys each year a comfortable income from his till- 
age of the soil. 

Mr. Bedell was married, Dec. 31, 1874, to 
Miss Betsey B. Wheaton, a native of this township, 
and born Nov. 3, 1853. She is the daughter of 
Peter M. and Loretta S. (Sanford) Wheaton, na- 
tives of New York State, and earl3' pioneers of Len- 
awee County (for family history, see sketch of 
Mrs. Loretta Wheaton.) The family includes three 
children only: Bertha R., who was born in Wood- 
stock Township, April 22, 1876, and is attending 
the district school; James M., who was born Sept. 
14, 1880. and a baby boy, Oct. 29, 1887, named 
Milfred A. 

Mr. Bedell cast his first Presidential vote for Til- 
den, and since that time has supported the princi- 
ples of the Democracy. His reputation is that of 
an honest man and a good citizen, the friend of 
honesty and sobrietj', and one intelligently inter- 
ested in the welfare of the people around him. He 
takes a pardonable pride in the result of his long- 
continued labor, and each year adds something to 
the beauty and value of his farm. 

eHARLES W. STOCUM, M. D. This gentle- 
man deserves credit for the reputation he 
has secured as a physician and surgeon 
among the people whom he serves. As a physician 
he is a patient, constant and sympathetic, yet in the 
■^^ ^ 



hour of extremity he is cool, calm and courageous, 
inspiring the sick and distressed with feelings of 
confidence in times of suffering. Amid all his toil 
he still finds time for the study of his profession, 

! keeping himself well abreast with the practical de- 
tails and the modern discoveries in medicine. Such 
a mind as his, stored as it is, and the genial disposi- 
tion .ind temperament which it is his fortune to pos- 

, sess, are sure to yield success as their fruit. He is 

! the oldest practitioner in MoriMici, having come to 
this town in June, 1855. 

Charles W. Stocum was born in Delaware County, 
N. Y., April 3, 1834, and is the son of Caleb and 

I Elizabeth .(Wilbur) Stocum. The father was a tai- 
lor by trade, but during the later years of his life 
engaged in farming. He removed with his family 
to Lenawee County in 1837, having come alone in 
183G to see the country and dctoi-mine on a loca- 
tion. He settled in Adrian Township, where he 
made his home until the time of his death, with the 
exception of two years spent in Branch County, 
this State, where he owned a large tract of land. 
The mother survived her husband eleven years, dj- 
ing in Adrian Township in 1862. Of their union 
there were born seven children, fourboj's and three 
girls, of whom our subject was the sixth in order 
of birth, and was quite a small boy when he came 
with his parents to this county. 

Our .subject was reared on a farm, receiving his 
edu(^ation in the common schools until about 
eighteen years of age, when he began the study of 
medicine with Dr. John Bender, of Adrian, with 
whom he studied two years and eight months. He 
then attended a second course of lectures at the 
Eclectic Medical College at Cincinnati, Ohio, where 
he was graduated in the spring of 1 855 and received 
his diploma. The following June he came to Mo- 
reuci, where he has since been extensively engaged 
in the practice of his profession. 

Dr. Stocum was married in Seneca Township, in 
April, 1 860, to Miss Mercy, a daughter of Samuel 
D. Baldwin, who was a native of Massachusetts, 
and is now deceased. Dr. and Mrs. Stocum became 
the parents of four children, named as follows: 
Addie L., Mary E., Fanny O. and Katie E. Addie L. 
is the wife of Winfield Scott, and resides in Mo- 
renci ; Fannj' was drowned in Bean Creek when 



i-N 



*} 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



eleven year? of age, and Katie died at the age of 
fourteen months. Dr. Stociim has been so l)ii?^iiy 
engaged in the duties of his i)rofession tiiat he lias 
had little time to devote to political matters; he, 
however, gives his support to the Rc|)iiiili'-Mn pmiy. 

OBERT E. BURNETT, .Ik., <<{ Deorlidd 
Township, was liorii at, the faiiu ulicic lie 
iM\ now resides, May i:!, IS-IG. llLs r.-itiier, also 
^^Robert Burnett, was a native of Shafts- 
bury, Vt., and was the son of James Burnett and 
the grandson of Thomas Burnett, a native of Dum- 
friesshire, Scotland, who crossed the Atlantic in the 
early New England d.ays, and located in Sliafl,s- 
bury. From there, about the year liSOO, he re- 
moved to Salem, Washington Co., N. V., where he 
spent the last years of his life. His son .lames, the 
grandfather of our subject, was thrown from .a 
horse and killed on the oth of .lune, l.SOf). 

The paternal grandmother of our subject was in 
her girlhood Miss Jeanet, daughter of James and 
Mary (Wells) Edgar, who were also of 8c(^ttish 
birth and parentage. She married James Burnett, 
and spent her last years in Washington C'ounl,y. 
Their son Robert was born in the year 1801, and 
was reared to manhood in Washington County, N_ 
Y., where he married and resided nntil 18;M. lie 
then determined to cast his lot with the |iioneers of 
Southern Michigan, coming to this county before 
the Territory had lieen admitted into the Union as 
a State, lie located on a tract of land which was 
subsequently included in Deerfield Township, and 
with his little family moved into a log house with 
the McKey family, where they rem.ained until he 
could put up a honse of his own. 

One of the first enterprises in which Mr. Burnett 
engaged aside from the necessarily slow cultivation 
of his land was the erection of a sawmill, which, 
however, he was obliged to abandon on account of 
a lack of waterfall power. He then purchased a 
tract of timber land on section 2, in Deerfield 
Township, on which he made some improvements, 
and then traded the embryo farm for a portion of 
sections 10 and 11, where he spent the last years of 
his life. It was mostly covered with timber when 



lie took possession, and :i rfiilroad shanty constituted 
all the improvements. Into this the family re- 
moved. howev(!r. and made themselves as comfort- 
able as possible until llic father could putupa frame 



Feb] 



rnett took plac 
about flfty-fi\ 



The mother of nur subject, formerly Miss Amelia 
Pi-att, was, like lioi' husband, a, native of Washing- 
tun County, N. Y. She came to the West with her 
family, .-ind ilicd' at the homestead in Deerfield 
Townshii) sixteen yeai's after the decease of her 
husband, on the (ith of January, 1872. The house- 
h(jld circle included eight children, recorded as fol- 
lows: The eldest dauuiiler. .Maiian, became the wife 



of William Krd/.ic, and is a resident of Adrian, 
this county; Sarah died in infancy, and Jane died 
at the age of eighteen years; JIary. the wife of 
Carlton Ellis, is a resident of Blissfield Township (a 
sketch of her husband will be found elsewhere in this 
volunnO: Daniel is a resident of Monroe County; 
.lames is carrying on farming near Fargo, Dak.; 
Robert E. cf our sketch; John M. owns and occu- 
pies a part of the old homestead (see sketch.) 

The subject of this biography in early life be- 
came familial- witli farm [lursiiits, and received his 
education in the district school, lie was but a lad 
of ton j'cars at the time of his father's death, and 
with the e.\ce|)lion of one season spent in Minne- 
sota continued with his uKJther until her decease, 
in the meantime employing his winters in teaching 
while he worked on the farm in summer. Two 
years later, in 1874, he engaged to work in the 
broom-handle factory at Deerfield, and during the 
summer following was occupied in drilling wells. 
In the fall of 1874 ho returned to the homestead, 
forty acres of vvhich he now owns, and has also a 
good set of farm buildings. He is classed among 
the enterprising and active young men of Deerfield 
Township, and is the worthy representative of an 
old and honored family. 

Mr. Burnett, on the 14tii of August, 1872, was 
married to one of the most popular young ladies of 
Deerfield Township, Miss Jennie Armitage, who 
was born in Spring Creek, Warren Co., Pa., Feb. 
IG, 1852. Her father, AVilliam Armitage, was a 
native of New York State, and the son of Isaac 



■•► 



•► 



■•►-■- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



f 



Annitage. vvhose f:itliei' was c)(' English birth and 
parentage, and spent his last years in Pennsylvania. 
William Armitage was scarcely more than au infant 
when his parents removed from the PImpire State 
to Pennsylvania, and he was reared to manhood in 
Warren County. With the exception of a short 
period spent in Crawford County, he resided in 
Warren until 1865, then came to the West, and 
located in Deerfield 'I'ownsliip; he is now in the 
village of Deerfield. 

William Armitage in early manhood was married, 
in Warren County, Pa., to Miss Pliilinda, daughter 
of Clark Vincent, a native of Rhode Island, whence 
he removed after his marriage to Rensselaer County, 
N. Y., where he made his home until 1 830. Thence 
he removed to Warren Count}-, Pa., where he pur- 
chased land and resided until his death. The ma- 
ternal grandmother of Mrs. Burnett was in her 
girlhood Miss Parly Gray, a native of Connecticut; 
she died in Allegany County, N. V. Mr. and 
Mrs. Burnett are the parents of one child only, a 
daughter, Maud E., who wa> born Nov. 18, IST'J. 

R. L. H. BKDELl., one of the most intelli- 
gent and best educated men in Lenawee 
County, has been prominently identified 
with its affairs for the last twenty-one years. 
He is genial and agreeable in disposition, a man who 
has made many friends and is immensely populnr 
among the people who have known him so long' and 
well. His knowledge of men and things has been 
acquired bj' his own exertions, and embraces a wide 
range of subjects, while he is also a man of culti- 
vated .tastes, a natural musician, and a teacher of 
both vocal and instru:nent.al music. In addition to 
this he acquired a pr.actical knowledge of medicine 
and has effected some remarkable cures. 

Our subject was born in Rawson Township, Lu- 
zerne Co., Pa., .Tune 14. 1842, and is the son of 
Zachariah and Margaret (Drake) Bedell, natives of 
New Jerse3^ Lewis continued under the home roof 
in his native county until twcntj'-four years of age, 
employiiig himself on his father's farm in summer, 
and teaching music during the winter season. In this 
branch of study, as well as others, he is self-edu- 

•^r 



catcd. He was an excellent performer on the organ, 
and the favorite among the young people where his 
talent and his obliging disposition ever made him 
a welcome guest. Mr. Bedell was married in his 
native county, Nov. 1, 1867, to Miss Oetavia Burr, 
a native of Ohio, and the daughter of John and 
Naomi (Honss) Burr, of New York State. Mrs. 
B. was born Aug. 9, 1850, in Darke County, Ohio, 
where her parents settled about 1 840. They came to 
Michigan ten years later, locating in Palmyra Town- 
ship. The father in 1867, purchased a tract of land 
in Cambridge Township, from which he built up a 
good homestead. Mr. Burr departed this life at the 
age of sevent3'-four years, leaving a wife and two 
children, all of whom are living. Mrs. Burr makes 
her home with our su])ject and his wife. Richard 
Burr, the paternal grandfather of Mrs. Bedell, was a 
shoemaker by trade, as were various other members 
of the family, and died in Ohio when sixty-four 
years of age. 

Of the two children born to Mr. and Mrs. Bedell, 
Laura G. cauK! into the household .Inly 29, 1869, 
and is now the wife of John W. McGee, who assists 
in the management of the farm. This daughter in- 
herits largely the musical talent of her father, and 
became proficient as a singer and musician, em- 
ploying herself as a teacher of these arts before her 
marriage. Miss Dolly Bedell was born July 4, 
1877, and is a young lady of quite a practical turn 
of mind, preferring other studies to music. The 
! household forms a pleasant family group, devoted to 
one another, and enjoying the friendship of a large 
circle of acquaintances. 

Dr. Bedell for fourteen years after his marriage, 
farmed on shares with his father-in-law, and then 
purchased a part of the homestead. In the mean- 
time his early proclivities for the study of medicine 
served to keep him posted upon matters and things 
connected with this profession, and led him to make 
use of the prescription for the cure of cai",cer which 
had been handed down through several generations 
of the Bedell family, and was first discovered by a 
great-uncle of our subject. The method of treat- 
ment has effected some wonderful cures, and our 
subject alone brought out safely thirteen patients 
out of fourteen who were afflicted with this terrible 
malady. In connection with this disease he has at- 



HlU 




"jfAoo^, ^^,^^-^-a^^ 



-4^ 



LKNAWEE COUNTY. 



607 



tainerl an enviable re|)iitiilii)n throughout this sec- 
tion, and has given to it his closest attention for the 
last Ave years. He has not sought notoriety or 
patients, and has been frequently appealed to by par- 
ties whose friends had been given up by the regular 
physicians. The nK>st satisfactory results have at- 
tended his treatment, and he raised to health one 
lady who was considered upon her deathl)ed, not 
only acting the part of a physician, but also that of 
nurse, 'fh'is happened not long since, and the 
patient is now nearly recovered. 

Zachariah Bedell, the father of our subject, was 
born in New^ Jersey, .Tune 14, 1812, and departed 
this life afhis home in Woodstock, in the spring of 
1 878, aged sixty -six years. He was the son of John 
and Catherine Bedell, natives also of New Jersey, 
who spent their last years in the Keystone State. 
Margaret (Drake) Bedell was also born in New Jer- 
sey, April 28, 181.3, and wa.s the daughter of .Tacob 
L. and Mary Drake, who were born in the same 
State, and died in Pennsylvania. Jacob Drake 
lived to be eighty-one years of age, while his wife 
was fiftj'-eight years old at the time of her death. 
The maternal great-grandfather and grandmother 
were Peter and JVIargaret A. Demnnn. natives of 
New Jersey. The former was born May 4, 1764, 
and died Jan. 1;"), 1815; his wife, Margaret, was 
born June 3, 1764, and died March I), 1846, sur- 
viving her husband thirty-one years. Th(> motlicr 
of our subject is still living and continues ;it the 
old homestead. 

Dr. Bedell is a strong temperance advocate, and 
politically, sides with the Pmhibitionists. He lias 
been given many proofs of the esteem and confidence 
in which he is held by his neighbors, occupying the 
various school offices, and being otherwise [n-onii- 
nent among the counsels of liis townsmen. 



-^~^~- 



jj^^ILLIAM HKNRY HARRLSON VanAKIN. 
In the year 1834, one of the passengers to 
be seen on board a line boat on the Krie 
Canal, was a bright, active young man, still in his 
teens, accompanied by a pleasant, intelligent, elderly 
woman. These people were our subject and liis 
mother, traveling from Phelps, Ontario Co., N. Y., 



to Sontheiii Michigan, via the Krie Canal and Lake 
Erie to Detroit. Arriving at the latter place they 
proceeded at once to Wayne Countjs where they 
staid for awhile with a brother of our subject. 
While there, another brother, Simeon, with his two 
ciiildren, who had made tiie entire journey from 
New York with a pair of horses and a wagon, 
joined them, and shortly after they all continued 
their jourue.y with the team, and three days later 
found themselves in Hudson Township, Bean Creek 
Valley, 

Where the lively village of Hudson now stands, 
there was but one dwelling, the log cabin occupied 
by Beriah H. Lane and his family. This hospita- 
ble man warmly welcomed the Van Akins, and in- 
vited them to share his home until they should be 
able to locate themselves in a house of their own. 
Mr. Lane's cabin, though of small dimensions, hav- 
ing but one room below and a loft above reached 
by a ladder, often accommodated many guests. At 
that particular time the family consisted of ten 
members, including Mr. and Mrs. Lane, his chil- 
dren, his parents, his sister and her children. Be- 
sides that number, Mr. Lane had twenty men work- 
ing on the dam, .and they were also accommodated 
under that roof. Eleven days after commencing 
the construction of their cabin, the Van Akin fam- 
ily had it ready for occupancy, moving in before 
there were any doors, floors or windows, and with 
but two-thirds of the roof covered. At night, dry- 
goods boxes placed before the entrance served to 
keep the wolves which prowled around the house 
from coming in, but did not keep out the noise of 
their hideous howling, with which the slumber of 
the inmates was often disturbed. Simeon Van 
Akin entered 196 acres, and W. H. IL, our subject, 
200 acres of Government land, all of which is now 
included within the incorporated limits of the city. 
As soon as they had completed their cabin, the3' 
commenced to clear the land ready for cultivation, 
and in 1835 the brothers and their mother bought 
a half interest in the sawmill with Mi-. Lane, which 
they owned two years. 

Prominent among the few remaining veritable 
pioneers of Lenawee County, who have witnessed 
its wonderful development, and who bore a con- 
spicuous part in the great labor involved in its ac- 



•► 



B08 



^•►*-4« 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



complishment, is W. 11. H. Van Akin. He is of 
Dutch ancestrj', and was born in Pbelps. Ontario 
Co., N. Y., July 2, 1816. The annals of his fam- 
ily history record the fact that in 1G70. three broth- 
ei-s, snrnamed Van Akin, came from Holland to 
America, and after residing for a time on Manhat- 
tan Island, proceeded to tlie present site of Kings- 
ton, N. Y. One of these brothers, it is said, settled 
in Columbia County afterward, and tlio (ithf>r two 
in Deer Park, Orange County. SucrccMlini; i;iiMr- 
ations lived there until the gramir.il her d' our >ii!i- 
ject, James Van Akin, removed to I'ikr C'l'iinly, 
Pa., where he bought a large tmcl of land, quite :i 
body of which was in the valle\ of the Delaware 
River, and resided there until his death. 

The father of our subject, John Van Akin, was 
born in Upper Smithfield, Pike Co., Pa., where he 
was reared and married. In 1796 he moved to 
Ontario County, N. Y., and located in the town of 
Phelps, being one of the very earliest settlers of 
that place. He bought a tract of timbered land of 
the Holland Purchase Company. The title of the 
land was in dispute, and when it wjis settled he was 
given a clear title to 100 acres, if he would give lip 
the remainder. He cleared all of that tract ami 
added 600 acres more to the original purchase, liv- 
ing there until his death, in 1854. The maiden 
name of his wife, the motlier of our subject, was 
Margaret Westfall. She was born in Upper Smith- 
field, Pike Co., Pa., and was a daughter of Simeon 
and Sallie (Cole) M^cstfall, natives of Orange 
County, N. Y. She eamo to Hudson, Mich., in 
1834, and this place reniaine<l licr liomo until her 
death, which occurred while visiting lier son in 
Wayne County, Feb. 21, 18G1. To her and her 
husband were born nine sons and one daughter, all 
of whom grew up, man-ied, and reared families. 

The subject of this sketch was the youngest child 
of his parents, and was eighteen years old when lie 
came to Hudson with his mother and oldi^t lnotln'v 
Simeon. He assisted in building tlie lo;^ e;iliiii. 
which was located on the corner of tiie present 
Main and High streets. He entered 200 acres of 
Government land in the laud-ollice at Monroe, and 
in 1848 removed to Pittsford, Hillsdale County. 
where he bought a tract of land on which he built a 
saw and grist mill. Besides operating ihe mill he 



improved quite a tract of land, and erected three 
houses, but after residing there ten years, he sold 
his mill and ten acres of land, and i-eturned to Hud- 
son, where he has since resided. 

The marriage of Mr. Van Akin and Miss Julia 
A. Feutherl.y occurred Sept. 19, 1839. Slie v\as 
born in Gaylon, Wayne Co., N. Y.. Jan. 10, 1816, 
and was a daughter of P'rederick Featherly. Her 
grandfather, Jolm Featherly, and his brother-in-law, 
Nicholas Stansell, wei-e the Urst settlers of Wayne 
County. Mr. and Mrs. Van Akin have five chil- 
dren living, namely: Chai;lotte F., Cornelia A., 
William H., Charles H. and Lillie. Charlotte mar- 
ried Dr. H. Welch, of Ann Arbor; Cornelia is the 
wife of E. J. Smith, of Union City, Mich.; William 
lives in Hudson, Charles in South Bend, and Lillie 
is the wife of A. J. Lawrence, of Hudson Township. 

As representative of the intelligent citizens of 
this section of., country, we present on an adjoining- 
page of this volume a [lortrait of Mr. Van Akin. 

J/OHN RAINEY is a man who deserves nnich 
I credit for the success he has achieved in 
1 life. When he came to this country from 
' a foreign land, he had neither capital nor 
friends who could put him on his feet; but upon 
arrival in the United States he went to work with 
a will and, by dint of unflagging efforts, has made 
liimself independent at a comparatively early age. 
Upon his arrival in Lenawee County he engaged in 
work by the month, for nine years, and during that 
time did not lose one week. For seven and one- 
iialf years continuously he was in the employ of 
Perly Bills, the well-known attorney of Tecumseh, 
and this long term of service wdth one employer is 
a proof of the quality of the man. Mr. Rainey is 
now suecessfullj' engaged in general farming on a 
farm of his own, consisting of 120 acres on section 
35 in Raisin Township. One hundred acres of this 
is under a most excellent state of cultivation. Mr. 
Rainey located here in 1871, and has since devoted 
his time to improving the farm in various ways, 
including the .construction of good liuildings, fences 
and ditches. 

Mr. Rainey was born in County Antrim, Ireland, 



^h 



-♦■ 



*r 



4 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



609 



on the 10th uf .Inimnry, 1.S40. .-in.! i> tho ,. 
of Irish parents who were farmers (Uiriiiy their li 
and are now deceased. His father's name \ 
Roliert Rniiiey, and the motlier's name ujis IMar 
ret Dunb.Mr; the lattei- die.l in middle life, while 
fatlier lived to he alM.ul ei-lit,v year.- of .•i.!j;e. ( 
suljject was reared to maturity at home, whei-e 
learned the trade of a mason and afterward thai 
shoemaker. He learned these ti'ades very read 
as he is naturally .adapted to any work recjuirini 
mechanical turn of mind. In 1 .son he came 
America nn.accompanicd, .and first located in \\a 
tenaw County, Jlich., where he remained for.-i li 
and then-removed to Lenawee County. 

On the 28th of November, 18(i8, Mr. IJainey \ 
married to Margaret Mitchell, who wasliorn on 
IGth of (Jctober, 1844, and was the daujihler 
Robert Mitchell, who is now a sucressfid farmei 
Raisin' 'I'ownship. The parents of .Mrs. I^ui 
came ti the United States from Ireland wlien : 
was but two years old, and became early settlers 
Raisin Township, where she was reared and educa 
in the common sehv)ols. Mr. and Mrs. Kamey 
the parents of five children, all of whom an 
home engaged in assisting tlieir jiarents and .Mttei 
ing school. Their names are : .lane, wlm was Ik 
iMay 3. 1870: William P., Oct. .s, IsTI; An 
May -20. 187(i; Ella. Dec s. i.sTS. and .MamI, F 
•20, 18S1. 

Mr. and Mrs. Rainey attend the I'resbylcr 
Churcn. anil give of thcii- means to iis support. 
politics there is no Denuicrat in Lenawee Cc>ui 
more firmly imbued with the principles of Dem 
racy or more loyal to his party than Mr. Rainey 



■>^-^p- 



>Tp^^EV. .JAMES ^'INCE^T 
l|L;i<7 gational minister, rei- 
1E\ Mich. He was horn 
WR) Norfolk County, norti 
London, on the 22d of November, ISI2. His par- 
ents, who were .John and Martha Vincent, p.'issed 
their lives in England, dying before their son James 
came to America. 

The boyhood of our subject was pas.sed in L(jn- 
dou, where he was partly educated in the city 






schools, ami he then took an extendeil coui-se at a 
theological school in Coventry under Dr. Hewlett. 
Having completed his course there, he received a 
call from the British Coloni;d Society to go to Can- 
ada as a nussionary. After coming to America he 
further pieparcd himself for his work by entering 
the Theologie.'d Institutcat 4'(ironto. and was grad- 
uated from that institution in 1S4;;. lie was then 



I retired Congre- 
g in Tecumseh, 
Engli.sh soil, in 
:. of tlie citv of 



ister 



i-(jrl' 



seems to be n 
strengthened ; 
dom. 

In the vcr; 
Rev. Air. \n 
lo insure full . 
a good woni.'i 
and cheer hin 
one he found 
England, to u 
The brief linii 



subjc 



or many 3'ears, 
his i)rofession 

ither have but 
"race and wis- 



niost 



areer the 
sary step 
■ce>s in his life work, marriage with 
who would strengthen, encourage 
11 bis high and holy calling; such a 
Miss .lane E. Welch. ,.f London, 
.m he was married inOi^tober, I.S43. 
of this sketch forbid more than a 
mere mention of the various pastorates that our rev- 
erend subject has held. \Ve cannot dwell as we 
woidd like ni)on his work and what he has accom- 
plished, nor upon the m;niy interesting experiences 

idenls. 



1 thi 
)ther 



mtert 
id tin 



ife. 



Immediately aftei' graduation from the Theolog- 
ical Institute he took charge of the Congregational 
Church at Newmarket, thirty miles north of To- 
ronto, where he remained three years. He then a.s- 
sumcd the pastorate of the church at Paris, his la- 
bors there extending over a period of ten 3'ears. In 
I80G he came to the United States, iiaving received 
a call from the Congregational Church at Warsaw, 
Wyoming Co.. N. V. Erom there he came to 
Michigan and was [jastor at St. Clair for three 
years, when he wa,s called to Illinois, wiiere he min- 
istered to Ibc spiritual needs of the people of Polo 
for seven yeans. He then returned to Michigan, 
where he has since remained, and has had charge of 
the churches at Albion, Muskegon and Franklin. 
In 1884 he retired from the active duties of his pro- 
fession to Tecumseh, where he has erected a neat 
and pleasant home, in which he hopes to pass the re- 

>► 



r 



»► ■ " ^« 



u 



' ' filO 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



•► 



t 



maining years of his life in the plensnnt companion- 
ship of his wife. Although living in retirement he 
preaches occasionally and witli much of the fervor 
and eloquence of his earlier days. He is a scholarly 
man, and enthusiasticall.y devoted to the great work 
which he has followed for over forty j'cars. To our 
subject and his wife were horn six children, three of 
whom died in infancy; two are now living. AVill- 
iani L. was a soldier in the late war, and died while 
in the service of his country ; he was a member of 
the 4th Michigan Cavah-y. J.nmes E. is a lumber 
merchant of Saginaw, Mich., and Frances J. is the 
wife of Dr. Henry C. Wann, now of Chicago. 

ELVIN D. COLE is the offspring of a popu- 
lar and well-known family of Rollin Town- 
ship. His father, p:ivin C. Cole, in 1834, 
formed one of the caravan migrating to Southern 
Michigan from the Empire .State, in search of a lo- 
cation where they might build up, without undue 
expense, a comfortable and permanent home. Most 
of the young men of that day who came to this sec- 
tion of country were without means. Young Cole, 
however, more fortunate, had a little pur.se of $200. 
which he invested in land, taking the southeast 
quarter of section 8, in Rollin Township, which has 
been in his posse.ssion sitice that time. This was 
covered with heavy timber, mostly oak, and the 
land lay idle until in 1848, Mr. Cole having, after 
its purchase, returned to his native State and re- 
mained there until this date. He had, however, 
employed men to level the trees from ten acres, and 
with this small beginning, upon his return com- 
menced the labors which after a series of years re- 
sulted in a valuable farm, with good buildings, a 
choice orchard, consisting of apple, pear and peach 
trees, with the smaller fruits, and the various other 
luxuries of a country home. 

Elvin C. Cole was born in Hector. Tompkins Co.. 
N. Y., Dec. 4, 1812, and was one in a family of six 
children born to Lewis and Hannah (Rogers) Cole. 
The mother died the year after his birth, and Lewis 
Cole was subsequently married, in 1822, to Miss 
Fannie Hazen, bj' whom he had three children. 
AVhen startinarout for himself Elvin went into Mon- 



roe C'ounty, where lie .nfterward purchased a farm, 
upon which he lived until 1834; his subsequent 
movements we have alref.dy indicated. On the 7th 
of March, 1837, he was married to Miss Lydia, 
daughter of Philip and Magdalene Tunison, of Sen- 
eca County, N. Y., and the_y became the parents of 
one child, a son, Amos R.v who is now numbered 
among the well-to-do farmers of Rollin Township, 
this county. Mrs. Lydia Cole died at her home in 
Covert, Seneca Co., N. Y., Dec. 17, 1843. 

The second wife of Elvin C. Cole wasMarj- Ann, 
the daughter of vSpencer and Sophia Allen, of Mace- 
don, N. Y., and the widow of Darius Cole, of Rollin 
Township. Thej' became the parents of one child 
also, namely, Allen, who is now a resident of 
Clinton County, Mrs. Mary Ann Cole died Sept. 17. 
1849. On the 2d of May, 1852, Mr. Cole con- 
tracted his third marriage, with Mi.ss Elvira L. Day- 
ton, and they became the parents of two children, a 
daughter and son: Emma C. vvas born in Rollin, 
July 21, 1853, and is now the wife of John C. 
Schneider; Elvin D., our subject, was born Feb. 
28, 1861. Mrs. Elvira L. Cole was born in Van 
Buren, Onondaga Co., N. Y., June 2, 1826. Her 
parents were natives of Middletown. Rutland Co., 
Vt., whence they removed after their marriage to 
New York State. Here the mother died July 21, 
1837, in the town of Van Buren, and Mr. Dayton 
subsequently came to the West and died in Rollin 
Township, this county, Oct. 1, 1869, at the age of 
sixty-three years. The mother of our subject is a 
ver}' intelligent and charitable lady, warmly inter- 
ested in temperance and missionary work, and an 
active member of the W. C. T. U. 

Elvin D. Cole spent the earlj' years of his life af- 
ter the manner of most farmers' sons, and being a 
bright and observant boy, made the most of his 
opportunities at school and received an excellent 
education. He experienced sutTicient pleasure in 
agricultural pursuits to content him.self with these 
as his vocation in life, and has taken pi'ide in per- 
fecting himself in the arts of husbandry. A little 
after reaching the twentieth year of his age he was 
married, March 9, 1881, to Miss Alice E., daughter 
of Freeman RJce, a well-known resident of Hudson 
Township. Mrs. Cole was born June 13, 1859. 
Her father was a native of Wayne County, N. Y., 



^ 



u 



LENAAVEE COUNTY. 



*^ 



where he was reared to manhood, and married a 
maiden of his own neighborhood, Miss Lncretia 
Van Voorhees. He came to the West about 1 855, 
and died at his home in Hudson Township when 
sixty 3'ears of age. The mother had i)assed away 
previous to the decease of her husband, wlien fifty- 
three years old. Their family consisted of three 
children, Mrs. C. being the only daughter. Ahne- 
ron F. is married and engaged as policeman in San 
Diego, Cal. ; he served in the late w.nr as a I'nion 
soldier. Ansel A. is married, and lives in \\';isli- 
ington Territory. 

Mr. i<;ivin 1). Cole now lives <,ii the ohl home 
place, of whieii lie has had the ni.-uiagement .~inee 
his father was stricken witli paralysis in 1,S8G. Po- 
litically he is a straight Republican, and warmly in- 
terested in the success of the temperance move- 
ment. Mrs. Cole compiefeil her cducatioM in tlie 
schools of Clayton and llml>on. and engaged as a 
teacher for some time before her marriage. They 
are the parents of one child, Ray F.. born Sept. 13, 
1885. The father of our subject joined the Baptist 
Church at the age of thirteen years, and has been 
an earnest Christian for over sixty-two vears. 



■|;OHN L. KNAPP. The old Knaiip home- 
Ill stead is familiar to the majority of the peo- 
II pie of Rome Township. The father of onr 
(|^M/ subject, Aliram Knapp bj' name, came to 
this section of country with his wife and nine chil- 
dren in 1834, while Michigan was a Territory, and 
settling upon this farm, here spent the remainder of 
his days. He built up his home from the wilder- 
ness, felling the trees and cultivating the soil, and 
became a man prominent and popular in the com- 
munity. He served as Justice of the Peace, was 
prominent in the establishment of schools and 
churches, and instrumental in setting many a man 
upon his feet, who, having come here without 
means, found the struggle more ditlicult than he 
was able to withstand. 

Abram Knapp had married in his native State of 
New York, Miss F^lizabeth Drake, who was a native 
of New Jersey, and whose ancestry was from \Vales. 



She died at the homestead Oct. 9, 1843, at the age 
of fifty years, while Mr. Knapp survived his wife 
many ,years, and died at the advanced age of eighty- 
one. John L. was a youth of eighteen years at the 
time of his mother's death, and with the excepti<in 
of four years spent with a hardware firm at Roch- 
ester, N. Y., lived with his father thereafter until 
the latter passed away. The property, including 
the farm t)f 160 acres, was willed to our subject 
and his younger brother, and afterward John L. 
purchased his brother's interest. He makes of ag- 
riculture a science, and while cultivating the soil he 
has given due attention to his mind, and especially 
exerted himself to educate his children. For twenty 
years the schools of Rome Townshii) have lieen 
among the objects of his fostering care. Like his 
honored father, he has always had faith in the prin- 
ciples of the Democratic; party. Religiously, with 
his estimable wife, he is one of the pillars of the 
Baptist Church in Rome Township. 

There are among the last generation of Knapps 
many [nofessional men, besides those prominent in 
business and politics. Spencer Cole, the noted New 
York divine, is cousin to Mr. Knapp, and among 
the other relatives is Kate Claxton,the brilliant act- 
ress. Our subject remained unmarried until 
nearly twenty -seven years of age, and then chose 
for the companion of his home Miss Matilda, 
daughter of E. L. and N.ancy (Whetmore) Selleck, 
of Adri.iu Township, to whom he was united on 
the I'd of April, 1851. Mrs. Knapp was born in 
Oneida County. N. Y., Sept. li, 182G, and by her 
marriage with oui' subject became the mother of 
foin- children. Elizabeth, the eldest, was born 
March 1 «, 1.S52, and is the wife of Charles Brittian, 
a farmer of Adrian Township; they have one child, 
a son, Clarence W., who is now a bright lad eleven 
years of age. AVMIIiam P. was born March 22, 1857, 
and married Miss Mattie Hotham; the.y live in Pal- 
myra, and have one child, a sou. Earl G., six years 
of age. Carrie J. w.as born Jan. 9, 1863, and mar- 
ried James Barrow, of Blissfield; Frank A. was 
horn Dec. 30, 1864, and works his father's farm on 
shares. 

The children of Mr. Knapp have been well edu- 
cated, completing their studies in the public schools 
and colleges of Adrian. The daughters were fitted 



h 






a 



612 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



•► 



i 



for teaching, and followed this profession before 
their marriage. Mr. Knap|) for over twenty j'ears 
has been a member of the Masonic fraternity, be-' 
longing to Adrian Lodge. 



;f^ ON. MANSON CARPENTER is one of the 
lyr^j^ prominent figures in the history of Lenawee 
^^ County, having- made this his residence ever 
J^^ since coming here, a child with his parents, 
in 1836. He was born in Saratoga County, N, Y., 
Oct. 2, 1 830, and is the son of Josiah and Nancy 
(Harkness) Carpenter. .losiah Carpenter was a 
native of Adams, Berkshire Co., Mass., and was 
born Nov. 17, 1801. lie was brought up a farmer 
among the hills of the old Bay State, until he had 
attained the age of fourteen years. At that time 
he commenced to learn the tanner and currier's 
trade at Williamstown, but after four years' trial, 
concluding that farming would suit him better as a 
business, he returned to Adams, where he remained 
until 1826 engaged in agricultural pursuits. Re- 
moving to Greenfield, Saratoga Co., N. Y., in that 
year he purchased a farm, and lived there until the 
spring of 1836. 

In thatye;ir Josiah Carpenter came to Michigan, 
among the pioneers of this locality. He located 
some 200 acres of land on section 3o. in Woodstock 
Township, where he resided for many years. In 
the fall of 1836 he returned for his family in New 
York State, and brought them the entire distance in 
a wagon drawn by horses; his f.aniily at that time 
consisted of his wife and three children. Mr. Car- 
penter cleared up his farm, erected comfort;d)le 
buildings, and settled down to the geneial iii,|irove- 
ment of his place. Even at that early day. Wood- 
stock Township was being rapidly settled up and 
improved, and it became the duty of all to .assist in 
general public improvements, such as makhig roads, 
bridges, organizing schools and churches, building 
school-houses, etc. When a new family came into 
the country, all tui-ned out to assist them in erect- 
ing a house, and the men and women in those pio- 
neer days vied with each other in acts of kindness 
when sickness oi' trouble overtook one of their 
number. In all good works Mr. Carpenter always 



took a prominent part, as \vas natural to a man of 
his temperament. 

.losiah Carpenter married Nancy Harkness Jan. 
11, 1828, by whom he had five children, recorded as 
follows: Anna A. was born in Greenfield, N. Y., 
Sept. 28, 1829, and died in infancy; Manson, the 
subject of this sketch; Nathan H. was born Jan. 21, 
1.S33; Hannah A. was born May 8, 1835, and is the 
wife of Philip Kelley, of this county; Uriah was 
born in Woodstock, April 14, 1838. Mrs. Nancy 
Carpenter was the daughter of Nathan and Ruth 
Harkness, and was born in Greenfield, Saratoga Co., 
N. Y., Feb. 24, 1796; she died in Woodstock, Nov. 
3, 1 8;') 1 . Her father, Nathan Harkness, was a na- 
tive of one of the New England .States, and was 
born Feb. 24, 1769; he died in Greenfield, Saratoga 
Co.. N. Y., March 13, 1817. His wife, formerly 
Ruth Kelley, was born in Massachusetts, April 19, 
1768, and died March 14, 1837. They were both 
among the pioneers who at an early day penetrated 
into the wilds of .Saratoga County. After his first 
wife's death, Josiah Carpenter was united in mar- 
riage with Chu-issa A. Pratt, Nov. 21, 1852, by 
whom he had two (children, as follows: Albert, born 
Aug. 16, 1853. .and Nancy A., born Feb. 4, 1857, 
and now the wife of Marshall N. Beckey, of Salina, 
Kan. Albert died at the home of his father Aug. 
7, 1884, leaving a wife and one child. 

Josiah Carpenter's father. Uriah, w.i> a native of 
Smithfield, R. L, and was born in 1769. In 1790 
he removed to Adams, Mass.. where he carried on 
farming until his decease, in 1829. His wife. Con- 
tent (Slack) Carpenter, the daughter of Baker and 
Polly Slack, of Rhode Island, w.as the mother of 
eight children, Josiah being the second. She was 
born in Swansea, N. H., in 1779, and died iu Adams, 
Mass., in 1840. Josiah Carpenter died iu Monroe 
County, Mich., April 13, 1887, i>t the residence of 
his son Nathan. Manson Carpenter remained at 
houii' with his parents until he was twenty-two 
years old. receiving his education in the district 
schools and assisting his father iu the farm Avork. 
In 1852 he made a trip to the South, for the pur- 
pose of looking over the country, and returning to 
this county, he employed his time, from 1853 to 
1860, in teaching school. After his marriage, May 
9, 1862, he settled on his present homestead and 



•> ^ m <• 



1'^ 



LKNAWKK COrNTY, 



613 



•Mh 



re-comrac!iiceri his agricultural pursuils. Tliis w.-is 
one of the oldest farms in tho townsliip. Mr. (.ar- 
poiitcr iiaviui;- assisted liis fathiT in rli-annir it, of 
the timliiT tlial (Micmulu'red it when Uiev .seltleii 
here, in l.s;i(!. His life has always hc'eii a very act- 
ive one, he havinn iielped in cntling the tinilier off 
many acres of ground, for his father, hiniself and 
otiiers. 

In politics. Mr. Carijcnter has always l.een :i 
stanch supporter of tlie Hepnlilican ticket, and has 
been honored by liriving liad bestowed upon him 
several inijiortant o(li(;es. In 1 S7S he w:is elected 
a menilMi- of the Ilduse of Representatives, of the 
.MirhigMH SlMte Legislature, at which time lie hail :i 
plurality of .'MO votes— a tiattering testimonial to 
the popularity of the man. lie did etilcient service 
during the sessions of tliat body in ls7'.)aud issi. 
iiaving b(>en placeil on sev(>ral important c<unnnt- 
tees, chief among wliicli w;is that on tlie institution 
for the dca,f and dnml) and on drainage. In iss.'i 
he took his jilacc in the State Senate, he iiaving 
been elected to that exalted position. Here again 
his talents were given scope; he was cliaii-niMU of 
the committee on the Ivisteru .asylum for the iusaue. 
and a member of the committees on roads and 
bridges, insurance. State libraiy, immigration and 
many others, during his term of service. In every 
liosition in lite in which .Mr. Carpenter h.-is been 
placed, he li.as filled an luMu.rabh' part, whether in 
the miu<jr ollices he has held, on the (.'ounty LJoard 
of Supervisors, where he served some two years, or 
as a member of the State Legislature: he has al- 
ways been true, both to himself and to tlie interests 
of his constituents. Lor more Mian half a century 
he has been a citizen of Woodstock, and lo-day has 
probably as few enemies and as ni.any friends as 
any citizen of Lenawee County. Many ofthe nieas- 

lator, are now important laws ujiou the statute book 
of the State. 

Manson Carpenter and .Miss .\nn K. .lohnson 
were united in marriage in Ibis county. .May U. I sC-.'. 
She Is the daughter of Thomas and Nancy (l)oncl- 
son) Johnson, and was born in Cencsee County, N. 
Y., Aug. 24. 182S. Her father was a native ..f Ire- 
land, and came to the United States wlieu lie was 
.about twenty-one years of age. Settlingin New York 

^ ■ — 



State, Thomas Johnson made that commonwealth 
his home until 1S;3,^, when he came to Michigan 
.■Old seltlecl in Uome Township. Like most of the 
|)ioneers of this r<'gion, in .'lenring off his farm he 
burned the limber, an.l was severely .scalded while 
boiling potash. He died in this county. Feb. 26, 
I 8.s;'>. at the agi^ of eighty-one years, while his wife 
survived him until .lune :>. 1 .SS."). Tliey were the 
parents of live children, three of whom are now 
living. 

Mr. .an<l Mrs. .M.anson Carpenter .-ire the parents 

of one child. .John -L. who w.as born in \V Istock 

r..wnship. .hine :!. IKCl. He is ih,w in IJrown 
County. Dak., in the mercantile business, and al.so 
managing a farm in that locality, which he owns 
in cimjunction with his father. Mrs. (Carpenter is 
.•I membci- of the Laptist Church, ami is a consist- 
cut. Christian woman. \Varni-heart,e<l and charita- 
ble, she enjoys the love of all with whom she comes 
in contact. Mr. Carpenter has pr.atttically retired 
from the acti've cai-es of life, although he manages 
his own f.Mrm on section ."i.'), where are carried on 

ylLLlAM I)A\IS()N is engaged in general 
farming in Woodstock Township, where he 
^ ^ settled about eighteen years .ago, ;uid has 
since resided. He was born in Erie County, N. Y.. 
Nov. ,s, 1 s;i(;. and is the .sou of John and lOlizabeth 
(Douglas) Davison, the former of whom w.as a na- 
tive of Kughuid. ;ind came to America about 1810, 
locating at Syracuse, N. '^■.. where he drew the 
stone for the lirst building in that city. He offered 
his services in the War of 1812, but in consetiuence 
of his not Iiaving been naturalized, they could not 
be accepted. About 1 .S20 he removed to Niagara 
County, and after spending three years, went to 
Erie County, where he spent the remainder of his 
life, dyi.ug at seventy-live years of age. His wife 
was a native' of New York State, and subsequently 
ci.iniing to this county, died at the home of our sub- 
ject, at the .age of seventy-four year.s, 

William Davison is one of a family of live chil- 
dien, four of whom are yet living. One remains in 

i» 



4 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Niagara County, N. Y., while two are in this 
State. Our subject was reared at the home of his 
pai'ents, where he assisted in ^vorking' the farm, 
which he afterward purchased and lived on one 
year. In 1855 he was married to Harriet E. Dan- 
cer, both at that time residents of Erie County, N. 
Y. To them were born two children, Lorenzo D. 
and Cora. Lorenzo D. was born .Sept. 13, 1856; 
Cora was born Aug. 15. 1859, and became the wife I 
of D. Tiffin, by whom she had one child, and died 
July 26, 1884. Mr. Davison chose for his second 
wife Miss Lany, daughter of G. F. Harris. She be- i 
came the mother of one son, Cassius, who was boru ! 
Oct. 25, 1879; he resides at the homestead, and is 
receiving his education in the district school. Mr. ! 
Davison was a third time married, to Miss Mabel I 
Bartlett, a native of Washtenaw County, Mich., 
where she was boru in September, 1 842. Mrs. Davi- ' 
son was the daughter of Phineas and Mary Ann 
(Roy) Bartlett, who settled in Washtenaw County 
at an early day, and remained until March, 1868, 
after which they lived at Woodstock Township, 
Lenawee County, until the death of the mother at 
sixty-three years of age. The father still lives on 
the farm with his youngest son, at the age of seven- 
ty-seven years. Mr. and Mrs. Davison became the 
parents of one son, Willie D., who was boi'ii Nov. j 
6, 1884. i 

After his first mariiage, our subject li\ed three ! 
years in Erie County on a rented farm, and then re- j 
moved to this county, where he was similarly en- j 
gaged two years, going tlience to Jackson County, | 
where he bought a farm on which he lived one year, i 
Selling that property, he bought another where he 
lived three years, after which he sold out and bought I 
the old homestead in Erie County, N. Y., which he 
occupied one year. Disposing of this property, 
Mr. Davison came back to Michigan and rented 
land, which he operated one year, and soon after- 
ward bought his present farm. This farm consists 
of 144 acres of excellent land under a high state of 
cultivation, and contains a good residence and com- 
modious out-buildings with the appurtenances re- 
quired for successfully conducting agricultura) 
operations. 

Mr. Davison- is a lover of the equine race, and 
deals largely in blooded homes, lie is authority in 



matters pertaining to horse flesh, and has some rare 
specimens in regard to style and action. Li politics 
onr subject is a Republican, and last spring was 
elected Treasurer of the township, the first Repub- 
lican wh<j secured the position. He belongs to the 
Brooklyn Lodge No. 459, F. & A. M.,and has been 
connecfted with the Masonic fraternity for over 
twenty-four years. Unostentatious in his mode of 
life, and conscientious in all his dealings, his ac- 
quaintances have learned to respect and *i-ust him. 
and he occupies an enviable position in society. 



•►Htr*: 



■l^lDWARD ROBERTS has been a resident of 
fe) Michigan for nearl}^ half a century, most of 
/i' — ^^ that time having been p.assed in Dover Town- 
ship, where he was educated and grew to manhood, 
and where he has attained prosperity as a farmer and 
carpenter. His parents were John and Martha 
(A^■illiams) Roberts, natives of Wales, who came to 
America in 1838, and soon afterward to Michigan. 
They spent five or six years in Monroe Countj^, 
and then settled in Dover Township, Lenawee 
County, making it then- permanent home until 
death. Tliey were highly regarded by all in the 
communit3' as honest and industi'ious citizens. 
They were the parents of four children, viz: Peter; 
John, who is now deceased; William, and Edward, 
our subject. 

Edward Roberts, of whom our sketch is written, 
was born in England in the year 1836, and was 
therefore ver}' young when he came to this coun- 
try with his parents. As we have said before, he 
was reared in this township, and here, since he 
grew to manhood, he has been engaged successfully, 
not only in agricultural pursuits, but also in car- 
pentering, which trade he has followed for manj' 
j'ears while still m.anaging his farm, which latter 
consists of 145 acres of fine land on section 26. It 
is admirably tilled, and he has a convenient set of 
buildings on the place. 

Mr. Roberts has been twice married. His first 
m.nrriage occurred in Dover Township, Miss Betsy, 
daughter of Almon and Rebecca Howard, being the 
other contracting party. She was born in New 
York State. M.ay 16, 1832. Two childreu were 



••► 



Hl^^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



615 



born of their union: Almon. who married Eliza 
McKnight, and resides in Dover Township, and 
Betsy, who married Willard Bristol, of Seneca i'uwn- 
ship. Mrs. Roberts departed this life in Dover 
Township during the war, March 11. lS(il. She 
was an estimable lady, and was highly regarded by 
her neighbors. Mr. Roberts' second inarri.ige w.ns 
with Martha Howard, a sister of his first wife, and, 
like her, a native of New York, born June 10, 1S34. 
She died in Dover Township, June 10, 187.5. Siie 
was true in all the varied relations of life, and her 
de.ath was deeply felt by many besides those of her 
own family circle. Of her union with Mr. Rolierts 
three children were liorn — Peter, Martha and Earl. 
Mr. Roberts is a man of much influence in town- 
ship affairs, and by the faithful discharge of his 
duties as an ofHce-holder, he has gained the perfect 
confidence of his fellow-citizens. He has officiated 
as Highway Commissioner for three years, and held 
some of the other township offices. He is :i |)ronii- 
nent member of the Democratic l)arty, as it is 
represented in this township. 



>}ILLARD STEARNS. On aceount .if the 
many public capacities in whicii he has 
acted, and the editorship for the past ten 
years of the Adrian Press, our subject is perhaps 
one of the most generally known men of Lenawee 
County. Besides engaging in the practice of law and 
the management of his paper, Mr. Stearns also dis- 
charges the responsible duties of Postmaster at 
Adrian. He has been a citizen of Lenawee County 
for thirty-seven years, and while he Lays no claim to 
pioneership, he has almost earned the name of being 
one of the " oldest inhabitants." 

In the spring of IS.'jl Mr. Stearns came to KrauU- 
lin, this county, from Cherry Valley, Otsego Co.. 
N. Y., where he was born on the od of Octobei-. 
1838. In that village he lived with his grandfather. 
Peter Counrod, or with his mother at Middletield 
Centre, in the same county, until he was thirteen 
years of age, and while there attended the district 
schools regularly. After he cametct Michigan, and 
until he was eighteen years of age, he lived with 
his stepfather, Henry Bowen, with whom he worked 



ui)on the farm during the summer and attended the 
district schools three months each winter. The 
winter he was eighteen years old he taught his first 
school in the Sebring District, in Ogden Township. 
During this term he boarded around among the 
jiarents of his pupils, and only two of the families 
had wheat bread, while, except at two places, he 
had from two to three of the smaller children for 
bed-fellows. In the following spring he entered 
the State Normal School at Ypsilanti, from which 
he was graduated in 1862. During his attendance 
upon this institution he taught school during his 
\;ications. In July, 1863, he enlisted in the arm^-, 
and was selected as First Lieutenant of- Company 
11, 1 1th Michigan Cavalry. With the exception of 
about two months in 1864, during which time he 
was on staff duty with Gen. Hobson, he was with 
his company until November, 1864, at which time 
he resigned. In 1865 he read law in the office of 
Norman Geddes, and the next summer read with 
(iov. Greenly. 

In 1867 Mr. Stearns was graduated from the law 
department of the Aim Arbor University, and in 
the same year was admitted to the bar in Adrian 
and at once formed a i)artnership with Gov. Greenly, 
whicli continued until 1H75. In 1871 he was the 
Democratic nominee for Superintendent of Schools 
for Lenawee County, and was elected to serve two 
years. He was the first Democrat to be elected to 
the county office in Lenawee for twenty years, and 
received ten majorily in .'i vote of over 8,000. In 
1872 he was the eandidate of his party on the State 
ticket for Superintendent of Public Instruction, but 
the Greeley ticket met with disaster in Michigan 
that year, and he shared the fate of his fellow can- 
didate. In 1875 he was elected ,lu.-tice of the 
Peace in the city of Adrian, and held thai othee 
four years, and in 1878, at the Congressional Dis- 
trict Convention for this district, he was voted for 
as the Democratic nominee for Congress, receiving 
eighteen out of the forty votes cast. In July, 1873, 
he became the editor of the Daily Press. anf] occu- 
pied that position for about a year. In April, 1878, 
he became the senior proprietor of the Weekly Press, 
and has retained that connection with the paper 
ever since, besides devoting considerable time to 
the practice of his profession. In 1880 Mr. Stearns 



.#-11 



61 f. 



LENAWEE (X_)UNTY. 



was elected a member of the Board of Aldermen in 
the .Second Ward, and served until 1 886. In Jnne, 
1885, he was appointed Postmaster by President 
Cleveland, and in December, I8So, his nomination 
was sent to the Sen.ate and tiie confirmation was 
voted in May, 1886; Mr. Stearns is the incnrabent 
of the office at the time of the writing of this sl<eteh. 
In 1883 he was a.ppointed Commissioner to the 
"World's Exjiosition," tol)e iicld at Sun Francisco, 
Cal. Mr. Stearns has taken a vcr^- active part in 
political matters, and has been a delegate to every 
Democratic State Convention for the past fifteen 
years, and has always talvcn a i)rominent part in 
their proceedings. 

On the 5th of May, 1868, Mr. Stearns was mar- 
ried to Martha E., daughter of Philo and Elizabeth 
Porter, of Batavia, Branch Cn., Midi. To tliem 
have been born four children: Ihiiiy !'., Alarcli 23. 
1869: B\annie L.. June 1.', IS71; .lc-niii(. Aug. l', 
1875; and Virginia, Nov. 10, is.si. Mrs. Stearns 
was born in Batavia, Mich., June 20, 1843, and was 
for several years a teacher in tlie Cold water Union 
Schools. During her girlhood she was afforded 
good opjKirtunities for obtaining an education, 
which she improved to tlie utmost. Mr. Stearns 
never had a father's care. His parents, Willard 
Stearns and Lucinda Connrod, wei'e natives of 
Cheriy Valle_y, and were married in January, 1837. 
His father was a hotel-keeper in the village of 
Cherry Valley, and there died on tlie od of July, 
1838, from injuries sustained while wrestling, leav- 
ing his young wife with limited means of support. 
Lucinda Stearns, the mother, was horn April 11, 
181 1, and the care, education and support of her 
son devolved upon her, and right nobly did she 
discharge the trust. In 1851, at Cherry Valley, N. 
Y., she married Henry Bowen, of Franklin, this 
county, and liecame stepmother to the eight children 
whom he had had by his first wife, who was her 
sister. Their silver wedding was celebrated at 
their residence at Adrian, in l.s7(;. and it was a 
very enjoyable occasion. She died suddenly on 
the 3d of February, 1879, of paralysis, her life hav- 
ing been one of continued activit}' and usefulness. 
She was a devoted wife, a tender, loving motlier, 
and a valued neighbor. Her pure character, bound- 
less sympathy and kind, womanly disposition en- 



deared her to all her acquaintances, and to her our 
subject very justly ascribes the credit of whatever 
of worth or success his life may show. , 

Mr. Stearns takes a lively interest in fraternity 
mutters, and is a member of Adrian Lodge No. 8, 
T. O. O. F., in which he has occupied the various 
chairs, including that of presiding officer, ■and for 
several years he was the Master of Greenly Lodge 
No. 103, F. & A. M. On all matters of public pol- 
icy he has convictions and opinions, and can be 
found espousing the cause of one side or the other. 
In his capacity as editor of a public journal he is 
fearless and outspoken, and after he once makes up 
his mind that he is right, like Davy Crockett, he 
•• goes ahead," regardless of consequences. At all 
times and under all circumstances his paper has 
been an advocate of internal imiirovements. and 
the origin of many of the improvements of the city 
of A<lrian can be tr.aced to his journal. He is rec- 
ognized by all as a progressive citizen, and a man 
of influence in the sh.aping of affairs. 



<3^=Y='^=H=e- 



¥^DWIN J. SHEPHERD, junior member of 
j^ the firm of Wagner & Shepherd, druggists 
,/J' — ^ at Adri.an, is one of the rising young busi- 
ness men of the county within whose limits he has 
passed his entire life, having been born in Dover 
Township on the 10th of August' 1859. and reared 
and educated in that vicinity. His father, James 
II. Shepherd, a native of New York State, came 
wlien a young man to this county with his parents. 
His paternal grandfather, Paul Shepherd, was a 
minister of the Presbyterian Church, and one of 
the pioneers in the Master's vineyard in Southern 
I\nchigaii. He subsequently removed to Kansas, 
and was there during the border troubles. Event- 
u;dly he returned to his home in this county, where 
his death took place about 1864. 

James H. Sheplierd not long after coming to this 
county, was mairied to i\Iiss Roxana McMath, of 
Dover Townshii). whose father, Fleming McMath, 
was one of the earliest settlers. He was a prom- 
inent man in the commnnitj', and served as Justice 
of the Peace for many years. Mr. Shepherd after 



■•►-Ih-^ 





t.- 


- -- t 


•►H 


^ LENAWEE COFNTT. 617 ^ 


-<• 












his marriage, condiictecl a flonring-mill at C'aiiaii- 


takes as niucli jiride in its r.ank as one of the fore- 






daigna for some years, but siihseqneiitly i-otirod to 


most of the great Central States, as though he were 






his farm ill n..v.'r T<.w,i,-lii|.. wIutc lie now resides. 


to the '•manor born." 


\ 




The pareiit:d household inehid.'d f,,ur sous nud two 


Dur subject is a native of New .ler.sey. where he 


' 




daughters, of wlioiu Ivlwin .1.. our sul.jeel. w:,s Ihe 


ua- l.orii in Hunterdon County. Sept. ;;o. 1 s ■.'•_'. His 






second h(.i-n. I.ik<' his l.iolheis aii.i sisteis, he pur- 


p.irenis removed from there to .S.aicca County. N. 






sued his i)i'ini,'UT studies in Ihe dislriet sehooK and 


v., the following spring, and liiiac his f,alh(a-. I'et(a- 






later .■ittenchMl the lliuh Sehool at Clay ton. after 


(llliek. departed till- life in l.S'Jl. His molhca'. 






wliieli he hegau liis luisitess .■x|.erieu.'e hy enteriii.u 


.Mary (Kv<'ritt) (,»iiiek. continued living in S(aieca 






the drug-store of Sanniel I'"., llarl, in theeapaeity of 


County after the de.ath of lua- hiisb,an<l, .and being 






cierU. lie remainecl with his lirsl employer live 


an caiergetic. e.apalile w an. rel.ained her home. 






years, whieh faet spc^aks well lor l.otli parti.'s. and 


and gave her c-hildivn th<' iienehts of .-i - I e,,ni. 






at the expiration <,f this time, .leprous of .a ehanue 


n!on.selio,.| erlncation. In 1 .S;1,S she e.ame with her 






of seeiie, he icp.aired to IvasI Saginaw. \x heue<' six 


two ehildreii, our subject and .a d.anghter, .M.ary A.. 






months later, lie returned to .\<lriau. and IVjr eight- 


to Lenawee Cuunty, Mich., and lived here until the 






een months foUowing was ttie empl,,ye of (;. Wei.s- 


time of her death, in I'sTO. Mr. (iiiiek has -pent 






inger cl' Son. 


the greater part of his life in agri(Milt nral pursuits. 






Mr. Shepherd, in I^Sl, decided to emliark in 


though, like many other farm-bred youth-, he still 


1 




husiness oil his own :ieeonnl . .and lieeauie .associated 


pursued his studies, .anin'or four winters he m.ade 






witti his pres-nt p.artner. with whom he has sinee 


use <,f the knowledge thus aecpiiivd 1 ,y teaching 






continual. Their store i, h.e.iled at No. .•; North 


school in Fairlield T.iwnship. He is an .active and 


I 




Main sfr.'et. and they e.airy a full stock of drug- 


pn.sperons tanner, and the ,,wncr of li'd acres of 






gists' goods, liesides oil. paints, -lass, etc., indeed 


lan.l whieh he has made many valuable improve- 






everything nsunlly handled in lliisliu.^. Asskillfiil 


ments. 






pharmacists, they have few eipials in the city, and 


Mr. (^lick has lie.m twiee married, iJie lirst time 






have made a long stride into the ciilhlence of the 


Al.ay S, IS-i:), in Fairlield Township, to Samantha 






pcoi)lc. 


V. Cole. To tlu'iii were l.oin eight eliiklreii, four 






Onr sniiject so(.ii after cstalilishiuL;- his present 


of whom rea.-hed years of maturity —Frank, Aly- 






husiness. w.as married, in .luiie, I.SS.",, to Miss Leii.a 


ron 11., Floreiic<> K. and F.difh S. Frank married 






B. Angell. who was horn I'ch. I'l. 1 .sC.V .and is the 


Mi.ss Carrie .Mea.l. I,y whom he h.ad two eliildren. 






ilaughter of David and Mary 11. .\n-ell.of .Adrian. 


Mabel ami Frankie. and died in F.aiiiield T,,wusliip 






Of this uiiiou there is one child, .a .son. .lames II.. 


when twenty-eight year- <,f .a^e; Myron married 






Ikumi .luue !), i.S.SC. Air. Sheplua-d is a lirsl-cla.ss 


Nina F. Reed, an.I resides in Fairlield Township; 






business man, and takes an active interest iii the 


Florence is th.. wife of 11. W. I'orler. and resides 


1 




enterprises tending to further the best inlvrests of 


in Wesldu. while Ivlitli i- .at home. After nearly 






the city. In politics, he votes the h'epid.lie.an 


twenty-one plca.sant year- of married life, Mrs. 






ticket, and socially, is a ;5-2d degree M.ason, belong- 


(liiick dieil. .bin. .1. 1S70. and .Mr. (»ui,'k was a sec- 






ing to Adrian Lodge No. 19. 


ond time m.arried. in Fairlield Town-hip. to Mi-s 
N.aiicy. d.a.uglitcr of Davis 1). ISeiiiiett of that place. 






-— ^>S.!5He^ . ^ . ^; __.... ^- 


who has since faithfully (a,-,,perated with him, both 






^^ORNELIUS (^IflCK. As a line representa- 
^^ mers of Fairfield/Towuship. .and one who 


in his home and social oliligations. They are both 






active members of tlie Laptist Church, with which 






he has been ideiitilie<l since |,S4t. 






has ably assisted in its growing prosperity, uc Lake 


Our sul)je<-t besides attending to his numerous 






pleasure in giving a brief biogrMphy of the genlle- 


farm duties, is much interested in literary matters, 






mati whose n.ame stands at the head of this sketch. 


and has been correspondent of the Adrian Times 






' Although thi.s is only bis tidopted State, Mr. CJnick 


for many years; he is also correspondent of the ' 




tfc \ 




-^ , 




■^ 1 






—^ 


. 




I 





618 



»► ■ <• 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Michigan Christian Herald and other journals. He 
is a conscientious, earnest advocate of tiie princi- 
ples promulgated by the Prohibition party, and al- 
ways supports them by his vote. Until 1884 he 
was identified with the Republican party. He 
is prominent in local affairs, and has honorably dis- 
charged the duties of Justice of the Peace, and of 
other minor offices of tlie town. His honesty and 
integrity of character are undoubted, and are ap- 
preciated in the community in which he lives. 
Mr. Quick was a candidate for Governor on the 
American ticket in 1880. 



'tJ-^J^l 



^#*^.«- 



^^ EORGE W. RUDESI LL. The career of this 
III g--, highly respected resident of Woodstock 
^^i|( Township is one of unusual interest, as he 
was thrown upon his own resources early in life and 
was fortunate in having been given the wisdom to 
make good use of his time. We have in him the 
pleasing picture of a man self-educated, well-in- 
formed, and one with whom it is both gratifying 
and profitable to converse. He has been a school 
teacher as well as a farmer, and followed both these 
callings in Medina County, Ohio. He has now a 
neat and comfortable home on section 30, and is 
surrounded in a goodly measure by the desirable 
things of this life. 

Mr. Rudesill is a native of the Buckeye State, and 
was born in Columbiana County, Aug. 21, 1829. His 
parents, Jacob and Jemima (Reed) Rudesill, were 
born in Westmoreland County, Pa., the father 
Nov. 11, 1805. He died in Medina County, Ohio, 
at the advanced age of eighty -two years, having 
survived his estimable partner fourteen years; the 
mother had died at the age of seventy-six years. 
Jacob Rudesill was a practical farmer and was also 
familiar with merchandising, in which he engaged 
ct>nsiderably. The fann'ly is of German descent, 
and the great-grandfather of our subject crossed 
the Atlantic from the Fatherland during the 
Colonial day>. He settled in Penn.s.ylvania, and 
fnjni him and his brother Julin. it is believetl, 
sprang the family of this name in this country. He 
reared a family in the Keystone State, and ;imong 
his sons was George, the grandfather of our sub- 



•►HI-<«- 



ject, who when a young man settled in Ohio and 
engaged in keeping a hotel in connection with farm- 
ing. He was one of the earliest pioneers of the 
Buckeye State, and there spent the remainder of his 
life. 

The subject of this sketch was reared by his 
parents, and besides assisting in the labors of the 
farm, attended the district school and a select 
school. He was ambitious to learn, and in advance 
of his schoolmates in this respect. He determined 
to acquire a good education, and studied and 
worked to this end until twentj'-six yc^ars of age, 
teaching during the winter season to pa}' his way, 
and doing farm work in the summer. '1 he result 
proved that "where there's a will there's a way," 
and the time thus spent he can never regret. 

Mr. Rudesill was married while a resident of Me- 
dina County, Ohio, Jan. 18, 1855, to Miss Ann J. 
llanchett, who was born in Medina County, Ohio, 
Nov. -28, 1836, and was the daughter of Watson 
and Betsy (Bordon) Hanchett. Mr. Hanchett was 
a native of New York State, born in 1804 near the 
city of Syracuse, where he was married to a lady of 
the same locality, in March, 1833. They removed 
to Ohio about 1834, and reared a family of nine 
children, seven of whom are living. The parents 
died in Ohio, the father being about fift3'-two j'ears 
old and the mother forty-two. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Rudesill have been born nine children, eight of 
whom are now living: Betsey J. was born May 24, 
1867, married Charles Sanders and became the 
mother of five children, one of whom is now de- 
ceased; Sylva M. was born July 8, 18G1, and is the 
wife of William Royston, and the mother of two 
children; Burt was born Aug. 5, 1865, and is em- 
|)loyed as a carpenter, making his h<jme with his 
parents; Ella was born Feb. 18, 1868, and is now 
the wife of Albert Royston, of Eaton County; 
llattie was born Oct. .'jI, 1870, and is attending 
school in Addison : Nettie was born ]\Iarch 27, 1874, 
and Milton, Oct. 4, 1879; these two attend the dis- 
trict school. Mabel, "the baby," was born Oct. 11, 

1 ssy. 

Mr. Rudesill after his marriage settled on the 
farm in Medina Count}', Ohio, which was the prop- 
erty of the Hanchetts, anil in due time purchased 
the interest of the heirs and remained there eight 



•►HI-* 



■•► 



lp:nawer county. 



_years. About 1 862 he sold out and en to tlii^^ 

county, settling first in Riflgevva_y Tovvnshi|i. Four 
and one-half years later he traded his i)ro|>('ilv there 
for his present homestead, which lie has imw oecii- 
pied for a period <if twenty years. He h.■l^ iiinet\- 
op.e acres of good hmd, .■ind liy liis qu.-ililie.- :i> :i 
man and a citizen has estal)lisiied himself in th<' 
confidence and esteem of his neighbors. Ilew:is 
Justice of the Peace in Ridgeway Township during 
nearly all the time of his residence there, and hns 
always been prominent in local affairs. He was an 
uncompromising Democrat, politically, until IHSi 
but since then has given his support to the Pro- 
hibitionists. He has taken a lively interest in tlie 
establishment of educational institutions, and has I 
served on the School Board nt different tinieis. Con- 
tented in being useful, and living so that liis chil- 
dren will not be ashamed of his record, he illustrates [ 
in an admirable manner the qualities of the honest 
man and the good citizen, of which class the bone 
and sinew of the community are formed. 



honored pio- 
i a re pre sen ta- 



EDSON WALKER, one of th 
neers of Lenawee County, 
) five of a fine old familj% and a man of more 
than ordinary intelligence and ability. He has im- 
proved his opportunities for reading and study, and 
is a lover of good books. He keeps himself well 
posted upon current events, and is in all respects 
the reflective and clear-thinking man with whom il 
is pleasant to converse. He came to this section of 
country in the days of his youth and strength, which i 
he gladly gave to assist in the development of its ' 
resources, while at the same time building up for 
himself a good home and a ereditalile position atnong 
his fellow-citizens. 

Mr. Walker was born in the town of Dummers- 
ton, Windham Co., Vt., Oct. 27, 1813. His father, [ 
Daniel Walker, was a native of Massachusetts, ' 
whence his grandfather, Jonas Walker, removed to 
Vermont during the early settlement of Windham 
County, where he engaged in farming and resided 
the balance of his life. There Daniel Walker was 
reared to manhood, but left the farm to learn the 
trade of a shoemaker, which he followed until about j 



^V- 



tonnud devoted his time priiieipnlly to Miirienltural 
l)ursuits until able no longer to labor, then repaired 
to the town of Putney, where he spent the remainder 
of his life. 

The uiothei- of ,,iir Mibject was in her girlhood 
Miss Mary .Stockwell, and by her union with Dan- 
iel ^Valker there were born ten children, all of 
whom grew to mature years. Edson. of our sketch, 
was the fourth in order of hirtli. and with his broth- 
ers and sisters attended the common school until 
sixteen years of age. He completed his studies in 
the academies at Brattleboro and Chester, and when 
eighteen years old commenced teaching, employing 
himself thus durinu winter, and farming in summer 
until 18;V.l. He then depailed from his native .State, 
and coming west to this county located in Palmyra 
Township and engaged as a farm laborei'. After 
two months he was seized with ague, which unfitted 
him for manual labor, and he resumed teaching in 
R.aisin Township, where he was thus employed sev- 
eral winters. In the spring of 1839 he again com- 
menced laboring on a farm by the month, and was 
thus occupied until he had saved sutiicient from his 
earnings to purchase forty acres of land at |ilO per 
acre. It was all heavy timber and lay idle until 
184'2, when he commenced felling the trees, and 
thereafter gave his attention principally to opening 
up the farm. He added to his first purchase as 
time passed on, and now has 12.5 acres of land un- 
der a good state of cultivation, with first-class 
buildings and an orchard of fine apple trees, besides 
pears, grapes, peaches and the small fruits. 

Mr. Walker w.as first married, Jan. 1, 1842, to 
Miss Betsey Hoxie, who was born in New York, 
and was the daughter of John Hoxie, a well-known 
resident of that section. The young wife died six 
months after her wedding, and Mr. W.. on the 10th 
of December, 184fi, was wedded to Miss Marie J. 
Stewart. They became the parents of five ehihlren, 
recorded as follows: James S., the eldest, was born 
Dec. 17, 1847, and after completing his primary 
studies, took a course in Adrian College; during 
the progress of the Rebellion he enlisted, in 186-4, 
in the United States Marine Service, and while in 
the discharge of his duties, was drowned in the 
Mississippi Feb. 14, 1865. Edson G. is married and 
•► 



•►HH^ 



lenawp:e county. 



lives on the hoiiiesteLul ; Maiy L. is a resicleut of 
Chicago; Pliny F. was born Oct. 9. 18o5, and died 
Marcii 14, 1<S7.!J. at the liome.stead, while Mattie ,1. 
resides at home with her parents. 

Mrs. Walker waslwrn in Pittslnirgli, Pa.. July i. 
I.s27,aud is the daughter of James A. Stewart, a na- 
tive of Cannonsbnrg, Washington Co., Pa., and the 
son of William Stewart, whom it is believed was of 
Scotch descent. He crossed the o('ean in early man- 
hood and locate<l in Pennsylvania, |)iiri ii.i-inu :i 
farm ill Washington Connty, where lie c nil i\ al<>l 
the soil and spent the renjainder of his da^'s. His 
son, James A., became an expert maciiiiiist, at 
which be was occupied until nft-i'r his marriage. 

Thence he removed to East Livci| I. Ohio, in 

1840, where he resided six .year- .ind cinied on 
farming. He finally became a resident of Adrian, 
this State, where his death took place Jnly 17, 1882. 
His wife, whf>se maiden name was Mary T. Stokes, 
was liorn in Beaver County, Pa., and was the 
daughter of Joseph Stokes, also a native of that 
State, where he spent his entire life. .She came to 
Adrian with her fainiljs but only lived a short time 
after the renioval. her death taking place Aug. 17, 
1847. 

Mr. and Mrs. Walker are members in good 
standing of the Presbyterian Cliiirch.and numbered 
among the liberal and cheerful contributoj-s to the 
enterprises designed to encourage morality and edu- 
cation among the people. Our subject cast his first 
vote for Gen, . Jacks(Mi. but afterward, being de- 
cidedl3' opposed to the extension of slave territoiy, 
left the Democratic party diu-ing the Kansas troubles, 
supported Fremont in 1 8.5(>. .-ind afterward identified 
himself with the Republicans until a short time 
since, when he decided to gixi- his supp<)rt entirolj' 
to the Prohibitionists. 

^ €-*^ — ^- 



•y family- have 
Ik. lit tlifscmth- 
western part of Lenawee ('ciimiy >iiicc the 
pioneer days. In 1842 Abel Peiry, the father of 
our subject, left his early friends and associations 
in the Empire State, and journeyed to the wilds of 
Michigan, locating in Medina Township. He pur- 



chased 640 acres of unimproved land, from about 
eight acres of which some discouraged settler had 
[jartly chopiied away the trees. With the assistance 
of his boys, Mr. Perry, after the lapse of years, had 
eliminated from the forest a good-sized tract of 
land, where he spent the remainder of his life. He 
only lived seven years after coming to the West, 
his death occurring in 184i), when he was sixty -five 
ye.'irs of age. The mother, Susanna (Ainsworih) 
Perry, died in Onondaga Connty, N. Y., before the 
removal of the family to Michigan ; both parents 
were natives of Onondaga County. They had a 
family of nine children, seven sons and two daugh- 
ters, of whom Edgar A., of our sketch, was the 
youngest; they all came to the West with their fa- 
ther. 

Our subject was born in Onondaga Count3% N. 
Y., Feb. 28, 1836, and coming to this county with 
the famil.y, made his home with his father, and 
worked out until a youth of seventeen, when desir- 
ing to see something of the world, he started over- 
land fc)r California, March 31, 1852, with a com- 
pany of twenty-one persons, including two women 
and five or six children. Their train consisted of 
eleven wagons, and after crossing the Missouri River 
they made very good headway, arriving at Califor- 
nia on the 20th of August. Upon the whole the 
trip was quite pleasant and satisfactory, although 
the loss of one of their men by fever detracted 
considerably from their pleasure. Tliey had no 
trouble with the, Indians, although they made the 
trip at a time when emigrants were frequently sur- 
prised by the savages, and sometimes with serious 
results. The men of this expedition comprised the 
following-named persons: Lawrence Cottrell, Har- 
vey Snow, William Thorp, Jesse Thorp, and Edgar 
A. Perry, our subject'. 

Mr. Perry returned fnun his California trip in 
the summer of 1863, via the Isthmus, and with a 
snug little sum of money. He set foot upon the 
soil of his old home in Medina Township on the 
27th of February, and since that time has engaged 
in farming pursuits. For nineteen years he em- 
ployed himself on land in Medina, and purchased 
his present farm in 1880. This embraces 284 acres 
of land, with a substantial residence, a barn and all 
the buildings required by the progressive agricult- 



•►Hh-*- 



-•►-■-^ 



-f 



lkna\vep: county. 



urist. Ill addition to tliis propurtv Mr. Perry li.is 
eighty .•icres ia Medina T()\viisiii[). 

Our .sul)ject, on tl)c I llli of Aiii;ust, I .sOii, timk 
to Liniself a wife a,nd lK'I|inice(, in the person ni' 
Miss Lncy I. Couley. who u-;,s horn in .Medina 
Townsliip, Dec. l'.'i, is I,",, ^nd is tlie daiiijliter of 
.lustnsand Clarissa (liala-r) Cooley, native> of New 
York, iind now residents of Medina, oT wlimn a 
skuteli will he found elsewhere in this voluine. 
This union resulted in the hirlli of four children: 
Klnier A., who is farmini;- in Dover Townshij); .-nKl 
Amos . I., Sidney A. and Nellie I., at liome with 
their parents. .Mr. Perry, politically, :<iides with the 
Republican party, although having little to do with 
public affair.s. His course as a farmer has been 
marked with thorou<>hness and skill, and asacili/.en 



ho 



~^'*^ -j»-:^. ii^^'^itf--'^' 3?- 



m 



AMEST. I-'INCII. who operated as a farmer 
tweut.y ye.ars in Adrian 'I'ownship. is now r<>- 
tirert from active labor, and occupyinu a pleas- 
ant home on section l.'i, when' he busies him- 
self in light eni])loyuient when so disposed, and has 
ample time to devote to the .<ociety of his many 
friends and ac(iuainlances. Among these he is a 
general favorite, being of a kind and obliging dis- 
position, courteous in his manner, and of that tem- 
perament which invari.-dily wins conliilence and es- 
teem. Air.' Innch came to thi- county during its 
early settlement, and is numbered anujng the men 
who .assisted in llie development of its resources and 
tin' building up of its reinitation as a desirable place 
of re.sidence, both on account of its natuiai .adv.an- 
tages and the intelligence of its people. 

Mr. P"inch is a native of the Kmpire .State, where 
he was born in Or.ange Ccninty. .Inn. l(i, 1811. 
His father. Philetus Finch, wasa native of the same 
couaty, wliere he learned shoemaking, which he fol- 
lowed during liis early maahood, and later invested 
his modest capital in a farm ia Sleubeii ( ounty. 
Of tiiis he took possession in 1<S-2S, ami remained 
there until his death, after he had attained to nmie 
than fourscore _years. The mother of our sidijecl, 
who in her girlhood was Miss Elizabeth Paddock, 
died in 1830, when but forty 3'ears of age. The 



•►Hh-^*- 



[la rental household included six sonsand one daugh- 
ter, the Latter of whom died when quite youn-, and 
one son .mIso passed .away in childhood. 

Our subject left llie home roof soon after the 
death of his mother, ami look U)) liis alnnlr with his 
uncle, in Yates Coimty, N. V.. where he worke.I ,,n 
a fai-m and availed himself of the instruction -iven 
in the district schools, during the winter sea,-on, 
until reaching his majority, lie then commenced 
learning the cooper's trade, whiili he followed 
thereafter until forty-live years of .age. In the 
spring of l;5;;(;, he came to the Territory of .Michi- 
gan, and after looking os( 1 the country, went back 
to New York after his family, and upon his r.-turn 
located in Rom*' Townsliip, npon ei,:;lity acavs of 
wild land. lipon this there wiTe no improvemenis 
whatever, an<l his tir>t business, of course, was to 
pr<JVide ;i siu'lter for Iii> f:iniily. I!.- posM/ssed the 
hardy resolution of llie men of tho>e time>, and wa> 
prepared for ever\ <'meigency. He worked .at his 
inideam! culti\aled the soil in the best manner he 
conld. and in due tim." found hnnself on the high 
road to pi'ospeiity. .\bont is,',;! he sold this prop- 
erly and moved t,o a farm in Adrian Township, 

now lives. 

The marriage of .lames T. Finch and M iss Knieline 
Ilalsted was <a'lebr;ited at the home ..f the bride ia 
Yates County, N. Y., in the spring of is;;7. 1 his 
lady was the daughter of .John Ilalsted, of New 
Yolk .State, who migrated to Michigan shortly after 
his daughter's marriage, ami taking up his resi- 
dence in Rome Township, continued there until liis 
death when laghty-two years old. Mrs. lOmeline 
Finch was born in New York Stat.', Sept. 30, 1808, 
ami depaiteil this life at her home in Rome Town- 
ship. -Ian. -22. ISIG, at the old iKuncstead. Of her 
union with oiu' sul)ject there are living the children 
whose record is as follows: Charles, bora Aug. 30, 
18;!,S, is now a resident of this county ; John was 
born Marcli .0, 1 SK), and duiang the late war en- 
listed as a soldier in the Union .army, from which 
he returned with life aad health signed, aad is aow 
carrying on farming near Mt. Phillii)s, Kaa. ; Phile- 
tus was bora Jan. 17, 1 812, and enlisted in the serv- 
ice about the same time as his brother John; af- 
ter returning home he decided to seek his fortune 
»^ 



•►Hh-^^ 



6-22 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



on the Pacifio Slope, and is now in California. Kme- 
line was l)orn Aug. 24, l«4o, and is the wiff of 
Clark Decider, of Adrian. 

Mr. Finch was a second tinic married, Sept. 12, 
1848, to Miss Susan A. Hood, also a native of New 
York. She became the mothei- of two children: 
Loran C, who was born Sept. 17, 1849, is now a 
resident of Osceola County, this State, where he is 
engaged in the manufacture of sash, doors and 
blinds; the other child, also a son. died in in- 
fancy. Mrs. Susan A. Finch died in Scpteml)er. 
18.52, and her remains were laid to rest in the ceme- 
tery at Rome. 

The third wife of our subject, formerly Miss Ab- 
bie Cole, was born in New Y(jrk State, and was tiie 
daughter of James Cole, who removed from there 
to Ohio, and thence to Michigan, spending his last 
years in Adrian Township with our subject. His 
death took place when he was eighty-three years of 
age. Mrs. Abbie Finch died Aug. 31. 187.S. 



^^iEORGE W. WOOD WORTH. The lieauti- 
ful farm of this gentleman is eligibly lo- 
cated on section 3, in Medina Township, 
and comprises 140 acres of valuable land, with first- 
class buildings. One of its interesting features is a 
fish pond, constructed by its present proprietor, and 
stocked with German carp. In addition to the 
dwelling there is a well-appointed barn with an 
ample granary, a carriage shed, and the other out- 
houses required around the countrj' Inmie, all con- 
structed in the best possible manner. A sawmill 
at some distance from these adds to the general in- 
come, turning out about 400,000 feet of lumber 
annually. The entire premises wear an aspect of 
thrift and prosperity which cannot fail to attract 
the attention of the observant traveler, and is at 
once an indication of the industry and enterprise 
of the original projector. 

Our subject is the son of Orville and Amanda 
(Bennett) Woodwortli, the former born in Colum- 
bia County, N, Y., Feb. 1. 1807, and the latter in 
Norwich, that State, April 11. 1812. They were 
man-ied in 1830, and the elder Wood worth was 



liroprietor of a good farm near the town of Sennett, 
about five miles from the city of Auburn. After 
the birth of one child, a daughter Mary, now the 
wife of John Johnson, of Hudson, the father sold 
out his interest in the Empire State, and coming to 
tliis county took up a tract of land in Medina 
Township which is now included in the homestead 
of our subject. This he moved upon in 1835, and 
from that time devoted his attention to its cultiva- 
tion and improvement. Here also three more 
children were born, all of whom lived to maturity. 
f4eorge W., of our sketch, was the third child, and 
was born in Medina Township, June 28, 1840. He 
pursued his early studies in the first log school- 
house in the southwestern part of the township and 
at an earlj' age became familiar with the various 
employments of the farm. 

Mr. Woodworth. when not quite twenty-three 
years of age, was married, Feb. 23, 1863, to Miss 
Susan M., daughter of Abel and Catharine (Paul) 
Hall, the wedding taking place in Adrian. The 
parents of Mrs. Woodworth were formerly residents 
of Gorhara Township, Fulton Co., Ohio, and are 
now deceased. Mrs. Susan Woodworth died at 
her home in Medina Township, Sept. 25, 1865. 

The present wife of our subject was Miss Alice 
Mason, and they were married at Lansing, this State, 
Dec. 9, 1879. She is the daughter of W. S. G. and 
Mary A. (May) Mason, the father a native of 
Seneca County, N. Y., and the mother of Town- 
send, Sandusky Co., Ohio. After their marriage 
her parents lived for a time in the Latter place, 
whence they removed to this county about thirty 
years ago and settled in Fairfield Township. They 
were the parents of five children, two sons and 
three daughters, Mrs. W. being the third child. 
She was born in Townsend, July 25, 1851, and her 
education was completed in the village of Weston. 
Mr. and Mr. Mason returned to Fulton County, 
Ohio, in 1875, where they are still living and resi- 
dents of Chesterfield. 

Mr. and Mrs. Woodworth have one child, a son, 
George W., who was born April 3, 1883. Our sub- 
ject has been Supervisor two years, and socially is a 
member of the Masonic fraternity. He is quite 
preeminent as a Mason and belongs to Morenci 
Lodge No. 95, in which he has officiated as Junior 
•^ 



iU. 



^ 



l\^ 




\ 





LKNAWEE COUNTY 



625 



Warden, Senior DejiCDii ;iih1 AI.-isfiT, hol.liii'i Uii.s 
latter ofHc^e for nine years. He li:is also been Over- 
seer and Master of Morenei Grange ten years. Po- 
litically, he votes the straight Democratic ticket. 
Mrs. "Woodworth is a member of tlic Methodist 
Church .'it Moi'enci. 

Orville Woodworth, tlic father of our subject, was 
a public-spirited citizen, and did much to encour- 
age the settlement of Medina Townshi() with a 
worthy and intelligent class of people. He was 
ever tlie ready helper of those Uying to help them- 
selves, and contributed of his time and means to the 
various worthy enterprises upon which the prosperity 
of the young- and struggling community depended. 
His third house, which lie put up in tiic wiTiter of 
18-1:7-48, was used ;is a hotel, and familiarly 
known as '•Buckhorn Tavern;'" this was before the 
days of railroads and lieforc the town of Morenei 
had come into existence. lie was expert with the 
rirte in those early days and hunting and fishing 
were his favorite pastimes. Over .500 deer fell by 
his unerring rifle after he became a resident of this 
county. He lived to be quite aged, and died at 
the homestead on the 3d of October, 1870. The 
mother survived a little over five years, her death 
taking place Dec. 17, 187,'). 






RS. CHARLOTTE L. ROWLSON. Among 
Ihe pioneer wives and mothers who came 
with their families to Southern Michigan 
during the early settlement of Lcnnwee 
County, the subject of this record is wortliy of 
more than passing mention. She looked u|)on this 
section of country when it was little better than a j 
wilderness, and by her patience, her labors and her | 
courage, sustained the he.nrt and hands of her hits- [ 
band in his efforts to build up from the nnculti- j 
vated soil a homestead for himself iind his family. | 
Chancey Rowlson is remembered as a man of i 
more than ordinary aliility, well educated, capable 
and popular, and one who took a genuine interest 
in the building up of the struggling little conimu- j 
iiity with its honest and worthy ambitions, from the | 



cruilc lunterial witii wliich tliey ha<l to work. He 
was born in Wayne County. N. Y., Feb. (J, 1808, 
and departed this life after having rounded up the 
sum of seventy-five years in honor and prosjjerity, 
June 30, 18.s;5. He left his widow a fine estate, in- 
cluding a valuable farm of \xi acres, with all the 
necessarj' buildings and appurtenances, and upon 
which she now resides. It comprises part of sec- 
tions 20 and 29 in Woodstock Township. 

Harvey and Lucretia (Patridge) Rowlson, the 
parents of Chancey. were natives of Connecticut, 
but after marriage they migrated to the Empire 
State, where thej' engaged in farming, and where 
the father died. The mother subsequently came 
to this county, and ni.-idc her home with her son, at 
whose house her clcMtli took place in 1804, after she 
had pnssed her eighty-second birthday. They 
were tiie parents of four children, who, with the ex- 
cei)tion of Chancey, died young. He left New 
York State and ma<le his home with his uncle in 
Vermont until 1 s:!S. wlien lie r.-ime to this St.ate 
and located at once in Woodstock Township, where 
he lived the balance of his days. Harvey B. Rowl- 
son, editor and proprietor of the Hillsdale Standard 
(Republican), came to this county with Chancey 
Rowlson, with whom lie remained five years, and 
then went to learn the printer's trade; he is con- 
sidered one of the family. 

Mrs. Rowlson was born in Rutland County, Vt., 
Oct. 24, 1818, and is the daughter of James R. and 
Chloe (Savage) Norton, also natives of the Green 
Mountain State. They emigrated to Ohio during 
its early settlement, .-uid there spent their last days, 
the father dying at the age of eighty-three 3'ears, 
and the mother surviving six yeors, dying aged 
eighty-four 3'ears. Harvey Rowlson was a farmer 
IW occupation, but a carpenter Ijy trade, and had 
served in the War or 1812. He was a very intelli- 
gent n)au, and took a lively interest in politics. 
He held for some time the position of Deputy' 
Sheriff in W.ayne County. The famil3' was a patri- 
otic one through its entire histoiy so far as known, 
and was never behindhand when the country 
needed soldiers to assist in preserving its institu- 
tions. Mrs. Rowlson had nephews and other rela- 
tives in the army during the late "unpleasantness." 

Miss Charlotte L. Norton was seventeen years of 



■•►Hh-^ 



M^ 



62fi 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



*t 



age when her parents left her native State for Ohio, 
and there she developed into womanhood, receiv- 
ing her education in the district school, which her 
future husband also attended. Tiiey were married 
in the Buckeye iState, April 28, 1842, and at once 
set out for the new home in the West. • Of the 
trials and hardships which they encountered, the tale 
is told often in this volume, for they were similar 
to that of all the pioneers. In bravery, patience 
and perseverance, the record is also similar. Mr. 
and Mrs. Rowlson were outdone by none of their 
neighbors. 

Mr. Rowlson in his younger years had learned 
the clothier's trade, but worked at it only one year 
after coming to Michigan, when his farming oper- 
ations engaged his time and attention. The little 
household in due time was brightened by the birth 
of five children: Hattie L. was born in Woodstock 
Township, Feb. 5, 1845, and is now the wife of 
Miles Bennett, of Jackson County, and the mother 
of two children; Harvey J. was born April 10, 
1848, and married Miss Belle Kaho we; he is the 
father of two boys, and is farming on section 2!). 
Fred was born Oct. 10, 1860, and married Miss 
Aurilla C. Rose; they have two daughters, and he 
is engaged in farming the home place. Sarah, the 
eldest daughter of Mrs. Rowlson, became the wife 
of Jackson Carpenter, .and died Dec. 23, 1878, 
leaving an infant daughter; this child, now a bright 
little girl nine years of age, was reared by her 
grandmother, and is the pet of the household. She 
was named Sarah after her mother, whom she is 
said to strongly resemble. Martha died when two 
and a half years old. 

Since the death of her husband, Mrs. Rowlson 
has had the principal management of the estate, 
and the land is worked by her sou Fred. Mr. 
Rowlson was a member of the Republican party 
from the time of its organization, but never an 
ofBce-seeker, preferring to leave politics to men 
who were less fond of agriculture. He was genial 
and benevolent, a true type of the Christian gentle- 
man who is found doing good as he has opportu- 
nity, and when in the home circle and .imong his 
familiar friends illustrated the true worth of his 
character. 

As representative of those " who have borne the 



burden and heat of the d.av " in Lenawee County, 
we have pleasure in presenting on an adjoining 
page of this Alulm portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Rowl- 
son. 



■<•- 



eHRlST WALTER. The. Swiss are noted for 
their love of liberty and attachment to their 
native country. This, together with the 
fact that one of their countrymen by' his daring and 
sacrifice made it possible for his followers to con- 
tinue in comparative peace and comfort upon their 
native soil, is probably the reason that Switzerland 
of all the European countries, is perhaps least rep- 
resented upon American soil. 

The subject of this sketch, now a resident of Me- 
dina Township, was born in that land of beautiful 
lakes and mountains, in the canton of Schaffhausen, 
Feb. 7, 1837, and is the son of George and Ursula 
(Kubler) Walter, natives of the same place, where 
they spent their entire lives. George ^\^alter was a 
farmer of modest means, and the children of the 
parental household were taught early in life to 
make themselves useful about their humble home. 
They were named respectively: Sebastian, M.agda- 
lena; Jacob, now deceased; Barbara; George, de- 
ceased; Casper, Christian, George (2d), deceased, 
and Ursula. The father died on the 13th of De- 
cember, 1858, aged sixtj^-six ye.ars. The mother 
survived her husband four 3'cars only, her death 
taking place in July, 1862. Our subject and two 
sisters were the only members of the family who 
came to America, and the sisters, Magdalena and 
Barbara, are residents of Chicago and lowarespect- 
ivel3'. 

The people of Switzerland, following the com- 
mendable custom of their German neighbors, pl.ace 
their children in school at a suitable age, where 
they are retained until fourteen years old. The 
parents of our subject had little of this world's 
goods to bestow upon their sun, and accordingly 
gave him what is of still more value — a good prac- 
tical education. Upon leaving school he went to 
work with his father upon the land belonging to 
the latter. The family were devoted to the Luth- 
eran Church, and about this time also young Wal- 
ter was confirmed, and thus practicallj^ made a mem- 
^ ■» k ' 4» 



'k 



Hh^ 



LKNAWEE COUNTY. 



627 






ber of the same. Abfmt cisjhteeii ni(nitli> l.-iicr hv 
left home and worked for himself until the struggle 
for liberty in Italy began, and then entered the 
ranks of the Italian army. He fought at tiie bat- 
tle of Naples in 1858, and tliereaftor followed the 
fortunes of war in .Soutii western Europe four years; 
in addition,to this he served in tlie .•irniy of Switz- 
erland a year. 

Our subject set sail for Auicrica in the s|)ring of 
1801, in good time to measure arnis with the Amer- 
ican soldiery, and was soon enrolled in the oTtli 
Ohio Infantry. With his regiment he met the rebels 
near La Fayette, Va., and again at Princeton, 
where the regiment lost eight men. Soon afterward 
they moved to Vicksburg, and Mr. Walter assisted 
in digging the underground passage at that place. 
He was also in the engagements at J.ackson, Miss., 
Cham|)ion Hills, Vickslmrg, Chattanooga, Lookout 
Mountain, and Delta, (ia., and at the capture and 
siege of Atlanta. After a faiti\ful service of three 
years he received his honorable discharge, Sejjt. 27, 
1865, and with his comrades was mustered out. 

After the third time being transformed from a 
soldier to a civilian, Mr. Walter made his w.ay to 
Toledo, Ohio, and not long afterward was married 
to one of his own countrywomen, Jliss Margai'et 
Kaelbeck, the wedding taking place at the home of 
the bride, March 23, 18(!8. Mrs. Walter is the 
daughter of Phillip and Margaret (Neinborn) Fael- 
beck, natives of Germany, who left the Fatheiland 
in 1850. They first settled in Siindusky, Ohio, and 
subsequently removed to Black Swamp in the same 
State, where they are still living. Mr. Faelbeck was 
born Nov. 11, LSI 3, and his wife .Ian. 24, 1825. 
They are tlie parents of nine children — Caroline, 
Margaret, Christian, Henry. Andrias, Catherine, 
Emma, Charles and Phillip, who are mostly resi- 
dents of Ohio. 

The wife of our subject was born Nov. Ifi, 1847, 
and was but three years of .age when she was 
brought by hei' parents to America. She also was 
contirmed in the Lutheran Church when fourteen 
years old, and with her husband remains a loyal ad- 
herent to the religious faith in which she was trained 
by careful and conscientious parents. They were 
people in humble circumstances, and could only 
give to their offspring the heritage of a good name. 



Miss Marg.aret had many friends, anil earned her 
own living when old enough until she was married. 

Air. and Mrs. Walter settled in Toledo. Ohio, 
after their ni.ari'iage, and there became the parents 
of ten blooming children, whom they named re- 
spectively, Edward, .lohn, Fn^derick, Mina, Nettie, 
Frank, Charles, Jacob, Phillip and Robert. Ed- 
ward is now a promising young man of nineteen 
years, and engaged in the grocery business at To- 
ledo. The rest of the children are at home with 
their parents, and attending school. 

While in Toledo Mr. Walter was occupied as a 
drayman, and in 1875 he determined upon a change 
of location .and occupation, and so set his face 
toward the Wolverine State. He invested his ready 
capital in a farm near Riga, this eonnt3', which he 
occupied two years, but this venture not proving 
entirely satisfactory, he sold out and returned to 
the Buckeye State, where he remained six years. 
At the expiration of this time he determined to try 
the West once more, and this time came to Lenawee 
County, where he has since been quite contented to 
remain. His snug farm of sixty acres is utilized 
apparently in the best maimer, and he has not onlj' 
been suecessful as an agriculturist, but in cultivat- 
ing the esteem and confidence of his neighbors. 

TFS\ OBERT power. This gentleman, who oc- 
:L#f^ cupics the res|)onsiblc p<jsition of Superin- 

ir\V 111 I 

/*i \Vi tendent of the Lenawee County Poor Farm, 
^^' was born in Monroe, Mich., March 18, 
I 840. He is the son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Sea- 
man) I'ower, natives of New York State, who came 
to Michigan in 1833, au'l settled in Monroe. They 
afterw.ard came to Lenawee Country , and here his 
father s|)ent his declining years, dying in Palmyra 
Township in 1870; the mother is still living at the 
advanced age of seventy-four years. They were the 
parents of eight children. 

The subject of this personal narrative was reared 
on a farm, and received a common-school educa- 
tion in his youth. His parents were in moderate 
circumstances, and he began early in life to make his 
own way in the world. He acquired a taste for 
farming while young, and has always been engaged 



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fi2S 



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LENAWEE COUNTY. 



i-ih 



in agricultural pursuits, his first efforts in this line 
being performed while in the employ of neighbor- 
ing farmers. 

At the commencement of the Rebellion, i\Ir. 
Power was too young to indulge his patriotic ardor 
by entering the army, but in February, 1865, be- 
ing then only nineteen years of age, he enlisted in 
the 11th Michigan Infantry, and served creditably 
until the close of the war. He returned to Lena- 
wee County, where he has since resided, with the ex- 
ception of a year spent in Nevada. He rented 
some land, and for several years was engaged in 
farming, with excellent success. In the spring of 
1 880 he received the appointment of Superintendent 
of the Lenawee County Poor Farm, for which posi- 
tion his sound common sense and good judgment 
eminently fit him, and that he still retains this posi- 
tion shows that he has discharged its onerous duties 
with Zealand fidelity. He superintends the cultiva- 
tion of the 154 acres of land that form the farm, 
and has under his charge an average of from forty- 
five to sixty inmates throughout the year. 

Mr. Power has been ably assisted in the discharge 
of his work by his wife, to whom he was married 
March 23, 1871, in Adrian, Mich. Her maiden 
name was Sarah Fletcher, and she is the daughter of 
Andrew and Polly (Gardner) Pleteher, who reside 
in Madison Township. She was born in Pennsyl- 
vania, Dec. 25, 1846, and is the mother of two chil- 
dren — Edith and Lottie. 

Mr. Power takes great interest in public affairs, as 
every good citizen should, and supports the prin- 
ciples promulgated by the Republican party. 

iflARVEY I. BALDWIN was born in the 

if^) town and county of Litchfield, Conn., on 

1^^ the loth of October, 1828, and is at pres- 

(^^ ent attorney-at-law, in Palmyra, Lenawee 

County. His father, Isaac Baldwin, was born in 

the same town, while his grandfather was a native 

of England, who came to America in Colonial times 

and settled in Connecticut, where he bought a farm 

on Litchfield Hill, and there spent the last days of 

his life. The father grew to manhood and was 

married in Connecticut, to Sarah Gillette, who was 

-^« 



born in Litchfield County, and was the daughter of 
Asa Gillette. The father was a resident of Litch- 
field until 1840, when he moved to Ohio and settled 
in Medina County, where he bought a farm in 
Westfield Township, and remained until 1867. In 
that j'ear he came to Michigan, and settled in Alle- 
gan Count}', where he bought a farm and remained 
until his death in 1880. His wife died on the old 
homestead about one year later. Thej' had five 
children, all sons, and all grew to manhood. 

The sul)ject of this sketch was the second child 
in the order of birth, and was twelve 3'ears of age 
when his parents moved to Medina County, Ohio. 
He attended the common schools in Connecticut 
quite regularly until he was eleven years of age, 
when he began to learn the ti'ade of a printer in the 
office of the Litchfield Enquirer, and after his par- 
ents removed to Ohio he worked in various print- 
ing-offices, at the same time continuing his studies. 
At the age of eighteen years he began teaching in 
the High School in Westfield, Medina County, in 
which occupation he continued until 1855, when he 
came to Lenawee County and settled in Cambridge 
Township. He bought a farm on which he lived 
two years, then sold and removed to Palmyra, 
where he bought a tract of land on section 34, and 
resided until 1871, when he bought the Tifflney 
property in the village of Palmyra, which has since 
been his home. 

On the 16th of October, 1849, Mr. Baldwin was 
married to Catherine Miller, who vvas born in the 
State of New York, on the 2oth of Januar}-, 1830, 
and they had two children: Charles and William; 
Charles was born in Westfield, Ohio, and William in 
Cambridge, Mich. Mrs. Catherine Baldwin died 
on the 13th of June, 1856, and on the 3d of Sep- 
tember, 1857, Mr. Baldwin was again married, this 
time to Emily Miller, who was born in the State of 
New York, on the 25th of January, 1835. By this 
marriage one child was born, named Cora C, who 
resides at home with her father: her mother died 
Aug. 19, 1887. 

Mr. Baldwin is one of the substantial citizens of 
Lenawee County, and takes a deep interest in all 
matters concerning its material welfare. He has 
been very successful i]i the practice of his profes- 
sion, and as the result of his efforts has accumulated 



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L 



LENAAVEE COUNTY. 



considerable wealth. He is a man uf the higiiest 
integrity, and unimpeachable honor, and has faith- 
fully discharged every duty which lias devolved 
upon him. For thirty years he has served in tiie 
capacity of Justice of tlie Peace, and during that 
long term of service has rendered entire satisfac- 
tion. Educational affairs have claimed liis attention 
to a large extent, ami his p[-.-ictic:il knowledge of 
schools has been iitiliz'Ml in the capacity of School 
Director. .Mr. Baldwin takes great interest in all 
religious affairs, and for thirty years has been a 
local preacher in the .Alethodist Episcopal Church, 
while during .■dm. .St his entire resiileii.'c in I'aluiyr.a 

In addition to his official duties and tin- practice of 
his profession he has for years had sui)ervisioii of 
the real-estate interests in Michigan of Mr. Cutler. 
a large capitalist and land-owner of New .lerscy. 
Mr. Baldwin w:i> <.i-iginally an <.ld-line Whig, but 
when the Re|)ublic.'m party was organized in 1X^)6. 
as the successor of the Whig party, he became a 
Republican, and has remained one ever since. He 
is an eli»|uent advocate of temperance principles, 
and in that cause his voi(-c is often heard. Mr. 
Baldwin is a citizen that .■my community is fortun- 
ate in possessing, an<l the various publitr [tlaccs of 
trust and honor whicii hav(^ been conferred upon 
him, indicate that his neighbors appreciate him at 
his proper value. 



,->. an<l is principally 
ires of othei- enter- 
- of this county, he 
IS an emanation < " ' ' ■ • ■ - • 
in Seneca County. Sc|it. 1l'. 1.s:!(;. Mis [.ar^'uts, 
James and Jane (Sebring) Brooks, were natives of 
New Jersey, whence they removed, wlien young, to 
Seneca County, N. Y. The father of each . h.ad 
served in the War of 1 .sf.'.t inuid father Brooks .-^.s 
General, and (Irandfather Sebring as Lieutenant. 

The parents of our subject spent the balance of 
their days in Seneca County, the father dying in 
1863, at the age of sixt^-one years, and the motiiei-, 




surviving her husband twenty -three years, died in 
1 886, when seventy-eight years of age. Of their 
nine children, George H. was the seventh. His ed- 
ucation was acquired in the district school, and he 
followed farming, the pursuit of Ills father before 
him, choosing this for his vocation in life. When 
twenty-three years of age, and while a resident of 
New York, he was married in January, 1860, to 
Miss Elizabeth, daughter of John Swick, of Seneca 
County. The young wife lived only about eight 
months after her marriage. The second wife of 
our subject, to whom he was married in 1864, was 
.Mis> Alary, daughter of John Watrous. Of this 
union there were four children : Elizabeth (1st), 
deceased; Elizabeth (2d), Jennie and Nellie; the 
three surviving are at home with their parents. 

Tiie homestead of our subject is kept up after the 
manner of the well-to-do and enterprising citizen, 
the buildings being of substantial character and in 
good repair. The farm operations and the dairy 
are carried on after the most approved methods, and 
with convenient machinery. Everything about the 
premises indicates plenty and comfort. Mr. Brooks 
takes little interest in politics, but when casting his 
vote at general elections, supports Democratic prin- 
ciples. ^ 



-H^: 



VV^/lJ I -Auiijtii, urn 

jfr% man all his 



NDREWNUFER, now a retired grocer of 
Adrian, has been an energetic and busy- 
life, devoting a great many 
_ railroading before entering the 

business from whi(Mi he lately retired. He is a u:i- 
tive of Germany, and was born in Bavaria, Sept. 
13, 1828. At the age of five years lie accompanied 
his parents, Peter and .Susannah (Rose)Nufer, when 
they t'migrated to America. Ipon their arrival at 
New York City, they proeee.led to Buffalo, and 
from there to Toledo, Ohio, and thence came to 
Monroe County,^ Mich., where Ihej' settled in the 
town of. Monroe, in 1836. Two years later, in 
l,s."..S, thry pni-chascd :i ti'act of land upon which 
they niove.l, an,l remained until the children were 
gi-own. After his children were married he made 
his home with them until his death, which occurred 
when he was in his sixty-ninth year; the mother 



t= 



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•►Hl-^^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



survived him, and lived to be eighty-tliree years of 
.ige. 

Andrew Niifer is the eighth in a family of twelve 
children. Wlien his parents moved to the farm in 
Monroe County, our subject left home, at the age 
of twelve years, and hired himself out for three 
shillings a week, and at this work and compensa- 
tion he remained one year, after which he secured 
employment at $6 p3r month, which was considered 
at that time very satisfactory pay. He then en- 
gaged in the butcher business, and later learned the 
trade of a blacksmith, which trade he followed for 
two years, and then began his career of railroading, 
entering the service of the Michigan Southern Road 
as a fireman, and in due time was promoted to the 
responsible position of engineer. After serving a 
considerable time on this road, he went to Long 
Island, and engaged as an engineer on the Long 
Island Railioad, and ran out of Brooklyn for two 
years. He then returned to the city of Adrian, and 
with little difficulty secured employment as an en- 
gineer on the Michigan Southern Railroad, and af- 
ter the consolidation of that road and the Lake 
Shore remained in their employ until 1859. 

In the latter j'ear Mr. Niifer quit engineering, 
and engaged in the grocery trade in Adrian, in 
which he continued for two years, and then sold 
out. He then re-entei'ed tlie service of the Lake 
Shore & Michigan .Southern Railroad, and after 
running an engine for scvcniJ years, became fore- 
man of the roundhouse at Adrian. He remained 
in that position for two years, and then resigned, 
and re-entered the grocery business, on Maumee 
street, where he continued for four years, in part- 
nership with his brother, Leonard Nufer. During 
this partnership the firm purchased an eligible va- 
cant lot, on which they erected a building designed 
for a packing-house; this they leased to parties for 
that purpose, but the enterprise was a failure. Mr. 
Nufer then embarked in the grocery business alone, 
which he successfully conducted ^r live years, and 
then disposed of his property and g(jod-will to his 
son and son-in-law, and retired from active busi- 
ness. 

In 1853 Mr. Nufer was married to Miss Magda- 
lena Rose, of Adrian, formerly of Monroe County, ' 
Mich, She is the daughter of Philip and Catherine I 




Rose. By this marriage eight children were born. 
They are recorded as follows: Louisa; Lenora, 
wlio died in childhood; George A. ; Lenora (2d), 
who married Joseph Michael; Clara, who married 
Frank Lehr; Mary, who married Benjamin Lehr; 
John F"., and Agada Isabelle;the latter resides at 
home with her parents. 

Politically, Mr. Nufer is a Democrat, and as such 
was elected Alderman for the First Ward of Adrian, 
and served one term. He began life without 
any means whatever, and has succeeded well in 
whatever he has undertaken. At the present time 
he is the owner of five good store buildings, be- 
sides a number of excellent dwelling-houses, and 
the income from these properties is much more than 
sufficient to supply himself and family with all the 
comforts and very many of the luxuries of life. 

ON. GUERNSFY P. WARING. -By their 
ye shall know them." Mr. W. has by 
test become well and favorably known 
the people of Lenawee County. He 
has been closely associated with the business inter- 
ests of the township of Ridgeway for some years, 
and his whole life has been spent here, he hav- 
ing first seen the light on the farm on section 9, 
Aug. 31, 1852. He grew up under tlie training of 
good and intelligent parents, and from his mother 
partook of a generous amount of shrewdness, tact 
and ambition. He was the youngest of four chil- 
dren, and held in the highest esteem the good name 
and Christian spirit of his parents, vvhile he has 
adopted the principles of right and reason inculcated 
in him by them. 

Mr. Waring had the advantage of a good prac- 
tical education, and after being graduated from 
the High School at Tecumseh, he began to tui'n his 
attention to business. In 1874, he succeeded his 
brother in the undertaking business he had .estab- 
lished in Ridgeway, and conducted it in a successful 
manner. He purchased land approximate to the 
village, and later, to add to the general interest of 
the place, he erected a good, large double store, 
and a lieautiful brick residence upon pleasant 
grounds. He has an excellent library of good 

•► 



■•► 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



miscellaneous literature. Mr. W. has made himself 
a public-spiriterl character, anrl in the fall of 1880 
was selected by the Republicans of the First Dis- 
trict to represent this county in the State Legis- 
lature, tlie duties of whicli office lie performed to 
the credit of himself and his constituents. He is 
of decided Prohibition principles, and was soon 
placed on tlic Coinniittcc of ijicpior Traffic, in whicl\ 
committer hr was a, piiunlncnt flt>'are. By his in- 
vestigations wiiile tlins engaged in Jiis duties in tlie 
State Legislature, he became more and more an 
advocate of the principles of temperance, and tiie 
suppression of the whislsy trattic, and wlien lie re- 
turned home he cliampioned tlie cause of tlie party. 
and always voted with it. 

Sejitember 16, 1877, Mr. Waring was married, at 
the First Methodist Episcopal Churcli in Ridgeway, 

to Miss Augusta, tlie ace plishcd daugliter of 

Richard Cadmus, who wa^ -.i pi.>iu'cr of I his (■(.iui)ty,a 
farmer by calling, and a W(jrtliy nuMiiber of society. 
Mrs. Augusta Waring was born Jan. 22, 1840, in 
Macon Township, this county, and was reared well, 
receiving a fair comnioii-scliool eibicatior.. She 
died at lier lionie in this township in l.s.'^.'l, aged 
tliirty-live years. Mr. Waring was niai-ried a second 
time, in Macon T()wii>hip. to l';ihi Cadiiuis. a ,-ister 
of his first wife. She i^ a capable and intelligent 
lady and occnpie.- a good position in the society 
of the town>liiii. 

It will afford many people of this county pleasure 
to refer to the parental history of the subject of 
our biography. The father, Joshua Waring, was a 
native of Newburg, Orange Co., N. V.. and w.as 
born April 3, 1803. He came of a good family, 
who figureil in the earl}'' history of the great milk 
and butter county of New York State. .loslnia 
Waring was moderatel}' well educated, and wlun a 
young man had learned the trade of a chair and 
cabinet maker, at which he wa,- engaged for tw(.> 
years after his marriage. In l.s;i4. with hi^ young 
bride, and her brothers, Daniel and William, he set 
out for Michigan in the usual way. going via Canal 
and Lakes. When they caiiie into this eouiity the 
country was (piite new, and .loshua took u|i his new 
home in the woods on section 'J, the property now 
owned by Justus Lowe (see sketch of J. Lowe.) 
1 After he had settled on his new homestead the 



senior Mr. Waring erected a small shop in which 
he could ply his vocation as cabinet-maker, and 
thereby furnish the early settlers with such articles 
of furniture as were needed here in the early days 
of settlement. By this means he was enabled to 
have his heavily timbered farm improved, receiving 
labor in payment for his furniture. Later he de- 
voted his entire time to farming, and tinally re- 
moved to the village of Ridgeway in 18GiJ, where 
he made his home until his death, which took place 
March 17, 1884. 

Mr. Waring was devoted to the interests of the 
|)eople in general, and especially to the church, be- 
ing a liberal contributor to and a strong supporter 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He was a fine 
vocal musician, leading in devotional singing, and 
he took a great interest in prayer-meetings; his life 
was an example of moral rectitude. While yet 
living in Newburg, Joshua Waring, in 1832, was 
united in marriage to Ruth A., daughter of Gilbert 
and Ann (Penney) Lockwood, whose family history 
on both sides is that of a numerous, enlightened 
and successful people in York State and New En- 
gland. The founding of the Lockwood familj' be- 
gan with the Puritans in the United States, and 
their descendants have lived to do honor to the 
name and ancestry wherever they are found. The 
Penney family came direct from England to Orange 
County some four generations ago, when the orig- 
inal founder brought with him a family of twelve 
sons, and .secured a tr.act of land four miles square 
ill that and Ulster County. The Penney descendants 
are numerous, being represented in many States, 
and are worthy citizens wherever found. In re- 
ligion they were closely identified with the Method- 
ist Episcopal Church, and a stone residence built 
in 180;! by William Penney, the maternal grand- 
father of Ruth A. Waring, on the large Penney 
estate in Oi'ange County, was used as a place of 
worship liy the Methodist Epi.scopal Church for 

Mrs. Until A. Waring grew u|. a loving, intel- 
ligent woman, and became the devoted mother of 
four children, recorded as follows: Mary A. was 
born in 18.3,'>, was married to Edgar C. Van Vleet, 
aii<l died in Ridgeway, Oct. 10, 1870; Gilbert L. 
was liorn Feb. 8, 1838, took for his wife Clara, 



r 



\ 



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632 



lenawp:e county. 



daughter of George Clark (see sketch), and present 
wife of Robert Houseman, and died Ma}' 7, 1874; 
Cornelius L. is at present train dispatcher for the 
Chicago & Western Michigan Railroad Co., with 
headquarters at Holland, Ottawa County: and 
Guernsey P., our subject. 

.Joshua Waring obeyed to the letter the injunc- 
tion of the poet: 

•■ So live that when thy siiimuous comes to join 
The innuuierabit' caravaii that moves 
To that mysterious realm, where each shall take 
His chamber in the silent halls of death. 
Thou oo not like the quarry slave at night. 
Scourged to liisduugeon.but. sustaiued and soothed 
By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave 
Like one that wraps the drapery of his couch 
About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams." 
The mother of our subject is now living with him, 
and is seventy-two years of age, strong, active and 
intelligent. Mr. Waring is connected with the 
local and State executive committees for the 
suppression of the liquor traffic, and is popular in 
Prohibition circles throughout the .State. 



EDWIN A. BAKER, a uatjve of Ontario 
Count}', N. Y., first came to the West in 
1855, and after a residence of eight years in 
Jackson Count}', this .State, moved to Rome Town- 
ship, this coimty, where he lived five years and 
then returned to the Empire State, where he con- 
tinued until 1870. Western life, however, possessed 
an irresistible charm, and lie now returned to 
Southeastern Michigan, locating on a snug farm in 
Dover Township, where he has sijice remained and 
become prominent as a thorough and skillful agri- 
culturist and a useful member of the community. 
His property includes 300 acres of land, pleasantly 
located on sections 7 and 18, Dover Tt)wushi|), 
section 13, Hudson, and section 21, Rome Township, 
all under a good state of cultivation and supplied 
with convenient farm buildings. In politics our 
subject is a live Prohibitionist, and keeps himself 
well posted upon the various interesting questions 
of the day. 

Our subject, tlie second child of his parents. 
Miles and Deliuda (Maltby) Baker, was horn near 



the town of Hopewell, N. Y., Feb. 12, 1828. Miles 
Baker was also a native of Ontario County, while 
his wife, Delinda, was born in Vermont. The par- 
ents spent the balance of their lives, after their 
marriage, in the Empire State. The household 
circle was completed by the birth of four sons and 
three daughters, five of whom are living, two res- 
idents of Michigan and three of New York. Ed- 
win A. continued on the farm until twenty-two 
years old, in the meantime receiving a good com- 
mon-school education. Upon leaving home he 
settled in Wayne County, N. Y., where he followed 
farming five years and until first coming to the 
West. In the meantime he had been married in 
Ontario County, N. Y., and upon his first visit to 
the Wolverine State was accompanied by his wife 
and one child. He farmed in Jackson Coimty for 
a period of eight years, then sold out and settled 
upon a tract of land in Rome Township, this county, 
where he remained five years, then returned to 
Wayne County, N. Y., and there purchased a farm 
which he occupied another five years, and thence 
returned to this county, where he has since made his 
home. 

Mr" Baker was first married in his native county 
of Ontario, N. Y., to Miss Diantha Ackles, a native 
of the Empire State, and who died after becoming 
the mother of one child, a daughter, P^mma D., 
who is now the wife of Christopher Hutchins, a 
well-to-do farmer of Hudson Township. Mrs. B. 
came to the West with her husband, passing away 
at their home in Jaek.son County in the fall of 
1855. The second wife of our subject, to whom 
he was married in Jiickson County, was formerly 
Miss Ursula Ackles, a sister of the first, and al.so a 
native of Ontario County, N. Y. This union re- 
sulted in the birth of three children, namely: Alice 
L., Ktta K. and Charles. AVw.e is the wife of 
William N'ivian.a pr(.>mincnt i)usiness man of Bur- 
lington, Iowa: Etta and Charles are at home. Mrs. 
Ursula Baker departed this life in Wayne County, 
N. Y. 

The third wife of oiu- subject, formerly Miss 
Klla Caprou, was a native of this county, and the 
daughter of Ebenezer and Sarah (Youngs) Capron, 
of Seneca Township. She was born Nov. 3, 1848, 
and by her union with our subject became the ^ r 



LENAAVEE COUNTY. 



633 ' ^ 



mother of two children — Musa P. and K^dwin A. 
Her parents were natives of Now York and Penn- 
sylvania respectively, niid tlie mother died in 
Seneca Township. iMi-. t'api-on is still liviiiii. and 
a resident of the latter-named to\vnshi|i. Mrs. Klla 
Baker jjassed to iier eternal rest on the :)lh of Feb- 
rnary, I8>SS. 



J;OMN HUULHIT. maimfactunT ,.r carri.'ioes, 
I bnggiesand other road vchirlo. has. sin<T 
I 1,S57. been hlentilied uilh llu- industrial in- 
' terests of Adrian, at wliieh time lie wa.s wel- 
comed to the commnnily as a valuable accession to 
its members. Like many of the representative men 



of this section, 
where his birth 
2, 1832. 

The parents i 
abeth (Post) Hi 
N. Y., in 17111). 
Island, and aftei 



om the Em|)ii 
\VavneC(iinit\ 



.M: 



t (.Ml- subject wei-e .b)hM and Kliz- 
rlbut, the former born in Palmyra, 
The latter was a native of Long 
their marriage they settled in Pal- 
myra, where the father followed carpentering and 
farming jointly for a time, after which he gave his 
attcnition principally to his ti-ade until he Bnally re- 
turned to farm pursuits, which he followed until 
resting from his earthly' lalmrs. The parents spent 
the remainder of their lives in Palmyra, and died 
after reaching a good old age. They were people 
who posses.sed the best elements of which an intel- 
ligent community is coini)iised. anil the parental 
household included nine children, of whom six lived 
to mature years, four sous and two daughters, who 
married and reared families of theii- own, and of 
who7u four are now living. 

.John Hiirlbut was the third son and chihl of his 
parents, with whom he remained until a youth of 
seventeen, pursuing his first studies iu the district 
school, and completing them in the Union School at 
Palmyra, N. Y. Upon leaving home he went to the 
town of Yates, Orleans County, and cntereil upon 
an apprenticeship at carriage-making, al which he 
served three years. He -subsequently, however. 
took up other employments until 1«;')7, and iu Sc))- 
tember of that year started for the West. Upon 



coming to this countj' the young town of Adrian 
attracted his attention as a locality probably su'ted 
to his requirements, and he at once proceeded to 
establish himself here. A few days later found him 
iu possession of a small shop, where he began the 
manufacture of carriages and buggies, and at the 
same time associated with him his brother Silas, 
wliich partnership coutinuecl for a period of lifteen 
years. During this:,time the tirm had l>uilt up a 
large and thriving business, and the brothers, never 
afraid of work, had put their shoulder to the wheel. 
Laboring early^and late, sometimes working fourteen 
h'Mu> out of the twenty-four. They fcunid a ready 
Mde for their vehicles, which were put together and 
finished after the most a[)pi'oved methods. Since 
the retirement of his brother in 1871, i\Ir. Hurlbut 
has carried on the business alone, and is located on 
the northeast corner of Front and .Main streets, the 
ground of wliich he purchased in ISdd. but which 
he bail oci'upied two years previously. 

Mr. Hurlbut was married in New York, to .Miss 
Cyrene Hubbard, who was also a nali\e of that 
.State, where .she was Ijorn in r)ileans County in 
1S37. They became the |iarents of two sons oidy: 
Willis N., who was liorn in Decemlier, lH(i4, and is 
now the able assistant of his father ; and John T., who 
w.as boru in December, 1872. and is pursuing his 
studies at Adri.nn. Mr. Hurlbut was a second time 
niarrii'd. in IST:!, to Mrs. Cliarl.itte (.Selleck) 
Knapi). wi.l.nv of lliiani Kuapp. 

Mr. Hurlbut is a man of .ie.'i.le.j vii.w>. and many 



party, 
npholi 
.Mason 
No. 1! 



I pies 



^fill 



He 



diiig of the 



EOUGK (i. NIEDHA.Al.MEH. enuiueerat the 
..Lake .Shore .^- Michigan Sonthen, Uailro.ad 
^Ol shops at Adrian, is niliug a, nost responsible 
positiim in a hiiilily praiseuorthy inannci-. He was 
born in file Kingdom of W lulenibeig on the loth 
of .May. l.-^ni. and is the sou of Lewis and IS.arbar.a 
Niedhainmer, who emigrated to America in IS28. 
George (L. however, had preceded his parents to the 
country which held out better iuducemeuts than 
•►- 



fiSt 



■•► 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



his own laiifl to the industrious anrl enterprising 
youth wlio cherislied the worldly ambition of mak- 
ing for himself a name and a station in life of which 
his descendants might be proud. The parents 
joined their son in Harrisburg, Pa., where the 
father died a few years later. The mother subse- 
quently came to this county by the advice of her 
son, he having located here previously, and spent 
her last years in Blissfield, where her death took 
place about 1 848. 

Our subject was next to the youngest in a family 
of six children, and in common with his brothers 
and sisters received a thorough education at the 
common schools. He was but sixteen years of age 
when he set out by himself for the United States, 
boarding a sailing-vessel at the port of Holland and j 
landing in the city of Baltimore eight weeks later. 
From there he made his way to Harrisburg, Pa., 
and served an apprenticeship of three years at the 
baker's trade. At the expiration of this time he 
returned to Baltimore, working there as a journey- 
man until the fall of 183G, when he started for the 
West. His first work here was on a projected rail- 
road from Palm3'ra to Kalamazoo, which was subse- 
quently abandoned for a time, and ui^on its com- 
pletion became familiarly known as the Jackson 
Branch of the Michigan Southern Railroad. He re- 
mained the employe of the company for a period 
of twenty years, in the meantime keeping his eyes 
open to what was going on around him. Besides 
acquainting himself with the proper construction of 
the roadbed and the laying of the rails, he also 
closely watched the machineiy which i^ropelled the 
engine, and in 1855, after some experience in this 
line, was given the position of stationary engineer 
in the shops of the Lake Shore & Michigan South- 
ern Railroad. In this capacitj- he has served over 
thirtj' years, being on the pay roll continuously 
during that time. His long continued service with 
one company is sufficient recommendation of his 
ability and his integrity of character. He probably 
has no better friends in tiic worhl than the members 
ol that great corporation for wliicli he did sucii 
faithful service so many years. 

Mr. Niedhammer was first mariied in tiie city of 
Baltimore, Md., to Miss Caroline Manheart, who 
died four years later, leaving two children, Barbara | 



and Caroline, the latter of whom is now deceased. 
The second wife of our subject, to whom he was 
married in 1858, in Adrian, was Mrs. Caroline 
Briggs, and they became the parents of four chil- 
dren — George, Fanny J., Mary A. and Charles W. 
They occupy a snug home on the corner of Erie 
and McVicker streets, and besides his residence 
[iroperty Mr. Niedhammer owns five lots elsewhere 
in the city while he also has a comfortable bank ac- 
count. He is now seventy-seven years of age, but 
still hale and hearty, the result of good habits, by 
which he has ke[)t his mind and conscience free, 
and bids fair to spend many more years among the 
people who have known him so long and well, and 
who value him according to his true worth. 



^^REDI':RICK W. SAMSEN, editor and pro- 

P^ prietor of the Blissfield Advance, was born 
in the city of Toledo, Ohio, on the 31st of 
March, 1855. His father, Henry H. Samsen, was 
born in Germanj', and his grandfather, Lewis Sam- 
sen, was also a native of that country', vvhere he 
grew to manhood, married and lived until 1825, 
when he brought his family to America and settled 
near Toledo, where he bought a tract of timber 
land on the east side of the Maumee River, twelve 
miles distant from the court-house. He cleared a 
farm and lived there a number of years, but spent 
the last years of his life with Mr. Samseu's father in 
Toledo, where he died in January, 1877, a numbei' 
of years after the decease of his wife. 

There were born to Lewis Samsen and wife six 
children, of whom the father of the subject of this 
sketch was the eldest: John lives in Wood County, 
Ohio; William died in Toledo; Lewis lives in 
Toledo; Eliza, now Mrs. Henry Schepler, lives in 
Wood County, Ohio, as also does Mary, now Mrs. 
Fred Sehultz. Henry H. Samsen was about four- 
teen years of age when he accompanied his parents 
to America, where he assisted his father in clearing 
aud managing his farm until he was nineteen years 
of age, .at which time he went to Toledo and began 
learning the trade of a carpenter and joiner. After 
doing journeyman work for a few years he became 
a contractor and builder, in which he engaged in 



^l-^^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Toledo until 1881, putting up some of the largest 
buildings in the city, when he removed to Denver, 
Col., where he now resides. In the city of Toledo 
he w!is married to Elizabeth Balzniier. also born in 
Germany; they are the parents of seven childreji, 
recorded as follows: Heniy lives in Denver: Fred- 
erick W. is the subject of this sketch; Loui.sa Bitter 
also liv.'s in Denver : .lohn, in Pueblo. Col. : Amelia. 
near Denver, and Le\vi> and Eddie, witli tlicir par- 
ents. 

Frederick W. Saniscn received a conunon-sch.jol 
education in Toledo, and at the age of fourteen he 
entered the office of the Toledo ('iinund-cidl, wlu're 
he began to learn the art preserxative of all arts. 
He remained in the Commercial office but two 
months, and then went to the office of the Toledo 
Blade, where he remained under instruction for 
over two years. In 1.S7.') he went to Adrian, where 
be had charge of the ,/o((/-,/a/. then in March, 1874, 
he came to Blisstield, and with C. 'I'. Ilambliu, 
started the Blissfield Advance. This firm existed 
until July, 1880, when Mr. Samsen bought Mr. 
Ilamblin's interest ;ind has conducted the paper 
alone since that time. The ^{ilnmre is iii(h>pendent 
in all things and a strong ;tdvooatc of whatever is 
for the best interests of the people, regardless of 
politics. It is not only established on a firm finan- 
cial basis, but also in the affections .and good-will of 
the people. IMr. .Samsen has displayed much ability 
in its conduct during the fourteen years of its ex- 
istence, and has deservedly met with success. 

In 1870 Mr. Samsen was married to Sophie 
Parker, who was born near Bryan. Ohio, Sept. 4, 
18oo, and they have two children; Lawrence B., 
who was boi-n Seiit. 3, 187.S, and Ralph (i., July 10, 
1880. Mr. Samseu belongs to Blissfield Lodge No. 
114, F. & A. M., and Blissfield Chapter No. 101, and 
is a member in good standing. 



^=^EOR(tE FEHCJUSON. One of the most 
(If g— , beautiful and valu;dile faims on the eastern 
^^51 line of Lenawee C(.>unty is located on the 
bank of the River Raisin about one mile above the 
town of Deerfield, and remains an almost im|)erisli- 
able monument of the industry of him whose name 



.stands at the head of this sketch. He was a native 
of Perthshire, .Scotland, and was born Sept. 10, 
1780. He departed this life at the homestead 
which he had built up in Deerfield Township on 
the 4th of January, 1807. 

The subject of this history was the son of .lohn 
Fergu.son, also of Scotch birth and ancestry, who 
left the "land of the thistle" in 178.S, and emigrat- 
ing to America located near the embiyo town of 
Jackson. Washington Co., N. Y., during its pioneer 
tiays. He i)nrchased a tract of timber land, cleared 
a farm from the vvilderness and there spent the re- 
mainiler of his life. His .son George was little past 
infancy when he was brought by his parents to the 
Inited States. He was reared to manhood in 
A\'a.shington County, N. Y., and assisted his father 
on the farm, remaining in the F^mpire State until 
after he had been married and had become the 
father of seven children. 

In the early smnmer of l.s;j;3, (Tcorge Ferguson 
determined to cast his lot with the pioneers of 
Michigan Territory. Disposing of his interests in 
New York State he started for this counly accom- 
panied by his family, ti'aveling via the Eric Canal 
to Buffalo and thence by lake to the present site of 
Toledo, where there was then but a .solitary house. 
There Mr. F^erguson engaged a man with a team to 
bring him and his possessions to Lenawee County, 
;in<l the teamster compelled the children to walk the 
greater part of the way. Mr. Ferguson with his 
little family first sto|)ped in Kedzie's (irove, mov- 
ing into a log house with another family, and while 

time transfoimed into the homestead where he 
spent his last years. Upon this there was als(p a 
log house which the family occupied several years, 
the father in the meantime raising it an<l putting a 
storj- underneath. 

When Mr. Ferguson came to this section of coun- 

j try deer, wolves, bears and wild turkeys were 

I |)lentiful, together with other game, especially coons, 

, which were very destructive to the corn crop. He 

lived t<. see the country around liini<le\ eloped fi'om 

a wild waste into vnlualjle farms :iiid be:iutifnl 

homesteads, and contributed in no small degree in 

encouraging the immigration of an intelligent and 

I thrifty class of people. Accompanying him in his 



■•►HI-* 



636 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



first journey here were the two daughters, Jane 
and Nancy, vvho still occu[)y the old farm, and 
cherish the memory of their parents with that filial 
devotion which is their due as those who lived 
godlj^ lives and set an example to those about 
them full worthy of imitation. This has been their 
home for a period of fifty-four years, and very few 
of the settlers who were here when they came are 
left to tell the tale of their early struggles and 
hardships. The farm includes 100 acres which, is 
nearly all under a state of cultivation and furnished 
with a good set of frame buildings. 

George Ferguson, in early manhood, was united 
in marriage with a most estimable young lady. Miss 
Eleanor Gillespie, who was a native of Argyle, 
Washington Co., N. Y., and the daughter of Cor- 
nelius and Mary (Thompson) Gillespie. She did 
not live to be aged, her death taking place at the 
homestead in Deerfield Township, March 16, 1842, 
when she was about sixty years old. 



-t 



jt-^ON. GEORGE L. CRANE, formerly a mem- 
Wjj] t>er of the Michigan Legislature and for 
if^^ years prominent in the affairs of Lenawee 
i^j County, came to Michigan Territory with 
his parents in the summer of 1833. His father, also 
(ileorge Crane, purchased 400 acres of land in Pal- 
myra Township, and afterward took up more land 
from the Government until he became the^owner 
of 2,500 acres. During the first year he put up a 
small frame house, the first erected in Palmyra 
Township, and two years later built tlie first brick 
residence in the townshiji, niannfaetnring the brick 
on his own farm. 

George Crane, Sr., took an active interest in the 
growth and prosperity of Lenawee County, being a 
stockholder and director in the first railroad going 
through it, and was foremost in all the other enter- 
prises calculated to attract a good class of people 
to this section of country. No man was more 
warmly interested in the establishment of religious 
and educational institutions, while he was honest, 
pnre and unselfish in all his dealings, and carried 
with him tlie confidence and esteem of all classes of 
people. Religiously, he lived as he had been 



reared, in the simple faith of the Society of Friends, 
and illustrated in his life the reliable traits of his 
substantial English ancestry. After building up a 
record upon which his children always reflect with 
i pride, he departed this life at his home in Palmyra, 
! April 17, 18.56. 

The mother of Hon. George L. Crane was in her 
girlhood Miss Charity, daughter of Benjamin and 
Elizabeth Lincoln, and was born in Taunton, Mass.. 
on the 7th of August, 1782. Her mother was Miss 
I Elizabeth White, a direct descendant of Peregrine 
1 White, the first white child born in New England. 
Mrs. Crane became the mother of seven children, 
and died at her home in Palm3'ra Township, Sept. 
22, 1863. George L., who was born Nov. 20, 1810, 
w.as the fourth child and eldest son. He remained 
under the home roof until twentj^-four years of age, 
receiving a liberal education, and learning survey- 
ing of his father, while becoming familiar with farm 
! pursuits. He was twenty-three j'ears of age when 
I he came with the family to this county, and in 
j 1835 started out for himself, locating on a tract of 
laud in Madison Township. Of this he has since 
been in possession, clearing 200 acres and putting 
I up a good frame house with barns, sheds, etc., and 
j planting an orchard of choice fruit trees. 
j For twenty years Mr. Crane followed surveying, 
I using his father's compass and outfit, while he in- 
vested his surplus capital in real estate, and at one 
time was the owner of 1,000 acres of land. The 
I greater part of this he subsequenth' sold, having 
} now about 286 acres. In 1842 he was elected Su- 
j pervisor of Madison Township, serving three terms, 
and was several times elected County Surveyor, 
j but never qualified. He filled nearly all the offices 
I in his township, but resigned several, preferring to 
give his attention to his own extensive business in- 
j terests. He was one of the pioneer anti-slavery 
I men of the county, always an active defender of 
I the oppressed, and to this <lay reverts to his work 
! in this direction with a feeling of pride and satis- 
[ faction. 

On the 1st of (Jctober, 1835, the marriage of 
(ieorge L. Crane and Miss Leah Ramsdcll was cel- 
ebrated at the home of the bride in Perrinton, 
j Monroe Co., N. Y. Mrs. Crane is the seventh 
I daughter of Gideon and Hannah Ramsdell, and was 



^ 



-HV-M^ 



■•^m^4» 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



637 



t 



born in reirintmi, April -27. isi.i. IR.r father, .n 
native of CiimminiTton, Mass., and of Scotch jmr- 
entMge, was born Jan. 30, 1780, and removed b 
New York State when twenty years of ,a<>e; he died 
at Pcrrinton in I SCO. His wife, the mother of i\Irs, 
Crane. w:i^ liorn in North Adams, Mass., Nov. II, 
1783, and was the daughter of Jeremiah and Unch<'l 
Smith, of English and Scotch extraction. 

The two children of Oeorse L. Crane and wib 
are Lucy R. and Calvin II. The former uns Inirn 
Sept. 2-1. 1837, and is now the uife of .lohn K 
Jones, of Adrian; Calvin H. was horn May 20, 
1842, and is nnnibered among the most prosperont 
farmers of Madison Township. A hiograiihy ol 
him will be found on another page in this Ar.m'M, 



'jTr^jRUEN E. PEEBLES, a member of the farni- 
jl^^, ing community of Madison Township, is 
/j^fejil.' also proprietor of the Fairfield Cheese Fac- 
^"=s^ tory, which forms one of the important in- 
dustries of that section, and which was established 
in the spring of 1882. This factory turns (jut about 
150,000 pounds annu.ally, which lind a ready sale 
both in this vicinity and adjacent points east and 
west. The farm property of Mr. P. is located on 
section 34, and inchides eighty acres of fertile land, 
which has been brought to a good state of cultiva- 
tion. The buildings will bear fair comparison with 
those appertaining to the comfortable homesteads 
around it, and Mr. Peebles, as a business man and a 
citizen, is justly held in respect, both on account of 
his personal worth and his jniblic spirit. 

Our subject is a native of this county, having 
been Iwrn in Rome Township, Dec. 10, 1840. He 
has had a thorough experience in farm pursuits, 
from his boyhood having been employed largely in 
plowing, sowing and reaping, to which he alw.ays 
took kindly, having a natural love for rural life and 
its employments. He remained under the parental 
roof until reaching his twenty-sixth year, in the 
meantime, in addition to farming, having learned 
the carpenter's trade, at which he became very pr<j- 
ficient, and displayed more than ordinary talent as 
a mechanic. Upon leaving home, he repaired to 
Hillsdale County, wheie he became hiterested in the 



manufacture of cheese, and resided five years. He 
.•iftcrward c.-nTied on .•hccsc-mnking foi' U.P.akcr, of 
Fairfield, with whom lie lenKiined iinlil -etting up 
in linsine.ss for hini.M.lt. 

While a resident of K'eading, Hillsdale County, 
Mr. Peebles was united in marriage. Dec. 3, 1SG9, 
with Miss Fmnia Iv Wor.len. Ihe wedding taking 
place at the home of the bride in ( )gden Township. 
Mrs. Peclilc- i< the drnightcr of U . il. and N.aomi 
(.Merrill) Worden. wh.iliave been resiilents of Fair- 
born in Fulton County. Ohio, March (i. 18.Jl,andis 
now the mother of th^-ee children — Bessie E., Mabel 
A. and Maude A. Mr. Peebles confines his atten- 
tion mostly to his farm and f.actory. having little 
to ilo with political matters, but takes an interest in 
the success of Republican principles, in support of 
which he casts his vote at the general election. So- 
cially he is a member of the Masonic fraternity, be- 
longing to Fairfield Lodge No. 1 25. 

The parents of our subject, John B. and Lydia 
(Bidvvell) Peebles, were natives respectively of 
Barry County, N. Y., and Massachusetts. After 
marriage they settled first in' Barry County, and 
thence removed to Lorain County, Ohio, whence a 
few years later they migrated to Michigan, locating 
in Rome Township, this county, about 1834. Here 
the elder Peebles carried on farming a number of 
years, after which he became a resident of Ogden 
Township, where he lived nearly forty years. Late 
in life he left the old homestead and took up his 
abode in Adrian Township, where his death took 
place Oct. 16, 1886, while the mother died a month 
Later, November 15; they were aged respectively 
eighty-three and eighty-two. The ten children of 
the parental household w-ere named William, Maria, 
Louisa, Lepha, Wallace, Bruen E., Rachel, John, 
Henry and Oscar. Nine of these are living and 
mostly residents of Michigan. 

ERVIN J. WHELAN, Jr., one of tbe very 
successful farmers and raisers of stock, in- 
cluding good grades of sheep, cattle and 
swine, has a beautiful house on section 15, on part 
of his farm of 204 acres on sections 15 and 10. 
^ 



••► 



()38 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Most of this largf farm, whicli is part of the old 
homestead in Franklin Townsiiip, sec-ured by the 
father in the spring of 1832, and located on the 
following year, is under the plow. 

The subject of our sketch was born on the farm 
where he now lives, Feb. 18, 1840 (for parental his- 
toi-y see sketch of John and Freelove Whelan in 
biography of Edward Wisner), and is the youngest 
but one now living of a family of five. He re- 
ceived a good practical education, and was united 
in marriage in Cold water, Mich., Nov. 11, 1867, 
with Miss Laura Billington, who was born in Frank- 
lin Township, April 11, 1848. Mrs. Whelan is the 
daughter of Wilson and Julia (Whelan) Billington, 
natives of New York State, who came to Michigan 
when young people, and were united in marriage in 
Franklin Township, this county, where they settled 
on a farm, which became their home, except an in- 
terval of five or six years, for the remainder of 
their days. The father died May 18, 1874, aged 
about sixty -eight years. In politics he was a Dem- 
ocrat. Mrs. Billington is now living in Tipton, 
this township, aged sixty-four j'ears. 

Mrs. Whelan of this notice, was reared by her 
parents, and is the mother of three children — Alton, 
Alma and Hoyt. Mr. VVIielan is independent in 
polities. 



R. J. D. TRIPP. This well-known ren- 
dent of Fi-anklin Township occupies a 
snug home on section 34, consisting of a 
few acres of choice land, a neat and mod- 
ern dwelling, and the out-buildings required for the 
shelter of the horses required in his business, and 
the high-bi'ed animals which furnish the milk for 
the consumption of the household. The more than 
ordinarily' interesting family history of our subject 
is essentiallj' as follows : 

Dr. Tripp was born on the other side of the At- 
lantic, in Bristol. England, Nov. -28, 1825, and is 
the second son of Rev. Henry Tripp, a native of 
the same city and of pure English ancestry. Hem-y 
Tripp when a lad of fourteen years went aboard a 
man-of-war as a sailor, and during the period of his 
seven years of sea life, crossed the Atlantic nine- 



teen times. His vessel was commanded by CoTn- 
modore Decatur, with whom he sailed to Tripoli, 

I and after his return from this voj-age he refused to 
make another and thus escaped being blown up with 
the vessel, which was soon afterward destroyed. 
Upon resuming the life of a landsman he repaired 
to his native city, and there married Miss Elizabeth 
.Stoneham, an English lady of good birth, and 

I turned his attention to religious matters. His zeal 
and piety served to make him a highly valued 

I member of the Baptist Church, and possessing much 

j natural talent as a speaker and writer, he was or- 

[ dained as a minister, and sent by the church at 
Bristol to the Island of Jamaica, as a missionary, 
where he served eight years. This was his initial 
work in the ministry, and volunteering his services 
at a time when the church experienced great diffl- 

! culty in obtaining men courageous enough to deal 

j with the natives, who at that time were closely 
allied to savages, he labored carefully and conscien- 
tiously. 

Mrs Elizabeth Tripp accompanied her husband 
to Jamaica, and died there of yellow fever. Henry 
Trii)p subsequently returned to England and con- 
tracted a second marriage in his native city of Bris- 
tol, with a sister of his first wife, and she became 
the mother of our subject. Mr. Tripp now i-e- 
mained on his native soil until after the birth of three 
children, and in June, 1831, sailed with his family 
for the United States. It will be borne in mind 
that Michigan at that time was a Territory in its 

'■ undeveloped state, but notwithstanding this. Rev. 
Henry Tripp upon his arrival in New York City 
proceeded directly westward and pitched his tent 
in the unbroken wilds of ^^'hat was subsequently 
Cambridge Townshi|), this count}'. He selected his 

I location near the body of water which is novv 
familiarly known as Sand Lake, taking up a tract of 
Government land and improving a farm of 160 
acres. Mr. Tripp was present at the meeting called 
to organize Franklin Township, adjoining Cam- 
bridge, and he it was who suggested its present 
name, after Benjamin F^ranklin, and this name was 
given in accordance with his reqliest. 

I The father of our subject subsequently removed 
from Cambridge to Franklin Township, where he 

I spent his declining years and where his death took 



•► 



•►—I 



LENAWKE COUNTY. 



'^1 
(530 ' 



T wh 



place .Tul.y li). 1 SOS, nfter he liarl sumnicd up his 
foursroi-c years. He did not lay aside his pious 
ze:il II [1(111 coming to tiiis new country, but was 
niaiuly instrumental in the organization of tlie 
Baptist Church of Franklin Township. He cher- 
ished strong convictions upon the question of 
American slavery, to which he was bitterly opposed, 
and cast the first Abolition vote in Franklin Town- 
ship. Upon the organization of the Republican 
•party he became one of its most earnest supporters, 
and kept himself well posted upon State and Na- 
tional affairs until the day of his death. The 
mother of our subject preceded her husband to the 
silent land a few years, her death taking place Aug. 
1, 1859, when she was sixty-five years old. She 
was a lady possessing all the womanly virtues, and 
was a most suitable companion and hclpniect fur 
her husband. 

Dr. Tripp spent his childhood and youth under 
the parental roof and was a little lad five years of 
age when he crossed the Atlantic and came with his 
parents to this county, where he has since made his 
home. One of the most important events during 
his early manhood was his marriage with Miss 
Lucretia Beebe, which took place at the home of 
the bride in Franklin Township. Mrs. Tripp was 
born in New York State, whence she came to Micii- 
igan with her i)arents when a child. Of this union 
there was liorn one child, a daughter, Hattie L., 
who is now the wife of Allen Buck and a resident 
of Otsego, this State. Mrs. Lucretia Tripp departed 
this life at her iiome in Franklin Township, Fel). 
15, 1850. 

Dr. Tripp soon after his first marriage began study- 
ing medicine, to the practice of which he seemed 
naturally adapted, and soon took up the duties 
and responsibilities of a phj'sician. He completed 
his studies in the medical department of the Michi- 
gan University, and by a thorough course of reading 
keeps himself well informed upon the important 
matters pertaining to his profession. He was mar- 
ried the second time, in Medina Township, Aug. 17, 
1851, to Miss Lois Mann, who was born in New 
York State and in early childhood came to this 
State with her parents. Doctor and Mrs. Lois 
Tripp became the parents of seven children, of 
whom those surviving are, Elbert W. and George | 



.1., mari-ied, and Lotta. Willis .7.. Alma and Nellie, at 
home with their parent*. The Doctor has inherited 
largely the high morality and sense of justice which 
characterized in so marked a <legree his honored 
father, and politically i.> a >oli<l Republican. In his 
[)ractice he has l>een faithful and conscientious, and 
has all the business tu wiiich he can conveniently 
attend. A> a citizen lie i- rated among the leading- 
men of Franklin 'l'o\vii>Iiip. 

(*^LBERT WHITE for twenty y.:u> was cn- 
(i#l i gaged in the milling business in tlii.s ...uuly, 

jl(ik bLit upon reluKpiishing itou account of ill- 
(^ health, and after a brief experience with 

other pursuits, finally settled <lown upon a farm on 
section 12, in Madison ri>wn>liip, where he has re- 
sided siuce the winter uf l.ss.'i. He owns a snug 
homestead of sixty-six acres with good improve- 
ments, and which on all sides displays the hand of 
thrift and industry. 

Our subject is the son of Charles White, one of 
the earliest pioneers of this county, who came to 
this section before his marriage. He was a native 
of Cayuga Count3', N. Y., and born near Cayuga 
Lake, while the mother was the daughter of James 
and Elizabeth Wheeler, who at an earlj' day had 
located upon a 200-acre tract of land which now 
constitutes a part of the site of the city of Adrian. 

Charles White and Miss Emeline Wheeler com- 
menced life upon a small farm in Hillsdale County, 
but finally located near Cutler's Corners, where the 
death of the father occurred in 1848. The mother 
is still living, making her home with her daughter 
at Minneapolis, and has now reached the seventy- 
fifth year of her age. The six children of the pa- 
I'ental household were named respectively : George, 
Albert, James, Anna, IMortain and AYilliam M. Al- 
bert, our subject, was the second born, and began 
life in Hillsdale County, June 14, 1839. 

Albert White remained on the home farm princi- 
pally until sixteen years of age, and then set out for 
himself by beginning an apprenticeship at the mil- 
ler's trade. After becoming master of this he was 
employed by the firm of W. H. Stone & Co., of 
Adrian, with whom he remained for a period of 



-^« 



•> l ^^ 



640 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



end!) 



)ii to both em- 



fotu'teeii years, a good r 
ployer and employe. 

The wife of our Milijeet wa.^ in her tiirlhood Miss 
Ann S. Henioii, and lliev united their lives and fort- 
imes on the 1st of January, l.SG-2. Mrs. White is 
the daughter of Abraham A. and Polly (Walworth) 
Henion, natives of Seneca County, N. Y., whence 
they removed to Wayne Countj% Mich. They re- 
mained there, however, but a comparatively short 
time, and then retuiued to the Empire State, but 
in 1843 they resolved to once more seek the West, 
and finally settled in Rome 'J'oivnship, this county. 
The death of the mother took place in the town of 
Morenei, in 1855. The father surviving spent 
his last days in Dover Township, where his death 
occurred in 18U4. Their family included eight 
children, who were named respectively: John, 
Peter, Dudley, Anna 8., Julia, Mary J., Millard and 
Frederick. Mrs. White was born in Palmyra, N. Y., 
Jan. 2*2, 1840, and was three years of age when 
.'ihe came to this county with her parents. She 
remained under the home roof, becoming familiar 
with all needful household duties and eminently 
fitted for her future career as a wife and mother. 
Of her union with our subject there have been born 
two children — Herbert O. and Emma. Mrs. AVhite 
has been identified with the Baptist Church since 
1853, and our subject, politically, is a Republican 
of the first water. 



^^ 



//^SCAR ABBOTT is a citizen of Dover Town- 
I Jj ship, prominent in public affairs, and one who 
'^^^ well represents the agricultural interests of 
this community. He is the son of Ezra and Emily 
(Tuttle) Abbott, natives of the State of New York, 
who were among the early pioneers of this town- 
ship, leaving their home in Oneida County, N. Y., 
and coming to this State in October, 1 835, settling 
in Dover Township, on section 26. Here they 
lived many years, actively assisting in the devel- 
opment of the township. In the fall of 1860 they 
removed to Adrian, but Mr. Abbott did not long 
survive his change of residence, dying in January, 
1861. He was a prominent Mason. His widow is 
still living. Nine ehikken were born of their 



union, the record of whom is as follows : Nancj- is 
the wife of H. D. Foster, of Clayton, this county; 
Aaron .also lives in Clayton; George died in Dover 
Township in 1870; Orman is a farmer of Lansing, 
Mich.; Ezra died in Dover Township, Dec. 20, 
1886; Olive, who was the wife of A. J. Fisk, died 
in the latter-named township in 1859, and Elon 
died there Jan. 10, 1885; Jerome died in Ingham 
County, this State, Sept. 13, 1885; Oscar is the 
subject of this sketch. 

Oscar Abbott was boin in Oneida County, N. Y., 
Feb. 2, 1835. He was but eight months old when 
his parents brought him to this State, consequently 
nearly the whole of his life has been passed in this 
township, and he was educated in the common 
schools. Since attaining manhood he has been 
principally engaged in agricultural pursuits here, 
and has been very successful in the management of 
his fine farm of 240 acres, on sections 23 and 26. 
His farm ranks as one of the best in the county, 
and in the fall of 1877 he took the first premium 
for it, over seven competitors, in the Lenawee 
County Fair. Mr. Abbott has also paid great at- 
tention to the raising of cattle, making a specialty 
of Short-horns, and has entered for premiums at 
fairs held in the cit3^ of Adrian, and in Morenei, 
this county. He has kept as many as forty head 
of cattle, and 185 head of sheep. In 1883 Mr. 
Abbott erected a fine dwelling-house, which is an 
ornament to the township. 

I\Ir. Abbott was married in Hudson Township, 
June 11, 1869, to Miss Catherine Bartholomew, 
daughter of Abraham and Jane (Hauver) Bartholo- 
mew, natives of New York. They came to Lena- 
wee County in 1855, settling in Dover Township, 
where they have resided most of the time since. 
Mrs. Abbott is their only child, and was born in 
Cayuga County, N. Y., Sept. 4, 1843. Of the 
union of Mr. and Mrs. Abbott there have been born 
three children — Alice L., George E. and Delia ; the 
latter is a teacher. 

Mr. and Mrs. Abbott are justly held in high re- 
gard in this community. In politics, Mr. Abbott 
is prominently identified with the Democratic 
party of the State. He is often called upon to give 
to the town the benefit of his experience in busi- 
ness matters, by filling some public office. He has 

— ■ •►■ 



JL 



LENAWKE COITNTY. 



641 



ahly di^^fharged the iliitio >>f .histicc uf llir I'l-icc 
for seven years; of Higlivvay Comniissionei' f<ii- Ihe 
■iatue length of time, and Drain Coniniissioncr for 
one year, besides filling at different tinics, some of 
the minor offices within the gift of liis fellow-ciii- 
zens. Mrs. Abbott and daugliter DcIIm an> mem- 
bers of the Baptist Churcli at Dover Center, while 
i\Iiss Alice L. is a mend)er(if Ibc Metbu.list Ciuirch. 



eHARLES SHALKR. The honiestea<l of this 
gentleman is pleasantly located on .section 
20, Macon Township, where he has eighty 
acres iif land under good cultivation .-iiid suil;il)le 
farm buildings. Thi.-- be |)urcliase<l and located 
upon in the spring of IS-t,"), and when the l.ind 
around him was largely in an uncultivated condi- 
tion. In addition to general .agriculture he is much 
interested in stock-raising, and has been fairly suc- 
cessful in his undertakings. 

The early home of Jlr. Shaler was on the other 
side of the Atlantic, in the Kingdom of Bavaria, 
wliere his birth took place .July 12,183.'). His par- 
ents, Christopher and Barl)aia (Ilostetter) Shaler, 
were also natives of Bavaria, where they were 
reared and married and continued until after 
the birth of four children, Charles, our sub- 
ject, being the eldest. When he was eleven years 
of age the family immigrated to the United States, 
and located first in Brookfield Township, Truml)ull 
Co., Ohio. After farming there a few years, the 
father determined upon a change of location, and 
coming to Southern Michigan, took up his abode in 
the woods of Macon Township, this county. He 
was of an industrious and persevering disposition, 
and labored for a few years to surround himself and 
family with the comforts of life, and rested from 
his labors on the 8th of November, 1865, when 
fifty-eight years of age. The mother survived her 
husband nearly twenty-one je.ars, her death taking 
place at the home of her son Charles, July 31, 1.S86, 
when she had arrived at the advanced age of eighty- 
two years; in religion they were of the Lutheran 
faith. 

Mr. Shaler received his education in the common 
schools, and remained nnder the parental roof until 



reaching iiK'iuliooil. lie w.-is married in Milan 
Township, Monroe County, this State, Nov. 12, 
186."), to Miss Rosa Hanlon, who was Imrn in the 
city of Rochester, N. Y.. .June 8, 1843. Mrs. Sha- 

child, .-ind from that time until her raarriagi' lived 
in Monroe County. Her iiarents, I'eter and Susan 
(.lohnson) Hanlon, ;a-e still living, and continue resi- 
dents of Alilan Township. They were born and 
i-eared in t^ouuty Fermanagh, Ireland, whence they 
inmiigratcd to the United States about 1841, after 
the l)irth of three children; they located first in 
Rochester, N. Y. Since coming to Michigan the 
father has been engaged in farming pursuits, and 
has met with success in his undertakings, making a 
comfortaI)Ie living for his family. They were 
reared in the Catholic faith, to which they still ad- 
here. 

:\lr. and .Mr>. Shalei- have two children, namely: 
Minnie K., who was born Aug. 4, 1868, and Clara 
A., Aug. ."), 1871 ; both i-ontinue at home with their 
parents. Mr. Shaler east his first Presidential vote 
for James Buchanan, .and still continues a member 
of the Democratic party. The home.<tead is pleas- 
antly located, anil provided with good buildings, 
while everything about the |)reinises indicates thrift 
and enterprise. 

_^ ..♦o..(c5A<^^5..o*o.. <<-. 

OlIN F. SCHREDER is the manager of the 
Edward R. Smith farm, which comprises 
4.')0 acres of land on section 16 of Clinton 
Township, devoted exclusively to the rais- 
ing of stock. Mr. Sclnedei- has occu|iied his pres- 
ent position for twelve years, ami for the last six- 
years has had full charge of the extensive stock 
interests of this large farm, filling his position with 
faithfulness and marked ability. 

(hir sidjject was born in Raisin Townshij), Feb. 
1.5, ]X''i2. When he was five years of age his 
father came to Clinton Townshii), and here John F. 
received his education, remaining in the home of 
his father until he was twenty-one. After that 
time he found employment elsewhere for a year, 
and then returned to the home farm and operated 
it on shares with his father for two vears. He then 



m 



-•► 



^ 



<•■ 



(5 4 -2 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



established a home for himself, marrying in Tecum- 
seh, Dec. 15, 1875, Miss Jennie M. Stevenson, 
daughter of William and L3'dia (Blorton) Steven- 
son. She was born in Count}' Antrim, Ireland. 
July 12, 1851. Her parents were born, reared and 
married in that county, and there ten children were 
born to them. In April, 18G6, they came with all 
their children but one to the United States, and lo- 
cated in what is now Clinton Township, where the 
father purchased eighty acres of land. There the 
parents made their home until death, the father 
dying in March, 1878, aged nearly seventy-five, 
and the mother Maj' 28, 1878, aged nearly seventy- 
one. Mrs. Schreder is the youngest but one of the 
six daughters and four sons born to her worthy 
parents. She was educated principally in her na- 
tive land. Six children have been born to her and 
her husband — Lovica C, Lovina J., Cliarlet: F.. 
Lydia M., Maggie M. and Blanche R. 

Our subject and his wife are attendants at the 
Presbj'terian Church. Sociallj', they occup}' a 
high position in the community. In politics, Mr. 
Schreder is an influential member of the Repub- 
lican party. His assured success in his line of 
business makes him an authority in regard to tlie 
rearing of stock, and his opinion is often sought by 
others. 

f/OHN McClelland rurnett. The 

father of the subject of this biographj' 
^^ . looked upon the face of the country in 
\(^)J Southern Michigan soon after the first white 
man had explored it. and after it h.-id commended 
itself to him as a desirable place to enter upon the 
cultivation of the soil and to build up the future 
homestead. It was then the home of the deer and 
other wild game, and a place from which the sav- 
ages had not long departed. Robert Burnett, Sr., 
(for family sketch see biography of Robert Burnett, 
Jr.) founded a home on the eastern line of Lena- 
wee County, which was subsequently laid off into 
Deerfield Township, and his farm was located on 
section 10. Here he began in earnest his life labor, 
and to this home he brought his bride, who was, in 
her girlhood. Miss Amelia Pratt. They labored to- 
gether through difficulties and hardships, and here 



their children were born. The youngest of these 
was John McClelland, of this sketch, who liegan life 
on the 4th of September, 1849. 

In 1856, when our subject was a little lad of six 
years, the household met its firsf heavy affliction, 
in the death of the father, which took place in Feb- 
ruary, 1856. The children were kept together .at 
the homestead, and John attended school in winter 
and made himself useful about the new farm dur- 
ing the season of sowing and reaping. He assisted 
in clearing the land and tilling the soil, and re- 
mained with his widowed mother until she no more 
needed his filial offices. She pa.ssed away at the 
homestead, Jan. 6, 1872, and is held in affectionate 
remembrance by her children and friends as one 
who performed life's duties in a creditable and 
praiseworthy manner. 

The marriage of John Burnett and Miss Addie 
R. Kilburn took place at the home of the bride in 
Deerfield Township, April 27. 1872. Mrs. Burnett 
was born in Bloomfleld, Crawford Co., Pa.. Jan. 27, 
185o. Her father, Elijah Kilbuni, was a native of 
Great Barrington. Berkshire Co.. Mass., and born 
April 4, 1813. His father, also Elijah Kilburn, is 
supposed to have also been a native of Great Bar- 
rington, where he spent his entire life. The father 
of Mrs. B., when a young man, migrated to Penn- 
sylvania, where he w.as married and lived in Bloom- 
field until the spring of 1882, when he removed to 
Centerville, where his death took place Nov. 6, 
1887. He. was a farmer all his life, and was a man 
upright in character and of the highest moral prin- 
ciple. The maiden name of his wife was Vanillia 
Bates. She was born in Maysville, N. Y., and died 
May 26, 1854. Mr. and Mrs. Burnett have two 
children: Nelson, bom Nov. 19, 1874, and Marian, 
Aug. 29, 1881. 



'IL1P.<ff-^(i^ 



■^SS^^Z^ari.- 



u 



ILLIAM DERBYSHIRE, who for many 
years has been prominent in all good works 
*$^' in Rollin Township and vicinity, being 
identified with the cause of temper.ance, besides in- 
stitutions, educational and religious, owns a good 
farm on section 9, and is in the enjoj'ment of all the 
comforts and m.any of the luxuries of life. He is a 
w^ 



■^•- 



Hh^ 



LENAWKE COUNTY. 



643 ', ^ 



native of Corllninl ('(iiintv, X. Y.. mikI u-;i> Imh-i 
Nov. IG, 1821, at the homestead of his fathoi 
Daniel Derbyshire. The latter was boi-n in Saratogi 
County, that State, July S, I 7.S4, and died at hi 
home in this township, Jan. 1, isfid. 

The paternal grandfatiici' of oiii- subject, Janie 
Derl)yshire, was also a native of liie Knipiie Mali 
and of Knglisli ancestry ; he wasa farniei of ukmIcs 
means, and spent his last years in .Madison Counly 
He was the sou of William I )eil,ysliiiv, Sr.. w\u 
married a Miss Kuapp, of WCstcliesUT ( 'ouiity. N 
Y., and became the father of four (■liildr<'ii. Dauii 
Derbyshire married Miss Fanny .Moshci. win. n-.i 
born May 2, 1788, and died in Omnidai^a Coiiuty 
X. Y., Aug. !i, 184:). Their son William, our sul) 
jcct. when twenty-nine years of age, was married 
April 22, 1851, to Miss Rosanna Wood, a native o 
Madison County, N. Y., where she was born Dec 
20, 18;3(); she died at licr home in Rollin Township 
this county, Dec. {'J. isci. 

Mr. Derbyshire, on the 
was a second time marrie< 
Wood, daughter of Join 
Newitt, and widow of Ch 



Dth of September, 18G2, 
to .Mrs. .Maria (Xewilt) 
and Belinda (Burdick) 
les Wood of this county. 



She was born in Madison County, N. Y., Dee. 2t), 
IS.'H, and by her marriage with Charles Wood be- 
came the mother of three children: The eldest, Har- 
riet M., was born Sept. 22, 18r)2, and is now the 
widow of Crosby Wing, late of this township; 
Elizabeth was born Feb. 8, 1855, and liecarae the 
wife of Edwin Tattle, of Jackson, this State; they 
have three children. Orilla was born Nov. 25, 1858, 
and is the wife of Hiram Babcock, of Rollin Town- 
ship, and the mother of onechild. William and Mrs. 
Maria Derbyshire are the parents of four children, 
recorded as follows : Daniel Z. was burn in Rollin 
Township, Oct. 28, 186;!, and in 1880 was married 
to .Ml" Delia Lyons: he is engaged in farming, and 
:i resident of Rollin Township; William N. was 
born Aug. 18, 1807, and when not attending school 
employs his time sometimes at the farm, and some- 
times in town, in a b.ank or store; Gleim B., who 
was born Jan. 12, 1874, and Paul, Feb. 11. 1 S7fi, 
continue with their parents. 

Mrs. Derbyshire has been quite prominent in 
charitable work, laboring with the Ladies' Mission- 
ary Society, of which she was the first President 
-^ — 



;dter its organization, :uid with the W. C. T. U., of 
which she has been President two or three years. 
Several of the family belong to the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church, in which Mr. Derbyshire has been 
( 'lass- Leader /ind Stew :n'd for :i period of twenty 
yea.i-s. He has served as T()wushi|) Treasurer, be- 
sides tilling other l.M'.'d ollice>. He was a delegate 

l<. the tirsi, fempeiane. n eutiun of Lenawee 

County, and easts his vole with the Prohibition 
p;nty. 4'lie Derbyshire fMinily was tirst represented 
in this country durine the Colonial days, and the 
great-grandfather fought in the Revolutionary War. 
His sou James esjjoused the Quaker religion, and as 
this sect were always opposed to war, the later de- 
scendant of the Derbj'shires excused himself from 
lieconung a soldier from conscientious scruples. 

^. #.^ ^ 



J JOHN V. GOHEEN, a general farmer and 
stock-raiser of Clinton Township, is living 
I on the old homestead which was once Gov- 
' eminent land, and was taken up by his father, 
John (ioheen. in 18;M, in the early history of Lena- 
wee County. This farm, of which Mr. Goiieen is 
the joint proprietor with his sister, comprises 160 
acres of valuable land on the northwest quarter of 
section 13, this township. It is under good culti- 
vation, with suitable farm buildings and a very coni- 
fort.able and convenient dwelling which is finel}' 
located. 

Mr. Goheen is a native of New York, where he 
was born in Groveland Township, Livingston 
County, Oct. 12, 1829, and was the fourth child 
and second son of the seven children born to John 
and Elizabeth (He.adly) Goheen, for whose history 
see sketch of E. W. ( ioheen. Four of those children 
are yet living: E. W. of the sketch referred to; 
Deborah, wife of ('. W. Culbertson, of Clinton 
Township; J<ihn \-. and Miranda. 

Our subject w.as luit two years of age when he 
came with his parents to this county, which was not 
then far advanced from its original state of nature; 
in its dense forests, settlements were fewand far be- 
tween ; Indians still remained in their old haunts, 
and wild animals of all kinds were to be seen. As 
the years of his childhood and manhood have since 



■•► 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



been passed here on the land that his father wrested 
from the hand of nature, onr subject may be truly 
said to have ''grown up with the country." He 
was fairly well educated in the pioneer schools of 
Tecumseh Township, of which this township then 
formed a part. After he attained his majority, he 
took charge of the home farm for a time, and after 
the death of the parents, it became his and his sis- 
ter's, as before mentioned. He is a practical and 
sagacious farmer, and manages iiis various interests 
with good judgment. 

Mr. Goheen was married, Oct. 11, 1883, to Miss 
Esther Murphy, who was born in County Antrim, 
Ireland, Aug. 31, 1859. She came to the United 
States in 1880, and has ever since that time lived in 
Clinton Township. (For parental history see biog- 
raphy of Thomas Murphy.) Mr. and Mrs. Goheen 
are Presbj'terians, and socially they are highly re- 
garded in this community; Mr. Goheen is a solid 
Republican in politics. 

Miss Miranda Goheen, who sliares with lier brother 
the old homestead farm, was born March 27, 1835, 
on this homestead of which she has been a life-long 
resident. She is a lady of much intelligence and 
ability, and occupies a prominent place in social cii-- 
cles in her native town. 



' SAAC F. TURNER. As Lenawee County is so 
much indebted to the tillers of the soil for its 
[prosperity, we take pleasure in giving a brief 
sketch of one who well represents the agricultural 
interests of this community. Isaac Turner was 
born in St. Lawrence County, N. Y., Jan. 27, 1833, 
and is the son of Reuben N. and Phebe (Foster) 
Turner, both natives of New York State. They 
were married and settled in St. Lawrence County, 
later moving to Westchester County in the same 
State. 

Several years after his marriage, Reuben Turner's 
attention was attracted to the growing agricultural 
interests of the neighboring State of Michigan, and 
he resolved to try his fortunes here. Accordingly 
in the spring of 1848, when our subject was a lad 
of fifteen years, Mr. Turner removed with his 
family to Lenawee County, settling first in Seneca 
Township, and after living in Madison, Medina, 



and other townships in this county, finally settling 
in Adrian. Thi.s continued to lie the home of the 
parents until death, the father dying Aug. 18, 1882, 
and the mother July 18, 1878. Mr. Turner was 
fairly prosperous in. his work, and he and his wife 
gained the respect and esteem of the people among 
whom they made their home. 

Isaac F. Turner received the educational advan- 
tages afforded l)y the common seliools. After he 
grew to manhood, he continued to make iiis home 
with his parents most of tiie time until his mar- 
riage, assisting his father, and profiting by his ex- 
perience and practical wisdom. He was married, on 
the 15th of December, 1864, to Miss Sarah Eliza,' 
daughter of Cornelius N. and Pamelia (Oudekirk) 
Vail, of Madison Townsliip, now deceased, the 
father dying Nov. 17, 1.S71, and the mother Nov. 
10,1884. They had six children, as follows: Ellen 
E., Jennie E., Eliza, John E., James B. and Mary 
A. Mrs. Turner, their third child, was born in 
Madison Township, Sept. 26, 1845. 

Mr. and Mrs. Turner first made their iiome in 
Dover Township, but in the spring of 1 880 Mr. 
Turner bought a farm in Madison Township, where 
they now reside. He has been very successful in 
the management of this farm, which consists of 
eighty acres of fertile, well-tilled soil. He has a 
comfortable dwelling, pleasantly located, and good 
farm buildings, with the necessary appliances for 
farming. Of their union five children have been 
born, namely : Martha E., Charlotte A., Reuben C, 
NeUie and Arthur I. 

Since moving to this town, Mr. Turner has iden- 
tified himself with its interests, and his worth as a 
citizen has been duly acknowledged by his fellow- 
townsmen, as is shown by iiis having held many of 
the town offices. In politics Mr. Turner is Demo- 
cratic. 



f^ EACON WALTER S. SEARS bears the 
distinction of being the oldest man con- 
nected with the passenger department of 
the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Rail- 
road, and is at present located in the city of 
Adrian. He began his railroad career on the New 
York & New Haven Railroad, and continued with 



4h^- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



645 



it about four months, when in the spring of 1 819 
he opened rociv worlvs on the Hudson River Rriil- 
roiul fur C'apt. M.ason, who superintended thelmihl- 
inu (if tlie famous bridge across the Harlem Ri\fr. 
lie was ne\-t connected with the Rome >V Water- 
town Railroad, with whirh he remained until the 
si)ring of ls,")0. 

In June of tliat yi_ 
position with what is 
A Michigan S.mthei 
tinuonslv in the serv 



Mr. Sear.s was ti'udered a 
iw ki\own .■!> tile J>ake .Shore 
Railroad, and has been con- 
of the company controlling 



this Hue since that time. In December following 
he w:i- |ir<. moled l(. cuudiKaor of the vv(.(rking train, 
wdiich position lu" ..ccupied until i\Iay following, 
when he was a[)i(ointed freight conductor, to run a 
train from Toledo to Chicago. Fifteen months 
later he was given charge of his first |iassenger train, 
running from T..ledoto ( 'hirau... .-iiid tluis oiliciated 
until the fall of lst;o. Ill- next |iii-ilioii was .-is 
Yardmasteral Toledo, which he li.'ld three years 
and then re>nmeil hi- foi-mcr duties as passenger 
conductor, running until IMTf. That year he was 
again a|)pointed Yardmaster of tlu' Lake Shore <fe 
Michigan Southern, which position he still holds. 

Mr. Sears, in earlier years, took an active part in 
politics, and during tlie campaign of 1 S48, 
" stumped " the State of New York with John Van 
Buren. He is es.sentially a self-educated man, his 
schooling being limited to the instruction given l)y 
his Sunday-school teacher during the brief period 
of his boyhood. He m.adc the most nf his oppor- 
tunities, however, and by a thorough coiu-se of 
reading obtaineil a useful fund >4 inform.'iliou, and 
was enabled to give -cope tn the natural literary 
ability with which nature endowed Uun to .■, gen- 
erous degree. lie h;is been a regular contributor 
to the i^a//»Y,,/ Cniii/urtnrs' .l/.-/(/A/// since it w.-is 
established, and frequently delivered an address 
before the variiuis railroad a.ss(.>ciritious. lie is an 
honored meudier of the Railrcwd Couductois' As- 
sociation of the Lnited States and t^anada. and also 
of the Passeugei- Coniluctors' Association of Phil- 
adelphia, which was organized in LSTl. In IsTfhe 
identified himself with the Mutual Aid and iJenetit 
Associati(m of the State of Illinois, which has its 
headquarters at ('hie:mo, 

Mr. .Scars was born in the town of Uom.', Oneida 



Co., N. Y., Oct. 19, 1823, and is the son of Richard 
Sears, a native of Massachusetts, wlu) died when 
Walter S. was a little lad six years of age. The 
mother was left with a family of eight children, 
five boys and three girls, of whom our stdjject was 
the youngest. Walter lived with an elder brother 
until eleven years old, and then .set out to "paddle 
his own canoe," being from that day entirely de- 
pendent upon himself. It proved a good school- 
ing, comi)elling him to be industrious and .self-re- 
liant, and was no doubt the means of his success in 
life. He is now the owner of a comfortable prop- 
erty, .-lud prep.ared to pass his ilecliuing years sur- 
rounded by the good things of life. 

^^EORGE II. ORAM, proprietor of 103 acres 
i/| of land on .section 33, Adrian Township, is 

"'^^J carrying on agriculture successfully, and in 
company vvith his cousin Arthur, is engaged in the 
•sale of agricultural implements at Adrian. He is a 
son of one of the pioneers of Adrian Township, who 
came here in 1852, when George II. was less than a 
year old, having been born Sept. 21, 1851, in En- 
gland. The father of our subject was also an En- 
glishman by birth, and crossed the Atlantic when a 
young man, soon afterward coming west and lo- 
cating in this conntj. The first year of his residence 
in Adrian he established himself as a market gar- 
dener, and after the season had closed returned to 
the old country for his famil3\ bringing them to this 
county in 1853. 

(Jcorge Oram, Sr., upon returning to Michigan, 
secured emijloyment in the shops of the Lake Shore 
Railroad Company, where he continued eight years, 
and in the meantime accumulated a little capital. 
This he iux-ested ill what was then known as Hooks 
.Mills, which he o|rerated two years, then sold out 
and removed to the city of Adrian, vvhere he spent 
his last years, his death taking place on the 7th of 
May, 186."!, when he was fift3'-one j'ears of age, he 
having been born Feb. .;. ISf.'. 

I'he father of our -ubject was married in Ku- 
gland, to Miss .Mar_) . daughter (jf John Parsons, a 
market gardener of Brighton. She was born Aug. 
2G, 181(i, and crossing the Atl.intic with her Iius- 



^-i— to 



HI-4« 



646 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



band continued in this county after iiis deatli until 
she, too, passed iiway, at the home of her son 
George H., on the 12th of October, 1877. The 
parental household included three children : Eliz- 
abeth, Mrs. Wood, who was born Jan. 9, 1840, and 
died in July, 1876: she left four children, all now 
living and residents of Adrian Township. Julia 
Oram was born March 8, 1842, married W. Wick- 
ham and died July 3, 1869, leaving one son, Walter 
H., who is now in Adrian ; George H., our subject, 
was the youngest child. 

Mr. Oram continued with his parents until they 
no longer required his filial offices, and during the 
later years of their lives had the entire manage- 
ment of the farm. In 1877 he purchased his pres- 
ent homestead, and in June, 1878. was married to 
Miss Josephine, daugliter of Henry F. Daly, wlio 
came to Michigan in 1850, from New York State, 
where he w.as born in Lockport, Niagara County, 
and is now fifty-nine years of age. He came to 
Michigan, then went to Wisconsin, Illinois and 
Colorado, after which he returned to Michigan and 
settled in Adrian in l^'r>. He was married to 
Miss Marie McCaniber. wlui was born in Rose, 
Wayne Co., N. Y., April 20, 1834. Of this union 
there -were six children, three now living in Adrian, 
and three in Detroit — Henry. Josephine, Eva,, Ed- 
win, Thad. B. and Linnie. Tlie father of Henry F, 
Daly, also Henry Daly, was born in Washington 
County. N. Y., and was Constable and Collector at 
Lockport, that State, for .•«ixteen years. 

Mrs. Oram was born May 24, 1856, and remained 
with her parents until her marriage. Of this uniim 
there were born four children, namely: Libbie, wlio 
died in infancy; Mary L., who was born Feb. 17, 
1880; Ethel, Jan. 16, 1882, and George Han-y, May 
19, 1885. Mr. Oram, like his father before him, is 
thrifty and industrious, and lilce him is one of the 
most reliable members of the Republican party. 



^■^ 






ORRIN R. PIERCE is one of the most sue- 
I ful business men iu Lenawee C!ounty, and 
_ one of the miwt extensive shippers of poultry 
and eggs in Southern Michigan. This business 
reaches to a greater extent than is realized by the 



majority of people, his shipments of poultry alone 
amounting to nearly §50,000 during the last year. 
From these figures one can judge somewhat of the 
important position poultry raising occupies among 
the industries of this section of the country. Mr. 
Fierce commenced this business here in 1868 in 
company with his father, and since the death of the 
latter lias conducted it alone. He is a native of 
Massachusetts, and was born in the historic town of 
Cambridge, Sept. 16, 1849. His grandfather, Ab- 
ner Pierce, owned a f.arra there, and besides man- 
aging that dealt largely in live stock and hogs. As 
far as known his entire life was spent in that place. 
The parents of oui' subject, Abner tjorham and 
Laura (Priest) Pierce, were natives of Massachu- 
setts, born in Cambridge and Nottingham respect- 
ively. The father spent his early life in the place 
of his nativity, receiving a good education in that 
town so famed for its educational institutions. 
After attaining manhood he engaged in farming 
and gardening, and found a ready sale for his prod- 
ucts in the Boston market. In 1850 he removed 
to Palmyra, Wayne Co., N. Y., and there operated 
a distillery and dealt in stock. In 1858, being 
obliged to resign that business on account of failing 
health, he disposed of his property and moved to 
Farmington, in the same count3-, where he pur- 
chased a tract of land and engaged in farming. In 
1861, on account of sickness in his family, he sold 
out and returned with them to Cambridge, remain- 
ing there six months. He then went back to Pal- 
mvra, and remained until 1866, engaged .as a dealer 
in poultry and country produce. 'l"he succeeding 
two years he spent in Chicago, 111., and then came 
to Hudson, where in company with his son. our 
subject, he established the business referred to 
above. He bought a fine residence on Main street, 
which he occupied until his death, March 25, 1886. 
His wife survived him but a short time, her death 
occurring in the following Ma^'. They were the 
parents of four children — Harriet, Charles, Orrin 
and Laura. Harriet is the wife of Calvin Rice, of 
Chicago, 111; Charles died at Farmington, N<. Y.,at 
nineteen years of .'ige; and Laura diedin the .same 
place when twelve years old. The father, mother 
and their two children are now in rest in the Pal- 
myra Cemetery. They were Universalists iu belief, 



LENA^A'EE COUNTY. 



and in politics Mr. Pierce was a Dcniocrat. He 
was strictly honest in all his dealings, and a careful 
and verj- successful luisiness man. 

Orrin R. Pierce, the subject of >>ny sicetch, was 
but twelve months old wlien his parents ivnioved 
to New Yoriv, and his honie was with them until his 
marriage. Aftei- that event he rented a house hi 
Hudson for a few years, when he bought the prop- 
erty where he now resides, on Main street, and hi 
1S82 erecte<l iiis |)re.sent fine residence. It is a 
frame .structure of a modern style of .•irchiteetiire. 
reph'te with rdi tlie comforts of life, and in l^<.s7 
he erected one of the luivst ^t.•d)U's in tiic county. 
.Mr. Pierce wa> married, in 1 .s?:.. to Mi-s .M.'iry 
William.son. .-i u.alive of I'ahnyra. N. V.. and 
daughter of Ilemy and Mary A. (Cottrell) Will- 
iamson. To oiir subject and liis wife liave . been 
born two l)right and interesting chihlreu— Laura 
and Grace. Mr.s. Pierce i.- :i cousi.sU.nt m.'uduT of 
tlic Methodist Kpiscop.-d Church. In pohti.-s Mr. 
Pierce is a D.'Uiocrat. lie is a m.'iu of good financial 
ability, excellent jmlgment, .and has inherited his 
father's tact for l)usines<. Like liim lie has pros- 
jiered in all his t.r:uisaclioiis, being, iii fact, almost 
uniformly successful. 



-^ij^ 



r/OHN C. UO(4KR.'^, .1 leading 
' agriculturist of Woodstock T( 



d iufl 



al 
), is the 
t pleas- 
of the 



1 

I, owner of one of the neatest an 

(^^•' antly situated farms in that ] 
county. The most uwjbsi'rvant |).-isscr-by cannot 
help noticing that he takes great interest iii the a|)- 
pearance of the place, and the air of neatness which 
pervades it is commendable. 

Mr. Rogers is a native of the .State of New York, 
where he was born in Sai:itoga (ounly. .iuiic \. 
1833, and is the son of James L. and Charrila 
(Curtis) Rogers. Mis father was born in the same 
county in 1790, and while a resident of that State, 
principally followed the business of a cloth-dre.sser. 
In l.S4.'i the latter came to Michigan, ;ind after a 
short stay in .St. Joseph County he c.ime to this 
county in the same year, and located in Woodstoi'k 
Township, in the corner of tlie three l•ouutic^. lie 



made that place his residence until 1854 when he 
sold out, and purchased 260 acres of land where 
John C. and his brother. James H., now live. On 
this farm he took up his abode and remained there 
until the date of his death, which occurred Feb. 7, 
1 88-2, when he had reached the remarkable age of 
ninety-two years. He was a man who retained all 
his faculties, both mental and physical, in a remark- 
Mble degree up to the time of his death. Ilis wife 
survived him about five years, dying in March, 
1 1S.S7, at the age of ninety. 

John C Rogers was one of a large family of 
chililrcu, and remained at home under the parental 
roof until Sept. 22, 18.')9, when he was united in 
marriage with Miss Frances Farnsworth. He then 
erected :i residence on a jiortion of the old home- 
stead, into which he removed, an<l where he has 
since continued to live. lie has a fine large farm 
which is under most excellent cultivation, and his 
residence and other buildings are handsome, neat 
and comfortable. Though possessing but little 
means at the time of his start in life, he has ac- 
quired by ililigenceand energy an easy competence, 
and is ranked among the leading farmers of the 
township of AVoodstock. His wife is the daughter 
of Charles and Anna (Bush) Farnsworth, and was 
born iu Hillsdale County, Mich., Aug. 13, 1838. 
Her father was a practicing physician of great abil- 
ity, who was born in Hawley, Franklin Co., Mass., 
Feb. 18, 1802, from which State he removed to 
New York and thence to Ohio. After a short resi- 
dence in the Buckeye State he concluded to follow 
the "star of empire" and go West. Coming to 
Michigan in 1837, he settled in Hillsdale County, 
where he remained until his demise. Possessing a 
good clcmcntaiy education, dr.awn from the excel- 
lent schools of New England, he studied medicine, 
and entered upon the duties of his profession while 
still a young man. He was a thorough student to 
the ilay of his death, a deeji thinker and a reliable 
physician. After coming to Michigan he accu- 
mulated .1 large quantity of land, but never sus- 
pended his practice of medicine. He was among 
the most prominent men in Hillsdah! County, and 
was peculiarly active in church and temperance 
work, ami frequently when a minister failed to 



appe: 



Lhi 



the Sab 



•^^ 



648 



■•► 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



bath quite creditably. Universally respected and 
loved, he died Oct. 13, 18.51, mourned by all who 
knew him. He was married, Sept. 14, 182s, to Miss 
Anna Bush, who boeame tlie mothei- of nine cliildren, 
three of whom are still living. 

Mr. and Mrs. Rogers are the parents of three 
children, i-ccorded as follows: Nettie M. was born 
July 22, 1862, and married Chester Binns, a sales- 
man in the store of C. A. Smith, of Addison; they 
are the parents of two children. Bertha and Carl. 
Florence E. was born Aug. 28, 1864, and is the 
wife of Albert Lombard ; an only son, John Arthur, 
who was born July 4, 187."), was taken from his 
parents by death, Aug. 5, 1884. He was a bright 
boy. intelligent, quick-witted, and of a kind and 
loving disposition, and during the short time he 
was spared to his parents by our Heavenly Father, 
he gave rare promise of a noble manhood. His 
presence is sadly missed around the domestic tire- 
side of the family home, and the vacant chair 
recalls in the minds of his parents fond and ilear 
memories of their departed boy. 

Mr. Rogers, politically, is a Democrat, and has 
held several local offices in the township and school 
district. Although a warm advocate of the tem- 
perance cause, he cannot see his way plain to vote 
with the Prohibition party. Being imbued with 
the principles of the old Jeffersonian democracy, 
his fidelity to party is stanch and unyielding. In 
everything that is for the good of the community, 
whether in civil, religious or social circles, he and 
his estimable wife are found among the foremost 
workoi-s. Mrs. Rogers is a member of the Con- 
gregational Church, at Somerset, Hillsdale County. 

ir ORACE W. COMSTOCK. The family of 
W^\l which this well-known resident of Raisin 
1^^^ Townshii) is a worthy member, was first 
^g) represented in Lenawee County by his father. 
Warner M. Comstock, a native of Ontario County, 
N. Y., where he was born Sept. 8, 1802. He was 
the son of John Comstock, who was born in Massa- 
chusetts in 1774, and the latter was the son of 
N.athan Comstock, who settled in Farmington, On- 
tario Co.. N. v.. in 1788. .I.jhii Comsbx-k was well 



educated, and perfected himself in the study of law 
which he practiced in Ontario County several years. 
He came to this county in 1830, and took up a 
quarter section of land in Palmyra Township. Sub- 
sequently he sold this farm and purchased a small 
place in Raisin Township ne.ar the " ^'all('y," where 
his death took place in June, 1851. 

John Comstock was the ver^' first settler of Lock- 
port, N. Y., taking up, in company with his brother 
Zeno, the land upon which nearlj' all of that citj^ 
now stands. His brother Darius also came to this 
Cduuty in the pioneer days. In 1801 John Corn- 
stock was married to jMiss Rowena Bradish, who 
was born in Cummington, Mass., Sept. 30, 1786, 
anil coming to this county with her husband, died 
in Uaisin Townsliii) Fel). S, 1 S70. Their son, War- 
ner M.. lived with his father until he was nineteen 
_years old, and completed a good education in a 
Quaker school in Ontario County, N. Y. He was 
subsequently assistant engineer over a section of 
the Erie Canal, where he was employed until the 
water was let in as far as Loekport. Afterward he 
engaged for a time in the grocery business at the 
locks, furnishing supplies to the boats. Upon com- 
ing to Michigan, in the spring of 1835, he brought 
with him a stock of goods and carried on a store at 
the village of Palmyra until removing the following- 
year to Adrian. He engaged in general merchan- 
dising at A<lrian several years, and was appointed 
the first station agent at that point for the Michigan 
Southern Railroad, which ran to Monroe. He was 
also Deputy Postmaster, and subsequently appointed 
Postmaster by Millard Fillmore, serving four years. 
In 1852 he purcha.sed a farm in Raisin Township, 
where our subject now resides. 

The marriage of Warner M. Comstock and Miss 
Mary M. Perry was celebrated in Ontario County. 
N. Y., Jan. 7, 1825. Mrs. Comstock was the daugh- 
ter of Capt. William and Miriam (Barnard) Perry, 
of Holley, Orleans Co., that State, and became the 
motliei- of six children, one son and five daughters, 
of whom Horace W., of oiu- sketch, was ttie eldest, 
and was born in Loekport, N. Y., Dec. I'J, 1825. 
Marian B., the eldest daughter, was born Sept. 28, 
1829, and became the wife of Hon. Jerome B. 
Chaffee, of Coh)ra<lo, and died at Adrian Nov. 11, 
1857; Ellen R. w:is born Dec. 26, 1832, and is the 



-•► 



t- 



-11-4^ 



LENAWKK COUNTY. 



649 



*^ 



wife of.Toutithan F. Suvrnuur. of Adrian: Ahnira 
S. UMs Itoni Jan. 1. 1835, aii<l married Alfred 11. 
Woud, of Adrian. Two danglitens died in infaiir\ . 
Mrs. Mary M. Coinstock wa.s born in Canada, .lidv 
28, 180.1, and died at Adrian Jan. 14. 1870. li.-ivin- 
lived witli her iuislj.-ind over half ai-enlury. lie 
subsequently ni.'irried. .lune .'!. l.sTT, .Alis> Louisa 
Sheldon, of A<lrian, and died at thi.s place in 1887. 

Horace \\ . Coni>tock accompanied his parent.-; 
from his n:itive town of Lockport, N. Y., to this 
county, when- his early years were passed in an un- 
eventful manner in attendance at the district school 
and assisting his father around the homestead. 
Upon reaching his majority, he became clerk for 
the Superintendent of the old State Road, now the 
Lake Shore & Michigan Southern. He was in tlie 
employ of this corajiany three years, when he be- 
came connected with the St. Louis iV hidianapolis 
Railroad as private secretary for the Superintendent, 
and was iilso purchasing ageut. Fifteen ^ears of 
his life were thus employed, during which time he 
.secured the marked approval of his superior officers 
and the good-will of all those with whom he was 
connected. Later he took a position with the 
Gould system as private secretary of Mr. H. M. 
Hoxie, now deceased, and who was for some years 
third Vice President of the Wabash Railroad, and 
gener.al manager of the Gould southwest system. 
After the death of his father he returned to the old 
homestead, and has since given his time and atten- 
tion to the management of its affairs. He carries 
on general farming, and gives particular attention 
to sheep-niising, in which he has been ver3' success- 
ful. He possesses the energy and good judgment 
characteristic of his ancestors, and is a worthy rep- 
resentative of one of the iiest families in the State. 

The wife of our subject, formerly .Miss Fanny 
Comstock, to whom he was married (Jet. 11), 1864, 
was born in Raisin Township, Dec. 28, 1842. She 
remained under the parental roof until her mar- 
riage, receiving a good education, and is now one 
of the most prominent and estimalile ladies of Raisin 
Township. Her father, .lared Comstock, was one 
of the early settlers of Lenawee County, a man of 
much force of character and great industry, and one 
who was intimately associated with the growth and 
develojmient of Raisin Township. The family in 



religions matters belonged to the Society of Frien<ls, 
of which Mrs. Comstock continues a devoted mem- 
ber. She is a very intelligent and well-informed 
huly. and much of the time while her husband was 
traveling n])on railroad business, journeyed with 
him and made the most of her op|iortunities for 
gathering Useful information. Mr. Comstock, 
soei.-dly. belcmgs to Blue Lod-e No. ID in Adrian. 
A. F. ct A. M., and politically, is a solid Reiiub- 
lie:ui. 

.lared Comstock. the father of .Mrs. C., was mar- 
ried in early maniiood to Miss Catherine Hall, a 
native of Coiineciieut and of New England parent- 
age. She was reared in the doctrines of the Episco- 
pal Church, but subsequently identified herself 
witli the (Quakers, in whose faith she died .'it the 
advanced age of eiglity-four years. She also was 
a lady of fine mental capacities, which have de- 
scended in a generous nieasui-e to her daughter 
Fanny. 

-?3= 



elERSHOM B. BENNETT, the sul.je. 
, sketch, is a brother of J. R. Be 
J sketch of wbon, , 



else' 



this 
t, a 
this 

work. He wa.- born .Jan. 2, 182;l, in Shelby. Or- 
leans C'o., N. v., and lived at home engaged in 
farming until he was twenty-four years of age, when 
he took possession of a farm given him by his 
father, upon which he lived thi'ee years. He then 
bought a pro|ierty in Rollin 4'owushii., which he 
held about thirty years, then sold out in 1880. and 
removed to Adrian, where he lived one year. 
Accustomed, however, for so many years to coun- 
try scenes and surroundings, city life was not to his 
taste and he again sought the country, removing to 

[ his present homestead, where he is now leading a 

) retired life. 

On the 23(1 of Ocl.ol)er, 184."i, oiir subject was 
united in marriage with Miss Maria liawson. wli,, 
was l.orn .Vug. 2(;. 1822. and was the daughter of 
Theodore Rawson, of Massachusetts, a farmer by 

I occupation. He emigrated to the West, and the 
rest of his life was spent in this State, where he 
died at the home of our subject at the ripe age (jf 

i eighty-four yeai's. The maiden name of his wife 



■•►HI 



650 



^^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



was Elizabeth Bussey, to whom he was married 
Feb. 2, 1813. and who also died in Micliigaii. She 
came of a family of hardy pioneers, early settlers of 
Massachusetts and New York, and farmers b}' oc- 
cupation. All her people were long-lived, manj^ of 
them attaining to more than threescore years and 
ten ; the mother of our subject's wife was seventy- 
two years old at the time of her death. Silas Eaw- 
son, grandfather of Mrs. Bennett, was a soldier in 
the Revolutionary War. The family are descend- 
ants in a direct line from Edward Rawson, one of 
tlie old Puritans, whose history is recorded among 
the events of those times. 

Our subject has four chlMicii, of whom the rec- 
ord is as follows: Elbert R. was liurn March 21, 
1848, and is a ministei' of the Gospel in charge of 
the Baptist Church of Grand Rapids, Mich; he 
married Gertrude Mills, and they have three chil- 
dren, two girls and one boy. He is a finely edu- 
cated man, being a graduate of Kalamazoo College, 
and of Rochester Seminary, and has been a succees- 
ful minister for fifteen years. Emma M. was born 
Jan. 19, 1852, and married Stephen D. Whitmore, 
who died March 6, 1881, leaving two children, 
Edson G. born Aug. 3, 1 873, and Lulu, Dec. 24, 
1877: lie u-is pastor of the Baptist Church; his 
widow and ciiihlreu are at present at home with her 
father. George L. was born Dec. 22, 1859, mar- 
ried Miss Stella D. Mason, and is a lawyer, Circuit 
Court Commissioner and Assistant Prosecuting At- 
torney at Adrian; he is a graduate of Ann Arbor 
University. Edson J. was born June 11, 1801, and 
died Sept. 19, 18G5. 

From early youth our subject has always taken a 
very active part in politics. He served four years 
as United States Revenue Assessor, from 1862 to 
1866, and his inherent aptitude for politics is evi- 
denced by the fact that when nineteen years old he 
made out a ticket, in connection with another boy 
one year older than himself, which was elected by a 
large majority. On local issues he is a Republican. 
He is a liberal-minded, public-spirited man, who 
has always occupied a prominent position iu the 
community where he lives, and has been actively 
interested in every movement for the good of the 
people and the general improvement of society. 
The family occupy a very high social position in 



•►Hh-^- 



the community, and have a large circle of admiring- 
friends. The town and township of Rollin were 
named by Deacon Matthew Bennett, the father of 
our subject of the Rev. David Rollin, in honor, who 
I was his intimate and esteemed friend. 

i '• . _^' A-^ • -' 

ELAH II. RAYMOND is a prominent agri- 
culturist and stock-raiser of Rollin Town- 
ship, and a man of unbounded influence in 
is Community. His father, Albern Ra3- 
luond, was born in Steuben County, N. Y., where 
he carried on the trade of a carpenter and joiner, 
combined with farming. In the spring of 1837 he 
came to Michigan and took up eighty acres of Gov- 
ernment land. Like all pioneers of that early day, 
he had to clear a space in the forest to make room 
on which to erect a log cabin for himself and fani- 
il}". He remained here until his death, which oc- 
curred while he was yet in the prime of life, his 
years numbering only forty -two. His widow is 
now living in this township with her fourth hus- 
band, Newman Perkins; her third husband was Hon. 
Henry Jewell, of Clayton, and her second husband 
was James Learnard. 

S. H. Raymond, of this sketch, was born on the 
old home.stead, which he now occupies, Aug. 31, 
1840, and was one of a family of four children. 
His early life was passed on the homestead, where 
he was carefull}' trained in principles of truth, hon- 
esty and perseverance. Reared in a home where 
these principles were put into practice in daily life, 
they are as much a part of Mr. Raymond's charac- 
ter as are his birthrights of physical and intellect- 
ual force. The year succeeding his father's death, 
our subject worked by the month in Franklin Town- 
ship, and there, on the 8th of March, 1861, he mar- 
ried Miss Martha A. Pawson, who was born in Len- 
awee County, April 21, 1842. Subsequently, he 
bought out his father's heirs, and afterward pur- 
chased more land as his means justified, until he 
had acquired his present farm of 210 acres, the till- 
I able part being adapted to the raising of all cereals. 
By energy and perseverance, he has improved the 
land, and his farm is now one of the most beautiful 



■•►■ 



•►Hh-^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



60 1 



il sh<iws on every hand tho 
n-oprietor. Within n few 



•spots in the township, 

taste and thrift of it 

years he has erected a very liandsnnii' hoiiM' and 

eommodions barns, that an- un^urpa^snl in thi> 

county for utility and convenience, lie deals in a 

fine grade of stock, and his horses, cows, sheep and 

hogs, elicit the admiration of ail stock-raisers. 

The wife (.f our suNjccl i> (if ImiuHsIi descent, 
and her |)arcnts cainc to A! iriiiii.-iii al an early day, 
passing thegi-eatcr part of their rcHi.-iiiiing years in 
Franklin Townshi]), where they died. Iioth well ad- 
vanced in ye.-irs. Her father w.-is twice iiiairied: 
by his first niarriai^e he had six eliil 
IMrs. Raynnmd. and ..f hi,- >ec.,ii,l marria-e tin 
were .seven childi'eii. The union of .Mi. ;uid .M 
Raymond has been blessed b}' the biitl 
children— Ida (S., Lottie M. and All.ern 
eldest was born A|iril 1 I. IsCl', .'ind ilie. 
ber 1 of that year; Lottie w.-is horn Kch. 
narried Slephen W. 1 
the farm of ,,nr subject, wliic 
hare-. AllH.rn. wiiusc 
;(;.-.. i> al home; he linislied 
ed M'hool .-It Addison. 



that denomination, with the exception of Mr. R.'s 
father, who was a Quaker. They are loved, hon- 
ored and respected by the whole comnmniiy. who 
take a worthy pride in having such excellent [jco- 
l>lc in their midst. 



Sent 



and Dec. 5, ISM^i, 
are now living on 
they raan.agc on 
curred Nov. 25, 1 
studies in the gra^ 



.ubli 



md 



^h 



Politically, Mr. K'aym 
Strong temperance idea? 
hibition tictket. lie has 
way Commissioner, to w 
in 187G, serving three 
elected Township Clerl' 
For five years he was Snper\ isoi- 
and during the ye.-ir I Ksr, w.-is 
board; he has been Notary I'ulili 
his appointment Jan. 1.'), is.s:;, ai 
twenty years has been connected 
in an official capacity. He has c\ 
duties of the oHlces entrusted to 
and fidelity, and in nowise tarnisli 
the Raymond family. Every scl 
ing the public he has assisted, ai]( 
strumental in getting a new rail 
township, while he also ai( 
O. R. R. through here. 

Mr. and Mrs. Raymond 
ent members of the Methodist Episcojial Church, 
following religiously in the footsteps of their im- 
mediate ancestry, all of whom worked hard for 




>er |iei formed the 
. him wil.l, credit 
le.l the record of 
heme for l.enellt- 
d was largely in- 
Iway through the 
getting the U. & 

vout and consi.st- 



d for many years. In the latter part of 
their lives, the parents eanie to Clinton T(.wnship 
t.. live with their .-<,ii .Martin, and in Ills Innne the 
mother died in l.S(;;i .at the age of seventy-two 
years. The father afterward went to Chelsea, 
Washtenaw County, and there died in 1 S7;i at the 
good old .-ig." of sevent.v-,M.\ en years. lie li:id heen 
a uood eiti/.eu. .and well descrv.'d the respect in 
which he was held by all. Our subject lived in the 
home of his parents until he attained his majority, 
and was carefully trained by them in ways ..f use- 
fulness and honesty, while he was educated ir, 
Freedom Township. 

Mr. Keiisch's marriage with Miss Bridget .Murris- 
roe took place in Clinton, Feb. 15, I85iS. .She was 
born in Ireland, and came to America with her par- 

■ » 



-4^ 

f!52 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



^; 



ents when a child, where the family lived for some 
time in Canada. Theuce they went to New York, 
and later came to Palmyra Township, whence in 
1861 they removed to Clinton Township, where 
the father died in the same ycai-. The mother now 
lives in the village of Cliiitdu, and is sevt'iity-ime 
years old. 

After marriage Mr. Keuseh and his wife lived 
for some time at Adrian, and also Freedom, and in 
1866 they removed to their present place of resi- 
dence, where Mr. Keuseh has since been very suc- 
cessful in conducting the various branches of agri- 
culture to which he has turned his attention, and 
has accumulated considerable property. To Mr. 
and Mrs. Keuseh have been born four children: 
Emeline; John, who is Township Treasurer; Mary 
Ann and Philip M. Mary is deceased ; the others 
are living at home, and are intelligent and well ed- 
ucated. Mr. and Mrs. Keuseh and their childi-en 
are communicants in the Catholic Church. 

Mr. Keuseh has ably discharged the duties of the 
various town offices to which he has been elected 
by his fellow-townsmen, and in politics he is promi- 
nently identified with the Democratic party. lie 
and his family occupy a high position in the social 
life of the community. 

eHARLESj PERRY. This gentleman is the 
owner of one of the most beautiful homes 
in Medina Township, comi^rising an elegant 
residence, a neat and substantial barn, with car- 
riage-house and other out-buildings, ample grounds, 
well kept, and all the other embellishments of the 
complete country estate. He has now but forty 
acres of land, having with true fatherlj' generosity 
given to each of his three sons a good farm of 
eighty acres. This amount was given him by his 
own father upon reaching his majority', and he was 
fortunately endowed with the excellent judgment 
and the industiy which enabled him to take good 
care of his property and increase it, both in extent 
and value. Our subject, like a large majority of 
the citizens of Medina Township, is a native of the 
Empire State, and was born near the town of Ly- 
sander, Onondaga County, April 25, 1822. His 



parents, Abel and Lucina (Ainsworth) Perry, were 
natives respectively of New York and Vermont. 
The mother had removed with her father's family 
to the former State, and after her marriage with 
Abel Perry, continued in Onondaga County for a 
period of twenty-two years; here also tiie mother 
died in April, 1838. 

Abel Perry, after the death of his wife, came 
with his family to Medina Township, this county, 
where he purchased a quarter section of land, which 
is now occupied by his sons, Abel and Alonzo. He 
departed this life at the homestead in Medina 
Township, in 1849. The parental family included 
ten children, one of whom, George W., was born 
in Steuben County, N. Y. The others, Amos, Sally, 
Maria, Charles, Mary Ann, Ira, Henry, Abel, 
Alonzo and Jonas, were born in Onondaga County. 
Jonas died in infancy; George died in March, 1886, 
and Amos in March, 1887. 

Charles Perry attended school while in his native 
county, being a youth of seventeen years when he 
came to Michigan. Subsequently he attended a 
private school in Adrian, and being naturally fond 
of reading, has become a highly intelligent man. 
Upon leaving school he settled contentedly down 
with his father upon the farm, and remained there 
until reaching his majority, when ho took posses- 
sion of the eighty acres given him b_y his father, 
and commenced clearing the laud and cultivating 
the soil, being successful from the start. After a 
few years he purchased another tract of forty acres 
which was partially cleared, and subsequently 
bought eighty acres near the town of Wright, in 
Hillsdale County. This, followed by another pur- 
chase in the same locality, completed the sum of 
his real estate, which finally included 288 acres. 

Mr. Perry was married. May 19, 1844, at the resi- 
flence of the bride's parents, in Gorham Township, 
Lucas (now Fulton) Co., Ohic, to Miss Phila, 
daughter of Hiram and Margaret (Skinner) Far- 
well. Mr. Farwell was a native of Wheatland Town- 
ship, Monroe Co., N. Y., and his wife, Margaret, 
was born in Canada, on the farm upon which the 
liatttle of Lundy's Lane was fought, in the War of 
LSI 2, and which was owned by Ebenezer Skinner, 
till' maternal grandfather of Mrs. Perry. Mr. and 
Mrs. Farwell, after their marriage, in Monroe 



■•► 



i 



■•^f,"^ 



LENAWKK COUNTY 



GfiS 



County, N. Y., eontimierl to reside iicni- llic l(i\vii of 
Wheatland about ten years, and tlion icniovcd Id 
Fulton County, Ohio, settling in CorhMin Toun- 
ship, where Jlr. F. put up the first house, lie w.is 
a carjjenter by trade, but in conimcin with tlie pi..- 
neers now began farming, having lalvcn up .-i (r.-irt 
of 320 acres from the Government. He also worked 
at his trade until his land began to yield snthcieiit 
returns. Mr. and Mrs. Far well were the parents of 
eleven children, namely: Phila. Fdwin. Dolly A., 
Elizabeth, David, Jane, Amanda and her twin sis- 
ter, who died in infancy, Ellen, Si'ot.t, and ;i twin 
brother who died in infancy. 

To IMr. and Mrs. Perry there were born six chil- 
dren, namely: Hiram, Esther, Charles Mortimer, 
Abel L., Henry L. and David; the last two twins. 
David died when fifteen months old; Hiram and 
Esther died upon the same day, with cfioiora infan- 
tum, at the ages of five and three years respectively ; 
Charles M. married Miss Rose Palmer, and is carry- 
ing on farming in Wright Township, Hillsdale 
County ; they have two children — Inez and Ray. 
Abel L., also a resident of AVright Township, mar- 
ried Miss Ida (rarland, and they have two children 
— Clarence and Lee; Henry married Miss Etta 
Blauchard, and resides at the homestead. 

Mr. Perry, politically, is a decided Republican, 
and lias served as Justice of the Peace for eight 
years. He has been Highway Connnissioner and 
Town Treasurer, and served upon the petit jury a 
number of times. 



--^ — ^^B ^^ 

RANKIvIN F. PALMER, senior partner of 

J the firm of Palmer i^' Son, dealers in hard- 

, , ware, Hudson, Mich., has a reputation 

throughout the country as a reliable and successful 
business man. The firm carries a good stock, and 
is well patronized not only here, but by i:)eoi)le from 
other towns. Mr. Palmer was born in Walwortii, 
Wayne Co., N. Y., April 1, 1830, and his father, 
Fenner Palmer, was born in Granville, Washington 
Co., N. Y., Dec. 5, 1790. In 1.S24 he took up his 
residence in Wayne County, and there married 
Julia Ann Godard, a native of Vermont. 

The parents of our subject remained residents of 



nty until 1 ^ 

Michigan V 

advantage 

inal price in 



I, wlien they decided to 
li I heir family, that they 
it' the cheap land which 
d be purchased from Ihi' Government at a 
wly and sparsely set- 
lied legions of Li'ieiwi'e County. The first part of 
their journey was made on the waters of P^rie Canal 
to Buffalo, and thence on Lake Erie to Detroit. At 
Ihe latter place Mr. Palmer hired an ox-team to 
convey his family and their i)OSSessions to Lenawee 
County, whitliei his brolher John had precedc^d him 
the year befoi'e; ami in his log cabin with his fam- 
ily, Mr. Palmer and his family made their home 
until he could coiistiiiet a similar habitation on liis 
own land, which his brother had selected for him in 
Ridgeway Township, and had entered for him from 
the Government. This land, on which Britton Sta- 
tion now stands, was two miles from the home of 
any other human being, and in order to get to it 
he had to follow a trail marked by blazed trees. 
When he built his cabin other pioneers came from 
six or eight miles away to help him in its erection. 
Such was the spirit of mutual helpfulness that act- 
uate<l the daily lives of the noble pioneers of this 
country. The cabin had a slab floor, a shake roof, 
and a door fashioned from the boxes in which the 
household goods had been brought. It was roughly 
constructed, as Mr. Palmer could afford neither 
time nor means to finish it veiy elaborately, and 
the children lying in bed at night, could gaze 
tliruugh the wide cracks, and watch the stars in 
their courses. 

Fenner Palmer cleared sixty acres of his land and 
tilk'd it with much profit for fourteen 3'ears, then 
sold it at a good price and leuioved to Ransom, 
Hillsdale County, where he lionghi, -.'DO acres of 
timbered land. He was then in ill health, and his 
sons attended to the removal of the timber and to 
the cultivation of the ,-oil, and when Mr. Palmer 
finally disposed of it in IsCO. it was a fine large 
farm and well cultivated. He then removed to 
Lenawee County and bought a farm in Macon 
Township, on which he resided five or six years, 
then selling it he came to Hudson and lived in re- 
tirement, having accumulated a competency. There, 
surrounded by all the comforts which had been pro- 
cured by his own judicious management and hard 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



labor, .-ind in tlic iMijoyiiient of the respect and trust 
of his iieighbtjrs, he passed away from the scenes of 
earth July 10, 1886. He was prominently identified 
with the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he 
had been a member for fifty-four years. lie alnays 
tooiv an interest in politics, and became a uu'nil)ei- 
of the Republican partj' on its organization, havinu 
been a Whig i)rior to that. His wife, a most esti- 
mable lady, retains her home in Hudson, altliough 
she spends most of iier time with lier children. 
To them were born eight children, six sons and two 
daughters, namely: Franklin F., Scvilla E., Charles 
(t., Mary C, .John B., George Rodney, Oliver II. 
and Benjamin D. Seyilla married John Henry, and 
lives on the home farm in Macon; Charles owns the 
homestead in Ransom. Hillsdale County; Mary mar- 
ried E. W. Rose, and lives at Grand Crossing, 111.; 
John lives in Hudson ; George Rodney died in Man- 
chester, Mich.; Oliver lives in Petersburg, Monroe 
Co., Mich., and Benjamin lives in St. Jolui. Mich. 
Franklin F. Palmer, of this sketch, was but two 
years old when the family came to Michigan, and 
as he grew up witnessed the development and 
growth of the county from the forest primeval, 
where for years wild deer and other game roamed 
at will, to its present highly civilized condition. 
Here he grew strong and vigorous, nurtured by 
wholesome fare and the healthful outdoor exercise 
necessitated by work on the farm, and the pleasures 
of hunting deer, wild turkeys and other game, whicii 
he enjoyed in common with other boj's of his day, 
as he became a hunter as soon as he was large 
enough to shoulder a gun. He was of great assist- 
ance to his father in clearing his land and farming, 
and he remained thus engaged until his marriage, in 
July, 1851, in his twenty-first year, with Miss Mary 
J. Hannibal, a native of Oswego County. N. Y. 

This important step in his life made it necessary 
to establish a home, anr^ accordingly onr subject 
contracted to clear ten acres of land, receiving as 
pay forty acres heavilj' timbered. He built a 
log house on his own land, and in that humble 
dwelling he and his young bride bravely began life 
together, mutually assisting and encouraging each 
other in tiieir work. Mr. Palmer immediately set 
to work with great-energy and ambition to clear his 
^' land, but his unremitting toil was too much for 



him ; his health gave out, and for three years he was 
sick and unable to do anything. After he recovered 
from that long illness he went to Ransom Center, 
and opened a groceiy store with a stock valued at 
■§300, having bought the goods on time, and again 
commenced the up-hill work of gaining a compe- 
tency. He continued there in that business until 
I860, when he removed with his famil3' to Hudson, 
and established himself in the dry -goods trade. 
Later he exchanged his stock of goods and store 
for a farm of 220 acres in Jackson County. He did 
not settle on that farm, however, but soon ex- 
changed it for a stock of hardware, and a house and 
lot in Hudson, and since then, in company with his 
son Durviu D.. an intelligent and enterprising busi- 
ness man, he has built ui) a, large and increasing 
trade. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Palmer have been born three 
children — Durviu D., Maud Alzina and Eva D. 
Duivin D. married Miss Martha Nichols; Maud is 
the wife of .Tames Colville, and lives in Rockford, 
111., while Eva is at home with her parents. Mr. 
Palmer is a member of Lodge No. 1 8, R. A. M., Hills- 
dale, Mich. He and iiis famil}' are agreeable, pleas- 
ant people, and occupy a high place in social circles 
in this community. 



■-^^^^ 



l^i^i^ 



jTrjIjURTON KENT, ex-Surveyor of Lenawee 
|iy^ County, and Deputy Surveyor of the city of 
^/!M)J|] Adrian, was born in the State of New Hamp- 
V=:^ shire, in the town of Londonderry, Julj^ 24, 
1814. His father, Hon. Richard Kent, was born in 
Newburyport, Mass.. Oct. 30, 1786, and was the 
son of Mariner and Sarah Kent, of Newburyport. 
Mariner Kent was the son of Richard Kent, Jr., and 
grandson of Richard Kent, Sr., of England. He 
was born Aug. 14, 1757, and moved to London- 
derry, N. H., in 1798, where he died Dec. 7, 1842; 
his wife, Sarah Kent, died the same year. Richard 
Kent, Jr., was born in 1710, married Miss Hannah 
Norton, of Boston, in 1734, and died at Newbur}- 
port, in 1794; his wife, Mrs. Hannah Kent, died in 
1790. 

Burton Kent's father, Richard Kent, was brought 
up a farmer, but received a good education, being 



•►-HI-4*- 



^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



a graduate of the Londonderry Academy. lie 
taught school for several years, and at intervals 
practiced surveying. He was tlie owner of ;i faini 
about two miles east of the village of Ijomlonderry, 
and it was there that he i-earcd lii> f;inii!y. Aljoiit 
the year 1809 he married Miss Lois, d.'iiighter of 
David and Nancy FAn, of Londonderry, who w;is 
born in that place, April I, 17ss. :iiid diccl in 
Adrian, Mich., Feb. 5, I.STG. Her fallici- \v.m> .-i n:i- 
tive of the same place, and her nioUui was the 
daughter of Deacon Samuel Fisher, » ho cumh' lo 
this country in 1710, in the nineteenth ye.-ir of his 

age- 
Richard Kent and f.amily moved from New 
Hampshire to Lenawee County, Mich., in is.'l.), 
locating two miles west of Adrian, where he en- 
gaged in farming, and also undertook Ihc survey- 
ing required in his neighborhood and \.iiions |i;iris 
of Lenawee County. He remained on I his l:iini 
until his death, which occurred in Anunst. J.SCT. 
At the time of the ivmov.'d of our sul.jecfs p.-uvnls 
to Michigan, there were six ehildicn, all of whom 
accompanied them except one son. who stopped in 
Cincinnati. Of these ehildicn, Lurton Kent was 
the second son, and was twenty years of age when 
he came to Michigan. He was educated i)rinci- 
pally in his native State, first in the common schools 
and afterward at Pinkerton Academy, cnie of the 
best endowed institutions in that jiart of the coun- 
try. After completing his term at this academy, 
he engaged in teaching, and after his arrival in Len- 
awee County, he taught several terms at Hudson 
and other places. He acquired a knowledge of en- 
gineering and survejdng under the instructions of 
his father, who was considered one of the best en- 
gineers in the county, and performed service in 
that line during the twenty years of his residence 
in Lenawee County. Our subject .served as County 
Surveyor for a period of thirty years, and no line 
of his establishment has ever been set aside or re- 
located. Mr. Kent carried on farming until he was 
al)Out forty-five years of age, when he retired from 
that occupation, although he owned one of the 
finest farms in the county, consisting of ninety-two 
acres, on which are good buildings. 

On the 4th of December, 1844, Mr. Kent was 
married to Miss Caroline A., daughter of Thomas 



H. and Ruth B. Palmer, natives of Masonville, 
Delaware Co., N. Y. This in;irri;igo has resulted 
in the birlli of I wo ehildi-en — .\n^n>lus V. Mud 
Eleanor K. Angusliis 1'. w;is l,oni May 111, IS 17. 
and i> the editor and propiietor of the Daili/ and 
W'^'klf/ Rerii'ir, of Elkhart, lud.; he is a graduate 
of Hamilton College, N. V. Eleanor E. was born 
ill Adrian, Nov. 1). \ii)->. and is the wife of Augu.s- 
tns E. Curtis, the PriiK.'ip.al of the eily High School, 
i>f Adrian, who formerly held for eii:h1 years the 
>ain<' iMisition in the High .School ol .Saginaw City. 
Our suliject u.as a. 1 )einoer.at. until LSC.O. .at which 
time he joined llie K,.|,nlilie.an party, .and has since 
lieen artilialed with it. 



If' 



County. Though iiis for 
rugged from his struggles 
cultivated region to whii'l 
of his manhood, neither : 
the bright .and courageous 
vent into this section of 
element was most needed 
experience which, if full 



r lahor lias soured 
-vhieh made its ad- 
ly when such an 
^Hller has had an 
rated, would fill a 



volume; and both young and old can always derive 
pleasure and profit by spending an hour at his fire- 
side and listening to his tales of early life in South- 
ern Michigan. 

Our subject was born in Plattsbnrg, N. Y., Aug. 
29, 1819, and is of Irish extraction, his ancestors 
having come from the North of Ireland in 1719, 
with a colon}^ of over lOQ families, mostly Presby- 
terians, and settling in Londonderry, N. H. They 
introduced the foot spinning-wheel, the manufacture 
of linen anil the culture of potatoes. His father, 
John Jlillcr, was born in Londonderry, in 1783. 
and lived in the Old Granite State until the break- 
ing out of the War of 1812, when he enlisted as a 
soldier, and served as Orderly Sergeant until its 
close. He had, however, been doing military duty 
since 1808, and was once seriously wounded by a 
buckshot. After the war he settled in Plattsburg, 



i 



•► 



T 656 



♦-Hl-i. 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



^: 



N. Y., and followed his trade of stonc-ciittcr on 
the locks of the Erie C'nual. After a brief residence 
in the city of Ailmny he oame to Blichigan nnd 
settled on section -'id, in Raisin Township, hnildini^' 
up a comfortable lioine, where his death took place 
on the 7th of April, IS.'iT. wlien lie was seventy- 
five years of age. 

The mother of our subject, who in her girlhoo<l 
days was Miss Matilda Ilillinrd, liecanie the wife of 
John Miller in is is. She was the daughter of 
Miner and Al)igail Ililliard, of Danby, Rutland 
Co., Vt., the former a soldier of the Revohitiouary 
War. He received a Captain's comniission and mar- 
ried Miss liuth Hill, a cousin of the celebrated 
Ethan Allen. C'apt. Hilliard after the war returned 
to his native State of Vermont and there spent the 
balance of his days. His daughter Matilda was 
born in Danby, in 179.5, and coming to this county 
with her husband. John Miller, survived him 
twenty-one years, her death taking place on the 
24th of August, 1878. 

Van R. Miller was throvvn upon his own resources 
when a boy of eleven years, and began to earn his 
bread by the sweat of his brow. He engaged at 
farm work, and has followed that vocation now for 
a period of over fifty years. When a youth of 
nineteen he left his native town and went over into 
the Province of Ontario, Canada, locating near 
Norwich, in Oxford County, and not long after- 
ward made the acquaintance of Miss Phebe West) 
to whom he was married on the 28th of November' 
1842. In the spring of 1844 he purchased an ox- 
team, and gathering together his family and per- 
sonal effects, wended his wa.y around by London 
down to Port Sarnia, and thence ov<'r the old State 
road to Ann Arbor, this State, landing in Raisin 
Township, this county, ten days later. Here he 
traded his wagon and oxen for forty acres of tim- 
ber land, giving |50 " to boot," and at once began 
the erection of a log cabin of which the family took 
possession, and then commenced the task of cutting 
the heavy timber around him. This in the wet 
season was nearly under water, and manj^ a man 
would have been dismayed at the task before him. 
Mr. Miller, however, " had come to stay," and he 
determined to conqueror give up his life in the at- 
tempt. A few years of this arduous toil brought 



its I'esults, and in due time he had quite a I'espect- 
able little farm in a good state of cultivation. 

Mr. Miller accomplished a vast amount of work 
in the course of a few years, and besides the labors 
around his cabin home, assisted in building most of 
the bridges of the township, and contributed to the 
expense of ditching and improving the roads. He 
served as Highway Commissioner of Raisin Town- 
ship for fifteen consecutive years, and being a man 
in whom the coninuinitv hnd [)erfect confidence, 
was called to various othrr positions of trust and 
responsibility. 

The wife of our subject was the daughter of 
Benjamin West, of Norwich, Canada, and was born 
there on the 7th of March, 1824. Her father was 
born in Dutchess County, N. Y., Nov. 14, 1782, 
and died in Raisin Township, this county, in 
November, 18.58. Her mother was a native of 
Elba, Greene Co., N. Y.. and was born Sept. 27, 
1789 ; she also spent her last years in Raisin Town- 
ship, her death taking place in February, 1849, 
Mrs. Phebe Miller was a most excellent and amiable 
lady, greatly beloved by her husband and friends, 
from whom she was removed by death, Sept. 7, 
1886, when sixty-two and one-half years old. Of 
her union with our subject there were born five 
children, namely: John H., Charles W., Emily M., 
Hiram L. and Mary A. 

John H. Miller, the eldest son of our subject, 
during the late war served as a soldier in Com- 
pany B, 18th Michigan Infantry, and died of small- 
pox in Nashville, Tenn., Dec. 15, 1863, when a lit- 
tle over twenty years of age; Emily is the wife of 
L. V. Judson, a well-to-do farmer of Raisin Town- 
ship; Hiram L., also a soldier, and in the 11th 
Michigan Cavalry, died of measles at Lexington, 
Ky., Feb. 2.5, 1864, lacking two days of being 
sixteen years of age ; Mary A. is at home. Charles 
W. Miller, the second son of our subject, has known 
no other home than this county, his birth having 
taken place in Raisin Township on the 4th of June, 
1845. Here he spent his boyhood days and has 
been content to remain thus far, having now a good 
home on section 35, comprising fifty acres of land 
with good buildings. He inherited the sturdy in- 
dustry and resolute character of his father, and by 
well-applied industry has now a snug propertj'. On 



a 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



657 



•^ 



the iOlh of Aiigu,><t, ISd'.l. he was inan-icM 
Edna Ingersoll, who was Ikuii in llillsdah 
Feb. -21, 1852, and is the (hinuhtci' ..f . 
Maria (Hammond) In^cisdll, nativrs <it' ? 
State, whence they (lame to .Michiuau Ix^l 
marriage. They snhseqiiciilly Idc-Ucj in 
Township where tliey now rc>ide. (Sec 
.1. K. Ingersoll.) Mrs. M. was luurtecn 
age wiien her parents ienin\eil Irmn 
Countj', and remained with tliein unlii licr 
She is now the mother of foni- ehiidicn : . 
born Oet. :>. 1.S7I ; Khru-r C, .Maivh 
Earnest L.. June l'7. ISSO; and a dan; 
named, born March I, 18!s.s. Wiih ihe 
of four years Mr. and Mrs. Mill< r iiav<-. s 
marriage, lived upon the farm whieli the; 
cupy. 



ew V,, 

.le th. 

I'alniy 

ketch 

years 

ilillsd: 



:^^, IC:HARD DeGREENE. Had an indolent and 
%Jf' irresponsible man corne into i)osscssion of 
M\ the fine tract of land (jcenpied liy tlie sub- 
%g) ject of this sketch, the iv.-idl of its culti- 
vation would probably have been vastly different 
from that which is now presented to tlie eye. Here 
we now have a complete homestead witliall the evi- 
dences of thrift and prosperity whicli are ^(. picas- 
ant to look upon and whicli have been aceuni- 
plished only by persevering induslrv. It ((iniiiriscs 
1G5 acres of land, and is pleasantly located on sec- 
tions 5, 6 and 7, in Rollin Township. 

Mr. DeGreene is the offspring of a nne old En- 
glish family belonging to the lietter classi-s of Yorlv- 
shire, and is the son of Ralph N. anil lleniietta 
(Ness) DeGreene, who spent their entire lives n|)on 
their native soil. 'J'he father vvas a banker in good 
circumstances and died in the city of Malton, aged 
about sixty-eight years, while the mother survived 
lier husband, dying at the age of sixty-tliree. Rich- 
ard received a good education and was carefully 
reared in the religious faith of the C luucli of En- 
gland, of which his parents were devoted members 
and to which he still adheres. I'pon completing 
his education, he decided to seek liis fortune in 
America. 

Mr. DeGreene was :il)out twenty-three years of 
age when he crossed the Atlantic, having been born 



Ijion 



nding in Ne«- York City 
to Southern Michigan 
aciv^ of land in Rollin 
aboivd six years when 
an,.llier farm, lo whieli 
i-leared the greater |.or- 
neee^saiy to siy that he 
ii^h summer and winter, 
nothing to begin with, 
lod position among the 
nawce County. He had 
the clearing of the land 
beinj: aeci.implished by- 



no horses for several year 
and cultivation of the soi 
the aid of oxen. 

Mr. DeGreene wisely lefiained from taking upon 
himself the responsibilities of a family until he was 
assured that he could inovide comfortably for them. 
In 1842 he judged that he had reached this point, 
and accordingly in the spring of that year was mar- 
ried to Miss p]lizabeth Hathaway, a native of Bei'k- 
shire County, Mass., who came to the Territory of 
Michigan with her parents in 1884, where her fa- 
ther, James Hathaway, was one of the first settlers 
of Rollin Township. He cleared a good farm and 
died at the age of sixty-eight years. He had mar- 
ried, in the Bay State, Miss Dorothy Bowerman, a 
native of his own county, wiio survived her hus- 
band many years and died at the advanced age of 
eighty -six. They were (Juakers in religious belief, 
as is also their daughter, the wife of our subject. 

Mr. and Mrs. DeGreene commenced housekeep- 
ing in a modest dwelling and in due time became 
the parents of four children. The eldest, a son, 
Norman, was born in 1 843, and died at the age of 
eight years; Albert, born in 1847, was accidentally 
killed when twenty-three years of age, and left a 
widow and two children ; one of these, a son, makes 
his home with his grandfather, our subject. Emma 
was born in 1850, and became the wife of Edwin 
Wilson, who is a ci^ntractor on the Santa Fe Rail- 
road ; they have four children living. Mary vvas 
born in 1852, married John Sorby, of Addison, and 
they have five children living and one deceased. 
The children have received the advantages of a 
good education, being educated at the Raisin Val- 
ley Seminary and the Addison graded schools. 

Mr. DeGreene after liecomino- a naturalized citi- 



•►HI-4*- 



^^►Hl-^ 



Go 8 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



\ 



zen, identMied himself with tlie Republican party 
and has since, given to it his honest and conscien- 
tious support. He bears the reputation of being an 
unquestionably honest man, and in all respects a 
good citizoji. 

JOHN BELAND took up his residence in Ma- 
con Township in 1854, shortly after his mar- 
riage in Mercer County, Pa. His farm is 
pleasantly situated below the ridge, which is 
recognized by the residents of that locality as one 
of the most pleasant portions of Lenawee County. 
At the time Mr. B. settled here there were no neigh- 
bors nearer than a mile and the land had been com- 
paratively little cultivated. 

Mr. Belaud first purchased twenty acres of laud 
on section 22, Macon Township, to which he after- 
ward added at two different times fortj' acres, so 
that he now has a snug farm of 100 acres, the most 
of which is under a fine state of cultivation. He 
has made it a point to live within his income, and 
has effected one improvement after another as fast 
as he could pay for them, until he has now a neat 
and substantial residence, a good barn and all the 
necessary out-buildings. He has been chiefly en- 
gaged in attending to his own concerns, living the 
life of a quiet, inoffensive citizen, enjoying the es- 
teem and confidence of his neighbors and uni- 
formly voting the straight Democratic ticket. 

Our subject was born in the little Kingdom of 
Bavaria, Nov. 7, 1823, and was there reared and 
educated. His father, also John Belaud, was a 
farmer of modest means and spent his entire life in 
Bavaria. He had married in earl}' mai.hood Miss 
Theodora Krenseng, who also was born and died in 
the same Province as her husband. The father was 
sixty-three years old at the time of his death, while 
the mother survived her husband many years, her 
death taking place at the advanced age of ninety- 
eight years. They were Luthei-ans in religion, and 
people who commanded the respect of their friends 
and neighbors. 

Mr. Belaud was the third child and eldest son 
of the parental family, which included seven chil- 
dren, and is the onlj'' one who came to the United 

-<• 



States, and the only surviving member of tlie fam- 
ily. He remained in his own cf)untry until thirty 
years of age and set out, in 1853, to seek his fort- 
une in a country which promise<l more to the in- 
dustrious and enterprising man than he could hope 
to obtain in his native Bavaria. He embarked on a 
sailing-vessel at Bremen, and after a voyage of 
forty-three days landed, April 21, in New York 
City. He did not remain long in the metropolis, 
however, but made iiis way to Mercer County, Pa., 
wliere he was engaged as a farm laborer and re- 
mained in that locality seventeen months. In the 
meantime he made the acquaintance of Miss Cath- 
arine Denninger, and they were married April 21, 
1854. 

Mrs. Patterson was also a native of Bavaria where 
she was born Sept. 7, 1829, and came to the United 
States upon the same vessel with her husband. They 
remained in Pennsylvania until the fall of 1854, 
then removed to Southern Michigan and have since 
been residents of Macon Township. Their family 
included eight children, namely: Maggie, Eva, 
Anna, Lizzie, Henry, Fred, Adam and John W. 
Their eldest daughter, Maggie, became the wife of 
John Gettz, of Saginaw City, and died Aug. 28, 
1884, leaving two children — Frederick and Henry. 
The eldest son of our subject married Miss Ida 
Martin and is operating a farm in Macon Township. 
The family are all members of the Lutheran Church, 
in which Mr. Belaud oHiciatos as Trustee. 



J- ACOB FIN(;ER. a brief sketch of the life 
of this gentleman shows what may be ac- 
complished by courageous industry and per- 
severance, if combined with good judgment- 
Mr. Finger is a self-made man, having started in 
life a poor boy, and by his own energetic spirit has 
worked his way, unaided, to his present prosperous 
condition. 

The subject of this narrative is the son of a 
farmer and was l)orn in Taghkanick, Columbia Co., 
N. Y., Maix-h 17,1 820. His parents were Jacob and 
Christiana (Traver) Finger, both thought to be also 
natives of Columbia County, where their lives were 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



659 



Il> 



spent. Hi,s paternal .ui';Mi(lf:illicr. .Idhn Fin-cr. spent 
his la.st years at 'I'aghkanirk, ilh' liiitli|ilaci' (it cmr- 
siibjeot. Mr. Finger was ic.-ue.l in his niitive luwii 
and was edueateil in tiie ilisliic-l sehuuU. nlc■.■ln^^ liilc 
assisting his fatiicr in his Inliors (111 Ihc \':iyi\i until 
sixteen years of age. lie was a in hi I im is and anxious 
to become independent, and was therel'di-e willing 
to do anything his hands conld llnd Id do 
eured a position as a farm kdiorer, fm- wh 
eeived at first less than $6 a month. He \ 
and industrious, and as llis strength and slatnre in- 
creased, so did his wages, until lu' i-eali/.eil the tlien 
munificent recompense of i^KS per nidnlh. Me ex- 
pended his money jinlieionsly, and in a few y(>ars 
had acoumulated snilicicnt prdperty Id su|i[)(iit a 
wife comfortably, t »n the 7lh df iNdveinlier, l,s4l), 
he was married to Miss Maria Sehul/., a native of 
Livingston, Cohunbia Cd.. N. Y., daughter of 
Peter and Mary (Coen) Sehulz, and grand-daughter 
of Jolm Coen. 

After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Finger removed to 
Dutchess County, where the}' remained four years, 
and then returning to Cohunbia County they re- 
mained but a short time Iiefoic renniving to New 
Jersey, where he rented a fai'm for six nidnlhs, lint 
not being satisfied he i-emoved to lienss(daer 
County, N. Y., where lie spent the next eigliteen 
mouths. The next year he spent in Columbia 
County, and subsequently removed to Dutchess 
County, remaining there until LSGO, when he eanie 
with his family to Michigan. Here he bougiit ICO 
acres of land on section 32, in Riga Township. 
Twelve acres of land had been cleared, and on the 
place was a small log house into which he moved 
with his family and lived a year and a half. Then 
having an opportunity to sell to advantage he sold 
this farm and bought another heavily timbered, on 
section 1 of the fractional part of Riga Township, 
which he now owns. He built what is called a 
frame log house, weather-boarde.l, and a good 
frame barn. He now has forty acres of the land in 
a fine, tillable condition, and in 1882 he bought a 
])lace just across the road from this homestead, in 
which he Is now living, the homestead being occu- 
pied by his son. 

■ To Mr. and Mrs. Finger have been born three 
children, two of wliom are now living, namely : 



_. 1 



Margaret, wife of Adelbert Lewis, of Riga Town- 
ship, and l-;llis. who is living on the homestead. 

Franklin was l.dni in Cdl l.ia ( 'dunty, N. Y., Nov. 

■js, I,s.l2, joined the Tlh New Vdik Heavy Artillery, 
and died in the sei\ ice Auu. 1 l.l^C I. • I'olit ieally, 
.Mr. Finger is a Kcpiililican and a tirni lieliever in 
the principles of thai paily ; religiously, lie is a mem- 
licr dl' the Chiirch df (;o(l. while socially, he fulfills 
all the obligation^ of an honest man and agood citi- 
zen. He has always lieeii a great reader and an in- 
telligent thinker, and can unhesitatingly give the 
reasons for his beliefs, politically and otherwise. 



<j¥pS*]LISHA EDDY is a pioneer settler of Len.-iwee 
iN' County wlio witnessed its growth to its pres- 
jlL^ i ent splendid development, and has played 
no insignificant part in the long and arduous strug- 
gle which was necessary in suliduing the wilderness 
to a condition of successful husbandry. Mr. Eddy 
veiy early in life was tlirown upon his own 
resources, and it (U'volveil upon his dwn liead and 
hands to carve cmt the fditune of life. No page 
in this Alkc.m is more cheerfully given than this 
one, on which is recorded tiie evidence that what- 
ever he found to do he did it with all his might, 
and has reapctl the inevitable reward which comes 
to industry, economy, good management, and that 
integritj' and honesty which must be the basis of 
all permanent success. In his sixty-third year Mr. 
Eddy can, with a clear conscience, look back over 
a life's work without self-reiiroach, and with much 
gratification. 

Elisha Eddy was born in Wayne County, N. Y., 
on the 22d of April, 1824. His father, John Eddy, 
was born in Massachusetts, and his grandfather was 
also a native of the Baj' State, whence he migrated 
to Wayne County, N. Y., in the early settlement of 
that county. He bought timbered land, which he 
cleared and cultivated for many years, and died 
there. His wife was Sarah Baker, also a native of 
Massachusetts. The father of Mr. Eddy grew to 
manhood in Now Y'ork State with his parents, and 
married in Wayne County. He bought timber 



f 



•►HH 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



lands which he cleared and rednced to cultivation, 
and resided there until 1832, when he disposed of 
ills farm and started for the Territory of Michigan, 
coming' by the way of the Erie Canal and the Lakes 
to Monroe, and then overland to Lenawee Connty. 
He joined friends in Fairfield Township, and re- 
mained with them until he selected a location. He 
soon bought 110 acres of land on section 31, in 
Blissfiekl Township, of which about eight acres 
were cleared, and contained a log house and a log 
barn. He removed his family here in 1832, and 
here continued to live until Ajiril, 1841), when he 
died in his fifty-first year. 

The maiden name of the mother of the subject 
of this sketch w.as Mary Barnhart. She was born 
in Burlington County, N. .L, on the 9th of January, 
1800, and her father, William Barnhart, was born in 
the same State, while her grandfather, Jacob Barn- 
hart, was a native of (xerman}', who came to Amer- 
ica when a young man and settled in New Jersey. 
He removed to Wayne Countj', N. Y., where he 
joined his son and spent the last days of his life. 
The father of Mrs. Eddy was married in New 
Jerse}' to Sarah Brown, a native of that State, and 
of German-English descent. He removed to Wayne 
County, N. Y., about 1810, where he improved the 
farm, and made a home until his deatli. He was 
the father of six children. 

The subject of this sketch was the second chjld in 
his father's family, and though but a little lad when 
he came to Lenawee County with his parents, re- 
members well the incidents of pioneer life, and 
when deer, wolves, bears, wild turkeys .and other 
game were plentiful. His father's log cabin had a 
large open fireplace, in which all the cooking was 
done for years, as in those days on the frontier 
stoves were unknown. As soon as Elisha was large 
enough, he began to assist in the work upon the 
farm, and remained with his parents until after the 
death of his father. In October, 1851, he was mar- 
ried to Lydia Crockett, who was born in Huron, 
Wayne Co., N. Y., on the 22d of November, 1830, 
and was the daughter of Nathaniel Crockett (see 
sketch of John Crockett). During the first year 
.after marriage they lived on the old homestead, and 
then purchased 100 acres of land on section 10, in 
Ogden Township, of which twelve acres wei'e im- 



proved, and contained a log house into which they 
moved. He cleared about forty acres and lived 
upon his farm for seven years, then sold it and 
bought 113 acres on section 3 of the same town- 
ship, upon which he erected good buildings and 
lived until 1882, when he leased the place to other 
parties and returned to the old homestead, which 
he now owns and occupies. In March, 1886, his 
dwelling was destroyed by fire, and on the ruins of 
tlie old he erected his present residence, which is a 
commodious building, and contains all the modern 
conveniences of a farm house. 

Mr. Eddy in his political affiliations is in har- 
monj' with the Republican party, and whatever at- 
tention he gives to politics is in the interest of that 
party. He is remarkably well situated, both in 
respect to the number of acres and the quality of 
improvements on each of his farms. The remainder 
of his life will be spent in ease and comfort, and in 
the enjoyment of the accumulations of years gone 
bv. 



eAFT. SPENCl 
and successfi 
County, is a 



AFT. SPENCER RUSSELL, a well-informed 
successful agriculturist of Lenawee 
descendant of a worthy .and 
noted New England family, his grandfather, .John 
Russell, being a native of that part of the country, 
though he spent his last years in Ontario Countj-, 
N. Y.. whither he had removed in the early days of 
its settlement. His wife survived him many years 
and died in Clyde, Ohio, in the one hundredth year 
of her age. She was born in the year that wit- 
nessed the signing of the Declaration of Independ- 
ence, and the patriotism which characterized the 
people of that time has been transferred to her de- 
scendants, losing nothing of its original strength in 
its transmission. Gen. James B. McPherson, wiio 
so gallantly gave up his life for his country in the 
hard-fought battle before Atlanta, which occuired 
during Sherman's famous march to the sea, was her 
grandson, and when the monument erected in Wasli- 
ington t<j ciommemorate the fallen hero, was un- 
veiled, she received an invitation from President 
Grant to be present at the exercises. This lady was 



•^ U ^* 



■•► 



LENAWEE COUNTY 



tliree times married; her third iuisbaiid, Isaac Slo- 
ciim, was brother to Frances Sloeiiiii, who was 
sl<iieii by the Indians when funr ye.-n> old. and was 
nut discuvered l)y hei- n-l.-ilivcs until i\u\U- ;in 
elderly lady. 

The father of onr snliject w.-i> boin Au,u. .".it. isd.'i. 
and spent the lirst ten years nf his life in ll<>|ic\sell 
Township, Ontario Co.. X. V., Init at that age, hav- 
ing' the misfortune to lo>e his fjither. he ".-is Imnnd 
out to a farmer in Steuben Cnunty. "ith wlmni he 
remained until twenty-one year> ot mi;c. lie then 
visited Ohio, where he liought a Ir.-ict ..i land in 
York Township. .Sandusky County, and ivturning 
to New York, worked by llu- inonlli to pay for the 
[jurchase. .subsequently he married lOli/.abeth Heaeh, 
a native oi Ontario County, .and with her lie re- 
moved to Ohio, and settling- on his land, built a 
h.g house in which, a few yars later, our Mihjrrt 
was born. He improve.l a tann and crrclcd -o,,d 
frame buildings. His wife's death oecnricd in l.s.'n', 
but he continued to reside there until l«ti.!. whm, 
being elected Judge of Probate, he removed to 
Fremont; his <leath oceurre<l in (lyde, Ohio, in 
April, 1«74. 

The subject of our sketch was the thiid of the 
eight children in the parental family, .ind was born 
in Clyde, .Sandusky Co., Ohio, April 17. ls:{r.. lie 
remained there until manhood, receiving a, good 
public-school education, and .aflerw.ard pursm-cl a 
course of study at Berea College. After complet- 
ing his education he Uiiight school one winter, but 
he has nnide agriculture his life work. S|)encer 
Russell, at the sound of the war cry. (■nli>lcd on the 
10th of September, ISC I,, as .a private m Conip.any 
A, 72cl Ohio Infantry, Capt. Eaton commanding. 
At the battle of Shiloh he was elected by acclanni- 
tion to the Second Lieutenancy and ;i short tin)e 
later was promoted to the position <if Fir>t Lieu- 
tenant. After the >iege of Coi-juth he was .ag.ain 
promoted, Cai)tain of tlu' eoinpany. but, on account 
of broken health he was eouipelled to resign, which 
he did in .September, Isc:!. 

Capt. Hussell resunuMl opei.ali(,ns in Sandusky 
County until l.s(;,s. when lie uio\ed to Lenawee 
County and piu'chased his present fai ni on section 
30, Hudson Township, one-half mile from the vil- 
lage. His marriage with H;,nnah Said'oid wa,^ .sol- 



emnized Sept. 15, 1864. Mrs. Ku>m>11 was born 
in Sandusky County, Ohio, and is the daughter of 
l-;iias .Sauford, a native of Connecticut, and born in 
LMS, while his father, Zachariah Sauford, was born 
in Saybrook, Conn. From Connecticut he re- 
moved to New Y'ork stale, and settled in (ienesee 
Comity, and from theie removed to .Sandusky 
County. Ohio, where he improved a farm in Town- 
send Town.-hip. where lu> death ocairred in the 

Mrs. Russeirs f.ather died when only twenty-four 
f age. He 



veai 



ed Adeline Stevens, who 
wa.s boi-n in the State of New York, Feb. 8, 182ti, 
and is now living in Clyde, Ohio. She was for 
many years a successfid teacher in Sandusky County. 
Her father, Israel Stevens, was .a native of Massa- 
chusetts, and her grandfather, I'hineas Stevens, was 
a Rexohuionary soldier aiKt served until the close 
oi tile war. Her mother, Hannah JVIcDowell, was 
of Scotch-Irish extraction, and Gen. McDowell, of 
the late Civil War, was a direct descendant of this 
family. The great-gnuidfather, John McDowell, 
was the first Presbyterian minister to preach in 
Newfane, Mass. 

Mrs. Russell received her early education in the 
public .schools of Ohio, and that, with a two-years 
course at the Ohio Female Seminary, at College 
Hill, six miles distant from Cincinnati, completed 
her technii-al edueatioii. She was engaged in teach- 
ing from the time she left the district school at the 
age of fifteen years, until her entrance to the sem- 
inary four years afterward, and one 3'eMr after mar- 
riage she spent in the same plea.saiit work. Mrs. 
liu.ssell is well known as a poetess of i-.wv power 
and merit, and she writes for her own pleasure, and 
not ;is a vocation. Her poems have hada wide cir- 
culation, many of them having been published in 
■•St Nicliolas" and -Tiarper's Magazine." 

To .Mr. and Mrs. Russell have been born three 
I'hildren — James McPhcrson, Lucile and Spencer. 
The daughter is now attending school in Y'i)silanti; 
Silencer is learning the trade of machinist and is 
developiii'j eoiisider.able musical talent, wliileJames 
.\lcl'. is :it home with his p.arents. This intelligent 
anil interestiu'i faniih' oeeiiliv a iiroiniiient position 



till 



■•►HK 



M^ 



662 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



nient. Our subject and his wife are attendants 
and supporters of the Congregational Church. In 
pohtics, Capt. Spencer Russell is a Republican, and 
socially he is a member of the DeCJolyer Post, G. 
A. R., of Hudson, Mich. 



~^->'^^^:^?t^if55<^- 



ylLLARU CROCKETT is one of the well- 
to-do men of Ogden Township, and living 
nearly all his life in Lenawee County, has 
been one of the men wlio converted it from a wil- 
derness of forest trees to a county of productive 
farms and prosperous towns. During his life be has 
alw.iys been active and industrious, and whatever 
he found necessary to do in the work of making a 
comfortable home, he has done with a will. In his 
business career he has shown himself to be a man of 
good judgment, as well as of fine executive ability. 
His farm is on section 26, in Ogden Township. 

Mr. Crockett was born on the 1st of December, 
1834, in Wayne County, N. Y., luid is the sixth 
child of Nathaniel and Mary Crockett (see sketch 
of John Crockett). He was in his second year 
when he came to this county with his parents, and 
attended the first school ever taught in this section. 
This school was in a log house furnished in the most 
primitive manner. The benches were made of 
slabs, in which holes were bored and pins driven in 
for legs. The room was heated b^' a large fire- 
place, from which the smoke was conducted by a 
chimney made of sticks and mortar. As soon as he 
was large enough, he assisted his father in the work 
of chopping down the trees, clearing the land and 
tilling the soil. He remained with his parents imtil 
1853, when, concluding logo to California, he em- 
barked at New York, and g<Jing by the way of the 
Isthmus of Panama, arrived at San Francisco thirty 
days after starting. He went directly to the mines 
in Sierra County, where he engaged in mining until 
1859, when he returned and located on the old 
homestead, which he farmed about seven yeai's, and 
then located on the farm he now owns and occupies, 
consisting of 120 acres, seventy of which are cleared 
and under ciUtivation. When he became the pur- 
chaser of tliis farm it was entirely covered with 
timber and stumps. He has erected good and com- 



fortable buildings and thoroughly drained the land. 

In 1868 Mr. Crockett was married to Hannaii 
Rice, who was born in Ogden Township ; they have 
had six children — Addle, Jennie, Alva, Clara, Cas- 
sius and Russell. Mrs. Crockett's father, Samuel 
L. Rice, was born in Seneca County, N. Y., and his 
father was Adam Rice, who was an early settler in 
Seneca County, where he made a farm and resided 
until his death. The father of Mrs. Crockett grew 
to manhood in Seneca County, and resided there 
until 1835, when he came to the Territory of Michi- 
gan, and settled in what is now Ogden Township. 
He entered Government land on section 24, and 
erected a log house in which he and his wife com- 
menced housekeeping, and where he was a resident 
until his death, ou the 17th of July, 1884. In Jan- 
uary, 1834, he was married to Margaret Sebring, 
who was born in Lyons, Wayne Co., N. Y., on the 
18th of June, 1819, and was the daughter of Cor- 
nelius and Elizabeth Sebring, natives of the State 
of New York. Her parents died when she was 
quite young, and she was reared by an elder sister, 
with whom she came to Michigan in 1 835. Mrs. 
Rice still resides on the homestead. 

Although it has required many years of toil, sac- 
rifice and privations, to bring their farm to its pres- 
ent state of cultivation, Mr. and Mrs Crockett never 
flagged in the work required, and they have the sat- 
isfaction now of being surrounded b}'^ all the com- 
forts of life. ■ They occupy a pleasant home, and 
the buildings for the shelter of their stock and the 
storing of grain, are commodious and ample. They 
are surrounded by prosperous and intelligent people, 
whose esteem they enjoy to the fullest extent. 

iT^T? D. LANCASTER, of the firm of Lancaster 

rtoi ik Co., dealers in gents' furnishing goods, is 
"^ at present located on the north side of Chi- 
cago street, Clinton, at which place he established 
in business in May, 1887. He was formerly con- 
nected with Mr. Demuth, who has been in the gro- 
cery business here for some 3'ears. 

The subject of this biography was born in the town- 
ship of Bridgewater, Washtenaw County, April 2, 
1834, and is the son of Denis Lancaster, who came 



•^h 



•►HI-4*- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



663 'M 



from the Ntn'tli nf Ireland when elevuii years of 
age. He had lost iiis father when .1 child, and after 
landing in America he lived for some time in Can- 
ada, whence he removed to Loekport, N. Y., and 
worked on the Erie Canal for fourteen years. In 
December, IK.'il, lie came U< I'.ridgcualer 'I'dnnsliip, 
AVashtenaw Connty, and l(><-aled cm ( iovrnment 
land, on which he lived until his demise, Dec. '2, 
1.S68. He secured 240 acres of lan<l, on which he 
labored persevei'ingiy and bi-ought it to a high state 
of iinpn.venient. On the :ith of ,Iiine. is.;;;, he 
wns nnilc.l in marriage in liridgcuater Township, 
with Miss Harriet Frederick. She came with her 
parents from York State when a j'oung woman, and 
her marriage was the first in the township; sh(> is 

yel living at Clint in her si>venty-flftli year. She 

a,nd her husband were menihers of th.> Kpisc,,p;d 
Church. 

Our subject is the only surviving member of 
seven children— three sons .and four daughters, lie 
was reare(l and (Mlucatecl in Bridgewater Township, 
and was there engaged as a farmer until thirty-three 
ye.ar,s of age, when he came to Clinton, where he Ikis 
since been in business. He condncteii a livery 
stable for two years, and was afterward a clerk for 
some years, meeting with uood sui-cess. He was 
married in May, l,s:,7. in Clinton Townshiii, to .Miss 
Mary E. Rowland, who was b(jrn Sept. 0, is;;;), in 
tills county, where she grew up and was educated. 
Her ])arents were earl}' settlers here, and are now 
deceased. 

Mrs. Lancaster is the mother of three children, 
two of whom are dead, .lennie \. i> the wife of C. 
S. Borrough, who is connected with his father-in- 
law .as one of the company. 'I'liey have one child, 
Frank. Mr. and Jlrs. Lancaster are members ,,f 
the Epis.'opal Cimrch, while in polities, Mr. L. is 
identitied with the Democr.-itic party. 

/k^ AJ. (lEORC^E T. RICE, who won his 
/// Av title by doing good service in the Union 
J 14 army during the late Rebellion, came to 
^ this countj' after the close of the war, and 

is now ollieiating as I'ostmaster at RoUiu. He w.as 
born in the touii <,i Maeedon, \V:i\iie Co.. N. Y., 



Dec. 16, 1823, and from there after his m.arriage 
went to Marietta, Ohio, where he w(nked at his 
trade of a carpenter, .and where he enlisted July 22, 
1861, in Company B, 3lst Ohio Infantry, under 
('apt. .John Fell. After four years' faithful .service, 
he received his honorable discharge in July, 186.5, 
at Camp Deimison, Ohio, and after a brief stay in 
his native State, took ui) his residence in thisc(.)unty, 
where he has since remained. 

Our subject is the son of Nalli.an and Dorcas 
(Tibbets) Rice, natives of Rhod,' Island. Nathan 
Rice wa> born in ITsj, ami was reared by his grand- 
father, his father having died when he was a boy. 
He learned the carpenter's trade, and engaged mod- 
erately in farming. During the War of 1812 he 
was drafted for services, l)nt preferred to pay his 
lini^ of !?.S() and let some other man serve in his 
place. He came to the West in 1847, and <lied at 
his home in Rollin Township, Nov. 16, 1872, 
at the age of eighty-seven years. The motlua- died 
in Wayne County. N. Y.. when forty-f.,ur years of 
age. The parental taniily included nine children, 
but three (»f whom are living — William, Judson, and 
Oeorge T., our subject. Nathan Rice was a second 
lime married, tt>Mrs. .Silinda, widow of Russell Sco- 
vel, and she now makes her home with our subject, 
at the advanced age of eighty-two .years, having 
been liorn .Inly I, ISO,",, in Pompey, Onondaga Co.. 
N. Y. 

(ieorge T. Rice at the age of eighteen years 
conniienced his api)rentice>hip at the carpenter's 
trade, and made his lumie with his brother Will- 
iam until he attaine<l his twentieth year. He was 
soon afterward married, June 27, 1847, to Mi.ss 
.Minerva J. Riijley, who w.asbornin Summit Town- 
ship, Schoharie Co., N. Y., Sept. 2, 1824, and was 
the d.-iughter of John and Elizabeth (Elliott) Rip- 
ley. Ilei' father was a shoemaker l)_y trade, which 
he followed all his life, and died in Maeedon, N. \'., 
when seventy-seven years of age. Mrs. Ripley sur- 
vived her husband many years, dying also in Maee- 
don at the age of eighty-eight years. They were 
the parents of four daughters and four sons, five of 
whom are now living, as follows: Ann S., Minerva 
.1., Ruth A., Philetns S. and Theron P. 

Our subject and his wife continued in tlicir na- 
tive Slate until 1 S.VJ, when thev removed to .M.ari- 



' 



H^h 



•►Hl^^ 



t 



66-1 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



etta, Ohio, wliere Mr. Rice worked at his trade until 
the outbreak of the Rebellion. He was a true 
patriot, and entered the army from a sense of duty 
and a desire to witness and sliare in the triumph of 
the Union arms. He was very fortunate, es- 
caping wounds, sickness and imprisonment, and al- 
most without exception was ready each daj' to re- 
port for duty. He was first promoted Second 
Lieutenant, tlieu First Lieutenant, subsequently 
Captain, and finally Major, with which rank he was 
mustered out. His meritorious conduct on the 
field, and his modest and manly bearing at all times, 
won him both the approval of his superior officers, 
and the waini friendship of his comrades. He was 
dignified witliout being overljearing, and in all re- 
spects the high-minded and patriotic soldier. 

Maj. Rice, after the close of the war returned to 
his family in the Empire State, whence one year 
later lie made his way to this county, and followed 
his trade in RoUin Township until 1873. He then 
purchased a stock of general merchandise, and 
opened a store aX RoUin, which he has since con- 
ducted successfully, and built up a good patronage. 

Our subject and his wife are connected with the 
Baptist Clmrch, and are both earnest workers in the 
clnuch and Suuday-scliool. Mrs. Rice is promi- 
nent in the missionary society, and has given much 
time to benevolent and charitable enterprises. 
Their eldest child, Julia E., was born in Macedon, 
N. Y., and died there wlien an infant of seven 
months; Clara was born in Marietta, Ohio, and 
died tliere when eight months old. Harriet E., also 
born in Marietta, came with her parents to Rollin 
Township, and died when an interesting maiden of 
seventeen years. She had been the liglit and life of 
the home circle, and her death was a grievous l)low 
to the stricken parents. 

Maj. Rice for the past three years lias been a 
member of theG. A. R., belonging to Dagolier Post 
at Hudson. In eai'ly life lie identified himself with 
the Masonic fraternity at .ALniclla, Ohio, :ind has 
also been a member of tin- Sun.-, df 'I'vniiicrauce. 
Upon leaving Marietta, he Ijccaiuc pr(juiiiicnlly con- 
nected with the Repul)liean party in this count}'. 
Up to ISGOhe voted the Denioei'atic ticket, but the 
various quusti(_piis attciidaiil upon the .•ip|ii-ii.-icliing 



^h^ 



since given his support to the Republicans. He 
was Justice of the Peace four years in Rollin Town- 
ship, and has also served as Treasurer and School 
Director. He was appointed Postmaster in 1869, 
and has held the office ever since. The fact that he 
has retained his position under a Democratic ad- 
ministration speaks well tor his ability as an official 
and his popularity as a citizen. 

Ill establishing his mercantile business Maj. Rico 
had a capital of only $1, and his credit. He lias 
now one of the best appointed storerooms in the 
township and commands a lucrative trade, carrying 
a full stock of everything required in the village or 
country liousehold. He opened his store on the 
lOtli of October, 1873, and at present carries about 
$2,000 worth of stock. 



•^ LATNZA WHELAN, one of the successful 
I^O agriculturists and stock-raisers of the town- 

ijni! ship of Franklin, is located on his father's 
d^ old homestead, on section 15. His birth 

occurred Feb. 10, 1835, and he is the eldest son 
and third child in order of a family of five sons and 
two daughters. His father was John Whelan (for 
whose history see sketch of E. C. Wisner in this 
Album.) 

Mr. Whelan received his education in the district 
schools of his home, where he resided until he be- 
came of age. He was united in marriage in Adrian, 
Mich., Jan. 17, 185G, with Miss Adelia L. Wither- 
ell. who was born in Jefferson County, N. Y., 
Nov. 2, 1836. She is the only daughter of Wilson 
and Elizabeth (Cheeseman) Witherell, natives of 
Connecticut and York State, respectively. The 
parents were married in Jefferson County, N. Y., 
where they spent several years, during which time 
there were born to them three children. Mrs. 
Whelan and two sons. They then came to Michi- 
gan and located in Franklin Township, where for 
some years the father was engaged running a saw- 
mill. They afterward went to Manchester Town- 
shij), Washtenaw County, and there the father made 
his home on a farm until his death, Nov. 21, 1885, 
at the age of seventy-three. His wife is yet living 
with her youngest son Dudley, on the farm in 

•► 



•4^ 



LENAWEK COUNTY. 



665 



Manchester Township, and is seventy-three yi"ii's 
old. 

Coming to Michigan when a girl. .Mrs. Whelan 
received part of her edncation in Krauldin Tnwn- 
ship, residing with her pMrciits until hei- ui.-n rinuc 
She is the mother of two rhildrcn: .l,,|,ii H.. wl,,, 
was educated at Tecnmseii and Ann .Vrliin- I'liiver- 
sity, and is now an attorney connected with II. .M. 
Duffield, of Detroit; he married Mi.s> Myra. 
daughter of B. F. Reynolds, of Tecnni.seh, uhere 
also she was edncated. Howard is at home with 
his parents. After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Whelan 
located on their present farm of I 10 acres. Theirs 
is one of the finest and best imijroved farm.~ of the 
township, and has correspondingly line farm build- 
ings. Mr. Whelan i- independent in religion and 
politics. 




ROF. WILLIAM K. TKIPP represents the 
I) educational interests of Weston in a worthy 



id efficient manner, being Principal of the ji^ 
^ 1 High School, which position he has held 
since the fall of 18S1. He is well fitted, b.)th by 
nature and acquirements, for his responsible duties, 
and takes a thorough interest in everything i)er- 
taining to his calling. 

Prof. Tripp is a native of lliis county, having 



in F 



.M: 



u.l l,oi> (.Manu) 
southern Michi- 
on another page 
(lions and atteu- 
uth of eighteen, 



been bori 

and is the x.ii of Dr. .lolui 1) 
Tripp, who are so well known i 
gan, and of whom a sketch a|)pe; 
of this work. As a boy he was 
tive to his lessons, and when a 
entered the Union School ai Tecuuix'h, wluu-e he 
took a two-years course and was grailuated with 
honors. Later he crossed the Mississippi for the 
purpose of seeing something of the western country, 
and spent a year in the vicinity of Winfield, Kan. 
Upon returning to Michigan he engaged as travel- 
ing salesman for a Dctrcjit firm, being occupied 
thus until assuming his present position. The Wes- 
ton High School accomnunlates about 100 pupils, 
including the sous and daughters of the lirst resi- 
dents of the township. The Professor is prominently 
identified with the County Board of School Kxam- 
iners, and holds a State certificate .-i^ leaclu r. 

The marriage of Piof. Williaiu \\. riipi>anil .Miss 



Isabella Ayers was celebrated at the home of the 
bride on the 1st of March, 1S84. Mrs. Tripp is 

the daughter of Dr. S. ('. .•uid .lulia (Jewell) Ayers, 
natives of Ohio, who (•.•iiiic to Seneca Townshij), 
this couuly. in |.si;,s. They removed to Fairfield 
Township in I .s7 I. and the father died in Weston, 
.l.iu. IS, iss.-, : the mother is still living. Their 
dau-hter Isabella w:i> born in Spring Hill. Ohio. 
Dec. 7, l.sc.o. To the little houseliold thu> estab- 
lished there have been born two bright chihlren, 
both daughters— Lois A. and^Julia G. Professor 
and i\Irs. Tri|)p occupy a comfortable home and 
enjoy the society and friendship of a large circle of 



JONATHAN ROWLEY, an enterprising and 

successful farmer of Hudson Township, was 

' born in the town of Brutus, Cayuga Co., 

/ X. Y.. May 21. 1.S22. His grandfather, 

.louatha.n liowlcy, was a native of Coiuiecticut, 
whence he removed to New York, and bought a 
tract of land in Brulu^ Towushii), Caj'uga County, 
in the early day< of its settlement, upon which ho 



The lather of our >uiiject„ Constant Rowley, was 
lioru iu Couuecticut, and at the age of seven years 
came with his pareiits lo Cayuga Coiinly, where he 
grew to manhood, auil went fi'om thereto take part 
as a soldier iu the \\:n- ,.f 1 s 1 -.'. When he was 
married he couimeuced liou>ekeeping iu a log hou.sc 
on his father-iu-lawV farm, and iu that house the 
subject of onv sketch w.ms horn. He soon after 
bought a tract <■! tiiuhered laud, and lived there 
until 1835, when he ■^old out his [)ossessions, and 
accompanied by his wife .-ind tiu-ee children, started 
for the Territory of .Micliiuaii, coming via the Erie 
Canal and the Lake to Detioit. He bought a yoke 
of oxen and a wagon at Di'troit, and started for the 
region known .as Bear Creek \' alley, taking their 
provisions with them in the wagon. He located on 
section 1 l' of wh.-it is now |[u<l>oii Towushfp. where 
he bought .-1 tract of tiiubeivd laud. The ,mly 
family ill the ueighborliood had come there a few 
Weeks before. Mud Mr. Kowiey and uis famil}' staid 
with them until he coidd put upn housi' <iu his own 



'^i- 



666 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



^; 



land. He commenced at once to cut the trees to 
make room for bis house, which he had ready for 
oecupanc}^ in two weeks. It had a puncheon floor, 
a stick and mud chimney, and until cold weather 
l)lankets|served as a door. He cleared two acres of 
land that fall which he sowed to wheat, and he 
lived there until 1849, then removed to Lansing 
and bought a farm within five miles of the village, 
where he remained until death. Mr. Rowley was 
married three times. His first wife, mother of our 
subject, whose maiden name was Polly Meech, was 
a native of Connecticut, and a daughter of Joseph 
and Sally (Boardman) Meech, also natives of that 
State, and early pioneers of Cayuga County ; she 
died in Cayuga County in 1829. Mr. Rowley mar- 
ried for his second wife Mrs. Emeline (Smith) Free- 
man, who died in Hudson Township. His third 
wife was Mrs. Mehitable (Williams) Pierce, and she 
also died in Hudson Township, having settled there 
after her husband's death. 

Jonathan Rowley, the subject of this biography, 
is the only surviving child born of his father's first 
marriage, a daughter having died in infancy, and 
coming to Michigan when thirteen years old, he 
well remembers many incidents connected with his 
journey. Detroit was then a small place, and the 
country between there and Lenawee County was a 
wilderness with now and then a log (•abin in the 
woods. Deer, wolves and wild turkeys were 
abundant, and occasionally a bear was to be seen. 
Mr. Rowley has lived to see the wilderness trans- 
formed into a beautiful and productive farming 
country. He remained under the parental roof 
xmtil twenty years of age, wiien he commenced life 
for himself with no other capital than health, strong 
hands and willing heart. He was ambitious to es- 
tablish for himself a home, and with this object in 
view set to work to earn the means. He took con- 
tracts to chop timber and clear land, and as lie was 
industrious, frugal, and free from bad habits, he had 
saved money enough to purchase, in 1 844, the land 
where he now resides, and now pc)ssesses 155 acres 
of valuable land. A small s|)ace had already been 
cleared, on which was a log cabin 12.\14 feet, and 
when our subject married, six years later, it was in 
that humble abode that he and his young wife be- 
gan housekeeping, content to commence as their 



means would allow without going into debt. Their 
furniture was homemade; their bedstead was con- 
structed b}' boring holes in the logs of the house 
and using one corner post, while their table was 
homemade, and sawed logs set on ends sufficed for 
chairs. In a comparatively short time they were 
enabled to furnish their home comfortably, and in 
1801 a frame house took the place of the cabin. In 
all undertakings Mr. Rowlejr has been successful, 
and his beautiful farm and the dwelling he now 
occupies are monuments to the industry' and perse- 
verance of himself and wife. Their present resi- 
dence, which was completed in 1887, is a large 
frame house built in the modern style of archi- 
tecture, with all conveniences; it is nicely furnished 
and heated by a furnace. 

The marriage of our subject with Miss Abigail 
Pierce took place Jan. 9, 1850. She was born in 
Aurelius, Cayuga Co., N. Y., Nov. 4, 1831, and is 
the daughter of Allen and Mehitable (Williams) 
Pierce, who settled near Buffalo, N. Y., soon after 
marriage. Here Mr. Pierce died of cholera in the 
July previous to Mrs. Rowley's birth. After 
the death of her husband Mrs. Pierce returned to 
Cayuga County and resided there until 1841, when 
she came to Michigan and settled in Lenawee 
County. Subsequently she married for her second 
husband C^onstant Rowley, as above mentioned, and 
after death she made her home with our subject 
and his wife until her decease. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Rowley have been born three 
children — Clara, Adelbert and Alfred. Clara is the 
wife of Joiin Thompson, of Clayton: Adelbert 
married Addie Curtis, and lives In Hudson; and Al- 
fred is at home. Mr. Rowley's career is an exempli- 
fication of the success to be achieved by energy 
and determination. He and his good wife are now 
enjoying the reward of their earlj' toils, living 
happy anil contented, and are held in high respect 
and esti^em by the community. 



^OSINGRAVE M. ECCLES, M. D., a tal- 
ented young physician, practicing his pro- 
fession in Blissfield, was born March 3, 

f^ 1858, in lona, Elgin County, Province of On- 
tario, Canada. His paternal grandfather, Daniel 



r 



•►Hh-^ 



'*^r^ 



LENAAVEF 


COUNTY. fiflT 


Eccles, was a prosperous linen maniifacHirer, own- 


wedded life was of brief duration as she died 


ing a factory in Connty Tyi-oiie, Ireland, wiiere lie 


Jan. G. 18S4. leaving one child, Mabel. 


passed his entire life, lie n:is a menilier .if the 


Alth.iiiuli tlie I)..rlnr i> a v^nni;- pi-actitinner, he 


Church of En.ylnnd, and i-,arc(l his Inniily in Ihe 


has ahe.'idy ^'aint'd an assured positiDU among' the 


Episcopal faith. 


best representatives of the uieilieal profession in 


The father of Dr. Eccles. -A-n nauied i);nii.'l. 


this State. He is a close student, devoting the few 


was born in County Tyrone, and oven .-is a i.oy 


leisure hours allowed him by the demands of his 



showed the superior mental .ability that eh;ii:irU.r- 
ized him as a m:in, II.- was finely fdncated in 
Dublin, and at the nge ut twciily-livr \cais hv 
souo-ht in America a wider splicif of iirtion iIimii he 
could find in the liome of his ii;itivily. lie \uc:i\ri\ 
first ill Lambton County, ()nt:irio. Caiuida. thence 

busiiK'ss until he received the a[)pointinent to the 
ollice of Clerk of the Court, which he retained until 
his death, March 1, 1800. He ha<l married in his 
adopted country, Susan Lnckhani, a, lady of much 

whom grew to maturity, the subject of this sketch 
being the third child. Mrs. Eccles has continued 
to reside in lona ever since her husband's death. 
She is the daughter of an odii-cr in (he lui-lisli 
army, whose regiment was for a long lime slationed 
in Kingston, C:iiKHla. and there bis daughter. Mrs. 
Ek'cles, was born. lie resigne(| fr,,m the army and 
lived retired during the last yc:irs of liis lif... in 
Warwick, Lambton County, Canada. 

Dr. Kccles p;isscd the early years of his _v,„illi in 
his native town, where he accpiired the nidiineiits 
of his education in the public sc|io(.|>. When he 
was fourteen years of age he entered the lli^h 
School at Park Hill, Strathroy, where he leniained 
one and a half years. During Ih.-it time lie com- 
menced the study of medicine, and when he was 
seventeen years of age he entered the medical 
department of Trinity' University, at Toronto. 
After pursuing the thorough course of study re- 
quired at that universit}', he was graduated from 
there in the s[)ring of US71t, well equip[)ed for his 
professional duties, and in the following August he 
came to Blissfield and began the |jractice of his 
profession. The year following his settlement here. 
Dr. Eccles was married in St. Tlioin.as, C,-iiiada, to 
Miss Carrie Helen Pritchard, a native of L<iiidon, 
Province of Ontario, Canada, the date of their 
marriage being April 24, 1.S80. Their [ileasant 



iii.-reasing practice to the study of Ihe best medical 
and scienlili<' authorities, keeping well abreast of 
the limes, and taking ad vantage of any new thoughts 
or <liscoveries that will in any w.ay .aid him in his 
work, lie is a member of the Southern Michigan 
.M.'dicnl S,„-iety. and i^ one of the health officers of 
lilisslield. which po-itioii lu' h:is heM during the 
last three vears. 



GtE()R(;E 1'. ROIJERT.SOX. In Ihe early 
^ days of Odgen Township the surface of the 
_j country during certain seasons of the year 
was covered with water, on nccount of the dead 
level of th.' ground. This made the work of the 
lil-l settlel> doubly Laborious, for besides cle.-ning 
the land of th.' heavy forests, much ditching was 
necessary to dr.'iiii the land, lint wet land, when 
one,- ,lraiiuMl, is very productive, the s.ul generally 
deep and alluvial. Now that ( )gden Towu-liip is 
thoroughly dr.-iiiicd, .■. farm located Iheivin is very 
valuabh' on account of its produi'ing qualities, and 
it i> Micli .-I farm that the subject of this sketch owns 
on M'.'tion li;. Ogden Township. 

Mr. Robertson was born in I'iesl,,,n County, N'a., 
oil tlii' l."-tli of .M.arch, is;!,-,. His fatlici'. .lames 
Robertson, was born in Berkley County, in the 
same State, where he was reared to agricultiir.il pur- 
suits, and married Elizabeth llerkert, who w:is born 
in Viigini.a, and was th,. .hmghter . if I'eter Ile|-kert. 
In IS-ll he coiK'lndcdto better his comlil ion if pos- 
sible, and selling his small p.jssessions in N'irgiiiia,, 
he started with horses and wagon foi- Ohio. He 
was very unfortunate in collecting the deferred 
|)a,ynieuts on the pi-o|ieily lie sold in \'iigiiiia, and 
it was necessary tor him to take a new start in Ohio. 
For seven years he farmed rented l;ind in Wayne 
.County, and then removed to Medina, County, 
where he bought land on credit, .and lived there 



•►^H^ 



668 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



five years. This land he sold at quite an advance 
and came to Michigan, settling in Ogden Township, 
Lenawee County. The township had been settled 
for some time and still there had been but little 
clearing and ditching done, and much land could 
be readily bought at from $10 to $12 per acre. 
He bought about 400 acres, 120 of which had been 
"deadened" and partly cleared. Having a family 
of industrious sons, and being an effective worker 
himself, he soon added to his landed estates until 
he and the boys atone time jointly owned 1,700 
acres. He remained a resident of Lenawee County 
until 1881, wlien he removed to Florida and settled 
in the town of Anthony, where he engaged in im- 
proving town property and loaning money. 

The subject of tiiis sketch was nine years old 
when his parents removed to Ohio, and he assisted 
his father on the farm until they came to tais 
county, when he accompanied them. He remained 
with his parents until he was twenty-one years of 
age, when he began life for himself on forty acres 
of his present farm. It was then timber and brush 
land, and not being drained presented a marshy 
appearance. It is said that pioneer visitors in 
Michigan prospecting for land, when passing through 
Ogden Township in a wet season, were accustomed 
to say that they would give as much per acre for 
blue sky as for Ogden Township land. They now 
admit their mistake and concede that Ogden Town- 
ship land is the best in the county. Taking these 
facts into consideration one will partiall}' realize the 
labor Mr. Robertson has performed in transforming 
that tract of lan<l into its present condition. He 
has added to the original purchase from time to 
time, and now owns 120 acres which are drained 
with .3,000 rods of tile, and his farm build- 
ings rank with the best in the county. In 1884 he 
bought a residence in Blissfield. U< which lie re- 
moved his family in order that his children might 
enjoy better school advantages ; lie spends the 
greater part of his time, hovvever, on the farm. 

In Jane, 18;J5. Mr. Holiertson w.-is married to 
Miss Mary F. Richardson, wl.o uas born in Ohio, 
and they have had tour children — I'eiley E., Alice, 
Cora and Lester 1>. Having attained success in 
business it is now tiie ambition of Mr. :iiid Mrs. 
Robertson to give tiieir childriui a "ood education. 



and with that object in view they will reside for some 
time in Blissfield. The children appreciate the in- 
terest their parents take in their welfare, and respond 
by giving their whole time and attention to the 
studies assigned thoni. 



D 



UEL A. FREEMAN was born in Attleboro, 
Bristol Co., Mass., May 8, 183«, and is the 
lki.\ grandson of William Freeman, who was 
'w^ifor many years a resident of Attleboro, 
where he died about 1804, at seventy-four years 
of age. The father of our subject, also Will- 
iam Freeman, was born in Attleboro, March 10, 
1790, and was but eight years old when his father 
died. At that time hand looms were in use and 
he learned the trade of a weaver, though he gen- 
erally followed farming. 

William Freeman bought a farm near his native 
place, where he lived until 1843, when with his wife 
and six children he started for Michigan via steamer 
to New York, then by the Hudson River and J^rie 
Canal to Buffalo, whence he went by water to To- 
ledo, and took the Erie & Kalamazoo Railroad to 
Palmyra. Not having the means to purchase land 
for himself, he worked the farm of George Cranes, 
in Palmyra Township, six years, and after one 
year's work on another farm in Ogden Township, 
he bought eighty acres of timber land on section 5, 
for which he paid |! 1,000. At the end of three 
years he sold this lot and purchased eighty acres of 
heavily timbered land, again paying $1,000. He 
built a frame house on this land, and brought it to 
a good state of cultivation before his death, which 
took place March 3, 1886. In 1818 William Free- 
man was united in marriage to Miss Betsey Thaj'er, 
a native of Taunton, Ma.ss. They became the par- 
ents of nine children, when Mrs. Freeman died 
April ."), 1848. William Freeman was a second 
time married in 18-50, to Mrs. Lydia .Shumway, of 
Fairfield, this county; she departed this life on the 
8th of August, 1 S7 1 . 

The subject of our sketch was five years of age 
when he came to this conntj' with his parents, and 
has lived to see the country developed from a wil- 

■» 



-4•■ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



669 



deniess to a fine, well-improved farmiiii) section, 
assisting materially with his stnmg' arm to bring 
abont the result. He attended the pioneer schools 
of the count}' and assisted on the farm alternately, 
as most farmers' sons did. At the age of seventeen 
he went to live with his brother Bradford, receiving 
for his services SiH per month, except in the win- 
ter season when he went to school. He lived with 
his brother until his marriage and then rented land 
for three years, when he located on iiis father's 
fai-m, which he now owns and occupies. Tliisfjirm 
consists of eighty acres of well-inii)roved land wIMi 
substantial farm buildings. 

Mr. Freeman was united in marriage, Dec. .'SI, 
18(;8, with Sarah M. McAdani, wlio was born in 
Ogden Township, March 2.i, 1848. Her father, 
Mich.ael McAdam, a pioneer of the county, was born 
in County Fermanagh, Ireland, April 23, 181(;. 
Michael was the fifth in a family of eleven children, 
and was reared by his parents to the age of eighteen, 
when he came to America with his brother, and on 
their arrival in Adrian engaged as laborers on the 
Erie & Kalamazoo Railroad, just east of Palmyra. 
He afterward contracted to build three miles of 
roadbed for the Michigan Southern Railroad, but 
before the completion of the work he returned to 
Adrian and engaged in the warehouse of Henry 
Hart and .John Rice. In January, 1847, Mich.ael 
pui'chased of his brother 160 acres of land on sec- 
tion 4 in Ogden Township, which he has now under 
a high state of cultivation and embellished with a 
substantial brick house as well as good barns and 
sheds. April 12, 1827, he was united in marriage 
with Miss Esther Baker, who was born April I, 
1828, and is the daughter of Thom.as Baker of this 
county. They are the parents of seven children, 
of whom Sarah M.. the wife of our subject, is Ihe 



! 



(^^HOMAS HENDUVX, well known throngh- 
(/^^ out Franklin Townsliip and vicinity, is now 
^^^ retired from the active labors of life and 
spending liis declining years at a comfoi'table home- 
stead on section ;iO. Here he has eighty acres of 
choice land, finely improved with substantial mod- 
ern buildings, a choice assortment of live stock, and 



tlie usual .appurtenances of a first-class country home. 
He came to this loc.-Uity in the spring of 1864, and 
during a period of twenty- four years, in which, he 
has moved among the peoi)lc of his township, he 
has eslablished himself in their regard and confi- 
dence. :in.l is ininili.M-ed :ini..ng llic most worthy 
citizens. 

The father of our >ul.jeet. .Inhi, llendryx by 
name, was a New Engl.-md fni'iner of modest means 
and served as a soldier in the War of isi-j. Ipon 
leaving his native State of Rhode Isl.-ind, he mi- 
grated to Central New York, .and was there married 
to Miss Dolly Smith, a native of Connecticut, and 
like her husband of New England parentage. Af- 
ter their marriage the young people spent some years 
in Madison County, N. Y., remaining there until 
after the birth of their son, our subject, which took 
l)l.ace in June, 1807. In 1810 they removed to 
Steuben County, during the i)eriod of its early set- 
tlement, before the .soil had been brought to a state 
of cultivation, and when wild game was plentiful. 
The father took up a tract of land which he, par- 
tially improved, then sold out and purchased another 
tr.act not far distant. He subsequently abandoned 
farming and eng.aged in milling, which proved a 
very unfortunate venture .as he met his death in the 
mills, being caught in the gearing and instantly 
killed. He was stricken down in his prime, being 
fort3'-flve 3'ears of age. 

Mrs. Hendryx, the mother of our subject, sur- 
vived her husband some years, and was married the 
second time, to James Griffith, with whom she lived 
until his death, in 1838. She then removed to the 
home of a daughter in Ohio, and was there the 
third time wedded, to Mr. Loveland, with whom she 
removed to Pennsylvania, and s|)ent her remaining 
years, dying at the ripe old age of ninety-five. 
The Hendryx and Smith families were both re- 
markable for longevity, many members of the jmst 
generation living to be nearly a hundred years old. 

John and Dolly (Smith) Hendryx became the 
p.arents of eleven children, seven sons .and four 
daughters, of whom Thomas w.as the fifth in order 
of birth. All survived until reaching ye.ars of ma- 
turity, were married and became parents, while 
four .sons and one daughter are now living. The 
eldest, Jeremiah S., of Tecumseh, is eighty-seven 



-► ■ < • 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



years of age, and the youngest, who makes his home 
at Fniitport, has passed his sixty-sixth birthda,y. ! 
Thomas continued at the farm in Steuben Countj', 
N. Y., until fifteen years of age and then went to [ 
learn the trade of a ealiinet-uKikei- undcT the in- 
struction of liis elder brother, witli wiioiu he re- [ 
mained one year. lie comph'ted his trade with I 
Daniel Poineroy, and afterward located in Coshoc- 
ton, N. r., where he followed Ids trade for a time, 
then engaged in merchandising until failing health 
compelled liim to sell out. lie then went South 
and spent one year in Florida, being greatly bene- 
fited. He came to Michigan in the spring of 18(U, 
and tooiv possession of the farm vviiich he now oc- 
cupies. 

The marriage of Thomas llendryx and JNIiss Har- 
riet Bishop was celebrated at the home of the bride, 
in the city of Auburn, N. Y., Oct. 22, 1828. Mrs. 
H. was born in Utica in 181 2, and is the mother of 
seven children, namelj' : J. Dwight, Charlotte A., 
Mary, Charles W., Hattie A., Dell and Edson T. 
Mr. Hendryx east his first Presidential vote for 
John Q. Adams, and has since voted for sixteen 
Presidents. He identified himself with the old-line 
Whigs daring his early manhood, and on the aban- 
donment of that jiarty, allied himself with the Re- 
publicans. 



-fe-H^ 



yARREN .J. HOLDRIDGE. one of the big- 
hearted, genial men who invariably gather 
around them a circle of warm friends in 
whatever spot they may make their abidiug-plaee, 
has been one of the favorite citizens of Raisin Town- 
ship for a period of fifty years. He owns a good 
farm of 120 acres on section 23, which came into 
possession of the Holdridge family over fifty years 
ago, having been entered from the Governriient by 
the grandfather of our subject, in 1836. This sec- 
tion of country was then practically a wilderness 
from which the Indians iuul not long disappeared, 
and where wild game abounded comparatively un- 
disturbed by the depredations of white men. Its 
condition to-day indicates the labor of years and 
the outlay of thousands of dollars. 

The father of our subject, Eleazer S. Holdridge, 



was born in Onondaga County, N. Y., Sept. 14, 
1814, and departed this life in the city of Adrian, 
May 4, 187.'!, after some 3'ears' retirement from act- 
ive labor. He had been accustomed to farming 
pursuits all his life, and before leaving his native 
State*," was united in marriage with Miss Mehitable 
Stone, a Vermont lady who survived her husband 
nearly eleven years, her death taking place in Feb- 
ruary, 1884, at their home in Adrian. She and her 
husband were greatly devoted to each other, and 
the young wife cheerfully followed her chosen part- 
ner in his western wanderings. They came with 
our subject's grandparents, Felix and Deborah 
(Slocum) Holdridge, who were born in New York 
State .and lived there until coming to the West. 

The life which the j'oung and old people had an- 
ticipated spending together for many years was 
broken in upon by one of the saddest tragedies that 
ever occurred in the historj' of Michig.an. After 
they had settled comfortably in their pioneer home, 
occupying the same ground where the homestead 
of our subject is now located, the grandmother, Mrs. 
Deborah Holdridge, started out one morning in 
quest of rushes which were utilized in those early 
days for cleaning the wooden-ware of which the 
table dishes were largely composed. Not return- 
ing, her husband and son went in search of her, and 
it soon became evident that she had lost her bear- 
ings and had wandered into the dense woods, where 
was a swamp which had never been crossed prob- 
ably by the foot of man or beast, the mud and 
water being from one to three feet deep. The 
alarm was in due time given to the entire neighbor- 
hood, and hundreds of people set out, and thereaf- 
ter for weeks there was kept up an untiring but un- 
successful search. After the others had done their 
part so bravely and faithfully, the husband and son, 
inspired by an undying hope, continued their ef- 
forts to find the lost wife and mother, and after the 
lapse of weeks, received word that the lifeless body 
of an aged lady had l:ieeu found by two liunters in 
an Indian hut in a secluded spot six miles from her 
home. As there were no marks of violence, it was 
believed that she entered there exhausted and finally 
starved to death. The remains were tenderly cared 
for and conveyed to a place of sepulture not far 
from the spot where her husband and children m.ade 



•► 



f 



<^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



r,7i 



t 



tlifir home, luid it is hardly necessary to sa; 
the bereaved and deeply aHlicted family re( 
the unbounded sympathy of all in llieir Ik 
trouble. Mrs. Iloldridge was a lady of -iral 
of charactoi', a nnnlel wife and inulhei-. ar 
death in any ordiiiai-y manner Udiild have 
deeply mourned, but under these distressing r\ 
stances the affliction seemed almiist more thai 
Her iiusband, Felix, survived 



could 
j^ears. 



I'atn laKHig place in l^.l.]. alter \u- liau 
arrived at an advanced age. ilf was a, man of 
kindly and gcnert)us impulses and an active worker 
in the Baptist Church. He received a practical 
education which had been advanced by his love of 
reading, and for some years before his marriage he 
had been eng,aged in teaching school; his remains 
were laid by the side of those of his lamented wife. 
Warren J, Holdridge was born in Raisin Town- 
ship, Aug. 1, 1838, at the homestead where he has 
since passed the greater part of his life, and when 
of suitable years he commenced assisting in the 
lighter labors of the farm, while in the winter he at- 
tended the brief terms of the district school. He 
had grown up with the idea of settling either on or 
neai' the old homestead, and his youth and early 
manhood were passed in a comj)arativcly unevent- 
ful manner. In 18(50 he was united in mai'riage 
with ]\Iiss Mary I. Boss, who was a native of Black- 
man Township, and born Nov. 4, 1842. Mrs. 
Holdridge was bom after the death of her father, 
and ten months later she was conipletel}' orphaned 
by the death of her mother. She was then taken 
into the home of her uncle, George S. Boss, of Ridge- 
way Township, where she remained until her mar- 
riage. Mr. Boss and his aged wife now reside on a 
part of the Holdridge farm, and are kindly cared for 
b}' our subject and his wife. The latter soon after 
their marriage located in Blackman Township, and 
thence, seven years later, removed to the part of 
the old homestead which they now occupy. This 
includes 1 1 acres of good land with lirst-dass im- 
provements, and under the management of Mr. 
Holdridge yields annually some of the best crops of 
this section of country. Mr. and Mrs. II. identilicd 
themselves with the Presbyterian Church of Raisin 
Township many years ago, in which our subject 
offlci.ates as Elder, and to the supiiort of which he 



has contributed li 
cally, he is an i 

sin Township. 

To our subject 
seven children, of 
eldest living son, 1 
in I'iuney County, 



berally and 
iicompromis 



L'heerl 



Politi- 
ing Democrat, and 
f the [••■ace in Kai- 

e there were born 



rank H., has locatc<l upon a claim 
near (harden Cit}', Kan., where 
he will in time become the possessorof a good prop- 
erty: licit marrieil Miss licrtha Krantz, and occu- 
pies a tract of land of •'!•_'() acres in Kearney Count}', 
K.iii.; \ iola M. and \Varren B. continue at home 
with their parents. The children have been well 
educated and are admirably fitted for their station 
in life. 

*- 

SAAC 1). PACKER, at present a resident of 
iMorenci, was born in Berks County, Pa., April 
II 2, LSI',), and is the third son of a family of six 
sons and six (laughters born to Eli and Ann 
(Thomas) Packer, who were both natives of Penn- 
sylvania, the latter born in the city of Philadel))liia. 
The parents of our subject were married in their 
native State, where they resided until 18.51, when 
they removed to Fulton County, Ohio, and settled 
in Goshen Township. Thence they removed to 
Isabella County, Mich., where they spent the re- 
mainder of their lives, acquiring by their unosten- 
tatious and consistent walk in life, the approbation 
of the community. 

Being among the oldest of a large family, our 
subject was called upon early to depend upon his 
own resources and also to assist his parents in the 
support of the family, which he continued to do 
until he was twenty years of age. He then learned 
the trade of a shoemaker, but not caring for the oc- 
cupation he soon abandoned it and engaged in farm- 
ing, which he continued until about l87o. In 1851 
our subject migrated ri<uu his native State t(.i Len- 
awee County, settling in Mcdnia Township, where 
he purchased a tract of land and resided for twelve 
years. He afterward sold this farm and purchased 
another in Seneca Township, two and one-half miles 
northeast of Moreiici, on which he passed about si.x 
years, when he sold out and removed to Moreuci. 
After a residence here of two years, Mr. Packer 



^^ 



fi72 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



t 



bonglit another farm in Seneca Township, on which 
he made his home until 1873, when he returned to 
Morenci and has since resided in this place. 

Our subject was married in Howard Township, 
Centre Co., Pa., to Miss Lavinia, daui>hter of James 
and vSusan (Hayes) Carskaddon, the former of Irish 
descent, while tlie latter was of Scottish ancestry. 
After their marriage the parents settled in what 
is now Clinton County, Pa., where they resided 
until the death of the father. Tlie widow bore up 
bravely under tlie trying dispensation and some 
time afterward removed to Medina Town.ship, where 
she spent the remainder of her days. They became 
the parents of three children, the wife of our sub- 
ject and. two boys. Mrs. Packer was born at her 
parents' home in Peinisylvania on the 1st of Novem- 
ber, 1821. To our subject and his wife have been 
born a family of twelve children, whom they named 
as follows: Martha A., Lucy A., JlargaretJ., Susan 
IL, Ellen M., Charles H., Minerva L., Harvey C, 
Minilla E., Ida L., Isaac D. and Myrtie V. 

Mr. Packer is a member of the Masonic fraternity 
and also of the I. O. O. F. Mrs. P. is a member 
of the AV. C. T. U., of Morenci, of which she was 
President six years. They arc both members of 
the Disciples' Church. 

J^iOHN CROCKETT, one of the jiioneers of 
Lenawee County who has seen Michigan 
I transformed from a dense forest into one of 
' the best cultivated States of the Union, was 
born in New York State on the 29th of July, 182IJ. 
His father, Nathaniel Crockett, was boi-n in the 
State of Maine, and being left an orphan at an 
early age, he was reared to manhood under the 
care of an aunt, and was quite young when they re- 
moved to the State of New York, where he grew 
to manhood. 

Dni-ing his residence in New York Nathaniel 
Crockett married Mary White, and in the year 1836, 
with his wife and seven children undertook the 
journey to Michigan, coming by the way of the 
Erie Canal to Buffalo, and by the Lakes to Toledo, 
Ohio. While at Toledo the father left the family 
and went out in search of a yoke of oxen, which he 



secured after four or five days of absence. Having 
brought a wagon with him the oxen were hitched 
and the family started overland, bound for Lena- 
wee C'ount3^ The journey was necessarily slow and 
tedious, but was accomplished after many incon- 
veniences and hardships. In Ogden Township, on 
section 2.5, he purchased 150 acres of land, which 
at the time ^vas heavily timbered. Immediately 
the family set to work to erect a residence, which 
was built of logs and covered with shakes, but this 
gave ])lace seven or eight years later to a more com- 
modious log house. For fifteen years all the farm 
work, milling and marketing was done with oxen. 
The famil_y lived on this farm until 1857, having 
cleared the most of it and brought it to a high state 
of cultivation, and then moved to Iowa and settled 
in Delaware County, where they were among the 
very first settlers. He took Government land 
which in a short time he succeeded in transforming 
into a good farm, and lived there tuitil his death, 
which occurred about 1875. The maiden name of 
his wife was Mary '\Miite, who was also a native of 
Maine; she died at the home of her son David, in 
Ogden Township. 

The subject of this sketch was the second child 
in his father's family, and was ten years old 
when he came to Lenawee County. He remembers 
distinctly the incidents of the overland journey, 
and of pioneer life in this section of Michigan. 
Deer, wild turkey and bears were plentiful at that 
time, and as soon as he could shoulder a gun he be- 
gan hunting, in which he was very successful. He 
lived with his parents until he grew to manhood 
and then began to work by the month, but at the 
end of the first month he became sick and had to 
be cared for for a time. He next took a contract 
for clearing timber from lands and building fences, 
and chopped 175 cords of wood to pay for the first 
horse he ever owned. About 1850 he bought for 
$750 eight}' acres of his father's old homestead, 
sixty acres of which are under cultivation. He has 
resided on this farm ever since, and has erected a 
good dwelling-house and all other necessary farm 
buildings. 

March 12, 1855, Mr. Crockett was married to 
Paulina, daughter of Mowry S. and Minerva Potter, 
who was born in Herkimer County, N. Y. They 
■ ■ — •►- 



.^ 



'.T*^ JT"-^ W^) 



rf <tt^,« 




3.^^ 



^e^oVd Cr^Xy 



>ENAWEE COUNTY. 



675 



liave been lilcsscd wiMi six cliiMrcii, iipciii wliom 
they conferred tlie names of Klnia, Hattie, Nora, 
Glafl_ys, Orrin and Willie; the two last-named are 
deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Crockett are comfortably 
sitnatp<l, and liaving passed throngii all the ordeals 
of pioneer life, keenly appreciate the value to them 
of wiiat they possess. 



--^-^tl 



.1%.- 



1^. DWIN I). PEIHSON, late of IIu<lson Tnun- 
||U) ship, and one of its most valued citizens, 
JJt— ^ became identified with its interests at an 
early date, and furnished to the striigglinii- little 
connnunit}' a portimi of the bune and sinew of 
which it stood in su much need during those tiy- 
ing days. Man}'' of the men to whom Lenawee 
County is indebted for its prosperity are passing 
away, and in no more fitting manner can their serv- 
ices be recognized than by the perpetuation of 
their names and deeds for t,he benefit of future gen- 
erations. We present also in couneetiou witli this 
sketch a portrait of Mr. Peirsou. 

• The subject of this sketch was lioi-n in the town 
of Richmond, Berlvshiro Co., Mass., Dee. 10, ISIH, 
and was the direct descendant of Matthew Teirson, 
who emigrated from England to America in Kl.'ST, 
and it is believed, settled on Long Lsland. His son. 
Col. Henry Peirson, the next in line, spent iiis last 
years on Long Island, and was buried at P>iidgeli:nnp- 
ton. He was the father of Theoi)hilus, of whom 
nothing definite is known. Nathan, the son of the 
latter, was the great-graudfather of our subject, 
and was born Aug. '.), 1722. He located in Berk- 
shire Count}', Mass., in 1772, and was one of the 
earliest pioneers of that section. He improved a 
large farm and resided there until his death, Fel). o, 
1810. Eugene D. Peirson, son of the subject of 
this sketch, has in his possession a deed to an eigiith 
part of Montauk Point, L. I., which was granted 
to Nathan Peirson in 178(j. He also has eleven 
silver buttons and one cloak hook that belonged 
to this ancestor, and have been handed down tlu'ough 
several generations. 

Zachariah Peirson, the grandfather of our subject. 
owned a good farm near the town of Richmond, 
Mass., where he spent his entire life. He was a inan 



of great force of character, prominent in the affairs 
of his county, and a member of the Massachusetts 
Legislature. He died of apoplexy, Nov. 15, 1827. 
His great-grandson, Eugene D., already spoken of, 
has in his possession a silver cup awarded to this 
gentleman by the Berkshire Agricultural Society for 
having the best cultivated farm in the county; it 
bears 'the d.ate 181(i. The parents of Edwin D. 
were William and Nancy (Richards) Peirson, the 
former of whom was born in Richmond, Mass., May 
2. 17;i;5, and died Ai)ril 17, 1802. He was well ed- 
ucated, and like the majority of the Peirsons, fol- 
lowed farming after the most scientific methods. 
He also taught school, and filled the various local 
offices, being Selectman, Clerk, etc., and also rejire- 
sented his county in the State Legislature. 

The subject of this record was ri^ared at the 
country home of his parents, in the outskirts of 
Richmond, and received his first liook lessons at 
their hands. They were both well educated, and 
had been exjierienced teachers. Later, he attended 
the district school until fourteen years of age, and 
then took thrpe terms at a select school. A few 
days before reaching his eighteenth birthday, he 
commenced teaching at (iieat Barrington, Mass., 
and the following summer invested his earnings in 
wool, which he had made into cloth at a factor}' in 
Pittsfield. In the fall of 1838 he started West via 
Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and the Ohio and Missis- 
sippi Rivers, L(_i St, Louis, Mo., and from there, with 
his gun on his shoulder and samples of his cloth in 
his i)Ockct, started on foot for Illinois, traversing 
the State from Springfield to Blooinington. He sold 
his cloth for cash or traded it for coon skins, for 
which he found amaiket in St. Louis, He invested 
his capital in Imffalo skins, and started for his 
Eastern home, where he found ready market for the 
"robes" among the New Englanders, to whom they 
were a great novelty, especially as they had come 
direct from the "far West." 

After this expei'ience, Mr. Peirson settled down 
for a time in his old neighborhood, where he first 
taught school, and then purchased a stock of goods 
and engaged in general merchandising. He was 
not suited with the result of this venture, as buy- 
ing for cash and selling on credit was not entirely 
profitable. Accordingly, seven months later he sold 



.►-II- 



•►-11-^^ 



^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



out. and going to North Adams, engaged jis book- 
keeper in connection with a furnace, at which he 
was emploj'ed one year. On the 7th of April, 1 847, 
lie was married, and after visiting with his bride for 
a time among his old friends in Richmond, lie 
started to seek a home in the West once more. The 
intention of Mr. Peirson had been to go into Wis- 
consin and buy Government land, a tract of this 
lying near the present site of Milwaukee having 
come into market, but a brother of his wife had 
settled in Hudson Township, this county, and thoy 
came this way to visit them. Mr. Peirson was 
pleased with the outlook here, and purchased 142 
acres of timber land on section 7, in Hudson Town- 
ship, at ^6 per acre, paying all but $300 in 
cash. He immediately put up a frame house, 18x 
24 feet in area, the total cost of which, besides his 
own work, was $132. In five years he had the land 
all cleared and fenced, and now paid a visit to the 
friends of his youth. 

In 1854 Mr. Peirson sold this farm and took up 
his residence in the village of Hudson, where lie 
purchased ground and put up Ave dwelling-houses. 
In 1858 he traded one of these for the old farm, 
and returning there remained until 1865. In the 
meantime, he planted one of the largest orchards in 
the county, embracing an extent of thirty acres. 
When selling the farm a second time he reserved 
five acres, upon which he linilt, and occupied the 
new dwelling until 1881. He then returned to 
Hudson ^'illage, which remained his home until his 
death, which took place Dec. 1(!, 1885. 

Mrs. Peirson, whose maiden name was Clemenza 
Eunice Wells, still resides in the village. She w.as 
born in Ontario County, N. Y., Jan. 4, 1823, and is 
the daughter of Daniel P. and Sarah ( Wells) Wells, 
who were numbered among the well-to-do people 
of Ontario County. Her father was a farmer by 
occupation, and came to the Territorj' of Michigan 
in 1830, settling upon the present site of Battle 
Creek, where he opened up a good farm and there 
spent the remainder of his life. The maternal 
grandparents of Mrs. Peirson, Charles and Sarah 
(Warren) Wells, were natives of Rhode Island, and 
spent their last years at North Adams, Mass. Mrs. 
Peirson was between two and three years old when 
her mother died, and she was reared by her maternal I 
*-•. ^ 



grandparents, residing with them until her marriage. 
She received a thorough education in the schools of 
North Adams, M.ass, and when seventeen years of 
age began teaching. She was thus well fitted to be- 
come the wife of a man more than ordinarily capa- 
ble and intelligent; and right worthily she fulfilled 
the duties which devolved upon her in later years. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Peirson there were born tour 
children, one of whom. Charles Dwight, died in 
infancy; Ida E. is the wife of Charles Pitts, of 
Blissfield ; of Eugene Douglass, a sketch appears 
elsewhere in this volume ; while Eva Clemenza is at 
home with her mother. They occupy a tasteful 
and home-like residence, the legacy of the kind and 
thoughtful husband and father, whose name is held 
in tender remembrance by all who knew him. 



JEHIAL H. BRAMBLE, a reti 
at present a resident of Tecum 
the number of those who, at 
^___^ in the history of this State, 



EHIAL H. BRAMBLE, a retired farmer, and 
imseli, was among 
an earl}' period 
migrated from 
Seneca County, N. Y., and took up their abode with 
the pioneers of this county. Mr. B. was born in 
the town of Lodi, June 22, 1817, and is the son of 
Clement Bramble, a native of Manlius, N. Y. The 
paternal grandfather of our subject, Moses Bram- 
ble, left his native State of Maryland when a young 
man, and removed to Seneca County, N. Y., wliere 
he spent the remainder of his life. 

The mother of our subject, Mrs. Elizabeth (Priii- 
dle) Bramble, was born in Orange County, N. Y_ 
The parental family included seven children, four 
sons and three daughters, all of whom lived to at- 
tain their majority, and were all married, settling 
mostly in the Empire State; but three of them are 
now living. The father died when Jehial H. was 
but six years old. The latter remained with his 
mother but a year afterward, and was tlien taken 
into the home of u distant relative, where he re- 
mained until twelve years of age. During the next 
two years he lived with .inother relative, and then 
started out in the world for himself. He worked 
for a time on a farm and served an apprenticeship 
at coopering, and finallj' making his way to Port 
BjTon, followed his trade for a period of seventeen 



-^•- 



LExXAWEE COFTNTY, 



tlic 'I'niy 



years, a large \>:\\i of IIh- 
manufacture of pork h.iii 

Mr. Branilile liiuilly (Iriftcl into llic Stnlr of 
Michigan, in the incantinii' making a luic^f stay in 
Ohio. He was married in 1847, and had left his 
wife in New York, while he was looking about for 
a permanent location. After a lirief stay in thi.s 
county he returned to his native Stuie. ;inil in tlie 
spring of 18.50 came liack. aei(iiii[i:iiii( il liy iiisfani- 
ily, and located on a tract of land in Alaron 'I'oun- 
ship. lie worked at coopering and farming prob- 
ably two years, and then disposing of his l.'inil, Ik' 
|)urciiased near the present limits (.f Krankhn a 
farm of 140 .-icres, of whicji he still retains the own- 
ership. Upon this he eftected good improvements, 
and occupied it until the fall of 1871), when, renting 
the farm, he removed to tiie village of Teeumseh, 
anil is spending his decliniuL; years in the ease and 
quiet to which he is so justly entitled. 

The wife of our subject, formerl3' Miss Anna 
Wixson, was born in .Steuben County, N. Y., Jan. 
20, 1S24, and is the daughter of Reuben and Han- 
nah Wixson, who passed their early y<'ars in the 
East, and subsequently' e.-nne to Mieliigan. .Mr. and 
Mrs. 15. spent the first years of their mn.n-ied life in 
New York Slate, and the houseiiold circle wtisi, ,iii- 
pleted by -the birth of four children, of whom only 
one is living, Clement H., the youngest, born, who 
now operates the homestead: Elizabeth became the 
wife of B. F. DuPugh, and died in I.SGS; I'hebe 
and Minnie died at the ages of twenty-four and 
twenty respectivel3'. Mr. Bramble, politically, is a 
stanch advocate of Republie:in principles, and for 
many years served as Seliool Director m his dis- 
trict. 

^^ ^-*-£» ^ ■ 

J I AMES H. ROGERS. The farming and 
stock-raising element of Woodstock Town- 
I ship finds one of its most worthy representa- 
' fives in the subjitct of this sketch, who is lo- 
cated on section 19. Like most of the early resi- 
dents of Lenawee County he commenced at the foot 
of the ladder in life, and by a coarse of steady per- 
severance and industry has attained to a good 
position socially and financially. He has been no 
unimportant factor in the building of the town- 



tion of his neighborhooil. has n<'Ver been nlggnrdly 
in giving substantia! encouiauement to the enter- 
prises calculated U_> enhanc'c its standing and to 
commend it to an intelligent class of people as a 
desirable place of residence. 

The Rogers family, as known in New York State, 
the liirlhplace of our subject, was one of standing 
and pi-ominence, honc>f, industrious and thrifty, 
.and almost invarial)ly well-to-do. William Rog- 
eis. the great-grandfather of our snl)ject, and who 
stood at the head of the family in the United States, 
emigiatcd from li-eland in the Colonial days, and 
settled in Saratoga County, N. Y.. where he fol- 
lowed his trade of a millwright, reared a fine fam- 
ily of sons and daughters, and with his excellent 
wife spent the remainder of his days. Among his 
sons was John, the grandfather of our subject, who 
spent his entire life in the Empire State, and died 
at the good old age of seventy-six yeai'S. (J rand- 
mother Rogers was some years oldei' than her hus- 
band, and passed away before his decease, at the 
advanced .age of eighty. They were the parents of 
twelve children, eight daughters and four sons. 
James L., the father of our subject, was born in 
Saratoga County, N. Y., and like his ancestor there 
carried on farming the greater part of his life. He 
mai-ried. Jan. 2."), l.SDS, in Saratoga, Mi.ss Charrila. 
Cui'tis, and they settled in Saratoga County :uid 
became the parents of a, large family of children, 
most of whom grew to mature years .-ind settled in 
Michigan. 

James H. Rogers was born Dec. 21), I82.'j, and 
after moving to Michigan the parents made their 
home with him until their death. The father died 
Feb. 7, 1882, in his ninety -second year, having 
been born in 1790, and his mother died in March, 
1887, in the ninetieth year of her age. Arriving 
ill Woodstock Township in the spring of is I,"), our 
subject purchased laud on section (i, which he dis- 
posed of and bought a farm on section 18 in the 
year 1854, of which he has since retained posses- 
sion. It is hai-dly necessary to state that the proii- 
erty bore little resemblance to its present condition, 
being but slightly cultivated, and with no improve- 
ments worthy of mention. Mr. Rogers saw noth- 
ing before him but years of continuous labor. 



■•►HI-* 



i 



LENAAVEE COUNTY. 



! 



But heroically taking off his coat he set about the 
task of subduing the soil, and in the course of 
time began to realize that his hand-to-hand strug- 
gle with the elements of soil and climate waS likely 
to result in victory for himself. He not only made 
good headway in the cultivation of the land, but 
put up here and there a building from time to 
time, until the neighbors began to remark that 
" Eogers was a very smart man and would do to 
put in office." He was accordingly elected Justice 
of the Peace and held the position six years. He 
had usually voted the Democratic ticket and was 
always a defender of temperance principles. In 
the meantime he represented other township interests 
as Clerk and Treasurer, and has always been looked 
upon as a man of good judgment, whose opinions 
it would be safe to follow. 

Mr. Rogers, usually very prudent, carried out 
this principle in regard to his domestic affairs, re- 
fraining from taking upon himself the responsi- 
bilities of a family until he felt assured that he 
could provide comfortably therefor. He married 
in the fortieth year of his age, April 2, 1865. 
Miss Marietta Wilson, who was a native of Living- 
ston County, N. Y., where she was born Jan. IG, 
1832, and is the daughter of John and Harriet 
(Langs) Wilson, of Northumberland County, Pa. 
Mr. Wilson was a carpenter by trade and came to 
the Territory of Michigan in 1835, settling in 
Woodstock Township, where he carried on his 
trade in connection with farming and si)ent the re- 
mainder of his life, dying at the age of sixty-eight 
j'ears ; the mother survived her husband four years 
and passed away at the age of sixty-two. They 
left eight children, of whom but two are now living, 
the wife of our subject and her sister Minerva, 
Mrs. R. P. Darling, who is a resident of Woo<l- 
stock. Mr. Wilson was a true pioneer, and like the 
brave men around him battled manfully with the 
difficulties of life in a new settlement, taking an 
interest in the welfare of the struggling little com- 
munity and becoming prominent in local affairs. 

Mr. and Mrs. Rogers commenced life together 
on the farm where they still reside, and which their 
united efforts have transformed into a beautiful 
and desirable homestead. The children who came 
to brighten the household circle are recorded as 



follows: Kate N. was born Nov. 14, 18G6. and 
died four days before her seventeenth birthday; 
John W. was born Oct. 12, 1868, was educated at 
the district school, and occupies himself on the farm 
with his father; Eugene C. was born Sept. 30, 
1871, and is pursuing his studies in the district 
school, while he lives at home with his parents. 
Mr. Rogers handles blooded stock principally, 
keeping Durham cattle and Berkshire hogs, raising 
them for breeding purposes. His animals are 
registered in the American herd-book, and will bear 
comparison with the best of their kind in the 
county. The conveniences for their care and shel- 
ter indicate the supervision of the intelligent farmer 
and stock-raiser, who studies the best methods of 
economy and avails himself of the experience and 
instruction of his worthy compeers. 



ILLARD F. DAY^ a retired farmer and 
resident of Hudson Village, was born in 
Chesterfield, Cheshire Co., N. H., Sept. 14, 
1817. His father, Samuel D.ay, one of the pioneer 
settlers of Hillsdale County, this State, was born in 
the same town, June 2:?, 1784. The latter's child- 
hood and youth were spent in the agricultural dis- 
tricts, where he obtained a limited education in 
the district schools. In the meantime he was reared 
to habits of industry, and upon reaching his major- 
ity started out for himself and was employed as a 
farm laborer for four j^ears before his marriage. 

After this most interesting and important event 
of his life Mr. Day rented a tract of land in Ches- 
hire County, where, after several years of hard 
I labor he found himself in but little better condition 
j financially than when he started. He had now quite 
1 a family upon his hands and resolved that he must 
make a change of location. He had but little 
means and having been in communication with 
friends near Dayton, Ohio, he prepared in the spring 
of 1834 to remove his family and their personal 
effects thither. They chose the cheapest route, 
hiring a team to convey the family and goods to 
the Erie Canal. They crossed the Connecticut 



*w ^^w^ ^* 




a 




^^.^^€>'>^JLy' 



# 



•►HH-^^ 



■•► 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



River at Bi-attleboro, \'t., and from there pro- 
ceeded over the Green Mountains to Sclicncctady, 
and at tiiat point boarded a canal boat which con- 
veyed them, via Buffalo, to Fairport. Ohio. They 
visited nitli friends k^vcii mih- from the latter 
pl.-icc and there learned that ian<l in the virinity of 
Dayton was held at liiiiii pric'Cs and bnt little more 
desirable than the (Government l.-md which was lie- 
ing disposed of at a less figure in the Territory of 
Michigan. 

Mr. Day, in view of these facts, early in the 
month of May, 1.S31, iiired his friend to take him 
and his family to Lenawee County, and during the 
trip hither encoinitered the VVorden ffiniily and 
later .Mr. Trcadwell an<l U. II. Whitehorne, winj 
were bound for the same locality. At Baker's Cor- 
•ners, in Madison Township, they found a vacant 
log cabin into which they removed their goods, and 
leaving their families there the men of the expedi- 
tion proceeded to explore the l!c;in Cr.^ek Valley. 
Mr. Day selected the wt>sl half of the southwest 
qu.arter of section 1 1 in what is now Pittsford 
Township. Hillsdale County, and sent the money to 
JMonroe to enter tli(! land from the Goveriunent. 
He then returned to the spot where he lind left his 
family, lie Iiired a team to tr.-insfer the goods 
while the family trudged along on foot. When we 
take into consideration the fact that the greater 
part of their way lay through :ui unbroken wilder- 
ness in which a simple ti'ail was the ne.-ircst approach 
to a, road, and that in sonu' places they wereol)liged 
to cut their way through with their ax<\s, ijie tedi- 
ousuess of the journey can lie liet,t,er imagined than 
described. 

Our travelers arrived at Ke.-ui (reek .aliout II 
o'clock one very dark night early in the month of 
-June, and after some difficulty found that there was 
nothing but a foot log by which they coidd cross 
the stream. Mr. Worden waded in the water, and 
carried his wife across the creek on his back, and 
kindly offered to carry Mrs. Day. the mother of our 
subject, over the same way, but she preferred to 
crawl over the log on her hands and knees. They 
were made comfortable in the log house of a Mr. 

removi' t,o a building of similiar description which 
lie had found in the neigiiborhoo.l. He had entered 



eighty acres near the Kid<ler settlement, but found 
that there were IGO acres of land on section 13, the 
east half of the northwest quarter and the west half 
of the northeast f|uarter, which he could obtain, 
made aclaim to it. and as soon as possible put up a 
(■(jmfortablc log liousi' which, althongh making no 
pretensions to elegance, served right well as a pio- 
neer home. The roof was covered with bark and the 
floor to the loft was made of the same material. In 
this unpretentious dwelling the Pittsford Township 
courts eoincned, and our subject, Willard F., acted 
as presiding .Justice of the Peace. 

Mr. Day after entering his land had money 
enough left to buy a yoke of oxen to assist in the 
farm work, and which were considered quite a lux- 
ury, as both hoises and oxen were scarce and few 
men could afford them at first. The next question 
was to get something to eat. There w.as plenty of 
wild meat roaming around in the shape of deer, 
turkey and other game, and Willard F. had already 
acquired a reputation as a good shot. He kept the 
family supplied with the choicest of meats, but 
bread was not so plentiful. In order to increase 
the family income he secured a job of clearing and 
fencing five acres of land at $10 per .acre, the first 
winter of their residence here, which was considered 
quite a bonanza, as the family were entirely out of 
provisions and money, and knew not where else they 
could ja-ocure any subsistence outside of wild meat. 

Samuel Day, not long afterward, was stricken 
with fever and ague which incapacitated him from 
hard labor. Foitunatel}' in his younger years he 
had learned to make baskets, and having plenty of 
material he turned his knowledge of this art to 
good account. While he sat at home and manu- 
factured baskets his eldest son, Warren, operated 
as traveling salesman, journeying with his wares, by 
the aid of a yoke of oxen, to Monroe, where he 
sohl them for cash. His sons were energetic work- 
ers like liiniselr. and in due time there was a large 
tract of lam I cl<'a,re<l around the cabin and they 
found their financial condititm assuming a firm 
basis. The Day homestead finally came to be 
known as one of the most thoroughlj' cultivated 
and vnlualile in that section of country. Samuel 
D.ay lived to see his children grow up around him 
enteriirising and [irosperous, and the wilderness 



■•►Hil- 



•►Hh^ 



680 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



transformed into pleasant fields and well ordered 
homesteads. He rested from his earthl}' labors on 
the oth of June, l.s.'iG, when about seventy-two 
years of age. 

Samuel Day in his early iiianlmod was united in 
marriage with Miss Lucy Cutler, tlic mother of our 
subject, who was born in Chesterfield, N. H., Sept. 
29, 1782. She came to the West with her husband 
and died on the 9th of November, 1880, having 
nearly completed a century of years. She was a 
woman strong both physically and intellectually, 
and fulfilled her duties as a wife and mother in the 
most praiseworthy manner. She was very coura- 
geous, and met the hardships and dangers of pioneer 
life with that l:irave and fearless spirit which was 
so much needed in those times of difficulty and 
danger. When they came to Michigan the settlers 
were often annoyed and frightened by wolves, but 
after the extermination of tiiese they commenced 
keeping a flock of sheep and also raised flax. The 
moiher spun and wove both woolen and linen 
cloth for the use of the household, and spent very 
few idle hours while providing for the wants of 
her family. Both parents were members of the 
Congregational Church for many years and their 
kindness and hospitality, both to friend and stran- 
ger, were proverbial. 

The seven children of Sanuiel and Lucy Day are 
recorded as follows: Wari'en, their eldest sun, was 
born May IG, 1812. and died in Hudson Township 
in 1885; William was boni May 5. 1816, and 
Served in a company of Michigan Infantry during 
the late war; he died while in the army, at Nash- 
ville, three years after the time of his enlistment. 
Willard F., of our sketch, was born Sept. 14, 1817; 
Mary A., born Oct. 23, 1819, died when an inter- 
esting 3'oung lady tvveuty-two years old ; AVilson L. 
was born July 12, 1821, and is farming in Pitts- 
ford Township; Winslow IL occupies the old home- 
stead ; Fanny A., the widow of Augustus Kent, lives 
in Hudson Village. 

Our subject spent his boyhood years in the Old 
Granite State, and was a youth of sixteen when his 
parents came to tlie Territory of Michigan. The 
land which his father had purchased was covered 
with timber from which it was the custom to cut 
the trees, mil the logs lonelher and burn them. 



Thus hundreds of fine black-walnut logs which a 
few years later would have brcjught a handsome 
price, were destroyed simi)ly to get rid of them. 
Some of them were also split into fence rails, but as 
may bo supposed no great number of ' these were 
needed at once, as the clearing necessarily pro- 
ceeded slowly. Besides the deer, wolves and wild 
turkey already mentioned, a bear was occasionally 
seen, and sometimes without being seen, would ab- 
stract a pig from the pen and make off with it. Mv. 
Day made his home with his jiarents until his elec- 
tion as Register of Deeds for Hillsdale County, and 
then took up his abode in the town of Hillsdale. 
Two years later, having served his term of office, 
he returned to Pittsford Township and purchased 
a farm on section 12, where he engaged in general 
agriculture and stock-raising three j^ears. In 1864, 
he sold out the farm he then occupied, and coming 
to this county was for a number of years interested 
with his brother Winslow H., in general farming 
and stock-raising in Hudson Township. He now 
owns one-half of the old homestead in Pittsford 
Township and 32G acres in Wright Township, Hills- 
dale C(_)unty. 

Mr. Day while a resident of Pittsford Township, 
Hillsdale County, was married, March 19, 1861, to 
Miss Eliza H. Holcomb, who was born in Varys- 
burg, Wyoming Co., N. Y., Sept. 3, 1833. Her 
parents. Chancy and Elmira (Richards) Holcomb, 
were natives of New York, and now residents of 
Wj'oming County, that State. Mrs. Day came to 
Michigan with her cousin. William Richards, and 
lived with him in Somerset Township, Hillsdale 
County, tuitil her marriage. Of her union with our 
subject there were born two children: George W., 
who was born Feb. 27, 1862, aud died when a youth 
of sixteen years, Dec. 18, 1878; and Willard F., 
Jr., who married Miss Grace Bradley, of Toledo, 
Ohio. 

Mr. Day has held various local offices of trust, 
and was elected Constable and collector of taxes 
for Pittsford Township, when twenty-one years of 
age. Later he officiated as Town Clerk, Justice of 
the Peace and Supervisor, and has always labored 
for the best interests of his community. From the 
time he became of age until he removed to Hudson 
Township he filled some ollicc in Hillsdale County, 



LENAWKE COUNTY. 



^h 



,111(1 always with great credit to himself. Since be- 
coiniiiii' a resident of this county he has served the 
|H...i)lc;is Justice of the. Peace fur Hudson Town- 
slii|>, nieni1)er of the Village lloiir.l. nn.l as one >>f 
the \-illage School Board. 

-^^-^■;^^--^^^^- 

()R(iAX M. FLORANCE. Anion- the 
represi'iitative men and sncci'ssfid agricnll- 
nrists of the townsiiii) of Ridgeway, is (lur 
subject, well worthy to be handed down as 
such, IIS well as .■111 old settler, having come to this 
county in l.s:;:;. wluui a child five years of age. He 
was born in iMiddlesex Township, Yates Co., N. Y., 
June 11, 1828. 

The father of our sid)ject, Nathan Ehiraiicc, w;is 
a native of Fniu.-c. mid came of iM-ench parentage 
;uid ancestry. lb' came t<i the rnited States when 
a young man and was a blacksmith by trade, for 
some years making a specialty of horseshoeing, at 
which he was very skillful. His wife, Juliet C. 
Brewster, came of New Engl.-md nucestry extending 
back to the early settlement of Hic United States. 
Nathan Florance, after his marriage, went iiit(.) 
Middlesex Township, Yates County, and there lived 
until his death, which occurred at the age of thirty- 
four years, when his son. our subject, was only live 
years of age. 

Morgan M. Florance was the youngest but one 
of five children born to his mother, who married 
a second husband, and finally came to Eaton County, 
Mich., dying in Cliai'lotb' in ,Iuuc, \s:,i;. After 
the death of his father oui- subject wa> rc:ircd liy 
Augustus Montgomery, now of Ridgeway Town- 
ship, with whom he came to Michigan in 183.'!, and 
lived with him until fourteen years of age. At this 
time his mother came here and was m;iiried to her 
second husband, .and Morgan .AI. livc<l with tli.'ui 
about two years. He then went to learn the shoe- 
maker's trade, but thinking it a too shiftless trade 
for him, he abandoned it and began to work as a 
laborer. By hard work and strict econoniy lie se- 
cured fifty-seven acres of land, which be \i't owns, 
and on which his house is built, which is n part of 
his large and well-improved farm of I •_' I .leies that 
constitutes the northwest fractional one-(piarter of 

^^ -. = 



section 18, of the township of Ridgeway. His 
farm, which was a wild, unbroken wilderness, he set 
fd)out to improve, and has succeeded well; he now 
has on it a g()(jd house and fair farm buildings. 

December 29, IS.oS, Mr. Florance was married to 
Miss Juliet H. Tobey, who was born in York Town- 
ship, Livingston Co., N. Y., in 18.32, and is a 
daughter of Benjamin and Olive (Tinney) Tobe}', 
natives of Massachusetts, who, after marriage, re- 
moved to York State and lived for some time in 
York Townshii), Livingston County. In 1844 they 
came to Michigan, settling on 160 acres of land in 
Raisin Township, :iiid later went into Adrian Town- 
ship, uheic the mother died in 1857 at the age of 
sixty-four years. The father then went to Ovid 
Township, Shiawassee County, where he died in 
September, 1865, at the age of eighty-six years. 

.Airs. F. was reared at home until licr ninrriage, 
and is the mother of five chihlren; Floyd C. who 
took to wife EvaKelley, anil now lives in llolloway, 
where he is a clerk in IL H. Osgood's store ; Fannie 
K., wife of Charles AY. Culbertson, a farmer, who 
lives in Ridgeway Township; Thomas T. and Mon- 
tie E., who live at home, and Volna E., who is now 
deceased. Mr. Florance has been Highway Com- 



ellARLES |.'. FUOLl), publisher of the Te- 
cuniseh Xcevs, and :i, conipai-ati vely .vonng 
man, spent his boyhood in the town of Man- 
chester, this .State, where his liirth took place Sept. 
23, 1851. His parents, John and Alcy J. Field, 
were natives of AVayne County, N. Y., whence they 
came to this State in 1849. The mother is still liv- 
ing; the father is dead. 

Young Field, after completing his [n-imary studies, 
entered the High .School in Manchester, from which 
he was graduated in June, 1871. He subsequently 
took a classical course in the University of Michi- 
gan, and for several years afterward taught school 
in Clinton, Manchester, and other towns in the vi- 
eiuity. .Since reaching manhood he has taken a 
warm interest in educational matters and for two 
years was Township Su|ierintendent of .Schools at 



682 



LENAAVEE COUNTY. 



Mancliester. While in Clinton he held the office of 
Township Clerk and was also a member of the 
School Board. 

Mr. Field un the ;jlst of December, 1878, was 
united in^marriage to one of the most accomplished 
young ladies of Clinton, namely: Miss Katie, 
daughter of Joseph S. and Elizabeth Kies, of Clin- 
ton. Mrs. F. was born Dec. 20, 1 854. at the home 
of her parents in Clinton. The young people com- 
menced life together in a modest manner, and in 
June, 1881, Mr. Fields purchased the good-will and 
business of the Clinton Neirs, equipped the office 
with new material, and embarked on the tempestuous 
sea of country journalism. After an experience of 
two or three years, believing there vvas a larger field 
for his business in Tecumseh, he removed the Clin- 
ton News to this place iii April, 1884, and founded 
the Tecumseh "News, of which he is now publisher 
and proprietor. The News is a five-column quarto 
weekly, devoted to local and general matters with 
a page for Clinton affairs. It is independent in 
politics, and enjoys a healthy and steadily increasing- 
circulation. 

In Tecumseh Mr. Field has been elected Town- 
ship Clerk for two years and is at present Village 
Treasurer and Secretaiy of Tecumseh Masonic 
Lodge. Politically, he is an uncompromising Dem- 
ocrat, and religiously, an Episcopalian, in which 
church he officiates as .Sunday-school Superintend- 
ent. He advocates his principles in a gentlemanly 
and fearless manner, and has iiosts of friends and 

well-wishers. 

. o<r» - 

J' C. HENDERSHOTT. Among the young 

Jand.enteri)rising general farmers of Clinton 
Township our subject occupies a prominent 
position. He is a native of this place, and 
now owns and occupies the comfortable homestead 
where he first saw the light on the 28th of Novem- 
ber, 1844. Caleb Hendershott, the father of our 
subject, came from the good, substantial Pennsyl- 
vania Dutch stock. He was born in Jersey Town- 
ship, Northumberland Co., Pa., in April, 1806, 
and was reared t(j the occupation of a farmer, 
which calling he pursued in his native town until 
) 832, when he came to Michigan. In tiiat year he 



purchased eighty acres of land from the Govern- 
ment on section 12, Clinton Township, and later he 
bought twenty-five acres more, so that at the time 
of his death his homestead comprised 105 acres of 
good tillable land. He was married in 1834 or 
1835, to Miss Elizabeth Shipman, who came to 
Michigan with her parents when she was a young- 
woman. After taking the vows that made her and 
Caleb Hendershott one, they settled on the home- 
stead on section 12, where the.y spent the remainder 
of their lives. Mrs. Hendershott passed away in 
1849, while her husband survived her many years, 
his death occurring April 1, 1886, after he had 
rounded out fourscore years. Nearly sixty years 
of his long and useful life were passed on the 
homestead where he first located, and in that time 
he saw many and wonderful changes. When he 
came here a young man the country was but 
sparsely populated, and its solitude was seldom 
broken, except by the tread of the Indian, the 
wild animals of the dense forests, or the ringing- 
sound of the pioneer's ax. The red man is seen 
no more; wild animals are scarce; the forests have 
fallen before the march of civilization, and smiling 
villages stand in the places of the wilderness. He 
and his good wife, filled with the strength of youth, 
courage and hope, struggled bravely with the hard- 
ships of pioneer life, and not only succeeded in 
their own personal aims, but were of the number 
who materially aided the young Territory in estab- 
lishing itself as one of the future great States of 
the Union. They were the parents of five sons and 
two daughters, one of the latter and two of the 
former of whom are now living. 

The subject of our sketch was the sixth child in 
order of birth, and was reared on the homestead, 
where he remained with his parents until his mar- 
riage, which took place in Clinton Township, May 
6, 1873, with Miss Henrietta Hendershott. She 
was born in Northumberland Count}', Pa., April 
25, 1845, and was the daughter of Even and Mar- 
garet (McBride) Hendershott, who came to Michigan 
from Pennsylvania in the spring of 1868 and lo- 
cated in Clinton Township, where the father died; 
her mother is still living here at a ripe old age. 
Mrs. Hendershott, the wife of our subject, lived 
witli her jjarents until her marriage. To her and 

•► 



•►Hh-^ 



•►-■-4» 



lenawp:e county. 



her husband have been boni three children, two of 
whom are living. Roscoe C. and Elmer; Blanche is 
deceased. 

Since the deatli of liis f.-itiior our subject has 
owned and occupied the old homestead, where he is 
closel}' following in the footsteps of his sire, and 
possesses in a large degree his energ}-, good judg- 
ment and perseverance. He is honest and upright 
in all his dealings, and possesses the confidence of 
the comnuinity. lie and his wife are pleasant, 
companionable peopk% and valued adjuncts to the 
society of tiieir neighborhood; in politics Mr. Heu- 
dershott is Republican. 



xtcnsivc lam 
.f Dover T< 



iuer, 
ship. 



J~0I1N W. TOhFOKD.an 
residing on section ;!(; 
^vhere he has lived, as boy and man, for 
' i>ver half a century, is a native of New 
liaiiipshire. His father, Hugh Tolford, was born 
in (Jraftou County, that .State, and his mother, Han- 
nah (Currier) Tolford, was liorn in IMassachnsetts. 
They lirst made their home m Danbury, N. H. 
In April, ly^S, lliey left their pleasant home amid 
the rugged, " rock-ribbed " hills of the Granite 
State, and set forth with their llttU^ family to make 
a home in the unknown wilds <if the great Territory 
of INIichlgan. On their ai'rlval here, they made 
their home for awhile in Madison Township. The 
next year, 1834, Mr. Tolford bought some land on 
section 3G, of Dover Township, .■mil removed here 
with his family. They made this their abode till 
de.ath, the father dying .Ian. 2:1, ISIJI, and the 
mother March 19, 186t). They had live children 
who lived to maturity, namely: Phillip, who lives 



Madi: 



Townshi 



Sara] 



E., the widow of the 



lent of Adrian; John 
1. l<\iruian, of Dover 
ho married Harriet 
■iishiii. Thiimasand 



Rev. John Thomas, and .•!. re 
W.; J.ydia J., the wife ..f 1 
Township, and Joshua 1*., 
Camp, and lives in Medina '] 
^lary are dece.ased. 

Our subject was boiu In Danbury, (irafton Co., 
N. H., Jan. 14, 182i;, a,nd was alxiut seven years of 
.age when his parents brought him to Michigan. He 
received a common-school education, and dul not 
lack a thorough drill in farm duties, which, with 



^t. 



the sterling integrity and sound common sense that 
he inherited from his hard\- New England ancestry, 
have led lilni to success where many another man 
would have found nothing but failure. He owns 
3.")0 acres of land, and hasagood set of farm build- 
ings, and eveiything wherewith to carry on farm- 
ing to the best advantage. Besides this, he gave 
ei-hty acres to his oldol b.iy. 

.Mr. Tolford has l)>vn twice married, lirsl, in 
Aladlson Township, t.o Sally A. Ten Brook, who 
bore him one child, Frank, now married to Jane 
Le.aeo.K,and a resident of Madison Township. Mrs. 
Tolfonl dle<l Oct. 31, IS.j-J. She had been to her 
husb.-uid a most i)ralscwortiiy helpmeet. Mr. Tol- 
ford's second marriage was to Miss Matilda Stum- 
baugh, daughter of John and Susanna ( Miller) Stum- 
b.-iugh. They became residents of Seneca Town- 
sliip In IS IS, .-Mid there died. Mrs. Tolford was 
born In Southampton. Fr.-iuklln Co.. Pa., Sept. 11, 
1 s;'>;"). Six children have been born of her union 
with Mr. Tolford— John C, Hugh P., Sarah J., 
M.ary A., Robert .1. and George \V. ; the latter died 
when two years old. .lohn C. was lirst married to 
Katie Ellis; after Ium- de;ith he married Elizabeth 
McCabe, and resides In Dover Township. Hugh P. 
married Anna Lucas, and resides in Weston. Mich. ; 
Sarah J. is the wife of R. A. McKnIght, and resides 
In Auburn, Neb.; jMary A. is the wife of E. T. 
Crowe, and lives In Butler County, Ind. : Robert 
J. lives at home. 

Mr. and Mrs. Tolford are excellent people, and 
held in high regard in the connnunlty. Mr. Tol- 
ford is a man of much force of character, and bears 
an unblemished reputation; he wields a good in- 
fluence in the township. He is .a stanch adherent of 
the Prohibition i)arty, doing all that in him lies to 
make that parly an im|)ortaut political factor in the 
country. He has fdled the office of .lustice of the 
Peace for seven years. 

PRANK R. PEARSON is successfully en- 
gaged in farming on section 21, Woodstock 
Township, to which he came in 1864, and 
has since resided. He was l)orn in Livingston 
County, N. Y., April 24, 1838, and is the son of 



•►-«- 



684 



^^►HI-4* 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



David and Jane (Pickering) Pearson, of whom a 
slfetch appears elsewhere in this work. Our subject 
was reared on the home farm until twenty- one years 
of age, engaging in general farm duties in the sum- 
mer, and attending the district school in the winter, 
while he also spent some tiriie in the select schools. 
At the age of twenty-one he engaged in work by 
the mouth, and was thus emploj'ed some years. 

On the 28th of January, 1862, our subject was 
united in marriage with Miss Adelaide Sanford, who 
was born on the 28th of January, 1844. She is the 
daughter of Lewis and Delilah Sanford, of whom a 
sketch appears elsewhere in this Album. For the 
first two years after his marriage, our subject lived 
on a farm belonging to his father-iu-law, and in 
18C4 he came to his present farm, as above stated. 

Mr. and Mrs. Pearson have a family of three 
children — Lewis D., Delbert F. and Eugene ^¥. 
Lewis D. was born Nov. 9, 1864; Delbert F., Jan. 
20, 1869, and Eugene W., Aug. 24, 1873. They 
are living with their parents, and the two youngest 
are attending the district school. 

Mr. Pearson is a man of more than ordinary in- 
telligence and ability. He is one of the best in- 
formed men of the community, and advances his 
ideas modestly, but firmly, and in clear and forci- 
ble language. He bad some experience out West, 
and is of a genial temperament, making him an 
agreeable companion. In politics he is a Demo- 
crat, and invariably gives to the measures ad vanned 
by that party his earnest support. He is also an 
iinflineliing advocate of the cause of temperance. 



\T? ENKY H. liAWSON, one of the must pn.m- 
Itfji] iiient men of Rollin Township, first came to 
1^^ Southern Blichigan on a prospecting tour in 
(^ the fall of 1839, and in his travels he jour- 
neyed thirty-three miles without seeing a house. A 
few weeks later he returned to his native State, but 
did not abandon his first intention of locating in the 
West. Ac('Ordingly, seven years later, in October, 
1846, he returned to this section of country, and 
purchasing sixty-two acres ,>( hin<l in Uoliin Town- 
ship, he pitched his tent nii.l |.iep.-in-(| (..cultivate 
tiie soil and build up a liuuic. lleie lie has remained 



since that time, adding to his landed interests until 
he is now the proprietor of eighty acres of land, 
with a coiumodious dwelling, and the various barns 
and outhouses necessary for the successful prosecu- 
tion of his calling. The residence, although put u|> 
twenty-five years ago, is good for many years to 
come, as the old-fashioned methods of building re- 
sulted generally in more substantial structures than 
those of the present day. 

Mr. Rawson, upon coming to Lenawee County, 
at once identified himself with the various interests 
of his township, being a man of more than ordinary 
intelligence, and capable of discharging the duties 
of the various local offices. He represented the 
township in the County Board of Supervisors, offi- 
ciated in the various school offices, and was Town- 
ship Clerk thirteen or fourteen years. He and his 
estimable lady belong to the Societ}- of Friends, 
and are devout Christian people, who have shed a 
healthy moral influence upon the community around 
them. Mrs. Rawson was at one time an active mem- 
ber of the W. C. T. U.. but of late years, on account 
of ill-health, has been obliged to abandon the work 
in which she has always taken a warm interest. Mr. 
Rawson, during his early manhood, was identified 
with the old Whig party, but later endorsed Repub- 
lican principles. 

Our subject was born in Ontario County, N. Y., 
March 9, 1817. His father, Theodore Rawson. was 
a native of Massachusetts, and all his life engaged 
in agricultural pursuits. He was united in marriage 
with Elizabeth Bussey, by whom he had ten chil- 
dren. The parents spent their last years in Rollin 
Township, the father djing in his eight^'-fourth 
}ear, and the mother several years earlier, also quite 
aged. Young Rawson continued at the homestead 
until nineteen years of age, and theu worked by the 
mouth eight seasons. In 1844, October 30th, he 
was married to Miss Maiy J., daughter of William 
Cornelius, a sketch of whom will be found in the 
biography of E. M. Cornelius, presented elsewhere 
in this work. Mrs. Rawson was born in Dutchess 
County, N. Y., March 16, 1824, and came with her 
husband to Michigan in 1846. 

Mr. Rawson purchased his first land in Rollin 
Township in 1846, and here their seven children 
were liorn, four of whom lived to mature years, the 



n 



^M» 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



685 



others dying in early childhood. The eldest son 
living, Alonzo P.. w.as born Mny 4. 1S4S. jind mnr- 
ried Miss Harriet, danglitci- of .Inhn and Alnrgarct 
Tuttle, of Hillsda-lo County; they Ii.-mI Iw,, chil- 
dren, one of wlioin is now ilcc'casc(|. ami ai'c resi- 
dents of Ilillsd.nle CMinty. C^nrgc II. «as l„,rn 
May I'J, l.S-,7, and nianic.l Miss .losic. ilaughlcr of 
Walter .loncs. I, f K'aivin Tuuiiship : llicy have tw,, 
children, a son and a daiiuliler. am! also live in 
Hillsdale Connty. Martin L. was born Nov. S. 
1859, and married Miss Sadie Iladlcy, of llillsdal.^ 
Connty; they have one child, a daughter, and live 
in Kollin Township. Edward M. was born March 
11, 18C4, and married Mi.ss Celia, daughter of Amos 
K. and Elmira B. Cole, and resides with his parents. 
Mr. Rawson has been familiar with farming pur- 
snits all hi.s life, and takes pride in his agricultural 
operations, while he gives much of his spare time to 
the embellishment of the homestead, which is nota- 
ble as being one of the most attr.'iclive in Rollin 
Township. 



EDWIN C. PORTER, son of ..no of the ear- 
liest pioneers of Lenawee County, occupies 
a snug home adjacent to the village limits of 
Weston, where he lives partially retired from active 
labor, and surronnded by all the comforts of life. 
He was born and reared in F.airlicid Township, and 
is the son of A.saph K. and Rai'hel ((J lazier) Porter, 
a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this volume. 
Onr subject lirst opened his eyes to the light at 
the well-known old homestead in l<-airliel.| Town- 
ship, Feb. :.>4, 1 h;!7, and was the Ibsl-lH.rn in the 
cabin home of hi.s parents, lie grew up a,mid the 
wild scenes of pioneer life, being carefully trained 
to habits of industry and economy, and continued 
a member of his father's lioiiseholil until l,\\enty- 
two years of age. Mr. Pcjrter lie-an t.-nniing on lii> 
own account in Fairfield 'I^ownship, on a Ir.ai 1 of 
land not far from the old homesluad, where he e,,n- 
tinued until about Is.sT. He then -old this pn.p- 
erty and purchased the ground wliieh he now owns, 
and which is quite valuable, It,, near proximity to 
the village of Weston makes it desirable as a resi- 



dence, while the soil, by a jirocess of careful culti- 
vation, 3-iclds abundantly the choicest jjrodncts of 
this region. 

Mr. Porter was marrie.l, Alarch 27, I SCO. shortly 
after his twenty-third birthday, to :Mi>s Maiy C, 
daughter of Oramel A. .and Cornelia (Willey) 
Saekctt, tlic wedding taking place at the residence 
of .lohn L Ivnapp in Fairfield Township. The par- 
ents of .Mis. Porter were natives of iJutchess 
County, N. Y., where they were reared ami mar- 
ried. Mr. Sackett was l.oin .ban. .'O. l,S(i7. and de- 
[)a lied this life at his home in Blissfii'ld, .Sept. 11, 
1879. His wife, Cornelia, had preceded him to the 
other life thirty-one years before, her death taking 
place in the summer of 1 ,s4.s, at Blissfield. The pa- 
rental household included three children: Eliza, 
the wife of M. L. Rice, a well-to-do farmer of Wash- 
tenaw County, this State; Daniel, who died when 
two years of age, and MaryC, Mrs. Porter, who was 
boru in Blissfield Township, Sept. 20, 1838, and 
continued with her parents until the death of the 
mothi'r. Of her union with our subject there have 
been born two children, Herbert W. and Cor.a. 
The former married Mi.ss Florence Quick, and is in 
l)nsiness as a druggist in Weston, while the daugh- 
ter is at home with her ])arents. 

Our subject, politically, is an active Prohibition- 
ist, and religion.-ly. a meinher in go.xl >t:n,(lin- of 
the Bajitist Cluinh. .Mis. Porter was reared a 
3I.-thodisl. to which f.aith she still .adheres. The 
Porter family is well known throughout Lenawee 
Connty as reijrcsiaiting il,s best ehanents of citizen- 
ship. 



(OlIN ISOVI). Tluac are few nnai iu .M.aeon 

Township who staiul higher in the good 

oiiinicni of an intelligent community than 

the subject of this biography. He has been 

lerecl in his efforts at securing a handsome 

■ and .1 eoiMpetency, and the beautiful farm 

1 attracts the eye of the admiring traveler is 

he just rewaril of honest toil, frugality of liv- 

ind wise management,. I'he residence, one of 

lost elegant in Lenawee County, is built of brick, 

two stories and liasement. and combines com- 

ind beauty to perfection. 'I'he adjacent farm 



mi 



then 
with 
fort 



-•►HI 






686 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



buildings are fully iu keeping with the residence, 
and the live stock, embracing cattle and horses, 
sheep and swine, is of the most excellent grade, 
while the farm machinery is of the latest and most 
improved ))attern, combining everything required 
bj' the modern and progressive agriculturist. 

A large proportion of the most thrifty and intel- 
ligent farmers of Michigan were born and reared 
on the other side of the Atlantic, and to the North 
of Ireland especially' is Lenawee County indebted 
for many of her most enterprising and prosperous 
citizens. Mr. Boyd was born in County Antrim, 
Jan. 11, 1830, and conies of old Scotch ancestry, 
who fled from their native land to escape religious 
persecution in the seventeenth century. His father, 
Samuel Boyd, was also a native of the same county, 
where he followed farming in a modest manner, and 
married Miss Jane Kyle, a lady of ancestry similar 
to his own. His grandfather, Samuel Boyd, Sr., 
also a native of County Antrim, married Miss Jane 
Carson, a Scotch lady, who lived to be eighty years 
of age. They s|)ent their lives after their marriage 
in County Antrim, and were stanch Presbyterians, 
religiously. 

Samuel Boyd, Jr., the fatlier of our subject, con- 
tinued a resident of his native county until most of 
the family had emigrated to the United States. 
Not long after setting foot on American soil, they 
made their way to New York State, locating in 
Livingston County, to which our subject had come 
in 1848, he being the first of the familj' to locate 
in that county. He was but a youth of eighteen 
years when he left his native land and arrived here 
nearly penniless and among strangers. He was 
hopeful, however, as long as he had his stout hands 
and courageous heart, and at once employed him- 
self at whatever he could find to do, working for 
some time as a farm laborer. 

We now go back to the incidents which trans- 
pired in connection with the voyage of the father 
of our subject to the New World. They took 
passage on a sailing- vessel at Belfast, and eleven 
weeks later were driven ashore off Jersey Beach by 
a severe storm, which destroyed and sank the ves- 
sel, but not, however, until the passengers had been 
taken off safely. Before this the Boyd family had 
all become sick with the measles, wliieii they had 



caught from other passengers, and which came very 
near proving fatal, being aggravated by the expo- 
sure at the time of shipwreck. They lost alj their 
personal effects, but John Boyd was a man of great 
courage and did not allow these troubles to dismay 
him so long as his family wsxs spared to him. They 
soon found friends, and ere long recovered from 
the disaster of shipwreck and illness. 

Our subject, in the fall of 1853, left his home in 
Livingston County, N. Y., and made his way to 
this State, purchasing eighty acres of land on sec- 
tion 35, Macon Township, this count}-. He located 
in the wilderness, and proceeded to cultivate the soil 
and build up a homestead, upon which he remained 
until 1865, then purchased his present farm, taking 
possession of it in the spring of 1866. Here he has 
lived since that time, putting forth his best efforts 
for the improvement of his property, and adding 
each year those embellishments which tend to en- 
hance its beauty and value. The lowland lias lieen 
drained with about 900 rods of tiling, and more 
than §7,000 has been expended on the residence 
anil out-buildings. 

Our subject was jnarried in Tecumseh, this county, 
Feb. 9, 1857, to Miss Margaret Boj'd, a distant 
relative, who like himself is a native of County 
Antrim, Ireland, and was born in February, 1828. 
Her parents were David and Rosa (Boyd) Boyd, 
also natives of the North of Ireland, where the 
fatlier died when comparatively a young man and 
wlien his daughter, Mrs. Boyd, was but a child. 
He served during the French War, being frequently 
in the thickest of the fight, and for many years was 
a sailor on board a British man-of-war. After his 
death the widow came with her family to the 
United States, locating first in New York State, and 
later coming to Michigan. The mother lived to be 
eighty-eight years of age, and died at the home of 
her daughter, Mrs. Boyd, Sept. 7, 1875. The wife 
of our subject received her education in the com- 
mon schools and remained with her mother until 
her marriage. 

Mr. and Mrs. Boyd's eldest son, Thomas, after 
leaving the primary school, took a course at Valley 
Seminary, and later entered the Commercial Col- 
lege in Detroit, where lie was graduated as a flrst- 
chiss book-keeper, and is now employed by the firm 



r 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



fiS7 



of Savage & Farmen, ex 


tensive 1 


ri'c 


Icrsof N,, 


■man 


horses and other fine 


stock. 


yii 


roaret .1., 


the 


(lano-htcr, is also fairly 


<.ducale 


1. : 


nd remai 


IS at 


home with iicr parents. 


Th.' fa 


uih 


l.elong t 


. the 


Reformed Church of So 


ith Mac. 


Ml. 


.Mr. I!uv( 


1 is a 


Repnhiican politically, a 


id has .St 


rvc 


1 as Super 


visor 


of Macon Township. an( 


1 for son 


e t, 




en a 


Justice of the Peace. 










.-^ 


^.f^^ — 









AVID PONTIUS for the past twenty-five 
years has been pursuing the even tenor of 
his way as a quiet and unobtrusive citizen 
and farmer, holding a worthy position 
among the people of Clayton, where he became a 
resident in the spring of 1S8G. He owns a siuig 
farm of ninety acres of land on sections 10 and l."i in 
Dover Township, which is supplied with all the ap- 
pliances required for its projier care and cultivation, 
and which yields him annually a handsome income. 
He has been quite prominent in local affairs, serving 
as Justice of the Peace four years, and School 
Inspector several terms. lie and his family are 
members and regular attendants of the Methodist 
Church, of which he has been a liberal and cheerful 
supporter for many 3'ears, and has for the past 
tliirty years been an active worker in Sunday- 
schools and churches, holding the ollicf of Super- 
intendent of Sundaj'-schools at least twenty years. 
Politically, he votes the Democratic ticket. 

The parents of our subject, Henry and Mary 
(Smith) Pontius, were natives of NorthunilK>rkiud 
County, Pa., whence they removed to Seneca 
County, N. Y., and from there, in 18.54, to this 
county, locating in Dover Township. The father, 
while on a visit to his daughter in Grand Haven, 
Mich., died Oct. 23, 1869, while the mother died at 
the homestead in Dover Townshij), Oct. 18, 187.S. 
The parental household included nine children, two 
sons and seven daughters, of whom David was the 
sixth in order of birth. He was born while his par- 
ents were residents of Seneca County, N. V.. near 
the town of Fayette, April 11, isyi). Young I'ou- 
tins spent his boyhood and youth amid agricultural 
scenes and employments, and has always been con- 
tent with a farmer's life. He was twenty-four 



years of age n|ion coniiug to this county, ;inil had 
for a year occupied the position of Superintendent 
of the State Agricultural Farm, in Seneca Count\-. 
Arriving in Southern Michigan in the spring of 
18G1. with his wife and two children, he first pur- 
chased forty acres of land on sectiims 10 and 15 in 
Dover Township, subsequently adding to this, un- 
til he has a handsome property of ninety acres, a 
part of which was included in his father's old home 
place. 

Mr. Pontius was mariied in his native count.y, 
Feb. i;i, 18r,l, to Miss Cordelia, daughter of Daniel 
H. and Mary (Phillii)s) Bryant, natives of New Jer- 
sey. Her parents removed to Seneca County, N. Y., 
early in life, and the mother died there, April 23, 
1870. Mr. Bryant is still living, being in his 
eighty-eighth year. The parental family included 
nine children, one son and eight daughters, Mrs. 
Pontius being the third daughter. She was born in 
Varick, Seneca Co., N. Y., Oct. G, 1827. and was 
there reared to woinanhood, receiving careful train- 
ing from a judicious mother, and a fair eilucation 
in the common schools. 

Mr. and Mrs. Pontius have twochildrcu only, both 
daugliters: Alice C. is the wife of K. 1!. Sutton, a 
prosperous farmer of Dover Township, whose 
sketch appears elsewhere in this Ai,hl\m; tliey have 
two daughters — Maggie and Florence. Ida A., 
Mrs. Lucius Judson, is a resident of Clayton, and 
the mother of one child, a daughter, Alice H. The 
father of Mrs. Pontius was prominent in the affairs 
of Seneca County, N. Y., serving many years as 
Supervisor of his township, and also as County 
Clerk and Treasurer, discharging the duties of 
these offices in a manner creditalile to himself and 
satisfactory to all concerned. 



<;t/AMESB. COLVIN. Among the ideal far- 
mers of Southern Michigan our subject ranks 
among the first. For man}' years after com- 
ing to this State he made a specialty of sheep- 
raising, but of later years he has devoted his atten- 
tion to general farming. During the time he was 
engaged in sheejj-raising he made a specialty of 
fine merinos, of which he sometimes had very large 



(188 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



flocks, and was consideierl the most extensive raiser 
in Southern Michigan. He lias in his possession 
to-day many first prizes awarded to his floclt at 
agricultural and stock exhibitions. Mr. Colvin 
has always been an enthusiast in the cultivation of 
stock of various kinds, and his knowledge of the 
qualities of horses is very full and comprehensive. 
He has erected upon his farm perhaps the finest 
residence outside of Adrian It is built of brick 
and is of the modern style of architecture, while 
the material entering into its construction is all of 
the best. His barns are said to be the best arranged 
and largest in capacity in the county. 

Mr. Colvin was born in Groveland, Livingston 
Co., N. Y., May 5, 1H2G, and is the son of William 
Colvin, who was born in Count}' Antrim, Ireland, 
March 4, 1791. When a boy he learned the 
hatter's trade, which he followed until he came to 
America in 1818. The latest recollection Mr. Col- 
vin has of his ancestors is of one Dr. Colvill, a 
clergyman, who went with his wife from Scotland 
to County Antrim, Ireland, during the reign of 
Charles II. of England, and built Gilgorm Castle, 
where he lived and died. This castle is still in 
good preservation and parts of the walls of its park 
are still standing. William when a boy often vis- 
ited the old castle, and remembers seeing in the 
family vault, under the chapel, the leaden coffins of 
his ancestors, the Doctor, his son and grandson. 
As is often the case, the ancestral name of Colvill 
in time was allowed through carelessness to be 
called Colvin, by this and other branches of the 
family, both in America and Ireland, but the name 
Colvill IS still retained by a brother in Philadelphia, 
several of whose family arc engaged in mercantile 
pursuits. 

In 1830 William Colvin came to Michigan with 
Robert Boyd and Fulton Jack, wiio accompanied 
him from Ireland. He located eighty acres of land 
on section 11, Raisin Townshiji, .and returned to 
his home in Groveland, N. Y. In the spring of 
1832, he again came to Bliehigan and purchased 
more land on sections Ki and 22, and returning to 
New York was a ])asseuger on the new steamboat 
"Washington," which then plied between Detroit 
and Buffalo. During their passage down Lake Erie 
a terriljle storm arose and the boat was blown 



t 



ashore and wrecked near the lower end of Long 
J Point. There were over thirty passengers on board 
but only one life was lost, that of a young man^ 
who became so alarmed by the situation that he 
! attempted to swim ashore. In May, 1834, Mr. Col- 
vin brought his family to Michigan, and settled on 
his first purchase, where he lived until his death, 
j which occurred Oct. 6, 1879. In 1811 William 
Colvin married Miss Letitia. daughter of .James 
and Jennie Smith, of Carnlea, County Antrim, Ire- 
land, by whom he had eight children, three sons 
and five daughters, recorded as follows ; John was 
born Dec. 15, 181 4, and is a farmer in Ionia Count}', 
Mich.: Jeanett was born June 15, 1817, and is 
now the widow of Jacob Snyder, of Macon ; Mary 
was born July 15, 1819, and is the wife of John 
Potter, of Oakland, Cal. ; these were born in County 
Antrim, Ireland. Jane was born in Brighton, N. 
Y., Sept. 6, 1 822, and is the widow of the late Hugh 
McConnell, of Fairfield, this county; William was 
born in Groveland, N. Y., Feb. 19, 1824, and is a 
stock-raiser of Larned, Pawnee Co., Kan.; James B. 
is our subject; Elizabeth was born in Groveland, N. 
Y., Feb. 6, 1829, and died in Raisin Township, 
in .September, 1837; Caroline N. was also born in 
Groveland, N. Y., May 1, 1831. The mother of 
these children was born in Carnlea, County Antrim, 
Ireland, July 10, 1791, and came to America with 
three small children in 1820, two years after the 
coming of her husband. She died at the old home- 
stead in Raisin Township, Dec. 5, 1878. 

James B. Colvin was brought up a farmer, but 
received a liberal education, having attended the 
best schools of the county during the time of his 
school days. He lived with his father until he was 
seventeen years of age, when he began life for him- 
I self. For a period of eight years he worked by the 
I day or month, five years of this time being in the 
! service of Judge C. A. Stacy. In 1 853 he pur- 
i chased a farm of 120 acres on section 6, in Raisin 
Township, and in 1865 he purchased fifty acres on 
section 9, in the same township, upon which he 
moved in 1867, and to which he has added until 
he now owns 225 acres. On the 27th of -Tanuary, 
1856, Mr. Colvin married Miss Harriet A., daugh- 
ter of William and Matilda Tiltou, of Raisin Town- 
ship, by wiiom he has h.ad three children, as follows: 



•► 



-^^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



fiso 



Josephine L. was born Sept. 25, 18;i7; Herbert .1., 
Oct. 12, 1860. and Nora V,.. .lime 27, 1 s70. 

Mr. Col viu has traveled a -..od deal during- liis 
life, particularly throufjii the wistein part of this 
country, and havino; been a close Mlismver is able 
to impart a vast amount of iiifonuatiou regarding 
that part of Uncle Sam's domains. Politically he 
has nearly all his life acted with the Democratic 
party, but is a man of strong Prohibition proclivi- 
ties. Upon all subjects he is liber.al minded, and 
manifests a very generous public spirit in regard 
to matters concerning the welfare of the people. 



"^■^^t^; 



;>ri-n. 



k 



KS. JANE PEARSON. In this aged and 
l)eloved lad}' we have an illustration of all 
the womanly virtues, as exhibited in a long 
and useful life, during the changes of vvhich 
she has borne herself with the patience and forti- 
tude which have ende.ared her to a large circle of 
friends and acquaintances. She has had a long and 
interesting experience, dating over a period of more 
than threescore years and ten, and embracing the 
vicissitudes of life in a new country during its 
transformation from a wilderness to the abode of 
a civilized and highly cultivated people. Previous 
to her settlement here, she with her husband had 
crossed the Atlantic Ocean on a sailing-vessel, a trip 
which in those days was no ordinary undertaking, 
accompanied not only by inconvenience but dan- 
ger, and barren of the safeguards and comforts 
which are now thrown around the ocean voyager. 
In contemplation of the many changes through 
which she has passed it is not to be wondered at 
that the whole seems more lilte a dreaui than the 
real events of one life's brief span. 

Mrs. Pearson was born among the hills of Yorji- 
sliire, Eingland, March 2,o, 1815, and is the daughter 
of Richard and Ann (.Jordan) Pickering, who were 
natives of the same county, where they spent 
their lives; the family was one of prominence 
in that region. The jiaternal grandfather was a 
gardener by occupation, but the father of Mrs. 
Pearson followed farming in Yorkshire. He was 
the possessor of a good property and died at the 
age of seventy-sis years, while his wife was seventy- 



two at the time of her death, which occurred a few 
years before that of licr husband. The home circle 
comprised five ciiihlren — .Mary. Harriett. .lane, 
Hannah and Robert. 

Mrs. Pearson reci'ivcd a common-school educa- 
tion and remained umler the parental roof until 
reaching womanhood. She was married in her na- 
tive county to one of her own coiintryincn, l)avid 
Pearson, who was born not far from the chililhood 
home of his wife, on tlie 18th of March, 1S12. In 
his native England he w.as eniploye<l around the 
seashore at fishing and otherwise, but when twenty- 
five years of age, not being satisfied with the results 
of his labors, he determined to change his location 
and occupation, and in the spring of 1837 set ont 
with his family for the United States. He located 
first in Livingston County, N. Y., and employed 
himself at farming two years, then, in the fall of 
1839 he left the Empire State for this county. Mr. 
Pearson soon after his arrival in Woodstock Town- 
ship, bought eighty acres of timber land, from which 
by the exercise of years of labor, he cleared a good 
farm and put up suitable buildings. He invested 
still further in real estate, and the property now 
ct )mpriscs 1 1 2 acres of land well tilled and producing 
in abundance the choicest crops of Michigan. The 
parents of Mr. I'earson left England in 1839 and 
joined their son in this county, where they spent 
the remainder of theii- days, the father dying in 
18-10, at the age of seventy-six years, and the 
mother a good many years later when ninety-nine 
years of age. 

The children boiii to Mr. and Mrs. Pearson are 
recorded as follows: Frank was born Ainil 24, 1838, 
and married Miss Adelaide, daughter of Lewis 
Sanford, who is represented elsewhere in this work, 
and has three children ; Hannah P. was born Sept. 
12, 1840, and is the wife of G. H. Ilutchins; Ann 
Elizabeth was born Aug. 12, 1843, and is the wife 
of Charles Hacket, of Napoleon, a painter by trade; 
Charles W. was born May 11, 1846, married Miss 
Eva Richardson, and is the fatiier of several chil- 
dren; Alfred R. was born June 13, 1848, and mar- 
ried Miss Eola Salsbury; he is farming in Nebraska 
and has three children. Harriet M. was born June 
28, 1850, married Darius Iveson, an<l lives in Ne- 
braska; Fletcher was born Nov. 28, 1853, married 
•► 



•► 



■^^ 



690 



*4 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



i 



Anna Iveson, and also resides in Nebraslia; Emma 
J. was l)Orn Dec. 31, 1855, and was married to Rev. 
A. R. Keeler, a minister of the Methodist Episcopal 
Chnrch in Kent County; Lewis F. was born June 
18, 1859, and married Miss Mary E. Parker, daugh- 
ter of George Tarker, of this township; he is a 
farmer and occupies the homestead with Mrs. Pear- 
son. 

David Pearson, upon becoming a naturalized 
citizen, identified himself with the Republican party. 
He took a genuine interest in the prosperity of Ins 
adopted country, and aided according to his ability 
the enterprises calculated for the good of the com- 
munity. He was a valued member of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, with which he, together with his 
estimable wife, became connected many years ago. 
In this he officiated as Class- Leader and Steward, 
and was one of the pillars of the society. After 
reaching the sixtieth year of his age he rested from 
his earthly labors on the 8th of March, 1872, 
mourned by his family, to whom he had been an in- 
dulgent father and husband, and the community, by 
whom he was held in universal respect. 



(^^HOMAS J. PILBEAM. Tiiis gentleman, who 
(in^\ all his life has been identified with the farni- 
^^^ ing interests of Ridgeway Township, is the 
son of an intelligent Englishman who came across the 
water in earlj' manhood and cast his lot among the 
pioneers of the Northwest. The latter was a native 
of County Kent, and is still living in Ridgeway 
Township, being now in the seventy-second year of 
his age and retired from active labor. 

Mr. Pilbeam is pleasantly located on section 1. 
Ridgeway Township, where he owns sixty acres of 
land, finely improved, of which he took possession 
in 1872. Adjoining this property, in Dundee Town- 
ship, Monroe County, is also an improved tract of 
eighty acres, which Mr. P. purchased in 1882, and 
where he has also erected good buildings. His 
farming operations have been conducted with rare 
good judgment, and the hand of taste and refine- 
ment has evidently been employed in every de- 



tail. The proprietor is a man most pleasant to 
meet and converse with, being well informed, 
intelligent and genial, and in all respects evidenc- 
ing the gentleman " to the uianor born." 

Our subject first opened his eyes to the light at 
his father's homestead in Ridgeway Township, 
Aug. 25, 1844. The father, William Pilbeam, was 
a native of County Keut, England, and was there 
married to Miss Hanna Hause, who came with him 
across the Atlantic and cheerfully shared with her 
husband the vicissitudes of life in a new country. 
They not only had to contend with a foreign soil but 
different manners and customs, unlike those to 
which they had been reared. They possessed, 
however, those elements of character which are 
everywhere recognized as belonging to the honest 
gentleman and gentlewoman, and soon gathered 
about them scores of warm friends among the 
early residents, who shared alike their trials and for 
the most part their successes. 

Thomas J. Pilbeam remained under the home 
roof until a youth of eighteen years and then 
began life on his own account. He was married, at 
the home of the bride in Ridgeway Township, to 
Miss Adelaide Hall, who was born in the village of 
Tecumseh, and had spent her life thus far in Ridge- 
way Township. Mrs. P. only lived a few years 
after her marriage, her death taking place at her 
home in Dundee Township in 1876. Of her union 
with our subject there were three children, the 
youngest of whom, an infant, followed its mother 
soon after its birth. The two surviving children 
are: Mary p:dith, who. was born March 12, 1873, 
and Ida L., Jan. 1, 1875. They are now living 
in Tecumseh, this county. 

The second marriage of Mr. Pilbeam took place 
Nov. 28, 187G.with Miss Adeline, daughter of Jacob 
and Susan (Hanlon) Masten, who are now residents of 
Milan Town.ship, Monroe County. They came to 
the West in their youth and were married in Mon- 
roe County, where they have since lived. The 
father followed farming and has accumulated a 
good property. Mrs. Adeline Pilbeam was born in 
Milan, July 9, 1855, and received her education in 
the district school. She was trained by a careful 
mother to all needful housewifely duties, and by 
her union with our subject has become the mother Tj 



•►Ih-^ 



.KNAWKE COUNTY. 



091 



of five childivii— Wilii.-uii 
Shirley and Minei'\:i. .Mi 
with politics or public atfni 
general elections lie casts li 
licMii iiarty. 



ic 1... Myilie !•:., 
(■.Idles vi-ry little 
111)011 occasions of 
with the Hepiib- 



..gfa,TO7» 



^^1 HARLES W. I'KLIIAM, woikin.i.- upon the 
(if maxim that a rolling stone gathers no moss, 

^^^z still clings to the old homestead of his father, 
where he first opened his eyes to the light over 
forty years ago, on the i;!l,hof M.-ii<li, l.s|-_>. His 
father, Richard Pelham, u,-is (nic of llic pioneers of 
Michigan Territory, coming li> thi> -<'cii(jii of 
country when the track of the ileer .-nid tlic wild 
Indian still lingered iiiioii the s..,l. He took up 
eighty acres of Goverunieul, land iu WOodsldck 
Township, and here spent llie rem-'undcr of hi> 
days. 

Richard Pelham, the fatlier of our suhject, was 
born in Greene County, N. Y., Aug. •^, is 10. .•md 
was a resident of his native township until a youth 
of eighteen years. He then went over into Dela- 
ware County, in the same State, and foiuied a 
matrimonial alliance with Miss Abigail .\veiy. to 
whom he was married in 1H;!1. Four years later 
they .set out with their little tarn 
tory of Michigan, and here emlu 
and hardships incident to pioiii' 
Pelham, as an intelligent, iiidust 
spirited man, evei' maintained an iutere>t in the 
welfare of his adopted townsiiip, and was jiromi- 
nent in local affairs, serving as the first Justice of 
the Peace in this part of the (ajunty, which office 
he held for many years and received much credit 
for his wise and oftentimes original methods in 
dealing with offenders. He was also Commissioner 
of Highways and As.sessor, and in addition to his 
quite extensive farming interests followed his trade 
of a millwriglit. The Pelhams as a family were 
largely devoted to farming pursuits, although they 
also engaged in merchandising. 

The parental household of our subject included 
five chihlren, recorded as follows: Hannah S. was 
born in December, 1831, and became the wile of 
James Peterson, of Jackson County, and the mother 



the 



il>li 



of ten ehil(h-eii, eight no" living; Henry was born 
Feb. 20, l.s;!4, married Miss Helen Bolton, and be- 
came the father of six children, of whom but three 
are living: he is carrying on fanning iu Dakota. 
Loretta was born April is, is.'iti, married James 
R. Terpeney, and has two children; Harman I. Q. 
was born July 18, 1S;!S, married Miss Fannie 
McConiu'll. and had four children, two of whom 
are now deceasi'd; Ch.arlcs, of our sketch, was the 
youngest child. Heniy Pelham, the paternal grand- 
father of our subject, died when a young man iu 
Greene County, X. V., in ISi;!. The grandmother, 
Margaret ((iray) Pelham. survived her husband, 
remaining a widow for over fifty years, her death 
taking place wiien she \\;is eighty-four years of age, 
in Ulster County, N. Y. 

Mr. Pelham remenihc.s many of the inehlents (.f 
thirty-live years ;igo, and the steady development 
of the wihlerness into siniliiig fields and conifort- 
afile homesteads. He reeei\ed a fair education in 
the district school, and when young was taught to 
be f>f use around the farm. As maj' be supposed 
his present home loses none of its attractions on 
a<Maiunt of having been his boyhood's tramping 
ground. Upon reaching manhood he was married 
to a maiden of his own township, ftliss Mary Ma- 
tilda Laphani, and they are the proud parents of a 
blooming family of nine eliildreii, who with one ex- 
ception are all at home with their parents. One 
daughter, Meta, is the wife of Oliver Holmes, of 
Wales, Erie Co., N. Y.. and the mother of two 
children. 

Mr. Pelham cast his lirst Presidential vote for 
McClellau and has, with few deviations, continued 
a Jaek.soiiian Demoia-at. 



-^■^ 



if? ENRY PUJ.VER, one of the pioneers of 
l|Ny\ Michigan, came to this countj' when a young 
!^y^ man of strong hands and stout heart, and 
(^ put his shoulder to the wheel during the 
liuilding up of a settlement from the wilderness, 
looking not only to his own interests, but to those 
of the people around him. After a well-spent life, 
during which he has been a worthy illustration of 
honesty, temperance, and all the other qualities that 



■•► 



a 



LENAAVEE COUNTY. 



go tu make up the good citizen, he has retired from 
active hibor and is spending his declining j'ears in 
ease and comfort in the village of Onsted. 

Mr. Pulver has a fine property on section 20, in 
Cambridge Township, comprising eighty acres of 
land in a high state of cultivation, with good build- 
ings, live stock and machinery, and all the appur- 
tenances necessary to the complete modern country 
estate. This land Mr. Pulver purchased in 1855, 
and made it his home until his removal to Onsted, 
in 1880; it is now operated by Samuel White, un- 
der the supervision of the owner. Mr. Pulver was 
born in Dutchess County, N. Y., May 8, 1825, and 
was twenty-three years of .age when he came with 
his father to this county. The latter, Michael 
Pulver, was also a native of the Empire State and 
had farmed in Dutchess, Wayne and Onondaga 
Counties. Upon coming to Michigan he located in 
the woods of Cambridge Township, not far from the 
[)resent site of the village of Onsted, where he made 
some improvements and lived until 1868, then re- 
moved to a new farm of IGO acres near Grand 
Traverse. Here he died in 1872, when seventy 
years of age. 

The mother of our subject was in her girlhood 
days Miss Mary Knickerbocker, of Columbia 
County, N. Y. The parental household was com- 
pleted by the birth of nine children, eight sons and 
one daughter, of whom five of the former are j'et 
living and one still unmarried. Henry, of our 
sketch, was the sixth child, and remained under the 
home roof until reaching his majority. On the ISth 
of January, 1851, he took for his wife Miss Har- 
riet E. Greenleaf, who was born April 24, 1834, 
and was reared in Cambridge Township. Of her 
father, John Greenleaf, mention is made in tlie 
sketch of Charles W. Greenleaf, which will be found 
on another page in this work. Mrs. Pulver died at 
the homestead in Cambridge Tovvnship in August, 
1804. 

Our subject was subsequently married, Jul}' 22, 
180.'>, to Miss Elizabeth Stephenson, who was born 
in Cambridge Township, April 14, 1839. Her par- 
ents, John and Mary (Brears) Stephenson, jvere 
among the early pioneers of this section and died 
in Cambridge Township some years ago. Father 
r Stephenson was a very capable and intelligent man. 



and followed the business of veterinary surgeon 
the last twenty-five years of his life. He was born 
and married in Yoi'kshire, England, from which he 
emigrated in the thirties and from that time was 
mostly a resident of Cambridge Township. He was 
sixty-five years old at the time of iiis death in 1875, 
and his wife was sixt3'-eight when she dic<l, in 
1881. 

Mrs. Pulver received a good cdiicatinn in the 
district schools and continued with her parents un- 
til her marriage. She is a member of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church at Onsted, and Mr. Pulver, 
politically, votes the straight Repnhlican ticket. 






EDWIN PICKFORD, who has one of the 
best appointed farms in Rome Township, 
■) crossed the Atlantic from England when a 
young man twenty-four j'ears of age, to seek his 
fortune in the New World. He was born in Som- 
ersetshire, March 2, 1828, and first set foot upon 
American soil in the summer of 1852. He was mar- 
ried in his native county, and was accompanied by 
his young wife on his ocean voyage. After a brief 
time spent in New York City they proceeded west- 
ward and located in RoUin Township, tiiis comity, 
staying three years with the brother of Mr. Pick- 
ford. Our subject then purchased a tr.act of land in 
the same tovvnship, upon which he labored ten years 
and then traded the property for his present home- 
stead. This comprises 120 acres of land in a fine 
state of cultivation, with good buildings which 
were mostly put up by the present proprietor. 

During his residence of twenty years in Rome 
Township Mr. Pickford has distinguished himself 
as a public-spirited and enterprising citizen, and by 
the building up of his own valuable home alone has 
contributed much toward the reputation of this 
section of country. He comes of stanch English 
ancestry, and his father, John Pickford, a native of 
Somersetshire, spent his entire life near the place 
of his birth, and died 'at the age of fifty-five years. 
He was a farmer by occupation and when twenty- 
two years of age was married to Miss Mary Joyce, 
who survived her husband many years and died in 



4 



Hh^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



093 \ ) 



Kngknil, .at tlic iigc of .scveiity-livo. 'I'liov wore 
the p.arent'; of five children, tlirce of wlioiii arc liv- 
ing, one in England and two hcie. 

The wife of our .siihjocl, who in iicr girlhood wa.s 
Miss Cecelia Pope, was also ,a native of Somerset- 
shire, and was born Sept. 22, 18151. Her father. 
James Pope, kept a public hou>.e in Sonirrsi't>liire 
and also carried on farming. lb' \v.i> diiiueiii in 
business, providing comfortably for hi^ Inuiily, and 
died at the age of lifty-two ye;ii-s in his native 
shire. The mother, who was formerly a Miss liehl- 
ing, passed awaj^ previous to the death of her hus- 
band, at the age of forty-six years. The I'ope 
f.'imily principally followed the trades and merchan- 
dising. 

The children of Mr. and Mrs. i'iekfonl are re- 
corded as follows: Cicero .1. was born May 2, l<Si(4, 
and married a Miss Lamoeaux, of Rome Township; 
they have three children. .lames K. was born Nov. 
22, is.">7. and continues at home with his father; 
Harriet B. was born Sept. ."i. ISCO, and became the 
wife of Jesse Chase, who served as a soldier in the 
Union army and died in 1871, leaving a wife and 
three children; Mrs. Chase receives a pension from 
the Government. Austin, wlio was born Nov. H, 
186.5, and Leslie J., Sept. 21, ISC'.I, are at home 
with their parents. The children received a good 
education in the district school, an<l Mr. Pickford, 
with the boys who are voters, supports the Demo- 
cratic party. He concerns himself, however, very 
littk^ wilh politics. 






R. NELSON H. KIMliALL, of Ailrian, is 
a member of the medical i)rofession, to 
which he has devoted many years, and in 
which he has become a prominent figure. 
He was born in the town of Martinsburg, Lewis 
Co., N. Y., Sept. 10, 1.S2I). His father, Jarvis Kim- 
ball, was a farmer by occupation, and died when 
our subject was but two years of age. When left 
an orphan our subject was adopted into the family 
of Arba Jones, of Martinsburg, N. Y., who emi- 
grated from that State in 1S;;7, and settled iu 
Seneca, Lenawee County. While yft residing in 



Martinsburg young Kimball attended the district 
schools, where he began the education which w,as 
completed in after life. 

In 180!), at the age of nineteen years, our subject 
went to Tecuniseh, wherr he engaged to learn the 
carpenter's trade, under the instructions of Charles 
\'an A'o!kenV)urg. After working at this for some 
years at various places, including Galena, 111., and 
Aibi.-in, Midi., he entered the otHee of Drs. Spald- 
ing ami IJainard In IS 17, and began the study of 
medicine. He i)ro'-(Muteil his studies in their office 
until he was tilted for entering the Cleveland Bledi- 
eal College, from which he was graduated with 
credit to himself in 18.")0. Since that time he has 
been continuously ami successfully engaged in the 
practice of his profession iu l,he city of Adrian and 
vicinity. Ever since the beginning of his prt)fes- 
sional career Dr. Kimball has been a clo.'*e student, 
with quiet and unassuming manners. 

Ik'sides occuj)ying a prominent position in his 
profession. Dr. Kimball has served with honor and 
credit in various public capacities. For four years 
he was Alderman for the Second Ward of Adrian, 
diu-ing which period he acted as Chairman of the 
committees on sewers, paving, gas and fire depart- 
ment. For three terms lie was at the head of the 
municipal government of Adrian, having been 
elected Mayor by a complimentary majority, and 
in the administration of the affairs of this office 
gave universal .satisfaction. He has also served as 
Chairman of the Board of Ileakh of Adrian. For 
a long period of years he was surgeon for the Lake 
Shore & Michigan Southern Raih-oad Company, and 
in that cai»city performed good service for the 
company, as well as many humane acts for the un- 
fortunates who became victims of railroad disasters. 
He was City Physician of Adrian for a term of 
two j'ears, and was a member of the old Adrian 
Guards from 1815 until 18G1, at which time the 
company disbanded. 

On the 14tli of May, l.s,-,(i, Dr. Kimball was 
united in marriage with Miss Abbie J. Jones, 
daughter of Samuel and Lydia Jones, and a sister 
of John F. Jones, all of Adrian. There have been 
no children by this marri.age. Mrs. Kimball was 
born in De Riiyter, Madison Co., N. Y., Sept. C, 
1827, and while yet living in that State received a 



f 



•►Hh-4* 



u 



r.94 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



good education. She eaine to Michigan with her 
parents in 1840, and settled in Adrian. Dr. Kim- 
ball is one of the leading members of the Episcopal 
Church of Adrian, to which he is quite liberal in 
his support. He and his wife arc lioth highlj' 
esteemed for their social qualities and their genuine 
benevolenee. 



ARTIN DkLAND is worthily filling his 
niche in life as an industrious and well-to- 
do member of the farming community of 
Fairfield Township, where he has 146 acres 
of land, occupying the greater portion of the 
southeast quarter of section 14. He has been 
essentially the architect of his own fortune, as he 
began the struggle of life on his own account with 
comparatively nothing. He is now in possession of 
a fine homestead, a snug bank account, and 'has 
hosts of friends. He has been a solid member in 
the development of Fairfield Township, acquitting 
himself as one of its most thorough and skillful 
agriculturists, and is in all respects a conscientious 
and praiseworthy citizen. 

Many of the early pioneers of this C(_)untry were 
emanations of the solid old Empire State, and of 
that class of people were the parents of our sub- 
ject, Joseph and Sally (Baker) DeLand, natives of 
New York, who after their marriage came to the 
West and located in Fail-field Township, where 
they labored to build up a good homestead, and 
surround themselves with the comforts which they 
had honestly earned. Joseph DeLand departed this 
life at the homestead March 15, 1879, while the 
mother is still living, and remains near the spot 
where she and her husband first settled, and where 
their children were born. These, five in number, 
were named respectively: IMary A., Charles G., 
Albert, Martin .and Salina A. Mar}^ A. died when 
fourteen years of .age : the others are mostly resi- 
dents of this count}^, and settled in comfortable 
homes of their own. 

Martin DeLand was born in Fairfield Township 
Jan. 25, 1845, and spent his boyhood and youth 
after the manner of most farmers' sons, assisting 
his parents around the homestead during the seasons 



of sowing and harvesting, and attending the dis- 
trict school in winter. With the exception of 
eighteen months spent in Clinton County he has 
been a resident of P'airfield Township his entire 
life, and continuoiisiy engaged in agricultural pur- 
suits. 

Mr. DeLand continued under the parental roof 
until after twenty-four years of age, and was then 
married in Ogden Township, July 4, 18G0, to Miss 
Carrie Smith, who was born in Fulton County, 
Ohio, July -23, 1847. Iler parents, William and 
Rachel (Hughes) Smith, were natives respectively 
of Ohio and Pennsylvania. The father was a sailor 
by occupation, and died on board a boat on which 
he was Captain on the Elrie Canal about 1852. The 
mother is still living, and a resident of Fairfield 
Township. The parental household included five 
children ; namely : Margaret A., Obediah, Carrie, 
William H. and Melissa. Two of these died in 
childhood; the others lived to mature years, .and 
those surviving are residents of this State. 

Mr. and Mrs. DeLand after their marriage 
settled in Fairfield Township on section 13, where 
they continued until taking possession of their pres- 
ent homestead. The family circle includes five 
children, namely : Emery A., Forest, Orlando S., 
Ernest R. and Vernon C. The first and fourth died 
in infancy. The others are at home with their 
parents, completing their education and prep.aring 
to take their proper station in life as the children 
of worthy and reputable citizens, Mr. DeLand 
votes the straight Democratic ticket, and takes a 
genuine interest in township affairs. He has served 
as Highway Commissioner two years, and occupied 
other positions of trust and responsibility. So- 
cially he belongs to Fairfield Lodge No. 125, F. 
& A. M. 



►;ARREN GILBERT is numbered among the 
most prominent and wealthy farmers of 
Rome Township. He came to this State 
in 1843, and engaged largely in stock dealing, 
which, together with the cultivation of a large ex- 
tent of land, became the source of a snug little fort- 
une, which he is now living to enjoy in the most 
I sensible manner. His landi'd interests include 700 



4 



4 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



acres, with a full set of luindsoine and substantial 
frame buildings, and all tlic oilier accessories of the 
modern country lK>nie>t,e:ul. 

Onr subject was Ix.ru in Ui.-lniKniil. Ontario 
Co., N. Y.. A|,ril ;;. ISL'L'. and is the son of Elias 
Gilbert,.Tr..whowa>b..rn near Ibc .it y "f llartfca'd. 
Conn., Nov. i'.K ITTi',. The pjiteni.al i^raiidfather 
of our subject, Elias (iilbert, Sr., served in the Rev- 
olutionary War, and besides being a soldier, was a 
fanner, laiinrr and currier. In \H'<-J he accom- 
panied Ids Mill I'liias to l)aven|>oit. Iowa, and there 
died at the :i;;c of nin('t,y-livc yeai>. He was mar- 
ried twice, anil hi> rniiiily included nine children, 
of whom Elias. .Ir., was the eldest born of the second 
marriage. The latter, ii|"'ii reai'hing manhood, was 
lirst married to Miss Polly Steele, who was born in 
Connecticut, in ITsi. She removed with her hus- 
band to Ontario ( (.iinty. X. Y., and died there 
while a j'ouug woman, ihiity-four years of age. Of 
this marri.age there were born four children. Elias 
Gilbert, Jr., became the father ..f the foil,, wing 
children: Polly. Aman.la, .Marietta, Warren, ,,f our 
sketch, Theodosiaand Ann K. 

Warren Gilbert reniaiiieil witli his parentis in his 
native county, and assisti'd his father at. farm work 
until reaching his maj,,rit,v, (luai st.-irting ,,nt for 
himself lie came to Graiiil Kivcr, Clinton County, 
this Slate, in October, 1843, and pureha.sed a tract 
of land, farmed one year, then tra.deil it for ninety- 
three acres in Rome Township. To this h,' .-nldi'd 
by degrees, and was uniformly pr,,speic<l in his 
labor of tilling the s<,il and st,„-k-raisiu-. In thi- 
Latter industry he has ha, I an ,'xperieii,-e ,,r twenty- 
five years, and formerly g.-ive c,«nsiderableatteiiti,,u 
to sheep-raising; one seas(->n he sheared 2,900 head. 

Mr. Gilbert, in 1.S45, was married to Miss Almira 
M. Reed, who vvas born in Ontario County, N. Y., 
Sept. 29, 1825, and is the daughter of Wheeler and 
Hannah Reed, natives of \'ermont. From the 
Green Mountain .State Wheeler Reed's parents re- 
moved to Ontario County, N. Y., where they siient 
the remainder of their days. AVheelcr ami Hannah 
Reed were the parents of fifteen I'hildren, se\ca:d ,,f 
whom came to Michigan and setth'il in this c, unity. 
To Mr. and [Mrs. (;ill„.rl there w,mv h,,rn three 
children: William (;,M,.leli. their .'Ide^t s,,n. was 
born April 18, l.S4i;, and marrieil xMi.ss Albina 



Hlr-^" 



Eddy; they settled on the Gilbert homestead and 
engaged in stock-raising, but he died March 2G, 
1884. Thcodosia Gilbert is the widow of William 
M. Sheppard, and has one child, Warren ( i., sixteen 
years of age; Frank W. married Miss Jlary, daugh- 
ter of William White, of Cambridge, and is carry- 
ing oil farming in liome 'J'ovviiship. 

Mr. (iilbert has supported the Repiibliean p;irty 
since its organization, lie has always taki'ii a 
lively interest in loi'al matters, ami has bcai I'lith- 
niaster in Rome Township since the lirst y,>:ir of his 
residence here. 



WILLIAM sroCKWKLL was ,,ne of the 
lirave pioneers of Lenawee County, and 
,, ^ left a comfortable home in ,>ne of the old- 
est States of the L'nioii, to come into the unbroken 
wililerne.ss of this State, while yet a young man, 
willing to labor hard to clear a small tract for cul- 
tivation, that he might in after years real) "'f '"'- 

vantages of its fertile soil :iiid salubrious ,'li te. 

He was born in Ira, Cayuga Co., N. Y.. .luly 21, 
1809, and departed this life Nov. 28, 1871. His 
father, Eleazer Stockwell, was born April 21, ITCi.'J, 
and was a pioneer of Cayuga County, where his last 
years were siicnt. 

Our .subject was rejireii in his native town, Init 
when quite young, ere he had f(^)rined any new tics, 
he started for the then far western Territory 
Michigan. Coming to lluds, 
acres of land fr,,ni the (oivei 
and 3 of this t,,wnship, ,,ii 
house, ami 



red 



f 

,^hty 



)mi 



li,,use 
I- Ills 



himself. He 
succeeded ad- 
were too ardu- 

life 



He 



mirably, but llu^ duties of the 
ons and ho grew tircl of liis 
cordingly repaired to his old home in 1S39, and on 
the 2,1 ,)f May, tli:it year, he was married to Eltza 
A. Ibirton, who was born in Ulster County, N. 
\'., Nov. 1, l.sil. After marriage he returned 
to Hudson accompanied by his bride, whom he at 
once installed as mistress of his hjg cabin. Then 
prosperity smile,! upon him. and he s,i,.>n IkhI a line 



^•►-■--^ 



-4•- 

696 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



I 



and his good wife spent tlie remainder of their 
lives, his death occurring as already stated, and 
Mrs. Stockwell's July Tj, 1882. She was a member 
of the IMethodist Episcopal Church, and Mr. Stock- 
well of the Presbyterian. To them were born two 
children, Stephen William and Sarah Madeline, both 
of whom are now living on the homestead. The 
former was born in Hudson, Nov. 'J, 1843; the lat- 
ter in Sterling, N. Y., while her parents were 
there on a visit. May 28, l.s4G. 

There are but few tracts of laud in this county 
that have not changed owners since being pur- 
chased from the Government, but the Stockwells 
still own and occupy the land that their father en- 
tered so many years ago in the early history of tiiis 
county. These worthy descendants of those hon- 
ored pioneers are well sustaining the reputation 
earned b^' their parents for honesty, integrity, and 
high moral worth, and the Stockwell name still 
stands as a synonym for all that is good and honor- 
able. 

TEPHP:N W. CURTIS. Among the en- 
terprising farmers of Hudson Township, 
not one is more prospered in his work than 
the subject of this sketch, who is a native 
Cayuga Co., N. Y., and was born March 17, 
He is a descendant of the Rev. Stephen 
, a Baptist divine of New England origin. 
The reverend gentleman when he first went to New 
York lived for a time in Washington County, then 
went to Otsego County, where he bought a large 
farm, and became engaged extensively in farming 
while still exercising his office of minister. Although 
he bore the title of Reverend, he was well adapted 
for a business life, and accumulated quite a property. 
He continued to make his home in Otsego County 
until his death, which, however, did not take place 
at his residence, but on his return from a, visit to 
his sons, in Michigan, in 1837. The maiden name 
of his wife was Polly Loomis, and they became the 
parents of eight children. 

David Curtis, the father of our subject, was born 
during the residence of his parents in Cambridge, 
Washington County. Feb. 1), 1802, and w.as very 
young when they removed to Otsego County, where 



he grew to manhood. He joined the State Militia 
as soon as old enough, and soon receivcJd an officer's 
commission. From Otsego County he removed to 
Cayuga County, and buying a farm engaged in 
agricultural pursuits eight years. He then returned 
to Otsego County, where he remained until his 
removal with his family to Michigan, in 1840. 
They came via canal and lake to Toledo, Ohio, 
thence by rail to the western terminus of the rail- 
way' in Adrian, and from there to Hudson Town- 
ship. Here they settled on section 11, on land 
that Mr. Curtis had bought in 1833, but had never 
before seen. He rented a house near by for the 
home of his family, and a few acres of improved 
land. During the following spring and winter he 
built a dwelling on his own land, and commenced 
the removal of the forest trees, and at the time of 
his death. May lu, 1877, he had a comfortable 
home and a well-im[n-oved farm. His wife, whose 
maiden name was Charlotte St. John, was born in 
Chagrin Village, Ohio, Oct. 17, 1807, an<I died Jan. 
10, 1876. 

The subject of this sketch was nine years old 
when he came to this count}^ with his parents, and 
remembers well the condition of the country, which 
was then in a half wild state, while deer, bears, 
wolves and other wild animals had not yet aban- 
doned the forests which still covered large portions 
of the country. At the age of sixteen he started 
out in life for himself, having with great enterprise 
established himself in business as a traveling pro- 
vision dealer, driving a wagon into the country to 
supply the inhabitants with fresh meat. That busi-. 
ness led him into dealing in live stock, and in 1850 
he bought a carload of cattle and took them to 
Albany, N. Y., where he disposed of them. He 
continued to ship cattle for a number of years 
while still conducting his provision trade, but on 
account of ill-health he was finally obliged to dis- 
continue this profitable business. Since then he 
has devoted his attention to general farming, rais- 
ing and feeding stock. He resided on the homestead 
until after his father's death, when he then disposed 
of it, and h:\s since occupied his present farm, on 
.-ectioii 10, which is under admirable tillage and is 
well .-ulaptcd to the needs of a stock-raiser. 

Mr. Cuitis was married, in September, 1857, to 



r 





' 


f 


-4» 


^^ 






*^- 


LKNAWEl' 


COUNTY. (HIT - 




.Tc'iinette Ladrl, a native of Victor, Ontario Co., N. 


for himself, .and has before him the prospect of a 






Y., ami the daughter of Jolin Ladd. After a few 


home and competency. lie is operating on sixt}'- 






years of \v<Ml<led life lie was cMlle.l upon to mourn 


eiglit acres of land, with the oppintunity to di.s- 






the de;ilh of lici- who had liceulo hini an aniialile 


tingiii.sh hira.self among the other men who have 






eonii)aniou, her death oeeurring I'Y'h. is, LSOd. at 


stepped into the places of so many of those who have 






the age of tliirty-four years and six mouths. She 


gone the way of all the earth, bnt who have left be- 






left two ehildreu: Adaliuo, who is now Mrs. A. 1). 


hind them a record worthy of imitation. 






Rowley, of Hudson; an<l (li'orge W., who also 


The subject of this sketcii is the only child of 






resides in Hudson. 


iailher ;ind Uetsy (■j'abor) Scott, the latter the sec- 






■llie maiden mime ..f Mr. ( urtis" present wife was 


ond wife u( her husli.-iud. and both natives of New 






Martha .1. Sutton. She was Imhii in .Medin^i Towu- 


York Stale. He was biuMi in Medina Town.shii), 






ship. tins county. Oel. I ;;. 1 .S-l:;. .-mkI is the daugh- 


Sept. r,, ISC.T, and spent Ills boyhcxxl and youth 






ter of John 1). aud .\higail (Knapp) Suit. ml Her 


after the manner of most farmers' sons, ailending 






marriage with our suhjeet oeeurred Fel.. !'.). 1 ,si;s. 


the district sclKjol in winter and making himself 






and to them have been horn thiv.. ,-hildren. two of 


useful about the farm in summer. He 'leveloped 






whom are now living — William .1. and .loliu. 


into manhood in Medina Township and before reach- 






Freddie M., the seeond child, was l-.u-n Kdi. ■.':,. 


ing the nineteenth year of his age, was married June 






I,s7:;. and died iii Decciidier of tlic ~nm<- ye.-n-. 


15, 1886, to Miss Mary, fourth daughter of .bjna- 






■I'hc parents (if .Mr-. Curl is were the first couple 


than Hartman, of Mill Creek Township, Williams 






married in Medina, and there .-dso her lather's 


Co., Ohio. The mother of Mrs. Scott was in her 






death occurred, July 2o, 1.S77. Ho was , a promi- 


girlhood Miss Eliza Schisler, and of her marriage 






nent member of the Republi<-:iii p:irty of tliMt town- 


with Mr. Hartman there were born six children. 






ship, as in early life he had been a Whig. Mrs. 


three girls and three boys. The Hartnians are among 






Curtis' mother is now living on the old home place. 


the nwst worthy residents of Mill (icek Townshi(i, 






in Medina. She was born in Cayuga County, N. 


occuiiying a comfortable homestead in Alvordton. 






Y.. and came with her p.-u-enls. .John and Mamrc 


Mrs. Scott was born June 1, 1SG6, and reared in 






(Motchkiss) Knapii, to Michigan, in 1 s:;,",. wIutc 


W'right Township, where she received her education. 






her father crccU'd the lirst, building in Medina. He 


Of her marriage with our suliject there has been 








born one child, a daughter. Delthy. 






wife died at ninety-two. Mrs. Curtis is a mem- 








ber of the Bai)tist Church, ami heartily eo-operates 


-<i : j — ^-^iu-^ — z : •■*■ 






with others in carrying on its useful work. Mr. 








Curtis is highly esteemed as a good citizen and 


lT%, ^^''''L. ROOT is an enterprising farmer of 
1 jY Hudson Township, where he is also engaged 






an honorable man. lu polities he acts with the 






Republican party, Init wouhl never consent to run 


(^)J^ in the inauufaeture of sorghum sugar and 






for oflice, although many limes >obcit,'d to ,lo s,,. 


^ molasses, having established here the first 






He is now President of the taiincr-' picnii-, that is 


factory for th.at purpose erected in the State. It 






annually held at Devil's Lake. 


is now one of the most important industries in this 
section of Lenawee County. 






.^^•. J»sJ6«-=^«.^'SP5«e-^5*?- 


]Mr. Root was born in Eaton, Madison Co., N. 
Y., Nov. ;), 1828, and is the son of Justus Root, a 






^1 IVINFIELl) SCOTT is perhaps the youngest 


native of ( irafton. Conn., where the grandfather, 






wmI '■^■■■''•'e'lt "f Medina Towusliip represented in 


Solomon Root, carried on the (M-cuii.-itiou of a 






W^ this work, but lieiiig the s.. 11 of (me of its 


farmer. It is thought that the latter was ;i life-l(.)ug 






earliest pioneers, it is by no means out of place thnt 


resident of Connecticut. The father of our subject 






he should receive due recognition. He is .it pres- 


was eight years old when his father died, and he 






ent pleasantly located on section ol. jiisl stalling 


then went to live with an elder brother in Madison , 




g^_ 




-» 1 '' - 


•^^ 






. 




t 


A 



■•► 



698 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



County, N. Y. He married there Sarah Griswolcl, 
a native of Eaton, whose father, William Grisvvold, 
a native of New England, was an eai-ly settler of 
that town. Mr. Root bought land in Eaton, and 
engaged in farming there the rest of his life, his 
death occurring about the year 1SG8, six years 
after the death of his wife. 

The subject of this sketch was the fourth in the 
parental family of eight children, and received his 
education in the public schools of his native place. 
AVhen not attending school he assisted his father in 
the farm work; then, at the age of sixteen he com- 
menced to learn the trade of a carpenter and 
joiner, and after the first six months worked as a 
journeyman for two years. He then turned his at- 
tention to the calling to which he had been bred, 
and buying the old homestead, which was his birth- 
place, engaged in the culture of hops with much 
profit. He continued hi^ residence there until 
1863, when, concluding to try farming in Michigan, 
he sold the old farm and came to this county, 
where he purchased 100 acres of land in Rollin 
Township, and soon after bought forty acres more. 
In 1869 he established the manufacture of sorghum, 
which he has since engaged in with great success. 
He first crushed the cane by a two-horse power 
sweep, but in 1882 his business had so increased 
that his accommodations and machinery were alto- 
gether inadequate. He therefore erected a build- 
ing, 26x50 feet, and in 188;i erected another 24x50 
feet. In the first building lie put hi a forty-horse 
power engine and a 100-liorse power Itoiler, and 
now has the largest mauufactor3' of the kind in 
the State. In 1885 he made 13,000 pounds of 
sugar, receiving from the State a bounty of two 
cents a pound. Besides this industry he also makes 
each year a considerable quantity of choice apple 
butter, which finds a ready market. 

Mr. Root was married, March 26, 1854, to Miss 
Lueinda Patterson, who was born in ' Madison, 
Madison Co., N. Y., Nov. 11, 1831. Her father, 
George Patterson, was a farmer residing in Madi- 
son, where his death occurred in August, 1849. 
His wife, whose maiden name was Clarissa Howard, 
was a native of New York Mills, Oneida Co.,N. Y. 
Her father, Ansel Howard, a native of New En- 
gland, w.as an early settler of Madison, where he im- 



proved a farm, on which he spent the remaining 
years of his life. His widow came to Michigan, 
and spent her last years here. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Root three children have been born, namely: War- 
ren G., Arthur H. and Burdette N. Warren mar- 
ried E. Georgine Williams, and resides with his 
parents ; Arthur is at present in Dakota, while Bur- 
dette is attending school at Fayette, Ohio. 

Our subject and his wife are stanch and influen- 
tial members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
They are held in deservedly high respect by all 
who have tlie pleasure of their acquaintance and 
friendship. In politics Mr. Root is a firm believer 
in the policy pursued by the Republican party, and 
advocates its measures by voice and vote. 



■^4^^^-^ 



boss PARSONS. Prominent among the 
) agriculturists of Lenawee County is the 
, subject of this sketch, who has since his 

marriage been located on a fine farm in Woodstock 
Township, where, besides general farming, he gives 
his attention to the raising of line stock, particu- 
larly horses. He was born on the 12th of June, 
1 832, in Verona, Oneida Co., N. Y., and is the son of 
Hiram and Sarah A., (Loss) Parsons, the former of 
whom was born in Greene County, N. Y., Dec. 26, 
1 803. 

Hiram Parsons was reared to farm life, luid in 
the winter engaged in hauling hiinber from the 
Catskill Mountains, remaining until 1828, when, on 
the 24th of September of that year, he was united 
in marriage. He afterward lived in different places 
in New York State, at one time operating a brick- 
yard and sometimes farming until 1842, when he 
sold out his interest in his native .State and came 
to Michigan, bringing with him his household goods, 
and lauding in Adrian May 23, 1842. He first 
located in Saline, where he farmed a few months 
and then removed to Franklin. After a few months 
sixiit in th:it place he came to Woodstock Town- 
slii[i, and purchased 120 acres of improved land, on 
which he spent the remaining years of his life, 
dying Oct. 7, 1850. He was .active in politics, giv- 
ing his support to the old-line Whigs, but refused 



•^H 



•►Hl-^ 



<»- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



690 



i\v 



larty. 
!S()7. 
nuiih- 



¥ 



to accept any offlcc at the liai 

Tlie mother of our sulijcct wa- born Nox-. 

and (lied March 2, 1.S.S4, at tlie home of lie 

ter in Adrian. Slie was a member of the Pi-esliy- 

terian Church for a period of fifty-nine years. 

The maternal grandparents of onr subject were 
natives of New Yoris State, whence tiiey removed 
to Michigan in l.s.'i.'!, and died in (^aliioiin County. 
The gr-andmother readied tiie great age ..f ninely- 
six years, and tlie grandfather lived to lie almost as 
old. She \V!is about eight years of age at tlie lime 
of the Revolutionary War. and distinctly remeiii- 
l)cred the call for tmops on ihat n<-c:i-i(in. The 
paternal grandfather of our sidijeet was Timuthy 
Tarsons, who died when the father < if our subject 
was but twelve years old; hi> wife, lluld.-ih Tarsons, 
died in New York .Slate. 

Our subject is one of a f.-imily of live children, 
who are mostly living in this Stale. lie w.-is 
eighteen years of age at the death of his father, 
and resided with his mother on a farm until KS.'iri, 
when she removed to Brooklyn, Mich. On the (illi 
of April, 1858, our subject was united in marriage 
with Miss _IIelen M. Mollister, who was born in 
Genesee County, N. Y., Nov. 2, 1835, and died in 
this county in the thirty-f<nirth year of her age. To 
them were born four children, as follows: Nellie 
K. w.as born Jan. 4, l.SGl, married 15eiijamin Taycr, 
and resides in Adrian; Frank L. was boi-n .lulj' 10, 
18Go; May, Dec. 0, ISC.",. and Edwin A., Nov. 1 ;i, 
18C8; May died Aug. '.). IsiJS. Dm- subject was a 
second time married, Aug. 17, IHilL), to Miss Aiigie 
Terapler, who was bom in Schenectady Count3% N. 
Y., Nov. 28. 1847. She is the daughter of James 
A. and Ann (Liddle) Templer, of Columbia, Jack- 
son Co., Mich., and formerly of the same county in 
which their daughter was born. The father was 
born Sept. 14, 1819, and the mother Dec. 10, 1824, 
the former of Dutch ancestry while the latter was 
of Scotch descent. They followed agricultural 
pursuits and were distinguished for their estimable 
qualities, occupying a prominent position in the 
community in which they lived. Tlie mother died 
May 13, 1875, while the father is still livin-. 

The second wife ()f our suliject \\;i> one of a 
family of six children, of whom live are now living. 
One brother, Thomas, is in C^alifornia, and John is 



in Dakota; Maggie, a sister, is in Colorado, and 
the other sister. Kale, is in Douglas, this State. Of 
his second union llieiv were born to our subject 
four children, wli., are reeord.'d as follows; Carl 
was bom .Iiiiie •".(», 1 s70, and is ii l)right and intel- 
ligent younuinan ;itleiiding ■'cliool at Hudson; La 
Vern w.as born Oct. 11, 1S72: Sarah A., March 22, 
1S7.S. .-ind Ethel, May 27. issi). These are bright 
;iiid interesting children, wliom Iheir parents are 
giving the advantages of a gd(,)d education. 

Our suliject has been connected with the .schools 
of his townshi|i since I.s5'.l, with the exception of 
three terms, .-ind lii> uncle, Ceorge Taylor, taught 
the fir>l school opened in this county. In politics 

Mr. Parsons votes I he |)c er.atic ticket, and has held 

several offices, lli<' dnlie.-. of which he has dischargi'd 
conscientiously. lie wa> ( 'oust.-ible eight years, 
Township Clerk one year, and .lustice of the Peace 
eleven years, lie h.-i> .also been Supervisor tw'o 
years and is now Nolnry I'nblic. He has thus 
served his county in .■! v;iriety.,f ollires, :Mid has 
secured the eslci-lii :ind e.iuli.lenee (,f his ae(|uaint- 
an.vs by his straightforward and busiue.-s-likc 
methods. His home is situated on the bank <if 
Silver Lake, and its aivliilei'tnre and appiiintments 
give evidence of the taste and culture of its pro- 
prietor. 



#^ 



EACON 


lOlIN 


MIILLll'S i> 


an 


louored 


and vei 


erablc 


cili/.en of Hu( 


Ison 


, where 


he is s| 


ending 


ill retirement 


the 


closing 


years of 


a long 


uid successful 


life. 


fraught 


inv a less 


Ml for t 


le ambitions \ 


oull 


of the 


.lav. Ii 


this 1 


rief sketch of 


the 


life of 



with inan\ 
liresei 

Deacon riiillips wc have an interesting gliin|ise of 
pioneer life as he experienced it in Western New 
York, and also a bit of historical information in re- 
gard to that part of the country as it was in the 
e.arl^' p.art of this century. In reading it we ('an 
scarcely realize that the nourishing city of Roches- 
ter, wdiicli to-day has a population of over 90,000 
inhabitants, can have grown to its present diineii- 

lifetime of men now living, .lolui Phillip^ wa> born 
in Bennington County, Vt., June 20, 1802, and is 



t 



•► 



■♦- 



"00 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



the son of Samuel Phillips, who was also born in 
Bonnington County, and married Elizabeth Lj'ons, 
a native of the same State. In 1811 they left their 
home in Bennington County, where they had settled 
after marriage, and went to the western part of New 
York, where they made their home in North Pen- 
fleld, near Webster, in Monroe County. The re- 
moval was made with an ox-team, and it took six 
weeks to perform the journey. Mr. Phillips bought 
a tract of timbered land three-fourths of a mile 
from the shore of Lake Ontario, where he built a 
log house with one room on the ground floor, and 
a bare loft above it with a ladder leading to it. He 
at once commenced the clearance of his farm, and 
had cleared quite a tract and erected a good frame 
barn at the time of his death; in 1 820. He and his 
wife were endowed with indomitable energy and 
perseverance, and were highly respected by their 
pioneer neighbors. Her death occurred on the old 
homestead many years later, at the age of eighty- 
four years. Nine children were born to them, seven 
of whom grew to maturity'. 

Our subject was the fourth child in tiio parental 
family, and was quite young when he left the home 
of his birth in the Green Mountain State, and went 
with his parents to Western New York, but he re- 
members very distinctly the incidents of the long- 
journey, when, drawn by oxen, they pushed through 
the heart of the Empire State nearly to its western 
boundaries. Bears, deer and wolves were plentiful, 
and our subject commenced hunting as soon as he 
was large enough to shoulder a gun, and he used to 
kill deer, tan the skin and wear pantaloons made 
from it. One time when a bo.y twelve years of age 
he accompanied his father to Rochester, a distance 
of sixteen miles, to dispose of some wheat. Roch- 
ester was then, in 1814, but a small hamlet, with no 
road leading to it from their home, and they were 
obliged to take an ax to cut out a road for them- 
selves. Oil their .-u-rival in Rochester they ex- 
changed their twentj' bushels of wheat for sixty 
jjounds of nails. 

In that [)ioiieer home in the forests of Western 
New York, our subject grew to a strong and vig- 
orous manhood, ambitious and spirited, and resolved 
when he was a boy struggling with poverty, that he 
would make money enough to retire fnnn active 



work when he attained the age of fifty-five years. 
He worked on the farm for his father until the lat- 
ter's death, and then at eighteen years of age bought 
the interest of the other heirs in the old homestead, 
and commenced farming for himself, his good 
mother keeping house for him until his marriage, 
and continuing to make her home with him until 
her death. He added l)y purchase to the acreage 
of his land, and continued in agricultural pursuits 
until 1834, when he exchanged his property for a 
store building, a dwelling and a stock of goods in 
Webster, and then turned his attention to mercan- 
tile business. He kept a large and varied assort- 
ment, including almost everything in general use in 
the country. He was a man of many resources, and 
did not confine his attention to one business, but 
with characteristic enterprise found time to engage 
in others, successfully carrying on the manufacture 
of potash, besides manufacturing staves, which he 
sold in New York and other cities. It was his cus- 
tom to go twice a j'ear to New York to Ijuy mer- 
chandise. 

In 1857, our subject celebrated his fifty-fifth 
birthdaj', and during that year, having a good op- 
portunity to sell, closed out his busiue.ss for cash, 
and removed to Fairport, Monroe County, whore 
he lived in retirement in accordance with the bo}'- 
ish resolve made so many 3^ears before to obtain 
money enough for that purpose. For a man of his 
energy and ability his unaccustomed idleness soon 
grew irksome, and he once more turned his atten- 
tion to the calling in which he had been engaged in 
early manhood. He bought a farm of 1 00 acres, 
two miles from Canandaigua, which, six months 
later he sold at an advance of $2,300, and bought 
a home in Canandaigua, where he resided until after 
the death of his wife. The maiden name of the lady 
to whose abilitj' and' invaluable assistance he was 
greatly indebted for his success in life, was Miss 
Pamelia Wood. She was the daughter of Levi and 
Bethany Wood, natives of New England, and pio- 
neers of Orleans, Ontario Co., N. Y., where her birth 
occurred in the town of Macedou. Seven chil- 
dren were born to them, of whom the record is as 
follows: Elizabeth, the widow of William II. Mc- 
Knight, lives in Bloomington, Ind.; Laura married 
David I. Daniels, and lives in Wacousta, Mich.; 



•► 



n 



^h 



LENAAVEE COUNTY, 



Zeloia lives in Chicago; Mary, the widow of George 
Goodnow, lives in Hudson ; Dorr lives in Osseo; 
Jennie, wife of Almon Pratt, lives in Weljster, N. 
v.; Ray lives in Hazen. Prairir Co.. Ark. In ISHC 
Mr. Phillips sold his iH.nu. in New Yoriv, :uh1 runi- 
inii' to Michigan, settled \Uvrr .-nid cne-lialf niilrs 
sonth of Hillsdale, wlieif he resid.'d until 1S7T, 
when he came to lliidx.n .-md bunght his present 
place of residence. 

Deacon Phillips' second marriage occurred Aug. 
29, 18G(J, with Mrs. Eliza (Smith) Clark, a native 
of Le Roy, Genesee Co., N. Y., daughter of John 
and Rhodn (Wondard) Simlli, and widow of Sey- 
mour Clark. .Mrs. riiillips' lather was born in 
Kdlingwortli, Conn., and was the son of Samuel and 
Sarah (Buell) Smith, both natives of the same 
State. Samuel Smith, a farmer and miller, went to 
New York about 1.SH), and was .-i pioneer of Gen- 
esee County, where he bought land near Le Roy, 
and spent his last years there. The father of Mrs. 
Phillips grew to manhood in Conueotieut, and when 
a young man he started on foot with a pack on his 
back for the then far West, atul selected a location 
one mile north of Ft. Hill, near Le Roy, N. Y. 
He then returned to Connecticut and succeeded in 
inducing his parents to return with him. He was 
afterward twice married, first to Electa Lovejoy ; 
his .second wife was the mother of ;\Irs. Phillips. 
He improved his farm and n'siiK-d on it until his 
decease. He obtaiue.l cpiite a rei.utatiiui L:i hunter; 
wild game was plentiful, ami meat was more (•asily 
obtained than bread-stull's. 

Mrs. Phillips was married to liei- tii>l luisb;iiid, 
Seymour Clark, Nov. •>, ISl.",. He w.-is l,orn in the 
State of New York in LsiS, .-ind wa.s rc-:nv<l in (ien- 
esee County, whence he canic in \s:'>'.i to Adrian, 
and eng.aged in business. He relui-ned to New 
York in 184.') for the pin-pose of getting married, 
and then returned to Adrian with his bi'ide. They 
remained there for sonu' years, then icnioveil to 
Palmyra, where he operateil a mill untd l.s."i."i, when 
he removed to Hillsdale County anil bouiiht a farm 
three and one-half niih's from Hillsdale, upon which 
he died March IG, 1S(,1. 

Mrs. Phillips is a valued member of the Congre- 
gational Church. Mr. Phillips has for imuiy years 
t taken an active part in promoting the cause of re- 



ligion in connecticn with the Baptist Church, of 
which he is a Deacon. P.oth he and his wife oc- 
cni)y a wai'in pl;ice in the hearts of the people 
among whom they have come to spend their last 
yc:n- .Air. I'hillips takes the s.-imc keen interest in 
the publie .-illairs of hi,-, country .-i- he did in bis 

liean ever since the f(U-mation of that party. 



THAMES M. SCARRITT 

II firm of Searritt A- SteUerwaM. 

\V wcll-kuowu editors ■■md pro. 



.ft Ik 



wh 



he b,i> Unil 
yf'. He is well 
rally siH/ce,ssful 
f an excellent o 



or memiier 
111, is one of the 
of the 
. a poi)ulai-and newsy sheet, for 
p a large circulation and patron- 
d and well informed, and gen- 
,vhat be undertakes. He comes 
family that originated in En- 



gland, but the first rci)resent;ative of whom be has a 
record, cro.ssed the Atlantic in Colonial days and 
located in Connecticut. 

Jeremiah Searritt, tlie great-grandfather of our 
subject, and a native of Leicestershire. England, 
was by trade a tanner and currier, and a shoe manu- 
facturer. After crossing the Atlantic, he settled in 
Connecticut, where he reared a lai-ge family, among 
whom was James, the grandfather of our >ubject, 
who was born in New Haven County, and served 
in the last two years of the Kevolutiouary War. 
After the independenee of tlie eob.uists wa> estab- 
lished, he married and .settled in h\> native county, 
and there bi.s son. .lames, .Ir., was born. 

James S,-arritt. .Ir., mariied .Mi,-.s ,Sylvi:i. Plumb, 
and in 180G left tlie Nutmeg St:ite with bis family 
and .settled in tin; township of Smyrna, Chenango 
Co., N. Y., the journey haviu- been made, it is 
supposed, with an ( ix-teani. I le was one of the early 
settlers of that region, and couLiuued bis residence 
theie until his death. His son .lames, tlie father 
of our subject, was born .).-iu. 1, 17'.)!), and was but 
a boy when he emigrated to the wilds of Chenango 
County, N. Y., where be developed into manhood. 
While still a lad In- commenced working in a gri.st- 
mill in Smyrna, the managenuMit of which he soon 
le.'irued to perfection, .and later put up ,-i s.aw and 
grist mill of his own in the same town, which he 



ir 



•►Hl^^^ 



■•►HI 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



coiKlucted for many years. He subsequently traded 
his mill propert^^ for a farm in that vicinity, upon 
which he took up his residence, and died on the Isl 
of December, 1 870. The mother of our subject was 
Miss Polly Wooldridge, wiio was born near Pough- 
keepsie, N. Y., and died at the homestead in Smyrna 
after having become the mother of five children, 
four of whom are now living. 

The subject of this liiographj' was born in Smyrna, 
N. Y., Sept. 1 , 1 834, being the third child and sec- 
ond son. He attended school as opportunity olfered 
until fourteen years old, and then sought employ- 
ment in tiie office of the Democratic Heftector, the 
name of which was subsequently changed to the 
Hamilton Republican. With this paper he was con- 
nected three years as office boy and compositor. 
Of a roving disposition, lie soughtand obtained em- 
ployment in numerous printing-offices in many cities 
and towns in different States. 

Mr. Scarritt's first venture in business was the es- 
tablishment in 1855, of the Sherburne Transcript, 
the publication of which he continued two or three 
years, when, proving an unprofitable venture, he 
turned his attention to farming. At the expiration 
of a year thus employed, he resumed newspaper 
work as foreman in the ofHce of the Eural American 
in Clinton, N. Y. In 18G1, in consequence of the 
failure of the company publishing this, Mr. Scarritt, 
with a partner, purchased the office material and 
established an office in Mexico, Oswego County, 
that State, where they started the Mexico Inde- 
pendent, which is still flourishing. After a resi- 
dence of five years in Mexico, Mr. Scarritt disposed 
of his interests there, and became editor and pro- 
prietor of the Clyde Times, which had been devoted 
to the interests of the Democratic party, and 
was then nearly defunct. He made it an organ 
of the Republican party, and it soon revived, 
and in time enjoyed a large patronage. In 1871 
Mr. Scarritt retired for a short time from editorial 
work, and the year following, in March, 1872, came 
to Michigan and purchased the Hudson Fost. 

Tliis paper at the time was in a verj' dilapidated 
condition, and its resuscitation was a more difficult 
task than the establishment of a new journal would 
have been, for the new |)roprict(ir was obliged to 
combat the old prejudice consequent ujion its al- 



most total failure as a news journal. His ability, 
however, was soon recognized, both as a citizen 
and a business man, and lie has certainly displayed 
great tact and enterprise in bringing the paper to its 
present position. Its columns are admirably man- 
aged, embracing all the happenings of the city, and 
indeed of the entire western towns of Lenawee 
and eastern towns of Hillsdale County. The 
mechanical department of the office includes an as- 
sortment of first-class material, type, presses' and 
engine of modern make, and will compare favor- 
ably in this respect with any establishment in the 
county. In the hands of himself and his al)lc co- 
adjutor, Mr. Steuerwald, the Post has become al- 
most indispensable to the people of this section. 

The marriage of James M. Scarritt and Miss Cla- 
rissa Almeda Tackabery was celebrated at Sherburne, 
ChenangoC o., N. Y., July 31, 1854. Mrs. Scar- 
ritt vvas born in Eaton, Madison Co., N. Y., Feb. 
2, 1834, and is the daughter of Middleton and Cla- 
rissa (Clark) Tackabery, natives respectively of Ire- 
land and Vermont. This union resulted in the 
birth of two children, daughters — Clara A. and 
Mattie M. The former is the wife of Louis E. 
Palmer, of Rochester, this State, and Mattie M. 
married the partner of our subject, Mr. Cliarles 
Steuerwald. 

The maternal grandfather of our subject was 
John Wooldridge, a soldier of the War of 1812-14. 
He married Miss Sally Gilbert, and removed from 
Amenia, Dutchess Co., N. Y., to Smyrna in Che- 
nango County, where he spent his last days. 



EACON ASAPH K. PORTER. The long, 
varied and useful life of the subject of 
this history, who came to Lenawee County 
in the pioneer days, began in the town of Co- 
I vert, Seneca Co., N. Y., on the 20th of March, 1812. 
He was reared amid the quiet pursuits of farm life, 
I and received a common-school education in his na- 
j tive town. As a youth he developed a spirit of 
I ambitious adventure, coupled with resohition and 
industry, and readily entered into the scheme of 
I leaving the older State of New York for the Ter- 



HH^- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



ritoi-y of Michigan, in the si)riiig of l.s;5,S, wht-n it 
was beginning to be opened iiii})_v the cntei'ini^ing 
emigrant. 

Young Porter was aeeuniiianieil to tiiis region by 
his father and two or three other men, who, wlien 
tiiey left Seneca Connty, N. Y., intended to settle 
in Huron Connty, Ohio. Not finding the outlook 
particularly desiral)le, they started on foot west- 
ward into Seneca County, that State, where our sub- 
ject purchased eight}' acres of land, but continued 
the journey with the rest of the party into Southern 
Michigan. They continued their course through 
the woods, walking the entire distance until they 
arrived at the unpretending little hamlet of Adrian. 
In the meantime the}- had b(«n lost for several hours 
in the woods, having missed the trail, and spent the 
night in Cottonwood Swamp. I'iiey finally found 
themselves near the big bend of ilie Raisin, wiiere 
a cabin or two had been pul up and tlu'y there ob- 
tained something to eat. 

This section of country pleased tlie travelers ex- 
ceedingly, and Asaph Porter located the northeast 
quarter of section 7, in the present town of Fair- 
field, while his father selected 400 acres adjacent. 
They then returned to their home in New York, 
Asaph in the meantime stopping in Seneca County, 
Ohio, and selling the land which he had purchased 
on his way west. In November, 1833, Mr. Porter re- 
turned to Michigan Territory with his brother-in- 
law, Hartwell Russell, and taking up his abode on 
his Fairfield land has here resided since that time. 
He cleared 100 acres, put up good buildings, and 
ere many ,years passed by was recognized as one of 
the most useful members of the community. He 
was one of the founders of the Baptist Society, and 
actively engaged in the erection of the church edi- 
fice which stands on the northeast corner of his 
farm. Not long afterward he was elected Deacon, 
which office he has now honorably filled for up- 
ward of forty years. 

Deacon Porter felled the first stick of timber 
which was cut upon the farm he nnw owns, and in 
the fall of 1835 put up a log house, the object of 
which was readily guessed. A few months later, 
upon returning to his native State, he was mariied 
to Miss Rachel Glazier, who was born in Peekskill, 
Westche.ster Co., N. Y., May 10, 1818, and was the 



708 

ilan,i:litcr of Walker and Cornelia Glazier, (if Co- 
vert, Seneca County. Soon after marriage the 3'onng 
couiile >el out upon tlicir liri<lal lour, which was 
made after the primitive l'a>hion of those day.s, 
overland with teams. rii,>y took up their residence 
in the little log cabin and became the parents of 
nine children, of wlioni thi'ee ai'e now deceased, 
namely: .lames T., Sarali C. and Emma 1>. The 
six surviving are Edwin C., a, prosperous farmer of 
Fairfield Township: Walker (i., who served in the 
Union army during the late war, and is f.armingnot ' 
far from tlie old homestead: Lewis T., a farmer of 
Chesterfield Township, Fulton Co.. Ohio: Jane, the 
wife of M. L. Foster, of W.n.dbridge, this State; 
Rosalia, Mrs. E. C. Chandler, of Slenbenville, Ohio, 
and Ezra II., living on tlie homestead. The father 
of Mrs. Porter was born .Inne IG, 1780, and died in 
New York, Sept. 7, ls7;'.. The mother was born 
April 1, I7;)l, and died while a resident of New 
York, March 18, 1 8.-)i;. 

Lewis Porter, the father of Deacon Porter, was 
born in Connecticut, May -it, 17.S(;. where he c(.>n- 
tinued until reaching nianlioo<l, and learned the 
trade of carpenter. His parents in the meantime 
had removed to Tomiikins County, N. Y., and 
Lewis upon leaving his native State, stopped for a 
time in the Catskill Mountains, but subsequently 
joined his parents. Later he purchased a farm in 
Seneca County, but followed his trade, hiring men 
to clear his laud. He was employed as a builder 
and contractor for several years, but finally aban- 
doned the business and spent his last years in agri- 
cultural pursuits, dying in New York, Dec. 9, 18(J2. 
He had married, about l.so.s. Miss Samantha, daugh- 
ter of Asaph King, of Covert, N. Y., and they be- 
came the parents of six children, Asaph K., of our 
sketch, being the eldest son and third child. Mrs. 
Samantha Porter was born Aug. lo, 1791, and died 
at the old homestead in Covert, Seneca County, 
March 21, 1817. Lewis Porter was subsequently 
married to Miss Thirza Cole, and there were added 
to the parental household six more children. This 
lady died at tlie h,.niestra<l in Covert, Oct. 1>0^ 
1867. 

The little log cabin which Deacon Porter erected 
in the wilderness of Fairfield Township has long- 
since given way to a more modern dwelling flanked 



•►HI-4»- 



(04 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



t 



by the otlior buildings required by the modern and 
progressive farmer. The home is replete with all 
the comforts of life, and the premises beautified by 
handsome sliade trees, which the Deacon set out 
over fort}- years ago. Not the least attractive fea- 
ture is a fine orchard, and choice smaller fruits are 
harvested annually in abundance. The property of 
Deacon Porter Includes 134 acres in Fairfield and 
vSeneca Townships. His labors have been amply 
rewarded with :i uucid Imme and a competence, 
while his personal worth and his value as a citizen 
and business man have drawn ai-ound iiini hosts of 
warm friends. 

^ AMES T. BOYCE. The farm of thisgentlc- 
|| man is pleasantly located on section 24, in 
^^^ ll Macon Township, and embraces a tract of 
^^^ 100 acres mostly under a good state of cul- 
tivation. The present proprietor settled here in the 
fall of 1877, and gives his entire attention to the 
improvement .and embellishment of his homestead. 
He is a nian thoroughly respected by his neighbors, 
being honest and industrious, meddling little with 
pulilic alT.-iirs, and one of the substantial fact<M-s in 
the (■(iiiiiiiunity, who may always be found in his 
place and attending to his own concerns. 

The infant years of our subject were spent on the 
other side of the Atlantic, in County Antrim, Ire- 
land, where his birth took place Sept. 10, 18;!G. 
When a lad of eleven years, he accompanied his 
father, John Boj^cc, to the United States, and the 
faniih' located in the city of Baltimore, where they 
resided five years. Thence they came to this county, 
locating in Tecumseh in the fall of 1844. Tlie 
father afterward purchased a small farm in Clinton 
Township, where he labored until his last illness, 
and departed this life in June, 1873, when seventy- 
eight years of age. He had married in early mnn- 
hood. Miss Jane Tilford, who is still living at sev- 
enty-two years of age, and makes her home with 
her younger son, Samuel Boyce, of Clinton Town- 
ship. 

Mr. Boyce, upon starting out in life for himself, 
served an apprenticeship at the carpenter's trade in 
the city of Baltimore, and followed this several years 
after coming to this county. He was married in 
-^f 



the fall of I.SIJS, in Tecumseh, to Miss'Esther Kyle, 
who is a n.ative of his own county in Ireland, and 
born in 1837. Mention is made of her parents in 
the history of Henry McCarbery, on another page 
in this volume. 

Mrs. Boyce was among the youngest of her par- 
ents' familj', and was twelve years old when they 
came to the United States. They located first in 
Livingston County, N. Y., whence, about 1857 the}' 
came to Michigan. Mrs. Boyce was here reared to 
womanhood, and by her marriage with our subject 
became the mother of nine children, of whom two 
are deceased. Those surviving are: Maggie, the 
wife of Onie Curry, a prosperous farmer of Milan 
Township, Monroe County; Mary, the wife of 
Arthur Underwood, of Ridgeway Township ; Robert, 
at home; William, who married Miss Ettie Craig, 
and is farming in Republic County, Kan.; C.-urie, 
Maude L. and Verna G. 

Mv. and Mrs. Boyce are members in good stand- 
ing of the Presbyterian Church, of which Mr. B. h.as 
been Deacon since its first organization in Macon 
Townshii). Politically he is a solid Republican. 

(j^pBRAM LOY'STER is the pioneer dairyman 
0fU V of Michigan, now owning and operating 

//ria "'tl' Ilis son one of the largest creameries 
^J . in the State, the first of the kind ever es- 
tablished here. It still holds high rank over a.ll com- 
petitors, as its butter is of the first quality and com- 
mands the highest market price, while it is the 
source of a large income to its owners, bringing 
them in, in connection with their egg trade, the 
enormous sura of $100,000 per year. The estab- 
lishment of this creamery has resulted very profita- 
bly to the farmers in this part of the country, who 
obtain high prices for their cream, and has added 
to the prosperity of the community in general. 

Mr. Loyster was born in Niles Township, Cayuga 
Co., N. Y'., April 7, 1831. His grandfather, for 
whom lie was named, was a pioneer of that town 
and there spent his last years. The father of our 
subject, Peter Loyster, was born in the State of 
New Y''ork in the year 1800, and married in Cayuga 
County, Angcline Van Auken, who was also a ua- 



■•► 



u 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



ror. 



tive of that State, and was bovn in lfS()2. After 
marriage they settled in Oiiondnija County on a 
farm near thS Cayusia ('niinly line which after a 
few years Mr. Loyster sohl, .■iiul iJurchuMMl another 
across the line in Niles Townshij), where he and his 
wife died some years later in the prime of life, iiis 
death occurring in 1840. in his fortieth year, and 
hers four years later, at the age of forty-two. 
They had been industrious and frugal and had ac- 
eumulated some property, so that their nine chil- 
dren were not left without means of subsistence. 

Abrara Loyster was the fourth child of that fam- 
ily, eight of whom are still living, so sadly bereft of 
a father and mother's care. After the death of his 
mother he cuntinned to live in the home of his 
birth, with his brothers and sisters, until he was 
twenty years of age. In the meantime he at- 
tended the district seho(jl an<l the academ3' at 
Moravia, where he acquired an excellent education, 
well fitting him for the vocation of a teacher, which 
he followed with much success for seven terms of 
winter school in New York State, during the re- 
mainder of the year being engaged in farming and 
carpentering. In IH.VS he came to Michigan, and 
located in Wheatland, Hillsdale County, where he 
bought a farm and engaged in agricultural pursuits, 
varying that occupation in the winter season by as- 
suming his profession of teacher, anil thus continu- 
ing until the fall of 1802. He then m>1(I his farm 
and bought land in Fittsford Township, which re- 
mained ills place of residence until the spring of 
18(14, when he disposed of his property very advan- 
lageousl}', and came to Hudson Township, wiiere he 
engaged in a dry-goods >tore for ;i short time. He 
then bought an interest in a h.-irdware store, which 
he sold two and one-half months later at an advance, 
and after that was engaged in the dry-goods busi- 
ness for a time. In 1871 he turned his attention to 
produce commission business, and has since con- 
tinued in it, having built up a large trade. In 
1881, in connection with his son. ho established the 
Hudson Creamery, which they have managed very 
successfully. Their butter soon gained a i-opntalion 
in New York and Boston markets, and theii- Imsi- 
ness is constantly increasing. 

The marriage of our subject with Miss Lucy 
Smith occun-ed Oct. 1, 1857. Slie has encour- 



aged her husband in various enterprises, and has 
rendered their home a pleasant abiding-place for him 
and their <'hildrcn. Slie wns liorn in Ira Townsiiip, 
Cayuga Co., N. Y.. while lier father, Naliianiel 
Smith, was a native of Amsterdam, in that State, 
and there mai'ried before his removal to Cayuga 
County. He was an early settler of Ira Township, 
where lie bought a tract of heavily timbered land 
and built a log house, in whieli Mrs. Lo.yster was 
afterward born. He improved a farm and erected 
a good set of frame buildings, continuing his resi- 
lience there until 18('i7, when he came to Michigan 
and spent his last years with his children, dying in 
the home of his daughter in Medina Townshii). 
The maiden name of lii> wife was Maria Yoorhees; 
she was a native of the Stale of New York, and 
came to Hudson with her husband, dying here one 
year later, in I scs. ( See sketch of Peter \. Smith 
for further parental history.) The grandfather of 
Mrs. Loysl<'r spent his last years in Cayuga County, 
N. Y. 

To Mr. and Mi's. Loyster have lieen born four 
children— l!eil)ert E., Mary L., Martha A. and G. 
Harvej'. Our subject and his wife are prominent 
members of the Baptist Church, of which religious 
organization Mr. L. has served as Trustee and 
Treasurer for some years. Mr. Loyster voted for 
(ien. John C. Fremont, the fir.-t I'residential candi- 
date of the Rejjublican party, and has ever since 
faithfully supported its tenets wherever opportunity 
offered. His well-known ability and unswerving 
integritj' of character have made him a prominent 
factor in shaping public opinion ami in conducting 
the affairs of tiie town. He has serveil as a mem- 
ber of the Common Council, and as a member of 
the School Bo.ard, of whicii he has been President 
for some years, and has done much to perfect the 
present system of e(lucalioii employed in Hudson 
Township. 



J"; OIIN II. MOORE, M. 1)., a resident of Ogden, 
I wher<' he lias an extensive [iractice. w.as born 
] Oct. 4, 18.-.:i. in Middlesex County, Ontario, 
' Canaila, and comes of Scotch ancestry. His 
grandfather, also .lohu .Moore, w.as a native of Scot- 
land, and there married and reared a family of 






hAv 



a^ 



706 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



children, one of whou] died in Sonthaiiipton, En- 
gland. The names of his other children arc Will- 
iam, Neil, Dongald, John and Janet. In IS.'!:! he 
came to America with his family, and settled in 
Ontario, Canada, on land in the midst of the prime- 
val forest, which, at the time of liis death, he had 
cleared and well imiuoved. 

Dougald Moore, the father of our sulijeet, was 
born in Argyleshire, Scotland, in the year 1815, and 
was eighteen years old when he cauic to America 
with his parents. He married in Ontario, Canada, 
Janet Henderson, a Scotch woman, who was born in 
Inverness-shire in 1819, and after their marriage 
they settled in Middlesex County, Ontario, and en- 
gaged in farming for a number of years. They then 
removed to Strathroy in the same county, as they 
were anxious to give their children the advantages 
of its superior schools. There the kind wife and 
mother died in the year 1878. She was a superior 
woman, true in all the relations of life, as wife, 
mother and friend. To her and her husband were 
born nine children, eight of whom grew to maturit\-. 
The father now resides with a daughter in Adelaide, 
Middlesex Count_y, whei'e he went after the death 
of his wife. 

John H. Moore is the eighth child of liis parents, 
and received his early education in the district 
school in his native town. At the youthful age of 
sixteen he commenced teaching, and after he had 
followed that profession two years, he entered tiie 
High School at Str.athroy. He was a brilliant stu- 
dent, and was graduated in the class of 1879, with 
high honors, when he resumed the vocation of 
school teacher, and taught four years. In 1883 he 
commenced the study of medicine with Dr. Machlin 
at Poi)lar Hill, Middlesex County, Ontario, and after 
receiving from him a good knowlrdi^r. |Mactical as 
well as theoretical, of his cho.-tii pi ■'tc^^h.ii. he came 
to Michigan and further prep.iicil liim-flf by at- 
tending three courses of medical lectures at the 
Michigan College of Medicine in Detroit, an institu- 
tion justly celebrated for the high rank its graduates 
have attained in the medical world. Dr. Mooi'c was 
graduated from that college in the spring of 1886, 
with the highest honors, standing at the head of his 
class of forty-eight students. Ho subsequently 
traveled in the Eastern States until October of th.at 



d from 

>f No- 



year, when he spent a month in Chicago, 
there came to Ogden Centre in the montl 
vember. 

Here Dr. Moore established himself in his profes- 
sion, and has met with marked success. He devotes 
himself assidnously to the duties of his calling, and 
is deservedly popular .inumg his patients. He is re- 
garded as a physician of great promise by his elder 
brethern of the medical fraternitv. 



•Jzaa-iP-S®" — i^f^ 



^4_.,^55-.@/jnjir»i- 




;NRY finger, Supervisor of Riga Town- 
ip, was born on the 6th of June, 1837, in 
the little village of Willersdorf , Hesse-Cassel, 
Germany. His father, also Henry Finger, 
was a farmer in that village, owning sixty -six .acres 
of land. He lived with his wife, Elizabeth Imhof, 
his whole happy life on this farm, which he had re- 
ceived from his father. Henry Finger and his wife 
Elizabeth had nine children born to them, six of 
whom grew to maturity. 

Henry Finger, of this sketc^h, was the youngest son 
in the parental family, and at six years Df age was 
sent to the village school until he was fourteen years 
old, when he was confirmed according to the Luth- 
eran Church. His father then sent him to the 
county seat to a private .school, where he m.ade a 
special study of history and geograph_v, and here it 
was the love for American institutions was kindled 
in him by reading the history and the Constitution 
of the United States of North America. After he 
had finished his education in said school his father 
kept him home to assist him on his farm until he 
had passed his nineteenth year, when his parents 
consented to his wishes to emigrate to America, 
which by this time had grown to be his paradise. 

On the 26th of April, 1857, Mr. Finger left his 
beloved. home and parents, besides his eldest brother 
and three sisters, with high hope and a desire to see 
his elder brother Christopher, who had emigrated 
thirteen years before. On the 8th of May he sailed 
from Bremen, and arrived in New York Cit}' June 
22, 1857, happy and full of enthusiasm for his 
new country, his future liome, init without the 
knowledge of the English language. Mr. Finger 



■•► 




I 



r^ 15^ *, 




o^lJ^^t^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



709 



commenced to wmk in a fiiniitinc oL-iMi^linicnt in 
New York City, where he s|)cnt two iiiunUis, when 
his brother Christoplier came from Boston, Mass. 
to sec him, and indnced him to go with liim to Bos- 
ton. Arriving in 1ii,it city he found em[(lnynicnt 
in a piano factory, and passed almost two years in 
tlic linl). He then returned to New York City 
wliere lie wurl^ed witii Steinway's .-uid i it her i)iano 
firms. 

In October, 18o'J, Mr. Finger married Miss Cath- 
arine Elizabeth Ungemach, a young lady from liis 
native home, well known to him from childhood, as 
their i)arents had been neighbors. She was born 
July 1(1, 183G, and came to America in l.S.'iS, where 
she landed in New York. Her father, John llnge- 
mach, was a farmer who owned a small farm of 
forty acres, on which he lived with his wife, Anna 
Maria Eskel, and where he reared a family' of four 
children, of whom Catharine Elizabeth was the 
eldest daughter. With this young lad^- Mr. Finger 
joined in partnership for life, and the marriage has 
l)roved to be a happy one. They had four children 
iHjrn to them — Christopher H., WiHi.ini C, .lohn 
and Henry. Henry, however, died when four years 
old. In ISG3 Mr. Finger was drafted, though he 
did not go into the war, but fui'nisheil a substi- 
tute. 

In those days Mr. Finger was a witness of the 
well-known riot in New York City, which made 
him disgusted with a portion of llie city popula- 
tion, and he concluded to live again in the country 
as soon as he could command the means to procure 
a good country home. At last, in March, 187(5, he 
left New York City, and came to Michigan, the 
State of his selection, where he arrived at Ottawa 
Lake a perfect stranger, and rented a farm for one 
season. During that summer he bought forty acres 
of land with a log house on it, and about one-half 
of the wood cut down, in Riga Township, Lenawee 
County, and in the fall of 1870 he moved with his 
family upon this place to make his permanent 
home. His ever faithful wife and his already active 
boys assisted him bravely in his undertaking, and 
within four years he had cleared the place, and was 
in good condition for farming. He then bought 
two other tracts of land of forty acres each, antl 
afterward erected homes on it for his two older 



sons, who had become of age in tlie meantime. 
In 1883 Mr. Finger was elected by his townsmen 
Supervisor "of the township. He discharged the 
duties of his office according to the dictates of his 
conscience, and was thereupon chosen again in 
1884. In 18.S;') he declined the office in order to 
pay more attention to his farm, so his townsmen 
offered him the Treasurer's office, which he accepted. 
In 1886 he was again elected Supervisor, and re- 
elected in 1887, but Mr. Finger now thinks he has 
served the public his full share. In jjolitics he is 
independent, and has been alwa3's nominated in his 
township l)y liotli Hepublicans and Democrats. 



kVM K. I'KIHSON, ixttorney-at-li 
, \i\- incut member of the legal fi 
;i man <<{ superior attainments : 



-law, is a 
fraternity, 
and well 

versed in the intricacies of his profession. He is 
practicing in Hudson Township and vicinity, where 
his knowledge of law and evident honesty have won 
the confidence of the people. He is of English 
descent. The first of his ancestors to come from 
England to America was an early settler of Long 
Island. He reared a large family of children, and 
they scattered and settled in different States of the 
Union. The grandfather of our subject, Zachariah 
Peirson, spent his last years in Richmond, Berkshire 
Co., JNIass. 

William Peirson, the father of our subject, was 
born in that pleasant town among the Berkshire 
hills, and spent his entire life there engaged in 
tilling the soil, his death occurring in 1858. He 
was a Democrat and an influential citizen, holding 
various offices of trust, including those of Select- 
man and Town Clerk; he also represented his 
district in the State Legislature. The maiden 
name of his wife was Nanc_y Richards, a native of 
Framingham, Mass. She died while en route to 
Utah with her brother, Willard Richards. She and 
her husband were the parents of eight children, 
seven of whom grew to maturity, but oui- subject, 
the fourth child, is the sole survivor. 

Levi R. Peirson was born in Richmond, Mass., 
March 29, 1827, and received his early education 
at home, his mother being his instructor. Having 



•►HI- 



710 



•►-»-4« 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



^. 



been a teacher previous to her marriage, it nas her 
pleasant task to lay the foundation of her children's 
education. Later in life lie attended the district 
school and then the academy at Great Bai-rington. 
He was a brilliant scholar, ambitious and studious, 
and in 1841 commenced the study of law with 
Judge Bishop, of Lenox, Mass., being then but 
fourteen yeai's of age. Three years later he com- 
menced teaching at Mt. Washington, Mass., to earn 
money to prosecute his studies, and alternately 
taught and studied as his means allowed. He 
remained a resident of Western Massachusetts until 
1849, when in the fall of that year he came to 
Hudson, and in the following winter took charge of 
a school in Wheatland, Hillsdale County. A part 
of the time during the next four years he occupied 
the position of a clerk. In 1855 he bought a lot 
in Hudson, and in 1856 built the house where lie 
now resides. 

Mr. Peirson was married, Nov. 27, 1857, to Mrs. 
Harriet (Allen) Doty, a native of Monroe County, 
N. Y., and daughter of Nathan and Mar^- Allen. 
Her father was a direct descendant of Ethan Allen, 
of Tieonderoga fame. 

In 1861 our subject entered the law department 
of the university at Ann Arbor, from which he was 
gi-aduated in the spring of 1862. He at once 
opened a law office in Hudson, and that spring was 
elected Magistrate, an office which he lield eight 
years. He was also appointed Notary Public tiie 
same year, and has served continuously ever since. 
He has always taken an active interest in the welfare 
of the town, and has served acceptably in the 
various offices he has been called upon to fill. In 
1867 he was President of the Village Board, and at 
that time drafted the charter of the city and most 
of the ordinances pertaining to the laws of Hudson ; 
Maplegrove Cemetery was also laid out while he 
was President of the board. He has been City 
Attorney several terms, and has acted as Super- 
visor of Hudson. Mr. Peirson is a Democrat in 
principle, but voted twice for Abraham Lincoln. 
He is a man of decided convictions, and when he 
thinks he is right it requires a good deal to change 
his opinions. 

Although neither "storied urn nor animated 
bust " is necessary to perpetuate the memory of 



such men as Mr. Peirson, yet as representative of 
the prominent residents of Lenawee County, we 
are pleased to present on an adjoining page of this 
Album a portrait of this gentleman. 



-^/x^^ ~v«jzi:£rg>|@«-j 



W'~ 



ILLIAM H. MARSHALL, a farmer and 
merchant residing on section 10, Ogden 
ownship, was born in Seneca, Ontario Co., 
N. Y., on the Sth of February. 1844. His father, 
Robert G. Marshall, was born in the same State, 
and being left an orphan at nine years of age, was 
cared for by an elder sister until he was able to pro- 
vide for himself. He was reared to the occupation 
of farming, and remained in Ontario County, N. 
Y., until 1848, when he sold his farm and came to 
Lenawee County, settling in Ogden Township, where 
he bought a tract of 1 60 acres of heavily timbered 
land. He l)uilt a log house, and commencing at 
once to clear the farm, within a few years he had 
ninety acres under cultivation, and had built a large 
frame barn. A few years later he traded the farm 
for an interest in the large grist and saw mill at 
Metamora, Ohio, which about five years later was 
consumed by fire, and he was again a poor man. 
He then returned to Lenawee County, and pur- 
chased ninety acres of land in Ogden Township, on 
section 36. Of this he cleared nineteen acres, and 
placed ten acres under cultivation. 

In October, 1861, when fifty -two years of age, 
Robert Marshall enlisted in Company F, 67th Ohio 
Infantry, and immediately went South. He was in 
the service twenty-three months, when he died and 
was buried on Folly Island, S. C, within sight of 
Ft. Sumter. A part of the time while he was in 
the service he was Commissary Sergeant, and for a 
considerable time was a Color Sergeant. The 
maiden name of his wife was Lucy N. Rice, and she 
was born in Ontario County, N. Y. After her hus- 
band's death she bought a himie on section 27, Og- 
den Township, and died at the residence of her son, 
J. A., in 1882. They had a family of five children 
who grew to maturity: Catherine A., the wife of J. 
H. Garnsey, a merchant of Metamora, Ohio, was 
born in Ontario County, N. Y. ; William 11. is the 
subject of this sketch : Eliza was also born in On- 



II--*- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



711 



:ie;i 



Mills; 



(1 ul 



tario County, mul iiiMiiird I'".. !•: 
grocery man (if Toledo, Ohio; I 
()i>(]en Township, luid married ', 
James A. lives in (.)i>(lcii 'I'owiir 

William II. MarshMll u.-is l„il 
his JJarentS came to 1, en:! wee ( 'ounty. lie ntlelldod 
the district schools and helped his lather on the 
farm and in the mill until a yeaiaftei' the war hroke 
out, and on the 7th of August, l.si;:>, he enlisted in 
C^ompany C, 18th Michigan Infantry, and scr\ed 
until the 11th of July, ISIJ;'), wiien he w:i~ njustered 
out with his regiment at Jackson, Mich. During 
the time he was in the army he served in the States 
of Kentucky, Tennessee and Alaliama, and the most 
important engagement in which he participated 
was at Athens, Ala., where l'OO men of his regiment 
were captured. He, like many others, became de- 
tached from his regiment, and was met by three 
rebels who fired at him, putting a ball through his 
coat sleeve, and another into the flat part of his gun 
stock. He came very nearly being captured several 
times, but finally made his w.ay back to Decatur. 
The tight began early in the morning, and lasted un- 
til afternoon, and he did not reach Decatur until 
the next morning, after traveling all night and hid- 
ing as best he could to keep : 
He had four rounds of ammu 
with which he went into the battle, 
possession now the same gun whii 
that time, vviiich shows the print of 
struck it on the stock. He also participated in the 
battle at Decatur, where the army to which he be- 
longed fought Hood's army for four days. Dur- 
ing the service he contracted a disease, and has 
never fully recovered his health. After his return 
from the army he resumed the occnpaliun of fniin- 
ing, and soon afterward purchased property in the 
village of Nashville, which he subsequently sold, 
and with the proceeds purchased land on section 2 
of the fractional part of Ogden Township. 

In 18Gi) Mr. Marshall was married to Julia E. 
Crockett, who was born in Ogden Township, and 
was the daughter of Nathaniel Crockett (see sketch 
of John Crockett); she died on the 2d of January, 
1879. Mr. Marshall was married again in l.SiSl, 
this time to Addie E. Harrington, of Ogden Town- 
ship, and the danghter of James Harrington. The | 



from the enemy. 

I left out of sixty, 

He has in his 

li he carried at 

the ball which 



lilanehie, Maude Edna an<l William II. 

Mr. Marsiiall is a member of Blissfield Lodge No. 
2"i«, I. O. O. E., and is a charter member of David 
Lecker Post No. ■_'.-,, (1. A. K., in both of which 
lodges he L-ikc> much interot. Like all men who 
were good soldi(u-s and came out of the army with 
a good record for gallantry and bravery, he delights 
to go to the post room and fight the battles over 
again from iiiemoiy. In 1 s.s7 Mr. Marshall erected 
a building on the northeast corner of section 10, 
Ogden Township, into which he put a fine stock of 
groceries and general merciiandise, where he is do- 
ing a good business. The work on his excellent 
farm is performed by hired heli) under his direction 
and supervision. 



^^EORGE W. EENTON, son of one of the 
if "^ ^'^''■^ settlers of Pittsford Township, Hills- 
"^^ji dale County, was born at the old homestead 
on section 3.'), on the Oth of April, 1845. His fa- 
ther, Horace Eeuton, a native of Rutland, \'t., was 
born Oct. ('>, l.soi, an<l wa> tlie >on of Capt. Seth 
Eenton. who \\:is lioi'n .Iiinc 17, I 781. The great- 
grandfather of our subject, John Eenton by name, 
was a native of England, and crossed the Atlantic 
in company with two brothers during the Colonial 
days. They settled in New England, and Seth 
Eenton became Captain over a c<^mpany of Ver- 
mont dragoons. Upon leaving the Green Mountain 
State in 1830, he went to the vicinity of Granville, 
Bradford Co., Pa., and purchased a farm where he 
carried on agriculture the remainder of his life. 

The paternal grandmother of our subject was in 
her girhood Miss Jane Keeler, and married Capt. 
Seth Eenton Dec. 1, 1803. She also spent her last 
years in Bradford County, her death taking place 
June 2, 1855, about three years previous to the de- 
cease of her husband, Eeb. 20, 1,S58. They reared 
a fine family of eleven children, and Horfice, the 
father of our subject, in common with his brothers 
and sisters, was educated in the district school. He 
possessed much mechanical genius and early in life 
became master of the trade of carpenter and builder. 
He left home at twenty years of age and migrated 



•►HI- 



» ► <• 

71-2 



■•► 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



h ' Coi 



to Buffalo, N. Y., working at his trade there for a 
time and later in Batavia. He was frugal and in- 
dustrious, and l)efore very long had saved enough 
money to buy a house and lot in Buffalo. From 
this he subsequently unfortunately parted, trading 
it for western lands which in the end proved a poor 
speculation. 

After this backset, the fatlier of our subject re- 
turned to his old home in Vermont, where lie was 
soon afterward married, Feb. 4, 1827, to a maiden 
of his own neighborhood. The first year they were 
married he purchased a house and lot wliich he paid 
for, and in the spring of 1S30 he commenced busi- 
ness with borrowed capital. He built a sawmill on 
the banks of Otter Creek and began the manufacture 
of lumber, which venture proved highly successful, 
and he paid for his mill the first 3^ear. He con- 
tinued in his native county until 1837, and then, 
accompanied by his wife and four children, started 
for the newly admitted State of Michigan. They 
made their way by team to Wliitehall and thence 
via the Champlain and Erie Canals to Buffalo, where 
they embarked on a lake steamer and afterward 
proceeded by rail from Toledo to Adrian, then the 
terminus of wliat was afterward the Michigan 
Southern & Northern Indiana llailroad. 

The father of our subject upon coming to this 
county lived for a time with his brother Seth W., 
in Madison Township, and in the meantime began 
to seek a location. He finally purchased a part of 
section 35, in Pittsford Township, which was cov- 
ered with timber. No road led to this land, and 
those seeking it found their way only by a trail 
marked by blazed trees. Mr. Fenton put up a log 
house and in this humble dwelling the subject of 
this sketch was born. Stoves were a luxury un- 
known in those days in that region, and the mother 
cooked by the fireplace. Mrs. Fenton was a true 
pioneer wife and mother, industrious and frugal, 
and besides her household duties, spun and wove 
wool and flax and manufactured the cloth fi-om 
which was made the household apparel, the father 
in the meantime making the shoes for himself and 
family. In connection with the clearing of his 
land, Mr. Fenton worked at his trade as he could, 
and put up some of the first buildings in Hillsdale 
County and Hudson Village and Township. The 



parents continued on the farm until Oct. 2,5, 1 847, 
then moved to Hudson Village, where the father 
followed his trade and was the leading mechanic 
and builder of Hudson, putting up the majority of 
the buildings erected there during his lifetime. He 
was a man of much force of character, self-made 
and self-educated, and one who kept himself well 
posted upon current events. He wrote an extended 
history of his life, giving a detailed account of all 
the interesting incidents from his earliest recollec- 
tion. He left his native State as he states in his 
history for the reason that in 1835 the Vermont 
Legislature passed a law to the effect that all me- 
chanics should pay for the privilege of working by 
the day, or in other words, they should be placed on 
the grand list to the value of $500 taxation, be- 
sides an additional tax on all the property they pos- 
sessed. This appeared to Horace Fenton an act of 
decided injustice and he determined to escape it. 
He was universally respected and proved a valued 
accession to the pioneer communitj' of Hudson 
Township, where his <leath took place on the 0th of 
April, 1876. 

The mother of our subject was in her girlhood 
Miss Rhenemraa L. Abbott. She was borninThet- 
ford, Vt., not far froiu the early home of her first 
husband. After his death she was married to Bige- 
low C. Fenton, and died in Granville, Pa., Jan. 14, 
1 887. Of her first marriage there were born five 
childi-en, three of whom survive — George W., Hoi'- 
ace S. and Mrs. Mary A. Lyon — and are residents, 
of Hudson, Mich. George W. Fenton was the 
j'oungest member of the parental household and the 
only one born in this State. He was two and one- 
h.alf years old when his parents came to Hudson 
Village, and his early education was conducted in 
the select schools of the town. At the early age 
of ten years he commenced to learn the trade of a 
printer and assisted in setting up the type for the 
first issue of the Hudson Gazette, in March, 1 858. 
He has since been connected with this office with 
the exception of the year 1868, when he published 
the Morenci Gazette, at Morenci,in this county, and 
during the years of his newspaper and literary life, 
has gathered a large amount of historical matter 
pertaining to Hillsdale and Lenawee Counties. He 
is essentially an antiquarian, and has preserved 



•►Hh-4^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



many valuable and intiie 
(lays, including a hv^r i-u 
and minei-al speciunMis. :ii 
of the largest and lineal 
Ijapcr in(^iiey in tiu' St:itc, 
The wife cjf (.ur siilijed 
A. Bailey, is a UMtive ,,f 
Ohio, and was boni cm tht 
Tlieir marriage vv;i> ccU'lir; 
1875. Mrs. Feiil,>u is Ihc 
and Aureli.'i, \V. (Fe.it.m) 
ively of Tompkins ('nun 
Townshij), Ashlaliul:i ('( 
grandfather of Mis. F.nt. 



C.nnty. Ohi.., and .pent his 1; 
Elijali B. Bailey was re.aivd in 
married in Ashtalmla C'minly 
ing his raajoritj' lie purchased 
Montville, from whidi he ope 
where he remained until his d 
March 21, 1874. His wife. 
Fenton, was the daughter of 
(Nichols) Fenton, butalthoiig 
of the same name, as far as e 
families are in nowise related. 
To our subject and his wir( 
two children — Horace S.. ,lnl\ 
A., July -22, 1878. Mr. an< 
the acquaintance and frieudsh 
of Hudson Village and Towu.s 
in good standing of the .Se 
Chureh. 



1 n( :,y 
de. Ih. 



rui.TJy .Miss Floi-enee 
inlville. Ceaiiga ('<,.. 
I (if N.ivendjer, Is.-.d. 
I in Hudson, Feb. 17. 
aiighter of Elijah B. 
iley, natives respeet- 

X. Y.. au.l Morgan 
Ohio. The p.'iterual 

Nathaniel Hailey by 

i-lyeMrs in .Montville. 
I .X.-xv ^ol■k Sl-,le .and 
, Ohio. Aft<'r ivaeh- 

■JOll .anvsof laud iu 
nrd up a good farm 
eatli. which occurred 

the mother of Mrs. 
Ambrose and Betsey 
h their ancestors were 
an be traced the two 



■ there have Ikhmi born 
• -J. IS7(;, anil Charlie 
1 .Mrs. Fenton enjoy 
ip of the best people 
ihip, and are members 
veuth-l)av Adventist 



>^l{^\AN REN.SSELAER .1. O.SBOKN, a well- 
\J' to-do and retired fanner of Adri.an. is a 
^ native of New Yoi-k, where he was horn in 
Montgomery County, April 2, ISKi. He comes 
from a tine old famil}', whose brave deeds and noble 
principles have made them noteworthy generations 
back, and is of New England origin, his paternal 
grandparents, Joel and Theda (Tieden) ( Jsboiii, 
being natives of Massachu.setts. 

The father of our subject, Asa Osl)oru. w.i.-^ .also 
a native of the Bay IState, where he w.is lioru 
iu Berkshire County, D<^c. 20, 177.".. He was a 



fai'mer by oeeupatiou, and took an active part in 
the War of I. si-.'. He married Eunice Northrop, 
who was l.oru in S.aratoga Conuly, N. Y., March 
10. 17.SI, and was the daughter of Daniel and .Sarah 
Northrop. After their marri.age, which took place 
Feb. 2(;, 1807, they settled in Batavia, N. Y., which 
was then a dense wilderness, their house being the 
tilth (jue JMiilt in the place. In th.at house was 
preaehe(l the tlrst .Methodist sermon ever heard in 
Batavia. Three years later they I'eraovcd to Charles- 
ton, Montgomery County, remaining there until 
18;)(;, when with their three children, two sons and 
(Uie daughter, they came to Lenawee County, Mich., 
and .settled on .a farm in that portion of Fairfield 
Towuslii|i that was afterwai-d ce.led to Ohio. There 
Ihey spent their nanaining years, .Mrs. Osl)oru 
dying in l-sl.-,. and .Mr. Osboru in isr.l. One .son, 
Truui.an. died iu .Steuliiai Coiaity, lud., in 1844. 
Two of their children aie now living, the daughtei', 
who married Rev. A. Foster, April 19, 1844, and 
is now living in Minnesota, and our subject. 

A'an Rensselaer J. O.sborn passed his youth in his 
native town, and there received a good common- 
school education. After coming to Lenawee County 
he engaged in .agricultural pursuits in that part of 
Fairfield Township which was afterward ceded to 
Lucas County, Ohio, but after the "Toledo War" 
was incorporated iu Fulton County, that State, and 
was designated Royalton. In 1857 Mr. Osborn en- 
gaged as a commercial salesman for the firm of 
Northrup ife Richard, manufacturers of gloves and 
mittens, continuing in their service twenty-two 
years. By his geniality, hqnesty and ability, he se- 
cured a large run of trade for the firm, and his 
salary, which tiie first year was $1 per day and ex- 
[lenses, was gradually increased, until, during the 
last live years that he was in the employ of the firm, 
his services commanded $2,000 a year and expenses. 
Before he began traveling Mr. Osborn cleared sixty 
of the eighty acres of land that he then owned, tak- 
ing out all stumps, and erecting good buildings. He 
has increased the area of his farm by the purchase of 
another eighty acres; this property is now rented. 

.September 24, 1840, Mr. Osborn was united in 
marriage with Miss Ursula, A. Warner, of Adrian, 
and daughter of John and Hannah (Brown) War- 
ner, natives of New York. Mr. ^Varner was born 



^h-•- 



••►^l 



•► 



-4*- 



=L 



t 



ri4 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Jan. 1, 1797, and Mrs. Warner, Nov. 3, 1794. From 
New York they came to Adrian, Mich., in 1 834. 
and became the parents of nine children, four 
bo3's and five gii-ls, three of the latter of whom 
are still living. Mrs. Osborn's maternal grandfather 
was Phineas Brown, a soldier of the Revolutionary 
War. He died in Royalton, Ohio, in 1842. Mrs. 
Osborn was born in Ontario County, N. Y., March 
30, 1824, and she was ten years of age when she 
came to Michigan with her parents. To her and her 
husband six children h.ave been born, as follows: 
Jonathan B. was born July 18, 1842, on the old 
homestead in Ohio: he entered the Union army, and 
served three years as a member of Company I, 
47th Ohio Infantry, talcing part in twenty-six bat- 
tles and skirmishes, and was at the capture of Viclcs- 
burg. Dexsey A. was born Aug. 20. 1844, and is 
the wife of J. H. Baylor, of East Portland, Ore.; 
Theda was born in 1847, and died in 1858; Julia A. 
was born Nov. 14, 1852, and became the wife of C. 
M. Weaver; she died June 25, 1885, at Hillsdale, 
Mich. Charles W. was born Aug. 20, 1855, and 
died in July, 1875; and Mary died in infancy. 

Mr. Osborn resided on his farm until 1865, when 
he removed to Adrian, where he has since been a 
resident. Previous to their removal they lived in two 
States, three counties, three townships, four Method- 
ist Episcopal C'onferences, four districts, one mission 
and eight circuits, remaining all the while in the 
s.ame house, this being a ])rominent feature of 
pioneer life. In the summer of 1887 Mr. and Mrs. 
Osborn made an enjoyable trip over the Northern 
Pacific Railway to Yellowstone Park, Wyo., thence 
to Portland, Ore., and on to San Francisco, Cal. ; 
they returned b.y the w.-iy of Salt Lake City, Denver 
and Kansas City, to Adrian. 

While living in Oliio, Mr. Osbi)rn served as 
Township Trustee several years, as Clerk and 
Assessor of his township three years, and also as 
School Director for a number of years. After 
coming to Adrian he was elected Alderman for the 
Fourth Ward, serving for two years. Politically 
Mr. Osborn is a Republican, and conscientiously 
endorses the principles of that party, believing them 
to be the only ones which will perpetuate our excel- 
lent form of government. Mr. Osborn is an in- 
lluential member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 

^m 



which he joined in 1834, and has served as Class- 
Leader, Steward and Trustee, both in Ohio and 
Michigan. Mrs. Osborn is also a member of that 
church, having united with it in 1840, since which 
time she has labored faithfully and earnestly u\ 
the good work carried on by that denomination. 
Mr. Osborn is a most valuable citizen of Adrian, 
living in a great measure for others, contributing 
much to the advancement of the community, whose 
citizens cordially indorse him as a man whose 
judgment it is safe to seek and abide by. 



%- 



(i? ENRY RHINEMILLER is a man whose en- 
\¥yi\ terprise and business ability have given him 
/ll^^ a prominent place among the leading farm- 
^g) ers of Lenawee County. Mr. Rhinemiller 
was born in Huron, Erie Co., Ohio, Jan. 5, 1837. 
His father, John Rhinemiller, was born in Breiten- 
bach, Ker-Rothenbiu-g, Hessen, Germany. He grew 
to manhood in his native country, receiving the 
benefits of its fine educational system. After his 
school education was completed he learned the 
trade of a cooper, and then as a journeyman he pur- 
sued his trade in many parts of Europe, including 
a sojoLU'n in Paris; he thus had an opportunity of 
seeing many famous places. He married in 1827 
Anna Brundow, a native of the same countrj' as 
himself. 

Having heard much in his journeyings of the 
United States of America, of its hospitalities to for- 
eigners, and of its many opportunities for a poor 
man, John Rhinemiller determined to seek a home 
for liimself and family in this great country, and 
accordingly' in 1833, with his wife and children, he 
embarked on an American bound vessel. Their voy- 
age was made particularly memorable to that little 
family of emigrants, seeking a new home in a far- 
awaj- countiy, by the birth of their third child on 
the ocean. At length the long voyage of foiuteen 
weeks was ended, and thej' landed in New Yoi'k 
City, whence they proceeded, via the Hudson River, 
Erie Canal and Lake Erie to Black River, in Lorain 
County, Ohio. When they arrived there, strangers 
in a strange land, Mr. Rhinemiller had but fifty 
cents of available capital, but he had plentj' of cour- 
.► 



^ 






LENAWEE COUNTY. 



age and willing hands. He boiiglit a tract of land 
on time, but was not then able to put up the neces- 
>;irv. I)uildiuirs so tli:it he I'ould ;it once settle on it, 
so he worked out by the day lo support his family, 
employing his spare time in elearing his land. In 
18.34 he sohl this farm at an advance and removed 
to Huron, Erie (Jo., Ohio, where he bought a tr.act 
of wild land, heavily timbered, at *.-, an acre. He 
built a lo- house for himself and family, one and a 
half miles from the present site of Huron Village, 
and in that home the subject of this sketch was 
l)orn. By active and jiersistent toil he reclaimed 

tiie burning of his first frame house six weeks after 
its erection, Imt he soon replaced it by another, in 
which he lived until 18G5. He then removed with 
his wife to the village of Hui-oii. where they spent 
liie remaining years of Iheir live>, he ilying .lune i), 
1878, while his good wife was not long sejjarated 
from him, as she died in January, 1879. They 
reared a family of eight children, six of whom are 
now living— William, Eliza, Clnistiiie, llei.ry. -b.lni 
and Joseph; those dead are Mai-tha and Tina. 

Our .subject was tiie fourth child of his parents, 
and the first of their children born on American soil. 
In his early youth he attended the pioneer schools 
of his native place, which were held at lirsl in the 
primitive log school-house. He liveil with his par- 
ents until he was twenty-four ye.-us ol<l, rendering 
his father valuable assistance in clearing his land 
and tilling the soil. After leavin- the parent.al 
home he went to Gi'een Kay. .Mich., and engaged in 
fishing on the lake, which occupation he followed 
ten years. On the ntliof Aueust, 1809, he was 
married to iMiss Anna V. Sniilt. a native of \'er- 
million, Erie Co., Ohio. wh>.re slu- was born Keb. 9, 
18.51. Her father, Henry Sniitt.. was boi u in I'.runs- 
wiek, Germ.an}-. He came to this conntr\- when a 
young man, and located in \'cniiillion, ImIc Co.. 
Ohio, and there carried on his business of a. tailor 
until his de.ath, July ■_'(!. is.",:;. 11 i~ wife, whose 
maiden name was ^Nlaruarel Knipp. was born in 
Hessen, Germany, and now reside- in Hui'on, Erie 
Co., Ohio. 

In 187;3 Mr. ilhinemiller cam.' t,., this county and 
bought a farm of ninety acres in Oudeji Township, 



seventy acres of which were cleared. He cleared 
twenty acres more of his land, erected a large frame 
house, and otherwise improved tiie place. In 1882 
he sold this property and bought the farm where he 
now resides. This contains H)l acres of good land, 
fifty acres of which are within the incorporated vil- 
lage of Blissfield. He has rebuilt and enlarged the 
honse in which he and his family now reside, and 
made many other- improvements which add greatly 
to the appearance of his fine and well-kept farm. 
On another page of this work is shown a view of 
Mr. Khinemiller's beautiful homestead. 

The pleasant home of .Mr. and Mrs. Rhinemiller 
has been blessed by the birlii of three chihiren, two 
of whom .arc now living, Nellie Maora and Martiia 
Viola; an infant died unnamed. Mr. and Mrs. 
Khincmiller are good and consistent members of 
the United Brethren Church. Although they have 
not long been residents of this community, they 
have gained the full respect and confidence of its 
people. In politics Mr. Rhinemiller is a Repub- 
lican, and as a good citizen he takes a lively interest 
in whatever i)romotes the ad vancenient of the town, 
morally, socially oi- nnancially. 



OHX J. PATTERSON, a prominent and in- 
dustrious faimer of Woodstock Township, 
was born in Orange Connty, N. Y., Jan. 24, 
1 s:; I. and is the son of Joseph and Catherine 
r) Patterson. His father was a native of 
.luly 27. 179;!. bnt not being pleased 
ition in tlii' Emerald Isle, at the age 
• crossed the seas to the New World 



Ireland, 

with his 

of ninete 

and located in Orange County, N. Y., where for 

some years he followed his tr.ade of a weaver. 

Hemoviui; U> Wayne County, in the same State, 
.loscph I'atteisoii juade that his home until the 
spring of 1848, when he came to Michigan and pur- 
chased eighty acres of lantl in Woodstock Town- 
ship. This was mostly in a wild state, and the cabin 
erected upon it at thi^ time was but a small affair. 
He snbseipiently built a better honse, and lived 
theie until his death, which occurred April 18, 1871, 
when he hail reached the age of seventy-eight y^ears. 
His wife was a native of New York, and was born 



f 



-•► 



716 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Feb. 2, 1804; she died on the old homestead Sei)t. 
2, 1873. They had a familj' of eight children, 
whose record is as follows : Benjamin and Maria, 
the eldest children, are dead ; William L. resides in 
Lenawee County; Catherine married Theron An- 
drews, and lives in Hillsdale County; Robert C. 
married Mehala White, and also lives in Hillsdale 
County; John J., our subject; Joseph married Lucy 
Hollen, and resides in this county, as also does 
Mary L., who married Charles Ellsworth. 

The subject of this sketch remained at home un- 
til he was twenty -seven years of .ige. In his boy- 
hood days he attended the district schools and laid 
the foundation for an excellent education. As he 
grew older he assisted his father in all the farm 
work, and was a great lielp in developing the re- 
sources of the i)roperty. On the 28th of March, 
1861, he led to the marriage altar Miss Eliza A. 
Ellsworth, who was born in Woodstock Township, 
Lenawee County, Dec. 31, 1837, and is a daughter 
of Alexander and Lydia (Hand) Ellsworth. Her 
father was a native of Pennsylvania, born Feb. 6, 
1811, and was the son of Richard and Margaret 
EUswortii. who came to this county and died here, 
full of years. Alexan(1er settled in Woodstock 
Township in the year 1836, and took up eighty 
acres of Government land. His wife, who was born 
July 14, 1814, died July 16, 1839. Mr. Ellsworth 
died in this county at the age of fifty-three, Jan. 
28, 1864. 

Mrs. Patterson being unfortunate enough to lose 
her mother when an infant was reared b3' her ma- 
ternal grandfather, Nehemiah Hand. That gentle- 
man was a native of New York, and was born April 
12, 1788. He removed to this county in 1835, and 
located in Woodstock Township on the place where 
Mr. Patterson now lives. This farm was his home 
until March 27, 1869, when he crossed the dark 
river of death. His wife, Elizabeth (Robinson) 
Hand, was born Feb. 27, 17l)(;, and died la Wood- 
stock Township, April 3, l,s79. 

After his marriage, John J. Patterson rented 
the farm of Mr. Hand and worked it on shares, 
which he continued until the death of the old peo- 
ple i>laced tiie property in the hands of Mrs. Pat- 
terson, (uaiidfatlicr Hand and his wife were the 
parents of three children, but all of tiiem preceded 



their father and mother to the silent land. Eliza 
i Ann was born in July, 1819, and died August 28 of 
the same year; Leonard R. was born March 26. 
1828, and died July 13, 1844, and the other was 
the mother of Mrs. Patterson. To the eighty acres 
j of land belonging to his wife, Mr. Patterson has 
j added 160 acres which he has cleared and brought 
I to a high state of cultivation. The present hand- 
j some residence in which he lives was erected in 
1883, and is a model of comfort and elegance. 
Fine barns and other necessary buildings are lib- 
erally provided for all the uses of the farm, which 
is one of the finest in the township. 

The subject of jthis sketch is an active and pro- 
gressive agriculturist, and takes great interest in the 
improvement of his property. He carries on gen- 
eral farming and stock-raising and has been very 
successful in his operations. In politics he votes 
with the Republican party, but is in nowise a poli- 
tician, nor does he seek office. He and his estimable 
wife wisely prefer the happiness of the domestic 
hearth to the fugitive honors of petty office, and 
theirs is a liome in the truest sense of the word. 



eHARLES J. MILLER. In the spring of 
1847, one John Miller, with his wife and 
five children, left his native soil in the 

Duchy of Baden, Germany, and crossed the seas 
to America, where he thought he could better his 
condition and rear his family- in greater comfort 
than in the land of their nativity. After a safe 
voyage to this "land of great expectations" they 
disembarked at New York City, and proceeded to 
Erie County, Ohio, locating in Margaretta Town- 
ship, where^^Mr. Miller bought some land partly 
improved. 

John Miller w.as a hard-working, industrious man, 
and in a few years had considerably Improved his 
land, and made a comfortable home for his family. 
He was just beginning to enter upon more prosper- 
ous days when his death occurred in the year 1852. 
Thus when they had been but five yc^ars in this, to 
them strange land, his family were deprived of his 
care; but the mother, a thrifty, practical woman, 



•►-II 



•►Hh-^^ 



LENAM'EE COUNTY. 



•>Hl-<- 



took up the burdcin of support, and with the assis- 
tance of the elder children, well i)erft)rmed her 
part, ti-ainino- her children to gdodh.'ihils niid to 
ways of usefulness, llcr maiden nnnic »as Mug- 
dalena Krerger, and the names of lier cliildicii ;iic: 
Nicholas, wiiose whereabouts is unknown; Chris- 
topher, living- in Blissfield; Magdalena, the uiic of 
William Langewcll, of IJIissficld; Caroline, tlie wife 
of Luther Smith, of Blisslield Townshiii, .-iiid 
Charles J. The good mother is still s|):irei| to her 
children, with whom she makes her liome. 

The subject of this sketch was the youu-est child 
of his parents, and was horn in liadeii, ( ienniiiiy, 
June IS, 1844. After his falhei'- de.-ilh. which 
occurred when he was eight years old, he e<inlinued 
living with his mother, assisting her in the farm 
work until 18C2, when he went forth to fight the 
battles of his adopted country, lieiug then but a lad 
of eighteen years. In Decendier of that year he 
enlisted in Company 1), 1 (ith Ohio Cavalry, join- 
ing the regiment at Cleveland. The regiment was 
sent first to Nashville, Tenu., remaining there a 
week, when it was sent to Mnrfreesboro, and thence 
proceeded to Chattanooga to join Sherman's com- 
mand, serving thenceforth under Oen. Kilpatrick. 
'I'lie regiment then went from Chattanooga to At- 
lanta, taking part in many important engagemi'nts, 
and was also in the ranks during the famous march 
of Sherman's army from Atlanta to the se;i. After 
that the regiment went to Fayette, N. C, where, in 
an engagement, Mr. Miller received a gunshot 
wound and w.as in the hospital until June; he then 
joined his regiment at Raleigh, N. C, and there re- 
ceived his honorable discharge when it was dis- 
banded. He returned home, and after a short visit 
with his friends in Ohio he came to this State and 
bought the place where he now resides on section 
18 of Blissfield Township. At the time of his |)ur- 
chase there were twenty acres of the land cleared, 
and two log houses built on it, in one of which he 
commenced keeping house by himself. He now has 
fifty acres of well-cleared land, under good tillage, 
and has erected a good set of frame buildings. 

After he became a landed proprietor Mr. Miltei- 
did not long remain single, and for twenty 3'ear.s 
he has had the counsel and assistance of a good 
to whom he was wedded Aug. 21), 18G7. His 



wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Lincoln, 

was born March IG, 1845, and comes of good New 
England stock. ller parents, Edward Mild lla.'liel 
( I'.-ickai'd) Lincoln, were n;itive> of \Cniiont, where 
they were reared and ni.-u'ried. In isll ij.ey left 
the •'(ireeu Mountain State" and canic to .Michigan, 
locating in Madison Township, this coiinly. which 
tliu> became th'e l)irlhpla<-e of their danghler. Mrs. 
Miller. In ISl.-,, the year lollouing their x^tlle- 

lueul. Mr. Lincoln died, and .Mrs. Lincol w lives 

in W'atseka, Iroquois Co., III. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Miller have been JHirn Iw,, chil- 
dren—Nettie and Walter. .Mr. .Miller is .a man of 
integrity, and as a eitizcai of the Lnitcd St.ates has 
been true to all the obligations of citi/eiisliip. He 
has lirm faith in the Republican party .and ~iipporls 
it by his vote, while he is an honoreij nieinher of 
Scott Post No. 4;!, (;. A. 1;. 

:t fi^ILLIAM W. LUCK, the a-<-nt of the I •nit.'d 

\J States and Pa..ilie Express C pany, at 

W Adrian, is a native „( New Y,,rk Slate, 
and was born in the city of Auburn, .luly IT, LSI',). 
His parents were William and Jemima (Partridge) 
Luck, the former a native of New York and the 
Latter of England, whence she w.as brought to this 
country when a mere child. After their marriage 
they lived in various places, including Buffalo, P:d- 
myra and Hudson, N. Y., and in the year 184G they 
came to the .State of Michigan and settled in .St. 
Clair, on a farm, where they remained until the 
death of the father in l.sT.j. The fatlici' was born 
in 1797 and the mother in 1800; the latter died in 
1881. They were the parents of ten children, live 
boj's and five .girls, eight of whom lived to iiiatiir- 
ity. while five still survive. 

William W. Luck spent his boyhood days in 
various towns in New York .State, and attended 
school in the city of Buffalo. After he attained to 
manhood he was variously engaged for several 
years, when, having a ciiriosily to investigate the 
western conutiy, of uhicli lu' had heard so much, 
he lii.ade a trip across the [ilains to the gold and 
silver mining conntiy, where he remained for two 
yt'ars. Upon his return he entered the employ of 



i- 



4 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



the United States Express Company, at Monroe, 
Mich., in May, 1854. He served at Cleveland, 
Toledo, and other i:)laces, coming to Adrian in 
18(!-1, and tooli possession of the office of that com- 
pany as its agent, which position he still holds, and 
has faithfully filled for a period of twenty-three 
years; altogetlier he has been in the emploj' of the 
company thirty-four years. This long term of serv- 
ice; for a companj' which waives integritj' and 
fidelity its test, is a testimonial that speaks louder 
than words. 

Mr. Luck has been married twice, his first wife 
living but two years. He was married to his pres- 
ent wife, whose maiden name was Mary G. Benson, 
on the 23d of August, 1856. She is a native of 
England, but was brought up in Hudson, N. Y., 
where she was also married. They have had five 
children, only one of whom is now living, and is the 
wife of E. D. Williams, of Chicago. Two died in 
infancy, and two daughters grew to womanhood, 
and then died. 

In politics Mr. Luck is a member of the Repub- 
lican party, and as such was elected Mayor in 1876. 
He is a consistent member of the Episcopal Church, 
and since 1865 has been a member of Temple 
Lodge No. 168, A. F. & A. M. His long continued 
service as an express messenger and agent has 
made him one of the most competent and thor- 
oughly posted in the country. Mr. Luck is thor- 
oughly' systematic and methodical in conducting 
the business of the office, and the books are model 
exhibits of his skill as book-keeper. 



\|? ENHY .1. WIRT is one of the leading agri- 
Yfy^ culturists of Lenawee County and an exten- 
l^^ sive land-owner, residing on his fine farm in 
((^ Medina Township, on sections 10, 11 and 
15. His parents were James and Rachel (Rath- 
burn) W'iiU natives of New York, whence they re- 
moved in 1856, from Orleans County to Lenawee 
County, Mich., and engaged in farming, where Mr. 
Wirt, the father, died about two years after his set- 
tlement. The good mother was spared to her sons 
for many years after the death of the father, her 



death occurring Dec. 28, 1885. To her and her 
husband were born two sons: William F., who lives 
in Hillsdale County, and Henry J. 

The subject of this sketch was born in Chautau- 
qua County, N. Y., May 6, 1829. The industrial 
training and other lessons he received from his 
parents contributed to make him a useful and an 
honorable citizen. He was reared on a fai-ni, and 
adopted the calling of a farmer when he had his 
own way to make in the world. He eauH' to Lena- 
wee County, Mich., and in the fall of 1857, in 
connection with his brother, he liought a farm of 
20(1 .-icres ill Medina Township, which they after- 
wnvd divided and on which Mr. Wirt has ever 
since lived. He began life for himself with noth- 
ing but his own strong arms to depend npou, l)ut 
by a vigorous use of these, directed b3' his shrewd 
common sense and great talent for business, he has 
been unusually successful in accumulating a goodly 
quantity of this world's goods. He has become 
one of the largest land-owners in this part of the 
countr3', holding a tract of nearly 500 acres in Me- 
dina Township. His f.arm is well managed and in 
a good condition, and he conducts his farming oper- 
ations after the best methods. He has convenient 
and commodious buildings, and every appliance for 
facilitating the work. Mr. Wirt has paid much 
attention to sheep-raising, and now owns a fine flock 
of 300 sheep, while he has ten head of horses and 
thirty head of cattle. 

Mr. Wirt was first married to Mary M. Salsbury, 
of Medina Township, who bore hitu three children: 
Minnie, the wife of Gerry Acker, of Medina Town- 
ship; Nettie and Hattie. Mrs. Wirt died Nov. 2, 
1873. She had been an excellent wife and a most 
tender mother, and her kindly influence had been 
felt far bej'ond the home circle. Mr. Wirt's second 
niarri.age occurred in Hudson Township, to Clara 
Fox, a native of that township, and the daughter 
of Thomas and Plumey (Fostei-) Fox. One child 
h.as been born of this union, a daughter named 
Mary E. 

Mr. and Mrs. \Yirt occupy a prominent position 
in the social life of this community. They are 
members of the Baptist Church, and are influential 
in the management of its affairs, and socially they 
are members of Medina Grange, P. of H. Mr. 



•t 



■•►Hl-^ 



Hh-^ 



LENAWEK COUNTY. 



19 'f 



Wirt's manifold duties do not give liim niiieh time 
to devote to public iift'airs, tliou.<>ii lie is interested 
in them and does all in his puwcr to scciirr tlir :ii|- 
vancement of the t(nvn>hiii. lie is irnicli iiiti'ic~U-d 
in schools and schooling, and has done nincji in 
various official positions that he lias filled, as a 
member of the School Board, to advance the cause 
of education in this tdwiiship. In politics he is a 
strong Republican. 

IIARLKS I). WOOiJ occupies the ol.l home- 
stead of his father on sections 12 and l.'l, in 
Rolliu Township, where he was born on the 
4th of December, 1 .S4.'j. Here he has passed the 
greater part of his life, which has for the most p.art 
been spent in a quiet and uneventful manner, as 
an honest man and a good citizen. Itish.aidly 
necessary to state that the lai:>se of years has made 
many changes in the face of the country around 
hini. and also in the tr.act of land whii-li his lather 
entered from the Government in I s.n;, while Mich- 
igan was yet a Territory, b'rom an unproductive 
waste it has now become a finely cultivated faiin. 
with substantial modern Iniildings and other ai)pui-- 
tenances of a well-appointed country hom<>. 

The parents of our subject, ^^■ilson .-uid Sally 
(Strong) Wood, were natives of New York State 
and Vermont respective!}'. When Wilson was 
thirteen years old, his family removed from Liv- 
ingston County to Oi'leans County. N. Y.. and 
obtained land from the Ooveiiimmt. and here he 
remained until twenty-five years of age. His 
brothers and sisters were named as follows : Jona- 
than, who lived and died in Orleans County, N. Y.: 
Melinda, who married Burtis Fb>yt, and died in 
Jackson County, Mich.: Loretta, who married 
Abrain Miller, and both died in Orleans ( ounty ; 
and William, who married Mary Ann \\'et,hcrwax, 
and lives in Orleans County, N. Y. 

A few years after marriage Wilson and Sally 
Wood concluded to change their location, and m-II- 
ing out their househ»)ld goods and farm [iroperty, 
loaded their ])ersonal effects upon a wagon and 
with their children came overland to Southeastern 



Michigan. They were also accompanied by the 
family of Sylvester Canfield, who located near the 
Wood family, in Rome Township. After securing 
;i <iuartersc<'tionof (iovcrnniciit land. Wilson W < .oil 
|(nt up a log caliin, and cleared about five acres of 
land the first year. He was armed with the true 
liioneer spirit, and labored earl}' and late in prepar- 
ing the soil for cultivation and adding those little 
comforts and conveniences to the homestead which 
made it ti> the family the most desirable spot which 
they h.-id known. In due time the entire tract was 
.•leared and enclosed, .-m.! the father had time to 

give c of liis attention Ic the welfare of the 

pcojile around him. He was .-i man of generous 
impulses, lihcral and puMic-spiriled, .-nid became 
quite prominent in local .■iflairs. II, ■ served as 
Highway Commissioner . and School Director, being 
especially interested in the maintenance of the insti- 
tutions which should give the young the advantages 
to which they were entitled. At the close of a long 
.•md useful life, he passed away peacefully at his 
home in Uollin Township, on the Uh of September, 



.\Ii 



Sallv W( 



hus 



Mid 



1 taking place also at the 
^s."), at the .age of seventy- 

h. Tlie \Voo<l family for 
iio-tly engaged in agrieidt- 

there were among them a 
.Strong, the maternal uncle 



tiomes 

four y 

generations ha\e lie 

ural pursuits, allhoi 

few trailesmen. Al 

of our subject, served in the Union army two years. 

and one of his great-uncles was a soldier in the War 

of 1,SI2. Charles I), at the age of twenty-one 

yeai's commenced working the farm on shares, and 

on the 3d (;f December, IS'l, brought a bride to the 

old home, having been married to JHss Ada O. 

Cook, of St. Jos.'ph County. Soon afterward he 

rented the entire f.-nin and operated in this manner 

until the death of his father, after which he came 

into possession of the propcrtj'. The present resi- 

ilcnct' was erected about 1878 

.■issortment of live stock on tin 



tions iicnerally 

.skillful manner. 

The wife of < 

in Erie Countv. 



duct. 



a goodl}- 
its opci-a- 
andi .and 



•►-« 



•P^l-M*- 



720 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Iw 



H. and Olive Aun (Cochraii) Cook, who came from 
the Keystone State to Michigan about 1860, locating 
in St. Joseph Count}'. The mother died in Misha- 
walia, Ind., about 1869, aged forty-eight years, 
while Mr. Cook is still living and carrying on farm- 
ing in St. Joseph Count}', this State. Mr. and Mrs. 
Wood have one child only, a daughter, Lela Olive, 
who was born Sept. 9, 187.5. She is a bright and 
interesting child, still attending the district school, 
but developing unusual musical talent, and it is the 
design of her parents to give her the best advan- 
tages for becoming proficient in this art. 

The children of Wilson and Sally (Strong) AVood, 
four in number, were named respectively, Luc}' 
Jane, DauM., Delos S., and Charles D., our subject. 
Delos S. died at the age of six years. Dan M. 
served all through the war in the late Rebellion, 
and is now residing in this township. Airs. Wood 
has a half-brother — by her mother's first husband — 
named Elus M. Shelby, who married Rachel Lewis, 
and resides on a farm in Fawn River Township, 
St. Joseph County. She has also a sister, named 
Jennie P., who married J. O. Lendahl, and resides 
in Denver, Col., where her husband is engaged in 
mercantile pursuits. Her mother's sister, Rebecca 
Cochran, married Richard Thornton, a Uuiversalist 
minister; she is now a widow and lives in Toledo, 
Ohio. An uncle, Thomas Cochran, resides in Alden, 
N. Y., and is a retired farmer. 

j-^s^ AMUEL G. WOTRINC; is an intelligent 
^^^ and respected farmer of Ogden Township, 
l|\/jl) and is the scion of a long line of honorable 
ancestry. He was born in West Union, 
now Aurora, Preston Co., W. Va., May -t, 1840. 
He has the record of iiis family back to his great- 
grandfather, Abram Wotring, who, it is thought, 
was born in Germany, but in early life sought a 
new home in the United States. He first settled 
in Maryland and spent many years there, but sub- 
sequently removed to Preston County, in the west- 
ern part of Virginia, and was one of tiie pioneers 
of that place. He took up a large tract of land 
tliere, which is still owned by his descendants. He 



•►Hl-^ 



was a tanner by trade, and erecting a tannery, car- 
ried on the business and superintended his farm, 
residing there till his death. 

The grandfather of our subject, who bore his 
fatlier's name, went vvith his parents from Blaryland 
to Preston County, and after his fatlier's death 
inherited the old homestead and carried on the two 
occupations, tanning and farming, until his death. 
His sou, also Abram Wotring, the father of our 
subject, was born in March, 1810, and reared on 
this same farm in West Virginia. He learned the 
trade of a blacksmith, and followed it till 1842 in 
his native town, then removed to Taylor County, 
where he bought a farm on which he erected a shop, 
and continued his previous occupation of black- 
smithing until too old for such laborious, tiiough 
profitable work; he still lives there, aged seventy- 
seven years. He was the founder of the village of 
Aurora, which is situated on a part of the tract of 
land his grandfather had taken up. He platted it 
and laid out the town, naming it West Union, but 
the name was afterward changed to Aurora. The 
mother of our subject, whose maiden name was 
Ruth Hood, was a native of Preston County, and 
is also living at an advanced age. Her father, 
Julius Hood, was born in Virginia, where he was 
also reared and married, but in the early settlement 
of Ohio he went to that State to take up land, 
making the journey from Virginia on foot, and 
while there was taken sick and died. 

Samuel G. Wotring was the fourth child in order 
of birth of a family of nine children, six of whom 
are now living. He attended school during his 
youth, and after that learned the trade of black- 
smithing of his father. When the cry of Rebellion 
arose and there came a requisition foi' troops to 
suppress it, he enlisted May 1, 1861, in Company 
■B, 2d Virginia Infantry, and served through the 
entire war, being honorably discharged in July, 
1865. The company served as infantry until June, 
1863, then mounted and became the 5th Virginia 
C;ivalry. He participated in the many engagements 
of his regiment, the most important of which were : 
Laurel Hill, Carrack's Ford, Schaefer Mountain and 
ftlonterey, McDowell Cross Keys, Cedar Mountain, 
Second Bull Run, Kelley's Ford, Waterloo Bridge, 
Gainesville, Sulphur Springs, Rock}- Gap and Droop 



LKNAWKK COUNTY. 



721 li 



Al. tl 



Moiintnin. Afterbeing moiintoil h 
ciigaii-ed in skiniiishiim- .and figlitin; 
of tlK' w.-ir he retnrn.'.l liunir. .-nid rcMnii.d 
tnulc in (iial'lcn, livin- lliciclill IST2, ulicn 
came to Ogdcn Townsliip, :ind l»in,uhl: cii^lil.v uc 
of land on section l"i, "u \\\\ir\\ lie loidcd till 1 > 
when he traded it fur tlic fnriu iic now <>\vii> : 
occupies. He carried on lj|;icivsMiitliiny in <(nni 
tion witli farming till is,s7, when on .-ircounl 
trouble arising from a wonrnl received while sh 
ing a government mule, from the effects of \\h 
he has never recovered, he was obliged toalianc 
his trade, and now devotes his allcntion entii-ely 
his farm. 

January 18, 18G0, Mr. Wolring \v:is united 
marriage with Miss Mary Smell, a native of 'J'ay 
County, W. Va.. where she was born Sept. 
1843. She is a daughter of George and Sai 
(Siggons) SmelUboth natives of Virginia. Mr. a 
Mrs. Wotring have six children living: (ieo 
li., .Tames W., Sarah E., Edna E., Eugene E. ii 
Harry L. Perry, their fifth child, died in iwf;ui 

Mr. Wotring was a bi.ave soldiei-, .•unl is 
equally good citizen, still as much interested in 
country's w'eifare as when he t(,)ok up anus in 
defense. In politics he is a Kepnhlic-ui, and he 
a charter member of the David Hecker Post. 
A. K. 



•► 



(| IVILLIAM qUEAE, Es,.., is one of tii. 
\/Ji' known citizens of the town of Cam! 
V^\^ where he has lived for a period co 
more than forty years, and has long held the 
tion of Justice of the Peace. Although nov 
cessfuUy engaged in farming, he was for a tii 
cupied in f)tlier business at Springvillc. I 
born in the city of Utica. N. Y., Oct. 0. 181 
is the son of .lohn (^leal, a native of Ireland 
acqnireil the trade of boot and shoe making 
still a young man, and came to the United 
with his wife, locating in Oneida Comity, 
where Mrs. Queal soon afterward died. 

Some time after this event, John Queal wa? 
married, in Rome, N. Y., to Miss Ilannali C.'in 
a native of the Emi)ire .State, and a short time 
ward settled at Utica, where the father of on 

<■ 



vermg 
posi- 



wlio 
.vhile 



ject engaged in the manufacture and sale of boots 

in Ihr e.-ires of l,u,MMess. nnd trn ye.'iis later died 
in thnt city al, an adv:iiir,.d ng.'. lie wa> .a Cliris- 
li.'iii ni;in in even >ense <,r the word, a Dciicoii of 
the Fi.st l!apti>t CInnvh. .■iiid .m p.iwer for good in 
the (•onuiuinity in whi.-h he lived. He was an old- 
line W hig in polilio. .1 follower of thegivat Henry 
Clay, the .Sage of Ashland. His wife survived him 
some years and died in llii; same city, at the age of 
fourscore years; she was a hirthrigbt Catholic. 

William (>iieal, the siiliject of this pcrson.al 
sketch, is the eldest of ;i f.aniily of nine children, 
twiisoiis .and sc\i'ii d;uigliters. who all lived to ma- 
tuiil,y. He w.a- reared .it home, and having ac- 
ipiired .-i jiiiniary rdiication at the lUica Academy, 
he cnlerrd tile study of Ihc Kev. Stephen K. Smith, 
the luiiuder (if the Clinton l.ilieral Institute, located 
;it, Cliiituii, N. Y., where he was educated for the 
iniiiisiiy in the Universalist Church. After grad- 
uation he was engaged in the service of that church 
in the village of Mottville, Onondaga Co., N. Y., 
and other villages in the same State, which he vis- 
ited in the interests of his denomination for some 
three yeans. In 1 8;5(;. st ill in the interests of the 
church, he m.ade a trii> to Chicago, 111., and there in 
conip.any with some friends, assisted in purchasing 
a filock of land in the new village, on which to 
erect a tinilding in wdiich they could organize a so- 
ciety to be known as the Eirst Universalist Church. 
In 18;!('i our subject preached the first sermon ever 
delivered l.y a clergyni.an of that denomin.alion in 
the city of Chicago, and held meetings there for 
some time, which were well attended. Having ef- 
fecteil the oi ganizalioii of a .society to hold prop- 
erty according to the laws of the State of Illinois, 
and accomplishing the obji^ct of his mission, .Mr- 
(^leal returned to New York State, .and to(^k charge 
of the church society at Bristol, Ontario C. unity, 
where he remained eleven years. 

During this time the siiliject of this personal his- 
tory sjieiit one year in Indiana, on account of his 
failing health, .aiid in 184.S, suffering .severely from 
bronchial trouble, familiarly know^n .as the clergy- 
man's sore throat, he came to Michigan for recuper- 
ation. Here, having never recovered the natural 



-^ 



•►Hl^^^ 



722 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



4 



powei- of his voice, he was compelled most iinwill- 
iiigl}- to withdraw from the ministry, having come 
to the conclusion that a person wiio knew enough 
to i)r('at-h could get a living by other means. He 
then purchased some fifty aero of land on section 
23, Cambridge Township, a part of ihe Geddes 
farm, where he has since erected some line build- 
ings. While improving this place, never neglect- 
ing its cnltivation. he carried ou the Ijusine.ss of 
manufacturing and selling boots and shoes in the 
village of Springville. He is one of the oldest Jus- 
tices of the Peace in the county, having been in 
that office nearly ever since he has been in Michi- 
gan. He is .accounted among the solid and reliable 
men of the county, and is plain spoken and inde- 
pendent in his \ lews, botii i-eligiously and- politi- 
cally. He and his brother, the Rev. Hobert <^ueal, 
of Decatur, Mich., are the only living male repre- 
sentatives of their father's family. 

Januarj' 14, 18;);'), Mr. Queal was united in mar- 
riage at Aurelius, Cayuga Co., N. Y., with Miss 
Samantha Moore, a native of that county, born 
Dec. 1, 1812. Her father, Henry Moore, was a na- 
tive of Long Island, and her mother, Rachel (Stew- 
art) Moore, of New York. Mr. and Mrs. Queal are 
the parents of two living children: Ellen G.. who 
was for eight years connected as a teacher with St. 
John's High School, located in Clinton County, 
Mich., and was educated at Adrian and Tecumseh, 
this county, and Mary Alice, who followed the pro- 
fession of a teacher for a short time in Cambridge 
Township, but is now the wife of George Dewey, a 
farmer of this township. Mr. William Queal is now 
living on his farm with his family, one mile east of 
Springville on the Monroe Turnpike, and his post- 
office address is Springville. 

ISAIAH C. MILLER, in 1834, put up oneof ihe 
Jl first log houses on section 18, in Rollin Town- 
jl\ shi|i. upon land which he had secured from the 
Go\ciiiiiient. .Mud which he in time transformed 
into a productive and valuable farm. His early 
home was near Hartford, Comi., where his birth 
took place July 24, 1810. It will thus be seen that 
he is quite well advanced in years, but as the result 



of a correct life and good habits he is still hale and 
hearty, and retains the independent spirit, coupled 
with the contempt of idleness, which were the distin- 
guishing characteristics of his earlier years. 

The father of our subject, Jonah Miller byname, 
was also a native of Connecticut, and spent his en- 
tire life engaged in farming pursuits. When our 
subject was only seven years old his father mi- 
grated to Wayne County, N. Y^., where he was a 
resident several years. The family subsequentl3' 
came to Michigan, but finally returned east as far 
as Ohio, where the father died in Fulton County, at 
the age of seventy-six years. Jonah Miller had 
married in his early manhood a lady of his own 
county. Miss fSarah Curtis, who died in York State 
at the age of fifty years. She was the mother of 
ten children, all of whom lived to become men and 
women, and seven are now surviving. Isaiah con- 
tinued at home until nearly reaching his majority, 
and after working by the month for three years in 
his native county, set out for the Territory of 
Michigan, landing in Rollin Township in Maj-, 
1833. The first season he employed himself in 
cradling grain and manufactured his own cradle 
with which to work. With the exception of ten 
years spent in mercantile pursuits in Hudson, Mr. 
Miller has been a continuous resident at this place 
for fifty -four years. 

On the 13th of September, 18;i3, a few months 
after taknig up his residence in this county, our 
subject was married to Miss Deborah F. Pratt, who 
was born in Wayne Countj^ N. Y., April 13, 1815, 
and was the daughter of Joseph and Rebecca (Wil- 
bur) Pratt, who came to this State and settled two 
miles northeast of Adrian, in 1827, and there both 
the parents died, the father aged fifty j^eais, and 
the mother in her eightieth year. Mr. and Mrs. 
Miller became the parents of seven children, all of 
whom lived to mature years, and three .still survive. 
Adelia S. vvas born in 1837, and married E. H. 
Cogswell, who is engaged in mercantile pursuits in 
Hudson; Rachel was born in 1844, and is the wife 
of Thomas Scott; they have one son, Charles M., 
about four years old, and a daughter. Ada F., a 
very intelligent and accomplished young lady who 
is attending Hillsdale College, and expects to grad- 
uate in the class of '88. Before entering this insti- 



*t 



^ 



LKNAWEE COUNTY, 



tiition sliL" had been ongagi'd :is a teacher Inn terms 
among tlieir old nciglihor.s in Camliridge 'l'o\vn>hi|). 
She has also devcdoi)ed a fine talent for iiiu>ic-. and 
gives much attention tu tins art. M:ny .1. \\a^ liciii 
in 1S47. and became the wife of lleniy A<lam>. a 
well-to-do farmer, residing near Wheatland. Hills- 
dale Connty. A gran.ldaiigliter of Mr. Miller. .Miss 
Sarah \'an J)oran, the child of their danghtj'r l.ydia. 
is another member of the famil\- in whom they lake 
much pride, and who is now an inteiesting maiihai 
of seventeen years, pursuing lii'i- studies in the lligli 
School at Adrian. 

Mr. Miller, politi<-ally, is a straight Kepid.lieau 
with a leaning tow.-irds prohiliitiou. liofh he and 
ills estimable lady are pronunently connected witli 
the Methodist Episcopal Church. .Mrs. .M. is an 
earnest Christian worker, and has for several ycjirs 
been connected with the W. C. T. U., and with the 
Ladies' Missionary Society, being one of the first 
in the organization of these associations. 



/^ORNELlliS GILSON enjoys the reputation 
((( r "^ ^'^'"■- ^ ^clf-made man, and one of the 
^^ best farmers of l.euawee C,,unt.y. His eaily 
home was in Bri>wnville, .lefferson Co.,N. V., wdiere 
his birth took place Jan. 13, 1829. At the age of 
fifteen years he started out for himself, working on 
a, farm at |S per month. As he was industrious 
and free from bad hal)ils, he was en.abled to sive 
his earnings, and when readiing manhood purchascil. 
in company with his brother, fifty acres of land in 
Jefferson Connty. It was rough and stony, but by 
the exercise of hard labor they l)rought it to a very 
good state of cnltivation, and it remained in tlieir 
possession until the summer of 1850. 

Before the end of this 3'ear the brothers sold 
their land, and our subject migrated tu (.)ttawa 
Connty, Ohio, settling near J'^lniorc. whei-e he took 
possession of eighty acres of timber land, uhich he 
had secured at the time of releasing his chum to 
his first purchase. Here he cut away the trees to make 
room for a house, and at the same time rented a tract 
of ini|)roved land .adjacent, where he raised crops two 
years, and in the meantime worked his own land as 
far as possible, so that at the expiration t){ this time 



he settled upon it. .-lud 
II.' had also added I, 



has brought to a fine 
1S82 the original dwi 
brick residence. lie 
bam .and other .,ulh 



ifter resided until IS'; 



d ready put up a good 
ind Ihe iin|iidven)eiits 
generaily rank with the Iiest in the county, as m.ay 
be seen by examining the view of My. Cilson's 
homeslea.l sl„.wn eUewlnae in thi> volume. When 

w.. eousiiler the fact th.-it he ( neneed alisoiutely 

without e.'ipittd. ami is now liltl.' past the prime of 
life, it nuust lie aekuowle<lged that he has made ex- 
cellent use of his time. 

The father of oiirsubj.'cl. .leremiah A.tiilson, was 
born and reared in Aibnny County. X. V.. whence 
he removed in e.arly maiiliood to Jefferson County 
during the early .settlement of that region. He 
purchased a tract of timber laud, and built the log 
house in wdiicli his son Cornelius was born. He 
labored in the wilderness for a number of years, 
eluriug whit'h time he cleared a good farm, and in 
18.")1 removed to (Jttawa County, Ohio, where his 
death took place in September, 1871. His wife, 
whose maiden name was Mary Van Curley, was also 
a native, of the ICmpiri' State, born in the Mohawk 
\alley, and was a lew years younger than her hus- 
band. She passed away eleven years before his de- 
cease, in February, 18G0. They were the parents 
of eleven chihlren, nine of whom lived to become 
men and women. 

('..melius (Gibson has a distinct recollection of 
man}' of the scenes and events of his childhood, 
his attendance at the district school, and the vari- 
ous operations of the farm where his father raised 
tlax. which th.' mother spun and wove into cloth 
fr.im whii-h th.' garmi'iil- ..f the various members 
of the household were made. Although not im- 
mediately under the jiarental roof he lived near his 
family, and upon reaching manhood was married in 
Ottawa C.>uiity, Oliio, N..V. 8, 1853, to Miss Esther 
Maria Sniilh, wh.i was b.irii in Fannington, Trum- 
bull Connty, Dec. Ki, 18.31. Jonathan Smith, the T 
9^ 



(24 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



i 



fiitlier of Mrs. Gilsou, was a native of Coiinectieut, 
and the son of Austin Smith, who removed from 
the Nutmeg State to Ohio in 1S25, mailing the 
journey overland with ox-tenms. Austin Smith 
duiiiiii his ,>arly life iiad followed the sea, but after 
going to Ohio purchased :i tract of land. Subse- 
quently he resumed his former calling on the lakes 
until disabled by an accident, and was then given 
the position of lighthouse keeper at Ft. Clinton, 
of which he remained in charge until becoming 
quite well advanced in years. Later he retired to 
Elmore, in Ottawa County, where his death took 
place about 18GS. His son Jonathan was a youtli 
of sixteen years when the removal was made to 
Ohio, and he lived there in Trumbull County until 
183(i. After taking up his residence in Ottawa 
County he rented land a few years, then purchased 
a tract in Harris Township, where he still resides. 
His farm now embraces 110 acres, nearly all under 
cultivation, and with excellent farm buildings. 

The mother of Mrs. Gilson was formerl}' i\Iiss 
Mary M. Ingraham, daughter of Benjamin Ingraham, 
of Connecticut, in which State she was born in 1808. 
Mr. Ingraham left New Pingland when a young- 
man, and was one of the earliest settlers of Ottawa 
County, Ohio, whei-e he spent the last years of his 
life. The paternal grandmother of Mrs. Gilson, 
Hannah M. White, wa.s also a native of the Nutmeg 
State, and the daughter of William White, a man 
well known and [jossessed of a good property. 

Mr. and Mrs. Gilson became the parents of six 
children, recorded as follows: Alice, their eldest 
daughter living, is the wife of Wira Dolpb, a well- 
to-do farmer of Blissfield Township; Ophelia was 
born Sept. 10, 1854, and died Sept. 12, 1871; Cor- 
nelia was born Dec. 17, lS;5,i, and died Feb. 24, 
1875; Hattie M. resides at home; William married 
Katie, daughter of Dr. Howland, of Blissfield, and 
they have one child, a son, Clarence Arza, now in 
his second year; James Edgar, the youngest son, 
resides on the homestead. 

At the age of .seventeen, Mrs. Gilson having 
acquired a good education, began teaching a district 
school of thirty-eight pupils at nine shillings per 
week and board, it being customary in tliose d.ays 
for the teacher to board with each family a time 
proportionate to the number of pupils under in- 

■^9 ^ 



structitm. She was very successful, and re-engaged 
for the winter at 11.50 per week and board; she 
taught the three following summers at the same 
salary. 

Mr. Gilson cast his first Presidential vote for 
Gen. Scott during the existence of the old Whig- 
party, and after its abandonment identified himself 
with the Republicans. He is a member of the 
Farmers' and Mechanics' Club of Summerfield and 
Deerfield. 



HARLES C. WAKEFIELD is a resident of 
Morenci, where he is engaged in the busi- 
ness of a banker. Almost twenty 3'ears have 
elapsed since the organization of this enterprise, 
and it has flourished beyond what the most sanguine 
of its promoters at that time could have anticipated. 
By advancing- money to the farmers, it has aided 
materially toward furthering- their present prosper- 
ity, and may justly be considered a potent factor in 
the development of Lenawee County. The bank 
does a general banking business in all its modern 
functions, and the gentlemen who conduct it are 
too well known and highly regarded socially and 
commercially to require adulatorv commendation 
at our hands. 

The father of our subject, Dennis Wakefield, was 
born in Thompson, Windham Co., Conn., and was 
a son of Moses AVakefield, who died in 1816. Den- 
nis Wakefield came to Lenawee County in June, 
1 834, locating on 420 acres of Government land in 
what is now Seneca and Medina Townships. He 
settled near where the town of Morenci now stands, 
and was a farmer by occupation. He was interested 
for a time in the mercantile business, and also in 
the operation of a saw and grist mill, in partnership 
with G. W. Wilson & Franklin Cawley^ under the 
firm name of G. W. Wilson & Co. He was also con- 
nected with his son, Charles C, in the banking- busi- 
ness at Morenci, and continued to live in Seneca 
Township until his death, which occurred June 2, 
1886. He was united in marriage in Seneca Town- 
ship in July, 1839, with Miss Abigail F. Crosby, 
■» 



I 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



who w.is bcuii in 'riiiiiniiMin. C'diiii. ( )f that union 
tliere were tw<. children — C^liarles C and Leigh Kich- 
inond. The mother of these children died in Seneca 
Township in March, 1845. 

Mr. Wakefield was snbsequcnily m.-irricd to Miss 
Charity Scofleld, in 1.S47, and l.y tlii> iniion there 
were also two children, Ann A. and William X., 
both of whom are now deceased. Their mother 
died in April, 1851, and Mr. Wakefield w.-is a tiiird 
time married, in October, 185."5, to Miss Amanda 
Crover, who survives her husband. Our subject is 
the only surviving member of the family, and was 
born in Seneca Township, Feb. Hi, 1841. He was 
reared on the farm, receiving his eai'ly education at 
the common schools, .•md .■il'terward be attended 
Hillsdale Cullege ab.,ut one an.l unr-lirdf years. 
Upon completing his studies, he engaged in the mer- 
cantile business in the spring of 18(32, in Pioneer, 
Ohio, wiiich he continued six years. Me then suld 
out, and returning to Murcnci. soon established the 
bank which he has since con<luctcd. lie fom.ded 
this institution, known as the Hanking House of 
CharlesC. Wakefield ik Co., in Januai-y, 1 869, having 
had the building erected in the summer of 1868. 
He was also engaged in the hardware liusiness at 
Morenci for about six years, :i> a mcml)er of the 
firm of Wakefield & Salsbury, but lie retired from 
the firm in 1887, having disposed of the business. 
He is also the owner of a tract of land of about 250 
acres in Lenawee County, and another of i'A) in 
Fulton County, Ohio. 

Mr. Wakefield was united in marriage, Nov. 3, 
1864, in Morenci, with Miss Josephine O. Rogers, 
who was born in Pioneer, Ohio, on tlieotli of April, 
1846. She has borne t(.i her husband five chililren: 
Cassius E., Abbie G. and Eva E., now living; and 
Lulu J. and Dennis K., deceased. In (lolitics Mr. 
Wakefield is a Republican, but he is not in any 
sense of the word an otHce-seeker, preferring to de- 
vote his time and attention exclusivelv to his busi- 



/^ LEMKNT H. BRAMBLE. This gentleman 
(((^ is a thorough and skillful farmer, an intelli- 

^^7 gent business man, an extensive reader and 
close student, and combines the business and social 
qualities which have constituted him a valued mem- 



725 

ber of society and an important factor among the 
various interests of Franklin Township, of which he 
has been a resident his entire life. 

Mr. Bramble was born Oct. 21, 1861, at the homc- 
st(-ad lu' now occupies, of which his father took 
possession over thirty years ago. He was the young- 
est memlier and only son of a family of four chil- 
dren and is the sole survivor. His property em- 
liraces forty acres of land on sections 24 and 25, and 
he also controls 100 acres belonging to his father. In 
addition to general farming he is giving much at- 
tention to the breeding of high-grade stock and 
Poland-China hogs, intending eventually to make 
this his chief business. He is still young in years, 
and illustrates in .in admirable manner the advan- 
tsiges of education, which will apply as muchtoagri- 
cultural pursuits as to any other calling. It is a 
great mistake to suppose that the farmer needs little 
or no "book-learning." Whatever may be a man's 
calling in life, he who is the most intelligent and 
best informed always has the ,'id vantage over his 
unlettered brother. 

Mr. Bramble commenced his studies in the dis- 
trict school in his native township and completed 
them in Kalamazoo College, in 1884. LTpon his re- 
turn home he began operating the farm with his fa- 
ther, J. H. Bramble, a well-known resident of Lena- 
wee County, who is now living in the village of 
Tecumseh, retired from active lal)or. Our subject 
not long after starting out for himself br(.>ught a 
bride to his home, having been married Oct. 26, 
1887, to Miss Nellie E. Heath, who ^vas then a resi- 
dent of S]iring Lake, Ottawa County. Her parents, 
L. D. and Susan (Gross) Heath, were natives of 
New York and Pennsylvania respectively. Mr. 
Heath has been a prominent business man of this 
section and was for many years connected with the 
Grand Haven Lumber Company, of which he was 
Vice President and General Manager for a number 
of j'ears. He came to Michigan when a young man 
and proved to be of the metal which was most 
needed during the early settlement of the State. 

The wife of our subject was born in Spring Lake, 
Ottawa Co., Mich., July 14, 1866, and like her hus- 
band, completed her education at Kalamazoo. She 
is well fitted, both by nature and education, for her 
position as the wife of one of the most promising 



Hh-^ 



•►Hh 



•►Hh-^ 



I 



726 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



I 



young men of the county. Mr. Bramhle, .after 
completing his studies, was engaged some time as a 
teacher in Kalamazoo County. Both are members 
in good standing of the Baptist Church at Tecum - 
seh and enjoy the esteem and confidence of hosts of 
friends. Mr. B. votes the straight Republican 
ticket and has alreadj' been called to fill several 
offices in his township. He will keep up the repu- 
tation of the estate knowu .as the "Evan Side" 
after the manner in which his honored father estab- 
lished it. 



\f^ R. E. T. WHITE is one of the representa- 
J jY five men of Raisin Township, and is lo- 
rfij^^ cated on section 4, where he is now de- 
voting his time to farming and poultry- 
raising, and iu the latter branch of business is mak- 
ing Leghorns and Hamburgs a specialty. He lias 
shown much enterprise in this line, and has been 
very successful, being awarded numerous first pre- 
miums at many poultry and fat stock shows, at 
which he has exhibited his fowls. Dr. White is a 
native of Monmouth Count3^ N. J., where his father 
was a mason by trade, but later in life engaged in 
the occupation of a farmer. He came to Michigan 
in 1836, and purchased the land on which our sub- 
ject now resides. Upon this farm the father re- 
sided until death, which occurred on the 1st of Sep- 
tember, 1854, aged seventy-three years, two months 
and twenty-seven days. He married Anna Taylor, 
a native of New Jersey, who survived her husband 
eleven years, and died on the old homestead Oct. 
19, 1870, aged seventy-six years, one month and 
twenty-one days. The parents of our subject reared 
four children, of whom E. T. was the youngest. 
He was born near Trenton, N. J., on the 4th of 
October, 1829, and came to Michigan with his 
parents when quite young. He was reared at lionie. 
and began his education in Tecumseh. He next 
began reading medicine under Dr. Patterson, of 
Tecumseh, then a prominent member of the medi- 
cal profession, but now deceased, and afterward he 
entered the medical department at Ann Arbor Col- 
lege, and was graduated from there in 1856. Ln- 
mediaxely upon leaving college he went to Adeline, 
Ogle Co., 111., and began the practice of medicine. 



remaining there for six j-ears. Upon leaving Ade- 
line he went^to Dixon, 111., where he practiced for 
some time, and then removed to Napoleon, Jack- 
son Co.. Mich. After remaining there three years 
he came to the farm of his father, in Raisin Town- 
ship, withdrew from the practice of medicine, and 
began devoting his time tn his present calling. 

Dr. White w.as married at Mt. Morris, Prof. 
Harlon of the college at that place performing the 
cerenioin^ on the loth of September, 1857, to Miss 
Sarah Newman, a native of Pennsylvania, who was 
born near Chambersburg, on the 10th of March, 
1829. For some time previous to her marriage she 
resided in Maryland, where she w.as educated. To 
Dr. and Mrs. White were born four children, two 
of whom are living : Alvah, residing in Kansas, and 
Charlie, at home. The names of the deceased were 
Elwood P. and Katie. 

Dr. White has alwa^ys pursued an independent 
course in politics, but has been a vigorous advo- 
cate of the doctrines of prohibition, and the princi- 
ples of the political part}' of that name. He and 
his wife are leading members of society, and de- 
vote much of their time to matters connected with 
the public welfare. They have established them- 
selves in the esteem of the people among whom they 
live. Dr. White is a gentleman much noted for 
his social qualities and the affable manner in which 
he receives all visitors to his homestead. He is a 
man of large general information, and one of the 
most companionable men in this section of the 
county. He and his wife are very hospitable peo- 
ple, and have a very happy manner of making their 
guests feel completelj- at home. 



J^OHN GAMBEE, a farmer <m section 22, 
Dover Township, is a son of Daniel and 
Sarah (Gambee) Gambee, both natives of 
Pennsylvania. The latter were married in 
the State of New York, and settled in Varick, 
Seneca County, where Mrs. Gambee died. Mr. 
Gambee again entered into matrimony, the maiden 
name of his second wife being Lydia Shirk. After 
this he removed to Akron, Ohio, where he died. 
By his first marriage he had thirteen children — John 



•►HI-* 



.p:nawee county, 



727 



Gideon, Susan. DMiiirl. W, 
Frances, Georj^e, L.iviii:i, 



M: 



A VaW 



John, the .subjtrt n( this -ketch, wm^ hnvn in 
Vark'k, Seneca Co., N. V., I)i<-. !'•">, ISK^. He 
was reared on a I'Mnn, and Ix'iiig l\w cidcst uf a 
large family, his assistance was needed at iiome 
most of the time, consequently his education, 
which was obtained in the common sc'hools of iiis 
native town, was somewliat limiled. At tlic a^c of 
twenty-one he left tlic parental roof and woikcil 
for neighboring farmers l)y llie month for two 
years, and then commencuMl farming on ids own 
account. The first farm lie purchased was located 
in his native town, and he there carried iiis lal)ors 
on for twelve years. He sold that farm and bought 
another in the same county, wliicli he occupied for 
three years, when he again sold out. 

Mr. Gambee was married in Fayette, Seneca 
C(.)..X. Y.. .Tan. 1, l.sUi. to Sarah I'outins, who 
was l)orn in tliat place Dee. 2. is-.',",. She is 
the daughter of Henry and .Maiy (Smith) Pon- 
tius. Mr. Pontius was born in Northumberland 
County, Pa., and his wife was a native of 
the same State. After their marri.age the}' settled 
in Fayette, Seneca Co., N. Y.. where lliey 
lived until the fall of lf<o4. At that time they 
came to Lenawee County* and settled in Dover 
Township, which was their place of residence until 
their <leath. Mr. Pontius died near Grand Haven, 
Mich., while on a visit to his daughters, and .Mrs. 
Pontius died in Dover Townsiiii), at the home of 
her daughter, Mrs. Gambee. They were the par- 
ents of nine children — Anna, Eliza, Sarah, William, 
David, Caroline, Margaret, Mary C. and Huuii.a. 

In IS'j-") Mr. Gambee came to Michigan (-n a 
visit, and perceiving the man}' oppoitunities to 
gain a good living offered to wide-awake men of 
resolution and industry, he decided to become a 
resident of the Stale. He returne<l to New York 
for hi.s family, and the next spring removed with 
them to Lenawee Count}', locating in Dover Town- 
ship. In 1857 he purchased the farm now occupied 
by H. Swords, but he subsequently sold that 
property and purchased 140 acres on. section 22. 
On this place he has erected a fine dwelling-house 
and all other convenient buildings, set out shade 



His farm now contains eighty acres of land which is 
under a good state of tillage. 

Mr. and Mrs. Gambee have one child. Edwin P., 
who married Miss Ella M. I loxter, and resides in 
Dover Town>hi]i. .Mr. G:imbee is an h.morable 
and useful citizen, and in his political views is a 
Democrat. He has ably discharged the duties of 
School Director in the district where he resides, 
lia\ing the educational interests of the community at 
lieart. Iiis i^stimahle wife is a sincere and consist- 
ent meudier of the Presbyterian Church and gives 



|I7 K\l L. STOC 
I (p gent, industri 
IlLM, of Medina '1 



EYI L. STOCKWELL. Among the intelli- 
, and independent farmers 
Township, no one is held in 
higher estimation by his fellow-townsmen than the 
gentleman whose name is at the head of this sketch. 
Mr. Stockwell was born in Ira, Cayuga Co., N. Y., 
July 18, 182.3, and passed the most of his boy- 
hood on his father's farm in his native State. When 
fourteen years of age he came with his par- 
ents to Lenawee County, Mich., and remained 
with them in the home they established here until 
he was eighteen years old, assisting in the farm work. 

I At that .age he left his father's home and worked 
by the month or job for twelve yeai's. At first he 
was employed in farming, but at the .age of twenty- 
four decided to learn the tanner's trade, and 
from thsit time for nine year.s he was actively em- 
ployed .as a tanner, having first mastered the de- 
tails of the tr.ade in the village of Medina. 

While Mr. Stockwell was engaged in that busi- 
ness his marriage with Miss Helen Atwood oc- 
curred, on the 3d of July, 185.3. She was the eld- 
est daughter of Rodney .and Louisa (Ayers) At- 
wood, natives of Perry, Wyoming Co., N. Y., where 
she w.as aLso born March 17, 1833. In the spring 
of 1853 Mr. and Mrs. Atwood had removed with 
their family to Hudson Township, Lenawee County, 
where Mrs. Atwood died in March, 1862. Mr. At- 
wood afterward sold his property there and i-e- 
moved to Pcntw.ater, Mich., where his death oc- 

I curred in the fall of 1866. They were the parents 



-u 



728 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 






of eight children, four sons and fonr daughters. 
Since her marriage with our subject, Mrs. Stock- 
well's wise forethought and judicious management 
have greatly aided their joint labors in building up 
a home. At the expiration of nine years in the 
tannery business Mr. Stockwell abandoned the trade 
and resumed the calling to which he had been 
reared. He bought eighty acres of land on sec- 
tion 14 of Medina Township, and has ever since 
been prominently identified with the agricultui'al 
interests of this township. He has added to his 
original purchase until he now owns a tine farm of 
100 acres, upon which he has erected a good set of 
convenient and well arranged barns, and made 
other good improvements which have increased the 
value of his farm. 

The union of Mr. and Mrs. Stockwell has been 
blessed by the birth of nine children, as follows: 
Martin R., who married Lina Hause; Cora E., Mrs. 
Edson Burroughs; Mary A., Mrs. Wilbur McNair; 
Amanda L., Mrs. Fred Herron ; Almeron P. ; Esther 
M., Mrs. Frank Reeder; Palmer E., Nellie H. :ind 
Lewis S. 

Mr. Stockwell is a veteran in the ranks of the 
Republican party, and was greatly instrumental in 
introducing the policy and doctrines of that party 
into this township, while it was he who brought the 
first Republican tickets into this township tbat were 
ever cast here. He has acceptably filled many of 
the minor offices of the township. Mr. Stockwell 
has built a vault on the farm for the family, at an 
expense of $500, but as yet has had no occasion to 
use it, as there has not been a single death in the 
family up to the |)resent writing. 



JrfOHN H. TINGLEY. Among the brave and , 

I adventurous spirits who cast their lot with 1 

the pioneers of Southern Michigan while it i 

'/ was yet a Territory, the subject of tiiis sketch i 

was one of the most enterprising and courageous, [ 
and located first in Adrian Township, in 18.jo, tak- 
ing up 240 acres of Government land. This he 
sold a year later, and pui'chased the land which is 

now occupied by his brother Samuel, on section 11. j 



Upon this he labored two or three ye.irs, then turned 
it over to his father and brother, and coming into 
Rollin Township, purchased 180 acres, nil wild land 
as had been Jiis purchases before. Upon this he 
has remained continuously since that time, embrac- 
ing now a period of over fifty years. He has tilled 
the soil to good advantage, and gathered around 
him all the accessories of a comfortable and con- 
venient home, including a commodious residence, a 
good barn, stables, sheds and all other necessary 
out- buildings, and stocked the farm with good grades 
of domestic animals. 

The labors of Mr. Tingley, like those of hundreds 
around him, n-ere carried on patiently and persever- 
ingly, and in the results he has little of which to 
complain. In addition to his own inunediate inter- 
ests, to which he has necessarily given the most of 
his time and attention, he found opportunity to in- 
terest himself in the welfare of the people around 
him, and because of his ability and honesty was fre- 
quently chosen by them to represent their interests 
in the various township offices. Tiie establishment 
of schools and churches ever found in him a cheer- 
ful and ready helper, and will remain as monuments 
to his public spirit and generosity long after he shall 
have been gathered to his fathers. 

The early home of .lohu H. Tingley was not far 
from the Atlantic coast in Sussex County, N. J., 
where his birth took place on the 25th of December, 
1810. His parents, Samuel and Rebecca (Hol- 
comb) Tingley, were also natives of New Jersey, 
but spent their last years in Adrian Township, this 
county. Various items of interest connected with 
the history of the family will be found in the 
sketch of Samuel Tingley, his brother, on another 
page in this volume. After becoming comfortably 
established in Rollin Township, he married one of 
its most estimable young ladies, Miss Polly Lamb, 
the wedding taking place at the home of the bride 
in the spring of 1837. Mrs. Tingley was born in 
Genesee County. N. Y., Aug. 16, 1821. and is the 
daughter of Roswell and Nanc^^ (Mills) Lamb, na- 
tives of Williams and Berkshire Counties, Mass., re- 
spectively. The mother died April 22, 1838. Mr. 
Lamb has been twice married since, but at present 
is a widower. He resides in this township with his 
youngest son, Sylvestus; notwithstanding his great 



•*t^^ 



•►Hh-^^ 



LENAAVEE COUNTY. 



r29 '^1 



age, ninety-three years, be is still hale an<l hearty. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Tingley there were born eight 
chiklren, of whom the record is as follows: Jane E. 
was 1 orn in Rollin Townshii), Aug. Hi. 18:^9, and 
died March 20. 1SJ)9; .Ii.lni II. wns liuni .Iimc .s, 
1841, and died Oct. 30. ISCS: l„. h:i(l uKinicd Miss 
Mary J. Rice, and was the father of uuv child. 
Homer was born March 1, 184o, married Mi~> IKK'n. 
daughter of Harvey Howd, an<l they :iic the imi- 
ents of three children living, one son .•mil tw.. 
daughters; he is farming in Hillsdale County. 
Zachary T. was born IMarcli ol. is 17, mikI ni.-irried 
Miss L. Marlatt: they have six chiiilrcn. :ind are 
residents of Rollin Township. N.-incy w.is b. .rn May 
8, 1849, and married Marion H.-irc; she is the 
mother of one son, and resides in [{cillin Township. 
Samuel D. was born May -'7. is,', I. .-uid married 
Miss Elizabeth, the .adoptcl dmightn- of L. C. 
Lombard; they have two diildrcn. .-i xm .-nid daugh- 
ter. Mar}^ A. was born Dec 7. I S.j;;. ;ind .loanna, 
Nov. 1.5, 185(!. 

Mr. Tingley cast his lirst Presidential vote with 
the Whig party, and continued with that party until 
185G, since which time he has su|)ported the prin- 
ciples of the Republicans. Mrs. Tingley is a lady 
unusually charitable, kind and hospitable, and with 
her two daughters, M;u-y A. and .loanna, is an active 
worker in the J.,adies' Missionarv Soeiety. 



JONATHAN HARK, now a retired farmer of 
Blissfield Township, is a pioneer settler, hav- 
ing come to this section of eoinitry in ISU. 
When he first came to Lenawee County, the 
greater portion of it was covered with forests of 
heavy timber, through which deer and wild beasts 
roamed unrestrained, and there wa> but one road 
extending through the connly. the western terminus 
of which was at Hillsdale. Mr. Hare was born in 
Schenectady County, N. Y., on the 13th of, Tune, 
1804, where his father. George Hare, was also born, 
and it is thought th:it Niehol.-i> ll.-ire. the unind- 
father, was b<irn in (;otli.-ini. ('.ihniibi:i County, and 
w.as an early settler of Schenectady County. He 



bought a tract of timber land in the township of 
Duanesburg, and made a farm on which be resided 
until his death. 

The father of onr subject was reared to manhood 
in his native i'e)nnty, and eng,aged in farming. He 
married Miss We.althy Wood, who, it is thought, 
w:is born in Albany County, N. Y., and was of 
(iernian ancestry. There were four children born 
to them, of whom the subject of this sketch is the 
third child. He assisted his father in farming, and 
lived \\ith his parents until he had grown to man- 
lio(jd, when he commenced life for himself by 
buying a ha-e ti> forty acres of land, which he 
farmed until 184 1. He then sold the lease and 
came to Michigan, settling in Lenawee County, 
where he bought eighty acres of land in Dover 
Township, twenty acres of which were cleared and 
the balance timber land, and paid $1,050 for the 
tract. There were two log houses on the place, into 
one of which the family moved. He lived there 
until ISCi-j, wlien he sold <nit, and removing to 
Raisin Townsiiip bought thirty-three acres of im- 
proved land, which he farmed until 1859. In 
that year he .sold this land and removed to 
Branch County, wlun-e he engaged in mercantile 
business at Slieiuood, in which he continued for 
five years, when he disposed of that business, and 
going to Blissfield bought the place which he now 
occupies on Pearl street. 

In IS.!.". Mr. Hare was married to Martha Mor- 
rison, .a native of Schenectady, N. Y., and they 
have had six children : Cynthia, the wife of Daniel 
B. Nicholas, now living inMorenci; Amanda M.; 
Catherine A., who died at the age of twenty-eight 
years; Adeline, who died at the same .age ; Chloe, 
the wife of .lolui Fuller, of Blissfield; and Daniel 
H., who (lied at tin; age of sixteen. Mrs. Hare was 
born in Duanesburg, Schenectady Co., N. Y., on the 
30th of August, 1810. Her father, David Morri- 
son, was lii.irn in the same county, and her grand- 
father, .lohn Morrison, was .a pi(jneerof the town of 
Princet(jn, that county, who reared a family and 
died there. Her mother, whose maiden name w.as 
Cynthia Dodge, w.as also born in Schenectady 
County, where she spent her entire life. The pa- 
ternal great-grandfallici- of .Mr. ll.are was a native 
of England, who came to America accompanied by 
■ •►-« 



•►HH^ 



A^ 



^h 



::o 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



two brothers, and settled in New York State, where 
they followed farming in Columbia County, and 
accumulated quite a large property. 

Mr. Hare, who is in his~eighty-fourth year when 
this sketch is written, has retired from active busi- 
ness life. He arrived in Michigan at a^time when 
it was a wilderness, and for more than forty years 
gave his best efforts in developing that part of the 
State where he lived, and he can now look back 
over that time with wonder and satisfaction at 
what has been accomplished by him and his fellow 
pioneers. Mr. Hare cast his first PresidentialWote 
for John Quincy Adams, and since the organization 
of the Republican party has been identified with 
that political organization. He has always been an 
enterprising citizen, and highly esteemed and re- 
spected for his many good qualities. 



ILLIAM E. SCHRIBER, M. D., a practicing 
physician of Blissfield, is a native of this 
State, having been born in Detroit, June 
2S, l«o'J. His father, John W. Schriber, was born 
in Catskill, N. Y., and grew to maniiood in that 
State. He learned the trade of a cigar-makei- in 
New York City when a young man, and followed 
it there until about 1857, then removed to Sturgis, 
Mich., and there managed a hotel for a time. Sub- 
sequently he removed to Detroit, and accepted the 
position of foreman in the tobacco manufactory of 
Scotten and Granger. Tn ISUl he returned to New 
York City and was there in the employ of the 
Lorillards, tobacco manufacturers, two years. He 
then returned to Michigan and worked at his trade 
in Jackson and Detroit until 1870, when he estab- 
lished himself in business in Petersburg, Mich., con- 
tinuing there until 187H. From then until 187.o lie 
was engaged in business in Blissfield, after which 
he managed a hotel for awhile in Metamora, and 
then moved to Detroit, wiiere he now resides. 

John W. Schriber married Ellen Seamans, a na- 
tive of Providence, R. I., and daughter of Daniel 
Seamans, who was born in Wales. Mr. Seamans 
emigrated to America and lived for a time in 
; ; Providence, R. I., then pushed westward to Monroe 



County, Mich., and located in Petersburg, where 
his last years were spent. Mr. and Mrs. Schriber 
had eight children, six of whom are now living. 

Our subject is the fifth child in the parental 
farnilj' and is e.ssentially a self-made man, having 
supported and educated himself since a youth. In 
earlj' life lie attended the public schools of Peters- 
burg, Blissfield and Toledo, alternating his periods 
ofstudj' with various emploj'ments. In 1874 he be- 
came a clerk in a drug-store in Ogden Center, and 
commenced the study of medicine with Dr. Parker. 
In 1876 he studied with Dr. Hal Wyman, and sup- 
plemented the knowledge thus tibtained by attend- 
ing lectures at the Michigan College of Medicine 
in Detroit during the winter of 1878-79. In 
the spring of 1 879 he began the practice of 
medicine hi Riga, but after continuing there eight 
months, he removed to Ogden Center and practiced 
his profession luitil 1 886. In tiie meantime, during 
the winter of 1882-83 he toolv an additional course 
of study at the Michigan College of Medicine, and 
was graduated from there in the spring of 1883. In 
the fall of 1886 he formed a partnership with Dr. 
Parker, of Blissfield, where he is steadil}' gaining a 
substantial reputation as a physician, and founding 
a successful career in his profession. 

The marriage of Dr. Schriber witli Pearlie Kob- 
ertson took place Julj' 29, 1883. She was born in 
Ogden Township, and is the daughter of George P. 
and Mary Robertson (see sketch of George P. Rob- 
ertson). Of their marriage two children have been 
born — Harry and J^ynn. Dr. Schrilier is a member 
of both the American ;ind Southern Michigan 
Medical Associations. 

J)OHN H. HAWKINS. One of the most 
i beautiful homes in Rollin Township is lo- 
! cated on section 20, and comprises 172 acres 
of land under a higii state of cultivation, 
with an elegant residence upon which have been ex- 
pended several thousand dollars, and which, with its 
surroundings, is the object of admiration by all who 
pass through that section of country. The land 
comprising part of this farm was entered from the 
Government about 1834 by the father of our sub- 



^u 



lenaw?:e county. 



:i\ 



ject, and has continued the pit)ix'ity '<{ the family 
now for a period of nearly fifty -four years. 

The subject of our sketch was born at the home- 
stead near where he now resides on the 6th of Feb- 
ruary, 1843. His father, John R. Hawkins, was 
born near the city of Oxford, England, in 1809, 
and came to America when a young man twenty- 
one years of age. In 1834 he sought the wilds of 
Southern Michigan and took up a quarter section of 
land in Rollin Townshij), this county. After clear- 
ing and preparing the soil for cultivation he added 
to his real estate until he l)ecame the |)osse.ssor of 
250 acres. He was a man ut fiiir education, and 
h.'id occupied the position of deik in a hardware 
store in his native town before crossing the Atlan- 
tic. He died at the <jld homestead al)out l.s8i', 
when seventy-three 3'ears of age. 

The mother of our s;;bjeet was in her girlhood 
Miss Hannah T. Hay ward, a native of New York, 
and the parents were mai'riod at Earmington, that 
.State. The mother passed away the year before 
the decease of her husband, and was seventy-two 
years old at the time of her death. The home cir- 
cle included six children, one of whom died in 
early childhood, and one sister died when about fifty j 
years of age. The remaining four are residents of 
this county. John H., our subject, continued with 
his parents until twenty-two years old, becoming 
familiar with the variitns employments of the farm? 
and acquired his education principally in tlie dis- 
trict school. He completed his -Imlie^ wilh twn 
terms in Raisin Valley Seminary, .nul foi- a time 
afterward was engaged in tencliiiig. 

Mr. Hawkins was married, Dec. -il, 1 .S(;,"i, to Mis> 
Mehitable, daughter of Robert and Sarah (.McKeii- 
zie) Monier, the former a native of Steuben County, 
N. Y., while the latter was born in Newark, N. J. 
They came to the West during the early years of 
their married life, and died in Rollin Township at 



an advanced age. Mn 
Steuben County, N. Y., 
tinned with her parents 
came the mother of foul 
was born May ;j, 1.S77 
one babe <lied unnamed. 



iwUms was horn in 
■ l'7, 1 .S4.">. She con- 
her marriage and be- 
Iren: Nellie M., who 
11 R., July 2(j, 1881; 
Herbert H. died aged 



about four weeks. Mrs. Hawkins is warmly inter- 
ested in the temperance movement and a leader in 



the W. C. T. U. in Rollin Township. She is an a<l- 
herent of the Friends' Church at Rollin Center, 
where she regularly attends with her children. 

After his marriage Mr. Hawkins worked the home 
farm on shares for a time, tlien rented land else- 
where in Rollin Township a year. At the expira- 
tion of this time he returned to the homestead and 
for eight years thereafter was engaged in the manu- 
facture of cheese. In the meantime he had imr- 
chased a tr,act of land on section 20, of which he 
took possession in 187 I. 

Mr. Hawkins cast hi> lirst I'rcsiilcutial vote for 
(icoige P.. IMcClellaii. and voted the Democratic 
ticket until about ten years ago, when he began to 
realize the necessity of a vigorous fight against the 
evils of intemperance, and accordingly turned his at- 
tention mainly to this subject, lending his influence 
in favor of prohibition. He h:is been a member of 
the A. F. iV A. M. for a period of twentj'-two years, 
and at present belongs to Lodge No. 26, at Hudson. 



jjtui ARVIN A. LADD is the present Post- 
master of Springville, where he also carries 
on the blacksmith trade. Although he is 
5till a young man he has made himself a 
position both in sorial and |)olitical circles in Cam- 
bridge Tounshiir. lie came to Springville in 1874, 
and lias >ince condiic-ted the business in which he is 
iK'W eiiuiagcd in :i manner that entitles him to the 
naiiK' of a progiessive and skillful mechanic. 

The subject of this sketch was born in the town- 
ship of Newfane. Niagara Co., N. Y., Oct. 4, l.sr)3, 
an() came with his father, Ira Ladd, to Michigan in 
1 s,'] 1, where the latter located a farm in wh.at is now 
the tovvnship of Adrian, which has since been his 
home. He has put his place in a fine state of culti- 
vation and to-day is classed among the most pro- 
gressive farmers in the county. While in the State 
of New York, Ira Ladd was united in marriage 
with Miss Ann Bingham, a model woman, who died 
in this county in 1859. 

Marvin Ladd spent the first years of his life at 
home with his father, working on the farm and at- 
tending school at the Raisin V.nlley Seminary, in 
Raisin Township, where he completed his educa- 

•► 



n 



f 



-4— 
732 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



t 



tion. When he had attained the age of seventeen 
j^ears he removed to Wyandotte in this State, where 
he was eraplo.yed for two years in the agricultural 
implement works, and acquired the knowledge of 
the use of tools and mechanical ccmstruction. He 
then came to Springville and later, in 1874, estab- 
lished himself in business. Ou the •27th of No- 
vember, 1877, Mr. Ladd was united in marriage in 
Cambridge Township, with Miss Delia Lamb, who 
was born in Woodstock Township, March 15, 18G0. 
She had lost her parents when she was but a child 
nine years of age. This union has resulted in the 
birth of one child, Ira G. 

Mr. Ladd was a nominee of the National Greeu- 
backjand Democratic parties for the office of County 
Clerk and polled a strong vote, owing chiefly to his 
personal popularity. He has also held the office of 
Township Clerk and is in politics a Democrat. Mr. 
Ladd is a fair specimen of the self-made man of 
America, progressive, thorough and go-ahead. 

(17 ENRY McCARBERY. The homestead of 
|r^^|\ this gentleman, which is pleasantl^y located 
!^^^ on sections 3o and oO, Macon Township, 
(^\ attracts general attention from its fine loca- 
tion, its handsome residence and out-buildings, and 
the many evidences of cultivated taste and ample 
means. It comprises 300 acres of land under fine 
cultivation, well stocked with good grades of 
domestic animals. Everything about the premises 
is well kept and in good order, and the farm in all 
respects is considered one of the most valuable in 
Lenawee County. 

Mr. McCarbery located on tliis place iu the fall 
of 1861, when it was in marked contrast with its 
present condition, being unbroken and without im- 
provements. His first purchase consisted of forty 
acres, to which he added by degrees as his means 
allowed, and each year has seen something added to 
enhance its beauty and value. The reputation of 
Lenawee County has been built up and sustained 
by just such men as the proprietor of the McCar- 
bery homestead. 

Tiie boyhood of our subject, until he was four- 
teen years of age, was spent in County Antrim, 



Ireland, where his birth took place in 1834. He 
was the third in a familj^ of five children, who were 
deprived of their father by death in the fall of 
1848. The latter, Charles McCarbery, was also of 
Irish birth and parentage, and was fifty-five years 
of age at the time of his decease. The mother, 
who in her girlhood was Miss Elizabeth Coupple, 
after the death of her husband kept her children 
together, and not many months afterward emigrated 
with them to the United States, locating first in 
Groveland Township, Livingston Co., N. Y. In 
the fall of 1854 the mother and family came to 
this State and located in Tecumseh, where they re- 
sided six years. The household not long afterward 
was broken up, and the mother went to live with 
her son James in Macon Township, where her death 
took place in October, 1872, when she was eighty 
years of age. 

Our subject, while a lesident of Livingston 
County, N. Y., was married, Oct. 31, 1854, to Miss 
Nancy Kyle, the wedding taking place at the home 
of tlie bride, in Mt. Morris. Mrs. McC. was born 
not far from the early home of her husband, in 
County Antrim, Ireland, Aug. 3, 1833. Her father, 
Robert Kyle, a native of the same localitj', was of 
old Presbj'terian stock, and was reared to manhood 
not far from the place of his^ birth, in County An- 
trim. There also he married Miss Nancj'' Gregg, 
of similar ancestry, and in 1849 they came to the 
United States with their children, locating in Liv- 
ingston County, N. Y. Mr. Kj-Je engaged in farm- 
ing there some years and in the meantime his 
daughter Nancy, the wife of our subject, had be- 
come a resident of this county. Her parents joined 
her in 1860, and the father spent the remainder of 
his days in this State, dying when eighty years of 
age. The mother afterward made her home with 
her son-in-law, our subject, until her death, which 
occurred in the fall of 1883, when she was eighty- 
two years old. 

Mrs. McCarbery was sixteen years of age when 
her parents came to this country, and attained to 
womanhood while a resident of Livingston County, 
N. Y. Of her marriage with our subject there 
have been born five children : Lizzie is the wife of 
Masa Vandeventer, a well-to-do farmer of Milan 
Township, Monroe County; Charles H. is a me- 

• •►- 



ih-^*- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



clianic and resident of Detroit; Nancy was the first 
wife of Lavern Osterhont, of Ridneway Townshii); 
Bert and William are at Ikiuh' \\\[h their parents. 
During the year 188(1 Mr. AlcCniicry mot with 
a great affliction in the loss of his eyesight. He is 
remarkably fortunate, however, in being blessed witii 
a most excellent wife, who continues his most faith- 
ful friend and coiin.-cldi. .iiid by her natural intelli- 
gence and entcrprisi' h.is been largely instrumental 
in the building up of the homestead and in con- 
ducting it upon a solid financial basis. She lias 
necessarilj' been invested with much rcsponsibilit_v 
and has proved herself equal to the emergency. 
Mrs. MeC. is a valued member of the Christian 
Church, and our subject, p.^liti.-ally. is :i stanch 
Democrat. 



/^^ ILAS A. SCOFIELD, sen 



ie 



nl)erof the 
^4^ tirm of .Silas A. Scoflcld & Son, fm-niture 
(^£^ dealers and undertakers at Morenci, estab- 
lished himself in this business in 1861, and 
conducted it alone until January, 1884, when he 
admitted his son, Ernest W., into partnership. He 
was born in Lysander, Onondaga Co., N. Y., Oct. 
5, 1826, and was reared on a farm until he was 
aliout fifteen years of age. From the age of twelve 
3'ears he worked the homestead on shares, and ac- 
cumulated some $350, which he gave his father for 
the balance of his time until he attained his ma- 
jority. 

The subject of this sketch left home to begin life 
for himself with five cents in his pocket, and en- 
gaged in clerking in the store of Buck & Norton, 
in Plainsville, Lysander Township. If he should 
prove :is good as the ordinary clerk he was to re- 
ceive for the first year $40, and $70 the second 
year, including board and washing. The first j'ear, 
however, he received for his services $1.50, and 
this sum was doubled by his employers for his sec- 
ond yea,i~'s work, which proves that young Scofield 
was a valuable clerk to them. Before the expira- 
tion of his third year he went to Baldvvinsville to 
attend the academy located there, intending to re- 
main one year and return in the spring to his old 
iiiployers. lie, however, received an unexpected 
ffer from his brother-in-law, and engaged in ped- 



dling looking-glasses, pictures and [licture frames. 
After remaining in his employ for a short time, he 
engaged in the same business for himself, his first 
ct)ntract being for $G.000 worth oi looking-glasses, 
jiictures and frames. lie still engaged in peddling 
and met with remarkable success, but lie had only 
been engaged on his own account for a short time 
when he met with a distressing accident, which Ins 
physicians inforiued him would cause his death. 
Contrary to their expectations, however, he recov- 
ered, and ill six weeks was out on the road .selling 
his goods again. Soon afterward he bought a. one- 
third interest in the business with his brother-in- 
law, and they carried on ipiite nn extensive trade. 
But suddenly Mr. Scolield determined to try his 
fortune in the West, and dis[iosing of his interest 
in the business, when about twenty _years of age, he 
started from Watertown, N. Y., with his horses and 
wagon, peddling his wares as he went. lie set out 
for Gorham Township, Fulton Co., Ohio, where he 
had relatives residing. The following spring he lo- 
cated in Adrian, Mich., where he engaged in the 
furniture business <^n his own ;iecouijt, and resided 
there until the fall of IS.'.I, when, us Ijefore stated, 
he came to Morenci and establislieil liiiiisi'U' in liis 
present business, the only one of its kind in tlie vil- 
lage. Since coming to Morenci our subjert has 
cleared IGO acres of land, and has en-cted thirty- 
five buildings in Morenci and Scolield. This latter 
place is located in Monroe County. Mich., and was 
laid out by Mr. Scolield. lie liuill a depot, fur- 
nishing the funds himself, and laid a side track to 
that place. He furnished the Canada Southern 
Railroad with all its ties, timber and piling, from 
the State line of Ohio to the Detroit River, and also 
ftu'nished forty miles of telegraph poles. 

In his cai>acity of undertaker, Mr. Scolield has 
laid to their final rest 3,293 pe(jple up to Jan. 22, 
isss. While at Scofield he furnished emiiloyineut 
for 350 men for one winter. He has taken out 
three different patents on the following-named ma- 
chines: A machine for bending timber, .-m auto- 
matic rug inachin,' and a pillow-shan, hohler. He 
also erected in the suniiner of 1.^7 7. in .Morenci, a 
brick block 25x110 feet, two stories in height, and 
completed the entire building in ninet\ day-, lie 
has almost the exclusive control in his line of biisi- 



734 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



)iess for a long distance in either direction from 
Moreiici. In his undertaking business Mr. Scofield 
does not believe in accepting more than a fair re- 
muneration for his services, as is unfortunately too 
(_>ften the case, and this fact, besides the manner in 
which lie conducts this busiuess, accounts for the 
large patronage which he receives in tiiat line. His 
furniture rooms are finished in the most approved 
style, and contain a full line of furniture, carpets, 
etc. They have also a manufactory connected with 
the establishment, which was erected in the place of 
one destroyed by tire last winter, entailing a loss of 
$10,000. In twenty-Tiine days from the time of 
the fire Mr. Scofield had this new shop built and the 
machinery running. 

Our subject was married in Murenci, Jan. 1, 
1850, to Miss Emily A. Wakefield, who was born 
in Thompson, Conn., June -29, 1831. She is the 
daughter of Hiram and Rachel Wakefield, of whom 
a sketch appears elsewhere in this Ai:bum. To Mr- 
and Mrs. Scofield have been burn a family of six 
children, three of whom are'now living — .Sarah C, 
Ernest W. and Blanche. Sarah C. is the wife of F. 
E. Cawley, of Morenci; Ernest W. married Miss 
Mirtie Packer, of Morenci. .ind Blanche is at home 
with her parents. The names of the deceased were 
Andrew W., Josephiife and Vernon. Andrew died 
when eight years of age, Josephine at nineteen, and 
V^ernon when about sixteen. 

Mr. Scofield is a member of the Masonic frater- 
nity, and religiously is a member of the Congrega- 
tional Church, while Mrs. S. is a member of the 
Methodist Church. Ernest W. was educated in 
the Morenci schools, and was graduated at the Busi- 
ness College at Detroit. He was also graduated in 
the art of embalming, and when fifteen years of age 
h.ad attended about fifteen funerals. He is consid- 
ered an expert in embalming, and is fully up to the 
times in all the latest methods in that particular line. 



-^-.=53- 



ICHOLAS WOTRINC; 



Phis 



itleu 



III jjt a highly- respected citizen of Ogden Town- 
IasM^ ^liiP' 'i'«1 'lie owner of forty acres of land 
on section 22. lie is the sun of .Jacob Wotring, a 
native of Hagerstown, Md., and giandsou of Abrani 
VV'iitring, who was one of the first settlers of Fres- 



-<»■ 



ton County, Va.. where he took up a tract of land 
in the wilderness. Baltimore, Md., and Winches- 
ter, Va., 150 miles distant, were the nearest mar- 
kets for supplies. Here the family were almost 
entirely dependent on their own resources for the 
procurement of food, clothing, and other necessaries 
of life. They raised flax and kept sheep, thus 
securing the materials for their clothing, which 
they spun, wove, and made up themselves. Wild 
game, such as deer, bears and turkeys, was plenty, 
and furnished them with a good supply of meat, 
which, augmented by the produce of the farm, 
insured them a substantial living. He improved 
the farm and spent the last years of his life there. 

Jacob Wotring, the father of our subject, was six 
years old when his parents moved to Preston 
County, and there he grew to manhood, and marry- 
ing, settled on a farm which was still in its primitive 
wildness. This farm, which he improved, and 
where he spent the last years of his life, was two 
miles from the village of Aurora. His wife, whose 
maiden name was Sarah Harsh, was a native of 
Maryland, and a daughter of Frederick Harsh, who 
was a native of the same State, and an early pioneer 
of Preston Countj', Va. ; she died on the old home- 
stead near Aurora. They were the parents of four 
children, namely: Peter, who died in Preston 
County; P^rederick, who died in Ogden Township; 
Elizabeth, who died in Preston County; and 
Nicholas. 

The subject of our sketch was born in^ Preston 
County, Jan. .3, 1820. As in his father's younger 
days wild game of all kinds was plentiful, so it was 
in his youth, and he well performed his share of 
procuring supplies for the familj' larder, as well as 
in assisting his father in clearing the land and till- 
ing the soil. He lived with his parents until the 
death of his mother. After his marriage he bought 
his father's old homestead and resided there twelve 
years, then sold out and bought another farm which 
was partially imi)roved. He made new improve- 
ments and lived on it till 1865, when he again sold 
out, and subsequently removed to this county. 
Here he bought fort}' acres of land, for which he 
[tini] §17.50 per acre. It was all timber land, and 
without drainage; he even had to cut down the 
trees to make room to put up a hewn log house. 



LENAAA^EE COUNTY. 



735 



Mr. Wotrin, 
Siisa 

County, A'a.. April 
Thomas RliiuehMrt 



He now lias about twenty-live acres of his land 
under cultivation, and has erected good, substan- 
tial buildings. 

(1, April 21. l«4i', tuMiss 
iia Rhinehart, who was born in Preston 
1824, and is a dauiihter of 
{For parental history see 
sketch of .1. 8. Rhinehart.) Mr. and Mrs. Wotriuii. 
are valued members of the Lutheran Church, 
which Mrs. Wotriug joined before marriage, and 
her husband soon after. They arc pleasant, social 
people, having the respect and esteem of their 
neighborhood. In politics .Air. AV'olring is a Uciii- 
ocrat. 



^/NTHONY POnCHER. The early life of 
(^Oi this highly respected resident of Madison 

I ll^- Township was spent in Columbia County. 
(^ N. Y'., where his birth took place on the 

■26th of June, 1824. There he remained until twenty 
years of age, and in 1844 came to Lenawee Count}', 
of which he has since been a resident. He located 
in Madison Township ten years later, and for a 
period of over thirty ye.ars has been closely identi- 
fied with its growth and prosperity. 

The property of Mr. Poucher includes eighty 
acres of good farming land on section 27, where he 
has erected suitable buildings and is provided with 
all the machinery required by the >killfid and enter- 
pi-ising agriculturist. He is now pM>siiig down the 
hill of life, but is still energetic and industrious, and 
furnishes an example to many a man of fewer years. 
He commenced life for him.self com))aratively with- 
out means, and is entirely familiar with its ditlicul- 
ties in a new settlement and under ;idverse eircuni- 
stances. He has never been afraid of hard work, 
and by his kindly disposition and worthy life has 
fairly earned the esteem and confidence of his 
neighbors. 

The parents (^f our subject. Andrew and I-^lizalieth 
(Miller) Poucher. were natives of the same county 
as their son, where the former was born in ITss. 
He came to this county about 1846, and purchased 
six acres of land near what is now the intersection 
of Scott and Maumee streets, Adrian, and a small 
tract west of the present college building. This 



land he cultivated until the spring of 1854, after 
which it was laid off into town plats and city streets. 
The father was remarkably energetic and industri- 
ous, and a man who delighted in the (n'osperity of 
the people around him and contributed as he was 
able to bring this about. He afterward owned Large 
tracts of land in various townships in the conntv. 
and i^assed his last years near Morcuci, where lii> 
death took place in 1883. 

Our subject was the fifth child of his p.-ucnts. 
wIrisc family included six children. He remained 
under the home roof until starting for the West, and 
lii> subscipient coui>e for .a few years we have 
.•drcady indicated. After laying the foundation 
for a future home and desirou,- of a helpmeet to 
preside at his fireside, he was united in marriage 
with Miss Margaret Clapper, on the l.Tth of No- 
vember. 1841i. Mrs. Poucher is the daughter of 
.lohn W. and Catherine (Best) Clapper, natives of 
Columbia County, X. V., who ranie to llii> section 

in the >pring of isil. Mr.-. C. died .■it her li e 

in Palmyra Towii.-hip, Feb. 7, 18);), and .Air. 
Clapper was subsequently married and removed to 
Clinton County, Iowa, where his death took place 
Oct. 14, 18.')6. The wife of our subject was also 
born in Columbia County, N. Y., .June 24, 1826, 
and remained with her parent* until her marriage. 
Of this union there have been born three children, 
whose record is as follows: (ieorge S. is farming in 
Fairfield Township: Irvin AI. married Miss Addic 
Moore, :ind is a resident , .f Ionia, this State, where 
he has est:ibli.-he(l :i commercial college, or busi- 
ness school, and is meeting with good success; 
Elmer R. took to wife lAliss Ettie May Howell, and 
they resitle at home with his parents. 

Mr. Poucher has always taken a genuine interest 
in the progress and welfare of his communitj-, and 
has occupied the various local ofHces, the duties of 
which he discharged in a conscientious and credit- 
able manner. He is decidedl}- Democratic in poli- 
tics, and with his estimable hidy enjoys the esteem 
and confidence of the peoph' among whom he has 
l)assecl in .•ind out for so many years. He has 
taken great [iride in the embellishment of his home- 
stead, and besides the comfortable farm buildings 
has a. large orchard of choice frurt, the trees of 
which he reared from saplings, and all the other ' 



r 



736 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



appurteuances which contribute so much toward 
the comfort of a home. He has been particularly 
fortunate in his choice of a life companion, his 
estimable wife having stood by him in all his 
efforts to obtain a worthy position among his fellow- 
men, both socially and financially. Her family, 
like his ovvn, were of German ancestry, and both 
possess the substantial and reliable traits of their 
progenitors. Their children have received careful 
home training and the education which has enabled 
them to take their rightful position in an intelligent 
comniunitv. 



D 



lAL NILES. Mr. Niles has had conside 
able experience in the affairs of the world, 
il but under all circumstances, whether enjoy- 



ing the smiles of prosperit}' or struggling 
against adversit}'^, he has been cheerful and hopeful 
and always even tempered. He is now comfort- 
ably situated, and expects to enjoy much sunshine 
in all the future that there may be for him. He 
came to Michigan in the fall of 1838, from Onon- 
daga County, N. Y., and is now located on section 
36, Madison Township. 

Mr. Niles was born in Ontario, Ontario Co., N. 
Y., in what was then Onondaga County, on the 10th 
of April, 1822, and is the son of Samuel and 
Alathear (Woodworth) Niles. The father died in 
1824, and the mother came to Lenawee County in 
1838, and died in Madison Township in June, 1880, 
at the adv.-mced age of ninety-six years. Rial 
Niles was the eighth in a family of nine children, 
seven of whom grew to maturity, and spent his 
early life in the State of New York. When eighteen 
years of age he came to Lenawee County and 
worked for various persons by the month until he 
was twenty-one 'years of age, when he learned the 
trade of a mason, which occupation he followed 
until about 1850. He then bought a farm in Mad- 
ison Township, and gave his attention to farming 
until 1856, when he disposed of his property and 
removed to Adrian, whore he engaged in the drug 
business for the next fifteen years. Disposing of 
his drug-store lie went to Kansas and engaged in 
the banking business at Baxter Springs, but during 



the three years that he remained in that place he 
was unfortunate in his financial transactions. He 
then returned to Adrian, and clerked in a drug- 
store three years, after which he returned to Madi- 
son Township. He was appointed a postal clerk 
on the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Rail- 
road, and held that position until July, 1887, when 
.he was relieved on account of the change in the ad- 
ministration of the ftovernment; since that time he 
has given his attention exclusively to agricultural 
pursuits. 

On the 24th of lALarch, 1856, Mr. Niles was mar- 
ried to Mary H., daughter of Asa and Hannah 
(Waters) Phetteplace, who came to Lenawee County 
in 1833, from Niagara County, N. Y., and settled 
in Madison Township, where they both die<l; they 
were the parents of six children. Mrs. Niles was 
born in Niagara County, N. Y., on the 28th of 
August. 1824, and of her union with Mr. Niles 
there have been two children — Elsie and Clara. 
Elsie died in Kansas when twenty-one years of age, 
and Clara resides at home with her parents. 

Mr. Niles has held the position of Alderman for 
tiuee terms in Adrian, was Mayor of Baxter Springs, 
Kan., two years, and a member of the Board of 
Aldermen, and has been Constable in Madison 
Township. He is a member of the Masonic fra- 
ternity, in the affairs of which he takes an act- 
ive interest. In politics he votes and acts with 
the Republican partj\ and his fidelity to that [larty 
can be understood when it is known that he pre- 
ferred to surrender his position in the postal serv- 
ice rather than yield one jot or tittle of his politi- 
cal manhood. He is an excellent citizen in all re- 
spects, and engages in every progressive movement 
inaugurated in his community. 



^Y/OHN HENRY, formerly one of the success- 
I fu! genera! farmers of this county, was born 
in Monroe County, N. Y., Feb. 4, 1833, and 
' died in Hudson, this county, in August, 
1866. His father, Roswell Henry, a iiative of New 
York State, was a great-nephew of Patrick Henry. 
Roswell Henry was liy occupation a farmer, and 



•► 



■•► 



4 



-A~ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



?37 



married in i]is native State Miss Ann Bloomer. 
They settled on a farm, where they lived niid died, 
both well advanced in years. 

The siil)ject of our notice was reaicd im ;i farm 
with his parents, and on .■ilhiining- his inMJorily he 
quit the roof-tr(.<. and canic to .Miciiiiian. midvine 
his home in Macon Township, lie became owner 
of two farms in Lenawee County, locating on the 
iirst in IS.'ii. He afterward occupied two different 
f.arms, both of which he purchns.Ml new, an.l en 
which he made consi<lci;ilile iinproxcinents, iilaciuu 
good buildings thereon, and advancing them to a 
high state of cultivation. M-r. Henry was a life- 
long Repiibjican, a worthy citizen, an indulgent and 
affectionate parent, and w:is reai-ed \n the doctrines 
of the Methodist C'hurcli. 

Mr. Henry was married in Ransom Township, 
Hillsdale Co., Mich., Jan. 21, 1S.5;!. to Miss Savilla 
PI, daughter of Feimerand Julia {(Joddard) Palmer, 
natives of Vermont and Connecticut respectively, 
who went to New York State, where they were 
united in marriage. After the birth of two chil- 
dren, Franklin and Mrs. Henry, the latter born 
March 22, 1833, they came in May of the same year 
to Michigan and located in Ridgeway Township on 
a tract of wild Government land, over which roamed 
the red man and wild game and beasts of prey in 
abundance. Their family numbered eight children, 
six sons and two daughters, one of the latter of 
whom is now deceased. After the children had 
grown up their parents came t<> Hillsdale County 
and purchased a large tract of land in Ransom 
Township, where they lived for some years and 
later removed to Hudson, this county, where the fa- 
ther died as alreadj- stated. The mother is yet liv- 
ing in Hudson at an advanced age, and is the ex- 
ecutrix of the will of her late husband. 

JNIrs. Henry was reared at home and received a 
good education in the district schools, in which she 
was afterward a teachei'. She became the mother 
of five children, one of whom is deceased : Mary Iv, 
Mrs. Charles East, lives on a farm of 1 00 acres in Ma- 
con Township; Charles R. took to wife Miss Flora 
Parsheel, a graduate of Ann Arbor, as is her hus- 
band ; they now live at An Sable, where Mr. Henry 
is an attorney. Julia, Mrs. (ieorge L. Cornville, 
now lives in Tawas City, Mich.; Mr. Cornville is 



I an attorney and now County Clerk of L:)sco County. 

i Ada, Mr.s. AVillard I'liillips. r,>ides in Manchester, 
Mich., where her lnisb:ni<l, l'n,f. I'liillips. i> Princi- 
pal of the High S,'l„.ol. .Mr>. Henry and family 
belong to the Methodist Cluirch. 

if(_ HJA.AI WAKKFIKLI), after a well-spent life 
'r^^l of fourscore years, has retired to iMorenci 
^v^' X'illage to spend the remainder of his days 
(^) in the enjoyment of those comforts which a 

j lifetime of industry and integrity has secured. 

', Mr. Wakefield's birthplace was at Thompson, Wind- 
ham Co., Conn., where he Iirst saw the light Dec. G, 
1.S07. Ill' was reared oi\ a farm, enjoying the usual 
educational advantages, and remained until 1835, 
when he came to Medina Township with his wife 
and one child, and settled on Bean Creek, where 
they remained until 18G4, engaged in farming. At 
that date they sold this farm and and removed to 
Morenei, where they have since lived. 

The marriage of Mr. and INIrs. \\'aktlicld tiuik 
place in Thomp.son, Conn., in 1830. Mrs. W., whose 
maiden name was Rachel Crosby, was born in 
Thompson. Conn., on the 9th of December, 1810. 
They have but (me child, Emily A., who is the wife 
of Silas A. Scofield, of Morenei, of whom a sketch 
appears elsewhere in this Album. The parents of 
our subject were Moses and Nancy (Kimball) 
Wakefield, the f(jrmer of whom died at Thompson, 
Conn., when our subject was but seven years old. 
The mother came to Medina Township in the 
autumn of 1835, and subsequently removing to Mo- 
renei, died there when about eighty-five years of 
age. The i)arents of BIrs. Wakefield were Charles 
and Abigail (Fairbanks) Crosby, who were natives 
respectively of Connecticut and Massachusetts. 
They subsequently removed to Ypsilanti, Mich., 
where the father resided until his death. The 
mother remove;! to Medina Township and died at 
the home of her daughter, Mrs. Wakefield. 

Mr. Wakefield has been a member of the School 
Board for twelve years, while he and Mrs. W. are 
worthy and consistent members of the Methodist 
Church, with which they have been' identified since 
1837, while Mr. Wakefield has been a Class-Le.ader 



-4•- 



•^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



.•-^h 



for twenty-four years. Throngiiout his life Mr. 
Wakefield hns lived peaceably with his fellowmen, 
and is a man without enemies. He is a kind and 
indulgent parent, a liberal-minded man and an oblig- 
ing neighbor, and has gained a place in the esteem 
and affection of the comTnunity as the result of an 
exemplary life. 

^\<)RNELiUS BANCROFT. Among the ad- 
llv r ^'ciitiii'oiis company that led the way into 
^^' the almost interminable wilderness that 
then covered Rome Township, was the family of 
which the subject of this sketch was a member. 
Coming here as early as 1835, Mr. Bancroft has wit- 
nessed the immense development that has attended 
their efforts. The forest has given way to finely 
cultivated farms; towns, cities and villages have 
sprung up upon the former sites of Indian encamp- 
ments, and civilization has taken the place of prime- 
val solitude. 

Cornelius Bancroft is a native of Lockport, Niag- 
ara Co., N. Y., where he was born Aug. 27, 18;')0. 
He is the son of Neley and Sarah (Stone) Ban- 
croft, the former a son of Capt. Joseph Bancroft, 
and a grandson of Moses Bancroft. Neley Ban- 
croft was a native of Aubnrn, Worcester Co., Mass., 
where he was born May 22, 1790, and resided in 
the county of his nativity until 1827. November 1 
of that year he was united in marriage with Sallie 
Stone, of Bennington County, Vt., who was born 
April (!, 1800, and removed to Lockport, N. Y., 
where he engaged in farming. In 1835 he came to 
Michigan, locating on land on section 18, in Rome 
Township, and in October he put up a house 18x26 
feet, making it comfortable for his familj-. His 
nearest neighbors were some four miles distant, 
while within one-half a mile east of them, bears 
and wolves m.aintained their dominion, and boldly 
made attempts to scare and drive away the settlers 
by their hideous howling and frequent visits. He 
did not build a firejiLace in his house, for he was 
told that a large stove could be had in Adrian, and 
going to that place as soon as possible, purchased, 
for the sum of $39.87, the first cook stove that was 
ever set up in the western part of the county. 



Settling down to agricultural labor, the father of 
our subject cleared up some sixty acres of land, on 
which he erected good buildings and set out an 
orchard, the trees of which he raised from seed 
brought from New York. On the 9th of March, 
1852, he sustained the loss of his wife, leaving him 
with one child, Cornelius. On the 4th of Decem- 
ber, 1 852, he again entered into marriage bonds, 
this time with Ann Moore, a native of Bradford, 
Orange Co., ^t. He maile his farm his residence 
until July 7, 1870, when he passed away to his 
heavenly home. He was a man of much indom- 
itable courage and energy, as became the son of a 
Revolutionary sire, and endured the hardships and 
trials of pioneer life without complaining. While 
I coming from Toledo to Adrian with his goods and 
family, the day being warm, he took his coat 
off and laid it upon his wagon, but it slipped oft' 
and was lost. A thorough search was instituted, 
I but neither the coat nor the $100 that was in the 
i pocket was ever heard of. Following this was the 
i loss of cattle by disease, at various times bieaking 
up his team, and placing him at a disadvantage. 
I The burning of his house and all its contents on 
the 18th of March. 1841, capped the climax. 
i F'riends and neighbors to the number of almost 100 
j turned out a few days after the fire, and nearly com- 
i pleted a new house for him in one day. The tim- 
ber was taken from the stump, one side hewed, and 
j placed in position. It is proper to mention this 
incident, as it shows the true-hearted pioneer of 
those days in a happy light. 

Cornelius Bancroft grew up in his father's family, 
assisting in clearing the land and developing the 
resources cf the place. On the 27th of M.ay, 1855, 
he was united in marriage with Harriet M. Moore, 
a native of Bradford, Orange Co., Vt., where she 
j was born Sept. 11, 1835. She was the daughter of 
William C. and Lucinda W. (Wells) Moore, the 
former of whom was born in Bradford, Vt., March 
4,1810, and died at Union, Branch Co., Mich., 
April 12, 1873. Her mother was born in Marshfleld, 
Washington County, April 30, 1814. Mrs. Ban- 
croft's family being imbued with a natural love of 
country, several of her brothers served in the Fed- 
I eral army during the Rebellion. William H. enlisted 
, in 1801 in the three-months service, and re-enlist- 



■•► 



* ^ If ^ ' 



LKNAWEK COUNTY. 



-U 



W 



: Mnn 
W.'ll- 



iiisrin the ytli Miehiuraii Cavalry, sctvimI (uiI lii> tiiiir. 
David W.cnlistpd in tho Ith Rntterv, mihI sciv.mI 
some three ye;iis. In Mic I'.'ill of isl I. \\illi;nn C. 
Moore linui-ht lils r:iuiil> t.. Michi^.-m. .■ind settled 
in Washten:nv County. Iml in 1 .S.VJ he di,-|«.sc(l of 
his place and removed lo 1 nion. i!r.- h (' ily, 

Mr. and .Mrs. ('..melius nnn.-rol't .-iiv Ih,' prnvnls 
of niiu' eliildivn. rec-,,rdiMl :is foil,, us: W illi 
was hoi-n Fell. 2(1. IS.V,. .Mud ukutI^mI l-juni.-i 
daughter of Ebene/.cr 'i'honi|is(]ii. of ( l.-iylon 
E. was born Oct. ;i. ISCO, ui:irrieil .lojni II. 
the son of (iideon L. Wells, and is a resident of 
Medina Township; Rosa E. was bcjrn March 2;'), 
18G3, married (ieorge E. Barnett, of Newbury, Vt., 
Dee. 7, 1SS7, and now Hves in !iost,,n: \\:dhu-e (1. 
was born May l.">, l.sr.."i; IlcibrrtO., M.-iy l."i, I.SCV; 
Sarah A. Aug. 14, I ,S(;i), and (ieorge II., May C, 
1873; the last four live at home. Two children, 
Henrietta L. and Ella .1., died in infancy, the former 
July 22, 1858, and the latter Feb. 21. I SCO. 

BIr. Bancroft is an influential uieudiei' of llie 
Baptist Church and a truly Christian man. Ruling 
his life by the precepts of his religion, he not only 
enjoys the confidence, but the love and respect of 
those with whom he e<imes in contact. 



^^ARRETT F. HARRIS, , an aged an.l highly 
III ^p respected resident of the village of VVood- 
^^J) stock, was one of the pioneers of •Michigan 
Territory, coming to this county in 1836. He was 
then a young man twenty-two years of age, strong 
in health, j'outh and hope, and selecting a tract of 
timber land in the newly organized township of 
Woodstock, went to work witli a will to cultivate 
the soil and build up a homestead. 

Mr. Harris commenced in a modest way, on eighty 
acres of land, living in a log cabin until 1 S40, but 
he prospered in his labors, and bi^gnn gradually to 
add to his real estate until he had 200 acres, which 
he brought to a good state of cultivation. The 
cabin in time gave place to a modest frame dwell- 
ing, and this w.as followed by other buildings and 
improvements, until the country around began to 
look tipon the once impecunious young man with 
undisguised respect. He had fought his wa^' un- 



aided save liy the involuntary ene( 
is ever given to true worth, integri 
and before reaching the meridian 
counted among the most valued f;i( 



uiMU was more rea.ly to contribute to the fiirther- 
aui-c of the enterprises calculated to build uj) the 
<()inniunity, and secure its recognition as ,'in intelli- 
gent :uid progressive |.eopl<'. Now, tow;ir<l thesiin- 
s>'l of life, he has the :diund:int siitisfaetion of hosts 
of fiieuils ■Au<\ .a -ood eonsrienee. for wliirli many 
men w.iul.l -ive millions of money. 

.Mr. Ibirris was -u in I'lstor County. N. V.. 

•Itdy r.t. ISi:;. and is the son of Abram .-nid Fcilly 
(Waldrou) Il.-irris, the former born Krb. I.;. 1 7.s;), 
in the .same comity, and the latter Sept. 23, I77(i. In 
1840 Abram Harris left his native county and re- 
moved to Indiana, settling near Ft. Wayne, where 
he lived upon a farm until hisdeath, wbieli occurred 
when be w;is lifty-nine years of age ; the motliei' was 
of (merman descent, and died at the age of sixty- 
seven. They were the parents of six children, of 
whom our subject is tho sole survivor, though all 
l)ut one lived to mature years. Abram Harris when 
a boy was bo\ind out to serve an apjirenticeship at 
shoemaking. but before his time expired his father- 
in-law purchased his freedom from the contract. 

(iarrett F. Harris made his home with his parents 
until twenty-two years of age, in the meantime em- 
ploying himself as a laborer, but in 1836, deter- 
mined upon a change of location, he made his way 
to this county, and purchased a part of the land in- 
cluded in the old Harris homestead, which is widely 
known to all the older residents of the county. At 
first he was obliged to go twenty miles to mill and 
market, m.akiiig his way laboriously with an ox- 
team, though these privations and hardships wt^ve 
the common lot of the pioneers. I'liey. however, 
maintain they were happy in their cabin homes, and 
it is certain that in those times there were exercised 
to a greater extent th.an at the present, the gentle 
virtues of hospitality, kindness and charity. 

Mr. Harris contributed to the erection of nearly 
every church and school building in his townslii|) 
and vicinity, and took pride in the growth and prog- 
ress of the community. He was married first on 



■^^ 



••► 



•► f "^ 



^10 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



t 



the Sd of Jniuiary, 1836, to Miss Mngdalia Aneh- 
moody, who died Aug. 15, 1840, aged twenty-one 
years, leaving two children. Abrani, the elder, 
was born in Woodstock Township, Dec. 8, 1837, 
and married Miss Mar^' Hewett; they have four 
children, and are living on a farm in Clinton County, 
this State. Mar_y was born July 3, 1839, and mar- 
ried Jacob Every, a farmer of Jackson County. On 
the 10th of December, 1840, Mr. Harris was again 
married, to Miss Phebe Brooks,who was a native of 
Delaware County, N. Y., and daughter of Merchant 
and Mary (Every) Brooks, who also were natives 
of Delaware County, and came to Michigan in 1835. 
The father took up a tract of 200 acres of Govern- 
ment land, and built up a homestead fi'om the wil- 
derness, where, with his estimable wife, he spent the 
remainder of his days. Mrs. Harris was one of 
eight children comprising the parental family, five 
sons and three daughters. Of this group but five 
are now living, two sons and two daughters besides 
Mrs. Harris. William H. now occupies the home- 
stead ; Uriah lives on a farm in Woodstock Town- 
ship; Margaret, Mrs. Nelson Kelly, lives near, and 
Angeleck, Mrs. Jefferson White, lives at Clark's 
Lake. The paternal grandfather, Joseph Brooks, 
married a Miss Rollin, and they spent their lives in 
Delaware County, passing away when ripe in years. 
On the maternal side, Joseph Every married Miss 
Margaret Acker, and coming to Michigan with his 
wife in 1837, they spent the remainder of their days 
in Woodstock Township, this county, both dying at 
an advanced age. Joseph Every brought with him 
to this State his mother, who lived to see ninety- 
nine years. The grandfather of this old lady was 
the carpenter who drove the first nail in New York 
City. 

The household of our subject was completed by 
the birth of eiglit children, of whom the record is as 
follows: The eldest, a daughter, died unnamed; 
Magdalena, who was born March 5, 1843, died Ajnil 
1(), 1881; she had been married to William Davi- 
son, and was the mother of three children. Wessel 
D. was born April IG, 184G, and married Miss Nel- 
lie Turner; they have three daughters and one son. 
Merchant B. w.as born March 5, 1849, and married 
Miss Olive Nichols; they have seven children. 
William Henry was born Nov. 6, 1851, married 



Miss Eliza Swartout, and has three children; Elma 
E. was born June 26, 1855, and is the wife of James 
Horton, and the mother of one child ; Sophronia 
was born Oct. 16, 1858, married F. Peterson, and 
is the mother of four children ; Lora was born March 
9, 1864, and married Miss Edith Sanford ; he farms 
the homestead on shares, and is the father of two 
children, a son and daughter. 

Mr. Harris has always been a Baptist in religion, 
and in politics is an uncompromising Democrat. 
He has worked energetically for the party, and has 
never seen the day when ho was ashamed of his 
principles. 



JflONATHAN E. INGERSOLL came to Blich- 
11 igan in the fall of 1842, and located first 
I on a farm in Hillsdale County. He had 
fj about $70 in money, and during the follow- 
ing fall and winter put up a house, purchased a 
cow and a hog. and wheat enough for his father's 
familj' to live upon until after the next harvest. 
He was joined by the family in the spring of 1843, 
and his father being crippled with rheumatism, 
Jonathan E. had the principal charge of the family 
and provided the means for their maintenance. 

For two years following Mr. Ingersoll had no 
team of his own, and was obliged to hire his plow- 
ing done. Under these difficulties he struggled 
along for two years, when he began to gain a foot- 
hold, and in due time he found himself on the road 
to prosperit}', with a good farm of 110 acres con- 
taining a comfortable dwelling, barn and other out- 
buildings. After a trip to California and a resi- 
dence there of two years, in which he engaged in 
mining, he, in 1856, sold his farm, and coming to 
this county invested $11,000 of his capital in the 
farm in Palmyra Township which he now owns, 
and which included 200 acres of valuable land on 
sections 5 and 6. He is a fine illustration of the 
self-made man, as he began his career dependent 
upon his own resources, and is now numbered 
among the wealthy and prominent men of Lenawee 
County; a portrait of Mr. Ingersoll will be found 
on the adjoining page of this Album. 

Our subject was born in Victor, Ontarii) Co., 
N. Y., May 20, 1820, and is the son of Stephen 



^^.^^^< 




4 







i 



lp:nawp:e county. 



■43 



Ingersoll, a native of I.yiin. .Mn-s. ulicr.- lie w,-is 
born April 17, ITS-'. The i>;ileni;il graiidiiareuts, 
Aaron and Lydia Ingersoll, were of English descent,, 
tile former the son of William Ingersoll, who emi- 
grated to America in early manliood, aceonn)anied 
by three brothers, and located in Massachnselts. 
The familj' was afterward lai-gely represented in 
the Bay State, as they all marrie<l ami reai-ed sons 
and daughters. Stephen, the son of Aaron, mar- 
ried Miss Joan, daughter of Deacon Isaac and 
Mary Root, of West Stockbridge, Mass., and they 
became the parents of nine children, of whom Jona- 
than K.. our subject, was the fourlli Mniaud eighth 
child. Stephen Ingersoll resided in his native 
State until reaching manhood, in the meantime 
learning the miller's trade. He tluni migrated to 
Ontario County, N. Y.. where he seeur('d a tract of 
land, upon which he o|ieiaf,e(l until llie >|iring of 
1«43, the date of his removal to this e<,uiily. He 
spent the last years of his life in Hillsdale County, 
this State, his death taking |)hice in the summer of 
1858. His wife, Mrs. Joan Ingersoll. was born at 
Stockbridge, Mass., Jan. '23, 17iS0, and died at the 
homestead in Hillsdale County, Api-il l'O, l.S.Vi. 
She was the daughter of a Revohitionarv soldier, 
and both her parents were natives of Massachusetts. 
In the fall of 1875 Mr. Ingersoll repeated his 
trip to California. The journey in Is.Vi had Ikhmi 
made overland with horse-teams, .and he starte<l 
home by the Nicaragua route, leaving .San Fian- 
cisco on the steamer "Yankee Blade," then one of the 
best vessels on the Pacific Coast. After twenty- 
three hours' sail she was wrecked on a reef during 
a dense fog, about five miles off shore. Tln're were 
1,300 passengers on board, and with the exception 
of fifty persons, who were lost b}' the swamping of 
small boats and other cau.ses, all were safely landed. 
Mr. Ingersoll was among the Last to leave the 
wreck, twenty- two hours after the vessel struck. 
The following day a small coasting steamer came 
along and conveyed 800 of the pa.ssengei'S to San 
Diego. Eight da^'s later another steamer arrived 
which carried them back to San Francisco. On the 
■20th of October the survivors set out once more, 
and after a passage of twent}' days arrived safely 
in New York harbor, whence Mr. Ingersoll not long 
afterward found his way to the farm which he had 



left in Michigan. His later trip to .Sacramento was 
accomplished from Chicago in five da_ys; this time 
he merely went on a visit to his children and re- 
ttn-ned the same season. The lapse of twenty years 
had effected a vast change both in the methods of 
transportation and in the country along the P.acific 
Coast. While he had been quietly farming in 
Michigan, civilization had been working its way 
wcstvvard, and flourishing cities had grownup where 
perhaps there was nothing but a hiunlet or a building 
which served as a stoiiping-place for the traveler. 

The marriage of Jonathan E. Ingersoll and Miss 
Maria Haumiond was eelelMated at the home of the 
bride in Ransom. Hillsdale County, Dec. 31, 1844, 
and the young (x'ople commenced life together on 
the partially cultivated farm of our subject. The, 
nine children who in due time completed the house- 
hold circle are ivcorded ;i- follows: Edgar J. was 
horn in Ransom, May 17, ISIC. and is now in Pal- 
myra; Lydia A. was born July 20, 1847, and 
married Harrison Crommer; she is now in Ransom, 
Hillsdale Couni.y. (!yrus B. was born Dec. 13, 
1848, and is engaged at fannini; in .lefferson, Hills- 
dale County; Phebe P. was l»irn .Ian. 3, 1850, and 
married Christopher C. ('rommer, of California; 
she is now a resident of that State. Edna M. was 
born Feb. "21, 1852. and is the wife of Charles 
Miller, <if Raisin Towndiip; Esther F. was born 
Jan. 1, 1S5G. and married Frederick W. Nichols, 
of Palmyra; John S. was born Oct. 13, 1858, and 
is engaged at molding in the car works, in the city 
of Detroit; He))cr D. was born Sept. 15, 1863, and 
is carrying on farming in Colorado; Thomas H. 
was born Dec. 22, 18G.'i, and resides at home. 

Mrs. Maria Ingersoll, the wife of our subject, 
was born in Freetown, Cortland Co., N. Y., June 
15, 1824. Her father, John Hammond, was born 
in Long Island, Aug. 18, 17!)1, and was married in 
Cortland t^ount.y, N. Y., to Miss Permelia Dickin- 
son, a native of Connecticut, born Jan. 18, 179G. 
They emigrated to Michigan in 1838, and in 1841 
Mr. Hammond settled on a tract oi timber land in 
Ransom Townshi|i, Hillsdale County. He erected 
a log house and i4eared the land around him, build- 
ing up a comfortable home, where he remained until 
his death, in 1881. The mother's death took 
place on the 3d of November, 1838. 



•^t^ 



■•► 



f44 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



.^h 



ETER JACOB, a successful farmer and a 
fine representative of the German element 
in our i^opulation, is a self-made man in 
every sense of the term. When he landed 
in America a lad eighteen years of age he was not 
only without a cent in his pocket but he owed his 
In-other for his passage ; since tlien he has achieved 
independence by his resolute will and persistent 
toil. 

Mr. Jacob was born in Hessian Germany, Jan. 4, 
1837, and is the son of John and Martha (Lapp) 
Jacob, both natives of Germany, where they [lassed 
their entire lives. Our subject attended school, re- 
ceiving a good, practical education until he was 
fourteen years of age, and he then commenced to 
make his own waj- in the world, working out by the 
year on a farm. The first two years his wage's were 
$7 per year, with his board, and some woo) for 
clothing. His wages were advanced at the end of 
two years, but while he remained in Germany the 
best wages he ever received were $15 a year, in 
addition to the wool for clothes. He remained in 
the Fatherland until 1855, when a brother who had 
emigrated to America sent him money enough to 
pay his passage to this country, and in June of that 
year he set sail from Bremen. In the following 
August he landed in Quebec, a stranger in a strange 
laud, without money and in debt for his passage. 
It was his intention to come to the United States, 
so he resolutely sought work that he might obtain 
money enough to pay his fare, and found employ- 
ment near Hamilton, where he remained two 
months. He then set out for Erie County, Ohio, 
and there became employed (m a farm, receiving 
$110 besides his board, for his first year's work, 
which must have seemed to him a large sum of 
money. His wages were afterward increased to 
$156 a year, and he continued working there until 
1860. 

In December of that year Mr. Jacob took the 
first important step toward establishing a home, by 
his marriage with Margaret Reas, also a native of 
Hessian Germany, where she was born Nov. 13, 
1841. Her mother died in that country and she 
came to America when about nine j'ears old with her 
father and stepmother, George and Julia (Sehultz) 
Reas. They located in Erie County, Ohio, but 



Mr. Reas now resides in Fulton Countj-, that State. 

Shortly after his marriage, in 1860, Mr. Jacob 
resolved to come to Michigan and invest in some 
of the cheap land of this State, accordingly, accom- 
panied by his bride, he came to Ogden Township, 
and with the monej' that he had carefully saved he 
bought forty acres of land, the price of which was 
$550 ; that tract is included in his present farm. 
His first move was to cut trees to make room for a 
log cabin, which he soon had ready for occupancy, 
but by that time he had used up all his money and 
was obliged to go to work by the month for others 
to earn money to support himself and wife. Dur- 
ing that time, with unusual enterprise and energy, 
he worked on his own land evenings and rainy 
daj's, anil after a time he and his brother bought a 
pair of steers with which they both did their farm 
work and marketing. The first hogs he raised here 
were turned loose in the forest, and fatted on 
acorns. He afterward killed them and carried them 
ten miles to market, where he sold them for two 
and one-half cents a pound dressed-weight. He 
continued working out by the month until he had 
land enough of his own cleared to employ his whole 
time. After four years he was able to buy a yoke 
of oxen for himself, which he sold two years later, 
and then bought the first pair of horses he ever 
owned. In 1864 he bought forty acres of land 
joining his first purchase, and since that time he 
has cleared the first forty acres that he bought, and 
now has it all enclosed and well improved. In 1877 
he bought twenty acres more, paying $5G0 for the 
tract, and in 1883 he bought another tract of thirty 
acres, paying $75 per acre for the same. He novy 
owns a fine farm of 130 acres, the greater part of it 
improved, while his buildings are among the finest 
in the township, as may be seen from an examina- 
tion of the view of his homestead found elsewhere 
in this volume. He has alwaj's engaged in mixed 
husbandry, and has paid much attention to raising- 
stock. On the 8th of July, 1887, Mr. Jacobs sus- 
tained a severe injury by being run over by his 
runaway team with a self-binder, and is crippled for 
the remainder of his life, and unable to do any 
kind of farm labor. 

Mr. .Jacob has two brothers in this countrj-, John 
and Christopher, both living in Ogden Township. 



M 



-•►Hh-* 



LKNAWEE COUNTY 



14:0 



To Mr. and Mrs. .Incnl, linvr Imti. • 

ehilclren— Mary A.. M:irt;iurt A., I,,.uis:i K. 
J.ewis, John Beiijtuniii. ami two cliiiilieii v 
in infancy. 

Mr. and Mrs. Jacob are pcdplc whose 
conduct in the daily affairs of lilV well iii 
esteem and confidence in wliicli they arc 
tlieir neighbors. They and their children a 
hers of the Evangelical (Jhurcli. 



C'^'JIOMAS A. LIDDEL. TJie subj.'ct ,,l tlie 

v\^^7 ous fanners and stock-gi'owers of .Macon 
Township, and has been located on section (1 forihe 
last fifty years. He conies of e.\ccllenl Scoicli 
ancestry, from whom he iiilierited tlie (|iKdities of 
industry and perseveiance. whieli hnxc >ecured for 
him a good position Bnanciall3' and tlie involiinlary 
respect of his neighbors. The patronymic, it- will 
[)e observed, is spelled differently in this work, in 
accordance with the tastes of the individual who 
bears it, Thomas A., our subjec't, preferring;- the 
more modern method. 

Mr. Liddel was born in Florida Township. .Mont- 
gomery Co., N. Y., July L'S. l,s:5-_', .-nid is the son of 
Robert Liddel, who was a. native of Schenectady 
County, and the eldest son nf Thoin.-is Liddel. Sr. 
The latter was probably born in Scotland, but hi' 
was reared in .Schenectady' Count>', N. Y.,and upon 
reaching manhood married Miss .lanct Rohison, 
who was also of .Scotch ancestry. 'I'liey spent the 
balar.ee of their lives on a farm in Schenectady 
County, Grandfather Liddel dying at the advanced 
age of eighty 3'ears. His wife survived him some 
time, and was a hundred years old at the time of 
her death. Thomas Liddel was :, Se,,|<-h I'resby- 
torian of the old school, and i-arried out in his life 
and character the principles to which he had been 
strictly reared in his childhood and youth. 

Robert Liddel. the father of our subject, was 
reared at the home of his parents in Schenectady 
County, N. Y., where he remained until a youth of 
eighteen years. He then took up his abode with 
his uncle in Princetown, and assisted the latter in 
his occupation as a drover and stock dealer. Young 



Liddel s..o„ develop.Ml (X.-elleiit judgment in con- 
iH'ction with this l.usin.'ss. which h.- afterward pur- 
sued the remainder of his life. He was married in 
his native State, to Miss .lanct Adair, who was the 
daughter of an excellent Scotch family, her father 
being Alexander Adair, who had married a Miss 
McKee. The parents of the latter were natives of 
Scotland, and upon enii-nifing to the Lnitcd States 
locati'd in .Montgonieiy County, X. Y., during its 
early scttkuneiit. Thi' Indians at that time still 
roamed unrestrained over the country, committing 

I depredations and iii.aking life a terror to the pio- 
neers. The parents .-ind one daughter were captured 

' and killed by the savages. The other daughter, 
who afterw;n-d became the grandmother of our sub- 
ject, was a witness of the atrocious deeds of the 
savages, and was herself captured ,and held for 
.■ibont nine month-,. She w:i> linally released through 
the efforts of a white m.Mii. who directed her to re- 
fuse to learn to si)eak in the langu.age of the sav- 
ages, and later purchased her liberty with some 
trifling object which took their fancy. She was nine 

I years old at the time of h.^r i-aptnre, and was sub.se- 
quently married to Ak'xaiulei' iVdair, and spent the 
reinaimlei of her days in Montgomery County, N. 
Y. She was only middle-aged when her death oe- 

I curred, and Mr. A<lair died at the age of fifty-five 
years. 

Alter his marriage Robert Liddel eng.aged in 
general merchandising for some 3'ears in Mont- 
gouK^ry County, but in the fall of 183'), accompan- 

j led by his wife and two children, he started for the 
Territory of Michigan, and ujion reaching this 

1 county t,ook up eighty acres of land on section 6, in 

! ALacon Township. This property he subsequently 

j exchanged for the present homestead of our sub- 
ject, but which then bore little resemblance to its 

I present condition. The parents labored and toiled 
after the manner of the pioneers, and in due time 
had built up for themselves and their children a 
comfortable home. Here the death of the mother 
occurred Dec. 24, 1864, at the age of sixty-five 
years. Robert Liddel, for his second wife, married 
Mrs. Susan Miller, and finally removed to the vil- 
lage of Clinton, where ho died May 1, 1879, when 
seventy -nine 3'ears old. Robert Liddel and his first 

I wife were members of the Presb3'terian Church; 



■*► 






<• 



', ' 746 



I 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



t 



the second wife was a Methodist. Politieally, he 
was an old-line AVhig until the abandonment of that 
party by the organization of the Republicans, when 
he cordially endorsed the principles of the latter, 
and continued with them until his voting days were 
over. 

The subject of our sketch received his earh^ edu- 
cation in the district school, and continued with 
his parents until reaching his majority. He selected 
a wife from among the maidens of his own town- 
ship, being married on the 5th of March, 1856, to 
Miss INIary A., daughter of Robert and Mary L. 
(Biddle) Richart, natives of Pennsylvania and of 
Scotch ancestry. Mr. Richart was a mechanic, and 
continued in his native county of Northumberland 
until after his marriage and the birth of two sons 
and four daughters. Mrs. Liddel, the fifth child of 
her parents, was born Aug. 30, 1829, and continued 
under the home roof until her marriage with oiu- 
subject. The family came to Michigan in 1846, lo- 
cating in Macon Township near Pennington Cor- 
ners, where the father followed his trade until rest- 
ing from his earthly labors, his death occurring 
May 21, 1875; the mother survived a little over 
two years, dying Oct. 21, 1877. They were eighiy 
and seventy-five years of age respectively. Mi'. 
Richart, politically, was Republican after the organ- 
ization of that party. 

William Richart, the paternal grandfather of 
Mrs. Liddel, was born in Montour County, Pa., 
and married Miss Martha Moody, whose birthplace 
was not far from his own. They spent their entire 
lives in that locality, wliere they followed farming, 
and died at an advanced age. They were members 
of the Presbyterian Chtn-ch. Tiie maternal grand- 
parents. Israel and Mtirtha (Lowry) Biddle, were 
also natives of Pennsylvania, and spent the most of 
their lives in Montour County; they also were 
Presbyterians. Both families were prominent in 
their communitj^ where they built up comfortable 
homes and enjoyed the confidence and esteem of 
the people around them. 

To our subject and his wife there have been born 
three children : Marilla R., who makes her home 
with her parents, and is very skillful as a seam- 
stress; Mary E., the wife of Charles Wilkins, who is 
carrying on a farm in Macon Township, and Ivj-, 



the wife of David Sloan, who is in the butchering 
business at Pennington Corners. Mr. Liddel takes 
a warm interest in the success of the temperance 
movement, and politically, has identified himself 
with the Prohibitionists. They, like their respect- 
i^^e })arents, are in sympathy with the Presbyterians. 
As representative of the homesteads of tliis re- 
gion we present in our illustration department a 
view of Mr. Liddel's residence and its sun-ound- 
ings. 



(^^^HOMAS C. ISLEY, a pi'osperous farmer re- 
/^M^^ siding on section 1. Palmyra Township, was 
^^^ born in Ramsey, Huntingdonshire, England, 
on the loth of November, 1825. His father, Will- 
iam Isley, was liorn in the same shire, where he was 
reared to manhood and was married to Mary Ham- 
den. He made a business there of ditching and drain- 
ing lands, and remained in England until 1853, when 
he followed his son to America, and spent the last 
years of his life in Evansville, Ind., with his oldest 
daughter; his wife, the mother of the subject of 
this sketch, died in England. Of their children, six 
grew to maturity, and five came to America: Ann 
m;arried William Bedford, and resides at Evans- 
ville, Ind. ; John lives in Lagrange Countj', Ind; 
Tiiomas C. is our subject; Mary remained in En- 
gland; Martha is the widow of Matthew Wilson, 
and lives in Cleveland, Ohio; Sarah married William 
Bedford, and died in Evansville, Ind. 

Thomas C. Isley was reared in his native town, 
and as soon as he was large enough he assisted his 
father in the support of the family, and resided with 
his parents until 1852. On the Uth of October of 
that year, with his wife and one child, he set sail from 
Liverpool, and landed at New York on the 28th of 
December following, after a long and stormy pas- 
sage, with Ijut four shillings in his pocket. He 
wished to go to Albanj', and in order to secure the 
money to pay the expenses of the trip, sold a por- 
tion of his clothing. He went by the railway until 
within twelve miles of his destination, where the 
track was washed away, and he had to walk the 
remainder of the distance. When he arrived in 
Albany, he had but §1 left. Strangers assisted him 
until the following February, when he found work. 



lp:nawee county. 



iilcd liy Ihe 
Winos .-iiKl 
clerk in ilu- 

erktMl for B. 



and then he eoukl only work three daysi in the 
week at fifty cents per day. In iMarcli and April 
he worked full time in a JirickyMrd. clioppiim wood 
at seventy-five cents a, day, and in Alay ums ,<4Jven 
full charge of tlie yard. In July operations at the 
yard were suspended and he migrated to C'loveland, 
arriving there with only §S, Imt he succeeded in 
finding friends who were fioiM lii> native l.,wuin 
England, and Ihruugli ihern secured employment 
at $1 per day. 

Mr. Isley remained a, resi, lent of (' 
years, and dui'ing the time was ap 
City Conned as Deputy Inspector 
Li(lLior--. and al the same time was 
custom house, and a part of the tinn 
A. De Wolf, a commission merchant. In I.SGO he 
purchased a farm of forty-seven acres in Olnistead 
Township, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, thirty acres of 
which were under cultivation, and the remainder 
heavily timbered. He rebuilt the house which 
was located upon it, and cleared more of the land, 
and with the exception of one year lived there 
until 1866, when he sold out, and coming to Lena- 
wee Connt.y, purchased the farm on which he now 
resides. There were a few acres of this land partly 
cleared, while he now has seventy acres in culti- 
vation, and has planted a large nunibei- ol cherry 
and fruit trees, besides erecting good ijuildings, in- 
cluding a comfortable residence .and commodious 
barn. He owns another larni of forty acres in 
Blisstield Township, which i> under cultivation, 
and is equipped with good buildings. 

In January, 1849, the subject of this sketch was 
married to Ann DeCamp, who was born in North- 
amptonshire, England, on the 14th of May, 1829, 
and was the daughter of John and iMary (Urown) 
DeCanip, both of the same shire, where they spent 
their entire lives. Mr. and Mrs. Isley have had 
eleven children, seven of whom are living: Charles, 
William, George; Belle, the wife i>f Malvin Bowen ; 
Edward, Thomas and Fred. The oldest one was 
born in England, and the others in America. 



and they are all livins; 



ear 



children, twins, died in infancy in Cleveland, and 
two daughters died in Lenawee County. 

Mr. and Mrs. Isley are memb(!rs of the I'rolest- 
aut Methodist Church, and it is mainly due t(j their 



efforts that the ^Vellsville Church, a handsome 
structure, was built. He and his wife were among 
the original inendiei- of this congregation, which 
he has served in iJu' capacity of Clas.s- Leader, Trus- 
tee, Steward, Superintendent and Sunday-school 
Librarian. Mrs. Isley was one of the original 
members of the Ladies' Mite Society, and served 
for some years both as its President and Treasurer. 
Mr. Isley "s success in life is largely due to his own 
efforts, and In all his transactions he has shown 
strict intcurity a.nd hi im)r. He has lived a Christian 
life, and has always taken a great interest in such 
movements as tended to the elevation of himself 
and the community in which he lives. 

As illustrative of the change from "the little old 
log cabin" surrounded by the forest primeval," we 
[iresent on another page; of this Ai.hum a view of 
Mr. Isley's residence with its environments. 



^^;BHAHAM r.ATKMAN. 

M -uof Ron.e Township 
iri representation in a worl 
lie whose name stands 
sketch. His whol<> course thix 



of this kind than 
it tiie head of thi.s 
iigh life has been 



iiiscientious and high-minded man, and 
dih' po>itioii in life he has risen socially 
lily until to-day he is in the enjoyment 
comfortable home, with plenty laid by for his 
ige, and is fully established in the esteem and 
I'onlidence of the people among whom he has moved 
for a period of twenty years. Among the other 
good things which have fallen to his lot, is an amiable 
and estimable companion, who, like her husband, is 
held in the highest regard by all who know her. 
Mr. and Mrs. Bateman are universally spoken of by 
yciiiiig and old as those whose place in the com- 
munity could scarcely be filled by others, and who by 
their kindness and hospitality iiave made for them- 
selves a warm place in the affections of the people 
around them. 

The lii-st record of the Batemau family indicates 
tlieiii to have been of (ierinan origin, but the direct 
ancestors of our >ulije<-t were natives of England. 
Abraham Batcmaii was also liorn on the other side 
of the Atlantic, about LSI 'J. aii<l is the son of Uan- 






748 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



iel and Ann (Heirst) Bateman. The father was a 
flax dresser by trade, and died in tlie city of Leeds, 
at the age of fifty-six years. The mother had pre- 
ceded her husband to the silent land, her death talk- 
ing place when she was forty-four years old. Of 
the ten children comprising the parental household, 
two died in infancy. 

Abraham Bateman received most of lii.«"b()ok 
learning" in the Sabbath-school, and this of a very 
limited charactei-. At the early age of seven years 
he went to work in a factory, wliere he learned 
cloth dressing, and picked up a little more knowl- 
edge at a night school, which was conducted by a 
benevolent old soldier. He was thus employed un- 
til about seventeen years of age, then entered a 
cloth house and followed his trade until 1845. 
Five years later he resolved to make a decided 
change, aud engaged passage on lioard a sailing- 
vessel bound for America. He arrived in the city 
of New York the latter part of May, 1 850, and 
not long afterward made his way to Southern 
Michigan, where for a period of eighteen months 
he was employed as a farm laborer in Ridgeway 
Township. From here he went into Franklin 
Township, but a few months later returned to 
Ridgeway, and until 1868 labored industriously to 
acquire sufBcient capital to establish himself on a 
piece of land which he might call his owu. In the 
fall of 181)8 he arrived at this point, and purchased 
the land included in his pri^cnt farm. It had then 
but a few imperfect structnn- which could scarcely 
be called buildings, but he went to work with a 
will, and in due time added those conveniences aud 
improvements essential to the well-ordered home- 
stead. He brought the land to a good state of 
cultivation, built fences, and in due time put u]) a 
new house and repaired the barn, working early 
and late, and cultivating withiu himself the spirit 
of contentment without which no man under any 
circumstances can be happy. The soil yieliled 
bountifully to his efforts and one improvement 
after .another was added to tlie farm, until the pass- 
ing traveler now gazes with admiring eyes upon 
best appointed homesteads in Rome 



one of thf 
Township. 

Mr. Bateman was fir 
resident of his native cc 



married in l<s42, while ; 
itry, to Miss Rachel Rath 



bun, whose birth took place in Yorkshire, not far 
from the home of her husband. By a former hus- 
band she had become the mother of two children, 
but no children were born to this second union. 
She deijarted this life at the home of her husband 
in Franklin Township in 18C8, at the age of sixty 
.vears. 

Our subject was a second time married, in 186.S, 
to Mrs. Elizabeth (Curtis) Ligdeu. daughter of 
.Samuel and Sarah (Lewis) Curtis, and widow of 
James Ligdeu. She was born in East Kent, En- 
gland, in 1817, and is not ashamed of the fact that 
she has always been a hard-working woman, em- 
ploying herself at whatever came in the way of her 
duty in her earlier as well as her later years. Her 
father's family included fifteen children. By her 
first marriage she became the mother of eight chil- 
dren. She came with her brother to this country 
in 1853, arriving here almost totally without means, 
and she labored as she had done all her life. After 
a few years she began to experience her reward and 
can now look about her comfortable home, where 
she enjoys a large share of the good things of life 
to which she is most justly entitled. Her three liv- 
ing children are residents of Rome Township. 

\\l^ ON. .lOIlN K. BOIES. Occupying some 
'rj^i of the highest positions in the gift of the 
'\vy> people of this county, .serving the State in 
'©) honorable and responsible capacities, and 
having always been connected with the financial 
and mercantile interests of this portion of the State 
of Michigan, there is no more i)roniinent figure in 
the history of Lenawee County than the gentleman 
whose name heads this sketch. 

John K. Boies was born in Blandford, Ilamiiden 
Co., Mass., Dee. (J, 1828, and is the son of Lemuel 
and Experience (Keep) Boies. His father was 
horn, lived and died in the same rugged township, 
among the granite hills of Western Massachusetts, 
and was a farmer by occupation. Lemuel Boies 
was the son of David Boies, an agriculturist of 
the same locality, who reared a family of seven 
sons and two daughters, among whom was Rev. 
Artenius Boies, a prominent clergyman in his day, 

•► 



t 



-^ 



■•► 



u 



LKNAWKR COUNTY. 



T 



who filled a pastorate in Philadelphia, and Charles- 
ton, S. C, and died wliile in charge of Pine Street 
Church, Boston, and afs.i Judsv .lescpli Uoies. of 
Washington County. X. Y. The f.-imily is ile- 
scended from a respectable Frciicli family, nf tlic 
name of DeBoies, who were Fi-ench llimiieiint>. .-ind 
had emigrated to America from their ii.-itixc hind 
during the persecutions that followed the Kesoea- 
tion of the Edict of Naiiles, in the ye.'ir icsr,. 
About the year 181 ;i, Lemuel Boies was united in 
marriage witli Miss Experience K<'ep, a, daughter 
of Samuel and Flavia Keep, of Long Me.'idow. 
Mas>. She w.-is the youngest of :i family of eight 
children, and <lescende,l from PuriUiu stock. One 
of her brothers was the Rev. .loiiu Ke,.p. who wa> 
in his day an eminent divine in NNcstcru Neu- \<nk 
and Northern Ohio, and wlio early enli>ted in thi' 
fight against the institution of >la\'ery. in the pulpil 
and on the stump, lie w:is i>\w of tlie founders of 
Oberlin College, in Ohio, and was a Trustee and 
financial agent of the college for many yeai's. 
When, in the panic of 1-S;i(). it was hard pressed for 
means to continue its existence, he visited iMigland 
in its behalf, and raised tluue :iinong philanthropists 
and anti-slavery men tlie necess:ny amount to save 
it from collapse. He was ( 'li;iiiniau of the Board 
of Trustees when the question came up on the ad- 
mission of colored students to the <'ollege on tlic 
same terms as the whiti' candidate-, ami the Ijoaril 
being eqnally divided, lu' gave the casting \ ote in 
its favor. Oberlin College lias since become one 
of the leading educational institutions in tlie 
country. 

fatliers, both of whom exerted in so sign;d a man- 
ner their wisdom and energy in |)lanting the seed- 
of piety, freedom and learning upon the bleak 
shores of New England, no one can feel prouder of 
his ancestors than the subject of tlii> skeleh. It is 
a remark obvious and just. Hint no |ieopleon earth 
owe more to their forefather- than the deseendants 
of the early New England f.amilies. TIk' eonr.age 
and devotion manifested by the zealous and free- 
dom seeking people generally, throughout all the 
American Colonies during the opening -eeiies of 
the Revolution, and the long eontinued t.rial- of 
war, are entitled to the profound re^jieet and :ul- 

i^^ = 



749 

miration of all. Against pressures of social in- 
fluences in the large Colonial towns, where bribes 
and offers were fre^cly m.ade by the emissaries of 
the Crown, and where preclietions of anarchy and 
I iiin were ciinstantly poured forth by the timid and 
nu'i-eenary ; against the temptations held out by 
the uealthy and riding classes, 'and threats hurled 
at them liy the most powerful of the Tories or 
Uoyali-l,-, these New England men. these noble 
wonuui. were proof. In them, conscience seems to 
lia\e been as heieditaiy a- intelligence, and the 
line .ae<ainiulative residts of the moral struggles and 
trials of many generations of honest lives appear to 
havi' lieeii transmitted to their descendants, in 

whoi -igiiLality as well as practicability of con- 

ca'ption .are (annbiniMl witli an andiitious and gen- 
eral sn|>poit of .action. These qualitie- which have 
been n..ticed in .Mr. Boie^' imli viduality are thus 
easily trru'cd. 

.b.hn K. Boies lived on the farm at Blandford, 
breathing in the fresh air of his rugged mountain home 
until the death of his father, when the place was 
sold ami his mother removed her family to West- 
ticld. in the s.anie St,:ite. in the Connecticut River 
N'alley. In this pi(auresque spot John K. was 
reared, and was educated in the Westfleld Academy. 
At the age of fourteen years he commenced the 
battle of lifi'. Working <m adjoiiang farms during 
the -iimmer .and going to school during the winter. 
.411 hi.- ainbiti ill at lliat time being centered in the 
idea of .ai-(|iiiiing a laillegiate education, and hav- 
ing his uncle-- leeonl in Oberlin College before 
him. in the -piing of LS45. when but seventeen 
years of age. lu' removed to that Ohio town, and 
niatiiciilat<al tluac in the college with the ultimate 
intention of -tiidyiiig law. But. '"Man proposes and 
(iod di-po-e-." for in the following December vaca- 
tion lie eanu' to llud.son, in Lenawee County, Mich., 
on a visit to his lirotlier, Henry ^L, wlio was then 
a nieich.aiil in that village. Hudson, at that time 
hardly more than a hamlet, had just begun to show 
sign- of becoming an imjiortant point for trade, 
tlier.ailroad having been recently completed to within 
its limits. Solicited to remain and engage in busi- 
iie— with liis bi-other. and .attracted by the novelty 
of life hi a nev\ eountiy. .after a few months' experi- 
ence in liu>iiie-- lite, he was SO well pleased with 

— •► 



t 



-^*- 



(50 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



it that he eoneliirled to forego his idea of college 
life and legal studies, and give his attention to 
business of a mercantile nature.. 

At the age of eighteen Mr. B. visited the city uf 
New York and purchased a large stock of gootls 
f(_)r his brother's store, transacting the business satis- 
factorily to all concerned. Remaining with his 
brotiier until he had attained his niMJority, he then 
formed a partnership with liiiu under the firm name 
and style of H. M. Boies & Bro., wiiich was 
changed subsequently b}' dropping the initials from 
the name. This firm continLied in the mercantile 
trade, erecting in 18;")."i a tine three-story brick 
building on the corner of Main and Church streets, 
until the year 1857, when they sold out to what 
would now be called a farmers' co-operative organ- 
ization or stock store company. The financial 
panic which suddenly swept over the country about 
that time interfering with the pecuniary success of 
their successors, in 1858 J. K. Boies <fe Co. bought 
out the concern, and resumed business at the old 
corner store, where they carried it on in unin- 
terrupted succession for thirty years, until January, 
1888, when they sold out to F. H. Brown & Co. 
During the continuance of the firm it did an 
immense business, sometimes their sales rising as 
high as $160,000 per annum. They had always 
been heavy dealers in grain, pork, wool, and all 
other kinds of farmers' produce, transacting a busi- 
ness reaching up some years to $300,000. This 
part of his business has been by its nature treacher- 
ous, and has oftentimes subjected him to heavy 
losses, but he has the satisfaction of -knowing that 
he has always met his financial obligations in full 
and never had a note go to protest. In 1855 he was 
instrumental in starting the first bank in Hudson, 
his partners being Henry M., his brother, and 
Nathan Rude, under the firm name of Boies, Rude 
i& Co. This institution proved successful and has 
continued to enjoy tiie confidence of the com- 
munity ever since. The death of Henry M. Boies 
and Nathan Rude dissolved the firm, and it was 
succeeded by that of Boies, Eaton & Co., the mem- 
bers of the present firm being John K. Boies, 
Stephen A. Eaton and John H. Boies. 

Ml-. Boies was for several years a Director of the 
Michigan State Insurance Company of Adrian. 



He is at the present time Vice President of the Len- 
awee County Savings Bank .at Adrian, and Director 
in the Standard Accident Insurance Company of 
Detroit. He is also President and principal owner 
in the Hudson Milling Company, and one of the 
owners of the Hudson Woodenware Manufactur- 
ing Company, He carries on two farms near Hud- 
son, and has considerable real- estate interests in 
Hudson and elsewhere. Politically, Mr. Boies has 
been an adherent and supporter of the ReiJublican 
party, and has filled many offices of honor and trust 
in the gift of the people. He was elected to the 
position of President of the village of Hudson in 
18C3, and re-elected to the same office in 18G7. In 
the year 18G4 he was chosen a member of the 
House of Representatives of the Michigan State 
Legislature, to which office he was re-elected in 
1866, and served for two years as Chairman of the 
Committee on Banks and Incorporations in that 
body. In 1868 he was further honored by being 
sent to the State Senate for two years, and in 1870 
he declined a re-election on account of the sickness 
of his wife, which afterward proved fatal. In 1874 
he was again elected to the position of Senator. 
During both these terms he was Chairman of the 
Committee of F'inance, and used his influence in 
that place against lavish appropriations and in favor 
of retrenchment of expenses and reduction of tax- 
ation. He was the author of the law providing 
for the application of the surplus funds in the State 
Treasury to the p.ayment of unmatured bonds, 
under the provisions of which much of the State 
indebtedness, including the entire war debt, was 
paid off and interest stopped. 

It has been well said by one of the leading State 
papers that as a legislator Mr. Boies was honest, 
clear-headed and sagacious. During his last term 
he was chosen President p7-o tern of the Senate. 
For four years he was an active member of the 
Republican State Central Committee, and has three 
times been chosen to preside over State Conven- 
tions of the Republican party. In 1871 he was 
appointed by Gov. Baldwin a member of the State 
Board of Control of Railroads, which position he 
iield till he resigned it on his election to the Senate 
in 1874. In 1878 he was re-appointed by Gov. 
Crosswell, and has held the position till the present 



H- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



^51 



time. In 1880 he was appointed by President 
(Jaifield a member of the United States Board of 
Indian Commissioners, serving in this capacity nii- 
lii he tendered his resignation in 188.5. lie was 
chosen b\' the Board of Supervisors to rcinesont 
Lenawee County at the meeting of the State Board 
of Equalization, at the capital, in August, 18!SG. 

On the 22d of October. l.S;V_'. Mr. .loliu K. 
Boies was united in marriage with .Mi.ss Sai'aii 
Amelia Speer. a native of I'almyra, Wayne Co., N. 
Y. They were the parents of tin-ee children, as 
follows: Eve A., now Mrs. Fredcrici< A. Wing, 
of Hastings, Neb., who w.ms liorn Nov. I, is."i;l; 
Clara E., now Mrs. Herman V. C. Hart. ..f Adrian, 
who was born July IG, 18.57; and .lolni llcnrv, who 
was born July 10, 1864. On the .5th u{ .lanuary, 
1870, Mrs. Sarah A. Boies was called to liic other 
world, "That suburb of the life elysian, whose por- 
tals we call death," leaving a bereaved family to 
mourn their loss. On the 26111 of August, 1875, 
Mr. Boies again entered into a matrimonial alliance, 
with Miss Mary Colton, a daughter of Rev. and 
Mrs. T. G. Colton, of Hudson. Bessie, no\v seven 
years of age, is the daughter of this marriage. 

Mr. Boies was for several years a Trustee of Olivet 
College. He has been a member of the Congrega- 
tional Society of Hudson for many years, and 
served sixteen years as Trustee, and most of that 
period as its Treasurer. He served for sis years as 
one of the Trustees of the public schools of Hud- 
son. Ever interested in the moral and religious 
growth of the village, he has contributed tow-ard 
the erection of [all the church edifices of the town. 
He has always been in favor of public improvements 
in Hudson, and been willing to aid them to the ex- 
tent of his ability. A good, sincere. Christian gen- 
tleman, he has ever essayed to square his life by 
the Holy Scriptures. His charity toward all worthy- 
objects is proverbial, and he is in every respect a 
"man to all the country dear." In every political 
campaign for the past twenty-five years he has taken 
the stump in behalf of his political principles, and 
his abilit_y and effectiveness in that line have been 
universally conceded by friends and opponents. 
He has several times addressed by invitation those 
monster gatherings of farmers and their families, 
iviiown as the farmers' picnics at Devil's Lake. 



It will be seen by the readers of this sketch that 
]\Ir. Boies has led an active, busy life. Day bj- day, 
for forty years, liis br.-iin and hands have been bus- 
ily and constantly ('n}|)liiyc_Ml. For over thirty years 
he has owned anil operated the bank, the store, the 
farm, the real-e.state investments and many other 
financial interests, and has given his personal atten- 
tion to all these cares, and yet has had time to read 
man}' books and periodicals, and keep well posted 
on the issues and topics of the day. He has a well- 
stocked library, and is a lover of books, which he 
reads rapidly and very quickly masters their con- 
tents. During the busy ye:irs of his life he has 
Ijeen blessed with goixl lienllh and a pleasant and 
happy home, and has uevei- denied himself or fam- 
ily any reasonable eonifoit. i>r privilege for the sake 
of adding to his peeuniaiv store. He has traveled 
considerably with members of his family, and his 
children liave lieen given liberal advantages for 
securing an education. It has been pleasant for 
him, notwithstanding many cares and labors, to 
meet people, to invite them to his house, to talk 
w'ith them of the past, present and future, and to 
contribute his quota to the general enjoyment and 
welfare of the eonnnunity. 



4^m^-^ 



^^ LARENd: K. JUDSON, telegraph operator 
(I ( ^L and Station Agent at Lenawee Junction, is 
^^^ com|)aratively a ynung man, being born in 
Raisin Township, thi> euunty, Feb. i. ls5t). He is 
the eldest son of Lu<-in^ W :ind :\huT ( ). (llorton) 
Judson. The eaily edueali.m ul' Mr. -lud-^on was 
eon.lueted in the disi li.-l, >eh.M,l, and advanced My 
attendance at liaisiii \'alley Seminary and Adrian 
College, and wlnai ciglitecn y>'ars of iigv, he com- 
menced teaching. 

In 1870 Mr. Judson came to Lenawee .Iun<-tion, 
where he began oi)erating the telegrapli. and at once 
evinced a peculiar adaptation to this bu>iue>s. In 
the winter of 1872 he migrated to Sandusky, Ohio, 
and entered the employ of the Lake Shore Railroad 
Company at that point, from which he wa^ tr.-nis- 
ferred in the summer of 1873, to White I'ii^eon, .-nid 
from there to Lenawee Junction, where he was given 

•► 



^52 



LENAWEK COUNTY. 



full charge of matters pertaining to the station, aiul 
has since remained in the employ of that great cor- 
poration. 

Mr. Judson, in 1875, when twent3'-tive j-ears of 
age, and having laid by something for a rainy day, 
was united in marriage with Miss Harriet E. Calk- 
ins. Mrs. Judson was born in Palmyra Township, 
this county, and is the daughter of Lorentus and 
Sophia (Hollister) Calkins (see sketch.) She re- 
ceived a good education in the common schools 
and Raisin Valley Seminary, and remained a mem- 
ber of the parental household until her marriage. 
Of her union with our subject there have lieen born 
two children: Glenn M., Jan. 20, 1879, and Linn 
C, July 15, 1887. 

Mr. and Mrs. Judson occupy a tasteful and com- 
modious frame dwelling near the Junction, which is 
finished and furnished in modern style, and as a 
home, is complete in all its surroundings. JNIr. Jud- 
son mixes very little in public affairs, but when elec- 
tion season comes around, votes the straight Demo- 
cratic ticket. 



J^EREMIAH WILSEY, who has lieen a resi- 
dent of this county his entire life, is the 
possessor of a neat homestead on section 26 
in Woodstock Township, to which he has 
given his close attention for more than twenty 
years, and is carrying on the pursuit with which he 
has been familiar since his earliest recollection. 
The son of one of Michigan's early pioneers, he was 
born in Woodstock Township, June 17, 1839, and 
has a vivid recollection of many of the scenes and 
incidents of life in a new settlement. Being in no- 
wise behind the youths of his day in the laudable am- 
liition of becoming an independent land-owner, 
able to sit under his own vine and flg tree, he has 
by years of industrious labor realized a part, at least, 
of his early ambitions. His farm with its improve- 
ments is highly creditable to him, both as an agri- 
culturist and a member of a i)rogressive community'. 
In reverting to the family history of our subject, 
we find that his father, also Jeremiah Wilsey, was 
born in IJntchess County, N. Y., Feb. 15, 1801, and 
was the son of Henry and Sabrina Wilsey, the for- 



•^H 



mer a farmer by occupation. When Jeremiah, Sr., 
was five years old his parents removed to the vicin- 
ity of Troy, Bradford Co., Pa., where he resi<led 
until he Was thirty-one years old. In the fall of 
1832 he emigrated to Ohio and purchased a quarter 
section of land in Huron Count}', which he sold 
four years later, and in January, 1837, came to this 
county and purchased forty acres of new land in 
Woodstock Township. This property he disposed 
of in the spring of 1848, and purchased a quarter 
section of new land not far from the old. This 
latter tract lay along the old Territorial road, and 
Mr. Wilsey put up good buildings and distinguished 
himself both as a solid farmer and a useful man in 
the township. His last residence was located upon 
the north side of the road spoken of, and from the 
front door can be seen two-thirds of the lake. He 
made a comfortable and pleasant home of his lake- 
sliore farm, and resided there until his death, which 
occurred on the 9th of April, 1876. 

Jeremiah Wilsey, Sr., was twice married, his first 
wife being Miss Martha Baxter, of Troy, Pa., who 
died in 1829. She left two children, Martha and 
Jeshuron, both now deceased, the former, Mrs. 
John Gates, dying when about forty years of age, in 
Clinton Township., and the latter when twenty-one. 
Mr. Wilsey, on the 4th of March, 1830, was married 
to Mrs. Betsey (Sanders) Lucas, widow of George 
Lucas, and daughter of Loudwick and Mary San- 
ders, by whom he had seven children. The eldest, 
Jane, is now the widow of Ira Reynolds, and lives 
in Fremont, Neb. ; Eliza married James Parkhurst^ 
of Woodstock, who is now deceased; Betsey, Mrs. 
Henry W. Kane, is a resident of Woodstock; Ann, 
the wife of Lyman Griffith, died in Fremont, Neb., 
Sept. 11, 1873; Jeremiah of our sketch was the fifth 
child; Henry, during the late war, served as a sol- 
dier in Company I of the old 4th Michigan In- 
fantry, was captured by the rebels at Gettj'sburg, 
and died in prison in 1864; William is carrying on 
farming in Woodstock Township. Mrs. Betsey 
Wilsey was born in Middle Smithfield, Pa., Dee. 22, 
i805, and removed with her parents to Ovid, Sen- 
eca Co.,N. Y., where her mother died in 18,40, aged 
fifty-two years. Her father subsequently came to 
this county and died in Woodstock Township, Aug. 
29, 1859, at the advanced age of eighty-three years. 



i 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Mrs. Wilsey was married to her first husband, George 
Lucas, Dec. 9, 1827, and by him became the mother 
of one child, a son, Isaiah, who was born in Ovid, 
N. Y..aud is now farming in Woodstock To\vn>hi|). 
Mrs. Wilsej' died at her home on the (ith of .Janu- 
ary, 188.5. 

The subject of tiiis record assiste(i liis father in 
building up the primitive homestead, and was 
married, April 30, 18C8, to Miss t:iiza J. Babcock,who 
was born in Genesee County, N. Y., .June 18, l^i4i». 
Her parents, Harry and Calista D. (Fordham) Bab- 
cock, were natives r('spectively of Rensselaer and 
Genesee Counties in the same State. Her father 
was born Jan. 14, 1815, and is still living, a resident 
of Branch County, this State. He was the son of 
Reuben Babcock, who died in Genesee County, N. 
Y., at the age of eighty-seven years. Mrs. Calista 
Babcock was born Nov. 21, 1818, and was the 
daughter of Hezekiah and Betsy (Blodgett) Ford- 
ham. She departed this life in Jackson County, 
tliis State, about 1875, when fifty-seven years of j 
age. The maternal great-grandparents of the wife < 
of our subject were Isaiah and Margaret Blodgett, 
natives of New York State. The children of Mr. 
and Mrs. Wilsej', five in number, .ill living at home, I 
were born as follows: May D., July 24. 1873; Hugh I 
H., Sept. 27, 1875: luaB.,Feb. 9, 1878; Grace E., ' 
Sept. 25, 1884, and Lucy A., June 3. 1887. 

Mr. Wilsey was about twenty-two j-ears of age I 
at the breaking out of the Rebellion, and not long I 
after the first call for troops, enlisted in Company 1. 
4th Michigan Infantry, under the command of Capt. | 
J. D. Slocum. The regiment was detailed to the 
Army of the Potomac, and young Wilsey during 
his service of three years and nine months partici- 
pated in many of the important battles of the war. I 
He was captured by the rebels at the battle of (iet- 1 
tysburg, and lay in prison at Belle Isle and Ander- 
sonville, for twenty-one months. Aftei- being ; 
paroled, he was mustered out in Detroit at the ex- j 
piration of his terra of enlistment. He experienced j 
many hairbreadth escapes and endured with manly 
eour.age the vicissitudes and hardships of life Iti the 
army, many of which are still unwritten and untt)ld. 

Upon his return from the arm_y Mr. Wilsey 
farmed with his father until 18(58, and then removed [ 
to his present homestead, vvhere he has effected great i 



improvements. The land had been indifferently 
cultivated, and the buildings were of the rudest de- 
scription. Mr. Wilsey put up the present dwelling 
and barn, besides adding the other structures neces- 
sary for the shelter of stock, and has been uniforralj- 
prosperous in his struggle with the soil. He takes lit- 
tle part in |)olitics further than voting the straight 
Republican ticket and keeping himself posted u|)on 
matters of general interest. 

As representative of the buildings in this section 
of country, we take pleasure in presenting on another 
page of this Album a view of Mr.AVilsey's homestead. 



--#■#-- 



U(;rSTrs bedell is a progressive gen- 
eral farmer now living on section 29 of 
Cambridge Townshi]i, where he has lived 
for the last thirty-four years. He came to 
this county in 1851, but for about four years made 
his home in Tecumseh Townshii). He is a native 
of Newton Township, Sussex Co., N. J., where he 
was born RLay 1, 1823, and is the son of Jacob 
Bedell, a native of the srune State. His grand- 
father, Abraham Bedell, was a native of France, 
and came to this country with the French troops 
when a young man imder Gen. D'Estaing, during 
the Revolutionary War, and finally settled in Sussex 
County, N. J., where he married I'olly O^Ihuiic, 
and spent the last years of his life. 

Jacob Bedell was reared in his native State, and 
on attaining manhood b(^came a brickiiiasou. He 
was united in marri.age with Elizabeth Oliout. who 
was born and reared in that same county. When 
Augustus was about three and one-half years old 
his mother fell from the top of a flight of stairs, 
and was killed. Jacob Bed(dl was a private soldier 
in the United States aiiuy during the W-.w ol' |.si2_ 
and was for a long time -lationed at Saudy Ibxik, 
N. .1. He died in Tompkins County, N. V.. in 1.S7(;, 
having attained the age of ninety-three years. He 
had been twice married, his first wife leaving him 
three children, and the Inst (uie, Augustus. Tlie 
latter was left an oi-phau at a very early age, com- 
mencing life foi- himself wliili; cjuite young hy work- 
ing for various farmers arcnind them. 

While still a single man Augustus Bedell came 



•► 



754 



4 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



to Michigan, and in 1854 was united in marriage 
witli Adenia Onsted, who was born in Sussex 
County, N. J., Dec. 4, 1824, and who had come to 
Micliigan in 18o6 with her parents, .John and Ann 
(Hines) Onsted, who l)oth died in Cambridge 
Township, having passed their threescore and ten 
years. Mr. and Mrs. Bedell are the parents of one 
child, Edith A., wife of John Walters, formerly of 
AYashtenaw County, Mich., but who now resides on 
the Bedell homestead. They have two children — 
^'evia M. and Lelia B. 

When Mr. Bedell came to this place it was en- 
tirely unimproved, but by labor and perseverance, 
united with considerable business tact, he has suc- 
ceeded in building up a fine place where he can 
pass the remainder of his days in comfort. He 
and his estimable wife are both members of the 
Baptist Church, and in their daily conduct exem- 
plify a Christian life. Mr. B. is in politics a Repub- 
lican, although not unwisely partisan. 



W^ILLIAM WILSEY, son of one of the well- 
known pioneers of Lenawee County, culti- 
vates 120 acres of good land on sections 26 
and 27, in Woodstock Township, and in point of 
enterprise and industry is equal to the other mem- 
bers of the family, which has been identified with 
the interests of this section since Michigan was a 
Territory. He was born in Woodstock Township 
on the 20th of April, 1844, and has remained 
almost constantly among the scenes of his boyhood 
and youth. 

Jeremiah Wilsey, the father of our subject, was 
born in Dutchess County, N. Y., Feb. 15, 1801, 
and removed with his parents to Bradford County, 
Pa., when a child five years of age. After he had 
become a man of thirty years lie went into Huron 
County, Ohio, and from there in .lanuaiy, 1837, 
migrated to Micliigan, which had just then been 
transformed from a Territory into a State. He 
purchased a tract of land in Woodstock Township, 
and rcniaincil a, resident theic until his death, which 
ocriuied Apiil ".), ISTil. A more extended notice 
of i.he ancestoi-s of our subject will be found in 



the sketch of his brotlier, Jeremiah Wilsey, on 
another page in this Alhum. 

The mother of our subject, who in her girlhood 
was Miss Betsey Sanders, was first married to George 
Lucas, and became the mother of one child, Isaiah, 
who was born in Ovid, N. Y.,and is now numbered 
among the farmers of Woodstock Township. She 
was the second wife of Jeremiah Wilsey, to whom 
she was married on the 4th of March, 1 830, and 
they became the parents of seven children, who 
were named respectively, Jane, Eliza, Betsey, Ann, 
Jeremiah, Henry and William. Mrs. Betsey Wilsey 
was a native of Pennsylvania, and born in Middle 
Smithfield, Dec. 22, 1805. Her father. Loud wick 
Sanders, removed first to Seneca County, N. Y., 
where the mother died, and subsequently he came 
to this county and died in Woodstock Township, 
Aug. 29, 1859, at the age of eighty-three years. 
Mrs. Betsey Wilsey died at the home place Jan. 6, 
1885, in the eightieth year of her age. 

William Wilsey continued under the parental 
roof until twenty-four years of age, and then 
started out for himself. To himself and his brother 
had been given the old homestead, eighty acres each, 
and William subsequently added to his portion 
until he now has 130 acres of valuable land all in a 
body, and he has one of the best barns in the 
county, erected in 1884, at a cost of |2,500. It 
covers an area of 65x40 feet, and is twenty-five 
feet in height, besides having a basement ten feet 
in heighth. His course as a farmer has been char- 
acterized by skill and thoroughness, and the conse- 
quence is he has one of the most valuable and fer- 
tile tracts of land in the county. On another page 
of this volume is shown a view of Mr. Wilsey's 
residence with its surroundings. Our subject cast 
his first Presidential vote for Gen. Grant, and 
although meddling very little with politics uses his 
inttuence in support of the Republican party. 

James A. Parkhurst, the husband of our subject's 
sister Eliza, was a. farmer by occupation and a 
mechanic of no small skill. At the outbreak of the 
Rebellion he enlisted as a Union soldier, serving 
three years. He came out safely from the conflict, 
and died at his home in Woodstock Township on 
the 5th of October, 1876, leaving a widow and 
three children. Mrs. Parkhurst presides abl3' over 



•►Hl-^*- 



■•► 



■-N- 



L 



LKNAWKE COUNTY. 



the doinesti(3 affairs of her brothoi'. Ih'i' el 
are recorded as follows: Jennie K. \v.is lior 
7, ISC'., and married Thomas ■\IaiT. .iihI iIk 
with Mrs. Parldiurst; Betsey W. was l„>i-ii A| 
1871; and ITenry R.. April .-., 1S7;;. Tiii'v 
home with their muther. 



t 



\T=^REDERIC'K BAY, the present Siip<.i-visnr 
|^@) of Og-den Townsliip, was horn in Ihe town- 
jt^ shi]i in which he resides on the 12th of 
Febrnary, 1843. He is tiie son of J:)aniel Bay, wlio 
was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, and rittendcd 
school in that country quite steadily until fnurteen 
years of age, when he learned tlie trade ol a shoe- 
maker, and at the age of twenty joined the army, in 
which he served eight j'ears. Dui-ing that time he 
improved his opportunities for stiuly, and aeipiired 
a good education. 

In 1832 Daniel Bay came to America, aeeonipa- 
nied by his wife and two eliildren, and landed at 
Baltimore, Md., in September of that year, nhere 
they remained during the winter. In tlu> s|>ring of 
1833 they started for the Northwest Territory, 
traveling with a hired team to Cleveland, Ohio, and 
then by sailboat to Moiu'oe. whence they came by 
team to Lenawee County, and arrived at Blissfleld 
on the Otii of May of that year. Upon his arrival 
at his destination he was $15 in debt, hut he located 
near Blissfleld and worked at his trade uniil he 
discharged his obligations. In l.s:i'i he pnrclmscd 
forty acres of land on section 11 of \vh:il is now 
Ogden Township, at 14 per acre, on wliieli he huilt 
a log house and cleared two and one-half acres, and 
then secured employment with the Erie & Kalama- 
zoo Railroad Company in order to olitain money 
to pay for his land. He worked two seasons for 
this company, clearing the timber fi-om land for a 
roadway, but the last payment which was made to 
him was in money which proved to be worthless 
when he attempted to use it in making a payment 
on his land, for it was wliat was known as " wild- 
cat" money. He ilid not give up or become dis- 
couraged, but persevered until he paid for his land, 
and added thereto until he secured 1 (iO acres, nearl}' 
100 acres of which were cleared and equipped with 



good frame l)uildings. He died on the h<.niestea<l 
on the lllh of Febrnary. 1.^77. Dining a great 
ni.-iny years of liis life he wn> :i uieml.er of (he 
Fnited Ihvtlnvn C'hni-eli. l.eiug anioim the very 
first to join that church in Ogden 'IN.v.nshiii, :ind 
.•issisteil very materially in building the house in 
which services were lield. At the time of his death 
he was in his seventy-fifth year. 

Tlie mother of the subject of tliis sketch was 
Catherine Biddle, also a native of Wurtemberg, 
and she died on the homestead on the ilth of .Inly, 
1 8S(;, at the .age of eighty -two years. All her life 
she was strong and robust in health, industrious, 
and of good judgment, and oft-tinie> walked from 
her home to Adrian, twelve miles distant, witli a 
package in each hand and one on her head : while 
during the seasons her Inisliand was at work on the 
railroad, she would take !iei- children and \isit the 
neighbors and wash and do other work by which 
she supported the family, thus enalfliug the hus- 
band's earnings to Ijc saved for the payment of the 
lands. They had seven children wiio grew up to 
man and womanhood, recorded as fol!o"~: Caleb 
lived in Baltimore, Md., and served in both the 
Mexican War and the war of the Rebellion; he w.as 
present at the capture of the city of jNIexico. Jacoli 
went to California in 1 85"2, and served in the late 
war in the 4th California Infantry, and while in the 
service he was killed by the Indians; Sophia resides 
with tlie subject of this sketch; Barbara married 
C'lark Boone, and died in Bli.sstield; Daniel lives in 
Ogden Township; Frederick is the subject of this 
notice; William lives on the old homestead. Calel) 
and Jacob were born in Germany, and the others in 
Ogden Township. 

Frederick Bay was next to the youngest child 
in the family, and in his youth attended the district 
schools and assisted his father in clearing his farm 
until the breaking out of tlie war. On the IGth of 
April, 1861, he enlisted in the Adrian Cadets, Com- 
l)any K, 1st Micliigan Infantry, and was the first 
person in Ogden Township to enlist. He partici- 
pated in the first battle of Bull linn, the iletails of 
which are familial- to c\ciy leader of the opening 
events of the war. At Alexandria,, Va., he partook 
of poisoned provision, from the effects of which he 
suffers to this day. He was discharged at the end 



f 



4 



<^ 



■•► 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



of three months, the term of service for which his 
regiment enlisted, and returned home, but on the 
29th of July, 1802, he enlisted in Company C, 18tii 
Michigan Infantry, and served until the close of the 
war, the field of his operations being Kentucky, 
Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia. Receiving his 
discharge from the army on the 11th of July, 1805, 
he returned home, and remained with his parents 
until his marriage, a year later. He purchased forty 
acres of land on section 2, Ogden Township, on 
which he resided until 1872, and then disposed of 
it and purchased 125 acres on the same section, 
where he now resides. 

On the 17th of November, 18G6, Mr. Bay was 
married to Athaleen Bradley, who w.is born in 
Franklin Township, Lenawee County, and was the 
daughter of Adam and Almira Bradley, pioneer 
settlers of Franklin Township. She died in 1872, 
leaving one child, named Lora. His second mar- 
riage occurred Oct. 27, 1874, with Eleanor E. 
Farr, who was born on the Itjth of May, 1855, 
and was the daughter of Sylvester and Julia Farr, 
natives of New York State. Their family consists 
of five children — Alena A., Marion E., Ele.anor E., 
Frederick B. and Elhelbert S. 

Mr. Bay has always acted with the Republican 
party, to which he is loyal, both with his ballot and 
in devotion to his principles. He has served four 
terms in the responsible office of Township Super- 
visor, and in the discharge of the duties of that 
office has given universal satisfaction. 



^1^ DWIN DRIGGS is one of the most energetic 
|W) and enterprising men of Palmyra Township, 
JL^I and can truly be termed a "rustler" in busi- 
ness. He is a breeder of full-blood Hereford cat- 
tle and Hambletoniau horses, and resides in the vil- 
lage of Palmyra. He was born in Elyria, Lorain 
Co., Ohio, on the 21st of January, 1834. His pa- 
ternal grandfather, Elisha Driggs, was born on the 
1st of February, 1760, and by trade was a tanner 
•and shoemaker. He served as a soldier in the War 
of 1812, and was killed in the battle of Ft. Meigs, 
July 2, 1813. 

The father of our subject, Joseph Driggs, was 



born in Otsego County, N. Y., July 28, 1800. and 
was a drummer boy in the War of 1812. He w.as 
present at Ft. Meigs when his father was killed.' He 
WHS reared to farming and removed from New 
York State to Lorain County, Ohio, in 1833, and 
settled in Elyria Township, where he purchased 
timber land from the Government and erected a 
log house, in which the family lived for some time. 
He cleared a farm from the wilderness here and 
erected a good frame building in 1844, in which he 
lived until 1863, in which year he sold the farm 
and came to Rome, this county. Here he bought 
a farm upon which he resided until 1881, and then 
removed to Adrian, where he lived retired until his 
death, in July, 1883. The maiden name of his wife, 
the mother of our subject, was Cornelia Pierson, 
a native of Connecticut, a daughter of William and 
Betsy Pierson. She died in the city of Adrian, Oct. 
30, 1879. She was the mother of five children, 
namely: William, wlio lives in Elyria; Edwin, our 
subject ; John, of Kalamazoo County ; Cornelia Small, 
who resides in Reading, Hillsdale County, and 
Charity C. who died in Adrian. 

Our subject, the second child of the family, was 
reared upon the farm and educated in the public 
schools. Quite early in life he became interested 
in live stock, and when he was nineteen years of age 
he started with a drove of horses for Chicago. On 
his way to that city he stopped at the '"tavern," in 
Palmyra, then known as the Pomeroy House, and 
while there said that if he ever bought a farm in 
Michigan, he would buy the one on which the house 
was located. This promise of his was made good 
twenty years later, when he came to this State and 
purchased the farm which he now owns. His first 
venture as a stock-raiser was with Short-horn cattle, 
and in 1 860 he exhibited the first herd of this breed 
ever shown at Cleveland, Ohio. The same year he 
exhibited this herd at Detroit and also a hei-d of 
Herefords belonging to Mr. Thomas Aston, of Lo- 
rain County, Ohio, which was the first herd of this 
stock ever placed upon exhibition in the United 
States. 

At the breaking out of the war, in company with 
three others, Mr. Driggs engaged in buying horses 
for the Government. He also contracted to fur- 
nish meat for the soldiers in Ohio and the prisoners 
. . ■► 



LENAWEK COUNTY. 



confined on .Tolinson Island. During three yeiirsof 
the vvnr he wns a nieniher of .a conipfiuy nf IIoiuc 

length of time. This was .-.■ilicd intoa<-tivc snvicc 
at the tiin." -lohii Morgan made hi- raid iut<. In- 
diana and Ohio, and a-isted nial.Tially in lii> 
capture. 

In 1866 Mr. Driggs removed from Ohio lo tliis 
eouuty and settled in Adrian, where he i^iigagecl in 
buying and selling stock. In ImTI hr |iniclia>(>d 
the farm on which he now hves, and which i-cmi- 
prises 245 acres of vainnhh' land, lie krcps o\cr 
100 head of the finest fnlMilooil llcrerord-. whirl, 
he has exhibited at nine different faii>. Ih' also 
has superior llamblefonian horses, thorouulibn-d 
Suffolk hogs and fnll-blood fowls of s.'v.ral 
varieties. 

On the Sth of October, 1 SCC, Mr. Driggs marri.-d 
Miss Maggie Hastings, a naiive of Krie Counly, 
Ohio, and who was born on the l.")th of Novendier, 
1847. Mrs. Driggs is the daughtei' of Robert and 
Maggie (Johnson) Hastings, and remained at home 
with her parents until womanhood, receiving an ex- 
cellent education in the common schools, an<l being 
accredited an unusually bright and studious impil. 
In the material affairs of life, since marriage, she 
has ably seconded the efforts of her husband, and to 
her is largely due the successes which have been 
attained. To Mr. and Mrs. Driggs have been born 
five children, who have inherited principles of in- 
tegrity and industry from their father, and the vir- 
tues which have distinguished the mother. They 
are recorded as follows : Hugh H. was born Nov. 25, 
1867; Charles E., May 31, 1870; Harry A., July 
13, 1872; Gracie B., April 6, 1876, and Carl L., 
Nov. 23, 1887. Mr. Driggs is a Democrat, politi- 
cally, and his estim.able lady is a member of the Pres- 
byterian Church. 



^\r 



RASTUS BROCKWAY, who departed this 

Elife April 18, 1S81, was (me of the pioneers 
of Ogden Township, to which he came when 
Michigan was a Territor}-. He was born in Ihe 
State of New York, on the 13th of April, 1802. 



mcestor in Ai 
settled in l.yi 
llnvr William 
falhei- of llic : 



was Watson Rr 



iM-as 
St.a(( 



way erected a log In 
construction of a i 
considerable time I 
frame residence for 
d ot 



n\ this lan( 
ised basswc 
', his death 



mil\ 



K)d bar 
Mr. Bi 



)Ut- 



lals with which he stocke<l the farm. 

•kway w.as mariicd three times. His 
hrst wife was Mary Cowell, who die<l on the 30th of 
April. LSI;,. The second marriage occurred Dee. 
1 I, IS 15, witli Sally Ann 'I'eeple, who was born in 
the State of New York, and died .)n the 21)th of 
July, 1851; his third marri.age was in ls.-,2, with 
Miss Elizabeth Teeple. sister of his second wife. 
The first ehihlrcn arc rcconled as r,,llows: Clark 
was born .Inne "-'."i. IS31, and ilicd October 12 
following; Oliver W. was born May 5, 1833, served 
in the 18th Regiment, iNHchigan Volunteers, and 
died in Andersonville Prison, March 22, 1864; 
Martin 15.. who was born near Peterslmrg, this State, 
served in tlu' 4th Regiment, Michigan Volunteers, 
and was a prisoner of war twenty-one months, the 
greater part of the time in Andersonville. Bessie 
married James (iilliland, and lives in Adrian; 
Mathew M. served in the 15tli Ohio Regiment, lost 
a limb while in the army, and now lives in Ogden 
Township. By the second marriage there were 
three children; William S., of Ogden Township; 
Norman C, wlio lives in Alontana Territory, and 



L 



•► f "^ 



• ^ m <• 



758 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Erastns, Jr. By tho third marriage there was one 
child, who died in infancy. 

lirastns Brockwaj', Jr., M'hu lives on the old 
homestead with his stepmother, was l)orn on the 
1st of .June, 18.51, and was reared on the farm. He 
was married in 1873 to Miss Loetta Luke, who was 
born in Ogden Township, and is the daughter of 
.John C. Luke. By this marriage there have been 
born two children — Liicien and Pearly. Mrs. Eliza- 
beth Brockw.i}^ was born in Seneca Countj\ N. Y., 
on the 26th of February, 1813. Her father, Peter 
Teeple, a native of Schoharie Countj', N. Y,, was 
a soldier in the War of 1812, and his father, Henry 
Teeple, was a soldier in the Revolutionary AYar. 
The latter was an early settler in Genesee County, 
where he spent his last years. Mrs. Brockway's 
father was a farmer, and spent the last years of his 
life in Seneca County, N. Y. Her mother's maiden 
name was Mary Murphy, and she was born either 
in New York or New Jersey, and was the daugh- 
ter of Isaac Murphy, a farmer. She also died in 
Seneca County. Mrs. Brockway was the oldest of 
a large family of children. She went to Waukegan 
in 1S49 with a married sister; in 1851 she came 
to Michigan, and was married to Erastus Brockway, 
Sr., the following year. She has thus been a resi- 
dent of this State for a period of thirty-seven 
years. 



I'ife^ 



«5^ 



J«JOHN A. BENNETT. Among the worthy 
I and well-known citizens of Cambridge Town- 
I ship, there are probably none who stand in 
/ higher estimation than the gentleman whose 
name heads this sketch. Having first located here 
in October, 1853, he has made this his home for 
more than thiity-four years. His residence is on 
section 32, where he has some eighty acres of land, 
all well improved and under a high state of culti- 
vation, and which has been in his possession since 
1866. 

Mr. Bennett is a native of Scioto County, Ohio, 
and was b<n-u March 17, 1830. His father. Rev. 
MoseslBennett, a native of York State, was a min- 
ister in the liaptist Clunch. and was married while 
a resident of the F^mpire State to Miss Elizabeth 
< ■ 



Winkler. Shortly after this, Air. Bennett and his 
yonng wife removed to Scioto County, Ohio 
among the vej'y first who settled in that locality. 
There he came to spread the tidings of the Gospel 
and labor in the work of the Master. He endured 
all the experiences of the pioneer preacher, work- 
ing all the week in the field for a maintenance for 
himself and his family, and then walking often a 
long distance to preach on the Sabbath in school- 
houses or private dwellings. In October, 1835, he 
came to Michigan and located in the then unbroken 
timber of the township of Rollin, and in a short 
time was re-established in his work as local preacher. 
He helped to organize the first Baptist Church in 
Rollin Township, and was the incumbent of the pul- 
pit for some time. Here he made his home until 
his death, which occurred Sept. 3, 1844, when he 
was fifty-seven years of age. 

Mr. Bennett was prominent among those who so 
iargel.y contributed to the spread of the Gospel 
in this portion of Michigan. His unceasing labors 
for many long years in the Master's vineyard, and 
his humble piety and Christian walk in life, en- 
deared him to the thousands who from time to time 
listened to his discourses and fervent prayers as he 
told the story of the Cross, and pointed their wa_y- 
ward feet to the realms of eternal bliss. His widow 
survived him, and after living many years as the 
wife of .John Greenleaf, on May 10, 1877, passed 
to her home above. Her death occurred at her 
son's house in Greenville, Montcalm Co., Mich. 

John A. Bennett is the eighth of a family of 
eleven children, six sons and five daughters; four 
sons and two daughters are still living, all being 
married, with their families .around them. The 
subject of this notice was but a little child of five 
years when his parents came to this county, and 
losing his father while yet in early boyhood, 
since that time he has been compelled to earn his 
own livelihood. On the 28th of April, 1 853, in the 
township of Rome, he was united in marriage with 
Miss Rhoda M. Smith, a native of the county of 
Kent, England, where she was born Feb. 13, 1829, 
and the daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Read) 
Smith, both descendants of the noble yeomanry of 
England. Joseph Smith was a shoemaker bj' trade 
and followed that business for many j'ears in the 



h 



-4- 



LENAWER COUNTY. 



couiitiy of hi.- l.iii-tli; lull, ill .luiic. l.s;;:. noi hcini. 
satisfied with the limited rooiiive.s of En^l.-md, he 
determined to trj- his fortune in the new iind fer- 
tile country on this side of the dceiin. Coming' 
directly to this county, he located oi: a farm in Cam- 
bridge Township, on which some slight imjirove- 
ments had been madc^. Tiiere he tilled the soil and 
made his home until the 20tli of April. l.s{ii, when 
he was stricken by the hand of ileatli at the age of 
seventy -five years. His estimable wife survived him 
until Sept. 22, 186.5, when she had attained nearly 
fourscore years. She was a member of the Bap- 
tist Church, although her husband adiliateil with 
the Church of England. 

Mr. and Mrs. Bennett are the parents of the fol- 
lowing children; George E., who married Helen E. 
Maxwell, and is now a resident of Home I'owushii); 
Eugene T., who married Miss Frances L. Tlioin|i- 
son, and is also a resident of Rome Township; 
iilizabeth M., the wife of Eugene Turner, living in 
Woodstock Township, and .1. William, who is at 
home assisting his father in his agricultural pur- 
suits. Mr. and Mrs. Bennett are both active mem- 
bers of the Free-Will Baptist Church, in which 
society he is a Deacon and has been for some years. 
A just, upright and worth}' man. he and his sous 
endeavor by practice as well .as precept to inliuence 
their friends and neighbors in all good works. 
Though formerly affiliating with the Hepulilican 
l)arty, they are all now Prohibitionists. 

^I^nENJAMIN KELLEY. It gives us gre.at 
\hJ^ pleasure to present to his many friends a 
Z^jV brief biography of Benjamin Kelley, one 
^^ who has done much t<i benefit his fellow- 
citizens and to i)roniote the interests of Lenawee 
County. Although Mr. Kelley has passed most 
of his life in Michigan, he is of New England origin, 
having been born in Sidney, Kennebec Co., Me., 
Sept. 7, 1823. His parents, Libni and l)e)>orah 
(Estes) Kelley, were also natives of .Maine, whence 
they removed a few years after their marriage 
to Wheatland, Monroe Co., N. Y., and a few years 
later to Lenawee County, this State. Mr. Kellej' 



has 



cry sue, 



sful. am 



l)ersev( 



good judgment and wise management, has become 
a large landed projirietor. He and his wife are 
now living on their old homestead in the enjoy- 
ment of an hon(jrable old age, and are true exem- 
plars of the peaceful faith of the Quakers, of which 
society they are members. 

Our subject was a lad of thirteen when he eauu' 
with his parents to this State. His boyhood and 
early manhood were passed under the home roof of 
his parents, where he received a careful training 
which well fitted him for the active part he was to 
play in after life. He early showed good business 
qualities, and applied them in various ways with 
good success. Mr. Kelhy was muted in marriage, 
JLay 23, 1.S47, with .Miss Jane Malinda Hoxsie, in 
Palmyra 'i'owuship. and to her cordial co-opera- 
tion he owes a large measure of his success in life. 
She was born in March, 1827, and came with her 
parents, .John and Phebe (Slade) Hoxsie, to the 
township of Palmyra in the year 1834. Her father 
was an enterprising and successful farmer, owning 
more than 800 acres of land ; both parents are now 
deceased. 

Mr. Kelley now has his home at Holloway Sta- 
tion, a part of Raisin Township, where he has been 
engaged, among other pursuits, in buying and sell- 
ing all kinds (jf stock .since the year 1874, having 
previously engaged in the same business at Adrian 
and Tecumseh since the year 1850. Li this busi- 
ness he has done much for the county at large, as 
by his frankness and honorable dealing in every 
business transaction he has secured the confidence 
of the peoi)le, who flock to him to sell their fatted 
animals, as he is always ready to act as the " middle 
man" to accommodate the small stock-raisers and 
the extensive dealers and liutchers. Mr. Kelley 
has invested largely in real estate, having now in 
his possession 23.5 acres of well-improved land in 
the most productive part of Raisin Township, and 
L30 acres of valuable land in the townshi)! of 
Ridge way. 

Our subject is a very publie-si)irited and enter- 
prising citizen; his highest ambition is to place 
Holloway Station in the front rank of the towns of 
Lenawee County, and he has labored earnestly to 



I 



762 



i. 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



that end, sparing neither time nor money, building 
several houses and erecting a large merchandise 
house. But the oft-told tale of misplaced confidence 
in other men applies to Mr. Kelley, as tiiat enter- 
prise was on the whole a failure, and he suffered 
severe monetary losses; but to show his confidence 
in the future prosperity of Hollo vvvay, he has erected 
a beautiful residence there. 

Mr. and Mrs. Kelley are worthy members of tlie 
Society of Friends, Mr. Kelley being an Elder in 
the church. Their kindly manners and unostenta- 
tious charities have endeared them to the hearts of 
the community. They are childless, but this has 
not made them unmindful that the unfortunate 
have a humane claim upon them, and they have 
gladly opened their home and their hearts to four 
children, whom they have fostered and educated 
as their own. The names of their foster-children 
are Louisa Milligan, Zora Hoxsie, Madison Graves 
and Fanny G. KeUey. 

Mr. Kelley takes an active interest in all pulilir 
affairs, and supports the Republican party liy 
voice and vote. He has been Road Commissioner 
for seventeen years, and Justice of the Peace for 
some time. When parents tell to a future genera- 
tion the tales of pioneer heroism, the pictured faces 
of such men as Mr. Kelley, shown in this Album, 
will be gazed upon with praiseworthy pride and 



regard. 



-^-^^-€!a^ 



JAMES B. HOOD. Among the natives of 
the Empire State who have helped to build 
up this great commonwealth of Michigan, 
none, we venture to say, is more deserving 
of notice than James B. Hood. He is tlie son of 
Robert M. and Lydia (Lautenschlager) Hood, both 
natives of Pennsylvania. After their marriage they 
settled in Seneca Countj', N. Y.. which continued to 
be their place of abode until their death. Here, in 
the town of Varick, oui- subject was born to tlieni, 
Sept. 25, 1825, the eldest of four children, as fol- 
lows : James B., Susan, Charles and Margaret. 

Mr. Hood passed his youth in his native county, 
but at the early age of eighteen years, he determined 
to go forth into the world and fight life's battles 
for himself, and, having chosen farming as the oc- 



cupation by whicli lie could best earn his daily 
bread, he turned his face westward, and came to 
Michigan as the State where he could most advan- 
tageously pursue his chosen calling. The first year 
in this .State he spent in Wayne County,' but in the 
spring of 1844 he came to Lenawee County, and 
settled in the township of Rome, where he lived for 
seventeen years. In 1861, purchasing a farm in 
Adrian Township, he moved to that place and lived 
there until the year 1874. Then, conceiving it to 
be for his best interests, he sold his possessions and 
bougiit a farm in Madison Township. Here he has 
made a pleasant home for himself and family, pos- 
sessing a well ordered farm of eighty-flve acres of 
land under a good state of cultivation. On another 
page of this work may Ijeseen a view of Mr. Hood's 
residence with its surroundings. 

In these years of toil Mr. Hood has had the 
kindlj' help and wise counsel of a good wife, to 
whom he was married in Rome Township, Oct. 8, 
1846. Her maiden name was Lourica Knowles, and 
she was born in Romulus, Seneca Co., N. Y., July 
1 1, 1828. When she was eight years old, she came 
to Michigan with her parents, who settled in Rome 
Township, and here she lived until she exchanged 
her parental home for that of her husband. Her 
parents were Hezekiah and Anna (Smith) Knowles, 
natives of New England. . After leaving their old 
home they first settled in Seneca County, N. Y., 
and from there, in the year 1836, they immigrated 
to Rome Township, this countj', where her father 
died in March, 1845; her mother died in Adrian 
Township, April 1 2, 1870. Tiiey iiad nine children, 
one boy and eight girls. 

Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Hood: Irving A., who married Miss Mary Van 
Doren, and resides in Kansas ; Robert A., who mar- 
ried Miss Lueretia E. Todd, resides in Adrian; 
Margaret A., the wife of Alfred T. Hoag, and re- 
siding at Seneca Falls, N. Y. ; Charles O., who mar- 
ried Miss Emma Wickham, and resides in Madison 
Township; Josephine, who died when four years of 
age, and Cora A., the wife of Augustus H. llseman, 
of Madison. Mr. Hood's success in life proves the 
wisdom of his early choice of a vocation, which, not- 
withstanding the trials and cares attendant upon it, 
affords so many pleasant compensations. 



^ 



*HI, 



lp:nawke county. 



(63 



r 



In politics .Mr. IUh,<\ .•illilialc^ uilh Ihr Dnn..- 
eratic party. (Siuce tlie rriiKJval nf .Mr. and AIr>. 
Hood into this town, their uc'iii:il niaini<>rs. nciiiii- 
borly acts of kindne.^s and unihiublnl inteyrity of 
character, have gained for tlicni the p.^tccni and re- 
spect of the commnnity. 



^ ETER C. DeGRAFF, wiio is a oencral 
111 merchant in the town of Palmyra, was born 
in Ulster Connty, N. Y., on the 1 1'th of 
December, 1841. His father, Cornelins Dc 
(xraff, was born in the .^inie county, on the :-'2d of 
April, 1814. The paternal y rand father, Peter De 
Graff, was of French and (ierman extraction, a 
wagon-maker by occupation, and carried on that 
business in the town of Olil l':dl,z, Ulster Cnunty, 
where he lived and died. 

Cornelias De Graff leanu'(l the li-.-idc of wagon- 
maker with his father, for whi^ui he unrked until 
after his marriage, and did journeyman work in 
different parts of the county until 1844, when, ac- 
companied by his wife and five children, he started 
for Michigan, making his journey via the Erie Ca- 
nal to Buffalo, and bj' the lake to Toledo, and 
from there by rail to Palmyra, this county, where 
they landed on the 5th of October. Mere for two 
or three years Mr. De GratT worked at his trade, 
and then was engaged for two years as clerk in a 
mercantile establishment. At the expiration of this 
time he embarked in business on his own account, 
and thus continued up to the time of his death. In 
the meantime he and his son had purchased a farm 
adjoining the village, and they carried on both 
farm and store. The father also officiated as Post- 
master, and was otherwise prominent in local affairs. 

The parents of our subject wore married on the 
11th of February, 1836. The mother, formerly 
Miss Catherine Van Wey (formerly spelled Van- 
w3fah), was born in Ulster County, N. Y., on the 
0th of December, 1811. Her father, Henry Yan 
Wey, also a native of New York State, was a farmer 
by occupation, and settled in Palmyra a few years 
later than the De Graff family. Here he spent the 
last years of his life, and passed away Oct. 22, 1872. 
The maiden name of his wife, the maternal grand- | 
-^•— 



of this sketch, was Elsie 
1 Ulster Cuunty, N. Y., and 
Mr. \an Wev became the 



mother nt the 
Freer. She was 
by her m.arriage 
mother of five children. 

The subject of this sketch was the youngest ciiild 
of his parents, and was in his third year when the}' 
came to the Stale of Michigan. He attended the 
village schools until he was large enough to assist 
his father in the store. In the latter he remained 
until 1860, when he open.'d .■, sti.re of his own. In 
Septemljer, 1861, he w:is ui.-irried, and on the 27th 
of December, 1862, he enlisted in Company F, of 
the 7th Michig:in Cavalry, and served during the 
entire war, being discharged on the 16th of Decem- 
ber, 186,^. His .-cervice was in tlie Army of the 
Potomac, .-md from isi;;', t<i 1 sd.", lu' had supervision 
of the lirigadc m:iil. Diiiiiii; the time he was in 
the army, his father and his wife had charge of his 
business affairs, which th(y eonducted successfully. 
In 1868, in connection with his father, he bought a 
farm on .section 22, in Palmyra Township, and has 
since combined farming with mercantile pursuits, 
while for fourteen years prior to the Cleveland ad- 
ministration Mr. De Graft' was Postmaster at Pal- 
myra. 

The wife of our subject, Mrs. Melissa F. (Hill) 
De Graft', was born in Cattaraugus Country, N. Y., 
on the 18th of March, 1842, and is the daughter of 
libbin S. and Caroline E. Hill (see sketch of W. P.. 
Hill). They have had two children — Carrie B. and 
Deane C. Mr. and Mrs. De Graft' are leading mem- 
bers of the Presbyteri;ui Church, to which they are 
liberal contributor.--. ( )iir suliject is a comrade of 
Corl)ett Post No. :'.(;(), (1. A. li., and is quite regu- 
lar in his attendance ui)on muster anil camp fires. 



yA,,LV,KllT I). LAWRENCE, a resident of 
^lUW Tecumsch, Mich., hails from the Empire 
State, where he was born in Seneca Coun- 
ty, Dec. 17, 184.'). Calvin Lawrence, his 
father, was born in Massachusetts, April 15, 1814, 
and was by occupation a merchant. He married 
Miss E. P., daughter of John Weeks, Esq. 8he was 




-•►^ll-^ 



M^ 



764 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



born in New York, Jul3-29, 181 7, and her maniage 
with Calvin Lawrence was eeleliraterl June 14. 
1840. 

After marriage, Calvin Lawrence and his bride 
settled in Syracuse, N. Y^., where Mr. Lawrence was 
engaged in mercantile business until his removal to 
Lenawee County, Mich., in 1848. He came with 
his family directly to Teeumseh, and established 
himself in the dry-goods business, carrying on a 
thriving trade for many years. After the deatli of 
his wife, which occurred Aug. 8, 1805. Mr. Law- 
rence disposed of his business, and retired from 
active life, living in comfort and ease until his 
death in 1884. To him and his wife were born five 
children: Edmond and Edgar, twins, wiio died in 
infancy ; Charles A., residing in Teeumseh Town- 
ship; Elniira, deceased, and Albert D. 

The youthful days of our subject were passed in 
Teeumseh, where he attended the village school, and 
learned the tinner's trade in Adrian, serving a regu- 
lar apprenticeship of three years with Buck & 
Farrer, dealers in hardware. He continued in their 
employ until the spring of 186.3, when he laid aside 
all personal interests and private inclinations, to 
answer the Government call for more troops to as- 
sist in suppressing the Rebellion. Our subject en- 
listed in Company B, 9th Michigan Cavalry, and 
was sent to join the western division of the arm_y 
stationed in Tennessee. He took part in Morgan's 
raid, and then crossing the mountains into East Ten- 
nessee, he was engaged with Gen. Burnside's army 
in Tennessee campaigns during the winter of 1863- 
64. Later he took part in the Georgia raid, and 
the second Morgan raid. Then, under Gen. Sher- 
man's command, he marched on to Atlanta, and af- 
ter the fall of that city, was taken prisoner at the 
Macon and Milledgeville Cross Roads. After a 
fifteen-days confinement in Macon Prison, he was 
sent to Andersonville, where he was held until the 
arrival of Wilson's army, when he was taken to the 
Florida coast and kept under guard a few days. 
After the surrender of Gen. Lee, he was sent in a 
boat, via Hilton Head and Cape Hatteras, to Charles- 
ton, S. C, and from there to Annapolis, Md.; 
thence by rail to Columbus, Ohio, where he was 
honorably discharged. Mr. Lawrence then returneil 
to Teeumseh and pursued his formei' occupation, 
^^ 



working in one shoi), the shop meantime changing 
owners several times, 

Mr. Lawrence was married, March 2. 1871, to 
Miss Florence Sanford, of Kalamazoo, Mich. She 
was born in Jackson, Mich., Sept. 17, 1833, and is 
the only daughter of Henry and Laura (Wells) San- 
ford, early settlers of Raisin Township. Mr. Law- 
rence is a member of the G. A. R.. and was elected 
Captain of Company C, 1st Regiment, State Troops, 
which rank he has held several years. 

Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence are highly esteemed by 
their neighbors and friends, and their ne.at, cosy 
home on Chicago street is an attractive spot for 
those wishing to be well entertained. 

\|^^ AYDEN W. MAYNARD, a farmer residing 
ijfjV] on section :>, Dover Township, is a native of 
/4^^ Adi-ian Township, this county, and the date 
(^ of his birth was July 20, 1833. His parents 
were John and Charlotte (Merchant) Maynard, the 
former born in Connecticut, Dec. 4, 1798; the latter 
born in New Hampshire, it is thought, Oct. 12, 
1801. 

After their marriage, the parents of our subject 
made their home in Binghamton, N. Y""., remain- 
ing in that city till the fall of 1832, when Mr. May- 
nard came to Lenawee County to select a suitable 
place to locate, as he had decided to make his home 
in Michigan. He finally selected Adrian as being 
superior in some respects to other places, and in the 
spring of 1833 his family came and settled on sec- 
tion 32 in Adrian Township, whei'ethe parents con- 
tinued to reside till death. Mr. Maynard died Aiig. 
21, 1840, while Mrs. Maynard survived the death 
of her hii^li:niil many years, dying Jan. 24, 1879. 
They enj'iyi'l Mu' esteem of all who knew them, and 
were nuirh n'.s[K'cii'(l in the community where they 
made their home. Nine children, two of whom 
died in infauey, were born to them; the record of 
tlie other seven is as follows : Samantha is the wife 
of Asa Smith, of Adrian Township; Susan is the 
wife of Erastus Hart, of Wisconsin ; Mary M. was 
the wife of Silas Thompson, and died in Adrian 
Township in May, 18.58; John O. married" Caroline 
Hood, and lives in Adrian Township; Haydeu W. ; 



f 



-4«- 



4^ 



I.KXAWEH COUNTY, 



7(;') 



Albert Q. married Marietta Willey, and lives in ! 
Adrian; Morton A. married Dora Brasliears, and 
lives in Kansas Cily. M... 

Ilaydeii W. Mavnard uas thr liftli rliild of ln> 
parents, and dminu' hi- l,..yliu,,d ^is>istr<l in tlie 
laliors c.f lliefann.andallriid.'d the c .niiiiun srli,„,l. 
He was Ihu- employed until liP attained Ids majur- 
ity. and lie tlien workeil out until the spriui; wf l.s.V,. 
when he andiitidUsly delernuned to i^c to M innesota 
and secure some land by pre-emption. He accord- 
ingly visited that 'territory, and selected a tract of 
IGO acres of (ioverument land in AnoI<a Ciynnty. 
which he pre-empted and resided on lor^ eyears. | 

vests in return for his Inliors. In the meantime he 
returiuMJ to Michigan to nnirry, and thus secured 
the much ui-eded assistance of a -...mI uifc. wli.,m 
he found in the pers.m of laicy !,. AM.ott. to whom 
he was married in Home Township, .M.'ucli '.l. IS.V.I. 
She was born in Adrian Town-hip, Oct. l'. Is:!;".. 
ami is the daughter of Tlieod,,re and Kh'cta ((Jil- 
let) Alibott. Mr. Abbott w-.is a native of New 
H.ami.shire. and was born in ISOT: he did on tlic 
old home [ilace dune :,, 1 sijs. :\lrs. Abbott wa.- 
born in Senipronius, Cayuga Co., N. Y.. in is) I ; 
she also died on the home place in Rome Town-lnp. 
Oct. 5, 1»58. They hail live children, of whom the 
following is llie reconl: l.ucyl..: Th.-inkfid. the 
wife of .lames II. Filkiu, of llilbdalc (ounly ; K<1- 
gar, who married dnliette Dailey, and icsidc- in 
Rome Township; .Icjhn M., who mairicd Ida She|i- 
herd, and resides in Dover Townshi|>. and Theo 
W., who married Delia Lohr. an<l lives iu Hudson 
Township. 

After his marriage. .Mr. Maynard contiiuied to re- 
side in Minnesota for five years, after whicli he re- 
moved with his family to Rome Township, in tins 
State. After .a two-years residen<-e lliciv. he came 
to Dover Township iu 1 sd.!, which has since been 
ois home. His farm of ninety-two acres is one of 
the best in that part of the county, and his tine 
brick residence is an ornament to the townsiiip, as 
may be seen on ex:imiiung a \iew of Mr. .Maynard's 
homestead shown elsewhere in thi,- .\i,ivim. Mv. 
and Mrs. Maynard have one son, Asa. N.; he mar- 
ried Iza Sharell, and lives in Dover Township. 

During the late Civil \\:iv, when the last call for i 



volunteers was issued, Mr. Maynard was drafted, 
l)ut not being able to go in person, he procured a 
substitute for ssS.^iO. The substitute wassi'Ut to De- 
troit, wliere he renKiined for tlfteen d:iys. wlien the 
war came to an end, and he remained in Detroit. 

In politics Mr. .Mayuanl is atirra Democrat. He 
has ably discharged the duties of Township Treas- 
urer for four years to the satisfaction of the citi- 

^ -KH--<gJ)|f;+:^^^-K-i-"S> 



LH\\ KLLVN HARKNKSS. 



n the suriouudiu'us <.f this gentl.-man. He resides 
■ u a larni. th<' |ir.iperl.\ of his f.-ither. Iieautifully 

K-.-it.Ml ,,n section -.'1. in KolHu Town-hip. It em- 
ir.Mces 1(11) acres of higldy cultivated land, with a 
ine ivsi.lcnce. tiistefully constructed, aud convenient 
larn- and other out-buildings, a choice .assortment 
if li\e stock, and the various end)ellishments which 

re uatm-ally suggested to the individual of culti- 
•ated taste- nnd ample means. One of tin' attract- 
vc features is :i tisli-poud, which Ml'. II. proposes 
<) slock with c;up and other desii'.able specimens of 



Mr. llarkness is a young man, h.aving been born 
Keb. L-f>. ls(;4..-,nd h.'is spent all his life in Rollin 
Townshi)) near the place of his birth. His father, 
.lolin r. Harkness, is a sou of one of the pioneers of 
this county, and was born in Raisin Township. He 
is a man wiiloly and favorably known, and is now 
Superintendent and Treasurer of Erlam College, 
Richmond, Ind. It is hardly necessary to say he 
is .■! well-educattMl man, and has been prominent in 
the i-ounty for m.-iny years. John U. Harkness, in 
ISC-J. was niairied to Charity C. Comstock. a native 
of b'olbn Touuship. her birth having occurred on 
the pl.ace our sidijcct now <.ccupies. To Mr. and 
Mrs. llarkness were born three children — Lina, 
l'.eulah,and Llewellyn, oiu- subject. Liua and Beu- 
|;di are at home with their p.areul.s. 

Our subject -pent hi- boyhoo-l <lays <m his 
father's farm, pursinng his early studies in the dis- 
trict school until sixteen years of age, then entered 
Adrian High School, where he took a course in the. 



--r 



•►Hh-^ 



766 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



grammar department, and from there was sent to 
Raisin Valley Seminai-y, where he finished his studies. 
Since that time he has given his attention to agri- 
culture, which he sensibly believes in making a 
science. The old-fashioned notion that anybody 
can manage a farm, is fast losing ground under the 
enlightenment of the age, and we invariably find 
that the most successful men in this line of business 
are men both of intelligence and education. Young 
Harkness, in order that nothing should be lacking 
to complete the model homestead, installed there, 
at an early stage, one of the most accomplished 
young ladies of Kollin Township, having been mar- 
ried, March 4, 1885, to Miss Susan L., daughter of 
Amos R. and Elmira (Beal) Cole, natives of New 
York and Michigan, respectively, and now residents 
of Rollin Township. (See sketch in another part of 
this Alisum.) 



^ps^ AMUEL BRYANT, a leading agriculturist 
^^^ of Dover Township, is of English and 
(j\£j| Scotch descent. His father. .Tohn Bryant, 
was born in Leeds, England, where the first 
twenty-live years of his life were spent, while his 
mother, Margaret (Watson) Bryant, was born in 
Perth, Scotland. When sixteen years of age she 
came with her [)ai-eiits, William and Margaret Wat- 
son, to America, where they .settled in Wheatland, 
Monroe Co., N. Y., but sulisequently removed to 
Ohio, and settled in Huron County, where they 
died. 

The parents of our subject settled in Wheatland, 
N. Y., whence in the fall of I8.">C, with their family, 
which consisted at that time of three children, they 
came to Michigan and settled in Dover Township, 
on section .'32, on a tract of 200 acres of Govern- 
ment land. They continued to live there until the 
decease of the father, which occurred March 23, 
1856; his widow survives at an advanced age. 
They were the i)arents of ten children, of whom the 
following is the record: Sanuiel, the subject of this 
sketch ; William W. married Elizabeth Smith, and 
lives in Dover Township; Joiin married Sophronia 
Vedder, and lives in Seneca Township; Margaret is 
the wMow of Williani Ashley, who died in Septem- 



ber, 1879; she resides in Dover Township. AVal- 
laee married Caroline Tuttle, and lives in Seneca 
Township; Alexander married Elizabeth Holmes, 
and lives in McLean County, 111. : Winfield S. is 
married and lives in Greenwood County, Kan.; 
George married Enuna Leacox, and lives in Dover 
Township; Charles T. married Hannah Holmes, and 
lives in McLean County, III., and Helen M. died 
in Dover Township, when three and one-half years 

Samuel Bryant was born in Wheatland, Monroe 
Co., N. Y., .Tuly 22, is;!;3, and was about three 
years old when he came with his parents to Lena- 
wee Count}'. He attended the common schools, 
and being a lad of more than ordinary ability, 
made rapid progress in his studies. Being the eld- 
est son of a farmer, much of the lighter work of the 
farm fell to his share, and to satisfy his thirst for 
knowledge his studies were pursued by the light of 
a caudle, or, more frequently, by the light of a 
hickory fire, until far into the night. In this man- 
ner he acquired a good, practical education, and 
was engaged in teaching in various townships in 
Lenawee County, to the satisfaction of all concerned. 
He remained at home until he was twenty-four 
years old, at the dying request of his father, and 
a.ssisted in putting up good buildings on the old 
homestead. In August, 1860, he bought 120 acres 
of partly improved land on section 2, Dover Town- 
ship, and in 1861 he took possession of the farm 
where he has since resided. 

Mr. Bryant was married in Medina Township, 
Oct. 24, 1866, to Miss Helen M., daughter of David 
M. and Jane M. (Wheeler) Johnson. Mr. Johnson 
was born in Monroe County, N. Y.,and Mrs. John- 
son in Monroe County, Mich. They first settled in 
Macon Township, Monroe County, whence they 
removed to Fairfield Township, Lenawee County, 
"afterward moving to Branch County, Mich., where 
they have since lived. They are parents of seven 
children, namely: Helen M., Willis J., Warren G., 
Flora A., Mertie B., Curtis P. and Stella. Willis 
died in Reading, Hillsdale Co., lAIicli., iu April, 
187'J, when nearly twenty -seven years old; Warren 
G. lives in Nebraska; Flora is the wife of Leslie 
Squires, of Reading, Mich.; Mertie is the wife of 
Nelson Buchanan, of Reading; Curtis P, mavn'ed 



^h 



4- 



L 



t 



LENAAVEK COUNTY. 



OrphaRugg, and lives in Reading, while .Stella lives 
at liouie. Mrs. Bryant was born In Macon Town- 
sliip, Monroe Co., Midi., Fei). l'«, isis. Slic rr- 
eeived a liberal education and lierore ni.-irii.-iuc wa,- 
sneeessfuUy engaged in Icncbing in lliniich and 
Lenawee Counties. ( )!' Iicr iiuidii wilh Mr. r.ivMiit 
five children have been l)()rn. n;unciy : l''.hn('r ( '.. 
Stanley, Clifford, Grace and Alice. ClilTord died 
in infancy; Elmer C. is a graduate of tlie Ailrian 
High School. 

Mr. Bryant eomnicncrd lilV a poor ni;in. bis only 
inheritance being his sLroni; hands, wllliii'^ lic;irl. and 
a large portion of ind\islry and dclernilnallon. At 
the beginning of his career Ills poeket-bcjok was 
empty, and the first §10 he earned In' liad the mis- 



fortune to lose. Eroni this 


hu 


mbl.. 


lirL;illllillu. 


by 


his patient industry, excellent 


fin.MiK 


iM jiid-m 


■lit 


and good business lad, be 


IMS 


workt 


d hi- way 


to 


his present pro>peron~ coml 


ti( 


1. bci 


ig owner n 


>w 


of 180 acres of well-tlllrd la 


id. 


oil wl 


icb he resii 


es, 


surrounded by the comfort 


- , 


f life 


\ view 


of 


Mr. Brj'ant's pleasant bom 


st( 


id Is 


|iresented 


on 


another page of this Ai.ium 


IS 1 


cpiTsc 


Illative of 


the 


buildings of this section i 


f ' 


oiiiitr 


V. Ill all 


his 


la,bors he has had the assista 


ice 


of bis 


energetic ; 


lid 


aecom[)lished wife, whose 


COl 


nsel 1 




lys 


appreciated. 










Mr. Bryant has scrv<M| as 


Ills 




. In poll 


ics 


he is a Republican and sni 


V" 




prii,ci|,K.s 


of 


that (larty with fervor. .AI 


■. a 


id M 


s. lirvant 


ire 


ver_y pleasant and agreeable 


pc 


.pie. : 


lid have hosts 


of warm and devoted frieiK 


-. 


riicii 


hospitalit. 


• is 


unbounded, and their lie;i 


ts ( 


ver 1 


cspond to 


tlie 


calls of the needy. Trnlv 


rn 


1 it, 1k 


said of tl 


em 


"The stranger is welcome « 


ith 


n the 


r gales." 





,^p^EORGE ANSON BAKER, one of tin 
11 g— , settlers of Lenawee County, Mich., w 
^^( in Jersey. Steuben Co.. N. Y., Feb. .", 
Ilis grandfather, a Bnjitisl prcncbi'r, spent 
years in Canada, and there Kllslia llakcr. tin 
of our subject, was lioin. ic-iieil and m.-uriei 
ing the War of ls|_' Uv w.-is iiupri-oii.d 
r>ritish. because be would not liubl, .-i-.n 



United States. He was afterward pressed into the 
service of the British, and was wounded at the 
bnttle of Lake Cbamplain. After that he was di.s- 
chargcd, .-ind then renioNcd to ISteuben County, N. 
Y., where he bought 1 110 acres of land and died in 
.lime, isii). The maiden name of his wife, mother 
of our subject, was Ruth Amelia David. She was 
born in A'ermont, and went with her parents to 
Canada. After the death of her husband she re- 
tiiined to \'ermont, from her home in Steuben 
County, N. V.. ;iiid bought a small place in Shel- 
liuriie. There she married a second time in 1827, 
and livccl fi,r :i number of years, then removed to 
.Micbi-.-in. ami spent her last days in Monroe 

Our subject was uiily lliivc iiioiitli- old when the 
ileatli ni bis falher occurred, .-iiid he remained with 
his mother until her second marriage, when, thongii 
only in his ninth year, he began earning his own 
living. In 18.'>4 he accompanied a married sister 
and her husband to Cleveland, Ohio, where he spent 
the winter, and came in the summer of 1835 to 
the Territory of Michigan, locating in Monroe 
Ct)unty, Bedford Township, which was then in its 
primitive wildness. Indians still lingered there, 
while deer, bears, wild turkeys, prairie chickens, 
and other -aiiie were plentiful. He lived there un- 
til isfli, then returned to \'ermont, going by Lake 
Krie to Huffalo. thence by Erie Canal to Albany, 
and from there on foot to Salisbury, Vt., where he 

traced bis steps as far west as Danville, Ohio, where 
be lived with .-I brother until the next spring, and 
then secured u ork on a farm in Fitchville, Huron 
County. Later he lioughl eighty' acres of land in 
Richmond Township, in the same count}', on which 
be built a Uyj; bouse and barn, and cleared about 
thirty acres. After living there three years, he sold 
out and bought a tract of timbered land in Iliiut- 
ingtou, Lorain Coiiiity. upon which he erected a 
frame house. In 1 s.'.o he disposed of this property, 
and removed to Loudon, where he engaged in 
mercantile business, keeping a general merchandi.se 
stoi'e there one year. He then returned to Monroe 
County. Mich., and bought land in Bedford, the 
towiislii|. ill wbii'h he bad lirst located several years 
previoiisly. The laud was unimproved, but he 



■^•- 



r68 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



! 



placed it unrter cultivation, and erected a good set 
of buildings. 

In the spring of 1«52, lured by the accounts of 
wonderful fortunes in California awaiting the seeker, 
Mr. Baker started for that El Dorado of the 
Pacific Coast, traveling across the plains. On ar- 
riving at Salt Lake City, July 8, he became sick, 
and liis comrades proceeded on their way without 
him. He soon felt able to travel and started on his 
way, rejoicing in the thought of overtaking his 
companions, but he had over-estimated his strength, 
and fainted and fell by the wayside. A Mormon 
who happened along, picked him up and bore him 
to the house of another Mormon, who proved to be 
from Monroe County, and acquainted with many 
of Mr. Baker's friends. He kindly eared for him 
until his recovery, and when he again started on his 
journey, he gave liim a letter of introduction to 
friends in San Bernardino, Cal. Two months later 
he left Salt Lalie City with a party of Mormons, 
bound for that place, but they underwent manj^ 
hardships during their journey. The Indians and 
Mormons in disguise stole the most of their cattle 
and tlieir provisions, and they nearly perished, 
traveling ninety-six miles at one time without a 
mouthful to eat, and arriving in San Bernardino in 
November, weary and worn after their two months' 
eventful journey over mountains and jilains, he re- 
mained two weeks. JL'. Baker tlien went on to 
Los Angeles, where he spent two weeks, after which 
he proceeded by steamer to San Francisco. He re- 
mained three j'ears in California, mining and farm- 
ing alternately, and on the ;")th of .Tanuary, 18;").t, 
he started ou his return trip. After .arriving in 
Monroe County, he settled on his own farm, where 
he lived until 180(3, when he sold out his posses- 
sions and removed to Springfield. After spending 
a year there lie came to Blissfield and bought the 
farm on which he now resides. 

Mr. Baker was married, March 2i), 1843, to Mary 
M. Sizer, a native of Hunter, Greene Co., N. Y., 
where she was born Nov. 20, 182G. Her grand- 
father, Fletcher Slzer, a cabinet-maker by trade, 
was l)orn and spent liis entire life in Hampshire 
County, Mass., dying there at the age of seventy 
years. The maiden name of his wife was Lj'dia 
Bassett, also a native of Chester; she died in Hu- 



ron County, Ohio, aged eighty-four years. Anson 
Sizer, Mrs. Baker's father, was born and grew to 
manhood in Chester, when he removed to New 
York State and there married, and resided until 
1834. then removed to Huron Count}', Ohio, and 
was a pioneer of (rveenwich Township. He built a 
log cabin in the wilderness, and cleared several 
acres of laud, then sold and moved to Richmond 
and settled in the woods. After clearing several 
acres of land he removed to Wood County, where 
he purchased a tract of wild prairie land, and im- 
proved a farm, remaining there until his death. The 
maiden name of his wife was Julia A. Abbott, 
daughter of John and Clarissa (Sizer) Abbott, pio- 
neers of Huron County, Ohio. They died in Hu- 
ron County, he at the age of sixty-three years, and 
she at the ripe old age of eighty-four years. 

Mr. and Mrs. Baker have one child, Carrie M., 
wife of Rev. Xatlian N. Clark, a Methodist Epis- 
copal minister, belonging to the Detroit Conference. 
The children of Mr. and Mrs. Clark are Harland 
G. and Mial V. Mr. and Mrs. Baker are esteemed 
members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, while 
in politics Mr. Baker is a Republican with strong- 
Prohibition sympathies. He is a valuable addition 
to the citizenship of this community, and his many 
and varied exjieriences, .as detailed by himself, 
make lum a |)leasant companion. 

^^=^EORGK 11. BACK. As a prosperous farmer 
ill and as an old resident of Blissfield, it af- 

^^JS fords us pleasure to give a brief biography 
of this gentleman, and also to record a few facts 
connected with the lives of his own, and of his 
wife's ancestry. The great-grandfather of our sub- 
ject was tlie first of the family name to settle in 
America, coming to this country in Colonial times. 
His son, Judah Back, the grandfather of our sub- 
ject, it is thought was born in Connecticut, and his 
last days were spent in Chaplin, Windham Count}', 
that State. He served as Lieutenant in the Rev- 
olutionary War. His wife, whose maiden name was 
Priseilla Gates, was also a native of Connecticut. 
I'^rastns Back, the father of our subject, was born 
on the old homestead in Chaplin, which he inher- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



769 ' ' 



ited after the death of his father, and occupied un- 
til 1835. At that time he sold his property there 
and started for the " far West," acconi|iaiiicd by 
liis wife and five eliildren, tlieir oiitlit consisting "f 
six horses and three wagons.- Un tlic 1st iif Alarch 
Uiey commenced their long journey, caui|iiii<^ Mnd 
cooking b.v tiie wayside, their wagons fiirni>hiiig 
them shelter fmni llir storms, and in this ni.'unicr 
they traveled ns f.-ir m^ (. Irveland, Ohio. There tlicy 
were informed that it would be impossible to cro^s 
the Black Swamp, and accordingly they wont on a 
boat as far as Toledo, then a small town, where thiy 
disembarked, teams and all, and followed the Terri- 
torial road to Williams County. ( )liio. On the way 
they crossed the present site of Moicnci, Mieh., 
which was then a. dense wilderness, though there 
were two or three log cabins near by. 

Previous to his removal from Connecticut, yiv. 
Back had bought a tract of land six miles south of 
the Territorial road, near what is now Bridgewater, 
Williams Co., Ohio. There was no road built to 
the place, and before he cf)uld reach his land he 
had to construct a bridge across the little .St. .Joseph 
Uivcr, during which time the family went into 
camp. With the aid of a friendly settler and his 
oxen, they finally reached their land. While on this 
trip our subject and an elder brother were sent 
ahead of the i)arty to build a lire: matches were not 
in general use at that time, and fire was obtained by 
means of a flint, lie had no tow with which to start 
th(! fire, but he tore a pocket from his coat, sprinkled 
powder on it, and with the assistance of his flint- 
ting by the camp-fire that lie first heard the howl of 
a wolf, a sound with which he soon became f.-unili.Mr. 
. A family named Smith live<l near, and Mr. Back 
and his family moved into and occupied a p;irt of 
their house, while he built a lo^- cabin on his own 
land. He split shakes to coxcr llie roof, and 
puncheon for the floor. 'I'lie door was split from a 
fine black walnut log, and hung on \voodeu hinges; 
from the same log he split a, board to make the ta- 
ble. No .sawed lumber nor any nails wei'e used in 
the construction of this cabin, but the shingles, or 
shakes, as they were called, were held in place by 
the weight of poles. After they had been there a 
short time provisions gave out, and our subject, 



with some assistance, hollowed out a boat and went 
down the St. .Joseph River for supiilies, getting them 
at Ft. Wayne. The father live.I aliont ten year^ 
after settling there, ami in the nie:intinie. :is>i>ted 
by his sons, cleared about sixty acres of land. 

The maiden name of the mother of our siibjeel 
was Annie Flint, a native of Windham County, 
Conn. This excellent lady lived nearly ninety 
years, spending the latter [larl of lic'r long :ind use- 
ful life with her eldest son in Bridgewater 'J'own- 
■-hip. .She was the mother of seven children, all of 
whom grew up, and are recorded as follows: Ciu'is- 
tiuna married .Joseph Foster, and spent lici- entire 
life in her u:itive county. W ih<lham. Conn. ; Sally 
married Chandler Holt, and lives in Bridgewater 
Townshii), Ohio: Gilbert lives in ISridgewater, Ohio; 
Kmeliiie m.-irried Philo Holt, and died in Connecti- 
cut: William lives in l)oni|ilK.n County, Kan.: 
(ieorge II. i> the subject of thi> skel.'li. while.loscph 
lives in Bridgewater, Ohio. An incident of hisl..r- 
ieal interest in connection with the Fo-ter f.imily, 
into which the eldest daughter, Chrisfi;nKi. uiarricd, 
(h-serves mcnti.>u here. .Io>,.ph Foster's grandfather, 
Tinn.Miy Foster, of Du.lley, Mass.. .■ind twelve sous, 
including the father of Joseph, .served in the Rev- 
olutionary War. His service, and that of his twelve 
sous in the war, aggregated nearly seventy years. 
The youngest, the father of .loseph, was f. >urteen 



iloe.-t. C 



e II. 

d wi 



n^littce 
ts to Ol 
est, mill 



the trip witli an ox-le:ini. it taking him nearly a 
week to go and return; two of the nights he was 
obliged to camp in the woo.ls. After the mill at 
Hillsdale was built, he and his neighbors palronizcMl 
that, the distance being onlj' one-half as ure.-it as to 
Adrian. When twenty-one years of age j\lr. Back 
bought :i trMcl of timlieredl.-ind aiIj(Mning his fa- 
improving 111.' hind. Afb'r hi- niarriage he and his 
wife<N,mmen.-e<| hoiisekeei.ing in that hinnble abode. 
Their furnituie w.as Imnnaiiade, while they had no 
stove, and for two or three years Mrs. Back did all 
her cooking by an open fireplace. By putting into 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



^; 



practice the h.abits of industry and economy to 
which he had been reared, and assisted by his wife, 
who proved a most excellent helpmeet in those days 
of labor and frugality, he soon had sixt3' acres of 
land cleared, and h:id substituted a commodious 
frame house for the log cabin. There they resided 
uutil 1851, when thej^ sold and removed to Bliss- 
field Township, where he bought a farm two miles 
northeast of the village, and continued to reside 
tliere until 1858. He then purchased the farm where 
he now lives, which comprises fifty acres of land, 
all lying within the village limits. The house that 
was on the farm at the time that he bought it, was 
burned, and he afterward built the one which he 
now occupies. 

Mr. Back was married, Feb. 20, 1845, to Ahuira 
Davis, who was ,born in Rush, Monroe Co., N. Y., 
Feb. 18, 1826. 8he was the daughter of Ethan and 
Alice (Case) Davis, the former a native of Connect- 
icut, who removed with his parents to Monroe 
County, N. Y., in the early settlement of that 
county, lie married and resided there until 1885, 
when with his family he came to the Territor of 
Michigan, becoming, a pioneer of Dundee, Monroe 
County; his last days were spent in Petersburg, 
that county. 

Alice (Case) Davis was a native of New York, 
and spent her last years in Petersburg, dying at the 
advanced age of eighty-four years. She was well 
fitted for the wife of a pioneer, being characterized 
by vigor, energy and a brave heart, undaunted by 
the pei'ils before her. Mrs. Back well remembers 
the journey to Michigan, and relates several inci- 
dents connected with it that show the braver^' of 
her mother. It was during the Toledo War that 
the journej' was made, and while passing through 
Ohio, Mrs. Back, then a girl of seven or eight years, 
with some of the other children, was walking ahead 
of the team ; S(jme men drove up and asked where 
they were going. She replied, " To Michigan. " 
" Don't go there," they said, "for there is a war 
there." The children hastily returned to the wagon 
and repeated to their parents what the men had told 
them. When the men came up, Mrs. Davis said, 
"You are cowardsl I am going to' Michigan to help 
them fight." 

Mr, and Mrs. Back liccauic the parents of six 



-<•■ 



children, three of whom are living: Emeline, the 
wife of George Davenport, of Blissfield Township; 
Clark, who lives in Blissfield Township, and Aaron, 
who lives in Roscommon County, Mich. Those de- 
ceased are: Alice, who became the wife of M. L. 
White, Miron A. and Elmer E. 

Mr. Back is a man of resolute will and energetic 
character, and in his younger days possessed great 
powers of endurance, iu illustration of wliich we 
will relate one or two circumstances that occurred 
in his earl^' life. In 1837, Mr. Back had a severe 
attack of toothache; he tried the usual remedies, but 
obtained no relief. After passing a sleepless night, 
he started early in the morning on foot for Syl- 
vania, fifty miles distant, the nearest place wliere a 
doctor could be found, and arrived at the doctor's 
house just as the family were eating their evening 
meal. The doctor left his supper and pulled the 
tooth, then he invited his patient to spend the night 
with him. Mr. Back accepted the invitation, and 
in the morning asked for the amount of his bill. 
The doctor said he would not charge a dog any- 
thing that would walk 100 miles to liave a tooth 
extracted. Mr. Back vividly remembers another 
long walk that he took when a young man. At 
that time all the grain used to be cut with a 
sickle; he thought he could use a cradle if he had 
one, and induced his father to let him start in search 
of one He walked to Jonesville, thirty miles dis- 
tant, purchased a cradle, and then started on his re- 
turn. After he had walked several miles the cradle 
became a burden, and he left it at a neighbor's, and 
continued on his way, reaching home before dark, 
having walked the entire sixty miles in one day. 

Mr. Back has in his possession some family relics 
which he prizes iiighly,and which are rare curiosities 
in these comparative!}' new western towns, though 
very often to be found in the ancient villages of 
New England. Among these is the clock which his 
grandfather had made at the time of his marriage. 
It is very tall, reaching to the ceiling overhead, and 
still keeps good time. He also has a paper, the Ul- 
ster Gazette, dated Jan. 4, 1800, published at Kings- 
ton, N. Y. The paper is draped in mourning, and 
contains a notice of Washington's funeral. Mr. and 
Mrs. Back have been influential and esteemed mem- 
bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church for fortj'- 

\ ^ _► 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Ml 



Newti 



1772, and uiaiTR't: 
Ilrtdlev, who was 



six yeai-s, and the greater part of that time Mr. 
IJacIi has served as Class-Leader and Sunday-school 
Superintendent. His children mic also nicnil)ers of 
the same church. 



^^5^ OLOMON M. NEWTON. Anion- llic pio- 

"i^^Ql fiither anil fatlirr of the sulijcct of this 
biography, and in this coniK'ctioii wc arc 
pleased to relate some of the interesting incidents 
of their earh' settlement. It is well to commem- 
orate the names of those hardy bands of men who 
lirst broke the way for progress and civilization 
into this wilderness, ami whose courage ami endur- 
ance have brought it to its present high state of 
development. 

internal graudfathi'r, John New- 
the State of \'ermont, Jan. 14, 
for his second wife Miss Hannah 
torn Feb. (!, 1775; she became 
the mother of four children, three girls and one 
boy. After her death he was again united in mai- 
riage, in 1810, with Miss Rebecca Radway, a native 
of Vermont, where she was born May 2(i, 1783. By 
this marriage there were born seven children, six 
boys and one girl. Mr. Newton, in 1815, purchased 
fifty acres of lan<l in the woods at Truxton, N. Y., 
which he cleared; but on the 2d of May, 1830, he 
started from Syracuse on the p]rie Canal to Buffalo, 
aiul thence to Cleveland, Ohio, by steamboat, and 
by the Ohio Canal to Clinti m. From the latter city he 
reached Milton Township, \\:iyiH' Co., Ohio, bj- 
means of two yoke of oxen and a wagon, and there 
rented a farm of forty acre,-, on which he built a 
log hou.se of the usual primitive architecture, into 
which he moved and made his home for nine years. 
At the expiration of that time he went with his 
son, Jeremiah T., to Medina County in the same 
State, where he followed the profession of a phy- 
sician, and died May 11, 1848, at the age of 
seventy-six years. His widow, Rebecca Newton, 
made her home with her son Jeremiah in Ogden 
Township until her decease, Nov. 23, 1878, when 
she had attained the advanced age of ninet\'-five 
j'ears. 

Jeremiah T. Newton, the f;i1her of oiir subject, 



was born March 10. 181i), in Truxton, Cortland 
Co., N. Y., and was but eleven years of age when 
his parents removed to Wayne County, Ohio. On 
reaching manhood he jnirchased fifty acres of wild 
land in Spencer Township, Medina Co., Ohio, upon 
which he buih the ii>iial pioneer cabin. The lloor 
was made of >|ilil puncheons and the roof of sliakes. 
which were held in place by pole-, a- nails were an 
unknown quantity in that wilderness. Into this he 
removed his parents in the fall of 183".). and 
Sept. 17, 1843, he was united in marriage with iMiss 
Clarissa Benfer, and iustalleil her in his cabin as 
its niislre-s. lie reniained in tills house with his 
liareiit- until the spring of IM I. and then erecting 
an addition to it of the -.anie iiiiiipie construction, 
moved into it an-l coinnieiiced liousekeepiiig on 
his own account. 'I'lie cliiiiiiiey of the house was 
on the outside of it, and wtis built of sticks, stone 
and mud. The lireplace in one end of it was made 
of bog oak with clay plastered upon the inside 
of it, and split logs on the outside from six to seven 
feet high to protect it. Besides the door the cabin 
had one window in which were six |ia,iies of gja-s, 
8x10 in si/e. wiiicli was consideivd a hixuiy in 
those day;i. Their cuphoaiil was made liy lioring 
six holes in th.' log wall, into which were driven as 
h Mllipoili.d three hoards. The 
y .Mr. .Newton, who-,, only tools 
were an ax. saw and plane, and who coiihl only 
work at it :it night when he could not, see to d.i 
anything onl-doors. The entire stock of finnituie 
of the young couple ronsisted of a bedstead, one 
chair, a Stool made by himself, three plates, three 
cups and saucers, fhi'ce knives and forks, three 
pewter teaspoons, one iron spoon, one gallon crock 
and a coffee-pot. 

Jeremiah Newton and his wife lived upon this 
place until the 1st of March, 1853, when having 
made considerable improvements upon the place, 
he sold it, and removed to the wilds of Ashland 
County, in the same State, and settled in Sullivan 
Township. He there purchased fortj- acres of laud, 
about twelve of which ha. I lieeii cleareil, and build- 
ing a log house n.oved into if. taking his inotlier 
with him. He lived on this place about eleven 
years, and cleared up the remainder tif the farm, 
but in 1864 he sold the property and bought eighty 



many ]iin: 
table was 



-•►HI-4* 



•►HI-4* 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



4 



i;, 



acres of land in Ogden Township, Lenawee County, 
of which about twenty-five acres had been cleared 
of the timber. They had made the journey from 
Ar^hland County with teams and wagons, and spend- 
ing five days upon the road arrived in this county 
Aug. 20, 1864. Here Mr. Newton spent the re- 
maining years of his life, his death taking place 
July 2;5, 1884. He was an honest man and pos- 
sessed of sound and excellent judgment. He 
started in the world a poor man, but his industrious 
habits gained hin: a competency which enabled him 
to leave a comfortable home to his wife and two 
sons who survived him. 

Mrs. Newton, the mother of our subject, was born 
in Centre County, Pa., May 24, 1824. Her paternal 
grandfather was, it is thought, a native of Penn- 
sylvania, and spent the last years of his life in that 
State. Her father, George Benfer, was born, reared 
and married in Pennsylvania, and continued to 
reside there until 1830. In that year, with his wife 
and four children, he started for Ohio, journeying 
in a wagon drawn by one horse. He located in the 
forest of Spencer Township, Medina C^ounty, where 
he bought a tract of timber land, on which he l)uilt 
a board shanty for the shelter of his family until 
he could erect a more substantial log cabin. He 
cleared a large farm upon which he erected good 
buildings, and he lived to see the county well de- 
veloped. The maiden name of his wife, who was 
a Pennsylvani.an, was Mar^- Duffy; she died in 
their home in Medina County. 

Mrs. Newton is the mother of three son>: James, 
living across the border in Ohio; George Franklin, 
who died at the age of twenty years, and Solomon 
M., her youngest child and the subject of our 
sketch, with whom she resides. He was born in 
Sullivan Township, Ashland Co., Ohio, Nov. 1), 
185.5. He was but nine years of age when he came 
with his parents to live in Michigan, so that tlie 
most of his life has been spent on this homestead in 
Ogden Township. Inheriting a fair share of the 
energy and capabilities of his parents, since he has 
had charge of tlie farm he has made many excellent 
improvements, and has been very successful in his 
work as a fnrnicr. Mr. Newton was married, Nov. 
9, 1878, to Mi.ss Augusta M., daughter of .lames 
and Elizabeth Hendec, who was born May 14, 1857, 



in Spencer Township, Medina Co., Ohio. One 
child, Ellis A., was bom of their union, whose 
place of nativity was Anilioy, Fulton Co., Ohio, 
and the date, July 7, 1884. After a few brief 
years of pleasant wedded life Mrs. Newton died, 
Jan. 11, 1885. Mr. Newton contracted a second 
matrimonial alliance, Dec. 24, 1S87, witli Miss 
llattie Miller, who was born in Aniboy, Fulton 
Co., Ohio, April 14, l.sGS. 

---V .o*o.tU> Dv"® -ofo.. *, — 



J I ESSE PENTECOST, an extensive genci-al 
I farmer and stock-raiser on section 18 of 
I Franklin Township, has lived here since De- 
' cember, 1851, when he purchased 120 acres 
of land, and now owns about that amount. Mr. 
Pentecost was born in Somersetshire, England, June 
23, 1817, where his father, who was an English 
farmer, spent his entire life and died when over 
eight}' years of age. The mother, Elizabeth (George) 
Pentecost, was a native of the same county as her 
husband, where she lived to tlie advanced age of 
ninety-seven years. 

The subject of our biography is the only living- 
child of the family, and grew up in his native 
county, where he was married first to Elizabeth 
Shepherd. In 1848, and after the birth of three 
children, they came to the United States, and a few 
months later made their way to Michigan, and lo- 
cated in Franklin Township. Mrs. Pentecost died 
here June 15, 1882, when sixty-two j-ears of age. 
She was the mother of seven children — Joseph, Will- 
iam S., Mary A., John S., Sarah E., Charles S. and 
Carrie E. ; all but Joseph are married. 

Mr. Pentecost was a second time married, in 
Franklin Township, Nov. 25, 1884, to Mrs. Nancy 
(Slater) Matthews, who was born in this township, 
Oct. 15, 1836. Mrs. P. is the daughter of Joseph 
and Elizabeth (McKinstry) Slater, natives of Ovid, 
Seneca Co., N. Y. In 1829, after the birth of two 
children, Joseph Slater came to Michigan with his 
family, and located on a piece of Government land 
In Franklin Township, on the old turnpike, which 
was liis home until his death, in I.S81. He was one 
(if the most rciiiiliK' and res|>eetc(l men of the town- 
ship, and oecMpied a liigh standing in society. 



•►Hh 



Hl^^ 



LKNAWKE COUNTY. 



77o 



Mrs. Pentecost of this notice is tlio fourth child 
of a family of seven l>oi-n to her mother. She ";is 
reared in P^ranklin Township, and was ru>l niarricil 
to Mr. Henry Jlatthews, a native of Senec;i County. 
N. Y., who eanic when a ynun- man t<. .Mirhi^au. 
and took up hind in Franklin To\vii>hip. this count.y, 
where he lived for some years, and then purchased 
another farm on which he lived till his demisi'. 
which occnrred Dec. a, 1876. He left a, wife and 
three children: Emma I)., the wife of U. .1. Slatci-. 
of Tecuniseh; Florence, the wife of 31. .1. Cnm- 
niing, a resident of Jackson City, Mich., and Abbie 
L., who attends school in Tecumseh. Mr. Matthews 
was a man of inteirrity and ranch respected by his 
fellow-townsmen, and in politics he was a Repub- 
lican. Mrs. Pentecost owns some well-improved 
farming land in Franklin Township, and i.- a woman 
of sterling sense and active and energetic habits. 
Mr. Pentecost is a Democrat in his political affilia- 
tions. 



b' 



Vlh 



ANIEL D. BALUSS, a prominent educatoi- 
and prosperous farmer, residing in Ogden 
^Jl^ Township, has the honor of beimi a uatise 
of this great commonwralth, hi~ liii'thplace 
being Fairfield Townshi|) in this county. His 
grandfather was a farmer, and an early settler of 
AVayne County, N. Y., where he spent his List 
years. Diu-ing the Revolutionary \\:iv he fo<ik an 
active part in the struggles of ih,. Colonies for in- 
dependence. 

Cornelius W. Baluss, the father of our sidiject, 
was born in Wayne County. N. Y., in IMG, ami 
having the misfortune to lose his father when quite 
young he was reared by an uncle, a farmer living in 
Wayne County. In 1837 he married Sarah Durkee, 
and soon afterward came to this county, and 
located in Medina Township. He lived there 
nearly two 3'ears, then I'emoved to Fairfield Town- 
ship, and bought from the Government liO acres 
of land. It was heavily timbered, and he had to 
fell trees to make room to build a log cabin. In 
this cabin our subject was born March 28, 184.'). 
The father remained on this last farm until his 
death in isiCl. In the meantime he had cleared 
quite a tract of land, and erected a good set of 



Ijuililings. His first wife, the mother of our suliject, 
was a native of Wayne County, N. Y., and died at 
the homestead in Fairfield Township in 1854. They 
were the parents of six children, of whom our sid)- 
ject was the fointli. I'.y a suli>(Mpu-nt marri.-ige Mr. 
Baluss berauie the fatlier of two eliildn-u. 

Daniel I). Baluss attended the pioneer schools of 
U'\> natix'e township when young, diversifj-ing the 
time liy hunting wild ga.me, which at that time was 
abundant. lie was sixteen years old when his 
father died, after which he sui)ported hiuiscif, and 
found time and means to complete his education. 
At first he worked on a farm in Adrian Township, 
and attended the Union School there for seven 
mouths. Subsequently lie pursued his studies in 
Adrian Colh-e for nc-nrly live years, occasionally 
teaching during that time. After leaving college 
he studied law with his brother. Hamilton Baluss, at 
Wayne, Mich., for two years, and practiced with 
him about one year, when he resumed his vocatimi 
as teacher. His success was so marked, not only in 
imparting knowledge but as a disciplinarian, that his 
services have been in constant requisitiori. He has 
already taught twenty-three terms, and was, in 
llu- fall of I8.S7, enga-cd in teaching his fifth t.'rm 
in the High School of Metamora. In l.s7() he 
located on his present farm, which comprises 1()() 
acres, only two of which were cleared at the time 
of purchase. He now has eighty-five acres cleared, 
and sixty-five well drained. Besides attending to 
his professional duties as teacher he oversees his 
agricultural interests, except in the winter season, 
and for three years was also engaged in the manu- 
factine of brick and tile. Ilis farm, which is em- 
bellished by a fine brick house and convenient farm 
buildings, with the air of thrift which surrounds 
them, prove him to be as successful a student in 
agriculture as in mental acquirements, and he reaps 
as abundant an<l satisfactory harvests from his 
manual labors as from his intellectual. 

The marriage of Mr. Baluss with Amanda A. 
Houghtby took place Jan. 17. 1869. She was born 
in Ogden Township, and is the daughter of William 
iloiightbj' (of vvhom see .sketch in this Album). To 
Mr. and Mrs. Baluss have been born five children — 
Arthur D., Fred C. John \\., Grace S. and Harry. 

Mr. and Mrs. Baluss are influential members of 



f 



•►Hl--^ 



^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



thu United Brethren Chnrcli, where Mr. B. was Sec- 
retary of the Raisin Circuit Conference two terms, 
and is Superintendent of the Sunda.y-school. He 
is prominently identified witii tlie interests of tiie 
town, and every project for its advancement, in- 
tellectually, morally or socially, has his approval and 
hearty support. He is a Republican in politics, but 
sympathizes with the Prohibitionists, and was their 
candidate for County Surveyor. He can \jell sup- 
port the principles of the latter party, as he has 
always been a total abstainer from tobacco and 
liquors. 



■-^^^^k^^^^f^k^- 



t 



(I? ON. JOHN R. CLARK, of tin- firm of 
Wy^ Clark, Mason & Co., of Adrian, pork 
/Iv^^ packers and dealers in produce, fruits and 
^a) lard, is one of the leading pioneer citizens 
of Lenawee County, into which he made his 
advent in 1836. His long residence justly entitles 
him to being called an -'old citizen." The old 
settlers take pride in reviewing the changes that 
liave been made, and the improvements completed 
since they first came into this section of Michi- 
gan moi'e than half a century ago. The past 
rises up before them in characters of life-like 
fidelity, reminding them of daj's long since mold- 
ering with the dead, and of friends of years 
ago entombed in mother earth. They recall the 
day when, weary and foot-sore, but exuberant 
with youth, hope and determination, they came 
upon the scene, and gazing out upon the laml- 
scape, rejoiced at the spectacle which greeted their 
vision. The scene itself is pictured to them as 
they saw it then, in all the exquisite beauty of 
its rural simplicity; immense forests, wherein the 
foot of man had not left its impress, or bound- 
less prairie, adorned in the colors of its variegated 
blossoms. No genial spirit welcomed them to the 
hospitalities of a home, no cheerful notes of glad- 
ness were sounded at their approach. But the 
wand of progress touches wilderness, which vanishes 
before it; it touches the rolling prairies and they 
are changed into fruitful fields; it touches the 
Solitude and peoples it with a race whose career has 
been marked with success at every milestone on the 
route. What a wonderful change has been worked 
■<• ■■' 



by the industry and ingenuity of man. The forest 
has yielded to the woodman's ax, the wilderness 
becomes a source of wealth, and the harvest song is 
heard wliere once the war cries of the savages re- 
sounded. 

John R. Clark is a native of tiie State of New 
York, and was born in Ontario Township, Ontario 
County, which township is now kno\vn\as Walworth, 
and the countjr as Wayne, on the 4th of September, 
1822. His father, Barzillai Clark, was born in 
Hartford, Conn., July 31, 1780, and from there 
he was taken at the age of six years to Hud- 
son, N. Y., and thence to Pompey, where he 
lived until 1807, when he removed to Ontario 
County, N. Y., and purchased a farm. In the 
spring of 1836 he came to Michigan, arriving in 
Adrian May 3, but he never did any active 
business after his arrival, being not only a crip- 
ple but a constant and great sufferer from'asthma; 
ho died in Adrian, Nov. 12, 1847. He was the 
son of Harding Clark, a native of Connecticut, 
who was one of Washington's Rangers during the 
Revolutionary War. April 24, 1808, Barzillai 
Clark married Miss Patience, daughter of Timothy 
and Patience Leach, formerly of Monmouth, N. J., 
by whom he had two sous, Elihu L. and John R. 
Mrs. Patience Clark was born near Monmouth, 
N. J., Feb. 19, 1789, and died in Adrian, Jan. 26, 
1878. Her father was a prominent business man of 
Monmouth, being largely interested in the manufact- 
ure of lumber. He died about the year 1800, when 
her mother with a large famil3f moved to Western 
New York, and purchased land. 

John R. Clark lived with his father until he was 
about fifteen years old, and attended a district 
school in the State of New York. He came to 
Michigan with his parents in 1836, and has resided 
in Adrian ever since. He was graduated in Adrian 
in 1840, at Brewster's Select School, in the build- 
ing now owned by W. A. Whitney and occupied as 
a residence. In 1840 he entered his brother's store 
as a clerk and remained until 1845, when he became 
a partner in the business and remained until 1847, 
in which j'ear he bought his brother's interest. In 
the fall of 1847 he erected a brick store on Maumee 
street, in which he carried on general merchandis- 
ing until 1853, when his health failed. He then 






LENAWEK COUNTY. 



4^ 



{ lb 



iTrst .11 

<.S,'.l (II 



•Mh 



sold out t.) Col. L. V. Coin>to(.k :n.il A. 11. W .....l. 
;iiid piii-fhascd .and iiiovimI upon llic I'cmx' 1:11111 
on section 10, in Madismi 'l'<i\\ii>lii|i. 1 )iiriim ilir 
years l,s,^4 and ISf..") he eicrtcd llic lliioi Inrm 
house in the county. In 1 s.'if) hr luiincd a |j:nl- 
nership with A. II. \\(.(,d, and cinliaikcd in il,c 
dry-goods linsiiicss. wliidi they (•(uitiniu'd iinlil 
1809. when he Uouulit <mi1 his |,,iit iht 
carried on the linsiiic.-s iiiU-il isd:!, Ili 
and gave his attention to farming and stdck-dcaliiig. 

In 1866 Mr. Clark became interested in the erec- 
tion of the Madison Cheese Factory, and was its 
President and manager for three years. He was 
elected Supervi.sor of Madison Townshi|) for five 
years. In 1808 he was elected a member of the 
House of Representatives of the Michigan Legisla- 
ture, and was Chairman of the Coinniittec of 
Mines and Minerals, and served on four othci- 
committees. In 1874 he sold his farm to A. 11. 
Russell, and moved to the city of Adrian, where he 
now resides. In 1871 he engaged in the wholesale 
cheese business with Henry F. Shaft iick. and after- 
ward engaged in packing pork. In 1^7 7 < l.iik .v 
Shattuck .admitted to the firm as a partner Lafaycl!,<> 
Ladd, and continued until 1 878, when F. L. I'.aker 
was admitted, and the firm of Clark, Baker it Co. 
entered upon a prosperous career in the wholesale 
provision, cheese and pork-packing business. In 
1875 Mr. Clark was elected Alderman of the Fourth 
Ward of Adrian, and was re-elected in 1877. 
Politically, he was in early life an old-line Whig, 
and cast his first Presidential vote for Henry Clay. 
Since the organization of the Republican party he 
has affiliated with it, and given it his warmest and 
most earnest support. Since becoming a resident 
of Lenawee County, he has taken an active part in 
political affairs, and to his good judgment is due 
the shaping, to a large extent, of the eam|)aigns 
which have resulted favorably for his party. 

April 8, 1846, Mi'. Clark was married to Miss 
Emily IC, daughter of Joseph E. and Adelia M. 
W.adsworth, of Adrian, by whom .he has ha<l four 
children, recorded as follows: Helen L. was liorn 
in Adrian, Jnne 1, 1848, and became the wife 
of Peter L. Bailey; she died Oct. .'SO. Is7:;. 
Maria Isahelle w.as born in M.adisoii, Sept. 16, 
I860, and two children died in infancy. Mrs. 



IICSC'IU living. lie 
..rn ill Comity ( :i 
ts, Andrew and M.- 
ives of the same cc 
■ir native Isle, the 



l-.mily 1-.. (lark, the witc ol our s„l,j,.ct. was 
Koni in .\l.-iiiclicslri-, Ontario ( ,,.. N. V., Oct. 
■-•:!. IS-.'.-,, .-md rainr 1<. M irhigaii in l.s:l7. with 
her parciHs, wl,,, .rltlcMl in Adri.-in. llcr fatlier 
wa~ l.oni ill I'oiiipcy. Oiiond.-i-a ( o., N. V., 
Oct. 1:1. ISDl, Her mother was .Mrs. Adelia M. 
Wheeler, who was b(,ni in Connecticut, Nov. 2:5, 
ISO.-,, .•md died ill Adrian. May S. 1860. 



J I AMES \VKL( II. 
I citizen of Senc 
and occupant < 
' acres on section 
came to Michigan and 
place where he is .-it pr 
of Ircl.and, and w;is I,,,: 
2S, 1814. His 
Welch, were b. 
lived and died 
1 S27. They had a family of six children, of whom 
.lames was llie only boy. 

When the subject of our .sketch was a youth he 
was allowed all the opportunities possible to avail 
himself of the facilities of education which the time 
and country affordiul. This, of course, was limited 
in its extent, but after coming to America, with a 
view to repair this lack in his earlier cducati(m, 
Mr. W^elch attended school for some two terms. 
He remained in the Emerald Isle until iie had 
reached the age of fifteen years. An uncle, John 
Ruth, had some time before emigrated to Amei'ica, 
and w.as located at, Sackett's Harbor, Jefferson ('o., 
N. Y., from which place he continued to write 
beautiful descriptions of America, and to urge the 
family to come to the New World. James, not 
feeling satisfied with the government which has 
ruled, or misruled, Ireland so long, and finding noth- 
ing in his native country to satisfy his ambition, 
determined to better his condition by emigration. 
Consequently^ in company with a rompiniion, Pat- 
rick Burris, he started for "tlu' land of the free." 
Sailing from New Ross, A\m\ 22, 18;!0, after a voy- 
age of thirty days he and his friend were landed at 
Quebec on the 2d of June. Not being able to find 






•►HI-* 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



4 



liis imcle, he (•omineiiced liis Inhnrs on this conti- 
nent at Kingston, Canada. 

While wanrlering around not knowing wiiat to do, 
Mr. Welch concluded to go down to where a nnni- 
her of men were engaged in building a canal. On 
his ;i nival there, some inquiries were addressed to 
hiiu, and on his stating from what part of old Ire- 
land he had come, he discovered some acquaint- 
ances of his father. These, talcing an interest in the 
young lad, sent him to their chief engineer, John 
Lemmon, who w.-is in Die neighborhood; with a 
strong recommendation, and he was at once fur- 
nished with work. Subsequently the engineer and 
Mr. Welch became great friends, the latter at one 
time saving his employer's life when they had broken 
through the ice on the St. Lawrence River, on their 
way to Kingston. With this gentleman the sub- 
ject of onr sketch remained as long ;is his emploj'er 
lived. Just before his death, the hitter requested that 
after he liad been laid away in mother earth, Mr. 
^\'ek■h would make a trip to Ireland and carry the 
last words of his friend and employer to Mr. Lem- 
mon's father. Having liberall3^ supjilied our sub- 
ject with means, and giving him full directions as 
to the place where the old gentleman lived, he ar- 
ranged that young Welch should go in the company 
of a Capt. Briscoe and family in his voyage across 
the water. In the meantime Mr. Welch made a 
trip to Sackett's Harbor, on a visit to his uncle, and 
upon his return, found to his utter dismay that the 
appointed companions had gone. Being now with- 
out work, he entered a wagon-shop at Sackett's 
Harbor to learn the trade, and remained some 
eighteen months. He then removed to Akron, Sum- 
mit Co., Ohio, whei-e he followed the same trade for 
thirteen years, during which time, by close economy 
and shrewd business tact, he had accumulated con- 
siderable property. Making a trade of what village 
lots he had for a farm in Portage County, in the 
same State, he removed to the latter and for two 
years followed the plow in that locality. The new 
settlements in Michigan attracting his attention, in 
184G he sold out his Ohio property, and coming to 
Seneca Township, settled where he now lives. The 
land at that time was nearly all in a wild state, but 
he has Imen very successful in clearing it and bring- 
ing it to a high state of cultivation. He has 



erected a tine house an<l all the necessary farm 
buildings, all of which betoken considerable taste 
on the part of the owner; he also possesses some 
property in the village of Weston. 

On the aOth of February, 1.S3G. Mr. Welch was 
united in marriage with Su.san, a daughter of George 
and Mahala (Briggs) Worthring, and a native of 
Orleans County, N. Y. Her parents were natives 
of Shelby, in the same county, and were married 
while residents of New York State. Removing to 
Ohio with their little famil3^ after a few years' stay 
they came to Michigan in 184R, and settled in Sen- 
eca Township. Mr. and Mrs. Welch are the par- 
ents of fifteen children, recorded as follows : Mary 
Ann is the wife of E. R. Mason, and resides in 
Fairfield Township with her three children — ArviUa, 
Jay and Charlie ; Andrew J. is deceased ; Ruth is 
the wife of George Franklin, and resides at Weston 
with her child, Cora Belle; Nancy M. is at home; 
Lydia is living at Rensselaer, Ind., with her hus- 
band, Martin E. Baylor, and two children, Maud E. 
and Earl; Emma is at home; Charles V. married 
Nellie E. Barger and is a resident of Fairfield 
Township; Viola, Mrs. Peter Marlatt, of Lyons, 
Ohio, has four children — J.ames E., Alta O., Mirah 
and a babe; Henry married Mary B. Kellogg, who 
is the mother of three children — Susie M., Charles 
M. and Pearl E. — and is a resident of Seneca Town- 
ship; John J. and .James B. are deceased; William 
A. and Carrie E. are at home ; Edminid D. married 
Mar3' E. Langford, and is the parent of two chil- 
dren — I va and William H. — while Susan I. is de- 
ceased. 

Mr. and Mrs. Welch are members of the Baptist 
Church and excellent Christian people. Mr. Welch 
affiliates with the Republican part3- in politics, but 
has no desire for public office. 

ETER WYMAN. Among the prosperous 
and successful members of the f.arming 
community scattered over the fertile fields 
of Michigan the subject of this brief 
sketch holds 'an honored position. A native of 
Fairfield Township, of which he continues a resi- 
dent, he was born here June 23, 1837. He received 



LENAWKE COUNTY. 



agood coniiuoii-sclKKil ciliicMtioii. Iii> dnys of >liKly 
being varied with home duties on the faiai. He 
remained with liis parents and assisted in tlie care 
and the cultivation of his father's land until atttiin- 
ing his majority. 

At this time, 3-oung \V3'niaii having- iecei\ed a 
thorough training in agriculture from his father, 
deemed himself competent to start in business on 
his own account. But not thinking it wise to com- 
mence such an undertaking alone he sought a help- 
meet, and on the 1 8th of October, I SOO, on the 
nineteenth anniversary of iier birtli.he was married 
to Miss Lydia D. Paul, in Ogden Township. .Mrs. 
Wyman is a native of this township, .•iiid was born 
Oct. 18, 1841. She lived with her parents until 
her marriage, and received good industrial training 
in domestic duties. Two summers she spent in 
teaching in her native township. 

After marriage Mr. Wyman successfully m.nnaged 
his father's land for three years, and then bought a 
farm of eighty acres in Fairfield Townshiii, which 
he afterward sold, and subsequently purchased the 
farm where he now lives. This is pleasantly located 
on section 19, and comprises 108 acres of finely 
cultivated land, on which he has erected a tasteful 
dwelling, good barns and all the neces.sary out-lmild- 
ings for carrying on his vocation. 

The parents of Mr. Wyman were Sheldon and 
Lydia (Carpenter) Wyman (for parental history see 
sketch of Sheldon Wyman). Mrs. Wyuian's p.ircnts 
were William and Maria (Marlott) r.iul. Mr. Paul 
was born in Ontario County, N. Y., and died in 
Ogden Township, this conutj', Dec. 3, 1848. Mrs. 
Paul was born in the vicinity of Buffalo, N. Y., 
Sept. 18, 1820, and is now living on the old ho'ne- 
stead in Ogden Township. The}' were the parents 
of three children : Lydia D., the wife of our subject, 
was the eldest; Seth resides in Ogden Township; 
and Jane, who is the wife of Levi Johnson, lives in 
Madison Township. Mr. and Mrs. Wyman have 
had one child, Otis F., who died wlien three weeks 
old. 

Mr. Wyman is a practical, systematic farmer, and 
carries the same good judgment into local and gen- 
eral affairs that he dt)es into his own private occupa- 
tions. He takes an active interest in the welfare of 
his township, in which he has served one term as 



under the 



Supervisor, and was School Ins 
former system. 

Politically Mr. Wyman is a Democrat, and as an 
honest, upright citizen, straightforwai'd in all his 
transactions, either in business or society, h.as uni- 
formly commanded respect and esteem. 

-^ ^^ ^. 



J^ AMES KIMBALL, one of the old settlers and 
representative farmers of the township of 
j Franklin, is now spending the declining years 
' of an active life on his farm, which he located 

i on in 1844. lie was born in Stoddard Township, 

I Cheshire Co., N. 11., .bin. 4, 1806, and is tiie son of 
Darius Kimball, who was a native of Massachusetts, 
and came of Scotch ancestrj^ The name was 

j formerly Campbell, and the change was made after 
the}' came to tiiis country. The father was reared 
and married in Massachusetts, his wife being Cath- 
erine Brown, of the same State, daughter of Samuel 
Brown, of English descent. Mr. Brown was a 
Lieutenant in the Revolutionary War, and was 

j wounded at the battle of Bunker Hill, so that a 
year later he was compelled to withdraw from the 
army, and died al)out seven years after in conse- 
quence of the wound rt'ceived, which was made by 
a musket ball passing through theshouldei'. James 
Kimball's paternal and maternal grandfathers also 
fought in the Revolutionary War. 

Some years after their marriage Darius Kimball 
and his wife lived near Boston, Mass., they then 
went to New Hampshire, and lived for some years 
in Cheshire County, thence to Susquehanna County, 
Pa., and later to Livingston County, N. Y. Dur- 
ing most of this period the father was engaged as a 
carpenter. In 1 84'i the parents came to Michigan, 
where their son, oui- subject, had come two years 
before, and died in Franklin Township at the home 
of their children ; tiie father was ninety -five years of 
age, and the mother a few months over one hun- 
dred years. 

Mr. Kimball is the sixth of a family of four sons 
and three daughters, four of whom are now dead. 
He \ras reared in York State, where he was married 
first to Miss Eliza Case, a native of Livingston 
Count}', that State. She had no children and lived 



-•► 



-4*- 



LENAAVEE COUNTY. 



only a few j-ears after coming to this county, flying 
at the age of thirty -four. Mr. K. was the second 
time married, in Genesee County, to Miss Sarali 
Greytrax, who was born in Livingston County, N. 
Y., Aug. 10, 182,'5, and came to Michigan when a 
5'oung woman. When quite young she lost her 
mother in Livingston Countj', N. Y. ; her f.atlu'r is 
now living in Genesee County, Mich., ripe in years. 
Mrs. Kimball is the mother of three sons and one 
daughter: Eugene; Hattie, the wife of Andrew 
Wilson, who is now farming in Franklin Township; 
James and Sidney; the three sons reside at the 
homestead. Blrs. Kimball's father married Eliza 
Norton, who died in Groveland Township, Living- 
ston Co., N. Y., when her daughter, Mrs. K., was 
about nine years old. Mrs. K. was the eldest of a 
family of four daughters and two sons, of whom 
one son and two daughters are yet living. She 
was well educated, and for some years after she 
came to this State, in 1844, she taught in Jackson, 
Lenawee and Genesee Counties. For some time 
she attended at Spring Arbor, now Hillsdale. She 
is a member of the Congregational Church; Mr. 
Kimball is a life-long Republican. 

In after years, when a future generation shall lis- 
ten in silent wonder to the recital of the trials and 
triumphs of their fathers, they will view with 
pleasure such pictured faces as that i>\ Mr. Kim- 
ball, whose portrait is herewith presented. 

~ ON. CHARLES BROWN, a retired mer- 
chant, living in tiie village of Medina, was 
born in Cayuga County, N. Y., Jan. 8, 
1808. His parents were Solomon and Sa- 
rah (McCracken) Brown, both supposed to be na- 
tives of Massachusetts. They married and settled 
on a farm in Venice, Cayuga Co., N. Y., where 
they lived in peace and contentment until death 
claimed the husband and father. After his death 
Mrs. Brown resided for a time in Wyoming County, 
in the same State, but afterward returned to Venice, 
and there spent her remaining years. They woe 
the parents of twelve children, h.iving an equal 
number of sous and daughters. 

Our subject w.as the ninth child l)orn to his par- 



ents. He remained under tiie parental roof until 
twenty years of age, assisting as duty demanded, 
and receiving an excellent education at the public 
schools. lie then commenced teaching, and was 
engaged in that profession for a period aggregating 
ten winters and three summers. In the intervening 
time and subsequently, he was employed in various 
occupations, remaining a citizen of Caj'uga County 
until the fall of 1830. He subsequently resided in 
(ienesee, Livingston and Wyoming Counties, and in 
1851 he went to Wisconsin where he spent the win- 
ter. In the following spring he came to Lenawee 
County and found employment as a clerk in Me- 
dina, which position he held one year, and during 
the next six months he was engaged in mercantile 
business in Newaygo County. A year and a half 
later he formed a [jartnership with Baxter Lyon, 
and under the firm name of Lyou & Brown, carried 
on a large mercantile trade in Medina. He con- 
tinued in business here until 1882, when lie sold 
out, and since that time has lived a comparatively 
retired life. 

Mr. Brown has been twice married. His first 
marriage took place in Cattaraugus County, N. Y., 
with Paulina Waliier, who was born in New York, 
and died in her native State. Mr. Brown was again 
married, in Medina Township, to Mrs. Elizabeth B., 
daughter of Benjamin M. and Lydia (Spalding) Stan- 
Icy-, and widow of Charles G. Farnsworth, who died 
in Medina Township in 18G6. She had by her mar- 
riage with Mr. Farnsworth two children — Elizabeth 
F. and Edmund G. Elizabeth was the wife of L. 
P. Wilkins, and died in Medina Township in 18G0, 
while Edmund married Mary J. Roosa, and lives in 
Medina. The parents of Mrs. Brown were natives 
of New England. They had five children, all girls, 
of whom Mrs. Brown, who was the third, was born 
in Jaffrey, N. H., Nov. 3, 181.5. She came with her 
first husband to Lenawee County in 1839, and set- 
tled in Medina, where she has lived most of the 
time since. 

Our subject is well known and honored throughout 
Lenawee County as a man and citizen, and has 
honorably filled various public positions. In his 
own township he served twenty-four and one-half 
years as Postmaster, and as Township Clerk four- 
teen }^ears, while for three years he was County Su- 



^\- 



•►-II-4* 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



781 



J. McI 


vvuu 


tU a 


1 ...ph 


■ t'nmU 


■. wl 


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as :i1m) 


.Uhls ill 


111 cs 


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He li 


■ .-1 |ier 


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f 1. 


lirty-t^ 



porintendent of the Poor. In the full of 1874, Mr. 
Bnjwn was elected to the House of Representatives. 
and served aeceptahly two years. He was instru- 
mental in putting through a measure in tlie house 
for the i-olief ol' M:\ 
girl who live.l in Lena 
to be defrauded of he 
been Notary l'u))lie 
years. 

Mr. Brovvu is a strong Republican, courageously 
and fearlessly upholding the principles promulgated 
b}' that organization. His long and active life has 
been pre-eminently one of usefulness to his fellow- 
men, while his earnest advocacy of all plans for the 
public good, and his well-known benevolence, have 
earned for him a warm place in the heart-; of all who 
know him. 



lOVAL A. YOUNOS, a i^rominent and re- 
spected resident of Lenawee County, is lo- 
cated on a fine farm of 101) acres of well- 
improved and highly cultivated land on sec- 
tion 29, Seneca Township. He has erected a beau- 
tiful house and convenient and commodious out- 
buildings, and is now well equipped for the work in 
which he is engaged. 

The parents of our subject were Davis and Ama 
(.Smith) Youngs, the former a native of Now York, 
and the latter of Rhode Island. They left their 
home on the Atlantic Coast and came to Lenawee 
County about 18.52, settling in Seneca Township, 
vvhere they spent the remainder of their days. 
They experienced the vicissitudes coinnion to the 
early pioneer in this .section of <'iniiiliy, and bccnnie 
useful and respected citizens, living In see a faiiiily 
of eight children grow up around tbem iis<'fiil :ind 
honored citizens. 

Our subject was ne.xt to the youngest of the 
four sons and four daughters who comprised the 
parental family, and was born in MoKean County, 
Pa., Dec. 12, 1835. He remained with his parents 
enjoying what educational advantages were offered 
in the district schools of that time, and came with 
the family to Lenawee County when seventeen 
years of age. Since that time he has been a con- 



stant resident, engaged exclusively in agricultural 
pursuits. 

On the 4th of September. 18o9, our suliject was 
united in mai'riage with Miss Clarinda, daughter of 
Andrew and Polly (Gardner) Plctcher, who were 
natives of Centre County, P.a. In 1847 they left 
the Keystone State, and coming to Lenawee County 
settled in Seneca Township, where they still reside. 
They became the jiarents of four children, two 
sons and two daughters, of whom Mrs. Youngs, 
the second child, was born at their home in Penn- 
sylvania, Oct. 15, 1837. 

Mr. and Mrs. Youngs h;ive ii.-id born to them a 
family of eight children, of wboin they suffered the 
loss of five in infancy'. The names of the living 
children are Fred, Irving and Herbert. Fred mar- 
ried Miss Mary Scott, and resides in Seneca Town- 
ship. Mr. Youngs records his vote in favor of the 
Republican candidates, and accords the party his 
hearty support. He is no seeker after political 
honors, though he has accei)ted the ottice of Drain 
Commissioner, which he retained four years. He 
is a public-spirited and liberal-minded citizen, de- 
servedly enjoying with his estimable wife the 
respect and coiilidence of .•ill who have the pleasure 
of their ac(niainl:uice. 



ylLLIA.M 11. CllKXEY, the son of one of 
tlu! eailiest pioneers of Ugden Township, 
^ ^ has the management of his father's old 
homestead in Fairfield Township and twent3'-two 
.acres of his own adjacent in Ogden Township, which 
latter he has brought to a line state of cultivation, and 
erecteil thereon a good set of frame buildings. His 
family consists of his wife and four children, the 
latter l)eing n.amed respectively : Ora L., Ara and 
Asa (twins), and Delia A. Mr. Cheney is Repub- 
lican in politics and a member in giiod standing of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church. He is the scion 
of an excellent old family, is thrifty, econornicai 
and industrious, and a, fair sample of the honest 
man and good citizen. 

John Cheney, Sr., the grandfather of our sub- 
ject, was born in New Hampshire, in 17tio, and 



■♦- 



H 



•►Hh 



782 



lenawp:e county. 



•^h-i^ 



when a young man learned the shoemaker's trade, 
which he followed mostly through life. He left the 
Old Granite State in 1803, and with hi> family re- 
moved to Scipio, Cayuga Co., N. V. Six years 
later he took up his residence in Parma, Monroe 
County, locating upon a farm where he spent the 
remainder of his days, his death taking place about 
1840. In 1788 he was married to Miss Lucy Finch, 
by whom he had ten children. John, Jr., the father 
of our subject, being the eighth child and fifth son, 
and now the only survivor of the family. Mrs. 
Lucy Cheney was born in New Hampshire, in 1770, 
and died in Parma, N. Y., in I.SIO. 

John Cheney, Jr., was born in Tunbridge, Vt., 
Sept. 4, 1802, and only lived with his parents until 
seven years of age, receiving a very limited educa- 
tion. AVhen a lad of fourteen he commenced work- 
ing by the month, and in 1829 he purchased a farm 
in Parma, which he occupied until the spring of 
1833, when he came to the Territory of Michigan, 
and located in Madison Township, this county. 

In 1847 Mr. Cheney sold his property in Madi- 
son Township, and purchased land on section 13, in 
Fairfield Township, where he now resides. He sub- 
sequently became the owner of eighty acres on sec- 
tion 24 and seventy-five acres in Ogden Township. 
It will thus be seen that he was a man of much force 
of character, perseverance and industry, winning 
his own fortune by the labor of his hands. 

John Cheney, Jr., while a resident of New York 
State, was married, Jan. 1, 1827, to Miss Louisa, 
daughter of Asahel, Sr., and Elizabeth Finch, and 
sister of Asahel Finch, Jr., a former pioneer resi- 
dent and business man of Adrian. Of this union 
there were nine children, the record of whom is as 
follows: The eldest son, Edward S., was l)orn in 
Rochester, N. Y., July 9, 1828, and died while a 
Union soldier from disease contracted in the army, 
March 24. 1863; Evelyn F. was born in Parma, N. 
Y., and is now at home; George P. was born in 
Madison Township, this county, and died Sept. 1.'), 
1854, when twenty years of age; Delflna A. became 
the wife of WiUiam Jenkins, of Ogden Township, and 
died April 17, 1879; Alpherous is farming in Lucns 
County, Ohio; Cullen T., in Fairfield Township, 
this county, and John N., in Ogden Township; ])e 
Witt B. died April 7, 1864, when nineteen years of 



age; William H. of our sketch was i)orn in Fairfield 
Township, July 12, 1847. 

The mother of our subject was born in Genoa, 
Cayuga Co., N.Y., May 3, 1 807, and died in Fairfield, 
July ."il, 1879. Her father, Asahel Finch, Sr., was 
born in Catskill, N. Y., Dec. 4, 1775, subsequently 
became a resident of Ogden, Monroe County, and 
finally removed to Waukesh.a, Wis., where his death 
took place in 1859. The maternal grandmother of 
our subject, Mrs. ElizMbetli Findi. w;\s born in Dur- 
ham, N. Y., Aug. 1, 177.S, and died in Milwaukee, 
Wis., in 1845. 

William Cheney was a lad fourteen years of age 
when he began to take a man's place in assisting his 
father to operate the homestead. He remembers 
well the face of the country at that time, when 
deer, wild turlfeys and other game were plentiful. 
Ths wolves frequently serenaded theii- cabin home 
at night, but seldom did any mischief as long as the 
chickens and small domestic animals were safely 
housed. Young Cheney continued under the par- 
ental roof until his marriage, .and then, with his 
bride, took up his abode upon the place which he 
has since occupied. They commenced housekeep- 
ing in a log cabin on the place, and which, with a 
small frame barn and four acres cleared from the 
timber, constituted the improvements. The pres- 
ent condition of the property is in fine contrast with 
the past, and the neat homestead, bearing the evi- 
dence of taste and comfort, is one which invariably 
attracts the eye of the passing traveler. 

The wife of our subject, to whom he was married 
Nov. 1, 1874, was in her girlhood Miss Harriet 
Walker, daughter of Seth and Amelia (Luther) 
Walker, and boin in Adrian Township, April 9, 
1854. Seth Walker was married to Miss Amelia 
Luther in Adrian, April 7, 1852, and resides in Fair- 
field Township, where they have lived for thirty 
years. They had five children, two sons and three 
daughters, of whom Mrs. Cheney is the eldest; the 
sons are both deceased. 



-e^-s^ 



ARCUS BENNETT, a resident of Lenawee 

County for the last twenty-one years, is 

one of its oldest and most highly respected 

citizens, and has now rounded more than 

threescore 3'ears and ten. He is eminently an illus- 



A 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



f 



tratioii of the self- made man, as at an early age 
in life lie was thrown upon his own resources and 
eon)i)elled to loolc out for hini>clf. His lidyhood 
years were spent in New Ymk. wlioc lii^liiitii loolv 
place at the niodc-t lionie of lii> p:neuls on tlic n\h ' 
of JNIay. I.SIO. He left the parent:il roof when fif- 
teen yeai-s old and engaged as a h.^at liand on the 
Erie Canal, where lie was ( iiipioyed nine seasons. 
Afterward he took up farming piir-uils .-it *1() per 
month, still remaining in liis native State. l)nt lat- 
terly residing mostly in Niagaia County. 

Mr. Rennett. in Is:; I. njigraled westward to this J 
Stal-e. .and ru>t t.iok up a trticl of l:inil in ulial was I 
then .Monroe ( ounty. now l,nca> Cuunly. Ohio, 
where he eultivated thr s,,il and made his home 

a tract of land in M.adison Township, this county, 
wher.' he took up his alH.de.-ind has ^incc remained. 
This property, which i^ m.w in the p.,».>si. ,n of his 
son, comprises 102 acres of fertilr Land, upon which j 
he has lal/ored inrUistrionsly. .and which imw pr 
duces in abundance some of the richest crops 
Michigan. 

The lirst marriag.' of uur suhjecl, t.iok pl.ace in ! 
Niagara County. N. V.. in Scptrndier. I s:',(;. the 
mai<lcn of his .-hoicc l).-ing M i~> ( )live ( )dcll, a n.a- 

tive of his own Male, .and who hnrr hin e .'liild. | 

a daughter, Sallic who i- n(nv the wife ,,f ( . .M. ('. 
Cook, of L.an-ing. .Mhdi. Tli,. yoinig witV live.l 
less than titree years after lua- marriage, hei' dec(a>e , 
taking place in what is now I,ucm~ ( nunly. ( )hi(i_ 
Jan. 29, l.s;:iy. Mr. liennett wa> Milise.puaitly mar- 
ried, June 22, 1841. again in .\iauara County. N. 
Y., to Miss Emeline Lusk. who w.as hmn in liiuom- 
field, Ontario Co.. N. V.. Dec. 2.s. islt. Of nii> I 
union thia-e were horn three cliddren. of wlnuii llu- 
following is a reconl: Their ehlcst son, i'eriy. -lur- 
ing the latewai- (ailis'.'d a> a Inion >n|<|i,.r in C.nn- 
pany F, Mth Ohio Infantry, and wa> killed in hat- 
tie, while storming the fori, with hi.- comrades, at 
Jonesboro, Ga. ; his remains lill .an unmarked grave 
nearthat hattle-field. Alanson is a practicing- attor- 
ney of A<lrian; Lym.an wa^ horn .May 2.'.. Isl7. 
and was married in M.adison, Nov. 2, 1 .s7 I . to Miss 
Knuna (irant, a native of .Vdiian, l»an .March 27, 
1851; they have one child, a d.anglitcr. Kcssic .M . 
iMr. lieiinett, wiiile a resident of Lucas County, 



Ohio, met with a serious accident, by which he 
nearly lost his life, a tree having fallen upon his head, 
which left a .scar that remains to this day. He was 
picked up .senseless and for many days his recovery 
"as despaired of. Owing, however, to the skill of 
his physician and good nursing, he slowly recovered, 
and happily escaped with his brain uninjured. 

llENKY I'LOTll, an intelligent and enter- 
prising young farmer and stock-raiser of 
I' Ogden Townsiiip, was born in a far-away 
f/ country acro.ss the sea. but lie left it at such 
an early age that he ha> no iccnllection of his birth- 
place, and knows no other home than this, his 
adopted (amntry, to which he owes his allegiance, 
lie was born in Germany, .Inly .'>. ISon, and is the 
>nu of (ieorge and Magdalena (Burk) Ulotli. (For 
parental history see biographical sketch of Adam 
II. rioth.) His father was a journeyman carpen- 
ter in his native country, but after working at his 
trade there f(jr several years he decided in the year 
|M,"](; Id remove with ills wife and two children to 
the I'nited .States, and tiy his fortunes as a farmer. 
I lis lii-.-t -elthanent in this country was made in 
Lor.ain Comity, Ohio. In 1804 he removed to 
.\Iiclii'.ian. wlKTchc made a settlement in the forests 
,,f Ogden Township, an<l thi' struggle to subdue the 
torcsi licoaii, which resulted so disastrously to him 



subject was but a year old when he crossed 
■can with hi^ parents to m.ake a lumu' in this 

y. Til.' latter w.a'c ] r aiidcoiihl not af- 

ini m.any aihanlages. cMepling a thorough 

•al training in the hard labors of :i farmer's 

a newly settled couiiliy. This was good 

inc. liowi'\'er. developing powel's of endur- 
,elf-reliant habits, ,ind boldness of character. 
iiiained at home until he was sixteen years 
id tlieii liegtiu life for hiiiiself, working by the 

on a farm until he was Iwcaity-two, and care- 
aving his earnings until he had enough to buy 
•acresof Land on -eetion 28, of this township, 

>till form- a part of his present farm. Fif- 
icres of this land were cleared at the time of 



4 



*«*■ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



his purclmse, and the practical training he had 
ah-eady received in farming, combined with his 
indomitable energy and perseverance, has enabled 
him to bring it all to a high state of cnlture. Nor 
does he confine himself to the tillage of the land, 
l)ut has also engaged with much success in stock- 
raising. 

Mr. Ulotii \va> iiKin-icd. March 2(i, l.s77, to Miss 
Ella, the accomplished chuightcr- of Erastns and 
Eliza J. (Mackey) Tiffany. She was born in Adrian 
Township, Feb. 18, 18G0, while her parents were 
natives of Roxbury, Delaware Co., N. Y., where 
they were reared and married. In the year 185.T 
they removed to Wisconsin, and after residing there 
a short time came to Lenawee County and located 
in Adrian Township; there the father died in 1869, 
three months before the birth of his daughter Ella. 
His widow married a second time, and spent her 
declining years in Fairfield Township, dying Dec. 
23. 1875. Slie was the daughter of Elias and Eliza 
A. (Simmons) Mackey, the former a native of New 
York State. He was a farmer by occupation, and 
removed to Lenawee County before the war, resid- 
ing for some time in Rome Township, after which 
he removed to Adrian Township, where his demise 
occurred. His widow, now about seventy years of 
age, resides with Mrs. Uloth, her granddaughter. 
She is the daughter of Noble and Sarah ( Randall ) 
Simmons, and was born in New York. 

Mr. and Mrs. Uloth have one child, Clarence. 
They are consistent members, in gond standing, of 
the Evangelical Church, while in politics Mr. Uloth 
is a Republican. His integrity of character is un- 
questioned, and in every respect he is a good citizen. 



(^-^ AMUEL WHITE is a native of Suftulkshire, 
^^^ England, where he was born .July 20, 1810, 
((^^ and is the second of four children born to 
John and Elizabeth (Stanford) White. They 
were of the race of hardy yeomaurj' who have made 
the name of England synonymous with strength and 
honor throughout the world. The father was by 
trade a carpenter and joiner and died in middle 
life, iiaving bari'ly attainc<l the age of forty-four. 



His widow survived him manj' years, her life being 
lengthened out to nearly eighty-five years. 

Samuel White learned his father's trade and lived 
in his native county until shortly after his marriage 
with Ann Smith. That most excellent Christian 
woman, commencing early in life her infiuence for 
good on the life of her husband, induced him, in 
1830, to emigrate to the United States. On reach- 
ing these shores they located in Waj'ne County, N. 
Y., where for a time Samuel followed his ti-ade, but 
being imbued with the idea of making a settlement 
in a new country and carving out a future for 
himself, in 183G he came to Michigan. On coming 
to this locality he at first located on section 16, of 
Cambridge Township, at that time covered with 
heavy timber, and sturdily commenced to clear the 
land and make a farm. Endowed by nature with 
a strong frame and sturdy mind, with the natural 
obstinacy of disposition that properly belongs to the 
energetic Anglo-Saxon, he entered upon his work 
with the necessary vim, and has achieved the suc- 
cess for which he aimed, having succeeded in mak- 
ing his farm one of the most highly cultivated in 
the county. Here he resided for many years and 
here, in 1877, he had the misfortune to lose his wife 
by death, at the age of sixty-six. She was one of 
the women who are chiefly noted for their domes- 
tic virtues, being a loving mother, affectionate wife 
and kind neighbor. She was the mother of eight 
children, three of whom are yet living, and married. 

In 1879 Mr. White married Mrs. LosinaS. Archer, 
who was a native of Middletown Township, Dela- 
ware Co., N. Y., and was born April 19, 1814. She 
is the daughter of Joshua and Susanna (Rawson) 
Parker, both of whom were natives of the State of 
Ma.ssachusetts, but who removed to Delaware 
County, N. Y., shortly after their marriage; they 
subsequently resided in Wayne County. Mrs. 
White is the youngest of eleven children, and was 
but ten months old when the family removed to 
Wayne County, where both parents died, the father 
at the age of fifty-five and the mother when sixty- 
six years old. Losina Parker was united in mar- 
riage with her first husband. Nelson Lai)ham, in 
New York, wlicic he carried on farming. After his 
death, wliich oiiurred in Wajnie Count}', N. Y., 
she married W illiani 1). Archer. After his last mar- 



*r 



•►41-^ 



4 



I.KNAWRK COUNTY. 






liage Mr. AVhite removed to his present farm on 
section "20, CamlH'idsie Townslii|), wlieie he has a 
line place of i:;o acres, .■iltliouiih he still .■ontinues 
to (.un the old farm of the -ame extent. l!oth of 
tliese places arc in a liiuh st;ite of cultivation and 
evince hy theii- care the piidi' the ..wner takes in 
them. 

Mr. AVhite h.-is hccii for the most of U\< life hien- 

leader among the Prohibitionists, lie enjoys the 
esteem of all his fellon-citizens and has held niany 
of the oliices of the township, notably thatof Town- 
shi|) Clerk, which p"-ili"ii li'^ liUc'l f'"' n'''''^' than 

ciation in whieli he is held in the Land of his ado|.- 
tion. Ur and his wife are nienil)er^ of the Frce- 
Will l}a|)tisl Church. 






T^KOKGE W. lUJVKN, one of the well- 



fa Irluiroi 



Baltic .Sea, and in all spent about ten years of his 
life on the ocean. During the War of 1812 he 
served in a, Connecticut regiment of minute men, 
and for his services now draws a |)cnsion frc.im the 
(Jovernment. 

' liven left hi:- native State, and 
ce in Connecticut and Massa- 
llic Mcinitv of wliat is now 



s of Lenawee Coimty. is a line illus- 
f the self-made ma,n, as he began 
life for himself mostly dependent u|ion his own re- 
sources. He eame to this section of country in 
the pioneer days, and has been an interested witness 
of the growth and development of Southern Michi- 
gan, while at the same tim<' he has conlribule.l in 
no small degree to the building up ot this county 
and assisting it toils present cnvi.abic position. 

The subject of this ))iography was born in (ircat 
B.-uTington, Berkshire Co., Mass.. .Manli IC. IslM, 
and is the son of Samuel and Mary (I'.liven) Hliven, 
natives of Westerly, K. 1. Sannu'l iJlivn w,-,s born 
Feb. 28, 1792, and is the son of (ieorge liliven, a 
native of the same place, who was a farmer liy oc- 
cupation and served as a soldier in the Revolution- 
ary War. With the exception of the time spent in 
the army, he passed his entire life at the place of 
his birth. His s<.in Samuel, when a boy of thirteen 
or fourteen years, went to sea in the sloop " Benja- 
min" on a fishing expedition to the Straits of Belle 
Isle, on- the northern C(i.-ist of Newfoundland. 
Thence he shii)ped on boar.l a merchant vosel and 
thereafter visited Knglaud. Kr.-inec and m.-my of 
the Southern poi'ts in tlii- e(Mint,ry. lie made ,,uc 
voyage from New York to the i;n>si;in noils ju the 



In 181 


) Samuel 


after a b 


•ief resid 


chusetts. 


nitiratcil 


the city (. 


f ( levcla 


of land w 


hi('h is in 


Some yea 


rs later, i 


of Michij. 


an, and i 



ided within its present limits. 
833, he came to the Territory 
purchasing 125 acres of land on 
sections 20 :ni<! 21, in Blissfield Township, built up 
a, good farm which he still occupies. He was always 
a \ cry industrious and energetic man, never afraid 
of putting his shouliler to the wheel, either for 
himself or his neighbors, and as the result of a tem- 
perate life and correct habits, enjoyed remarkably 
good health until after he had passed his three.seore 
ye.ars. He has remained here since the death of his 
wife, in 1816, and is now under the kind care of 
his son and daughter, and is over ninety-five years 

The mother of oui' subject, who liecamc the wife 
of Sanmel Bliven Feb, 1, 1818, was the daughter 
of Jonathan and Amy (Bliven) Bliven, of- Westerly, 
R. I. The panuital household included seven chil- 
dren, vi/.: (icorgc \\'., now a resident of Bliss- 



■m; Albert H., who 
Samuel M. died in 
, and a son and 
The mother was 
, ITO.'i, ami died in 



died in Blissfield, .luly 2;i, If 
.San Francisco, Cal.; Mai-^ 
daughter who did in infa 
born in \\ csterly, R. I., .Inn 
Blissfield, Nov. 10, LslC. 

George W. Bliven accompanied his parents when 
they came to this county, the journey being effected 
by the usual moile of travel of that early daj'. 
Their (jutlil included twd pairs of horses and two 
wagons, and Ihey cMuipi'd .-nid cooked by the way- 
side, sleeping in the wagons at night. Deer, wolves 
and wild turkeys were plentiful, and whatever else 
they might lack in the way of provisions they were 
always sup|ilicd with choice meat. Young Bliven 
assisted his father in cjcaiing a farm, and remained 
under the home roof luitil icacliing manhood. He 
had been (piitc .-i hunter and tr.apper during his 
youth, and made <-onsi(|craiilc money dealing 



■ 1 r 



•► 



78G 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



furs. He travelerl over the country when it was a 
wilrlerness, and as a fur dealer laid the foundations 
of his fortune. 

Upon reachinsi' his majority young Bliveu left 
the farm and engaged with the Erie & Kalamazoo 
Railroad Company (now Michigan Southern) as 
track repairer, being occupied thus three or four 
years. He had now saved quite a little sum of 
money, and he invested this in a tract of land near 
Ottawa Lake. He never occupied it, however, but 
made considerable improvements and sold out a few 
years later at an advanced price. This venture 
stimulated him to further investment in this line, 
and he became one of the most extensive land- 
owners in this part of the country, his subsequent 
operations being confined mostly to Southern 
Michigan. 

Mr. Bliven, May 1.'), 1S54, was married to Miss 
Anna E. Goodale, at the home of the bride's par- 
ents, near Deerfleld, Mich. Mrs. Bliven was born 
in Baldwinsville, Onondaga Co., N. Y., Feb. 7, 
1833, and is the daughter of Hiram and .Sarah E. 
Goodale. the former a native of Fabius, N. Y., and 
born Oct. 4, 1800. He was the son of Nathan 
Goodale, a New Englander by birth, who left his 
native hiljs and located in the wilds" of Madison 
County during its earliest settlement, where he im- 
proved a farm, and died in IS2.i. He lind married 
a Miss Mattoon, also a native of New Englaiid, wiio 
was called to her reward ten years before the de- t 
cease of her husband. Nallian Goodale served as 
a soldier in the War of 1812 and was a pensioner 
during the last j'ears of his life. His son Hiram, ' 
the father of Mrs. Bliven, was reared in his native 
county, and when fourteen years of age went into 
Monroe County, and from there a few years later 
to the town of Baldwinsville, in Onondaga County. 
He was a natural mechanic and became an expert 
millwright. His early advantages for learning were 
exceedingly limited, but after learning to read he 
became well-informed, and continued thus to keep i 
himself posted upon all matters of general interest. 
He w:i> UKirried in Baldwinsville and lived tlieiv 
until lH4."i, when lie came to this county .-uid pui-- 
chased a quarter section of timber land upon its 
e.astern line, iu Deerfleld Township. Mr. Goodale 
put up a block house, cleared the forest away, and | 



•^t 



cultivated the soil until the illness which resulted 
in his death. May 5, ISofi. His wife, Mrs. Sarah E. 
(Keene) Goodale, was liorn in the town of Homer, 
Cortland Co., N. V.. in isio, and was the daughter 
of Samuel B. and Comfort (White) Keene, natives 
res|)ectivel3' of New Hampshire and of Cortland 
County, N. Y. After the death of her first husband, 
Sirs. Goodale was married to Joseph Tenant, and 
died at her home near Deerfield, Aug. 28, 1866. 

Mr. and Mrs. Bliven became the parents of six 
children, four now living; they are recorded as 
follows: Alice J., Mrs. Haskell Warren, is a resi- 
dent of Beadle County. Dak.; Edward G. is at 
home with his parents; Cora J. is the wife of Will- 
iam Sisson, of Adrian; Egbert B. died at the age of 
seven months; Lucy J. E. remains at home; Agnes 
Mabel was born Dec. 20, I860, and became the wife 
of Charles B. Phillips, Jr., of Toledo, Ohio; she 
died March 14,1886, leaving one child, Kenneth 
L., who lives with his grandparents. 

ILLI AM B. WHITE, one of the leading and 
influential agriculturists of this township, 
resides on his fine farm of 260 acres on 
sections 15 and 16, Cambridge Township. Only 
one acre of it is on section 15. and on that is erected 
his excellent residence, which is well surrounded 
with all necessary out-buildings. Mr. White is 
known as one of the leading stock-raisers of this 
locality, as he gives most of his attention to that 
line of farming, with very satisfactory results. He 
is a native of Wayne County, N. Y., where he was 
born near Palmyra, Dec. 25, 183 4, and is the son of 
Samuel and Ann (Smith) White, a sketch of whom 
will be found on another page in this Aii.iM. 

When William White was about eighteen months 
old his parents came to this county ami located on 
section 15, Cambridge Township. Here he was 
reared and received his education in the log cabin 
school-house, whose hallowed walls enshrine the 
halcyon memories of so many of our eminent nien. 
In the days of his youth he took up the trade of 
his father, that of acarpent(!r, which he followed for 
a few years, afterward turning his attention to 
farming. 

AVilllam B. White was united in marriage, Oct. 



■^•- 



■^►-■-4« 



lp:nawee county. 



31, 1860, with Miss Ellen, daughter of Calvin and 
Pattie (Howard) Lewis, natives <if Vermont and 
New York States respectively. Her piircnts were 
married in Livinjiston County. N. V.. whcie tlu- 
mother had been born and reared. Calvin Lewis 
removed from Burlington, \'t., to New \»v\i when 
a lad of fourteen _vears, and during the slrnguic 
between the United Stnics and Great Britain in 
1S12, -was in the aruiN ami ,s:iw considerable service 
in the field. He was the son of Timothy and 
Pattie (Bradley) Lewis, the former an ol<l Revolu- 
tionary soldier, a native of New England, who after 
passing a few years in Michigan, removed to Illi- 
nois aud died at Belvidere, in .that State, at the age 
of ninety-four years. His son, Calvin Lewis, born 
in 1793, was the fourth of eight children. Return- 
ing to the State of New York, on his discharge, he 
was there married and followed farming until the 
(ieath of his wife in 18^0, leaving him with seven 
small children, when he removed to the western 
part of the State. In 1S54, with his children, he 
migrated to Michigan, and made a settlement in 
Cambridge Township, purchasing a large farm where 
he remained until 186(5, when he removed to Pent 
Water, Mich., with part of his family. While a 
resident of that place he was stricken l)y death, 
March 9, 1868. Like most of those who came of 
New England stock Mr. Lewis seems to have been 
one of those in whom conscience was as hererlitary 
as intelligence, and while striving to earn a compe- 
tency by all honor.able means he wijuld nevir >werve 
from the true path of rectitude and honor. 

Mrs. White is a native of Wyoming County. N. 
Y., and was born March Id, 1S3(;. She is the 
youngest of the family, her mother dying when siie 
was about a year old. Mr. and Mrs. White are the 
parents of three children, recorded as follows: Mary 
L was born Dec. 13, 1861, and is the wife of Frank 
W. Gilbert, who lives in Rome Towiisliip; they 
have one child, an infant unnamed. Ann M. was 
born March 1, 1864, and attended the State Normal 
School at Y'psilauti ; she is at present at home. 
Arthur E. was born Nov. 21. ISTO, and is attending 
school at Raisin Valley. 

Mr. White's career as a pioneer citizen has been 
one eminently successful. Coming here at an earlj' 
age he has grown up amid these surroundings, prov- 



ing himself in every way vvorthy and useful to the 
community in whicli he resides, while his neighboi's 
and old friends unitedly lie.-ir lotiinony to his ster- 

cilizen. In iiolitics he is a sincere Oenioeral. 




improved. It was ,>ne of the first settled farms in 
that section, ;ind contained a good frame house for 
that time; on this farm he resided until his death. 
The maiden name of his wife was Polly McKibby, 
also a native of New .Ter.scy, aud of Scotch ances- 
tors. She died on tlie homestead in Niles, in LSC,;"), 
.aged eighly-si\ years. 

The snl.ject .,r this skeleh w.-,s but seven years 
old when his p:,rents reni,,ved I,, New V,,ik. .■in. I 
he reni:iine.l with lliein until he gr.'W to luMtuiity, 
an<l was educated in tlie common mIi.,oIs. When .-i 
young man, he taught school for .■) time, .■mil then 
went to Skaneateles. Onondaga Co., N. V.. where 
he learn.'.l the Inideof joiner, .-ind then foUowe.l 
that occui.ation for seven years. In l.s.'iL' he moved 
to Sandusky. Ohio, ••iiiii was employe<l in the rail- 
ro:ul shop- at thai phirc. While there, he became 
afflicted with spin:il .•ilTertion. which in m measure 
incapacitated liiiii for iii;iiiu:il l:ilior. ami in 1 SlW; 
he sold his property in S.-nidu-ky, ami returning to 
New York, settleil on the old homestead in Cayuga 
County. Here he resided until the spring of 1872, 
when he came to lilisslield Township, and bought 
the old school-house property, which he trans- 
formed into :i duclliiig-hoii-e. .•uid in the .same lot 
built th<> house where he resided until his death, 
Aug. 2:., is,s,-,, and where .Mr.s. Westf.all .still lives. 
He had accumulated (piite a (iroperty, and after 
coming here did little manual labor. 

On the 31st of May, 18.01, Mr. Westfall was 



■*► 



•►Hh-^^ 



788 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



married to Miss H. Luuisa Morrison, who was born 
in Vernon, Oneida Co., N. Y., June 23, 1830. Her 
fatlier, Owen Morrison, was born in Colerain, Frank- 
lin Co., Mass., and his father, David Morrison, was 
born on the farm on which his grandfather and 
great-grandfather were born. Da^'id Morrison was 
a fanner, and spent his entire life in Massachusetts. 
The father of Mrs. "Westfall grew to manhood in 
his native town, wiiere lie received an excellent 
education, and taught school. He studied with an 
elder brother, with the intention of becoming a 
physician, l)ut as his health would not permit him 
to engage in the i)ractice of that profession he 
turned his attention to farming. When about 
twenty years of age he went to Oneida Count}'^, 
where he married, and followed farming in Vernon 
Townsliip until his death, which occurred on the 
25th of March, 1862. Mrs. AVestfall's mother, 
whose maiden name was Laura Barrett, was born 
in Connecticut, and was the daughter of Gains 
Barrett, a native of Connecticut, and a pioneer of 
Oneida County, where he died at the age of 
eighty -one years. 

Mr. Westfall was a nieiuber of Science Lodge, A. 
F. & A. M., of Sandusky, Ohio. Mrs. Westfall is an 
active member of the Presbyterian Church, while 
her parents were members of the Methodist Episco- 
,„,l tlimdi. 



M't 



LE^\^ELLYN HART. The gentleman whose 
name appears at tile head of this sketch is 
farmer and stock-raiser, residing on his 
pleasant homestead on section 10, Hudson Town- 
ship. He was born in Royalton, Niagara Co., N. 
Y., Sept. 29, 1840, and is the eldest son of John 
and Elvira Hart (for parental history see sketch of 
Albert Hart.) 

Our subject came to Michigan witli his parents 
when four years old, and he can distinctly remem- 
ber when deer, wild turkeys and other game were 
plentiful. The first school of the township was held 
in the log liouse situated on his fatiier's farm, with 
its chimney of dirt and sticks, its puncheon rt<jor 
and slab benches. Li this primitive building our 
subject received his first instruction in the "three 
H's," and as soon as laroe enoui'li he assisted his fa- 



tlier in clearing the farm and tilling the soil. He 
remained at home thus engaged until his marriage, 
which took place in November, 1882, when he was 
united to Miss Mary S. Jackson, a native of Addi- 
son, Lenawee County. Her father, W. W. Jackson, 
was born in Victor, Ontario Co., N. Y., Oct. 3, 
1813, and his father, J.acob Jackson, it is supposed, 
was born in Monroe County, N. Y. He was a 
fanner by occupation and resided in that county 
until 1830 or 1831, when he emigrated to the Terri- 
tory of Michigan and located in Madison Township, 
where he took up a tract of land and improved a 
f:um, and there spent the last years of his life. 

The father of jMrs. .Hart was seventeen years old 
when he came to this count3' with his parents, and 
after he had grown to manhood he settled in Adams 
Township, Hillsdale County, where he was an early 
settler. He resided there until 1853, then sold his 
f;um and again started for a new countiy. He pene- 
trated the forests of Wisconsin and settled in what 
is now Adrian Township, Monroe County, being a 
pioneer of that place also. He had great natural 
ability and was possessed of a good education, and 
the Tomah paper speaking of him, said : "'He soon 
attained a high position in church and State." He 
was appointed County Judge by the Governor in 
1858, and was Chairman of the Town Board four- 
teen years, besides serving in the State Legislature 
seven years: The efficient manner in which he dis- 
charged his official duties was a credit to himself 
and an honor to the people who elected him. He 
was a prominent and active member of the Wes- 
leyaii Methodist Church, and the village of Jack- 
sonville in Monroe County, was named in his honor. 
Mr. Jackson improved a farm near there, which he 
occupied until his removal to Tomah, Wis., where 
he lived retired the last few years of his life, d^ing 
May 1!),.1886. The mother of Mrs. Hart, whose 
maiden name was Amanda Gilson, was a native of 
Wayne County, Mich., where her parents, Simon 
and Mary (Courtwright) Gilson, were pioneers, 
coming liere from Pennsylvania. Subsequently 
they removed U< Hillsdale County, where they were 
early settlers, and from there they went to Tomah, 
Wis., where both died. 

After marriage Mr. iiai't and his wife settled on 
the farm they now occujiy. It comprises 1 GO acres 



«••■ 



4 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



(89 



of valuable land, on which are a good dwelling and 
substantial farm buildings. He i.s successfully en- 
gaged in farming and stock-raising, having fine 
graded cattle. Short-horns being his favorite breed. 
To Mr. Hart and his wife has been lioni one child. 
Carroll. Politically, Mr. Hart has HluMy> been in- 
dependent, lielieving in the best men for the best 
()laces, but usually voting with the Republicans. 

//^AMUEL BLIVKN,of Blissliehl Townshlii. 
'^^ was born in Westerly, H. I., on the 2St,h of 
l^J) February, IT'.I-J. His fatlier, ( ieorg.. HIiven, 



iluc, 



in th 

soldier in the Revolutionary Wnr. lie was a 
farmer, and spent his entire lift' in We.-terly. .Sam- 
uel Bliven, when a boy thirteen or fourteen years 
old, went to sea in the sloop " Benjamin," on a fishing 
expedition to the .Straits of Belle Isle, on the 
northern coast of Newfoundland. Afterward he 
shipped on board a merchant vessel, and went to 
England, France, and many of the Southern ports in 
this country. He made one voyage from New 
York to the Russian ports in the Baltic Sea, and 
spent in all about ten years of his life upon the 
ocean. He was a soldier in the War of LSI 2, in a 
Connecticut regiment of minute men, an<l now 
draws a pension for his services. About isi'.i he 
went to Stonington, Conn., where he lived al)out 
one year; he then went to Berkshire County. Ma>s.. 
where he followed farming for :ilHjut si\ ye:ir>. 
In 1827 he migrated to Clevi'hind. Ohio, and 
purchased a farm within the present limits of that 
city. He lived there about seven years, and in 
18;)3 came to Michigan and purchased 125 acres of 
land on sections 20 and 21, in BlissHeld Township, 
where he now resides. 

Mr. Bliven has always l)een an active man, and 
has bought and sold sevend pieces of hind, both in 
this and Monroe County. He has .-dwaNs enjoyiMl 
remarkably good health, anil until after he was 
sixty j^ears of age, never was sick enough to keep 
him from his labor, excepting while he had his 
regular spells of ague, during the first few years of 
his i-esidence in this county. During the jiast 
twenty years he hasjiuffered with rheumatism, but 



he is now, in his ninety-sixth year, able to do con- 
siderable work. 

On the Istof Febrn.-uy, ISIS. Mr. B. married Mis> 
Mary, daughter of .lonathan and Amy I'.liven. of 
Westerly, R. I., by whom he had seven children, 
recorded as follows: (ieorge W. was born in Gi-eal 
Barringtt>n, Mass., March IG, 1821. and is now a 
resident of Blissfield ; .losepli F. was born in the 
same place, April 1, l.s^-'l; Albert 11. was born in 
Lee, Mass., May i:i, 182;-). and died in Blissflehl, 
.Inly 29, 18.");"); Samuel M. was born in C'levelaud, 
Oliio. .Ian. s, Ks;52. and died in San Francisco. Cal. : 
Mary A. w:i- boin in BlisslicM. April S. l,s;;il, uliile 
one son and a dau.uhler died in infancy. .Mrs. 
Mary Bliven was b,.rn in Westerly. H. I., .lune II. 
17;i.-., and die.l in Blis-ficld, Nov. 10, I84i;. 

^N IIAKLES BLANCHARD is the only living 
f/p^ member of one of the pioneer families 
^^7 who took up their residence in Michigan 
Territory over fifty yeaisago. For forty years he 
has been a resident of .Mcdin.i Town>hip, and is the 
proprietor of a good farm of 200 acres on .section 
25. His jiarents, ,Tohn W. and Phebe Blanchard, 
were natives of New York State, the father liorn 
iu 1800 ami the mother in ISO.",. The paternal 



uidfalhcr 



his fa 



tW( 



Septeni 


ber. 


1.S4C, 


Thev 


we 


■e the 


IS .M., 


Ma 


rshall. 



•►He^ 



parents ot lour cluldrei 
Charles .-md Eli/.a belli. 

Ch.arles Blanchard was burn .lune 27, is:;;,, in 
Oakland County, and received a connnon--cliool 
education mostly in Medina Townsliip. For a 
jieriod of eight years he w;is a niend)erof tlie family 
of his uncle, Horace (i.ailick. He purchased 130 
acres of land on section 2(1, and some time after- 
ward was united in niari'iage with Miss Claris.sa 
Ophelia Baldwin, llie wedding taking place at the 
home of the bride, April 10, is.-,:,. Mrs. Bl.anchard 
is the daughter ,,f Chailo M. and Martha K. 
(Mitchell) Baldwin, natives of Massachusetts, thi' 



•►Hl-^*- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



father born Feb. 23, 1806, and the mother Feb. 1, 
181G. They were married July 24, 1834, and 
settled in FairfieM Township, this countj'. T^^(l 
years later the}' removed to a farm on section 24, 
Medina Township, where Nelson Baldwin now 
resides. The father secured his land from the 
Government and later added to his possessions by 
purchase from another party. Mr. and Mrs. Bald- 
win spent the remainder of their lives at the home- 
stead which thej' had labored togetlier to build up. 
Mr. Baldwin departed tliis life on the 3d of April, 
1852, while his widow survived him about twelve 
years, her death occurring Aug. 27, 18C4. Their 
seven children were : Emma Louisa,_Clarissa Ophelia, 
Cyrus Mitchell, an infant son who died unnamed. 
Nelson, Edgar E. and Charles Eurotus. Tlie eldest 
and the youngest are deceased. Cyrus, during the 
late war served as a Union soldier in Company A, 
18th Michigan Infantry, and is now carrying on 
the drug business in Morenci. The other members 
of the family living are residents mostly of Mich- 
igan. 

Mrs. Blanchard was i)orn in Medina Township, 
April 3, 1837, and was here educated in the com- 
mon schools, also taking a course in the Barrows 
Academ}', the first school of any importance in the 
township. She remained with her parents until her 
marriage and became the mother of eleven children. 
Tliese were named respectively: Lura Emma, 
Charles P^urotus, Ernest W., Cyrus M., Willard A., 
Ethel ^V., Walter M., EfHe E., Bessie O., Rena M. 
and Roscoe. W. Lura, Ethel and Ernest are 
deceased; Charles E. married Miss Mary Maybin, 
and is engaged at farming in Morenci; Cyrus M. 
is a prosperous lumber dealer at Ft. Scott, Kan. ; 
Willard A. was graduated from the Morenci High 
School, and commenced teaching wlien eighteen 
years old, which jn'ofession he lias since followed 
successfully; Walter M. is at home; EfHe is a pupil 
of the High School at Morenci; Bessie and Rena 
are still attending the district school, and Rosc(3e is 
at home. 

The Bl:iiieh.-iid f:irni comprises 200 acres of valu- 
able land, and Mr. li. lias been successfully engaged 
as a stock-raiser for the last twenty years. He has a 
fine herd of twenty-eight thoroughbred Short-horns, 
with the young bull, " Duke of Ardria," at the head. 



He is also giving much attention to the breeding of 
road and draft horses, of which he has a fine stable, 
including the celebrated stallion, " Hai'ry B.," of 
the Knox family, and "Donald Dinnie," the latter 
a thoroughbred Clydesdale. Besides these there are 
thirteen high-grade mares and geldings. He also 
includes sheep-raising in his operations, dealing 
mostl}- in thoroughbred Shropshires. His flock 
includes " Sir Arthur Thorp," imported from En- 
gland in 1887. Mr. Blanchard takes great pride in 
his stock and gives careful attention to their treat- 
ment, having his animals well sheltered and fed, 
for which purpose his barns and sheds aie con- 
structed in the most substantial and convenient 
manner. He was an expert hunter in his younger 
days and excelled as a sportsman, of which recrea- 
tion he was extremely fond. 



>W| OHN McCLENAHAN, well known through- 
|| out Adrian Township, occupies the old home- 
11 stead of his father, upon which the latter 
^^|/ settled in the pioneer days. The majority 
of people have an involuntary respect for the long- 
time resident of a community, and especially for 
those in possession of the property bequeathed them 
by their ancestors, and it is indeed a matter of sur- 
prise that any man is ever willing to part with such 
a legacy. No greater respect can be .shown a par- 
ent than deference to his ideas and wishes, and 
none can be more greatly honored than by the per- 
petuation of his labors held intact and preserved 
from the hands of strangers. Our subject has clung 
to this idea thus far in life, and it is quite likely 
that nothing but the most stringent circumstances 
will cause him to part with his legitimate inherit- 
ance. 

The McClenahan homestead comprises IGO acres 
of land under a good state of cultivation, and with 
fair improvements. The stock and machinery will 
bear good comparison with that of the neighboring 
agriculturists, and the home is surrounded by an 
air of plenty .and comfort which is extremely pleas- 
ant to contemplate. Its j)resent proprietor, John 



•►Hh 



L 



LENAWKE COUNTY. 



McCleiiahiin, is .1 native of Union Cntinly. I'.i., 
where his birth took place Any. 2\. \s',~. His 
father, Andrew McClenahan, was Ihr son of an Iri-h 
gentleman, a millwright I)y trade. whi> <i(j,s>rd ihr 
Atlantic and took tip his aliode in I'.iic Counlv, 
Pa., where he put uj) tiie first mill in Ih.ii IcM-.'ditv. 
lie also married and reared ;i fninily. and took up !i 
large tract of land, upon wliidi lie laliiircd indn^- 
triousl.y until quite :ii;ed, Ijclng stiou^ mid \ii;.ir- 
ous, and died when about sevcntv-ninc yc;irs nld. 
His wife had died .some _years previously. 

Andrew McClenahan, u[)on leaving Ihe home roof. 
proceeded east to the Susquehanna X'alley. and 
located with his uncle of the same n;une, near Lewis- 
burg, with whom he remained until :dioul ]Hi\2, 
thence went to Ohio, and purehasfcl ■.[. t:nn) in 
Seneca ('ounty, which he occupied -i\ yens. Xot 
quite satisfied with his operations in tlic liuckcye 
State, he proceeded northwest to .Michigan, and lo- 
cating in Adrian Township, purchased the follow- 
ing year au improved farm of 160 acres. He en- 
tered upon the cultivation of tliis lan<I with his 
characteristic energy, and |iicpanMl 1,, spend Iiere 
the remainder of his days, lie look an ;Hlivc in- 
terest in everything concerning the progi-ess and 
welfare of the corauinnity, and identified himself 
with the Methodist Protestant Church, in whose in- 
terests he was particularly industrious. He laborc(l 
in the Sunday-school, and officiated as Steward and 
Trustee. He was soon recognized as a most valu- 
able addition to the conniuinity, but was not per- 
mitted to carry out his plans, being cut down in his 
prime, his death occurring at the age of forty-two 
years, in the spring of 1877. 

Andrew McClenahan married for his first wife a 
Miss Hutchison, of Pennsylvania, who became the 
mother of one child, and died there before his i-e- 
mov.al from the State. This child, a daughter, Jane, 
is now the wife of John B. Siptey, of Cass C^ounty, 
Mich. His second wife, the mother of our sulijeci, 
was Miss Margaret McCalmont, the daughter of a 
highly respected farmer of Centre County, I'a. She 
was born in that countj% and like her predecessor 
only lived a few years after her marriage, her death 
taking place near Tiffin, in Ohio. Of the second 



the sub. 
.Maggie : 



■ct of this ske 
re living with 



brother, 



i ICHAEL P. LONG. The subject of this 



n sketch is at present filling th< 
i tice of the Peace in Adrian. 



marriage 



there were born four children, and they 



adopted a boy, Andrew Ranck, who is now livi 



-he office of Jus- 
Since becom- 
ing a citizen of Lenawee County he has 
held many offices of responsibility .ind trust, the 
duties of which he has discharged to the satisfact-iou 
of the [leoph'. During the war of the Rebellion 
he made an enviable record as a soldier, and con- 
tributed his best efforts in making the reputation 
which the State of Michigan earned for the p.art 
she took in suppressing the rebellion and overthrow- 
ing the confederacy. 

JNIr. Long was born in the city of New York, on 
the rith of August, l.S3.i, and is the .son of Dennis 
and Margaret Long, who removed from New York 
City to Chicago when our subject was but four 
years of age. The father was a merchant most of 
his life, but spent his late years on a farm in Du 
Page County, III., while he also conducted a mer- 
cantile business in the town of Geneva, the county 
seat of Kane. He departed this life in St. Charles, 
Kane County, in December, 18(i2, while the mother 
of our subject died in 1857. Two of the three 
children who composed this family are now living, 
of whom Michael is the youngest. In his youth 
Mr. Long secured a very fair education, and after 
he became a young man he devoted three winters 
to school teaching, after which he attended the 
Ansel Smith Academy, located in Kane County, 
III. 

^'ery soon after the breaking out of the war in 
1861, Mr. Long came to Michigan and settled in 
Cedar Springs Township, on what is now the site of 
the village of that name. In the month of June, 
that year, he enlisted in the army, being mustered 
as a private soldier in Company E, 3d Michigan In- 
fantry, in time to |)articipate in the battle of Bull 
Run, and during his term of service in that regi- 
ment passed through the various grades of non- 
commissioned officers until he attained the rank of 
First Sergeant, at which he remained until the regi- 



"•► 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



M-ih 



inent was c-onsolidated with the 5th Michigan Regi- 
ment, after tlie battle of the Wilderness. Soon after 
this Mr. Long was tendered a Captain's commission 
in the re-organized 3d Regiment, which he accepted, 
and in that ranli served during the remainder of 
the war, and was mustered out of the service a 
Captain and Brevet Major of the regiment. 

At the close of the war Mr. Long returned to 
the North, and hx^ated in Adrian, where, in 1871, 
he obtained a position in the office of the Register 
of Deeds, and in that capacity served for two years. 
He was then appointed Probate Register, and, in 
1876, on account of liis efticioncy and experience, 
he was elected by the people to the office of Reg- 
ister of Deeds of Lenawee County. At the close 
of his first term, having served so acceptably and 
faithfully he was complimented with a second elec- 
tion, which gave him as chief of that office four 
years' service. In 1881 he was elected to the office 
of Justice of the Peace, and at the close of his first 
term was re-elected, and is the incumbent of the 
office at the time of the writing of this sketch, 
also serving as Police Justice, being the last to hold 
that ofl^ce during the existence of the old charter. 
In 1886 Mr. Long was elected to the office of 
Coroner of Lenawee County, and in all these public 
positions he has brought to the discharge of their 
duties intelligence and a fair sense of justice. 

In 18(3(i Mr. Long was married to Lizzie C, 
daughter of WiDiam F. and Emily J. Cole, and born 
on the •24th of September, 1837. Mr. and Mrs. 
Long are members of the Presbyterian Church, 
and are active participants in all the affairs which 
relate to the interests of the society in which they 



^^ ARRETT VROOMAN is one of the original 
II (= pioneers of the Northwest, and is among 
^^iSl those who came to this section of the coun- 
try when the Indians were yet in possession. His 
experience has been varied, and he is familiar with 
the hardships which the first settlers had to endure. 
He was a great fur dealer in early times, and in 
pursuit of that occupation he traversed the Terri- 
tory now comprehended by the States of Illinois, 
Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota. He was in the 



last-named State before railroads were thought of, 
and camped with Indians where the city of Min- 
neapolis now stands, and when that locality had no 
other designation than St. Anthony's Falls. When 
he was a fur ti'ader the Indians made his house a 
place of visiting, and would come in great numbers 
earl}' in the morning and remain all day, and on 
these occasions he would trade them beads and 
other articles pleasing to them for furs. Mr. Vroo- 
man is a man who has displayed great energy all 
his life, and is yet full of vigor and enterprise. He 
is a great reader and keeps himself thoroughly in- 
formed upon all subjects which affect in any man- 
ner the people and the country. 

Garrett Vrooman was born in Lenox Township, 
Madison Co., N. Y.. on the 17th of January, 1818, 
and his father, John A. Vrooman, was born in 
Montgomery County, N. Y., about 1792, while tiie 
grandfather, Daniel ^^l■ooman, was born in Holland, 
and coming to America with his parents joined in 
the early settlement of the Mohawk Valley. The 
great-grandfather erected a block house, which 
served as a fort, and though he was attacked by 
Indians and several of the members of the family 
were killed, he fought bravely and determinedly, 
and his improvised fort was not captured. The 
grandfather was a farmer and cleared a farm in the 
Mohawk Valley where he spent the last years of 
his life. The father was reared on a farm in Mont- 
gomery' County, where he resided until 1837, when 
he sold his property and removed to Ohio, settling 
in Lucas County. He and the subject of this 
sketch bought a tract of timber land in Sylvania 
Township, and the father lived there until his death 
in 1877, at the age of eighty-five years. The maiden 
name of the mother of the subject of this sketch 
was Elizabeth Bingham ; she was born in Connect- 
icut, and was the daughter of Capt. Rial Bingham, 
who enlisted at Hartford, Conn., in the Revolution- 
ary army, and served with the rank of Captain 
during that war. He drew from the Government 
a warrant for 600 acres of land, which is now in- 
cluded in the city of Syracuse, N. Y. He located 
on that land soon after the war and died there. 
There were ten children, eight of whom grew to 
maturity. 

The subject of this sketch was the eldest son 



:*^» 



-4^ 



u 



LENAWEI-: COUNTY. 



r03 



,, -I 



tAt- 



and second child of the -family. When he was a 
mere boy he commenced work on the Krie Canal, 
being- employed at ^1 per mimth, in driviiiu a 
horse. Wlien lie was aboiil twelve ycnrs old his 
father bought a boat which he and his linither 
managed on the canal each season until he was 
nineteen years of age. when he came to Ohio with 
his parents. The journey was made liy the way of 
the Erie Canal and the Lakes t,o Tole.l,,. [|e :i,id 
his father bought eighty acres of heavily timbered 
land in Sylvania, Townshi]), paying ^(iOO therc^for, 
and lived in a log (jabin until they could build a 
frame house. The father had made pot:ish in New 
York State, and immediately edumieneed its manu- 
facture here, meeting with a i-eady sale for all he 
could produce. They cleared nearly the entire 
tract, and resided there until 1842, when he sold 
his interest to his father and brother and lidiight 
100 acres of timber land in Riehlield Township, 
Lucas County, which he cleared and lived upon 
until 1863. In that year he sold out, and going to 
Detroit, engaged in equipping men for the army 
until 180.'i. He then bought in Uaisinville Town- 
ship, Monroe County, and lived there until 1 871, 
when he sold out and removed to Metamora, where 
he engaged in the manufacture of potash. While 
resi<ling there in 1871 he bought the farm upon 
which he now i-esides, and <-ommenced clearing the 
land, and erected a house which he occupied in 
1879. 

On the 12th of November, 1843, Mr. Vrooman 
was married to Sallie, daughter of Reuben Tread- 
way, a native of Jefferson County, N. Y. Me re- 
moved thence to Genesee County, and from there 
to Allegany County, where he resided until 1836, 
when he came to the Territory of Michigan, and 
settled in what is now Riga Township, Lenawee 
County. His son, Martin ^'an Buren Treadway, 
was the first white child born in that townshi|). He 
was a soldier in the Union army and lost his life 
at Re.saca, Ga. The father of Mrs. ^'rooman now 
lives in Richfield Township, Lucas Co., Ohio. Air. 
and Mrs. Vrooman have two children: F. Hiiam 
lives at Alpena, Mich., and A. Eleanor is the wife 
of Henry E. Prentis, and lives in Metamora, Ohio. 

Mr. Vrooman's early experiences, if compiled 
and published, would make an interesting chapter 



in the history of the Northwest, as they date back 
to before the days of railroad tr.-insportution. In 
lS.-,2 and for a year or two aflerw:ird he engaged 
in iMiatingon the Wnhnsh. la-i,. and .Miami Canals. 
In his travels through the region of country drained 
by the Mississippi it was his privilege to be a pas- 
senger upon the first tri|i made liy the steamboat 
"War Kagle," eoininanded by Ca|it. llari'i-^. on thrit 
river. lie ivlales i-eininis,'ene..s of those days in an 
intelligent and interesting ni'inner, and it i> ,a pleas- 
ure to the student of histor\- to listen to his de- 



iptions 



5^-=^*^-*^^^ 



m 



AM ES PATTERSON. This gentlein: 
|| among the thrifty genei-al farmers aiK 
j raisers of Macon Township, to which 



resided, llislirsi puichase was seventy acres ot 
land (Ml section 2(), only a part of which had bi'cn 
cultivated. Like a large majority who came to 
Southern Michigan, Mr. Patterson is of foreign birth 
and parentage, and has pi-o\ ed one of the most 
valued factors in the farming and business interests 
of this section. 

Mr. Patterson was born in C'ounty Antrim, Ire- 
land, in 1831. His father, .lames by name, was the 
son of Alex. Patterson, who was also born in Ire- 
land, where he married and reared a family, and 
spent the remainder of his days engaged in farming 
in County Antrim. James Patterson, Sr., was born 
and reared in County Antrim, where he eng.aged in 
agriculture, and upon reaching manhood, married 
Miss Anis McGowen, who was also a native of the 
North of Ireland. They reared a family, and in 
18.52 joined their son in America, and for a time 
were residents of Baltimore, Md. James, our sub- 
ject, had preceded his parents to this country when 
a youth of sixteen years, in 1847. lie had learned 
the trade of a machinist, and was engaged for a 
time as a boiler-maker in Baltimore. In 1858, he 
resolved to seek his fortune in the West, and com- 
ing to this county, located in Macon Township, to 
which place his parents had come three years be- 
fore. I'he father had purchased eighty acres of 
land on section 3.'), taking up a tract of uncultivated 
land which he transformed into a good farm, and 



1 r 

1- 



■^^ 



'94 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 






wliero his death took place in February, 1879, at 
the age of seventy-nine years. The mother of our 
subject survived her husband some years, and con- 
tinued at the homestead in Macon Township. Iler 
deatii occurred in !Mnicli, 1885, when she was 
eighty-six years old. 'I'hc parental family included 
seven children, who aic now all dead except tiie 
two eldest. 

Mr. Patterson was married while a resident of 
Baltimore, Md.. to Miss Catherine Unnham, who 
died there after the birth of one child, a daughter, 
M.aggie J. Mrs. Catherine Patterson was born in 
County Antrim, Ireland, whence she emigrated to 
the United States when a young woman, and located 
in Baltimore, where she made the acquaintance of 
her future husband. She was a lady of many ex- 
cellent qualities, and greatly mourned by her hus- 
band and friends. 

After the death of his wife, Mr. Patterson came 
to the West, and on the 1st of .January, 1860, he 
was married to his second wife. Miss Rachel Lnp- 
ti>n, of Ridgeway Township. Mrs. P. was born in 
this township, June 3, 1843, and is the daughter of 
Thomas and Mary (Cooper) Lnpton, natives of 
Yorkshire, England. After the birth of one child, 
her parents came to the United States, and located 
in Ridgeway Township, this county, in a tract of 
unbroken timber. The father built up a good home 
in the wilderness, and there both parents spent the 
i-emainder of their days, the mother dying in 18()2, 
and the father in 1885. Mrs. Patter.son was reared 
to womanhood in Ridgeway Township, remaining 
under the parental roof until her marriage with our 
subject. Of this union there have born five chil- 
dren, namely: Mary M., the wife of William Sche- 
der, a prosperous farmer of Clinton Township, and 
Irvin, Robert, Jemima and Cla''ance, who are at 
home with their parents. 

Mr. Patterson after his second marriage settled 
in Lagrange County, Ind., where he engaged in 
farming until after the outbreak of the late war. 
In July, 1862, he enlisted in Company F, 88th In- 
diana Infantry, and marching with his comrades to 
the front, participated in many of the important 
battles of the war. In the engagement at Murfrees- 
boro in September, 1862, he received a ball in the 
ight hip, .and w.as confined in the hospital several 



months. This practically unfitted him for further 
duty,, and he was discharged at Louisville, Ky., on 
account of disability. 

Mr. Patter.son, upon his return from the .army, at 
once removed his family from Lagrange County, 
Ind., to Ridgeway Township, this county, taking 
up a tract of land, on which he resided until 1871, 
when he sold out and purchased his present farm. 
Here he was welcomed as a valuable addition to the 
community, and ranks among the representative 
citizens of the county. Politically, he votes the 
straight Democratic ticket. Mrs. Patterson was a 
charter member of the Presbyterian Church in Ma- 
con Township, and is still numbered among its 
most devoted adherents. 

-^ . :fc ..A. s- 



\il ON. HENRY WYMAN. The subject of this 
jlf^ sketch is now eighty-five ye.ars of age, and 
vk^Jy has been a pioneer citizen of two States which 
(^w) stand foremost among those of the West — 
Indiana and Michigan. He became a citizen of In- 
diana in 1831, and settled in Anderson, Madison 
County, in 1832, where he was an honored citizen, 
and the compeer of Col. Ninevah Berry, Jacob Still- 
well, Andrew Jackson, James Hazlett, Allan Make- 
peace, and others equally distinguished in the 
opening and building up of that section of Indiana. 
Dr. Wyman, in all the pioneer movements in 
Madison County, displayed a master hand, and on 
account of his ability and knowledge of the wants 
of the people, was selected to represent the dis- 
trict of which Madison County is a part in the 
Lower House of the State Legislature. Besides 
this official position he was for many 3'ears a Justice 
of the Peace in Anderson. In 1887 he visited 
that place, which had grown to be a city of much 
pretensions, both as a manufacturing and railroad 
point, and besides has several of the largest natural 
gas wells of the Indiana gas district. On this oc- 
casion a banquet was tendered him, which was at- 
tended by all the old citizens, and the occasion 
was an exceedingly delightful one to all who par- 
ticip.ated. The Doctor remembers it as one t>f the 
happiest events of h''s life, for itrevealed to him the 
respect and esteem in which he is held bj- the 




JJ OL-^-<J^ j~^-^' 



-^ 



•►-11-^^ 



lknawep: county. 



••-II- 



people among uhdin he li\((l so ni.-iiiy \<'nis. Ili> 
life ia Michigan lias been t-rouned witli >ui-<-e>.-, and 
like the people of Indiana, his neighl>or.s in Michi- 
gan conferred man}- honors upon him. In the 
3'ear of 1 845 he was elected as the rejircsentativc 
of Lenawee County to the Michigan Legislature, 
and drafted and succeeded in having enacted into a 
law, the first bill ever introduceil in llic Tnited 
States on the subject of drainage. This law was 
afterward repea!e<l, but it has .since scrxcd as the 

have been enacted in the United .States. Dr. \Vy- 
inan has been successful in the practice of his [iro- 
fession wherever he lias lived, lie has now retired 
from tlie active practice of medicine, but the name 
<if Wvnian will continue to hold an honored place 
in the j)rofession, for his mantle has f.-illen upon his 
sons, who are worthy successors, .ind they have 
gained an excellent reputation as skillful physicians, 
though they have eho.sen other fields for their work. 
Dr. Wyinan is exceedingly well preserved, and 
l)re.sents the appearance of one who is in the prime 
of life. 

Dr. Henry Wyman was born in Iveene. Cheshire 
Co., N. II., on the 2A of April, 1803. His father, 
.Jonathan Wyman, was born in Concord, Mass., 
and his grandfather was killecl ;it the battle of 
Concord on the 19th of April, ITT.V Dr. Wyman's 
father was six years old at that time, and 
mother dying soon after, he lived with an older 
sister. He .served an apprenticeship and learned 
the trade of a baker, at which he workeil for a time 
in the city of Boston. When ,i young man he 
went to New Hampshire, and lived until l.sot, and 
then went to Jefferson County. N. V., where he was 
a pioneer settler. He bought timber land and 
cleared a farm, and resided in Rodman Towiislii]), 
that county, until his death. The maiden name of 
his wife, who was the mother of the subject of this 
sketch, was Abigail Adams, a native of New Hamp- 
shire, where she was born in Nelson Townshii), 
Cheshire County. She died in Rodman Township, 
Jeffei'son Co., N. Y. The subject of this sketch 
was reared on a farm, and received his rudimentary 
education in the common schools, and his .academ- 
ical education at Lowville. In 182.T he began 
the study of medicine at Lockport, N. Y., and in 



1,s;!l' reMi..vcd 


o Alidersni,. Madis 


)u Co., Ind.. 


where he began 


he inactice, and live 


il there until 


1841, when he 


went to Mississippi 


and resi.led 


until 184;!. In 


hat year he removed 


to i;iisstield. 


where he I i veil f 


lur years, .•uid in IS 


7 I'ct limed to 


Anderson. Ind.. 


wheiv lie ivinaiiiei 


until 1864, 


when he again n 


turned to lilisslield. 


and engaged 


in the practice i 


f medicine until he 


was seventy- 


five years of ag( 


, when he retired. 





Dr. Wyman's lirst marriage occurred in 1835, his 
wife b<>ing I'liidciice Kerry, who was born in Clark 
County, Ind. She .lied in L'<37, leaving one child. 
Oliver C. who is h,.w cng.-iged in the wholesale ilry- 
goods business ill .Minneapolis, Minn. His second 
marriage, in isil. was to /elinda Carpenter, a na- 
tive of I'otsdan:. .\. V,. .iiid the daughter of Clem- 
ent Carpenter (see sketch ot .Toel Carpenter). She 

I died (m the 1 4tli of .November. |s77. By this mar- 
riage three oiiildreii were liorii; II.-il. C.. a promi- 
nent physician in the city of Detroit; Hugh S., a 
physician in Alaska, and Carrie S., the wife of F. B. 
Lamb, of Blissfield. Dr. Wyman was formerly a 
Postmaster of Blissfield. His long public and pri- 
vate career is one to be emulated by the young men 
of to-day. No page can be found in this work de- 
voted to a more worthy object than this which con- 
tains a sketch of the events in tlie life of Dr. 

i Wyman. 



. I 



J n AMES LANNINO. Among the venerated 
I citizens of Raisin Township no name is more 
j worthy of perpetuation than that which 
' stands .'it the head of this .sketch. He is 
widely and favorably known throughout this [lart 
of Lenawee Ctmnty, .as having been one of its pio- 
neer settlers and representative farmers. He came 
to the Territory of Michigan in the fall of 1833, 
and secured a tract of land from the Government, 
upon which lie expended years of labor and thous- 
ands of dollars, and built up one of the most 
valuable homesteads in Raisin Township. This 
IHoperty is located on section 6, and Mr. L.anning 
still occupies the land upon which he first .settled, 
but which to-day bears little resemblance to the 
condition in which he found it. 

Mr. Lanniug began his operations in the wilder- 
•^ 



"^•- 



798 



LP]NAWEE COUNTY. 



iiess, oue of his first duties being the election of a 
shelter for his family. He selected one of the 
pleasantest spots on his new purchase, and put up a 
small log house, which he covered with clapboards 
and in which he laid a puncheon floor. The old- 
fashioned fireplace occupied nearly one end of the 
building, and the chimney was put up outside of 
mud and sticks. This structure served as a shelter 
for the little household several years, and then a 
more modern one was substituted. 

Mr. Launing, however, in putting up his first 
residence, accidentall3^ placed his house across the 
line on laud belonging to other parties, so that he 
was obliged to either remove it or to purchase. 
He chose the latter alternative, and after consider- 
able strategy, in order to get ahead of another 
party, added forty acres to the eighty he had 
already secured, and which transaction, by the way, 
he has never regretted. After he had his land 
paid for there was onl}- $5 left to him with which 
to begin the necessary improvements. He made an 
occasional dollar as a huntsman, being quite expert 
with the rifle, and upon the present site of flourish- 
ing farms and beautiful homesteads, has many a 
time killed three or four deer iu a day. He had 
brought with him two pounds of lead and one 
pound of powder, and this he economized in such 
a careful manner, that it did service in the slaughter 
of fifty deer, besides numbers of small game. 

The subject of this history was born in Hunting- 
ton, Sussex Co., N. J., Oct. 5, 1810, and is the son 
of Cornelius and Charity (Young) Lanning, natives 
of the same county as their son, and the parents of 
nine children, three sons and six daughters. Of 
these three are now living and residents of Lena- 
wee County. Cornelius Lanning carried on farm- 
ing [in Sussex County, where both parents spent 
their entire lives, and where the father died in 1825. 
The mother survived her husband ten years, and 
also passed away at the old homestead, her death 
taking place in 1835. 

•Tames Lanning contiinied in his native State 
until a youth of nineteen years, then repaired to 
Ovid, Seneca Co., N. Y., where he remained work- 
ing on a farm by the month, until the fall of 1 8.32, 
when he removed to this county. The second 
year of his residence here, he and his family were 



at one time on the verge of starvati(;>n for the want 
of flour, the nearest mill being at Tecum,seh, to 
which point people came from forty miles away, 
and everybody was obliged to await his turn in 
grinding. The Lanning family were reduced to 
potatoes and pork, and Mr. L. finally agreed to 
assist the miller twenty-four hours if he would get 
out his flour for him. The miller complied, and 
slipping the grist in between some others about 
3 o'clock in the morning, the troubles vi our 
subject for that time were at an end. This was 
only one of the many difficulties to which the 
pioneers were subjected. They complained but 
very little in those days, however, each man being 
determined to make the best of circumstances, and 
Mr. Lanning in this high resolve was not a whit 
behind any of his neighbors. In due time perse- 
verance brought its i-ich reward, and he could look 
around him upon a comfortable home, with the 
satisfying reflection that for it he was indebted to 
no man, but that he had honestly .earned it by the 
sweat of his brow. 

Our subject before reaching his twentieth birth- 
day, and while a resident of Seneca County, N. Y,, 
was first married to Miss Margaret, daughter of 
Peter Bodine, of Ovid, and their first child, a son, 
named George, was born there Aug. 6, 1831. He 
is now a resident of Raisin Township, this county. 
The next, a daughter, Rachel Ann, was born Feb. 
18, 1833, and became the wife of William Allen, a 
well-to-do farmer of Lenawee Countj^; Marj' E. 
was born March 30, 1837, and is the wife of Will- 
iam Mattis, who owns a good farm near Franklin, 
in this county; Peter B. was born Feb. 20, 1840, 
and died the 5th of June following. The mother 
of these children, who was born in Ovid, Seneca 
Co., N. Y., July 18, 1808, died at the homestead in 
Raisin Township, this county, Feb. 25, 1840. 

Mr. Lanning remained a widower over seven 
years, and on the 31st of May, 1847, was a second 
time married, to Miss Maria, daughter of Julius 
and Martha (Willet) Dalley, of Readington, Hunter- 
don Co.. N. J. Her parents are now deceased, the 
death of both taking place in New Jersey, where 
the mother passed away in 1823, and the father, 
surviving his wife for a period of twenty-seven 
j'cars, in 1850. Mrs. Maria Lanning was born in 
•^ 



■^•- 



■^■^^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



799 'M 



1 



Ueadington, N. J., May 13, 1S14, :i!i(i came to the 
West with her sister-in-law, Elizalieth Dalley, about 
184(). Of her union with our subject there were 
lioru two children, as follows: Martha H. was born 
March 3, 1848, and on the 12th of March, 1868, 
became the wife of Chauncey Yedder, a prosjier- 
ous farmer of Franklin Township; Joseph was born 
Feb. 20, 1853, and married Miss Ida Shurtz, Nov. 
12, 1871 ; he is carrying on farming on the old home 
place, which he has leased. 

Mr. Lanning, who has kept his eyes open to wiiat 
was going on around him in tiie world, deti'rmined 
that his children should receive the advantages of 
a good education and careful home training. They 
grew np intelligent and obedient, and have taken 
their stations as worthy members of an intelligent 
community. They are all married, and established 
in comfortable homes of their own, and the chief 
pleasnres of this affectionate family are the period- 
ical visits between parents and children, wiiieh con- 
tribute so much to the happiness of the two lives 
now going down the sunset hill of life, hap|)y in 
the feeling that they have not lived in vain. 

Mr. Lanning east his first Presidential vote for 
Gen. Jackson, and since exercising the right of 
suffrage, has been a stanch adherent of the Demo- 
cratic party. As a worthy representative of the 
farming element of Lenawee Count}', we are pleased 
to present in connection with this biography a 
portrait of Mr. Lanning. 



y^'ILLIAM BRESIE is an honored citizen of 
Tecumseh and one of tlie worthy represent- 
^^^ atives of the fanning interests of this 
township. He has had a varied experience in life 
since he commenced his hand-to-hand conflict with 
the world, at the age of thirteen. Mr. Bresie was 
born in Livingston County, N. Y., April 25, 1817, 
while his father, Nicholas Bresie, a fanner by occu- 
pation, was born in the beautiful Mohawk ^■aliey, 
of that State. He married Naomi, daughter of 
Leonard Case, Esq., and a native of Hebron, N. Y''. 
After marriage they settled in Livingston County, 
where their entire wedded life was spent, and there 



they reared a family of five daughters and three 
sons, four of whom are still living. 

Tiie subject of this sketch, who was the third 
chihl and second son of that family, passed his boy- 
hood on a farm and received his education at the 
common schools. He was a more than ordinarily 
intelligent and active lad, and when a mere boy of 
thirteen sought to make his own living, and for 
several years was engaged in different employments. 
He at length became engaged in hotel-keeping and 
stage driving, and at one time manag'ed a hotel 
in Dansville, Livingston County, for six years. 
The next seven years he spent in the employ of the 
New York & Erie Railway Compan_y, first as 
baggagemaster and then as conductor of an ex- 
press train. He tiien engaged in the service of the 
Michigan Southern Railway Company, having charge 
of the sleepers between Cleveland, Ohio, and 
Buffalo, N. Y., in which capacity he was employed 
for ten years. He was in several wrecks, but 
escaped unhurt, and leaving that position he went 
to Indianapolis, and joining a friend, took charge of 
a line of sleepers between Indianapolis and Chi- 
cago. He afterward became connected with a 
street railway at Cleveland, Ohio, a track running 
beyond the city limits, called the Glenville Street 
Railway, and operated that successfully ten years. 
He then came to Michigan and purchased a farm 
of forty acres in Tecumseh Township, near the vil- 
lage. Returning to Cleveland he spent tliree years 
there, and in the meantime disposed of his railway 
stock. He then removed with his family to his 
farm in Tecumseh, where he resided several years, 
finally trading it for his present one, which contains 
forty acres, nearly all of which is within the city 
limits, and now devotes his entire time to agricult- 
ure. 

Mr. Bresie was married, March 20, 1839, to Miss 
Mary A. Johnson, of Livingston County, N. Y., 
daughter of Eli and Sarah (Park) Johnson. Blr. 
and Mrs. Bresie became the parents of four chil- 
dren, as follows: William R., of Decatur, 111.; 
Elizabeth, the widow of John Crowell; Sarah, who 
married a Mr. Betts for her second husband, and 
Amanda, who died at the age of three years. 

Mr. Bresie served acceptably several years as 
Supervisor of Tecumseh Township, and was subse- 



■•>HII-«(« 



•► i r <*' 



=L. 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



4 



qiieiitly elected a member of the City Council of 
Tecumseh and served four years. During this 
time he was appointed janitor of Tecumseh Ceme- 
tery, a position he has efficiently filled and still 
holds. Mr. Bresie commenced the battle of life 
without means, and has steadily worked his way 
upward, winning- for himself the confidence and 
esteem of the community. He is an energetic and 
public-spirited man, and has materially assisted in 
building up the township. He is a regular attend- 
ant of the Baptist Churdi, and in politics is rather 
conservative. 

WILLIAM E. .TEWETT, M. D., who has 
been a practicing- i)hysician in the city of 
Adrian since 1 872, and has largely identi- 
fied himself with the social and material interests 
of the city, is a native of the State of New York, 
and was born in .Sangerfield, Oneida County, on 
the 8th of December, 184-2. His parents were Eri 
and Harriet (Winchell) Jewett, also natives of the 
Empire State, of which his paternal grandfather, 
Jonathan Jewett, was an early pioneer. Jonathan 
Jewett lived for eighty-two years on the same farm, 
which was land taken up by his father, and died at 
the age of ninety, June 11, 1872, at the same hour 
that the doctor's youngest child was born. The 
maternal grandparents, William F. and Submit 
Winchell, were natives of Connecticut, and removed 
from Goshen, that State, to the vicinity of Sanger- 
field, N. Y., during the early settlement of Oneid.n 
County. 

Eri Jewett, in 1855, removed with his family to 
Ohio and settled on a farm near Austinliiirg, in 
Ashtabula County, where they remamed until 186S. 
Thence they removed to Constantine, St. Josepii 
Co., Mich., and to Vistula, Ind., in 1871, where the 
parents passed the remainder of their days. Our 
subject, until 1857, attended the district school 
and assisted his parents in theii- work on the farm. 
During that year he entered Grand River Institute, 
in Austinburg, a noted seat of learning in those 
days, which was founded in 1832, and is still flour- 
ishing. He worked on a farm and taught school 
during vacation until after the outbreak of the 



Civil War, and in Maj', 1862, enlisted as a private 
in Company 'K, 87th Ohio Infantry, serving in 
Virginia in the Armj' of the Potomac. 

Young Jewett was taken prisoner at the surren- 
der of Harper's Ferry, Sept. 15, 1862, but not long 
afterward was paroled and exchanged. At the 
expiration of his term of service in October follow- 
ing, he was mustered out, and re-enlisted in June, 
I860. This time he was rejected by the examining 
surgeon, and now deterTuined to turn his attention 
to the study of medicine. In 1864 he entered the 
oflice of Dr. E. A. Munger, of Waterville, N. Y., 
and the year following- attended the medical college 
at Cleveland, Ohio. From there he went to the 
Homeopathic Medical College In New York City, 
from which he was graduated on the 1st of March, 
1867. He spent the winter of 1867-68 in the col- 
leges and hospitals of New York Cit3% and made 
the best use possible of his time and opportunities 
for gaining a full knowledge of the profession which 
he intended to follow. 

Dr. Jewett, in May, 18G8, opened his first office 
in Constantine, Mich., and on the 24th of Novem- 
ber following was united in marriage with Miss 
C^lara A., the accomplished daughter of Henry E. 
and Lucinda Root, of Constantine. This union 
has been blessed by the birth of two children — 
Henry R., who was horn Oct. 24, lS70,and William 
1 E., June 11, 1872. 

In February, 1872, Dr. Jewett took up his resi- 
! dence in Adrian, and is now in the enjoyment of a 
' large and lucrative practice. In July of that same 
I year, he identified himself with the Masonic frater- 
nity, and is a member of Adrian Lodge No. 19. 
He has attained to a high position, having taken 
1 the degrees of the Chapter, Council and Command- 
ery of Knights Templar. In these bodies he has 
been honored with the highest offices in their gift, 
having been Master of Lodge, High Priest of Chap- 
ter, Thrice Illustrious of Council, and Eminent 
Commander of Commandery. He is also an officer 
j of the Grand Commandery of Michigan and a 
member of Michig.an Sovereign Consistory, Ancient 
and Accepted Scottish Rites, Vallej- of Detroit. 
He is also a member of Woodbury Post No. 45, G. 
A. R. He cast his first Presidential vote for Lincoln, 
I and has since continued an active supporter of the 

. •► 



LENAWEK COUNTY. 



801 



Uepilblicau party. In 1 .S77 ami llu' Colidwini; 
he served as Alclenuaii of the First Ward. 1 
physician to the State Industrial Home for 
located near the city, and in leligions matter; 
longs to the Presbyterian Chnrcli. Posse 
considerable musical talent, I)i-. .Kwrtl >e 
years ago became proficient as an orj^anist, v 
ollice he has filled in several churches. 

Dr. Jewett is a successful |iliysiciau and a pi 



5 bc- 
ssing 



spii-ited citizen, ever activ( 



notu 



fare and prosperity of Adrian and vicinity. Kindly 
and g-enerous in his relations with other i)hysicians, 

know him tlie most intimately. 

-„>,. ..o*o-^t;J >vl5ii-o*o' <<^- 

AMlvS K. LIDDLE. Amonu the thrifty 
stock-raisers and general farmers of Macon 
., Township, this gentleman occupies a ])romi- 
(^// nent position, and is the owner of ion acres 
of finely improved land on section il, where he ha> 
operated successfully for a long [jeriud of years, lie 
has si)ent nearly all his life in the W oheiinc St.-ite. 
having been born in Saline Townsliip. W.-ishlcnaw 
County, in l<s;jr», and there rearecl to larniin',; pur- 

ordiuar^' success. 

The father of our sul.ji'ct, i;,,bcii I, i. Idle. Ivs(|,, 
like so many of the men who came to tlie Teriitory 
of Micliigan and assisted in developing its res,>urce.s, 
wasa native of Seneca County. N. V., wheie he 

of his future wife. Miss Jeanette Adair, who w.as 
born and reared in the .same county. Aftei- llieir 
marriagt! and the biith of two children. K'oberl Lid- 
die and his wife starte.l on the lonu and te<li,,us 
journey to the Territory of Michigan, in the hopes 
of bettering their condition eventually upon a dif- 
ferent .soil and in a newei- country. Aftei- several 
weeks' travel in the manner common to the emi- 
grants of those days, by can.al hcjat ami sailing-ves- 
sel on the Lake, .and overland liy ox-l.e.ams. they un- 
loaded their goods in the woods of M:i,-on Town- 



and the 



which no one could then foretell. The fathei- of our 
subject put up a log cabin, felled the trees arounil 
it to some extent, anil linally exchanged his claim 
for l('i(J acres on ^I'ciion i;. He continued here, 
meeting with fair success, and in 1864 the family 
met with their first great attiiction in the death of 
I he w'ife and mother, which necessarily made a great 
eliange in the household. She had lieeu a good 
woman in all that the term implies, ami was sixty- 
live years old when called to her l<mg home. Hob- 
ert LidiJIe w.'is subsequently married again, and ilied 
at the lionieMead in April. 1871). He and bis lirst 
wife ucre niendiei's of the Presbyterian Church, 
while his second wif,. was a .Methodist. 

.lames U. Liddle was the thir.l child of the first 
marriage of his father, and was the first one born in 
this State. He began early in life to lay his plans 
for the future, being quite a youth when he coni- 
menceil the improvement of a tract of land, al- 
though not married until over thirty years of age. 
The wedding took place at the home of the bride, 
Miss .Matilda Kuder, Nov. 27, 1867. Mrs. L. was 
born not f.ai' from Ihc early home of her husband, 
Nov. CI. I .si."!, anil is the daughter of Joshua and 
Uebecca (Gaiidile) Kuder, natives respectively of 
Pennsylvania and New York. Mr. Kuder left his 
native State upon reaching manhood, and became a 
resident of Cioveland Township, Livingston Co., 
N. v., where he was soon afterward married, and a 
year later emigrated to Michigan, settling in Clin- 
tor. Township about 18.37. He built upagood farm 
[n the wilderness of Clinton Township, upon which 
he remained the rest of his life, his death taking 
place in 188 1, when he \v;is fifty-two years old. 
The motiier. .aged -ixty-six. still lives on the old 
honicstead with her ehildi'en. She, with her hus- 
band, united with the Dutcli Reformed Church 
some years lieloiv bis death. .Mr. Kuder, politically, 
was a st.aiiih Denmerat, and a man generally re- 
spected in his couununity. 

Mrs. Liddle was the tliird ehild .and only daugh- 
ter of her i)arents, whose liouselmld incluiled seven 
chihlren. Of her niarri.age with our subject there 
have been liorn two sons and three daughters, 
namely: Frank K., Fdilli, .lennie, Sumner and 
Pearl, all at home with their |)arent.s. Mr. and Mrs. 
L. commcuced life together at their present home 



4 



•4» 



•►#^^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



stead, which has become endeared to them b}' so 
many pleasant associations that it is quite natural 
to suppose they would scarcely exchange it for any 
spot on earth. Mr. L. mixes very little with public 
affairs, but upon occasions of important elections, 
votes the straight Democratic ticket. 

RA D. WATERMAN is a promising represent- 
ative of the farming interests of Dover Town- 
ship, where he owns and occupies a fine farm on 
section 10. His parents were Ira and Frances 
(Holmes) Waterman, the former born near Kinder- 
hook, N, Y., and the latter near Stonington, Conn. 
They began their wedded life in Chenango County, 
N. Y., and from there they removed to Romulus, 
in Seneca County, that State, which remained their 
home until death. They were people who led up- 
right, conscientious lives, and died respected by all. 
They had eight children — Eliza A., Mary A., Ira 
D., Dennison R., L. Louisa, Charles, Emily and Har- 
riet. 

Ira D. Waterman was born in Chenango County, 
N. Y., Nov. 23, 1812, and wasabout eight years old 
when his parents removed to Seueca County, where 
he grew to manhood. lu 1840 he left the home of 
his 3'outh to go out into the world to make an hon- 
orable living for himself by the work of his own 
hands. He turned his face westward and came to 
Lenawee Countj^ Mich., but he only remained a 
short time, and then returned to Seneca Count}', N. 
Y., but he had not, however, given up the idea of 
making a home in Michigan, where he thought the 
chances were much better than in his native State, 
for making something more than a living by farm- 
ing, and after working two years in Seneca County, 
he returned to this State and settled in Dover 
Township, where he has ever since resided. He first 
bought eighty acres of land, and afterward added to 
the original purchase until he, at one time, owned 
nearly 300 acres. He disposed of a part of that 
laud advantageous!}', his farm uow containing 120 
acres, which is fertile and well tilled. He has erected 
a good set of buildings, with all the modern con- 
veniences, and conducts his farming by the most 
approved methods. 



^\- 



Mr. Waterman was married to the lady of his 
choice in Adrian, Mich., March 15, 1845, and to 
her assistance he is greatly indebted in building up 
their pleasant home. Her maiden name was Jane 
Low, and she is the daughter of Stephen and Rebecca 
(Thorne) Low, natives of New England. After 
marriage her parents settled in the State of New 
York, where they lived for several years, and finally 
removed to Ohio, where they died. They were the 
parents of six children — Phebe, Ann, Jane, David, 
Daniel and Deborah. Mrs. Waterman was born in 
Erie County, Ohio, Sept. 4, 1820. 

The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Waterman has 
been blessed by the birth of three children, of whom 
the following is the record: Margaret is the widow 
of John D. Ramsdell (of whom see sketch) ; Frances 
is the wife of William Judson, of Ohio; Isaac nwr- 
ried Jennie Ramsdell, who died in Clayton, Mich., 
Oct. 21, 1887; he is engaged in general merchandis- 
ing in Clayton. 

Mr. and Mrs. Waterman have passed many years 
of life together, " sharing its joj's and dividing its 
sorrows." All these long years of wedded life have 
been passed in this town, where by their many acts 
of neighborly kindness they have endeared them- 
sehes to those around them, and are held in respect 
by old friends and those of the rising generation. 
In jjolitics Mr. Waterman advocates the principles 
of the Democratic party, and takes an active interest 
in all public matters. 

kT. RATHBUN resides on section 36, Fair- 
i field Township, and is engaged in agricult- 
ure on a farm of fifty acres, on which he has 
erected substantial and commodious buildings of 
the modern scyle of architecture. The parents of 
our subject were Rufus H. and Eleanor (Bobbins) 
Rathbun, natives of New York, where they were 
married in Ontario County. Immediately after 
marriage they came to Lenawee County and settled 
in Palmyra Township. His business was princi- 
pally farming, although he engaged at times in the 
occupation of a carpenter. They afterward re- 
moved to Madison Township and thence to Williams 
County, Ohio, where they i-cmained only six weeks. 



■^•- 



LKNAWKE COUNTY. 



80 ;j 



liowover. and came in Hillsdale Countj-, Mich. At 
the inid of abinit two 3-ears tliej' retiinied to this 
county and settled in Ogden Township, whore they 
lived about four years and then settled on section 
3G, Fairfield Township, where the mother was called 
to her final rest Dec. 4, 1883. The father survives, 
and makes his home in Fairfield with our >nl)ject. 
To them were horn five children — our subject, 
Emily, Eliza J., Reuben and Arietta. 

Mr. Rathbun was born in Palmyra, this count3', 
on the 1st of May, 183C, and is the only surviving 
member of the family. lie was about seven years 
of age when his father settled in Fairfield Town- 
ship, and received such an education as the public 
schools of that day afforded. He has been chiefly 
engaged in agricultural pursuits, though in con- 
nection with his farm he conducted a mercantile 
business for about ten years, carrying a stock of 
general merciiandise ; his store was located on his 
farm. He has been a resident of Fairfield Town- 
ship since liis childhood, with the exception of 
seven years, when he lived close by in Ogden 
Township. 

On the 13lh of December, 1 .sr>5, Mr. Rathbun 
led to the altar the lady of his choice. Miss Caroline 
E., daughter of Josephus and Sarah (Riddle) \Vhito, 
natives respectively of New York State and New 
Jersey. Mrs. Rathbun was born in Brighton, Mon- 
roe Co., N. Y.. July 7, 1836. and bore to her hus- 
band three children— Clara D., Melvenand Alta D. 
Clara D. is the wife of Artenuis Swick, and lives in 
Ogden Township; they have one child, Cora M; 
Melven died in Fairfield Township when six years 
of age, and Alta, is the wife of (jeorgc M(.>bas, of 
Fairfield Township. 

Josephus White, the father of Mrs. Rathliiin, was 
born Aug. 5, 1808. He was reare<l with his par- 
ents until the age of thirteen, when he went U> Can- 
andaigua and worked on a farm four years, after 
which he learned tailoring in Dansville, and fol- 
lowed that occupation some years. In 1 834 he 
went to Clarkston, N. Y., and became a minister in 
the Free-Will Baptist Church, and later to Boston, 
Erie County, where he 'was ordained in 1 839. In 
consequence of some opposition in the church, he 
gave up the ministry and commenced farming in 
Camden, Lorain C'ounty, and in 184(; he sold out 



.and came to Micliigau, purchasing a farm in Ogden 
Townshi)), on which he resided until his death, Oct. 
4, 1880. 

Tlu^ mother of the wife of our subject was born 
Oct. 24, 180G, and died in Ogden on the 2d of 
May, 1878. Besides Mrs. Rathbun she had one 
daughter, Demaris C, born in Concord, Erie Co.. 
N. Y., INIarch i), 1840, and now the wife of James 
Hodges, of Ogden. For nearly seven years, while 
he carried on his store in Fairfield Township, Mr. 
Rathbun was Deputy Postmaster. In pcilitics he is 
a Republican. 



/.<=i^\ TERRY A. JOHNSON is one of the young 
^^^ citizens of Ogden Township who is engaged 
(Ji/jl) in business here as a general merchant. He 
is a native of Ogden Township, having been 
born here Aiiril 2o, 1859, and comes of New En- 
gland ancestry. His grandfather was born in Con- 
necticut, and when a young man left that State and 
settled in New York, locating in Herkimer County, 
where he was married to Katie Hubbard, and re- 
sided until 1817, when, accompanied by his family, 
he emigrated to Ohio, the entire journey from New 
Y'ork being performed in a wagon drawn by oxen. 
Here he located in Huron County, being among the 
early settlers of that region, and after renting land 
in Bronson Township and then in Newark, he 
bouuht laud in Sherman Township, where he resided 
until his .leath. 

William J., the father of our subject, was born in 
Bronson Township, Huron Co., Ohio, April 20, 
1819. He was reared in his nativi! county, and 
there, Jan. 3, 18 17, he married l.ucinda Case, who 
was born in Richhuid County, Ohio, May 14, 1830, 
Thr,ee years after marriage they moved to La- 
grange, Ind., and two years later they returned to 
Ohio and lived in Huron County until 1858, when 
they came to this county and located in Ogden 
Townshi|), where they resided until Mr. Johnson's 
death, July 1, 1874. His widow now resides in 
Fairfield Township. They were the parents of the 
following-named children: Amos S., Savilla, Lester, 
Frazey and Slerry A. 



1 The sulijcct of 



<etch was the fifth 



•z^ 



a 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



his parents and grew to manhood in his native 
township, receiving his education in the common 
schools. When school was not in session he assisted 
his father in the duties of the farm until he was 
eighteen years old ; he then worked by the month 
on the farm. He was next employed in a cheese 
factory for one season and then clerked in a gen- j 
eral store for two years. At the expiration of that 
time he established himself in his present work in j 
partnership with his father-in-law, James Carney, a 
man of much business experience and capability. 

Mr. Carney- is a descendant of one John Carney, 
who came from Ireland to America and settled in 
Livingston County, N. Y., where he engaged in 
farming until his death. His son George, the fa- 
ther of James Carney, was born 'in Livingston 
Count}', where after his marriage he lived in Dans- 
ville, and engaged in farming for several years. In 
1845 he removed to this State and settled in Te- 
cuniseh, where he had purcliased a home, but in 
1881 he returned to New York and now resides in 
Sparta Township, his birthplace. His son James 
was born in Dansville, Livingston Co., N. Y., April 
23, 1827, and came with his father to this county. 
He enlisted in the service of his adopted State as a 
defender of his country Dec. 13, 1862, serving as a 
member of the Michigan Cavalry. On the 11th of 
June, 1863, he was captured li_y the confederates, 
and for a long time endured the horrors of impris- 
onment. He was first taken to Libby Prison where 
he remained three months, and was then transferred 
■ to Andersonville, where he was confined until June 
12, 1865. He was one of eighty-four men of his 
regiment who went there together, and one of the 
eight men of that regiment who left Andersonville 
alive. 

After the war closed Mr. Carney returnetl to 
Ogden Township, and shortly afterward was mar- 
ried, July 16, 1865, to Miss Mary E. McComh, a 
native of that township, where she was born Sept. 
9, 1844; she was the daughter of William and Mary 
(Glasgow) MeComl). After his marriage he con- 
tinued to reside in Ogden for some time, employe<l 
in a sawmill, then lemoved to Coldwater in this 
Slate, and kept a hotel. In 1870 he removed to 
Ashtabula County, Ohio, and engaged in the livery 
business, but in 1875 he returned to this State and 



bought a home in Ogden Center, which has since 
been his residence. Li 1884 he formed a partner- 
ship, as before stated, with his son-in-law in their 
present business, and in 1887 they erected a com- 
modious building 24x60 feet, and 21 -foot posts, the 
second story forming a large hall. In this build- 
ing they conduct their business, which is in a pros- 
perous condition. 

Our subject was married, March 4, 1.S83, to Miss 
JJora A. Carney, who was l)orn May 13, 1866, in 
Ogden Township, and is the only child of Mr. and 
Mrs. James Carney. 

Mr. Johnson has a thorough knowledge of all the 
details of the business in which he is engaged ; and 
with youth, energy and good business habits on 
his part, coupled with the maturer judgment and 
wider experience of the elder partner, the success 
of the firm is assured. He has acceptably performed 
the duties of Postmaster since 1884. He is an im- 
portant social factor iu this town and is .-m active 
member of Ogden Center Grange No. 666 ; in 
politics he is an ardent Republican. 



eYRENUS SANFORD. This genial and com- 
panionable old gentleman and his excellent 
wife occupy a pleasant and comfortable 
home, surrounded by all the comforts of. life, a 
home which forms a picture exceedingly pleasant 
to look upon. A long and useful life, and the con- 
sciousness of having done his duty as far as his 
knowledge lay, has given to the countenance of 
Cyrenus Sanford an interesting and contented ex- 
pression, which at once attracts stranger and friend, 
and indicates him to be one in whose societj' there 
can spring nothing but good. He has been fortun- 
ate in his undertakings iu life, happy in the selec- 
tion of iiis companion, and amply blessed with the 
esteem and confidence of his fellowmen. 

Tiie Sanford family was many years ago familiarly 
known in New York State, where the parents of 
our subject, Isaac and Rachel (Wilher) Sanford, 
were born, reared and married in Dutchess County. 
After uniting their lives and fortunes, they settled 
in Cayuga County, became the parents of thirteen 
children, and there spent their last days. Their son, 



*t 



-4^ 



♦-■-4» 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



C\'renus, was the fifth child of the household, and 
was born in Cayuga County. March 19. Its 1,5. He 
remained there on tlu' faiin until a youth (if nine- 
teen years, then started out for himself ami eniiancil 
in running a stage from Auburn to Corllandville. 
which occupation he followed for a period of seviii 
.years. In 1841 he left the Empire St.-ite, and mi- 
grated to Ilurnn ('(Minty. ( )hio. where he engaged 
in farming and alxi o|ierate(l a threshing-machine, 
until about 1M.J1. The latter industry in those 
days was usually the source of a good income, and 
attracted considerable attention as a vast imiirove- 
ment upon the (■Id method (,| traiiifiing out the 
grain iiy horse.-, and the Later one n( using the tiail. 

Mr. .S.'Uiford, upon leaving Ohio, came directl}' 
to this county, and purchased eighty aci-es of land 
in F'airfield Township. l'>y a rigid course of 
economy and industry, he in due time found him- 
self upon the highway to pr(.sperity. and invested 
hissur|)lus capital in additional real estate, until he 
became the possessor of 1«',) acres. This he gradu- 
ally improved until it was all brought to a good 
state of cultivation. In 1 sTC, the lirst humble 
dwelling gave plac(! to a handsome brick residence, 
and this, with the adjacent barns and other out- 
buildings, the fine fruit, and the choice assortment 
of live stock, forms a most desirable homestead, 
and one where there is seemingly little more to be 
asked for. 

Mr. Sanford w.as first married. March 24, ISoi), 
in Moravia, Cayuga Co., N. Y., to Miss Louisa 
Gardner, .and they became the parents of five 
children, one of whom died in infancy. L\(lia M., 
the eldest daughter, is now the wife (..f Albert C. 
Daniels, of Fulton County, Ohio; Mr. Daniels 
carries on a cheese factory, and owns a h.alf interest 
in a grist .and saw mill, besides owning another 
sawmill, n farm, a.iid a Ikiusc and lot in Lyons. 
Frances A. is the wife of Sebuyler Bradley, of 
Fairfield Township; Louisa \. is the wife of Janie.- 
H. Herrick, a merchant of Clyde, Ohio; .lames M. 
married Miss Carrie MMlson. and is farming in 
Fairfield Town.ship. .Mr.-, l.oui.sa Sanford accom- 
panied her husband Id Oliio. and died there in 
Huron County in isU. 

Mr. Sanford ua> mariied the second lime, in 
Huron County, Ohio, to .Miss Julia A. Demming. 



She came to Michigan with her husband, and died 
at their home in Fairfield Township, in 1865, leav- 
ing no children. The present wife ,,1' our subject, 
to whom he was married in Lsili;, in .Moreuci, this 
eounty. was formerly Mrs. Ann E. (Fletcher) Ken- 
dall, daughter of Alfred and Rhoda M. (Penoyer) 
FUadier, and widow of George Kendall, who died 
in Fulton County, Ohio. Of her marriage with Mr. 
Kendall there were born two children. The elder, 
Carrie 1... is the wife of Edgar A. .Sanford. of 
Fairfield Townshii); Marvin D. married Miss Nettie 
Mi/,ner. ami is a nuisician in the regular army, 
belonging to the "id Fnited States Cavalry. 

.Mrs. Sanford was boni in Ontario Coun.ty, N. V., 
.lune 14, I8;!i;, and by her marriage with our sub- 
ject is the mother of two children. The elder, 
Cora L, is the wife of Oscar .1. Mead, of Fulton 
C.uinty, Ohio, while Florence I. eontiiuies at home 
uithher parents. .Mr. Sanford has held the olHcc 
of Constable in his township, and nniforml_y voles 
the Republican ticket. During his earl^^ manhood 
he became interested in veterinary surgery, which 
he practiced in Huron County, Ohio. Fairfield 

sticcessfnlly for a period of forty years. He is now 
practically retired from active labor, but still retains 
the deep intei'cst which he has alvv.ays felt in the 
growlii and progress of this county, .aiid to whicli 
he has c(nitribnted his full (lUola as an industrious 
and enterprising citizen. Mrs. Sanford is a most 
amiable and intelligent lady, held in the highest 
respect by her neighbors, and a consistent member 



-^>.^N^v;!t^^:5;^^<^ 



^i- 



IJOHN D. RAMSDELL. We .are ;;lad to l 
I sent to the many friends of the late .lohn 
_^ l| Ramsdell this brief and imperfect sketch 
(^fi his life. -A loved and loving husha 
brother and friend, has died where manhot 
morning almost touches n(j(jn. and while the sh 
ows .still were falling toward the West. He had 
passed on life's highway the .stone th.al, marks 
highest point, but being wear^- for a moment 
lay down by the wayside, and using his burden 
a pillow, fell into that dreamy sleep that holds 



•►Hh-^ 



^ 



80 G 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



e}-elids still." We can not forbear quoting tlie 
.ibove beautiful words in connection with the death 
of BIr. Ramsdell, they are so appropriate. 

Blr. Ramsdell was born in Macedon, Wayne Co., 
N. Y., July 15, 1847, and was the son of D.avid and 
Catherine M. (Marshall) Ramsdell, natives of the 
same place, where they continued to reside for 
some years after marriage. In 1847 they came to 
Lenawee Countj", and made their home in Madison 
Township, where they continued to reside until 
their death, Mrs. Ramsdell passing away May 6, 
1872, and Mr. Ramsdell, December 2 of the follow- 
ing year. Mr. Ramsdell was the first man who 
made a regular business of selling millc in Adrian, 
where he built up quite a flourishing business in 
that line. To Mr. and Mrs. Ramsdell were born 
three children — Elizabeth, John D. and Jennie, 
Elizabeth died in Madison Township, Dec. 18, 1869,- 
at the age of twenty-five j'ears; Jennie was the wife 
of Isaac Waterman; she was born Nov. 18, 1854, 
and died iu Clayton, Oct. 21, 1887. 

The subject of this sketch was an infant a few 
weeks old when his parents brought him to Lenawee 
County', where his youth was passed, chieflj^ in at- 
tendance at school. He received the rudiments of 
his education in the Union School at Adrian, where 
he was fitted for college, and then took a course of 
instruction at Adri.an College, and afterwai-<l at- 
tended Hillsdale College. He was well equipped 
mentally for his life as a business man, and for the 
part he afterward took in public affairs in the town- 
ship where he was bred and jjassed the most of his 
life. After he grew to manhood he was engaged 
principally in the dairy trade, assuming his father's 
business after the death of the latter, and continuing 
in it for some years until nearly the time of his own 
death. He increased the business very much, and 
at the time of his death he owned 100 cows in con- 
nection with his dairy. 

On the Gth of July, 1872, Mr. Ramsdell was mar- 
ried to JMiss Maggie Waterman, at the residence of 
the bride's father in Dover Township. She is the 
daughter of Ira D. and Jane Waterman (see sketch 
of I. D. Waterman), and was a faithful wife, de- 
voted to her husband's interests. 

Mr. Ramsdell's worth and business al)ility were 
(hiiy recognized by his fcillow-townsmeu, who hon- 



ored him by election to the otiSces of Township 
Treasurer and Highv^ay Commissioner. In politics 
he was prominently identified with the Republican 
party of Madison Township. In his death, which 
occurred at the residence of Ira D. Waterman, May 
10, 1882, the community lost a valued citizen, and 
a large circle of friends sympathized with his wife 
in her bereavement. 



^yp^OBERT CAIRNS. Within the boundaries 
IIL^ of Lenawee County may be found rich and 
IK\ productive farms, embellished with beauti- 
m@)ful residences and commodious farm build- 
ings, indicative of the prosperity, thrift and good 
taste of the possessor. On such a farm in Tecumseh 
Township lives Robert Cairns, the subject of our 
sketch. He is of Scotch and German ancestry, his 
paternal grandfather, William Cairns, being a native 
of Scotland, while his mother's ancestors were Ger- 
mans. 

The parents of our subject were William and 
Abigail (AVilson) Cairns, natives respectivelj' of 
Pennsylvania and New Jersejr. After their mar- 
riage they settled in Seneca County, N. Y., remain- 
ing there until their removal to Monroe Count3% 
Mich., in 1836. After six months' residence there 
they came to Lenawee County, and located on the 
present site of Clinton, just west of the village. 
Subsequently they removed to a farm in Tecumseh 
Township, where the father died in 1840, leaving a 
widow and eight children. After the death of her 
husband, Mrs. Cairns continued to occupy the farm 
in Tecumseh Township, and by her energy and un- 
remitting toil succeeded in keeping her family to- 
gether until they were grown up. Her death 
occurred in 1878, in the eighty-third year of her age, 
at White Pigeon. 

Robert Cairns was boin on a farm in Seneca 
County, N. Y'., July 28, 1819, and was the third 
child of his parents. His early education was ob- 
tained in the district schools, but as the nearest 
school-house w.as not less than seven miles from his 
father's home, his advantages were necessarily 
limited. When his father's death occurred he was 



•►-^h-^r- 



■•► 



r 



-4^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



807 



•Mh 



twenty years of age, and the succeeding ten years 
he remained with his mother, assisting- her in sup- 
porting the family, .-ind helping to ediicntc his 
younger brothers and sisters. 

December 27, 18r)2, Mr. Cairns was married to 
Miss Alvira Rundell, a native of New York State, 
whence she came to Franklin Township with her 
parents when quite young. After their marriage 
they settled on a farm of eighty acres in Franklin 
Township, to which Mr. Cairns added by furthei' 
purchase, as his means justified, until he had doubled 
the original acreage. He improved the land, erected 
good buildings, and there he and his family resided 
twent3'-three years. He then purchased a farm of 
eighty acres in Tecumseh Township, near the city 
limits, where he now resides. The buildings that 
were on it at the time of i)urchase were very poor, 
and the farm needed much attention. He now has 
the land under a high state of cultivation, while the 
buildings have been entirely remodeled or replaced 
by new ones. His house is a handsome frame 
structure, fitted up in modern style, and is one of the 
neatest and most tasty residences in the vicinity, 
while his farm is equipped with machinery of the 
latest improved patterns. It contains three large 
barns, one for horses, one for cattle, and a third for 
hay, and ^there are also immense granaries for the 
storage of his farm produce, while everything 
around them indicates the thrift and good manage- 
ment of the possessor. 

The career of Mr. Cairns is an exam[)le of what 
persevering industry may acconii)lish. He started 
out with the resolution of knowing no such word 
as "fail," and the result lias exceeded his most san- 
guine expectations. His course has been honest and 
upright, his transactions fair and square, and he early 
gained the confidence and respect of all with whom 
he came in contact. Commencing at the lowest rung 
of the ladder, with the able assistance of his capable 
wife, who has equally shared his labors, he has 
steadily climbed upward, until now he is one of the 
heaviest tax-payers in Tecumseh Township. The 
lowest valuation placed upon his farm would be not 
less than $200 an acre, and he has $10,000, or more, 
on interest. Mr. Cairns has evidently a Midas-like 
touch, everything that he comes in contact with 
turning into gold. Young men just starting out 



in life may acquire the same magical touch, by fol- 
lowing the same hanl road to fortune that Mr. 
Cairns has }iursucd. ;md living tlie same temperate 
life that he has led, he i)eing a strictly temperate 
man, and flnally reach, as he has, the realization of 
their dreams of wealth. Mr. Cairns is living a 
somewhat retired life, though he still has charge of 
his farm. In ]wlitics he is a stanch Republican. 

One great grief has overshadowed the wedded life 
of Mr. and Mrs. Cairns; this is the death of their 
only child, M. Alice, who died Dec. 27, 1880. She 
was a brilliant scholar, highly accomplished, and of 
a, most IovmIiIc dis|H)sition. In her death her par- 
ents sustained :in irreparable loss, but her memory 
is still fresii in their hearts, and their home is filled 
with many mementoes of her former presence among 
them. 

^IIOMAS LEE. In Lenawee County are 
many extensive land-owners who from small 
beginnings in the way of lauded possessions, 
by innate energy and business tact have been able 
to add many acres to their original purchases. 
Among such is the subject of this sketch, who is 
now the owner of one of the largest farms of the 
county, which is finely improved and cultivated, 
and provided with commodious buildings. Our sub- 
ject is one of tlu^ enterprising and progressive far- 
mers of Lenawee County, who have made the most 
of their opportunities, and taken advantage of mod- 
ern progress. His bai'us and out-buildings are first- 
class in :ill re>pe<-ts, linely arranged for the shelter 
of stock and thi' storage of grain, and everything 
about the premises indicates the supervision of an 
enterprising and intelligent man. Mr. Lee is known 
to the township of Ridgeway as one of the most 
successful of all her good farmers. He settled in 
the townshi|i iu IS.'iO, and Ijegan by purchasing a 
small farm, to which he has added until he has now 
a tract embracing over 200 acres. 

Mr. Lee was born in Yorkshire, England, on the 
5th of March, 1S2.S. His father, Robert Lee, a 
native of the same place, was a small farmer, and 
lived and died in Yorkshire on the old Lee home- 
stead, on the lyth of December, 1866, at the age of 
eighty-two years. He was reared and educated in 



■•► 



-1 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



••-^1- 



the shire of his birth, and there married Elizabeth 
Smith, who is yet living on the old homestead in 
England, with her son, George Lee, and is ninety- 
seven years of age. The parents were members of 
the Episcopal Church, or, as it is more popularly 
known there, the Church of England, and were 
very strict in their religious doctrine. The subject 
of this sketch was the sixth of a family of ten chil- 
dren, the first five of whom were daugiiters, and the 
last five sons. He grew to man's estate in the shire 
of his birth, and in the month qf April, 1850, he left 
his native shores and sailed for America, landing at 
New York after a voyage of two weeks. Immedi- 
ately he proceeded to Tecumseh, Mich., and when 
he arrived here he had left but $1 in money. 
He began work on a farm as a laborer, receiving 
for compensation $10 per month for the first six 
months, after which he received an increase of 
wages. He gave an exhibition of his skill as a plow- 
man, receiving the first premium, and was awarded 
a similar prize at the State fair at Detroit. As the 
result of his labor and economy he accumulated 
|;700 in gold, with which he purchased sixty acres 
of land in Macon Township, on section 12, and here 
he and his good wife began the work of building 
up a home. Tiiey improved the farm, and erected 
a comfortaljle residence, and by subsequent pur- 
chases Mr. Lee has added to his acreage until he 
now owns 232 acres, constituting one of the best 
farms in Lenawee County. 

On the 3d of March, 1854, Mr. Lee was married 
to Miss Ellen East, of Raisin Township. She was 
born in Boxmore, near London, on the 10th of No- 
vember, 1834, and is the daughter of James and 
Jane (Fensem) East, both of whom were reared 
and educated in the village of Boxmore, England, 
and there lived until they were married. They 
came to the I'nited States in 1851, and located in 
Macon Township, where the father made large im- 
provements on his farm, and died in January, 1882, 
when seventy-six years of age. The mother, who 
is eighty-one years of age, lives with her son Charles 
in Macon Township, on the old homestead. Mrs. 
Lee, the wife of the subject of this sketch, was 
about sixteen years old when her parents came to 
Ameri(;a, and located in Michigan, and she re- 
mained with them until tlie date of her marriage. 



She became the mother of ten children, only four 
of whom survive, namely: Albert N., who married 
Maggie Gregg, and lives in Milan Township, Mon- 
roe County; Minnie, the wife of Samuel Boyed, of 
INIacon Township, where they live on a farm owned 
by her father; Arthur, who is unmarried and at 
home. 

Mr. and Mrs. Lee are members of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, in wliieii he serves in tiie capac- 
ity of Steward. He is a believer in the doctrines 
of the Republican party, and for many years has 
been one of its stanch supporters. In his politics 
and religion he is liberal and broad minded, and in 
all matters which have a tendency to improve his 
surroundings and those of the community he takes 
a lively interest. 

"^ '^l-il^ -> 

\|i AMES M. RICHARDSON, for many years a 
I successful general farmer of Franklin Town- 
I ship, is pleasantly located on section 31, 
(^^ where he has eighty acres of finelj' culti- 
vated land and a good set of frame buildings. He 
came to this covmty in 1853, locating first in Cam- 
bridge Township, and purchased his present farm 
in 1862. Here he has since made his home and 
effected most of the improvements which attract 
the attention of passing traveler as the result of 
thrift and industry, coupled with excellent taste and 
ample means. 

Our subject is a native of tiie Empire State and 
was born near the town of Junius, Seneca Count3', 
March 2(i, 1825. His father, James Richardson, 
a native of Cayuga County, was the son of James 
Richardson, Sr., also a native of New York State and 
of German descent. Both father and grandfather 
followed farming all their lives, and lived to an ad- 
vanced age, the former dying in Cayuga County, 
and the latter in Lenawee. James Richardson, Jr., 
was the third child in a family of eight, and con- 
tinued on his father's farm until his marriage, which 
took place in Aurelius Township, Cayuga County, 
the maiden of his choice being Miss Lydia Ells- 
wortii. She was tiie daughter of a well-to-do 
farmer, and the young people after their marriage 
continued the vocation of their jjarents before them, 



■•►HI- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



SO 9 



remaining in their native State nntil quite well arl- 
vaneed in j'ears. Tliey then joined their. son, James 
M. our subject, in this county, and made their iiome 
witli liini the remainder of their lives. ISolh dieil 
at an advanced ag'e, the father in tJK- winter of 
18(;;i, wlicn seventy-two years of aye. ami tlie 
motlier in September, 1871, at the age of seventy- 
seven years. Tiie former was a Metho<list relig- 
iously, and the latter a devoted member of the 
Baptist Chnreh. Mr. Kiehards.m wa> a Democrat 
of the first water and defen.led his prin.-ii.les willi 
all the energy of his character. 

James M. Richardson, the subject of this history, 
was the fifth in a family (jf five sons and tlu'ce 
daughters, the latter of whom are deceased. The 
sons are yet living, the brothers of our snijject lieiiig 
residents, one of New York .State, one of Montana^ 
and one of Lenawee County, James JNI., after 
reaching his majority, started in the spring of 1819, 
for the Pacific coast, taking passage at New York 
City on the 1.5tli of March, with a company made 
up of gentlemen from Ontario and Monroe Coun- 
ties, who proposed tc engage in mining in Califor- 
nia. Upon arriving at the Isthmus they were de- 
layed a month for want of a conveyance, and 
then jjrocecded from there to San Francisco on the 
old coaster '■ Brigantine," arriving at their desti- 
nation in the early part of July. 

Mr. Richardson, with some of hi.s coni|ianions, 
soon afterward set out for the mining regions, and 
mined on the Mokelunine, Calaveras and Stanislaus 
Riveis for about four months. He then engaged 
in the fishery business in Stockton for a short time, 
when he returned to San Francisco and took pas- 
sage for Trinidad B.ay, where with ahout twenty 
others they founded a town which they named 
Trinidad. They then began prospecting for the 
precious metal, and after about a week, during 
which thej' had several encounters with the Indians, 
they were successful. They returned to Trinidad 
in order to make preparations to work the mines. 
While prospecting they discovered gold on tlie 
ocean be.ach, on what is called Gold Bluffs, in lati- 
tude 41 <= 3:^', and beginning in the fall of 18."il 
operated them for one year. Feeling satisfied with 
his wanderings, Mr. Richardson resolved to return 
to the friends he left behind him, and accordingly 



took |)assage for home, feeling well paid for his ad- 
vi'utnre as he saw many strange sights and met 
people from almost all |)arts of both continents, 
lie h.ad in the meantime suffered an attack of chol- 
cr.a .Ml Panama, but in later years enjoyed th<' best 
of health, wliich he attril)utecl in .-i large measure to 
the bi-eathing of the salt sea .-lii-. 

Mr. Richardson was married in Ontario County, 
N. Y.. Nov. L', isrr2. to Miss Or.al Lovcll, who was 
iM.rii in .Seneca Comity, .Inly 1 :!. 1 s-.M. .•ind is the 
daughlcr of Jonathan .-iikI Cliarila (Sellick) Lovell, 
both of wlioni died when their daughter, Mrs. R. 
w.as but .a cliilil. Tiie father w'as a farmer bj' occu- 
pation, and liolh were natives of the Empire State. 
Mrs. R.. after th<' death of lier [jarents, made her 
home with an elder sistei- for some years. She re- 
ceived the advantages of a good education, and 
liecatne an exi)ert seamstress, which occupation she 
followed until her marrige. 

Our .subject and liis wife commenced tiieirlife 
together .at Gorhani, Ontario Co., N. Y., and in 
due time became the parents of eight children, two 
of whom died young. INIary is the wife of Alvin 
Coleman, a pros|H'rons farmer of Franklin Town- 
shii); David A. married Miss Abbie E. Pitelier. and 
is engaged in farming not fai- from his father's 
homestead; Liva A. continues with her parents; 
Alice J married Elmer E. Rexford, and lives with 
her husband on a farm in F"ranklin Township; 
Edwin ,!.. a mechanic, and All)ert J. make their 
home with their father. The two sons deceased 
were Charles M. and Francis B., who died of scar- 
let fever within twelve hours of each other. Mr. 
Richardson is a life-long Democrat, politically, and 
with his estimable wife, is a member in g 1 stand- 
ing of the Methodist Protestant Church. 



— ^-^ ^ 

C'^'^EORGE F. FORD, one of the most extensive 
—, land-owners in this section of the county, 
^Ji|! residing on section 4 in the fractional part of 
Riga Township, is a native of the "Old Bay .State," 
where he was born in the town of Cummington, 
Hampshire County, Mar<-h 2, is.'is. Cummington 
is famous alike for its lieantiful scenery and as 
being the birthplace of the poet, William C'ulleu 



r 



-<- 



-•► 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Bryant. Our subject is a descendant of an old and 
honorable fainil}', some of whose offshoots were 
among the iMoneers of this place. 

The first of the family to locate in Cummington, 
so far as known, was Ilezekiah Ford, the great-grand- 
father of the subject of this sketch, who died there in 
1775. His son, Ansel Ford, was born, reared, and 
married in Cummington, and there followed the 
occupation of a farmer until about the year 183S, 
when the same ambitious spirit, doubtless, that had 
moved some of his progenitors, caused him to be- 
come a pioneer in turn, and he pushed on farther 
westward until he reached Fulton County, Ohio, 
and here became one of the very first settlers of the 
town of Gorham. He bought a tract of land heav- 
ily timbered, and here he spent the remainder of his 
life, preparing it for cultivation. His son Charles, 
the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in 
Cummington, Jan. 22, 1809. He grew to manhood 
in his native town, and there married, Maj' 20, 1835, 
Miss Fidelia Bates, a native of Cummington, who 
was born July 4, 1813. After their marriage they 
made their home in their native town for some years, 
Mr. Ford engaging in the manufactvn-e of scythe 
snaths. In 1840 he visited Ohio, the home of his 
father, but returning remained a resident of Cum- 
mington until 1850. He then removed to Ohio 
and settled in Richfield Township, Lucas County, 
where he bought 320 acres of land upon which was 
a log house at the time of purchase; he now has 
200 acres cleared and a good set of frame build- 
ings. In the month of May, 1879, near the anni- 
versary of their wedding day, he was called to 
mourn the loss of his good wife, with whom he had 
spent forty-four years. She was the mother of 
seven children, six of whom are still living, all 
grown to maturitj^ and recorded as follows: Levi 
B. married Nancy Leonardson ; George F. ; Eugene 
F. married Pamelia Wilson, and lives in Riga Town- 
ship; Lucius L. lives on the old homestead; Lavina 
B. married John Leonardson, and lives in Richfield, 
Lucas Co., Ohio, while Ellen M. married Squire 
Garnsey, and lives in Toledo, Ohio: Charles died in 
infancy. The sketches of Levi B. and Eugene F. 
appear elsewhere in this work. 

George F. Ford was the second child of his par- 
ents, and was twelve years old when he left the 



home of his childhood, with its beautiful scenery 
and pleasant associations, and came with his parents 
to Ohio. They made their new home in the for- 
ests of Richfield Township, near the State line i)e- 
tween Ohio and Michigan. Thus he has been a 
witness of the wonderful development of that part 
of the State of Ohio from a wilderness, where deer 
and other wild game were abundant, to its present 
condition. Now the forest has given way, at least 
in part, to fertile, well-tilled fields, smiling villages 
and flourishing cities, with their varied manufactur- 
ing interests. He received his education partly in 
the town of his birth in the district schools, and 
partly in the pioneer schools of Richfield. During 
the intervals of attendance at school, and after his 
school days were over, he assisted his father in the 
hard task of clearing the land and preparing it for 
cultivation. In 18G0 he taught one term of school, 
which vocation he gave up to enter the army. 

Mr. Ford was married, Nov. 14, 1861, to Miss 
Sarah J. Walters, who was born in Hancock County, 
Ohio, April 28, 1 842. Her father, John Walters, 
was born in Worcester, Fa., and came to Ohio with 
his parents, who settled in Richland County. Some 
years after his marriage with Eliza Lowry, of Penn- 
s^'Ivania, he removed to Hancock County and 
bought a farm and a mill. From there he removed 
to Riga Township about the year 1859, aud lived 
there until 1864, then returned to Findlay, Ohio, 
where he and his wife passed their last years. After 
his marriage Mr. Ford, with his wife, still continued 
to make his home with his parents. 

On the 27th of May, 1862, Mr. Ford laid aside all 
private duties and considerations to enlist in the de- 
fense of his country. He became a member of 
Company A, 84th Ohio Infantry, and served the 
term of enlistment, three months, when he received 
an honorable discharge September 20, and returned 
home. He re-enlisted in 1863 in the State Militia, 
receiving a commission as Second Lieutenant from 
Gov. Todd. He again enlisted, Feb. 8, 1865, in 
Company A, 189th Ohio Infantry, being mustered 
in as Sergeant, and served until July, 1 865, when 
he was discharged. During this last term of enlist- 
ment he was in the hospital on the sick list, and when 
he returned home his health was so much impaired 
by the hardships of a soldier's life that he was in- 
■► 



;- 



=J^ 



lenawep: county. 



811 



capacitated for the hard lalior of clearinu- Ijind and 
tiOiiig the soil; he therefore tni'iicd his attention to 
carpentering, and man^- of the buildings in this vi- 



is skillful workniansliip. 

his new calliuL;. and sii 
1 his farm, atlciidiiig sol 

He erecU'd liis Imildii 
ilyoney 



cinity are monuments of 

was greatly prospered ii 

1880 has lived quietly c 

to his landed estates. 

here in 18G7, and removed with his fa 

later. He now owns 390 acres in this townshii) and 

forty acres in Lucas County, Ohio. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Ford have boon born seven 
children, all living and recorded as follows : Flor- 
ence F. is engaged in teaching, which occupation 
she has successfully pursued for four years ; Charles 
R. is a farmer in Riga Township; George W., Wil- 
lie B., Verne E., Bessie and China A. are all at homo 
with their parents. 

Mr. and Mrs. Ford are highly resiiectoil in the 
neighborhood as earnest Christians, whose daily 
lives are guided by principles of truth and ivcti- 
tude. They became members of the Christian 
Church many years ago, but Mr. Ford has of late 
years identified himself with the Methodist Ciiurch, 
and has been Superintendent of the Sunday-school 
of that church for nine years. As Mr. Ford was 
a good soldier so is he now a good citizen, and 
takes an active interest in iiublic affairs. 

.,^^EORGE SISSON, senior member of the firm 
of Sisson & Cannon, proprietors of the Deor- 
lield Flouring-Mill, has for long years been 
one of the prominent figures in the business and 
agricultural interests of I>enawee County. He was 
born in that part of Genesee County, N. Y., which 
is now included in Wyoming County, Sc|)t. 2, 
1822, and has wisely preserved the farnily record 
back for several generations. 

The family originated in England, and w-.as first 
represented in this country b}' three brothers, who 
crossed the Atlantic during the Colonial days, and 
located in Rhode Island. One of these, the grand- 
father of our subject, continued in Rhode Island 
until after his marriage, when he removed to Cen- 
tral New Y'ork during the period of its early settle- 
ment, and later to Indiana, settling near the Wa- 



bash River. Here he also was a pioneer, and he 
remained battling with the primitive soil until he 
succeeded in Iniilding up a go(^d homestead, where 
he spent the remainder of his life. Before leaving 
Rhode Island tlicr.' had liecn borii 1o him one son. 
Cook, the father of our snl)jc<-t, who after t.iie re- 
moval to Genesee County, N. \ .. iiiaiiicd in that 
locality Miss Lovisa Carlton, and carriod on the 
trade of carpenter and millwright, in the Empire 
State until 1820. That year lie left his family 
behind and cniigi-atrd to Die Territory of ftlichig.an^ 
and settled in the liandet of Tecumseh, building 
the first mill erected there. In 1832 he sent for his 
family and purchased a tract of land two and one- 
half miles north of the village, a part of which was 
in heavy timber, while all was free from any im- 
provements whatever. 

Cook Sisson, in the spring of 18;;;;, ci-ccIimI a 
cheap frame house, into which he removed with his 
family, and thereafter followed his trade and culti- 
vated his laud until the building of tlie Lake Shore 
& Michigan Southern Railroad through this s(;c- 
tion, when he was employed by the company in 
Inulding station houses along the route. He made 
his home on the little farm until the death of his 
wife, in February, 1886, and after this bereave- 
ment lived with his son, our subject, until his death, 
which occiu'red two months later. His age at the 
time of his decease was eighty-seven years, and 
that of the mother, eighty-five. Mr. and Mrs. Sis- 
son formed a worthy portion of the pioneer element, 
and contributed their quota to the building up of 
their township and the encouragement of its vari- 
ous worthy enterprises. Thej' were the parents of 
three children: George, our subject; Llewellyn, a 
resident of Deerfield, and Lewis, who died in the 
city of Buffalo, N. Y., when two j^ears of age. 

George Sisson was a lad ten years of age when 
he came to this county, and remembers well the in- 
cidents of the long journey from the Empire State. 
They first traveled to Buffalo, forty miles, with a 
team, then boarded a lake steamer which conveyed 
them to Detroit, at which point the family was met 
by the father with a team, and they drove through 
the woods to this county. Detroit was then but a 
small place and but a few scattering cabins marked 
the presence of human beings along the road to 



•►Hh 



SI 2 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Tecumseli. Deer, wolves, and wild tiirke3- were 
plentitul, and young Kisson at an early age learning 
to shonlder the gun, in this way supplied the family 
larder with choice meats, although they frequently 
lacked for wheat bread and various other provisions 
which at that day were considered luxuries. He 
became an expert hunter, and for several years 
could stand in the door of tho cabin and shoot 
black scjuirrels from the trees. 

Our subject assisted his father in clearing the 
farm, and at times worked in the carpenter sho)). 
His educational advantages were extremely limited, 
but being bright and observant and fond of books, 
he pursued a course of instructive reading, and 
thereby gained a good fund of general informa- 
tion. After his marriage he continued a year at 
the homestead, then put up a house on a 40- 
acre tract which he owned in Tecum.seh Town- 
ship, and occupied it with his family eight years. 
Thence he removed to Deerfield Township, and 
in company with his brother-in-law, William .Sil- 
vers, purchased ten acres of land, put up a dwell- 
ing and a steam sawmill, and engaged in the man- 
ufacture of lumber. They were prospered in this 
venture, and purchased 200 acres of land on sec- 
tion 4, which was afterward sold to Ben Cannon. 
They had cleared a portion of it, and subsequently 
Mr. S. purchased the interest of Mr, Cannon in the 
property, and after selling his mill and five acres of 
this land, engaged in farming, making his resi- 
dence on section 9 until 1885. By this time he 
had about 200 aci-es of land under a good state of 
cultivation, and in addition to the dwelling had 
elected two large frame barns, which, however, 
were both destroyed by fire in 1875. In 1885 Mr. 
Sissoii sold his farm and purchased a half-interest 
in the mill property with which he is now con- 
nected. Two years previously' he had purchased 
a residence in the village, and has now a comfuit- 
able and tasteful home with pleasant surroundings, 
a fine family and hosts of friends. 

Mr. Sisson, on the 3d of September, 1 844, was mar- 
ried to Miss Caroline L. Silvers, who was born at .Sen- 
eca Flails, N. Y., March 31, 1826. Her father, John 
P. Silvers, whom it is supposed was also a native 
of Seneca County, N. Y., was the son of Benjamin 
Silvers, one of the pioneers of that section of coun- 



trj'. The latter purchased a tract of timber land, 
from which he improved a farm, and met his death 
by accident when his son, John P., was a mere boy. 
The latter inherited the homestead in Seneca 
County, and occupied it until 1833, when he sold 
out and came to this county. He settled one mile 
south of what was then but the beginning of the 
village of Clinton, upon 200 acres of timber land, 
which he cleared and converted into a good farm, 
and where he made his home until his death, in 
April, 1881. 

The mother of Mrs. Sisson was formerly Miss 
Jenette Hooker, also a native of the Empire State, 
and who died soon after the removal of the family 
to this county. The family included five children, 
recorded as follows: The eldest, George V., is con- 
ducting a hotel in Deerfield : Jenette is the wife of 
E. K. Bliss; Benjamin is engaged in farming; Lydia 
is the wife of Charles Fitch, a railroad conductor, 
while John assists his father in the mill. With the 
exception of Lydia, who lives in Norwalk, Ohio, 
the children of Mr. Sisson are all residents of Deer- 
field. Mr. S. cast his first Presidential vote for Har- 
rison, and was an old-line Whig until the organiza- 
tion of the Republicans, since which time he has 
given his support to the latter. 

The mother of Mr. Sisson was of Welsh ances- 
try. Her father, Jacob Carlton, was one of the earli- 
est pioneers of Genesee County, N. Y., where he se- 
cured land from the Holland Purchase Company, 
which he improved and lived upon the remainder 
of his days. 



"» ' ; — H j©.£: 



^^EORGI 

( ofHu, 

^\ySl busine 



EORG K W. CARTER, carriage manufacturer 
Hudson, represents the oldest established 
usiness in the village. He commenced here 
in a small way in 1854, erecting a frame building 
2Gx30 feet, one story in height. He ironed car- 
riages and carried on general blacksmithing and 
shoeing, until three years later he began the manu- 
facture of carriages. His business rapidly increased, 
and in 1 SG 1 he erected a brick building, 52x55 feet, 
tjvo stories in height, and in 1871 a similar two-story 
building, 30x32 feet. He has constantly kept em- 



-♦ 



•►-II-4* 



.ENAWEP] COUNTY. 



pl(»yed a number of IisiikIn, nml liyilnini; i^nuil lioii- 
est work, has established ;i most, cxeollcnt rcpiita- 
tiuii. 

Mr. Carter was lK)rn in Junius, N. Y., Nov. 22, 
1831, and his paternal grandfather was a native of 
England, who on coming to America, located in 
New York City. It is said lliat on the voyage 
from England, he, with two others, Icftllio vessel in 
a small boat and wandered so far au.-iy tiiat they 
were unable to overtake the vessel. After drifting 
around for awhile in mid-ocean, they were picked 
up by another vessel, and landed safely in New 
York. Mr. Carter was a well-educated man, and 
was lir.st employed in offlce work, and later in teacii- 
ing; he lost his life by drowning. The fatlior of 
our subject was quite young when his |)arents died, 
and he then found a home with strangers. He 
learned the trade of n blacksniitli, and aliout iJSoO 
settled in the town of Junius, and there followed his 
trade until 1 836, when he removed to Lyons, Wayne 
County, where he did journey work for a time. 
Subsequently he opened a shop in tlie town of Rose 
in the same county, and carried on liis ti-ndc until 
1844, when he came to this county and liought a 
tract of partially improved land in the eastern jiart 
of Hudson Township. There was a set of log build- 
ings on the place at the time, and he built a shop 
where he worked at his trade and attended to the 
improvement of the farm. He erected a good set 
of frame buildings, and remained there until the 
death of his wife, when he sold out and bouglit in 
Dover Township, nortli of Clayton, where he re- 
mained a resident until his death at eighty-six years 
of age. The maiden name of his wife, niotlier of 
our subject, was ZelphaGillett. To them were born 
eight children, of whom our subject was the fourth. 

Mr. Carter of our sketch received a common- 
school education, attending a district school in 
Wayne County. N. Y., and afterward in this town. 
He was thirteen years old when he came to Miciii- 
gan with his parents, and out of school he found 
plenty to do in assisting his father on the farm. 
Being possessed of natural mechanical abilitj', he 
preferred the vocation of a mechanic rather tlian 
that of a farmer, and accordingly worked in the 
smithy with his father until he became a thorough 
master of that branch of mechanics. He resided 



' with his parents until l.S.i4, when he removed to 
1 Hudson and established himself in business, as 
stated al)OVC. 

Mr. Carter was married, .Ian. 1. 1857, to Mary I). 
I'ratt, a native of Newcastle, Fa., and daughter of 
Jesse and Mary Pratt. Mr. and Mrs. Carter have 
five children living, namely: Belle, Arthur, Etlie 
May, (Jeorge W. and Edna. Alice A., the eldest 
child, who was born in November, 1857, married 
F. D. Brown, and died in October, 1881. 

Mr. Carter is an energetic, wide-awake business 
man, whose good judgment and clear foresight make 
him a valuable factor in the business community of 
Hudson. His present residence, a commodious 
brick house, built in 18(57, is pleasantly located on 
Main street, and there he and his family live in com- 
fort and happiness, having the respect and esteem 
of their neighbors and acquaintances. Mr. Carter 
has always been a Republican, and cast his first vote 
lor J. C. Fremont. 



(f ENRY W. BURKE. I'rnmi 
\]f^] agriculturists of this secti< 
IJ^^Jy stands the gentleman whos 
^©) this list, and who has one of ' 



ENRY' W. BURKE. I'rnminent among tiie 
tion of country 
diose name heads 
the finest farms 
in Lenawee County. His farm contains 190 acres 
of well-improved land under a high state of culti- 
vation, and he has erected thereon a handsome 
residence and commodious farm buildings, and is 
prosecuting with enviable success his calling as a 
general farmer. 

Our subject first s.aw tlie light in Tioga County, 
N. Y'., Oct. 17. 1828, and is the son of Joseph and 
Catherine (Davenport) Burke, the former a native 
of the same count}', and the latter of Tompkins 
County, N. Y. After their marriage the parents 
lived in Tioga County until 1835, when they re- 
moved to Hillsdale County, this State, where the 
father entered eighty acres of Government land, 
and lived two years. He then bought 100 acres 
one and one-half miles north of that place, on which 
he resided until his decease, which occurred at the 
age of seventy-five j'ears. His wife followed to 
the silent land a few months later, when sixty-eight 
years of age. They were estimable people, revered 



•►HH^i^ 



ii SI 4 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



in their community, and faithfully laborod to train 
in correct habits their large family. 

Tlie subject of tliis sketch is one of a family <>( 
eleven children, of whom six are yet living. He 
was reared to farm life, .and remained with his par- 
ents until twenty-three years of age. On the 17th 
of December, 1854, he was united in marriage with 
Miss Louisa E. Jewell, who was born in Onondaga 
County, N. Y., Feb. 10, 1837. She is the daughter 
of .John M. and Celesta (Crawford) Jewell, who 
were natives of New York, and came in 1848 to 
Ohio, where Mrs. Jewell died at the age of forty- 
five years. Mr. Jewell came to Michigan during 
the Civil War, and lived here until his decease, 
which occurred at the age of sixty-nine years. 
Mrs. Burke i.s one of a family of four children born 
to her parents, and is the only one at present living. 
She comes of a family noted for their honesty and 
integrity, and has reason to be proud of her ancestry. 

The fainilj^ grouj) of our subject was completed 
by the birth of five children, named as follows: 
Herbert E., Charlotte Ann, Joseph, Henry Elmer 
and Catherine E. Herbert E. was born in Hills- 
dale County, Oct. 20, 1856, and married Miss Mary 
Bryant; they reside on the old homestead and have 
three children, two boys and one girl. Charlotte 
Ann, Mrs. J. Ryder, was also born in Hillsdale 
County, Dec. 17, 1857, has one son, and lives in 
Rome Township; Joseph was born Jan. 19, 1862, 
married Miss Eva Cane, and farms on shares forty 
acres of land owned by his father; Elmer was born 
April 7, 1864, and lives at home; Catherine E. was 
born in this township, Jan. 31, 1867, married Fred 
D. Southard, and has one son, Fred C, who was 
born Nov. 15, 1887; Mr. Southard operates a farm 
in connection with Mr. Burke. 

Aftermarriage, our subject located on land in the 
wilderness, which he purchased, and engaged in 
bringing it under the plow. He built thereon a log 
cabin and labored diligently seven years, when, see- 
ing an opportunity to better his condition, he sold 
out and bought 102 acres of his present farm. In 
addition to the 190 acres in this township, he 
owns forty acres of land which he subsequently 
purchased at Devil's Lake, Wis. 

In politics Mr. Burke was an old-line Whig, an<l 
on the aliandonment of that party identified hini- 



self with the Republicans. He has no political 
aspirations .and is not actively engaged in politics, 
but votes for the candidate for local positions 
whom he considers best adapted to perform the 
duties of the office. 



J^S A FOSTER, deceased. The name of this 
W 1 gentleman is remembered by the residents 

m (ii of the southern portion of Lenawee County 
j^ as that of one of its most worthy citizens 

and reliable business men. He located in Blissfield 
in the spring of 1866. and was one of its most suc- 
cessful manufacturers and merchants until l.s7ri, 
when failing health compelled him to retire. He 
afterward gave his attention, as far as his strength 
permitted, to the peaceful pursuits of his farm until 
closing his eyes upon earthli' seenes, Oct. 12, 1885. 
He was born Sept. 18, 1816. and was therefore .at 
the time of his death sixty-nine years of age. 

The early home and birthplace of Mr. Foster were 
in the town of Russia, Herkimer Co., N. Y. His 
father, Samuel Foster, was born April 15, 1788, 
and spent the greater part of his youth in Schoharie 
County, whence he removed later to Herkimer 
County, and purchased a farm in Russia Township, 
which he occupied until 1833. Thence he moved 
to Madison County, purchasing a tract of land in 
Eton Township, where he spent his last days, his 
decease occurring in January, 1846. He had in 
early manhood taken for his wife Miss Polly Ten 
Eyeck, who was also a native of the Empire State, 
and died at her home in Herkimer County several 
years previous to the death of her husband. They 
reared a family of sons .and daughters, training 
them in the stanch old principles of their forefa- 
thers, and fitting them for worthy and upright citi- 
zens who became an honor to the name. 

Asa Foster was a youth of seventeen years when 
his parents removed from Herkimer to Madison 
County. He was bright and ambitious, with an ex- 
cellent head for business even at thi> ^arly age, and 
now in company with his father purchased a farm, 
which he sold a year later at a fair profit, and then 
removed to Onondaga County, investing the pro- 
ceeds of his sale in a tract of land in that section. 



-H-lh 



4 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



815 



This in due time lie alsu tin iisf erred to other iiarties, 
findiiisi a more desirable place in VVayne C'ounty, 
wliich he purchased and retained possession of as 
his home until 186(;. Fpon selliiiy this he turned 
his attention to the State of Michigan, ami iii- 

chandising, located at lUisslield. with llie results 
which we have already iudicalcil. 

Mr. Foster is remembered .•!> a mo>t estimable 
and upright citizen, one who. by his shrewdness 
and foresight, together with liis hal>its of iruhi.-try 
and sobriety, and the strong sentiment of moral- 
ity which pervaded his life and acts, secured him 
an enviable position in the coininunity, both so- 
cially mill financially, and stamped iijion his career 
that most sought word — " siicccs.>." His career 
furnished a worthy example of what a man can 
accomplish through his own resolution and his 
strict observance of those laws which should be 
indelibly impressed u|«)n the mcmoiy and hearts of 
the youth of our laud. lie provided well foi- his 
household, was promiit to meet his oblii;ations, and 
left behind him a record of which his de-cciidants 
may be justly proud. 

In early manhood politically Mr F. had idculilicd 
himself with the old Whiu party, but upon its 
abandonment cordially endorsed the iirinciples of 
the Republicans, with whom he afterward atliliated, 
and in whose doctrines he (irmly believed. He held 
various otIici> of trust in his township, .and i-epre- 
sentcd it in the Coiiutv Board of Supervisors. 



^<i};j9:^'«=j^ 



c 



HAKLES 

Southci'i 



BIRLESON. riiere came to 
Michigan over tif'tv years ago a 



young man seeking a permanent location, 
ai'ined with little save his strong arms and stont 
heart. \V'ith these he [iroposed to battle with the 
untried soil in an undeveloped country. He 
pitched his tent in the newly laid-off township of 
Macon, and taking up a tract of Government laud, 
proceeded to fell the trees, and with an ox- team and 
rude implements to prepare his land for cultivation. 
He constructed a small caliiii where he kept bach- 
elor's hall for a time, and after he felt justified in 



taking the step, sought a companion and helpmeet 
ill the pers(m of Miss Amy Arnold, a lady who had 
emigrated to the Territory with her parents at an 
early day. This lady in due time liecanie the 
mother of our Miliject. Charles Burleson, who was 
born Sept. s. |,s;i7, and mostly siu<-e that time 
h.as continued to reside upon the homeste.ad which 
his father estalilished in the wilderness. The prop- 
erty is pleasantly located on sections 8 and 17, 
Macon Town>hip. and include,- I i).'. acres of some 
of the best land in this county. 

Job Burleson, the father of our subject, and a 
native of New York .State, was reared to farming 
pursuits and received a limited education. He 
possessed all the elements required b^' the picmeer, 
laboring to build up a hume ami -ecure a comfort- 
able living for his family, and was a man univer- 
sally respected wherever known. He arriveil in 
Michigan in the spring of 18:!-2, and labored dili- 
gently and succo-ftilly. being permitted to see the 
country devcloii aroun.l him and his children tak- 
ing their places as useful members of the commu- 
nity. He spent his last days with his children, 
l>assing away in April, 1881, when seventy-eight 
ye;irsof .age. The wife and mother died in middle 
life, when oui' subject was a boy nine j'ears of age. 
The parental household included eight children, five 
sons and three daughters, who after the death of 
their mother continued with their father until tlu\v 
were married. 

Charles Burleson remained with liis father until 
his marriage, which took place in Washtenaw 
County, thisStJite, Dec. lo, 1871. The lady of his 
choice was Miss Susan Larzelere, who was born in 
Manchester Township, that county. Jan. I."., IHts, 
and is the daughter of Hiram and Mary A. (Pitcher) 
Larzelere, natives of Seneca Falls, N. Y. Mr. L. 
during his early manhood occupied himself as a 
boatman on the Erie Canal some years, being at 
one time owner and Captain of a craft. Later he 
engaged in general merchandising at Seneca Falls, 
and about 1832, with his small family, set out for 
the Territory of Michigan. They made the jour- 
ney in a sleigh during very cold weather, and took 
up their residence in Washtenaw County, where a 
few years later the first Mrs. Larzelere passed away. 
The father was subsequently married to a sister of 



•►-Ih-^ 



•'^*- 






4 



RIG 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



his first wife, and they became the parents of four 
children, of whom Mrs. Burleson was the 3'oiingest 
born and is the only one living. Mr. L. and his 
wife died some years ago at their old home in 
Manchester Township. 

Mrs. Burleson remained under the parental roof 
during her childhood and j'outli, receiving excel- 
lent home training and a fair education in the pio- 
neer schools. Of her marriage with our subject 
there have been born three children, George, Lil- 
burn and Benjamin, all at home with their parents. 
Mr. and Mrs. B. for some time after their marriage 
were residents of Franlvlin Township, but in 1882 
our subject secm-ed possession of a part of the 
homestead which had been rendered dear to him 
by many associations. He has effected good im- 
provements, keeping the buildings in repair, and 
adding each year something to the beauty and value 
of the property. He carries on general farming, 
and lives easily and comfortably, enjoying the good 
things of life. Politically he is independent, aim- 
ing to support the men whom lie considers best 
qualified to have in charge the interests of tlie 
people. 

JOHN VELIE MUNGER, a prominent and 
well-to-do farmer of Hudson Township, was 
born at Stillwater, Saratoga Co., N. Y., 
July 17, 1829. He is a son of John and 
Maria (Yelie) Munger, both of whom were natives 
of the Empire State, and pioneers of the wilds <if 
Michigan, having come to this State wlien it was 
yet a Territory, in 1835. 

The father of the subject of this sketch was born 
in .Saratoga County, N. Y., Maj' 26, 1796, while 
yet that part of the State was but sparsely settled 
and largely covered with primeval forests. When 
he was some four years old, the family removed to 
Erie County, Pa., where they made their home un- 
til 1835. at which time his fatlier started for the 
Territory of Michigan, where he hoped to build up 
a new home in the wilderness. He was accompanied 
by his wife and eight children, including our suli- 
ject, and came by way of tlie lake to Toledo, 
Ohio. On arriving at the latter place, he left his 
family and started on foot for his future home in 



Hillsdale County. He had visited the Bean Creek 
Valley the year previous, and had entered some 
Government land on section 36 in what is now 
Pittsford Township. On his arrival in Hillsdale 
Countj', he procured a yoke of oxen and a cart, 
and returning to Toledo for his family and house- 
hold goods, brought them to their new home. His 
land at that time was thickly covered by tlie for- 
est that had grown and luxuriated for centuries 
undisturbed. Knowing that it woi«ld take some 
time to clear enough of it to raise a crop to sup- 
port his family, he rented a tract of improved land^ 
on which the_y lived for that year. During this 
time he disencumbered a portion of his own place 
of its leafy covering, and prepared the land for 
cultivation. Putting up a log cabin in 1836 lie 
therein installed his family, and entering upon the 
arduous duties of a frontier farmer patiently en- 
dured the hardships and privations attendant on a 
pioneer life. 

On this farm, which he had literally hewn out of 
the forest, the father resided until 1855, when he 
sold out and removed to Amboy Township, Lee 
Co., Ill, where he purchased 160 acres of prairie 
land of the Government, and commenced to break 
up a new farm, but two years later was called upon 
by the Angel of death to ci'oss the dark river. His 
wife, who was before marriage Miss Maria Yelie, 
was also a native of Stillwater, Saratoga Co., N. Y., 
and first drew the breath of life on the 25th of 
May, 1804; she died in Amboy, 111., in 1875. 

John V. Munger, the subject of this sketch, was 
but six years old when he came to Michigan with 
his parents, and is a living witness of the great 
changes that have taken place since his early days. 
The deer, wolves, beers and wild turkeys that were 

j so plentiful here in his boyhood, have entirely van- 
ished, and the forest wilderness has given place to 

I beautiful farms and thrifty towns and villages. He 
remained beneath the parental roof, attending the 

I pioneer schools and assisting his father in his agri- 

j cultural labors, until he was some nineteen years 
old, wheij he commenced an apprentieeshi|) to the 
trade of carpenter and joiner. Having completed 
that trade, he has followed it ever since, with the 
exception of about ten years, when he was engaged 
in the manufacture of extension tables. In 1855 



^ 



LKNAWKK COUNTY. 



lie removed to the village of Miulson, and purchas- 
iiigii house on West Main street, took uij his resi- 
denee therein, and remained lliere until IsTd, nlien 
he moved into a line luiek mansion uhi.-hhehad 
just eroeted. He made this hitter hou.-e liis home 
until February, ISSS, when he eomnienced agrieult- 
ural pursuits upon the Kenyon farm, where he is 
n,,w li\in,<i. 

The subject of thi^ sketeh ha^ been luiee mar- 
ried. A|iril 21. I.s.*;"), he entered into a matrimonial 
alliance with Miss Emily Allen, a n.itive of Seneca 
Cinuity. N. Y., and the daughter of Robert Alien, 
alM) a native of the Knipire State. Ilei' p.arenfs had 
settled in llill>d.ale County in 1 .s.V,. I,,cating in 
,Ieffers(Mi Townsliip on a farm, and sometime sub- 
secpiently removed to Reading Townsliip, where 
they died. :Mrs. iMunger was ealle.l aw.ay by death 
Al)ril ■_',-,, ISSl. leaving one cluhl, Ivlilh, iiou the 
wife of Lewi> (uaham, of Wheatland T<.wn^hip. 
The second marriage of Mr. Munger took place 
May 10, 1882, at which time he espoused Miss 
Louise i\I. Kenyon. She is a native of this tuwn^hip 
and county, liaving bei'u burn on the farm where 
she nou lives Feb. 1.-., l.slO, and is a ilaughter of 
Sylvester and Eliza ((u.odrich) Kenyon. Her 
father was one of the earliest settlers of Hudson 
Township, having located here in lis;il. He was 
born ill llinesburg, Vt, Dec. 4. ISOS, and grew to 
manhood among the green hill^ .-uii! valleys of hi-, 
native State. May 11, 183 1, he was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Eliza, a daughter of (ieorge and 
Clamania (Lee) (ioodrich, who was liorn in Willis- 
ton, A't., Feb. 22. LSI I. On the I lib of .May fol- 
lowing hi-, marriage, .S\lve-.ter Kenton skirted with 
his young bride for the West, to seek in the wil- 
derness a new home. Hu came by way of the Erie 
Canal and the Lake to Detroit, and thence by team 
to Teciimseh, Lenawee County. Arriviiigat the em- 
bryo village, he left his witV and ht-;irted on foot for 
the Bean Creek \'alley, aiul found at Lanesville, 
now Hudson, but one log cabin, then occupied by 
Beriah Lane. Mr. Kenyon purchased a tract of 
land of Mr. Lane, adjoining the present site of tlie 
village, but after paying for it, lu; lia<! Imt a few 
shillings left in his pocket, and thei-efoiv returned 
to Tecumseh, and worked on the territorial load to 
earn money enough to carry them tln-ough I he winter. 



Before the snow began to fly, Mr. K. removed 
to his place, where he had erected a log cabin, and 
during the winter felled some of the timber that 
covered the ground. The next sea^oll he raided a 
crop of corn and potatoes among the logs and 
stumps, which he had not yet time to destroy. 
After bringing his [ilace to a high state of cultiva- 
tion, he remained upon it until his death, which 
occurred March 2'J, 1^7;». Mrs. Eliza (Goodrich) 
Kenyon died Dec. 21. I.s7it, nine months after the 
death of her husband. They left three children, 
the eldest. Mrs. (^. G. 'Williaras, now a resident of 
Vanderbilt, Otsego Co., Mich., but still owning the 
east half of the Kenyon homestead; Mi>. J. V. 
Munger, of Hudson, and Mv. Martin Kenyon, now 
a resident of I'ittsford, Hillsdale Co., Mich. Mrs. 
Kenyon died on the homestead. Mrs. Clamania 
( :<.odrich wa,- born in Wells, N't., June Hi, 1790, and 
after her marriage settled with her husband at 
Willi.-tou, where they remained until 183G. At 
that time tlie\ -larted for the Territory of Miehi- 
g;in, by u:i\ of Lake C:hami)lain to Troy, N. Y., 
and from theic liy Erie Canal and the Lake to 
Toledo. From tiie latter place they proceeded by 
team to Piltsford Township in Hillsdale County, 
where they settled upon a farm, where her husband 
died June 2, 1850. Mrs. (Joodrich died on the 
old homestead, Dec. Di, 18(;;!. 



*,ri*<fe|'« 



l^^^i-!- 



y ALL ACE BRYANT, a well-to-do farmer of 
Seneca Township, came to this section of 
^ ^ country in tlie spring of 18(;7. and from 
comparatively little means has made his way up to 
a gtiod position socially and ftnancially, having a 
fine property and being a man generally esteemed 
in his community. His family history in its main 
[loints is as follows : 

The parents of oiif subject, John and Margaret 
(Watson) Bryant, were natives respectively of En- 
gland and Scotland. John Bryant emigrated to 
America after reaching manhood and located in 
Wheatland Township, Monroe Co., N. Y.. where he 
made the acquaintance of his future wife, who was 
a girl of eleven years when she crossed the Atlantic 
with her pai-enls. The young people were married 



•^1 



"^•■ 



•►HIr 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



.^h 



in Seottsville, Mouroe County, where they remained 
three years, and then John Bryant having saved 
enough money to buy 200 acres of land in Michi- 
gan, made his way to this county, walking the whole 
distance from Detroit. Our subject has in his pos- 
session the patent issued under Andrew Jackson for 
the land which his father took up from the Govern- 
ment. 

John IJryant li;i(l niiide his lu'st jdurney to this 
county alone, but in the spring he sent for his wife, 
in the meantime having fitted up a house for her re- 
ception. Here they lived and labored, rearing their 
chiklren and enjoynig the respect and esteem of the 
community. As years passed by the labors of the 
pioneers grew less arduous, and John Bryant and 
his estimable wife had secured a comfortable home, 
when the father pa.ssed away in 1856, at fifty-five 
years of age, leaving nine children, of whom Wal- 
lace was the fifth; they all still survive. The mother 
is still living on the old homestead at the age of 
eighty -one. 

The subject of this sketch was born in Lenawee 
Count3-, Dover Township, Dec. 1, 1840, and spent 
his boyhood and youth amid the quiet scenes of 
rural life, working nine months in the year, and at- 
tending school three months in the winter. The 
father with his large family had difficulty in making 
both ends meet during those early years, but real- 
ized the advantages of education, and did for his 
children the best in his ])o\ver in tbis direction. 
After his death tlie farm was left to the mother and 
her sons, and Wallace, then a youth of seventeen 
years, had necessardy assumed more than oi'dinary 
responsibilities for one of his age. In 1863-64, he 
was occupied several months as an employe of the 
Government, repairing railroads and bridges. Upon 
the completion of this contract he worked by the 
month until 1867, when he purchased sixty acres of 
land on section 3, in Seneca Tovvnship, which was 
mostly in timber, eighteen acres <mly having been 
cleared of the trees. Upon it were a log house and 
a board stable, the latter large enough for one team 
only. Mr. Bryant has a painting of the old log 
house adorning the walls of his magnificent new 
dwelling, presenting .-i line contrast between the past 
and the present. It is h:ni|ly necessary to say tiiat 
it would take a very large sum of money to pur- 



"<•■ 



chase this relic of other days. Mr. Bryant next 
purchased sixty-one acres of land on section 3,' ad- 
joining the first. His residence embraces in the 
main part an area of 24x32 feet, with awing 18x23 
feet. It is a frame structure, and in point of archi- 
tectural beauty is not excelled b}' anything in that 
locality. The barns and out-buildings are also a 
credit to the proprietor. 

The marriage of our subject with Miss Ciiroline 
E. Tuttle was celebrated at the home of the bride in 
Seneca Township on the 25th of December, 1866. 
Mrs. Bryant is the daughter of Oramon and Sa-lly 
A. (Spencer) Tuttle, natives respectively of New 
York and Connecticut. They were married in the 
Empire State, whence they removed in 1855 to 
Hillsdale County, Mich., and the year following 
came to this county, where they have since resided. 
Mr. Tuttle is now sixty-four years of age, and 
his wife sixty-two. Their family consisted of twelve 
children, ten of whom are living, and residents of 
Lenawee County. Of these Mrs. Bryant, the third 
in order of birth, first opened her eyes to the light 
Dec. 22, 1847, in Oneida County, N. Y., and was 
eight years old when her parents came to this 
county. She is the mother of one child, Ernest J., 
a bright lad of fifteen years, attending school in his 
district. 

Mr. Bryant votes the Republican ticket, and so- 
cially is a member of the Masonic fraternity, be- 
longing to Lodge 125, at Fairfield. He meddles 
ver^- little with public affairs, and is quite willing to 
leave the offices to the office-seekers. 



^•# 



/^^ EOE 

far. 



EOlKiE W. CLARK, at the age of three- 
ore and ten has retired from the active 
ities of life, and is spending his declining 
years at Ridge wai', where he has lived since 1861. 
He was long a leading citizen and business man of 
Ridgeway, and has been intimately connected with 
its progress and prosperity. 

Our subject was born in Grcjton, Tompkins Co., 
N. Y., April 24, 1818, and is the son of Eliphalet 
Clark, !i native of Dutchess County, N. Y., a scythe- 
maker and general blacksmith by occupation. The 
father grew to manhoo(| in his native home, vvlicro 



•^' 



4 



LKNAWEK COUNTY. 



I 



lie chose for his wife Margaret Eld ridge, who was 
born in tiie same county, and came of similar par- 
lUitage, namely, that of old York State. Eliphalet 
Clark came with his wife and family to Miohigan, 
via the Eric Canal and Lake Erie, in the spring of 
1829, and settled in Teciimseh. 'l\\<< yc^ir.- later 
he removed to Monroe County and lurntcd in 
Raisinville, where lie began work as a fanner, and 
spent tiie remainder of ids life engaged in agricult- 
iH'al pursuits. lie died at a good old age, liis wife 
liaviim preceded liini to the spirit land several 
year-. Tliey were members of the I'.aptist Church, 
and the fnlher \v;is one n( Mie dei<'gates 1,. 1,1 le State 
Constilutiunnl C. 'uveiition. ludd at Detroit.. In 
l)olities he l)elonge<l to tile Democratic parly, and 
lielil several local offices, among them that uf ,lus- 
tice of the I'eace for sixteen years and Supervisor 
of the towusiiip. lie was popidar and liiglily re- 
spected for his many excellent qualities. 

The subject of this sketch lived at home with his 
liareiil- until attaining his majority, ami was edu- 
cated in the public schools of the townshl[). He 
was a practical man, blesseil with good common 
sense, ail active mind and a vigorous body. Mr. 
Clark wa> fir-t married to Charlotte Youngk)Ve, 
who died after bearing him a son, George, who 
now resides in Dakota. lie w.as a second time 
united ill marriage, in Eeinuary. Is 11. in li:usiii- 
ville, .M,.iiroe County, with Mis- Harriet I'.aniaby, 
a native of Tomi^kins C'ount^', N. V., and born near 
Ithaca, July 10, 1823. Her childhood w:is -pent in 
her native comity, lint at sixteen years of age she 
came with her parents to Michigan and located in 
Raisinville, where they both died; the father, Am- 
brose Barnaby, at the age of sixty-four years, and 
the mother, whose maiden name was Sahjiiie Tay- 
lor, at the age of fifty-four. Tiiey were people of 
unblemished re|)ntati(ni, and were industrious and 
energetic farmers. 

The wife of our subject remained in the parental 
home until her marriage, which has rcsidtcd in the 
birth of six children, one of whom is deceased. 
Charles married Mary Kliblinger. and lives .-it Elk- 
hart, Ind., engaged in the 1 t and shoe business: 

Willis married Clara Wilberliam, and is the rail- 
way station agent at ISritton; Aiiiliio>e iii;irried 
Sarah Helm, and is connected with hi- lin.tlier 



ill the shoe trade at Elkhart; Clara became the wife 
of Oilbert Waring, who is now deceased; she was 
subsequently married to liobcrt H.-iu-em;iii, who is 
.•I farmer in l{idgew;iy rownship. liattie married 
.1. K. Miller, a school teacher, who is now living in 
Color.ailo and is engaged in the real-estate business. 
After his marriage our subject was for some time 
engaged in farming in Raisinville Township, after 
which he cmiie to liidgeway and purchased an in- 
terest ill .-I store with his brother, under the linn name 
of ( ;. W . Chirk & Bro. Later the firm became G. W. 
Clark ,V Son. and was thereafter oper.ated as a gen- 
enil store iiiilil tlu' spring of 1 s,s7. .Mr. Clark has 
been .actively identitied with the Inisine.-s interests 
of Ridgeway b>r ipiite a number of years, .-iikI has 
prospered in his undertakings. He now owns a 

is .abl,. t..sp..nd in ease his declining ye:,i>. In 
politics Mr. Clark is a Republican, and he and his 
I'xcellent wife .-lie ineinbers of the Methodist Episco- 



! ZRA F. BLOOD, a soldier of the War of 1812, 
and a jiioneer of Michigan of 1821, was 
Deering, Hillsboro Co., N. H., Oct 
irted this life at his home in 
p, Feb. IS, 1.SS7. When twenty- 
rears of age he left the Old (Jranite State and 
up his .abode in Brownville, Jefferson Co., N. 
here lie engaged with Asa Whitney in a nail 
ry and remained live years. In the spring of 
.Mr. Blood, with a party of fourteen men, 
m| from .leiTerson County, N. Y.. to the Terri- 
of .Michigan, several of them accompanied by 
wive- and children, and they chartered a sail- 
ess.l. the "lied Jacket," at Buffalo, for the 
|iort:itioii of the party to Detroit. Here the 
■11 and children were left with tlie goods, and 
oiirtccn men started on foot for Lenawee 
t\ . airiving within the limits of Tecumseh 




the :^1> 



M; 



staying that 

ipon the land now occupied by 

party .selected their claims that 

next morning, after eating up 

. started for the town of M( 



•►Hh-4^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



t 



to make their entries. Mr. Blood took iii)a quarter 
section about one and one-half miles southeast of 
the now flourishing town of Tecumseh. and here, 
for a period of over fifty years, made his abiding- 
plaee, and by an honest and upright course in life, 
secured the esteem and confidence of the people 
around him. He was for many years before his 
decease the oldest resident farmer of Lenawee 
County. He lived to see a rich and fertile country 
develop from the wilderness, and lent a helping 
hand to every enterprise calculated for the good of 
his community. 

Mr. Blood, soon after locating his land, put up a 
small log house, which continued his residence the 
remainder of his life. He kept bachelor's hall un- 
til the beginning of 1S30, and on January 12 of 
that year, he was united in marriage with Miss 
Alzina Blackmar, a lad}' of excellent education and 
intelligence, who had for some time been engaged 
in teaching at Tecumseh. She was the first lady 
who ever taught a public school injLenawee'County, 
beginning her labors on the M of June, 1829. 

The young people began life together in the 
primitive dwelling erected by Mr. Blood, not far 
■ from the banks of the River Raisin, and worked to- 
gether in their efforts to bnild up a homestead and 
provide for the wants of their family. They be- 
came the parents of five children, four of whom 
survived their fatlier. During those earl}' days 
they suffered all the hardships and privations inci- 
dent to the times, and had their share of pleasure 
as well as their anxieties. While the woods were 
still around their humble dwelling they were fre- 
quently obliged to build a "smudge" under the 
table to drive away the mosquitos. They practiced 
economy in connection with their church-going, 
walking to meeting barefoot to save their shoes 
and stockings, and halting when in sight of the 
temple of worship to put them on before going in. 
Funerals were frequently attended with ox-teams, 
but the people were upon a common footing, each 
striving to assist the other, and it is safe to say 
there was a larger measure of content among them 
than it would be possible to find in these later days. 

Mr. Blood was liberal-minded and public-spirited, 
and was foremost 'in encouraging the enterprises 
which would develop the resources of tlie country' 



and serve to .enlighten the people. He assisted in 
the erection of every public building and every 
highway bridge in the township, and there were 
few matters of importance in which his views were 
not consulted. He merited in all respects the 
plaudit of "Well done, good and faithful servant," 
and his deatli was mourned by a large circle of the 
best people of the county, who duly recognized his 
services in the days gone by. 

Mrs. Alzina Blood is still living at the old home- 
stead, and is one of the handsomest and most in- 
telligent old ladies of Tecumseh Township. She 
recills with melancholy pleasure the events of her 
early married life, and declares that she would go 
through the same experiences if it were necessary, 
for she and her husband always felt that their 
labors had by no means been in vain. Mrs. B. was 
born in Wales, Erie Co., N. Y., May 25, 1810, and 
came to tins county with her father in the spring of 
18211. The latter, Charles Blackmar by name, 
located in Cambridge Township, where he improved 
a good farm and where his death took place about 
1835. He had married in early manhood. Miss 
Eleanor Rice, who passed away twenty-five .years 
after the decease of her husband. 

Mr. and Mrs. Blood became the parents of six 
children: Mary Jane, the eldest, died in infancj'; 
Mary A. became the wife of Jacob Talman, a 
farmer of Mt. Morris, Livingston Co., N. Y. ; 
Charles 'H. continues on the old homestead with 
his mother; William A., during the late war, en- 
listed in the Union army, was captured by the rebels, 
and, after suffering all the pangs of starvation, died 
in Andersonville Prison; Leroy C. married Miss 
Fanny Conkling and is in Lansing, Mich., while 
Orville O. remains on the home farm. 



0" ALVIN C. COLWELL,a farme 
, section 21, Hudson Township, 
the first settled farms between 



ALVIN C. COLWELL,a farmer residing on 
owns one of 

between Hudson and 

Dover. It was formerly owned by his uncle, John 
C. Colwell, an honored pioneer of Lenawee County, 
now deceased. The subject of this sketch was born 
in Seneca Castle, Ontario Co., N. Y., Jan. 15, 1830. 
llis father, Daniel Colwell, was born in the same 



•► , p ^' 



LENAWEE COtTNTY. 



S21 



town in 1804, and was the son of Daniel and ThanU- 
fid (Payne) Colwell (fur whose hi,-lory si'c sicetcli 
of O. S. Colwell.) 

Tlie father of oui- subj.'ct was reared on liis 
father's fartn in liis native (-(HMity. .and Ihia-e mar- 
ried Cynlliia S:iniler.M)n. wh.) was born iie:ir Seneca, 
Castle, and was a dani^iiter of Deaeoii Sanderson. 
He was a blacksmith, and it is said, did good serv- 
ice in that line dnring- the Kevolntioii, nsing a 
portable forge while in the army. He spent liis 
last years in B.arre Connty. N. V. .Mr. and Mrs. 
Colwell moved to Orleans County in l.s;)4, and 
bought a farm in tlie town of Barre. which they 
sold at the expiration of two years, and started 
with their family for Michigan Territory. They 
proceeded with a team to the nearest i)oiiit on Erie 
Canal, and emijarked on that for Buffalo, then took 
the steamer "City of Sandusky" for Toledo. Soon 
after starting, a severe storm was encountered, and 
tlie steamer was disabled; the passengers were, 
however, transferred to the steamer "Erie," and 
proceeded on their way in safety. From Toletlo 
they came with a team througii the famous Cotton- 
wood Swamp to Lenawee County, and Mr. Colwell 
bought eighty acres of land in Rome Township, 
paying therefor $100. He built a log house, and 
immediately commenced to clear a farm, but one 
and one-half 3^ears later he .sold that for $500, and re- 
moved to Hillsdale County, where he bought a 
tract of wild land in Wlieatland Township. There 
his useful career terminated in the very prime of 
life, just as lie had liegun to look forward to certain 
success, his death occurring in 1840, at the age of 
thirtj'-six. A man of such enter|n-ise and force 
was an important factor in developing the town- 
ship, and by his early death tiie community lost a 
good citizen. After her husband's decease tiie 
mother of our subject married a second time, and 
spent her last days in Hillsdale Connty. 

The subject of this sketch was in lus seventii 
year when he accompanied his parents to Michigan, 
and was ten years old when his father's death oc- 
curred. He lived with his mother and stop- 
fatlier until he was sixteen years of age; as soon as 
he was large enough, he assisted in tlie farm wurk, 
and among the recollections of his boyhood is liis 
liaving to search for the cows, which then wamlered 



at large, and sometimes straying away, did not re- 
turn at night. Sonictimes the search would be pro- 
longed until afti'i' dark, .-uid he would hear the 
wolves howling around him. and other terrifying 
noises would break the silenee of tliose vast forests. 
He was an active, vigorous lad, and his chief boyish 
pleasure was hunting deer, wild turkeys and other 
game. He received a fair education in the |)ioneer 
schools of that day, and when sixteen years of age, 
he went to live with his uncle .John, .■iiid soon after 
coninieiice.l the niaiKigement of the farm. II is uncle 
died April :!(), LSOO, aged lifty -seven years; he was 
one of the earliest settlors, :iiid his deaUi was de- 
[ilored liy all in a community in which he liad lived 
respected. His widow continued to live for many 
years on the farm which she had assisted him in re- 
claiming from the wilderness, dying in December, 
1882, at the age of eighty-two years. 

At the breaking out of the Civil War, our sub- 
ject immediately enlisted, and was among the lirst 
to go forth in the defense of our country. He was 
a member of Company C, Bsrdau's Shai-pshooters. 
and served until 18()4, when he was honoivilily dis- 
charged at the expiration of his term of enlistnuMit. 
He [larticiiiated in the liattles of the Peninsular 
campaign and in the siege of 1'orktown, after which 
he was detailed to do duty with the relief eori)s. 
He was present at the battles of the Wilderness, 
Chancellorsville, (Gettysburg, and many minor en- 
gagements. 

December.".. ISC.T, .Mr. Colwell was married to 
Miss Maggie Y;indeinark, who was born in .Inuiiis, 
Si'iieca Co., N. Y.,and is the daughter of Henry and 
Lncina (Van Akin) Vandeniark. Her father was 
born in Phelps, Ontario C,,.. X. Y., wliile her grand- 
father, .1osei)h N'andcmark, was \un-n in Pike County, 
Pa., and was an early settler in I'helps. where he 
improved a farm, and .■ifterward died. Thi father 
of Mrs. Colwell married the only daughter of .lohii 
and Margaret (Westfall) Van Akin (see sketch of 
W. H. H. V.-in Akin), and settled in the town of 
Junius, where he bought quite a tract of land, and 
was extensively engaged in farming. He also kei)l 
a hotel for a number of years, and finally died there. 
Our subject now owns the farm which he at one time 
managed for his uncle. It is very finely located, 
and its fertile soil well repays his careful attention 



•► 



-4^ 



•►-B 



LENAWEE COUJSfTY. 



M 



by j'iolding him abundant harvests. He has ample 
buildings, and all the necessary implements for the { 
successful cultivation of the land. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Colwell have been Ijoru two 
children— Criff and Maud A. Mr. Colwell is a 
member of De Golyer Post, G. A. R. He is a 
faithful and iionored citizen, acting well his part in 
all the varied relations of life. 

L'CIUS LILLEY. Th.' subject of the fol- 
lowing biography, during a lung and useful 
life, has proved a tine illustration of what 
may be accomplished by integrity, perseverance 
and resolution. He started out in life when a 
youth of seventeen, and gradually worked his w;iy 
up until he became the conservator of ini|)(ii-tant 
interests. He dates his residence in this county 
from September, 1855. and has since been one of 
the most prominent citizens of Tecumseh, largel}^ 
identified with its various interests, and prominent 
in the building up of the town and bringing into 
existence some of its most noteworthy institutions, 
among which is the National Bank of Tecumseh. 
Mr. Lilley, :i native of Homer, Cortland Co., N. 
Y., was born Feb. 21, IS-J:!, at the country home of 
his father, Zenas Lilley, who had emigrated from 
his native State of Massachusetts to New York in 
the pioneer days. He took up land from the Gov- 
ernment, which he occupied nine years, and then 
went into AVayne County, Ohio, and proceeded as 
before, clearing a new farm.tind bringing about val- 
uable improvements. Lucius remained with his 
father until 1840, going first to Akron, and subse- 
quently' to Cleveland. In the spring of 1844 he 
became clerk for P. M. Weddel (k Co.. well known 
throughout that city, where he remained until May, 
1847. He had commenced as the youngest clerk 
in the store, and gradually worked his way upward 
until at the time of the death of Mr. Weddel, in 
1847, youn- l.illcy had bern head clerk two year>. 
He assisted hi clusiiio u|) the vast estate of his old 
employer, and the following year purchased a half 
interest in the Weddel House, then the finest hotel 
in the West. He continued the oversight of this 



property until 1850, then sold out and was ap- 
pointed as the Cleveland agent of the Michigan 
Southern & Northern Indiana line of steamers. In 
the fall of 1853 he was engaged in the oftice of the 
general ticket agent of the company at Buffalo, and 
subsequently came to Adi-iau to take the same olfice 
here. 

Mr. Lilley, in September, 1855, accepted the po- 
sition of Teller in the old Tecumseh Bank, with 
which he remained until the institution wound up 
its affairs, in 1860, when he organized the savings 
bank of P. Bills & Co., Mr. Bills being the Presi- 
dent and Mr. Lilley the Cashier. In Isc;,. Mr. 
Lille}' organized the National Bank of Terumseh, 
and held the position of Cashier, managing its af- 
fairs successfully until it went into liquidation, in 
the spring of 1874. He afterward organized the 
bank of Bills, Lilley et Co., of which he was Cashiei 
and manager until the death of Mr. Bills in 1880, 
when he organized the present bank of Lilley-, Bid- 
well & Co., of which he is President and manager. 

Mr. Lilley while a resident of Cleveland, Ohio, 
on the 18th of July, 1848, was married to Miss 
Sarah McEachron, who was born in Xova Scotia, 
Feb. 5, 1829, and came to Cleveland with her 
mother in 1835. The family is of Scotch ancestry, 
possessing all the substifutial and reliable traits of 
that nationality. Of this union there wore born 
two children — J. Raynor and .lulia C . J. Rajnor was 
born at Adrian, Sept. 3, 1854, and was subsequently' 
connected with the great scale house of Fairbanks 
& Co., in New York City; he married Miss -lean- 
ine, daughter of Judge Daniels, of Buffalo, N. Y. 
Mr. Raynor is now Secretary of the Indiana Paper 
Company, of Indianapolis, Ind. Julia G. was born 
in Tecumseh, Sept. 3, 1856, and is the wife of 
Lester P. Tribon, Cashier of Lilley, Bidwell & Co.'s 
liauk, in which he is also a partner. 



TKPHEX P. BAILKY. The good deeds 
of men live after them, and the traits of 
good men are held up before the minds of 
the living after the dead are laid ;iwaj' to 
I'est, thus keeping their memory green. Whatever of 
good a man nmy accomi)lish in life, shouhl be re- 



-#•- 



-•►HI-4* 






>s^ y9Su n I 











•f 




^ 




..--I 


^^^ 


•p 


11 <• ... . 

lenawep: county. 82.3 ^ 


^> 




curded, ill order tlKit tliuse who follow after may 


origin.al pioneers, lie, however, was enterprising 






pi-otit hy his example. In llii,- a-e >lian> and stat- 


and industrious, and did hi- part in the W(.rk of 






ues are reared where they may attract the eye, and 


m.aking a prominent agricultural State of .Michigan, 






cause to be recalled to memory tin' iitnno ami the 


while he has left behind him .a family ..f .-hildnai 






deeds of the deceased, and yet the most a|i|ii-..pi iaie 


who constitute some of the best citizen- of tin' sec- 






manner of preserving the acts of a man's lil'e is sim- 


ti<.iis (,f .-ountry in which they live. Highly es- 






ply to record in modest language the excnls with 


teemed .■mil respected in life, he is sincerely nioiiined 






which he uns connected while living. For tli.-il pur- 


in death. His wife, who survives him. i> .a lady 






pose this page. .•!> well .-1- the a.ljoining, on which i> 


who has been canonized in the hearts of her iici-li- 






piescnled .■! portrait of .Air. liailcy, is ,iedic,aled to 


bi>rs foi- many years. When the respon-iLility <•( 






a good man. an lion, .r.ahle citizen, and an attection- 


a largi' I'amily .and an c\t,ensi\'c estate passed to 






atc Imshand and Lather. 


her hand-, -he assiinied them with th.al counigc 






Stephen l\ IJailey was l.orn in the Sl.ale ,,f New 
York, Nov. 30, 181G. and w.-i< the s..n of Saiiiue! 


We-I. In her I.ere.-ivemelilslic has the >ynipat.liy 






and Joanna Bailey, who came to Lenawee Connly 


and.-ondolcnec of her many friends. 






in'l83G; the father die. 1 in Chicago, ill., and the 








mother in New York. Thc_N- had three c-hildi-en, of 
whom Mr. Bailey was the oldest. Oliver- lives in 


.,-. 


1 




-(5^1 


1 




Nebraska, and Jane in this count\'. Our subject 








was about twenty years old when heaccomjianied his 


.ypVxLIVKi; S. COI.WKLI. is a respected pione,-r 
( ) of ISII. who owns and maimgcs avaluaLle 
^^/ farm in Hudson Town.ship. He was Lorn 






parents to Lenawee County, vvhere he resided until 






his death, which took place on the iSd of Decem- 






ber, issc. Mr. Hailey was married in Monroe, 


June l:i, l.'-<--'tL his Lirtli[ilaee Lciiig one mile from 






Mich., on the 17th of April, 1862, to Martha Al- 


Seneca Castle. ()iit;,rio Co.. .\. V. He i- ,.f New 






bain, who was Lorn in that place on the 25th of 


England ancestry. Loth hi- grandf.athcr .and his fa- 






August, lS;i8. Her parents were John and Ann .1. 


ther, eacil of whom bore the name ..f Daniel. Lein- 






(Kellogg) Albain, natives of Canada and Ireland 


born in Rhode Island. His grandfatli.a- was a pio- 






respectively. The father came to M(jnr()e County, 


neer of Sempronius, N. Y.. and there died at tiu' .•nl- 






Mich., when he was a small boy, and after living 


vanced age of ninety-Hvc years. Hi- wife, who-e 






there all his life, was buried in that county; the 


maiden name was Mercy Hopkins, spent her entire 






mother still survives. They h.id six children, of 


life, it is snpp..sc<l, in Rhode Islaii.l. The Litlier of 






whom Mrs. Bailey was the I'ldcst. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Bailey were Lorn twelve chil- 


his father to New York to live, and he married in 






dren, eleven of whom arc living — lohn, .Io;inna, 


Richfield, Otsego County. Mi- Thankful Payne. 






.Stephen, Samuel, Ira, Asa. Ada. Oliver, .Martli.a .1.. 


Siie was b.irn in Rhode 1-laiid, and at Mie ;ige of 






Clarence, George and Martha : one child, Al.aitha .1., 


ten N.'-'i-- aceompaiiied her pai-eiit- to New York 






died in infancy. Joanna is the wife of llirain 


State, where they afterward made their lioiiie. 






Church, and resides at Jackson. Midi. Since 


In the year 1 .so 1 Daniel Colwell started lor the 






the death of her husband, Mrs. Baih'v has assumed 


W^st with his wife .an. 1 two cliildivii. t he journey 






active management of the farm, which coiim^i> of 
180 acres, being the original tract of l.-md entered 


being performed in .i uag.iii drawn Ly oxen. They 
h)cated in Ontario County. lOd miles dist.ant from 






from the Oovernment by the deceased, n|)oii uhich 


their former home in the same SLat,e. Tli.al part of 






he erected g(jod buildings and made e.\teii>i\ e im- 


New York ».i- then on the fi.nitier. there L.ang Liit 






provements. When Mr. Bailey came to .Micliig.ni 


few selllenieiil- farther we-t, ami it was at th.-it 






fifty years ago, it was an nndpveloped coiinliy, and 


time a- much of .an innlciLikiiig to get there as it is 






during his residence here he endured all the liard- 


to-day lo cross the continent, and doiiLtli'ss it 




•► 


■ , ships and privations which fell to the lot of the 


scemcil farther away. The tract of land that Mr. , 








^* 




" 







824 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Col well took up was in the midst of a dense forest 
where wild animals, such as deer, bears and wolves 
abounded. He built a log house, in which the farail}^ 
resided for a few years, and he then traded his land 
for another tract, one-lialf mile distant, and one 
mile from the present site of Seneca Castle. He 
was just getting well started in life when death 
came, and at the age of forty-five he closed his 
earthly career. The mother of our sultject after- 
ward married Nathan Whitney, and after his death 
she lived witli her son William in Seneca Castle, 
and there died at the age of eighty-five. 

Our subject was the _youngest of twelve children, 
and resided with his mother and stepfather until 
he was seventeen years of age. Then the latter 
died, and our subject went to work on a farm at $8 
a month. When he was nineteen years of age lie 
was employed in a factory to dress cloth. In June, 
1841, he visited Michigan and purchased some land 
in Hudson Townsliip. He afterward returned to 
New Yoi-k, and was married on the 2d of .Septem- 
ber, 1841, to Miss Syliil Whitney, who was born in 
Seneca Castle, Sejjt. 1.5, 1821. Her i)aternal great- 
grandfather, a native of Conwa}', Franklin Co., 
Mass., was one of the first settlers of Ontario 
Cnuiify, N. Y., which was then ou the western 
frontier. He located there soon after tlie Revolu- 
tionary War, and clearing a farm from the forest 
closed his life there. His son Joel, JMrs. Colwell's 
grandfather, was born In Conway, Blass., and it is 
thought tliat he had grown to be a young man when 
his parents removed to New York. He improved a 
farm in Seneca Townsliip, Ontario County, and 
there spent the remainder of his life. His son Juel, 
father of Mrs. Colwell, was born in that township 
and went from there to take part in the War of 
1812. He inherited a part of his father's farm, and 
that was his home during his entire life. He mar- 
ried Esther Beldiiig, a native of that county, and ; 
daughter of Consider Belding, a pioneer. 

A few weeks after marriage Oliver S. and Sybi 
Colwell started for Michigan to locate on the land 
which he had previously bought. They traveled 
by way of Kvie Canal to Buffalo, and crossed Lake 
Erie to JMoiiroe on a steamer, thence bj- rail to 
Adrian, the western terminus of the railway, where 
Mr. Colwell hired a man to convey them to his 



brother John's at Hudson. They found him living 
ill a log cabin to which they received a cordial 
welcome. Our subject's land was heavily timbered 
and there were no buildings on it, so his brother 
hospitably shared with the young couple his hum- 
ble abode for a year. In the meantime he cleared 
some of his land and erected a log house, into which 
ho and his wife removed, and lived until 1851). 
Then he built a more comfortable frame house, 
which they now occupy, and he also has a good set 
of frame buildings for farming purposes. He has 
seventy acres of land well cleared, drained and 
very productive, and he has besides thirty acres of 
valuable timbered land. When he first moved here 
Rollin and Medina were the nearest milling points 
for some time, and he did his farm work, milling 
and marketing with oxen for a number of years. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Colwell have been born four 
children, namely: William G., Mattie. Libbie M. 
and a son who died in infancy unnamed. William 
did good service in the late war as a member of 
Berdan's Sharpshooters, enlisting at the age of 
eighteen, and serving nearly two years. He was 
wounded at the liattle of Gettysburg, and after 
that was discharged on account of disabilit3-; he 
now lives in Lawrence, Kan. Libbie is the wife of 
Clarence E. Root, and lives in Flint, Mich., while 
jNIattie married J. J. Wood, and died at their home 
in Hudson at the age of thirty-eight years. 

Mr. and Mrs. Colwell are held in the highest 
consideration as reliable and worthy people. They 
are attendants at the Congregational Church. In 
politics Mr. Colwell firnilv upholds the interests of 
the Democratic party. 




Yf/ABEZ BRIG OS. of \Voodstock Township, 
ver whom the snows of seventy winters 
avi' passed, was born in Cayuga County, 
N. Y., June 28, 1817, and came to the Terri- 
tory of Michigan with his father's family in the 
spring of 1834. His father, John Briggs, was born 
ill Washington County, N. Y., Jan. 1, 1785, and 
thence, when a 3'oung man, moved to Cayuga 
County, where he lived until 1.S34, then deter- 
mined to cast his lot with the pioneers of this 
region. He first located in Hillsdale County, taking 



Hh-<»- 



•►HI- 



•►H 


^ ^ 

LP:NAWEE county. ,S25 T 


-4« 

I 
1 




lip 120 acres of Government Innd, ;ii)(l lived llicre 


wL^ve burn Jan. 7, 1.S42. and died when two days 






eight }-ears, Imt in IS 12 ho pnrehMsed :i farm in 


old; Albert I), and Adelaide (twins) were born 






AVoodstock Towiisliip. this r(.nnty, wiiicii is now 


Jan. 14, ISi:); Albert married Miss Liveria Reed, 


i 




occupied Ly his son Sniilli. .hihii Uriiiirs ivtiicd 


and is farming in Adams Connty. Neb., where 






from active hihor some yenrs Ix'furc his death. 


they have live .'liildrcn: A<lel.aide died .Sept. 2. 






and spent his last days anioiiti- liis children, dyiiiii 


'I.s4;i: (4,arissa A. was li.irn Dec. 21, 1844, and 






at the home of his son .Tahcz, Oct.. (I. InT."!. hu-lsini;- 


died Aug. 1(1. 181(1; Claris.sa A. (2d) was born 






a few months of being- nincly years ,,hi. Tlie 


April .•5,1847, and died .Sept. 1(5, 1 849 ; John R. 






mother had died in this lownship at lln- ai;c (if 


was born May 1(5, 1849, and died March 24. bsr.l ; 






about Hfty. The father of our subject was in llie 


Cecelia 1'. was born Sept. 9, I.S.'.l.an.l died April 






War of 1812, and the .yrandfathei-s were in the 






Revolutionary War. 


who is now living in Woodstock. John S. was 






.labez Brig-gs early in life was trained to haliits 


born Nov. 0, I8,^;3,and married .Mi.ss Belle Swart- 






of industry, and made hiiiiscU' of use ai'onnd the 


out: he is eng.aged as clerk in llinlson; Frank J. 






pioneer homestead. The straits and hardshi|'s to 


w.as l)orn Jan. l:;. ls.-,(;, ..,,,.1 m.arried Miss Ada 






which the settlers were subjected, is the comnion 


Nicholls, will) was born .Inne 2, I.S(;| ; (,|ie\' live on 






stor^r of all, and their deeds of bravery and self- 


the homestead. 






sacrifice will many of them remain unrecorded. In 


After Mr. Briggs abandoned stage-driving, he 






young Briggs was develoi)ed the res )lute character 


returned to his father's larm where he worked for 






which has served him so well in life, and he was 


a lime, tlien made his way to Jonesville, Mich., 






early encouraged to begin U> -piddle his own 


.ind was tliere engaged as a hotel clerk. Tlience 






canoe." He received a good education, linishini^ 


in l.s.i8 he reijaired to Somerset, an 1 ofliciated as 






his studies in Frodonia, and when eighteen years 


•'mine host" until 18(51. In the spring of th.at 






old, engaged to drive a stage from l)^■lroit to 


year he purchased a f.arni in Woodstock Township, 






Chicago. Part of the time he was in the oMice, 


whii-h he occupied seventeen ye.ars, ami upon dis- 






and was in this and similar business for a period of 


posing of this property, secured po.ssession of his 






I'leven years. 


present inimestead. Here as elsi'where, he has 






Mr. Briggs was m.arried after his arrival in this 


enjoyed the confidence and respect of the (leople. 






county, May 2(1, 1839, to i\Iiss Emeline A. Drake, 


and has .seldom been without some odice of trust 






of New York State, where she was born in (ienesee 


and responsibility. He is public-spirited .and liberal, 






County, July 12, 1822. Ilor parents were Simon 


and h.as been coni'crned in the building u], ,,f 






and Clarissa (Simmons) Drake, of Connecticut, the 


schooN and churches. He votes the straight Demo- 






former a farmer by occupation. They came to 


(a-.iiic ticket, and has worked faithfully for his 






Michigan in 18:51, and Mr. Drake took up about 


l)arly; he h.as been Township Clerk and Treasurer, 






■100 acres of (iovernment land in Hillsdale County. 


Justice of the Peace, ami Scliool Director, and 






He therewith his estimable wife, spent the remain- 


lironiinent in the councils of his townsmen in the 






der of his days, dying at the age of sixty yeai's, 


niattei-s pertaining to the general welfare. Few 






while the mother lived to be sixty-si.K. Mrs. 


men are more widely and favorably known through- 






Briggs is one of eight chihlren, of whom five are 


out Woodstock Township than Jalie/. Brigg.s. 






still living and residents mostly of the West. The 


■" 






Drake family come of good stock, and .are well-to 


*' • ^ ■" '-^■^ - *" 






do and desirable members of the commnnity. 


^TRljUlDSEY J. BID WELL. Tlu> materials com- 
1 U^^ posing an edifice, the stone, the brick, and 






Mr. and Mrs. Briggs are the parents of eleven 






children, recorded as follows: Augusta A. was 


mjjV the timber, nnist l)e sound and without Haw, 






Iwrn in Hillsdale County, Mich., July 4, 1840, and 


^^^ or the structure will cpiickly indicate the 






is the wife of J. Adams, of Cleveland, Ohio; they 


imperfection. So in a commnnity if a, portion are 




«^- 


have two children. Emeline and Evaline (twins). 


indolent, improvident, and are not spurred on by " 










1 ^* 




i 


( 


. 



4 



S2G 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



iiuhle niiibitions, the effect will in due time liecomc 
appaient in the general a-spect of the whole. The 
man who, like the block of masonry or the solid 
beam of oak, has stood the test of j-ears alongside 
of others of Ills kind, deserves more than mere 
mention in r-eferring' to his eonimnnity. :ind sn<-li a 
man is the subject of this sketch. 

Mr. Bid well has been one of Tecumseh's most 
active business men. He at one time cari'ied on 
general merchandising in connection with a tannery 
.and the manuf.actnring of leather, and purchased 
hides, wool and pelts from all parts of the North- 
west. To thiii was also added boots and shoes, and 
the whole furnished employment for a large number 
of men. The Bidwell block, tliree stories in height, 
with a frontage of eighty feet, is one of the monu- 
ments of his success and industry, and there have 
been few enterprises inaugurated for the progress 
and development of Lenawee County which have 
not received the cordial .-ind substantial support of 
oui' subject. 

Mr. Bidwell is now in the seventy-seventh year 
of his age, but is still active in mind and body, 
looking after his business affairs in person with his 
old-time care and energy. During the early years 
of his life he was interested in agricultural pursuits, 
and attained an enviable reputation as a breeder of 
fine stock, dealing mostly in Short-horn cattle. He 
is especially fond of fine horses, and delights in 
driving and riding after a spirited team. During 
the greater part of his long journey in life he has 
enjoyed the companionship of one of the most 
accomplished ladies it has been the fortune of the 
biographer to meet, a woman of gentle voice and 
commanding appearance, with more than ordinary 
intelligence, profitable to converse with, and possess- 
ing an ample store of knowledge, with fine com- 
mand of language. 

Mr. Bidwell was born in the town of t'olebrook, 
Litchfield Co., Conn., Sept. 14, I.SIO, .and is the 
sixth ciiild of Asa and Eunice (Underwood) Bid- 
well, natives of the same State, the father born in 
177S, and the mother three years later. Asa Bid- 
well followed farming, and the parental house- 
hold included eleven children, eight sons and three 
daughters, all of wlioiii liyeil to mature years, and 
l^resentcd one of the finest famil3' groups that are 



often seen. When Birdsey .1. was about nine years 
of ago his parents removed from the Nutmeg State 
U) Livingston County, N. Y., where they passed the 
remainder of their days. Our sul;)ject attended the 
district school in winter, and worked on the farm 
during the summer, lemaining under the home roof 
until twenty -four years of age. Upon starting out 
for himself he made his way westward, and in 18.38 
embarked in the mercantile business in Tecumseh. 
His store was fitted out after the manner of those 
days, his stock consisting of everything required in 
the village or farm household, including clothing 
and boots and shoes. He happily chose the correct 
way in which to transact l)usiness, and built up a 
Large and profitable trade, which he can-ied on until 
18G3. At that time he became interested in farm- 
ing, and transferred the business to his two sons, in 
company with Mr. Tribou, a former clerk. 

Mr. Bidwell now took a trip to Kentucky, and 
l)urchased a small herd of thoroughbred Short- 
horn cattle of the noted breeders, Cunningham, 
Babbitt & Johnson, of Louisville. These animals 
were all registered, and formed the nucleus from 
which sprang numbers of fine cattle in Southern 
Michigan, and by which Mr. Bidwell became noted 
as a stock-breeder. He was uniformly successful, 
and in time his herd numbered eighty head, bred 
from the best blood obtainable in the West, while 
he shipped many to different parts of the country, 
and thus received a handsome income annually. 

The Bidwell farm, which is the admiration of the 
country around, and invariably attracts the atten- 
tion of the passing traveler, comprises .300 acres 
of naturally fertile land, which, under a process 
of thorough cultivation, is exceedingly valuable. 
It lies adjacent to the village limits, and in all its 
appointments presents the pictut-e of the model 
country homestead, with its fine buildings, its live 
stock and its costly fai'm machinery. The farm is 
laid off into ten and twenty acre fields, and two 
good wind-mill pumps distribute water from never- 
failing springs at all seasons of the year. There 
are four commodious barns with long rows of sheds 
for the protection of cattle, and every other con- 
venience for their care and comfort. 

Birdsey J. Bidwell was married in February, 
1842, to Miss Elizabeth A. Gushing, of Tecumseh, 
— •► 



■^•- 



=^u 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



but whoso birthplace was in the State of \'(riiiont, 
where siie was reared and (Mliifatcd. She cjuiii' to 
Michigan with her parents. S.-niiiu'l :iii(I Ijuicms 
(I)aniles) Cusiiing, when a maiden of sixtei'u ye.irs. 
and subsequently followed teaching until hei' mar- 
riage. Of this union there were born two chil- 
dren: Lamont C., and Ijcveain I., a resident of 
Teeum.seh, and a dealei- in line lioises. Lamont 
C. Bidwell is tlie owner of a ranch in Harper 
County, Kan., which is six miles in extent, and cm- 
braces 12,000 acres, border! n- on the northern 
line of the Indian Territory, :u\d all in one body. 
He has inherited largely the talents of his father as 
a cattle-breeder and business man. .and is President 
of the Harper County National I'.ank. 

Mr. Biilwcll, upon retiring from t'aini life, en- 
gaged in Imnking witli the (irm of Lilley, IJills >V' 
Co., and subsequently he conducted a national 
bank, under the Presidency of Peter Adams, which 
was eventually changed into a private bank, under 
the management of Lilley, Bidwell & Co. This is 
now- one of the substantial business firms of Te- 
cnmseh. 

^^\ K. CONKLIX, a general fai-m<T and the 
genial and successful agent for the Walter 
A. Wood reaping machines, resides (m sec- 
tioTi 28, Tecumseh Township. For the 
jiast ten years he has been a constant resident of 
this county, and has conducted his business with 
such success as to merit the good-will of the company 
for which he is agent. He had previously been en- 
gaged with the Johnson Machine Company for six 
years, and he also operated a nice farm near Te- 
cumseh, where he located in the spring of 187.S. He 
then bought seventy-one acres of land, which he has 
brought under a high state of enllivatitm. He 
came to this county in 18G1, and wilh the i'x<e|)tion 
of five j'ears passed in Raisin T(>\vnslii|i, he li.as re- 
sided in Tecumseh Townshiii. 

The subject of this biogr;q)hy was born in Liv- 
ingston County, N. Y., April 2, llS.i;'). His father, 
Samuel Conklin, w.as also a native of Livingston 
County, and came of New England parentage. He 
married Lucetta Brasie, a native of the sam(! county, 
where they remained until after the birth of their 



r- 



d li 



whicii ocenii'ecl fm 
sixty-eight, an.l f 
aged sixty-foui- ye: 
Methodist Episcop; 
solid Republican. 
M. E. Conklin 
educated in Seolt^l 



X. V, 



\u,u 


12, 1 


men 
le f; 


bers ot 
ther w 


his 1 


a rents. 




e t. . M 




Nov. 



gan wiien a young man. ami 
seh, where he was iniited j 
1SG4, the lady of his eh. .ice heini; .Mis> .lidia A. 
.Stearncs, the youngest of the family of Alpheusaud 
Susan (Sisson) .Stcarnes, the latter living in Tecum- 
seh, aged seventy-three. Tlie father died in Te- 
cumseh. July 1. ISSC. nt the age of se venly-tlne,' 
years. Tlie |iareiit.-. were nianied in tlie townshil) 
of Raisin, having Itotli come to IMichigan wiien 
young people. After their union they located in 
Tecumseh, where the father followed his calling of 
a blacksmith for some years. lie was also engaged 
in farming in Raisin .and Te.aimseli Townships, 
in both of whicli he owikmI |iroperty. They were 
members of the Methodic I'.piseoi.al Clmreh. and 
the father was a Repiibliean. 

Mrs. C. was b,.rn in Te.-iimseh, Feb. 27. 1 s l,",, 
where she wa> i-eared and educateil. She became 
the mother of four children, one of whom is de- 
ceased. The others — Nellie E., Hattie E. and Clar- 
ence A. — aged respectively, eighteen, sixteen and 
fourteen, reside at Inime; Nellie E. is a music 
teacher. They are well educated and intelligent 
children, and the family are menibers of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church. Mr. Conklin has been 
Highway Commissioner for .some years past, and is 
a Master i\Iason of Teeiiiiiseh Lodge No. 69, while 
in politic.^ !!<■ is ideiUilied with the Republican 



— !*^!— 



EDWIN EATON. .M. D.. is a practicing phy- 
sician of Hudson, .Midi., where he is meet- 
; ing with good success. Dr. Eaton comes of 

good old New England stock, his ancestors having 
been among the early settlers of the country. Tra- 

*^ 



828 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



•^ 



-^1-^ 



ditiou tells us that three brothers of that name came 
from England in Colonial times, of whom one set- 
tled in York State, one in Canada, and one in New 
Hampshire. The subject of this biographical no- 
tice, who is a descendant of the Granite State pio- 
neer, has the family record as far back as his great- 
grandfather, Nathan Eaton, who it is supposed was 
born in New England. His grandfather, also named 
Nathan, was born in East Kingston, N. H. 

The father of the subject of this notice, Jacob O. 
Eaton, was born in East Kingston, and there re- 
sided until sixteen years of age, when he went to 
Haverhill, Mass., a few miles distant, and learned 
the trade of shoemaker, after which he went to 
Maine and worked at his trade a year in Farming- 
ton. There he met, wooed and won Miss Eliza- 
beth J. Fletcher, a native of Wilton in that State, 
and daughter of Abner Fletcher. After marriage he 
was engaged in the manufacture of shoes for many 
years in Wilton, but subsequently moved to the 
Fletcher homestead in that part of the township that 
is near East Dixfield. There he devoted his time 
and attention to agriculture until 1876, when here- 
moved to the village of East Dixfield, where he is 
now living a retired life. To him and his wife were 
born two children: Edwin, our subject, and his twin 
brother, who is now a dentist practicing his profes- 
sion at Livcrmore Falls, Me. 

The subject of our sketch was born in Wilton, 
Franklin Co., Me., Nov. G, 1849, and his boyhood 
was jjassed in that town, where he received the rudi- 
ments of a good education, and afterward entered 
Bowdoin College. His graduation from the medi- 
cal department of that institution occurred in 1873, 
and after receiving his diploma, he commenced the 
practice of medicine in Lewiston, Me., and con- 
tinued there until 1876, filling the office of City 
Physician the latter part of the time. The ensuing 
ten years Dr. Eaton passed in Clayton, Mich., and 
in 1879 he formed a partnership with Mr. Haskins, 
with whom he carried on the drug business for two 
years, under the firm name of Haskins & Eaton. 
In 188G Dr. Eaton removed to Hudson and suc- 
ceeded to the practice of Dr. A. R. Smart ; he still 
retains his office in Clayton, hovvevcr, and spends 
two afternoons each week there. 

The Doctor was married, Nov. 18, 1874, to Jen- 



nie McFarland, a native of Wales, Me., and a daugh- 
ter of David and Martha (Sweet) McFarland, na- 
tives respectively' of Bowdoinham and Wales, Me. 
Dr. Eaton is a physician of fine attainments and 
thorough culture, and is a prominent man among 
his professional brethren. He is an influential mem- 
ber of the Southern Michigan Medical Society, and 
socially is a member of Clayton Lodge, F. & A. 
M., and of Phrenix Chapter, where he fills the office 
of King; he is also member of Adrian Commandery. 
He takes an active part in general and local matters ; 
he was President of Clayton Town Board two terms 
antl member of the School Board one year. 

/>^EORGE W. SMITH. The following brief 
III g-j, sketch of the life and career of one of Len- 
^^^j|( awee County's enterprising and public-spir- 
ited citizens is worthy the attention of the younger 
generation. He is one of the well-known and suc- 
cessful general farmers of Ridgeway Township, 
where he is a native to the manor born, his birth tak- 
ing place on the 29th of March, 1840, on section 
8. His father, James Smith, was a native of Y'ork- 
shire, England, and came to the United States alone, 
in 1832. After living in New York State for one 
year, he came to Michigan in 1833, and at once 
purchased fortj' acres of land on section 8, Ridge- 
way Township. This section of the county at that 
time was an unbroken wilderness, and it required a 
long and hard struggle to bring a farm to a state of 
cultivation. Mr. Smith improved this property, 
but sold it in 1858, and then purchased a farm on 
section 35, of the fi'actional part of Macon Town- 
ship, where he now owns 120 acres of land. He is 
now eighty -six j^ears of age and has retired from 
active work. He was married in Ridgeway Town- 
ship to Miss Amelia Whalley, a native of Dublin, 
Ireland, who came to the United States alone when 
eighteen years of age, and settled in this county. 
She is now seventy-three years of age, and is the 
mother of eight children. The subject of this 
sketch is the oldest sou and the second child of the 
family, all of whom are now living, and all have 
lieen married. The early life of the subject of this 
sketch was spent at home with his parents, and he 
. ► 




\ 



-^•- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



received a good edticntion in the coiiiiiioii scliools 
of that ilay. 

George W. Sraith has been inai-ri('(l twice, his 
first wife being Miss Lihbie DuFxiis, ihcii- marriage 
taking i)lace in 1863. Siie was born in the town- 
ship of Ridgewa}', and was the eldest daiigiiter of 
John DiiBois, and died at her home in this town- 
shi]) in June, 1881. She was the motiicr of four 
cliildren: Minnie, who died at tlie age of eigliteen 
ji'ars; Addie, also deceased, Cyrus, at home, and 
Lavern. Mr. Smith's second wife was Miss Estella, 
daughter of David Jones, a resident of Tecumseh, 
in which place she was born in 1858. Siie was 
reared and received her education In Tecumseh, 
and for several years preceding her niairiage was a 
school teacher. She is the mother of one child — 
Winnie. 

Mi: and .Mrs. Smith arc now living on their pleas- 
ant fai-ni consisting t)f IdO acres on section .'1. of 
Ridgeway Township. This place is considered a 
very valuable property, and i.~ one of ihe most i)ro- 
ductive farms in the county. In tiio cyclone which 
swept over this section of Michigan on the !)th of 
Sei)teml>er, 1885, he lost many good buildings, but 
promptly went to work to replace them, and help 
repair the damage occasioned to others. Mrs. 
Smith is a member of the Presbyterian Church in 
Tecuinseli, and a sincere Christian wnnian. Mr. 
Smith is now serving as Justice of the I'eace, 
He is a Democrat in politics, and that oflice lias 
been conferred upon him as a mark of appreciation 
by that party. He is an enterprising citizen, and 
public spirited in every way, and scarcely any ])roj- 
ect conceived for the public good is carried for- 
ward in this section of the county witliouf lii> aid 
and participation in it. 



•^i^ENJAMlN S. ALLEN, of Madison Town- 
IL^ik' ship, looked upon this section of country in 
/ZM) I its pioneer days, and trod the uncultivated 
^^^f' ground which is now occupied i)y beautiful 
farms and growing towns. He arrived here with 
his parents in 1836, when a boy thirteen years of 
ago and remains one of the few who live to tell the 
story of the early settlement of this township. He 



received a fair e<lucation ,ind was early initiated 
into the duties of the farm. He possessed more 
than ordinary intelligence, by which he managed to 
keep pace with the most important events of the 
day and succeeded in taking a short course tinall}- 
in the High School at Adrian. Afterward he re- 
sumed his labors upon the farm for a time, in which, 
with the exception of three years, he has since been 
engaged and remained continuously a resident of 
Madison Townsliip. In the interval spoken of he 
followed railroading, being in the employ of the 
Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad Com- 
pany, and was promoted from brakeman to con- 
ductor, which responsible position he occupied until 
resigning it for the safer and more pleasant duties 
of farm life. 

Our subject is the son of Stephen and Deborah 
Allen (see .sketcTi), and was Ijorn in Seneca County, 
N. Y., Dec. 22, 1823. His parents, who were na- 
tives of New Jersey, subsequently came to Michi- 
gan and spent their last years in Lenawee County. 
Their family included ten children. Benjamin S. 
in Ills youth viitnessed the construction of the first 
railroad in this section and was the first man to turn 
the brakes on the pioneer train. Upon retiring to 
farm life he purchased eighty acres of land on sec- 
tion 4 in Madison Township, and for the last thirty 
j'ears or more has here found a comfortable home, 
which he established by his own industry and per- 
severance. His was the first i)lowshare that turned 
the soil over most of this land which he has now 
brought to a fine state of cviltivation. It is neatly 
fenced and supplied with all modern improvements, 
including a neat and substantial dwelling, a good 
barn and other out-buildings required for comfort 
and convenience. Choice fruit and shade trees 
surround the residence, and the whole premises have 
an air of home-like comfort which is pleasant to the 
eye. 

The lady who has been the close companion of 
our subject for the last thirty-two years, became his 
wife March 27, 1856, and was formerlj' Miss Sarah 
Allen, who was born in Seneca County, N. Y., Aug. 
4, 1822. She remained there with her parents until 
reaching years of womanhood, and there her wed- 
ding took place not far from the house in which 
she was born. The union resulted in the birth of 



•^i-M» 



832 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



4 



one child only, a daughter, Letta N., who is now 
thirty years of age and a resident of Adrian, having 
married Mr. Frank Welsh, who is engaged in rail- 
roading in that city. 

Mr. Allen, as one of the oldest living citizens of 
Lenawee County, has naturally made the acquaint- 
ance of a large number of people, by whom he is 
held in universal respect. In the early days their 
neighbors were few and far-between, and this fact 
served to foster that kindly feeling and generous 
hospitality which was so marked a characteristic of 
those times and is often referred to by the old set- 
tlers as a happy contrast to the present. The feel- 
ing of mutual dependence brought them closely to- 
gether, and each man had a personal interest in the 
welfare of his neighbor. Benjamin S. Allen was 
not one whit behind those hospitably inclined pio- 
neers, and his latch-string was always out to the be- 
nighted traveler or the friend in need. Now, as he 
is passing down the sunset hill of life, he can look 
back with the reflection that he has done what he 
could toward making the world better and has en- 
deavored to exert a good influence upon those 
around him. 

As representative of the worthy pioneers of this 
section of country, we are pleased to present on an 
adjoining page of this Album a portrait iif Mi'. 
Allen. 



(^LONZO MARSHALL CARSON, a widely 
k^/lM known and much respected citizen of Len- 

jj li\ awee County, is now making his home in 
^ Hudson, where he is actively engaged in 

the discharge of his duties as a Justice of the Peace, 
Notary Public, collector, and convej'or of real es- 
tate, and has made sales in this and Hillsdale 
Counties for some years. But our subject has a 
higher claim to distinction than as a business man, 
from the fact that he is one of the earliest educa- 
tors of Lenawee County, and has been an important 
factor in promoting the superior educational facili- 
ties enjoyed by her children to-day, having had to 
do professionally with the children of three gener- 
ations. 

Mr. Carson was born in Seneca Township, Ontario 
Co., N. Y., July 20, 1829, and is the son of 



William S. and Angeline Burlingame (Colwell) 
Carson. The grandfatlier of our subject, James 
Carson, was a Pennsylvanian by birth, and his wife 
was of Scotch-Irish ancestry and a sterling woman. 
He migrated with his family to Farmington, Ontario 
Co., N. Y., becoming a pioneer of that town, and 
there spending his last days, engaged in his occu- 
pation of a farmer. There his son William S. was 
born in September, 1808, and was but seven years 
old when his father died. He lived with his mother 
until he was twelve years of age, and was then 
bound out to a gentleman in the town of Seneca to 
learn the trade of a clothier. He resided with his 
master until he was twenty -one years old, receiving 
his board and clothing for his services, when he 
received his " freedom suit," made from cloth of 
home manufacture, and then started forth to make 
his own way in the world. He found work in a 
distillery, and also followed his trade as a clothier 
part of the time, for a few 3'ears. He finally 
rented a mill and engaged in the manufacture of 
cloth. 

In 1835 William Carson visited the Territory of 
Michigan, coming via the Erie Canal and Lake to 
Monroe, and from there proceeding on foot to 
Adrian, thence to Lanesville, as the town of Hud- 
son was then called. Here he entered a heavilj- 
timbered tract of Goverment land, east of and very 
near the present site of Hudson, which then con- 
tained onl3' one house. After entering his land he 
returned to New York to make preparations to I'e- 
move to Lanesville, and had his effects nearly ready, 
when he had an opportunity to trade his land for 
the factory in which he had learned his trade. He 
immediately closed with so advantageous an offer, 
and instead of becoming a resident of Michigan at 
that time, postponed his intended change of resi- 
dence for a quarter of a century, and remaining a 
citizen of New York, was prosperously engaged in 
the manufacture of cloth until 1846, when he dis- 
posed of the business. In 1860 he came to this 
State and spent the few remaining months of his 
life in the home of his son Alonzo, dying in 18G2. 
For a third of a century William S. Carson was a 
leading Methodist, and an indefatigable advocate 
and laborer in the various reforms of his time. 
His wife was born in Seneca Castle, Ontario Co., 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



833 



N. Y.. April 1 , I 808, ;uul is still living in her native 
town. Her parents were Daniel and Thankful 
(Paine) Colwell, Daniel, the father of the former, was 
a native of Rhode Island, whence he removed to 
Sempronius Township, N. Y., becoming a pioneer 
there, where he died at the advanced age of ninety- 
five years. He was three times married; his second 
wife, the great-grandmother of our subject, was 
Mercy Hopkins, of Rhode Island. -His son Daniel 
was a young man when he went to New York with 
his pai-ents, and there married, at Richfield, Otsego 
County, Thankful Paine, who had left iier native 
Rhode Island at twelve years of age and :ieconi- 
panied her parents to New York. 

In 1801, Daniel Colwell, the graiHlfather of our 
subject, removed with his wife and two children to 
Seneca Castle, N. Y''., with an ox-team through the 
wilderness, and were among the pioneers of that 
place. Mr. Colwell took up a tract of timber land, 
upon which he erected a log house, and built up 
and improved quite a farm, which he afterward 
s()l<l, and bought another near by, on which he 
lived until his death at fortj'-five years of age. His 
wife, the grandmother of our subject, was again 
married, Nathan Whitney being her second hus- 
band. She spent her last years with her children, 
and died at the home of liei- son, William (i. Col- 
well, in Seneca Castle. 

Alonzo M. Carson, our subject, was a-spiriug and 
ambitious as a pupil, and having a love for books 
and study, through his own exertions he gained a 
substantial education. He was put at work in his 
father's factory when he was but nine years old, and 
was so small that he had to stand on a soap box to 
reach the machine. He continued in the employ 
of ills father, with the exception of three months 
in the winter season, for nine years. When he was 
eighteen years old he bought his time of his father 
and went to work to earn money to secure an edu- 
cation by all sorts of jobbing about the neighbor- 
hood, and paid his board by attending a potash manu- 
factory at night. In that way he acquired the 
requisite money to pay for one season's tuition at 
Lima College, after which he earned the money to 
pay for a further course by teaching, and alternately 
taught and attended college. He continued 
teaching until 18")!, when he went to Cleveland, 



'^V^ 



Ohio, and there clerked in a book and stationery 
store. He afterward went to Newark, Ohio, and 
established himself in the business of stationer and 
book-seller, but after a few months he closed out 
and started on a tour through the States of Ohio, 
Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Iowa, making the 
tour as auctioneer. In 1852 he located in Hudson, 
and has been a valued citizen of this township ever 
since, with the exception of two years spent in 
Medina. He opened a private school in Hudson 
in 1852 and maintained it for two years with suc- 
cess. He then founded Oak Grove Academy in 
the village of Medina and was its Principal for two 
happy years. This was a prosperous institution 
until the iuaugiiration of the free school system. 
He then returned to Hudson, and has since taught 
in every school building, in every hall but one, and 
in one church in the village, continuing to teach 
until 1855, when he settled on a tract of land one- 
half mile from the village and turned his attention 
to farming. He cleared a good farm from the 
heavily timbered wilderness, which became quite 
valuable. He still took an active part in educa- 
tional matters and vvas in some capacity connected 
with scholastic affairs for about thirty consecutive 
years. He continued to make his iiome on his farm 
until 1881, when he retired to tiie town and has 
since made his residence here. 

Our subject is a man of wide experience and 
bro.id culture, and has exerted much influence in 
his community, and has given place and position 
to many young people by his counsel and assist- 
ance. In politics he has been a faithful .idlierent 
of the Republican party ever since its formation, 
and is also an earnest Prohibitionist, but is in no 
sense a politician, detesting political insincerity 
and trickery. 

The marriage of Mr. Carson witli Miss B. Jennie 
Peck took place Sept. 22, 1852. Mrs. Carst)n 
was born in Seneca, Ontario Co., N. Y., JMarch 
24. 1833, and is the daughter of Ira and Polly 
(Porter) Peck. Of their union three children have 
been born, of whom their daughter Bell alone is 
living. She is now engaged in teaching in Gray- 
ling, Crawford County, this State. The great sor- 
rows which have shadowed their wedded life have 
been the death of their only son, Olin, who died in 



i 



•►Hf 



834 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



I 



infancy, and of their eldest daughter. May, who 
died at the age of twenty-two. She was an amia- 
ble young lady and an accomplished musician, and 
her loss has left a great vacant chamber in the 
souls of the little remnant left. These losses but 
serve to nearer bind the remaining members of the 
household together, and to strcngtliL'n the blessed 
hope of a life hereafter. 

"Morr linmp-likf >-cHni- llie \nsl luiUuou u. 
Sinn, ilipy li:i\r,.|ii,.iv,l there; 



W 



Uii 



lid, 



I or siKire; 
Whiite'e'r betides. Thy 
Our God, foi-evermore." 
Mr. Carson is a member of the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church. Mrs. Carson is a member of the 
Congregational Church, but in Christian work they 
are not creed servers, and recognize goodness, 
truth and purity of soul wherever met, well know- 
ing that all goodness is not within nor all evil with- 
out the churches. 



^■^ 



IJ 



-! 



ILLIAM LAGORE, a native of Port Ed- 
ward, N. Y., came to this county in I8G4, 
and located in Adrian Township, where he 
has since carried on farming in a most skillful and 
successful manner. He was born March 5, 1817, 
and is the son of John Lagore, whose father crossed 
the Atlantic from his native France in early man- 
hood, and located in the Empire State, where he 
spent the remainder of his life, which was rounded 
up at the ripe old age of eighty -eight years. 

The grandfather of our subject arrived in America 
in time to take part in the Revolutionary War, in 
which he served as a spy, and also having a good 
knowledge of medicine, was at times employed as a 
surgeon. He was married to a New York lady, the 
daughterof a farmer, and whose death it is supposed 
took place in Canada. Their son John, the father 
of our subject, was born in New York, where he 
continued until his marriage. He came to this 
county in 1845, then returned east as far as Ohio, 
of which State he was a resident a number of years, 
and engaged in farming in Sandusky County. In 
the meantime his sons had been reared to manhood, 
and he now left his property in their hands, and re- 



turning to Michigan, located in Fairfield Township, 
where his death took place about 1860, when he had 
reached the advanced age of eighty-six years. 

The mother of our subject, formerlj' Miss Luere- 
tia Darby, was the daughter of a highly respected 
farmer of Washington County, N. Y., and surviv- 
ing lier marriage only a few j-ears, died before the 
removal of her husband from the State. He sub- 
sequently married Mrs. Elizabeth (Coffln) Warner, 
who attained the advanced age of ninety years. Of. 
the first marriage there were born eight children, 
one of whom, a son, died }'oung; the others lived to 
mature years and settled in New York, Ohio and 
Michigan. 

Oursubjectspenthis childhood and youth in New 
York State, and upon reaching his majority, his 
father presented him with forty acres of land in 
Ohio. Two years later he added to his real estate 
by the purchase of forty acres from his father, and 
upon this property he resided until 1862, when he 
sold out, and subsequently coming to this county, 
purchased his present homestead. This includes 
100 acres of choice land under a good state of cul- 
tivation, with all needful buildings, a choice assort- 
ment of live stock, and the machinery required by 
the modern agriculturist. 

Mr. Lagore, upon laying the foundations for a 
home of his own, took unto himself a wife and help- 
meet in the person of Miss Lucinda Gilbert, to 
whom he was married in the spring of 1840. She 
was a native of his own Slate, and became the 
mother of one child, a son, Rudolphus, who is now 
forty-six years of age, and a painter by trade, but 
now acting as book agent; he is married, has one 
son, and makes his home at Adrian. Rudolphus 
Lagore, during the late war, was one of the first to 
proffer his services as a soldier of the Union. Not 
long afterward he was taken seriouslj- ill and sent 
home. In the fall, however, he re-enlisted, but the 
hardships and privations brought on his old malady, 
and he was confined one year in the hospital at 
Memphis. Another discharge followed in due time, 
and never having regained his former strength, he 
receives a pension from the Government. Mrs. 
Lucinda Lagore departed this life at her home in 
Ohio in 1847, when thirty-two years of age. 

The second wife of Mr. Lagore was Miss Marj' 



-r 



1 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



8;!5 



.1., daughter of John anrl Elizabeth (Wilkinson) 
Penoyer, who was l)Oi-ii Eeb. :>, 1822, in Ontario 
County, N. Y. Iter parents were natives of Con- 
necticut, wlii-nce they oniigrated to Onta,iiu ('(.uiity. 
N. Y., and there spent their last years, the father 
ilying- when fifty-four years of age, and the mother 
when sixty-seven. They were the parents of thir- 
teen cliiMien. all of wiioni, wiUi one exeeiition. at- 
laine.l their majority, liiounh Iml three arenowliv- 
ing; one child died in infancy. Of tliis marriage 
of our subject there were born live children: 
Amanda E., Mrs. II. Selleck, isa resident of Adrian, 
and the motlier of one son: Mary E.. Mrs. Charles 
Earle, is tlie mother of three ciiildren ; Williams, 
is farming near liis father in Adrian Township, is 
married and has four children; Charles F. married 
Miss Lena Muck, and is operating his father's farm ; 
lie lias tlu-ee children. Mari<.n. tlie twin broihei-of 
Mary E.. died in infancy. The f.a tiler of Mrs. La- 
gore was an exhorter of tlie Methodist Ejiiscopal 
Church, and the entire farailj* were deeply religious. 
The father of onr siiliject, formerly an old-line 
Whig, later identified iiimself with the Ke|iuliliean 
parly, to whicli iiis son also closely adiiero. 



p^OHERT CURTIS. The 
:fiiV of Lenawee County have 



ive-stock interests 
unty have found one of their 
most enterprising representatives in the sub- 
ject of this notice, who has been a resident 
of Rome Township since the spring of 1841. His 
property lies on sections 14 and 21. and the iiiarkel 
for his farm produce and ^tock i> principally at 
Adrian. He deals largely in shec]), and has Iim<1 a. 
wide experience as a breeder and dealer. ni> nat- 
urally good judgment has had ample scope In the 
management of his various interests, and has usually 
led him to a successful issue. 

Our subject, a native of the Empire State, was 
born in Oneida County, Feb. '), LS82, and is the son 
of Edward and Susannah (Smith) Curtis, the former 
of whom was a n.ative of England, while the 
mother was of Euglisli descent. Edward Curiis 
came to America when a young man, and seltle(l in 
Oneida County, N. Y.. whence in 18;!.') he niiuiate(l 
\ r to the Territory of Michigan, and t(jok up 1 20 acres 



t 



of Government land. He had made a good begin- 
ning toward the establishment of a home when his 
career was cut short by a W(.uiid from a pitchfoi'k, 
v.hieh (aidiMl his life at the early age of thirty-two 
years. Samuel Curtis, the grandfather of our siil>- 
ject, was a sturdy English farmer in comfortable 
circumstances, and spent his entire life upon his 



native soil. His wife dice 


at about the time of his 


own decease, when both 


were well advanced in 


vears. 




The maternal graudfath 


er of onr subject crosM.d 


the Atlantic from his nat 


ve En^laiid in 1 s.Sl . and 


M.ftle.l in ,la(4<soii County 


Mich., where he took up 


(i.ivernineiil land, and the 


■e with his excellent wife 


spent the last years .if his 


ife. Grandfather Smith 


was sixty-five years oM 


at the time of his death. 


and Grandmother Smith li 


vi'd to be ninety. Their 


daughter, the mother of 


iiir snlijcct, is still living 


at se'venty-five years of .■ 


ue, and makes her home 



with her son in Adrian. The Suiith family con- 
tained many professional men and scholars, and the 
male members for the last thirty years have mostly 
been Republican in politics. 

Robert Curtis continued under the parental roof 
until about twenty years of age, attending the dis- 
trict school and assisting in the labors of the farm. 
After the death of his father he worked out four 
years by the month, beinc- in the employ of one 
man the entire time. During this time he saved 
a snug little sum of money, and purchasing the in- 
terests of the other heirs in the homestead, took' 
possession, and has since given to it his undivided 
attention. He has effeet(>d many improvements, 
and taken pride in having his work well done about 
the farm. 

That iiitc'iestiiig and iinportaiit event, the mar- 
riage of our snbjeet. took place at, the home of the 
liiide in Koine Township, in the spring of 1857, the 
lady of his clioiee being Miss Maliala Myers, who 
was born in that township. May 25, 1841, and is the 
daughter of Nathan and Electa (Cole) Myers, 
natives of Oneida County, N. Y. The eight chil- 
dren born of this union are recorded as follows: 
Nathan was liorn in Adii.an. April 2.'., 1859. and 
married Miss Lilli.aii Stocum, (jf Rome Township; 
tliey h.ave two children, a boy and girl. (xeorge 
E. was born Oct. 22, 18G0, and died Jan. C, 1872: 

-. -. m^ 



\ 



836 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



I 



Cora M. was born Nov. 23, 1862, was married to 
Bert Short, of Cambridge Township, and is the 
mother of two children, a boy and girl; Lilburn 
L. was born Jan. 10, 1865, and is at home; Justin 
R. was born Dec. 29, 1868, and married Miss Nellie 
Ball, of Rollin Township; he is farming with his 
brother in Rome Township. Ada M. was born 
July*20, 1872; Lee 0.,Sept. 26, 1874, and Octa N., 
May 23, 1876; these reside at home. 

Mr. Curtis and hi^ voting sons are decided advo- 
cates of Republican principles, which they uphold 
by their voice and vote on all suitable occasions. 
Mr. C. was at one time identified with the Masonic 
fraternity, belonging to Greeley Lodge in Adrian. 
Both he and his excellent wife are Free- Will Bap- 
tists religiously, and Mr. Curtis donated the ground 
for the church edifice ; he has always labored earn- 
estly for the maintenance of the society here, and 
given much time to Sunday-school work. 



(^j BRA HAM V. DERSIIAM, of Palmyra 
( @^[ Township, represents in a happy manner 

7/fl4 the thrift and intelligence of that section 
^jl of country. He is a thorough and skillful 

farmer, and a man of more than ordinary intelli- 
gence, a great reader, and one who keeps himself 
well posted upon all matters of general interest. He 
has been identified with the majority of enterprises 
set on foot ^iffecting the general good of liis com- 
munity, which involuntarily looks to him for moral 
and pecuniary aid in connection with important 
interests. He has served twpntj' years as Justice of 
the Peace, and is distinguished for his persistence 
and industry, by which he has secured a fine home 
and a competenc}'. 

Our subject was born in White Deer Township, 
Union Co., Pa., June 26, 1830, and is the son of 
Samuel and Susan (Shetly) Dersham, natives 
respectively of Union and York Counties, in the 
same State. The paternal grandfather of our sub- 
ject, Jacob Dersham by name, was a native of 
Germany, whence he emigrated to this country at 
an early day, and was one of the pioneer settlers of 
Union County, Pa. There he purchased a tract of 



timber land, and planting his home in the wilder- 
ness, cleared the forest around him and remained 
until life for him was over. He reared a fine fam- 
ily of sons and daughters, among whom was Sam- 
uel, the father of our subject. Samuel grew to 
manhood amid the wild scenes of pioneer life, but 
wlien starting out for himself, left tlie farm and 
learned the trade of a carpenter. This he worked 
at for a time and then purchased a tract of land in 
his native township, where he farmed thereafter 
and worked at his trade until his death, in 1838. 
The mother survived her husband for a period of 
twenty-six j'ears, remaining a widow, and departed 
this life at the home where she iiad lived so long, 
about 1864, when nearly eighty years of age. The 
household included eleven children, all of whom 
grew to years of maturity. 

Abraham Dersham was the ninth child of his 
parents, and like his father before him, sjient his 
boyliood and youth on the farm in his native town- 
shij). He took kindly to his books, and by aid of 
instruction in the district school, became proficient 
as a teacher when nineteen years of age. He offici- 
ated in that capacity eleven terms, and then going 
to Lockport, N. Y., entered a store of general mer- 
chandise as clerk, where he remained for a period 
of eight years with the exception of one winter, 
during which he taught school in Erie County. At 
this time, desiring a change, he returned to Will- 
iamsport, Pa., where he occupied himself as a 
teacher during the winter season, while during the 
remainder of the year he was emplo^'cd in a saw- 
mill, until the spring of 1.S64. 

Mr. Dersham now once more left his native 
.State, and going to Seneca County, Ohio, was 
there employed at farming two years, after which 
he migrated to Michigan and purchased forty acres 
of land on section 2, in Palmyra Township. Upon 
this he operated successfully for a period of nine 
years, then purchased eighty acres on section 12, 
of which he remained in possession until 1880. In 
the spring of this year he traded his two tracts for 
the farm which he now occupies. This comprises 
a quarter section of land, 120 acres of which are 
under a good state of cultivation, and a part de- 
voted to pasture land. The buildings are neat and 
substantial, and the farm with its appurtenances 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



837 



forms a home creditable in every respect to the 
taste and industry of tlie projirietor. 

Mr. Dorsham. wliile a resident of l.oekp.nt, X. 
Y., and after reaching his twenty-foiirlli year, was 
united in marriage with .Mi-> Susan M. Stahh'i-, a 
native of Niagara ('>Minty. N. \. Slic w.-is born 
April 24. 183^, anil is llie dau-hter ,,( Mcniy and 
Susan (Hoover) Staiiler, whn were (if IVamsylvanian 
birth and i)arentage and arc now dcciMscd, She 
received a careful home training, and a fair educa- 
tion in the common schools, while at the same time 
she became familiar wilii those housewifely duties 
whieh so largely affect the liappiness and comfort of 
the home circle. Slie remained with her parents 
until her marri.ige, and became the motiierof seven 
children, of whom Henry, the eldest, is a resident 
of Niagara Count}-, N. Y. ; Eugene is farming in 
Palmyra Township, tills county, while l.illie. Ma M. 
and Carrie continue at lionu' witli their parents. 
IMargaret, the first-born, died in infancy, and little 
Julia was taken from the liome ciicle when three 
and one-half years old. 

Mr. Dershani has hccii .lusticc of the I'.'nce in 
Palmyra Township foi' a period of twenty years, 
and lias also otliciated as School Director. He is a 
man whose word is considered as good as his bond, 
and possesses that sound and temperate judgment 
which constitutes him a citizen whose opinions are 
held in uniform respect. 



AVH) CARPENTER, a prominent citizen 
of Blissfield, and engage<l in the i-eal-estate 
business and as a money-lender, is one of 
the important factors in the business and 
agricultural community, lie is the owner of large 
tracts of farm land in this county, besides city prop- 
erty at Petoskey, in Enunet County, where he 
spends his summer months, ;iud one of the most 
beautiful southern homes in Anu'rica at Mt. Dora, 
Fla., at which he spends his winters. lie has a 
well-furnished residence at each of the tliive places, 
and all the facilities for enjoying life in the 
best manner. This .state of things has been brought 
.about by the exercise of his native energy .-ind I'l's- 



olntion of character, as he commenced humbly in 
life, and ha.s arisen to his present position through 
his own exertions. He has signalized himself as a 
liberal-minded and public-spirited citizen, assisting 
generously the enterprises inaugurated for the gen- 
eral progress of the |)eople, and being in all respects 
the friend of education and of everything tending 
to elevate society and improve the condition of the 
people. 

The early home of .Mi-. Carpenter was in Pots- 
dam, St. L.iwiiMicc Co.. X. Y., where his birth took 
l.ilace April I'.t. Isj.V lie is the second son of Clem- 
ent and i;iiz:ibclli ((Jilniore) Carpenter, to whom 
reference is made in the sketeh of .loel Carpenter, 
on another page in this volume. The childhood and 
youth of our subject were spent in his native county, 
where he first pursued his studies in the district 
school, and later attending St. Lawrence Academy ; 
he began teaching school in his twentieth year. 
When not employed at his studies he made himself 
useful around the homestead, and remained with his 
parents on the farm until August, 1 83G. On the 
•27th of that month he started for the West, and 
made his way by lake and railroad to Toledo, where 
he landed with a cash capital of $25. 

The first bu.siness of young Carpenter after se- 
lecting his location, vvas to secure employment, and 
he obtained ;\ position at Toledo as clerk in a gen- 
eral store, of which Dr. Clark vvas proprietor. He 
made such good headway in the esteem and con- 
fidence of his employer that he was given charge of 
a liranch at Manhattan, now North Toledo, and 
tiiially purchased the stock, and carried on business 
tor himself thereuntil the fall of 1.S38. He then 
removed his goods to Blissfield, this county, and in 
company with his brtither Guy, engaged in mercan- 
tile business until the death of the latter, about ten 
years lattT. The place made vacant by his decease 
was then taken b\' his brother Joel, and with him 
David operated about I wo years, and then sold out 
to him. ()ui subject hail in the meantime purchased 
laree tr.-ii-ts of land mostly in Lenawee County, and 
had already begun transactions in real estate, in 
which he was uniformly successful. He still, how- 
ever, cherished a liking for his old business, and in 
a short time resumed it in company with F. H. 
I5i-own, with whom he continued seven or eight 



•►-II- 



^ ' 838 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



! 



years. He then, in company with a partner, engaged 
in banliing, under the firm name of Carpenter, Gil- 
more & Co., but after operating together two or 
tliree years Mr. Carpenter withdrew his interests, 
and confined his attention to real estate and money 
loaning. His course has been such as to merit the 
confidence of the com^niunity, and he has been the 
conservator of important interests for many years. 

Mr. Carpenter has been three times married. His 
first wife was Miss Thirza Pease, who was born in 
Chittenden County, Vt., May 10, 1812. Their 
wedding tooit place on the 22d of May, 1837, but 
the young wife ilied less than three years later, 
Dec. 22, 1839. Mr. Carpenter was a second time 
married, Aug. 11, 1840, to Miss May L. Ellis, a 
native of Potsdam, St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., and 
born Oct. 3, 1822. Mrs. May Carpenter departed 
this life at her home, .Jan. 15, 1848. 

The present wife of our subject, to whom he was 
married Aug. 16. 1848, was formerly Miss Ilepsi- 
beth Worth, who was liorn in De Ruyter, Madi- 
son Co.. New York. The first representative of 
the Worth family in America is believed to have 
been John Worth, who came to this country at an 
early day, and located in Nantucket, Mass. He 
and Miss Sarah Hoag married there, and reared a 
family of sons and daughters. Their son Richard 
was the gi-eat-grandfather of Mrs. Carpenter, and 
married Miss Anna Macey. They became the par- 
ents of two children, one of whom, Rich.ard, the 
grandfather of Mrs. C, niarriod Elizabeth Folger, 
a sister of Walter Folger, the noted astronomer, 
and grandniece of Benjamin Franklin. The Worths 
were members of the Society of Friends, and the 
male members of the family were mostly sailors by 
occupation. They were represented for several 
generations in Nantucket, the grandfather of Mrs. 
C. being probably the first to emigrate from there. 
Upon leaving the Ijoundaries of his native State, he 
went into New York State, and spent his l.nst years 
at De Ruyter, Madison County. 

The father of Mrs. Carpenter was born in 1782, 
and grew to manliood in his native town. He then 
went to New York State, and located in Columbia 
Count}', where, in the town of Ghent, he married Miss 
Elizabeth Crandall. From there he removed to a 
farm at DeRuy ter, and thenco a few years afterward, 



to Clienango County, pnrcliasing a farm near Linck- 
laen, where he made his home until his death. He 
departed this life on the 2d of May, 18.54, while 
visiting his children in Royalton, Ohio. His wife, 
the mother of Mrs. Carpenter, who in her girliiood 
w.as Miss Elizabeth Crand.all, w.as born in Columbia 
County, N. Y., Aug. 8, 1789, and , died in 1809. 
Her father. .James Crandall, was a native of Rhode 
Island, and, like the Worths, a Qualier in religious 
belief. He spent his last years at Ghent, N. Y., his 
death taking place about 1845, when he was about 
eight.y-five years of age. 

The only child of Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter is a 
son, Guy David, who was born Oct. 15, 1877. 
Mr. Carpenter in the days when the slavery 
question agitated the minds of both North and 
South, was a stanch AboHtionist. and cast his Presi- 
dential vote both for J. G. Birney and John P. Hale. 
He has been a Repul)lican since the organization of 
the part}', and for a number of years was l^ostmaster 
of Blissfielil. Jn 1S60 he was appointed a member 
of the State Board of the State Agricultural College, 
in which position he served efficiently for a period 
of ten years, and there are many other enterprises 
in Lenawee County which owe their success to his 
aid and influence. He has acquitted himself cred- 
itabl.y as a citizen .and a business man, and stands 
forcmiist among the representative men of the 
county. 



",|;OHN HANCOClv CARLETON was one of 
Ij the brave, stout-hearted pioneers who came 
Ij to Michigan while it w;is yet under Terri- 
(^1/ torial government, and by his energy, sound 
judgment, and decision of cii.ai-acter, rendered valu- 
.able assistance in developing its resources, and in 
establishing its civil, soci.al and religious institu- 
tions. He w.as a native of New Hampshire, and 
born in the town of Bath, Grafton County, Oct. IG, 
1802. His father, Jesse Carleton, a farmer, w.as 
born in the same New Hampshire town, and was 
there a life-long resident. 

The subject of this sketch was reared among the 
mountains and hills of his native State, and there 
breathed in the spirit of independence and freedom 
with which he was so largely endowed. His early 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



-•► 



830 



life was passed in the village school and in assisting 
in the labors of the homo farm, until he was six- 
teen 3'ears old, when his father died, and lidiii tli.-it 
time he suppoi-ted himself, (noiiig to Canada soon 

and remaiucil a roidciil of the Doiiiinioii for 
several years. About the year l.s;!(i he again be- 
came a resident of the United States, locating in 
Wayne County, Mich., where he worived as a farm 
laborer the ensuing five 3'ears. In 1835 lii^ visited 
Lenawee County and purchased a tract of land on 
sections -21 and 22 of what is now Hudson Town- 
ship. After serininu I he lan.l he ivniiiied to 
Wayne County for his family. Having ni,i(h' the 
iiecessarj' preparations for tlie jouniey, he stai-tcd 
bright and early one pleasant Monday morning, 
accompanied bj' his wife and their two small 
children, for his new home. Their conveyance, 
which also contained provisions and furniture, was 
a large wagon drawn bj' horses and o.xen, the 
horses being attached to the wagon and the oxen 
ahead. They traveled during the day, stopping at 
intervals to rest and refresh them.selves and liieir 
team with food, and camped at night, until the 
following .Sunday, when they arrived at the house 
of John Colwell, on section 1. This was a, log 
ca))in, 18x20 feet, with one room below and a loft 
above. Mr. and Mrs. Colwell were at ciiureli. hut 
the latch-string was out and tliey waliicd in. con- 
sidering it a very delicate invitation to accept the 
freedom of the cabin. Wlien the iiost and hostess 
returned from worship they weleimicd tlicni heartily, 
and invited them to rem.'iin theic until the\- could 
build a house on their own l.-nnl. 

Mr. Carleton at once coninieneed clearing a space 
on which he couhl liuild. .-ind in a week had a log 
house eighteen feet s(|n;ire re.-iily for oceui)ancv\ 
Thereof was eovere.l willi sh:iko,> s|.lil from l)ass- 
wood logs, which, nails iieini; .-i minus i|u:intity, 
were weighted by jxiles to hold tbcni in place. 'I'he 
floor was also made of liasswood hoanb. and the 
chimney was composed of earth and sticks. Aflei- 
chinking the cracks in the cabin with chips and 
mud, they had as comfortable an abode as coidd he 
found in the vicinitj'. There being no stoves in 
those days, Mrs.. Carleton did all her cooking by 
the open fire. The forests were then tenanted by 



I savage beasts, wild game, and a few Indians; the 
latter were peaceful and frequently called at the 
cabin for food. Mr. Carleton used to keep the 
larder well supplied with venison, bear steak and 
turkeys, not having far to travel t.. (iu.l any of 
these. Mrs. Carleton, who u.-is also expert in the 
use of the rifie, did not hesitate to use it if any of 
the wild animals came prowling around the cabin. 

Our subject cleared a farm of sixty acres, and 
resided here until his death, which took place Feb. 
'.I, 1.S72. lie had in the meantime erected a good 
set of frame buildings and made other substantial 
improvements. Mr. Carleton was a n)an of un- 
swerving integrity, .great ability, and shi-ewd .judg- 
nu'iit. An intelligent readeiand profound thinker, 
his keen intellect grappled with the l<'.-i<liiig ques- 
tions of the ila}'. He was .-i slron;^ anti-slavery 
nitin, and tenaciously* upheld his opinions when he 
stood nearly alone in the town as an Aliolitionist. 
For man^' _years he was ti member of ^ tiie iNIethodist 
Episcopal Church, but later in life, differing with 
[ others of that faith concerning certain points of 
their creed, he severed his connection \\iih that 
church and joined the Weslcyan Metliodist. 

Previous to his removal to HikIsou Mr. ( 'arlelou 
had niai-lied ( 'eiesti;i Klvii'a Smith, who w.-rs horn 
in (ienesee County, N. Y., Sept. 2, ISIG. Her 
parents, Daniel and Esther (Sh.ay) Smith, were 
natives of New York, her father having been born 
I in Dutchess County, and hei- nK)ther in Canandaigua, 
I Ontario C^ounty. Mr. Smith was a shoemaker and 
I farmer, wini moved wilh his family from New York 
to the T.-rritory of .Miehi,i;:ni in ls:;i.:nid settled 
first .at Plymouth, where lliey ivsi.led four years. 
In 183.T he took up Covernuiciit land in Williams 
County, Ohio, where he iin[)i'oveil a faiui. and there 
he and his good wife spent their declining .years, 
both dj'ing on the homeste.ad. iSIrs. Smith's parents 
were the Rev. Anson and Hannah Shay: the former 
was a Baptist preacher, well known throughout 
Western New York. 

To Mr. and Mrs. C^arleton were born live chil- 
dren, namely: Henry, Mary A., Almira, Harrison 
•and Will M. Henry married Mkss Mary M. Beech; 
he served in Company A, 1 .sth \'olnnteer Infantry, 
and died in a relx'l pi'ison .at Selnia, Ala., thus giving 
I up his life in the noble cause which was so dear to the 



•► 



840 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



heart of his father. Mary married Addison Kidder 
and died in ISGl ; Almira married Heman Goodrich, 
and died in August, 1872, while Harrison died in 
infancy; Will M., the only child novv living, is 
well known, not only in his native State, but 
throughout tlic country, as the author of many 
charming poems and hallads, expressive of home 
life and incidents. 

Since the death of her husl)and Mrs. Carleton has 
resided a part of the time in Hudson and part in 
Brooklyn, N. Y. Siie is a bright, quick-witted woman, 
bearing vvell her threescore and twelve years, while 
she is an entertaining conversationalist, and relates 
many interesting incidents of pioneer life. Shortly- 
after ;settling in her home in Hudson, her hus- 
band being awaj^ she started for the woods to find 
the cattle that were then allowed to roam at will. 
She followed the sound of tlic bell until she found 
herself deep in the wilderness, when suddenly the 
tinkling sound of the belf ceased, and she knew 
that the cows had camped for the night. She fol- 
lowed their trail, however, which led her into a 
swamp, when darkness came on and she could no 
longer distinguish their tracks. Then, realizing 
that she was lost, she called aloud for help, little 
expecting that any one would hear her cry. She 
was answered by the howling of hungry wolves in 
the distance, but luckily for her she was near the 
cattle, which began to low when they heard her 
voice. Thus encouraged she followed the bell, 
which again was heard, and found the cows, which 
then led the way home. Before reaching the house 
she met her husband, who had in the meantime 
returned, coming to look for her, being seriously 
alarmed at her absence. Did space allow we would 
like to relate many other incidents of her pioneer 



-#>#-- 



i 



(^^SEL CURE. One of tiie most attractive 
^O homesteads in Rome Township occupies 
Ijfm the northeast quarter of section 2, and 
^ comprises a fine body of land of 160 acres, 

with handsome and substantial buildings. The 
proprietor has evidently taken a sensible view of 
life, and has endeavored to surround himself and 
family with those things which, while fully supply- 



ing the creature comforts, also tend to cultivate 
the tastes and strengthen those genial (Qualities 
which form the true happiness of a home. 

The Empire State has contributed a large num- 
ber of the men who came to Southern IMichigan 
during its earlj' settlement, and whose thrift and 
industry have brought it to its present position. 
The subject of this sketch was born in that State 
in Orleans County, April 17, 1832, and is the son 
of Hiram Cure, a native of the same State. The 
paternal grandfather of our subject, .John Cure, 
emigrated from Germany during his youtli and 
settled in New Y'ork State, then, after the removal 
of his sou to this count}', he joined him here and 
died in Adrian Township at au advanced age. He 
was a stonemason by trade, and an honest and in- 
dustrious man, who was prompt in meeting his ol)li- 
gations, and otherwise fulfllled the duties of a good 
citizen. His wife, Eleanor, a native of his own 
country, died in New York State. Grandfather 
Cure built his house in Vermont from money re- 
ceived as a bount}' on wolves, in the hunting of 
which he was an expert and which he followed for 
fifteen years. His wife survived him four years, 
and was about eighty-one years old at the time of 
her decease. 

Hiram Cure worked with his father on the farm 
during his boyhood, and upon leaving home en- 
gaged on the Erie Canal until his marriage. This 
event occurred about the time of reaching his ma- 
jority, the maiden of his choice being Miss Cla- 
rissa, daughter of Asel Carter, who was of New 
England ancestrj'. Mr. Carter served in the War 
of 1812, and suffered many hardships which left 
their after effects upon his constitution, and on ac- 
count of which he received a pension from the 
Government; he died in Vermont, when over 
eighty-five years of age. Hiram Cure upon coming 
to this county settled first in Adrian Township, 
whence he removed later to Rollin, and from there 
to the farm in Rome Township, where he spent his 
last years. 

The mother of oui- subject was nineteen years of 
age at the time of her marriage, which took place 
in New York State. She came to the West with 
her husband, and died at the age of fifty-six years, 
while the family was residing in Rollin Township. 
^ ^ 



n 



lenaw?:e county. 



S41 'k 



They reared three sons and three daughters : Linas 
N. served throughout the Mexican War. in whicli 
lie tlistinguisiied himself for liis hravfry, ivrciviug 
the approval of his superior ollicers ami tlu' admira- 
tion of his comrades. Later he followed tlie sea. 
and upon the starting out of Dr. Kane's expedition to 
tlie polar seas, embarl<cd ni)on that ill-fated voyage 
and was never heard of mure. He was for several 
years on Lakes Miciiigan and lOi'ic. and on the Blis- 
sissippi River. 

Asel Cure continued in his n.-itivc cdunty untii :\ 
lad twelve years of age, then tmii away from home 
and folldWfd seafaring on thr lako (nv twei.ty-one 
years. He was steward and -ee(jml mate, and 
filled other positions, and continued as a sailor one 
year after his marriage. This event was celebrated 
in Adrian, on the 8th of Januar}-, 1807. his l)ride 
being Miss Lasira Baker. Mrs. Cure was horn 
March 3, 1847, in Rome Township, and is the 
daughter of Norman and Harriett (Robinson) IJaker, 
who were natives of New York; the mother now 
resides in Rome Township. The 3'oung peoi)le set- 
tled upon a small farm of twenty acres in Rome 
Township, and a year later Mr. Cure sold this |irop- 
ertj' and purchased sixty acres on section 2, in the 
same township. Upon this there was nothing in 
the way of improvements, wich the exception of 
an old frame building which hardly deserved to be 
called a house. Mr. Cure set himself industriousl3' 
to work, and in the course of a few years had ef- 
fected fine improvements upon his place and was 
the owner of 150 acres. His buildings are put up 
in mode/ii style, and supplied with every conven- 
ience which taste and means can suggest. The 
dwelling is finely finished and furnished, and indi- 
cates in all respects tiie abode of people, of cult i- 
vated tastes and ample means. Mv. Cuic lias ex- 
pended over $7,000 upon his buildiii-s alon.'. :ind 
there are probably none handsomer in llie town- 
ship. The residence stands in Rome Townsliip, 
but the land is across the line in Cambridge Town- 
ship. The family includes three bright children: 
Clera, who was b(n-n April 10. I.s7:!; .lennie 1'., 
March 3, 1879, and Channing, March -J-i. 18.s7. 

The Baker family, including the father and 
uncles of Mrs. Cure, are well-known residents and 
pioneers of Lenawee C'ounty, They are uniformly 



thrifty and well-to-do. and have contributed their 
full quota toward the building up of this section. 
Mr. Cure votes the straight Republican ticket, but 
is no i)olitician, preferring to give his time and 
attention to liis personal interests. 



-^^^^^#c^^ 



^ll'OIIN A. BAKR. The old reliable K.'ystone 
I State has given generously of Iter son- to the 
..ill settlement of thegreat AVest,and ri-ht m:ni- 
[^J fully have they performed the duties imp,,s,Ml 
upon them. To their strong'armsand resolute w ills i- 
jNIiehigan, like many of her sister States, indelited 
for the full development of her le.sources. In this 
mighty work the Baer f.-imily have borne no unim- 
portant part. 

Peter Baer, the father of our sul)joct, was born 
in Lehigh County, Pa., April 17, 1804. and while 
an infant his parents removed to Berks County, 

where he was reared to manh 1. His boyiiood 

days were sjient amid the quiet scenes of c-ounhy 
life, and his recreation consisted largely in listening 
to the tales told him of his ancestors. These he in 
turn related to his sons and from which, as i-elated 
to the biographer, we gather the following facts. 
The great-grandfather of Peter B.aer, a native of 
Gcrmanj', crossed the Atlantic with his two brotlieis 
in company with Oeneral LaFayettc, and weie all 
engaged in the Revolutionary AVar. After the in- 
dependence of the Colonists iiad been established. 
the brothers settled in Pennsylvania. 

Peter continued working at the weaver's trade, 
which he had learned during hisj'ounger y<ars, ami 
followed this calling in Pennsylvania until 1847, 
then removed with his family to Ohio and engaged 
in agricultural pursuits. He was a man of excellent 
education, having been under the instruction of 
private tutors, and was es|)ecially proficient in the 
German language. lie was first married, Feb. G, 
182,T, to Miss Mary, daughter of Abraham and 
Sophia Smith, who were also from Pennsylvania. 
This union resulted in the birth of nine children, 
namely : Sanaiel S., John A., Elizabeth A., Peter L., 
Sophia and Benjamin (deeea.sed), Lydia Ann. La- 
vina an<l .Tane. About 1847 the family removed to 
Ohio, and the father [lurchased forty acres of land 



•►HI <— 

i ^ 842 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



in Fulton County. The mother died soon after 
this removal and the home was then broken up. 
Peter Baer engaged as clerk in a store in Fulton 
County, Ohio, and was here a second time married, to 
Mrs. Elmira (Woolsey) M''hiting, daughter of Na- 
thaniel W". and Mary (Jones) Woolsey, and widow 
of Hiram S. Whiting, who died while a resident of 
Washtenaw County. Mrs. Baer was born Nov. 13, 
1808, and passed her early years in Seneca, Ontario 
Co., N. Y. Of her marriage with Mr. Whiting 
there were born the following-named children: 
Their eldest daugliter, Matilda, is a resident of St. 
Louis, Mo., and is now fifty years of age; Amanda, 
Mrs. Holcorab, is forty-eight, and resides in Bloom- 
ville, Ohio; Mary A. is the wife of Oscar Holcomb, 
the Mayor of Blooniville, Seneca Co., Ohio; she is 
forty-eight years old. Louvisa was first married to 
Benjamin Baer, her second husband was Henry 
Mull, and her present husband is John D. Smith, of 
Medina Township; Maria died when about nineteen 
years of age; Lucinda is forty-one years old, and 
lives in Anoka, Minn.; Louis died March IS, 188G, 
aged thirtj'-six years. 

Of the second marriage of Peter Baer there were 
born nine children: The eldest son, Samuel, is 
farming in La Porte, Ind.; John remains at the 
homestead in Medina Township; Elizabeth isa resi- 
dent of Fayette, Fulton Co., Ohio; Peter and Lydia 
are residents of Medina Township, this county; 
Lavinia is in Morenci, and Jane in Medina. 

John A. Baer, the subject of this biography, was 
born in Fayette, Seneca Co., N. Y., July 18, 1827. 
When a boy he occupied much of his time with his 
father in the weavers' shop, and received a limited 
education in the common schools. Soon after 
reaching his majorit}' he was married to a maiden 
of his own county. Miss Charlotte White, the wed- 
ding taking place at the home of the bride on the 
13th of August, 1848. The young people began 
life together in Medina Township, and the house- 
hold circle in due time was brightened by the l)irth 
of a large family of children, recorded as follows: 
James L. is in Dakota; Elizabeth died in infancy; 
Harriet died at the age of two years, and .Sarah at 
the age of sixteen; Alice is now Mrs. Mitchell, 
and resides in Munson; Martha hocame the wife of 
William Lifort, and is living in Medina Township; 



William and Gideon are deceased; Susanna is the 
wife of Scott Sturtevant, of Morenci, while Rose 
Ann married John Williamson, of Canada, nnd lives 
in that country. 

The first wife of Mr. Baer died in Medina Town- 
ship, Sept. 14, 186.5, and Mr. Baer was a second 
time married, to Mrs. Catharine A. (George) Hul- 
bon, widow of Gideon Hulbon, and daughter of 
Abraham and Catharine (Dormoyer) George. Of 
this union there is one child, a daughter Rosa. The 
first marriage of Mrs. Baer resulted in the birth of 
a daughter and a son, named Helena and Ervin. 

Mr. Baer owns and occupies a good farm of 1 .55 
acres on section 33, in Medina Township, where he 
has effected good improvements and has surrounded 
himself and his famih' with all the comforts of life. 
He has now passed his threescore j'ears, but is still 
healthy in mind and body, and able to give his at- 
tention to various departments of his chosen calling. 
He is worthily filling his niche as a reh'able factor 
of an intelligent and prosperous community. His 
estimable wife belongs to the LTnited Brethren 
Church. Politically, Mr. Baer affiliates with the 
Democratic part}'. 



■^ 



'^m 



'^ 



/^ IIARLES DUNHAM is a prosperous busi- 
[|f ^ ness man of Hudson, and head of the firm 
^^y Dunham & Son, dealers in hardware. He 
was born in Brockville, Canada, Aug. 11, 1812. 
Ephraim Dunham, his grandfather, was a native of 
Holland, and upon reaching manhood he came to 
America in the company of two brothers, and set- 
tled in Saratoga County, N. Y.. as a pioneer. He 
took up a tract of land in what is now known as 
Half Moon Township, and improved quite a large 
farm, while he also engaged in mercantile business 
at Half Moon Point, now Waterford, and remained 
a resident of that place until his death, about 1820. 
William Dunham, the father of the subject of 
this sketcli, was born and grew to manhood in that 
town and there married Nellie DuBois, a native of 
tlie State of New York, and daughter of Gideon 
DuBois, of German ancestry, and a farmer of 
(ireen field Township, Saratoga County. Some years 
after marriage Mr. and Mrs. Dunham went, in De- 



•►Hh-<«- 



-^^h 



4 



A^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



843 



eember, 1811, to Canada to make their home ui 
Broekville, but in the winter of 181 -2-1 ;> after war 
had been declared, Mr. IJiinhani vvasobligeil tn leave 
the country a.s he s\'mpathizad witli the I'liilecl 
States, and in consequence his life was enclnnneird. 
He had to conceal himself for some days 1h lure he 
could effect his escape from the country, but one 
night he and his family with a pair of liorses and a 
sleigh crossed the lake on the ice to New York, 
leaving all tiieir property except what they coidd 
take with them. His lands, whicli (•(iiiipri.-ed I'.oo 
acres, the greater part of which is n<jw inrludctl in iln> 
village of Broekville, were then conliscahMl liy the 
British Government. He returned to Halt .Mo.. n. 
where he managed his father's farm for a fiu years. 
and then bought a farm in Greenfield and res.ide(l 
there for some years. He finally sold tiiis pioperty 
and removing to North Bristol, made his hoiiie wiih 
his son until his death, in 184o. His wife died in 
the spring of 1878 at the home of her daugiiler in 
East Bloomfleld, N. Y., at the advanced age of 
ninety-six years and seven months. They were the 
parents of nine children, all of whom giew to ma- 
turity, married and reared families. 

The subject of this sketch was the fifth child of 
his parents, and was but a few months old when he 
took that eventful ride across the lake in their 
escape from British persecution; he was the only 
one of their children born on Canadian soil. His 
father ha\ing lost his property the sons had early 
to work for their living, and at the age of thirteen 
years our subject was sent out to work, receiving 
at first but $4 a month. His wages were afterward 
increased, until at the age of eighteen he received 
19 per month for one year. He worked on a farm 
ill Middletown, and from the time he was eighteen 
years old until he was twenty-one years old he was 
engaged in a hotel. He then commenced to learn 
the trade of a carpenter, serving two years, after 
which he did journey work for one year, and then 
engaged as a carpenter and builder in Aliddletown, 
where he remained until 1 838. 

In the meantime our subject was iniinied, Dec. 
•23, 1835, to Harriet Canfield, a native of Uurhani, 
N. Y., and daughter of Asahel and .Jenisha (Ham- 
lin) Canfield, natives of the same State. In 1838 
Mr. Dunham went to Bristol, Ontario County, and 



•Ml 



bought a farm which he managed for two years, 
then removed to Monioe (Dunty and managed his 
father-in-law's farm foi iIm' succeeding two years: 
after that he resuin.^il his trade in Pittsford. At 
the end of three years he returned again to farming, 
having bought laud near Pittsford, but after operat- 
ing th.at farm for four years he sold it and removed 
to the vill.age of Pittsford. where he worked as a 
carpenter until ls.",(;. and then spent the winter in 
Ohio. Tlie six month- following his return to New 
York he spent in I'ittsfoid, and next went to Cay- 
ima (ouiity and invested in another farm, which 
he ronduc-led for two years. His next move was 
to Auburn, N. V.. where Ur engaged in the manu- 
facture .and bottling of mineral water, bat the third 
ye.ar a, dishonest i)artner ran aw^ay with a part of 
their funds and broke up the business. He then 
concluded to come \u Michigan and try in this 
.State to retrieve his fallen I'oitiines. He first stopped 
in Ypsilanti, and soon after invested in eight3' acres 
of land two miles from the city, where he made 
his home for six years. Then he sold this property 
at an advanced price, and bought another farm of 
160 acres three miles from the city, on which he 
made his home for two j'ears, during which time 
his wife died, on the 3d of March, 1867. She was 
an estimable woman, and was held in respect by all 
who had the pleasure of her acquaintance. She was 
the mother of six children, four of whom are now 
living, and are recorded as follows: Asahel C. is 
in business with his father; Addle M. married W. 
j II. Yo.st, and they now live in Kansas City; Hattie 
married W. M. Ellsworth, of Sandusky City, Ohio, 
and Charles A. lives in Kansas City. 

After the death of his wife Mr. Dunham disposed 
of his farm near Ypsilanti, and then engaged in 
the hardware business with his son-in-law, Mr. Yost, 
and his son Asahel, as partners, in the town of 
Hudson. Two years later he liought out his son- 
in-law's interest in the business, and he and his son 
carry a large and varied stock of goods, and have 
built up a good trade. 

Mr. Dunham was a second time married, Oct. 27, 
18G9, being then united to Mrs. Samantha M. 
(Beals) Wheeler, who was born in the town of Mo- 
riah, Essex Co., N. V., duly 26, 1820. Her father, 
Caleb Beals, was born in I'lainfield, Mass., and was 
^ 



r 



•►Hl^^^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



t 



married in Adams, the same .State,'to Lydia Slier- 
man, of Berlvshire County, Mass. They went to 
Essex County, N. Y., and tliere bought a farm in 
Moriah Township. They afterward live<l indiffer- 
ent places in New York State until their removal, 
in 1834, to the Territory of Michigan, where they 
loca.ted in the town of Adrian, then but a small 
village with a few scattering- buildings, Tecumseh 
being at that time the county seat. Mr. Beals 
bought a lot and put up a house and then worked 
at his trade, making his home there the remainder 
of his life. His death occurred in 1855, near 
Litchfield, this State, while visiting his daughter. 
His wife died in Massachusetts while there un a 
visit in 1854; her remains were brought to Adrian 
and now rest in Oakwood Cemetery. 

Mrs. D.'s first husband was Reuben Wheeler, a 
native of Gardner, Worcester Co., Mass., and a 
cabinet-maker by trade, to whom she was married 
June y, 1842. Li 1840 he came to Adrian, and 
soon after opened a furniture store and chair fac- 
tory, and continued in business there until his 
death, in 1854, with the exception of two years 
spent in California for his health; the last year he 
was engaged in the grocery business. Two children 
were born of that marriage: Charles H., who served 
in Campany C, 18th Michigan Infantry, and died 
in a rebel prison; and Alfred 11., who lives in 
Woonsocket, Dak. 

(^ LBERT HART, a farmer and stock-raiser, 
' Wf I '*'' I^^'^*''" Township, is a native of this 
//riil place, and resides with his mother and sis- 
^J ter on the homestead on section 11, of 

which he has had charge since his father's death. 
He was l)orn Aug. 16, 1851, and is a son of John 
Hart, grandson of Harvey Hart, and great-grand- 
son of Jabez Hart, who was one of the earl3' set- 
tlers of Ontario County, N. Y., locating in that 
section of the country when it was on the extreme 
western frontier. He improved a farm and re- 
mained there until his death. The grandfather of 
our subject spent his entire life in that county. He 
was a carpenter by occupation, and having received 
a tract of land in Victor Township from his father, 



he cleared the timber from it and developed a farm. 
He married Mary Jackson, who, it is thought, 
was born in Perrmton, Monroe Co., N. Y., and 
they both died on the old homestead in Victor 
Township. 

The father of our subject was born on tiiat home- 
stead and there studied agriculture in its many 
phases, and was engaged in agricultural pursuits 
during his entire life. He resided in his native 
place until 1837, when, accompanied by his wife he 
came to Michigan via the Erie Canal and Lake Erie 
to Toledo, then by rail to Adrian, the western ter- 
minus of the railway, the cars being drawn by 
horses. There a hired conveyance took them to 
Wheatland, Hillsdale County, where he owned a 
tract of land given him by his father, of which a 
very small piece was already cleared and contained 
a log house. He bought a yoke of oxen and with 
these did the farming and marketing. After liv- 
ing there some months he removed to Hudson 
Township, and settled on a tract of land which he 
had bought prior to his removal from New York, 
and on which he had built a log cabin during his 
residence in Wheatland. The cabin was chinked 
with chips and nuul, the chimney"" was built of 
earth and sticks, and it had a puncheon floor. They 
took possession of this dwelling in the month of 
December, and found that Nature had adorned the 
interior for them with a fringe of icicles. There 
was no door, but a blanket was hung to protect 
them from the wind. The tire was soon built, but 
imagine their dismay when they saw the mud 
hearth, which they had constructed so carefall3r, 
begin to thaw and the andirons gradually sink un- 
til they were almost lost to sight. Mr. Hart worked 
in clearing the land, as his health permitted, until 
1839, when he returned to his native State and en- 
gaged in farming in Royalton, Niagara County. 
In 1844 he again came to Hudson Township, and 
took possession, remaining here until his death, 
Dec. 15, 1880. He had in the meantime cleared 
130 acres of land and erected a good set of build- 
ings. His marriage took place Feb. 17, 1835, when 
he was united to Elvira Ladd. who was born in 
Schuyler, Herkimer Co., N. Y., Oct. 18, 1814. Of 
this union three children were born — Llewellyn, 
Marion E. and Albert. The eldest is married and 



■•► 



4 



^^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



■•► 



845 



^. 



lives in Hudson Township, adjoining the old home- 
stead, and the other two remain at home with their 
mother. 

Mrs. John Hart's father, .loliu l.add, was a native 
of New England, and his father, the great-grand- 
father of our subject, also named John, was a pio- 
neer of Schuyler, N. Y., and was a, soldier of the 
War of 1.S12. He was a liaiitisl pivachcr and a 
farmer, and improved a farm in Scliu\ Icr, whrrc he 
spent the last 3'ears of his life. His son John, 
though born in New England, spent the most of 
his early life on the homestead in Herkimer County, 
N. Y., remaining there until I.siG, when he re- 
moved to Victor, Ontario Count}', and bought a 
farm on which he lived until his decease. His wife, 
whose maiden name was Hetsey Olney, was liorn in 
New England and died on the homestead in \ ic- 
tor. 

Albert Hart has always resided in Hudson Town- 
ship, where he follows the pursuit to which he was 
reared, finding it a profitable and liealtlifid occupa- 
tion. Besides tilling the soil he is much inteiested 
in stock-raising, Short-horns being his favorite 
breed, and he has a fine herd of well-graded cattle. 

The spirit of patriotism was ai-oused in the breast 
of our subject at the outbreak of the Civil War, 
and he enlisted Sept. 10, 18(51, in Company A, lid 
Ohio Infantrj^ and was mustered in .as a private. 
He participated in the battle of Shiloh, the sieges 
of Vicksburg and Corinth, and other minor engage- 
ments. He was promoted for gallant conduct to 
Second Lieutenant, then First Lieutenant, and sid)- 
sequently to the rank of Captain. After two years' 
service he was obliged to resign on account of ill- 
health. Mr. Hart was a brave soldier and is a good 
citizen, living an honest, upright life, respected 
and esteemed by all who know him. In politics 
he is a stanch Republican. 

J~'l ACOB REED is a farmer residing on section 
I K!, Dover Township, where he owns a fine 
farm. His parents wei'c of (icrman ancestry, 
/ and were natives of Pennsylvania, where his 
father, Jacob Reed, was born in Cuml)erland Coun- 
ty, Aug. 2, 1800. He was a farmer Ijy occupation. 



and married, in Fayette, Seneca Co., N. Y., Cather- 
ine Smith, who was born in Turbot, Northumber- 
land Co., Pa., April -27, 1801. After their mar- 
riage they settled in Fayette, Seneca Co., N. Y., 
where they passed their wedded life. The father 
died Nov. 1 7, 1 86!) ; the mother Dec. 1 4, 187G. They 
were the p.arents of ten children, namely: John, 
.I.-irob. Charles, Willi.'im, Franklin, Elizabeth, Han- 
nah, Enoch. Ann.M S. .-ind Edward. Charle,-, ilied in 
Fayette, N. V.. March H, 18C3; William lives in 
New York State; Franklin died when about twelve 
years of age, Feb. "2, 1842: Elizabeth resides in 
Fayette, N. V.; Ibmn.Mh died in infancy; Enoch 
lives in Seneca County. N. Y. ; Anna S. died in tluat 
county, July 27, I8.S1;. while Edward lives in :\Iadi- 
son Township, this c<nnity. 

Jacob Reed was born in Fayette. Seneca Co., N. 
V.', Sept. .'JO, lS2."i. :ind was iired to the life of a 
farmer. He remained on lh.> iiome farm until lie 
was twenty-two years of age, reiulering his father 
valuable assistance in the management of his farm, 
and receiving in returr. many practical lessons from 
his worthy sire, which conli-ibuted to his adv:ince- 
ment in later life. After leaving the home <if his 
parents, he began to work at the carpenter's trade, 
which business ho follovved the most of the time for 
fifteen years. After that he returned to his original 
occupation of farming, and remained in Seneca 
Count}' until 1 .s.'iO. For the next ten years he lived 
in Central New York and Ohio. s|)ending three years 
in the latter State. In the spring of 1800 he came 
to Lenawee Count}', and casting in his fortunes with 
this State, settled in Dover Township, as he was 
pleased with the appearance of the country round 
about. He afterward returned to his native State, 
for the purpose of marrying the woman who was to 
be of such valuable assistance to him in making a 
home in this Stsite. His marriage with Mrs. Su- 
sanna (Gambee) Kuney took place in Seneca County, 
N. Y., on the 7th of November, 1861. She is the 
daughter of Jacob and Mary C. (Gamber) Gambee, 
and the widow of Reuben Kuney, who died in Fay- 
ette, Seneca Co., N. Y., April 12, 18,54. By her 
marriage with Mi'. Kuney she had three children — 
Lorenzo, Minerva R. and one unnanufd. They are 
all dead. 

Jacob (Jandiee was born in Berks Count}', Pa., 



■•► 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



J Illy 11, 1784, and his wife was also born in that 
county, Jan. 26, 1791. They spent their married 
life in Fayette, Seneea Co., N. Y., and there their 
daughter, Mvi. Reed, was born April 25, 1825. Mrs. 
Ganibee died March 9, 1865, and Mr. Gambee 
Feb. 22, 186S. They were the parents of thirteen 
children — Mary E., Daniel, George and another 
(twins), Jacob, John, Mary C, Rebecca, Jesse, Su- 
sanna, John B., William and Sarah A. 

Mr, Reed has a farm of 160 acres, which is very 
productive, and has well repaid his care and toil. 
He has made many valuable improvements, among 
which is a fine set of buildings, which greatly add 
to the attractiveness of his farm. The wedded life 
of Mr. and Mrs. Reed has been blessed by the birth 
of two childi-en — Franklin J. and Mary C^. Mr. Reed 
worthily fills his position in this township as an hon- 
est and industrious citizen. In politics he votes 
with the Democratic party. He and his wife are 
earnest and conscientious members of the Lutheran 
Churcii. 

\1? AG RANGE H. DEWEY, of Palmyra Town- 
I (^ ship, is recalled to mind as one of its earli- 
jIL-^ est settlers and a man who has been remark- 
ably prosperous in his undertakings, especially in his 
efforts to build up a home and secure a competency. 
He is now the proprietor of one of the finest farm 
estates in Lenawee County, which he built up mainly 
from the uncultivated soil, and during his early 
manhood labored early and late, thinking no effort 
too great for the end in view. He was ere long- 
recognized as a valuable addition to the young- 
township struggling into being, and to the com- 
munity working against odds to establish itself in 
an undeveloped Territorj'. He has lived to see the 
once dense tracts of forests blooming into culti- 
vated farms and smiling fields, and the places where 
wild animals roamed now the dwelling-place of 
high-bred farm stock and all tlie other appurtenances 
of civilization. 

Mr. Dewey was born in Oneida County, N. Y., 
June 17, 1830, and is the son of Hiram D. and 
Sarah (Linsley) Dewey, also natives of New York 
State, where the father was born Oct. 2, 1802. The 



Hl-i.- 



latter was the son of Samuel Dewey, who began life 
in 1763, and distinguished himself as a drummer 
boy in the Revolutiouaiy War. He was taken 
prisoner by the Indians, with whom he remained 
three years and was then released ; he spent the last 
years of his life in Hillsdale County, Mich. 

The father of our subject when a young man 
learned the trade of a carpenter, and after his mar- 
riage located in Chautauqua County, N. Y'., where 
he purchased fifty acres of land and employed him- 
self in farming, carpentering aud teaching until 
1841. He then sold out, and coming into this 
county located first in Madison Township, where he 
carried on farming six years on rented land and 
then purchased the land which constitutes the pres- 
ent homestead of our subject. Mr. Dewey was to pa}- 
$1,200 for the entire tract of 160 acres. Only a 
few acres of this land was cleared, the remainder 
being covered with heavy timber, but upon it were 
two log houses, only one, however, suitable for a 
dwelling. In 1852, desiring a change of scene, he 
went to California where he spent three 3'ears, but 
returned in poor health and died not long afterward, 
in the spring of 1857. The mother survived until 
June, 1886, and passed away at the old homestead. 
The parental household included five children, of 
whom only three lived to reach their majority ; our 
subject is the eldest of the family and the only son. 

Mr. Dewey was but a lad eleven years of age 
when he came with his parents to this county. He 
was reared to habits of industry, and as soon as his 
services could be utilized, employed himself in as- 
sisting to clear the land and build up a homestead. 
He was given a half intei-est in the last purchase of 
land which his father made and which has been his 
residence continuously since that time. He has 
sixty acres of land under a good state of cultiva- 
tion, with substantial farm buildings, a good orchard 
of apple trees and a fine assortment of the smaller 
fruits. 

Mr. Dewey was married, Nov. G, 1856, to Miss 
Charity A. Wines, a native of New Y'ork State, and 
the daughter of Surrajah and Jane A. (Phillips) 
Wines, natives of the same State. They passed 
away several years ago in Lenawee County, Mich. 
Mr. and Mrs. Dewey became the parents of two 
children: LaFayette L., who was born Nov. 21, 



Hh-^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1868, audis in>n .-it. h v. :iiul Klhi. tlie wife of 

George Nichols, of Cold water, Mich. 

The early home of Mrs. Dewey was in Wolcott, 
W.iyiie Co., N. Y., where her birtli took place May 
2, IM.'i.'i. Her father was the son of James Wines, 
who spent the most of his life in York State. 'l"he 
former, like his father, followed farming all his life, 
and came to Michigan in 184S, where he diccl in 
Ivahunazoo. He located on a tract of timber land, 
and in clearing a farm from the wilderne.ss ex|ii'ri- 
enced all the hardships and privations incident to 
settlement in a new country. The mother of Mrs. 
Uewcy was the daughter of Nicholas Phillips, and 
surviving her husband some years, died at the home 
of her ilaughter, at Tecumseh. Mr. Dewey h.as 
ahvay> been a Republican in polities. 



iVLENTlNE WKN/1:L 

nian\', having been liorn 



m 

^ Dec. 25, 1822, and i> the >..n n( \aientiiie 
and Mary (Hute) Wenzel, natives n( (Jeininny, in 
which country their entire li\'es were parsed. The 
sybject of this sketch, bcsido hi^ Ijnitlur (icorge, 
and a half-brother, Frederic Foote, hotli of wlioni 
are now living in Baltimore, are the only mendieis 
of the family that came to this country. 

Mr. Wenzel received a good education in his na- 
tive country, attending the public schools there 
until sixteen years of age, an<l during the two suc- 
ceeding years he remained at home assisting his fa- 
ther on the farm. This life did nut satisfy him, 
and feeling sure that more lucrative employment 
could be found in the New World, he left home in 
June, 1840, and sailing down the River Rhine to 
Rotterdam, there took passage on a sailing- ve-ssel to 
America. After a stormy voyage of forty-five 
days he disembarked in New York on the 1st of 
August, 1840, and proceeded at once to Philadel- 
phia, and thence to Baltimore, where he resided 
for the next two years with his half-brother. He 
then went to Harrisburg, Pa., and served an ap- 
prenticeship at the jewelry trade, and subsequently 
established himself in that business in Cumberland, 
remaining there until 1856. In that year, being 



seized with the western fever, he came to Michigan 
and found employment in a machine-shop in Adrian, 
where he worked for one year. We next hear of 
him in Hillsdale County, where he bouglit a tract of 
land in the township of Wright, ten acres of which 
had been cleared and contained a log cabin; he re- 
mained there some years, clearing a farm and erect- 
ing good frame buildings. In 1868 our subject 
embarked in a mercantile enterprise, carrying on a 
general merchandise store in Waldron, but after a 
year's experience in that line disposed of his stock 
and resumed farming in Wright Township. In 
1876 he removed to Hudson Township and bought 
a tract of land near the village, on which he has 
erected a fine set of buildings, and is now living in 
retirement from the active duties of life. 

Mr. Wenzel was married in October, 1846, to 
Catharine Needheimer, who was born in Cumber- 
land County, Pa., in October, 1828. To her and her 
husband were born ten ehildven — Eleanora, Clara 
P., Charles E., William H., Mary C, Frank J., Carrie, 
(ieorge W., .Stella I. ;ind Edward J. Eleanora mar- 
ried F. A. Smith, of Minneapolis, Minn.; Clara P. 
is the wife of J. Vandervvert, of Mankato, Minn.; 
Charles lives in Minneapolis, William in Clifford, 
Dak., and Mary is the wife of Edward Jaeobs, of 
Butte City, Mont. 

In politics Mr. Wenzel is a Republican, and a 
warm supporter and believer in the institutions of 
this his adopted countrj'. In religion he and his 
wife are worthy members of the Methodist Episco- 
pal Church, and in daily life practice the precepts to 
which they subscribe. 

ANIEL WEB.STER TEACHOUT, form- 
erly of Rome Township, but now of the 
city of Adrian, is well known as an active 
farmer and trader in stock, and is a man of 
tact, enterprise and thrift. He owns a most excel- 
lent farm, which is situated in Madison Township, 
directly west of Adrian, and contains eonnnodious 
and substantial farm buildings. 

Mr. Teachout was born in Rome Township, 
, Lenawee County, July 18, 1-844, and is the son of 
I Welcome and Melinda (Howland) Teachout, natives 



■^►^h-4« 



848 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



of Ontario County, N. Y. They emigrated from 
New Yoik to Lenawee County in 1843, and settled 
on section 10, in Rome Township, but soon after- 
ward changed to section 9, where they opened and 
improved a splendid farm, upon which tiiey con- 
tinued to reside until 18G0. In that year the father 
moved to Adrian, andiocated on Michigan avenue, 
where he built a fine brick residence, in which he 
died in 1880, at the age of sixty-eight years, leav- 
ing a wife and one son and daughter. These chil- 
dren are D. W., the subject of this sltetch, and Mary 
E., the wife of Alfonzo Stoddard, wlio lives in 
Rome Center, this county, and owns the homestead 
where her father first settled. 

D. W. Teachout spent his youth on the farm in 
Rome Township, where he attended the district 
school, and grew up to farm work, in which he be- 
came much skilled. In 1863 he enlisted as a pri- 
vate in Company L, 11th Michigan Cavalry, and 
accompanied his regiment when it went soon after 
to Lexington, Kj-., and immediately entered active 
service. He was engaged with his regiment in all 
its marches, and participated in all the engagements 
in which it took part, until June 15, 1865, when he 
was honorably discharged from the service. Upon 
leaving the army he returned to his home in Rome 
Center. 

On the 2Gth of December, 1867. Mr. Teachout 
was married to Miss Caroline M. Kimball, a native 
of Rome Township, and the daughter of Avery and 
Charity M. Kimball, who were formerly of New 
York. Mr. Teachout settled on a farm in Rome 
Township which had been known as the homestead, 
and soon after purchased another farm, upon whicli 
he resided for three years, his brother-in-law hav- 
ing become an occupant of the old homestead. In 
1879 our subject removed into Adrian, where he 
has since resided, but has continued the manage- 
ment of his farm in Madison Township, one mile 
west of the city. In addition to the supervision 
of his farm he has for the past ten years been 
largely engaged in buying cattle, hogs and sheej), 
and shipping them east, principall}' to the Buffalo 
market. 

Mr. and Mrs. Teachout have one child, a boy 
born on the 20th of April, 1 870, named Welcome 
A. In addition to his own family, our subject's 



household also contains Iris mother, who was born 
in 1820 and is still enjoying good health. Mr. 
Teachout is a member of the Republican party, 
and takes an active interest in political matters, 
especially in securing the election of his friends to 
offlce, while he served one term as Treasurer of 
Rome Township, but has never been a seeker after 
office. He is a comrade of the G. A. R., and is 
generally present at musters, and participates in all 
the camp-fires. As a citizen and a business man 
he is universally respected, and in many ways is 
the confidence which the people have in him mani- 
fested. 



VfJAMESK. WHEELER. Among the repre- 
|l sentative pioneers of the county of Lenawee 
I there is prob.ably none more prominent than 
^^^ James K. Wheeler, of Rome Township- 
Coming here at an early day, when what is now a 
land covered w-ith fine farms was then a boundless 
wilderness, thickly covered with heavy timber, he 
has watched its growth almost from its infancy. He 
was born Ma,y 8, 1829, at Seneca, N. Y., and was 
brought by his parents to this county in 1833, where 
he has grown up amid the familiar scenes that 
now surround him. 

Abraham Wheeler, the father of our subject, was 
a native of Ovid, Seneca Co., N. V., where he 
was born May 16, 1803, and was the stm of James 
Wheeler, a native of New Jersey, and a farmer by 
occupation. After James Wheeler was married he 
removed to Seneca County, N. Y., and purchased a 
farm in Ovid, where he lived until the spring of 
1833, when he came to Michigan, and purchased 
200 acres of land from Capt. Thomas Whitney, 
which was situated just west of the River Raisin, and 
now included within the city limits of Adrian. 
Abraham Wheeler came to Michigan in June, 1833, 
and purchased land on section 22, in Macon Town- 
ship, where he resided until the spring of 1840, when 
he removed to a farm on section 16, in the same 
township, for which he had bargained. Making this 
his residence until 1863, he then sold out and re- 
tired from active business, making his home with 
his son, James K., until his death, which occurred 
Jan. 6, 1874. On the II th of November, 1827, he 



H^l 



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LENAWEE COUNTY. 



849 ' i 



was united in iiiamage witli Azulia Y(>im<)-. of Troy, 
N. y., who became the mother of tiiree children, 
James K., John C. and Velitta, the last of whom is 
deceased. Jlrs. Azuba Wheeler was a native of the 
State of New Yorii, and was born Aug. 1, I8O0; she 
died in Rome Township, this county, Sept. 22, 1865. 
In 18G8 Mr. Abraham Wheeler married Mrs. Car- 
oline Hitch, the widow of Hubbard Hitch, of Rome 
Township. Mr. Wheeler was quite intiuential in 
political circles iu his day, and served liis town as 
Supervisor for several years, while he filled the office 
of Justice of the Peace for eight years. Thor- 
oughly active and progressive in all public improve- 
ments, he shirked no responsibilities tiiat came upon 
him as a pioneer. Politically, Mr. Wiieeler was at- 
tached to the Democratic party. 

James K. Wheeler made his home with his par- 
ents foi' many years, helping his father in his farm 
labors, and attending school during tlie winter. 
Thus passed his life until lie was twenty-one years 
old, at which age he started out to battle witii the 
world for himself. After working for various par- 
ties, always at agricultural labor, in 1853 he pur- 
chased a farm on section 34, in Woodstock Town- 
ship. This he occupied until 1865, when selling 
out he purchased a farm on section 7, in Rome 
Township, where he still resides. His land is of a 
high degree of fertility, and under an excellent 
system of tillage, while altogether it is one of the 
most desirable places, for many reasons, in this i)art 
of the township. His residence and farm buihlings 
are in an excellent state of repair, he having put up 
a fine barn in 1882. Mr. Wheeler has been for many 
years, and is still, quite active in .all good work, both 
in religious and social circles. He is a member of 
the Second Baptist Church of Rome, and a true 
Christian gentleman in every sense of the word. 

On the 12th of Nc^vember, 1.S51, James K. 
Wheeler entered into a matrimonial alliance with 
Eleanor Ann, daughter of John A. .and Eleanor 
Miller, and born at Lodi, Seneca Co., N. Y., Dec. 
28, 1828. Her father, John A. Miller, wasanative 
of New York, where he was born March 7, 1784, 
and came to Michigan in 1842, settling in Macon 
Township. On the 20th of February, 1816, he mar- 
ried Eleanor Sutphen, by whom he had seven chil- 
dren. Mrs. Eleanor Miller was a native of Seneca 



County, N. Y., where she w.as born July 3, 1786, 
and died iu the same place, Jime 18, 1839. After 
her death Mr. Miller married Miss Maria Breese, 
and died in Macon Township, this county, Nov. 
5, 1852. 

Mr. and Mis. Wheeler are the parents of three 
children, .as follows: Finetta was born in Macon 
Township, Dec. 2, 1852, and died in Woodstock 
Township, July 5, 1862; John A. was born Jan. 31, 
1857, married Lizzie Slytter, of RoUin Township, 
and is the parent of one child, Veda, born July 29, 
1883;Hershel D. was born Oct. 28, 1860, and mar- 
ried Miss Luella Meyers, April 13, 1.S86. 



AVID M. BLAIR is located in Morenci, 
where he is engaged as a blacksmith and 
carriage-maker. He was born near Sodus, 
N. Y., Dec. 4, 1828. His means for ob- 
taining an education were very limited, as when 
he was about twelve years of age his mother died, 
and his father being a cripple, David not only had 
to take care of himself, but assisted in the care of 
the other members of the family. 

David Blair was engaged in farming until he was 
seventeen years of age, when he hired out and 
learned the trade of a blacksmith, at which he 
worked for different parties until he was about 
twenty-one years of age. He followed this business 
in New York State until 1850, when he went to 
(iorhani Township, Ohio, and remaining there car- 
ried on the same business five years, coining thence 
to Morenci. He engaged for a short time at his 
trade, and then buying out his employer, entered 
the business on his own account, and has conducted 
it successfully until the present time. In connec- 
tion with blaeksmithing, he has engaged in carriage- 
making, furnishing employment in his busi.uess to 
as many as nineteen men. He conducts the prin- 
cipal establishment in his line in this vicinity. 

Our subject was first married in Seneca County, 
N. Y., to Miss Lucinda Clark, who was born in 
Ohio in 1830. They became the parents of five 
children whom they named as follows: Warren 
M., Lucy A., George, Ellen and Ernest M. War- 



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t i 850 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 






ren and Ellen are deceased; George married Miss 
Sarah J. Bardwell, and resides in Morenei; they 
have two children living, David M. and Jessie L., 
while one child, Clarence, is deceased. Ernest is 
telegraph operator in Ashland, Wis. The mother 
of these children died in Morenei, on the Gth of 
July, 1879, and Mr. Blair was a second time mar- 
ried, in Morenei, Oct. 22, 1879, to Mrs. Ellen N. 
Page, the widow of James Page, who died in 18t!(J. 
while on the way to Texas to purchase stock. His 
remains were brought back to his home for inter- 
ment. Mrs. Blair by her first marriage had three 
children, two of whom lived to mature years — Lulu 
and Jennie. Lulu is the wife of Charles H. Fostei', 
and Jennie is a teacher at Morenei. 

The parents of our subject were David ami 
Temperance (De Kay) Blair, tlie former a native 
of Massachusetts and the latter of Pennsylvania. 
The father was of Scotch ancestry and the mother 
of German descent. Their family comprised five 
children, four boys and one girl, of whom only two 
boys are now jiving — David M. and James. 

Mr. Blair was President of the Village Bonrd 
eleven years, holding the office for nine consecutive 
years, and has been a member of the School Board 
twenty-three years. He organized the Fire Com- 
pany of Morenei and was Chief of the department 
many years, and is now an honorary member of the 
company. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity 
and is also a member of the L O. O. V. 

J (AMES BLAIR resides in Morenei and was 
elected County Surveyor in the fall of 1881, 
j since which time he has filled that important 
' office with credit to himself and satisfaction 

to all concerned. Prior to 1881 he had acted as 
Deputy Sheriff for a number of years. 

The parents of our subject were David and 
Temperance (De Kay) Blair. James Blair w;is 
horn in Sodus, Wayne Co., N. Y., March 11, liS33. 
When seven years old his mother died, and he went 
to live with a farmer in Seneca County, where lie 
remained until he was eighteen years of age, receiv- 
ing an education in the common schools. He ap- 
plied himself to his studies so diligently that at the 



age of eighteen he took charge of a school, but 
finding the profession unsuited to his tastes, he 
abandoned it and was variously occupied until he 
came to Morenei, in 186fi, where he has since lived. 
He was in the employment of his brother David 
al)out ten years, and during that time he deter- 
mined to follow his present occupation, for which 
he had fitted himself before coming to Morenei. 

Our subject was first married to Miss Agnes N. 
Ferguson, who bore him one child, Annie, and died 
in Rochester, N. Y. He was a second time married, 
in Canada, to Miss Lueinda Oram, a native of that 
country, and they became the parents of three chil- 
dren — Charles, Lillie and Frank. Charles is a 
druggist in Morenei, where Frank also resides; and 
Lillie is the wife of F. M. Fisk. Mr. Blair has been 
\'illf<ge Trustee, and is a member of the 1. O. O. F. 
Li politics he is Republican. 



J "AMES PATRICK. The Patrick family, 
wherever known, have always made a good 
record, being prominent in public life and of 
that liberal and progressive spirit which led 
them, wherever making their home, to interest 
themselves in the general welfare of their com- 
munity. They have rightly judged that only the 
spirit of selfishness will chain a man solely to his 
own concerns, and that it is to the public-spirited 
citizen that towns and communities are indebted 
for their thrift and prosperity. The subject of 
this sketch has inherited this trait of his ancestors 
in a marked degree, and in the township of Rollin, 
where he has long made his abiding-place, is recog- 
nized as a valued and useful citizen. 

Mr. Patrick was born in Palmyra, Wayne Co., 
N. Y., Nov. 12, 1818, and is the son of James and 
Amanda (Drake) Patrick, natives of New York. 
The father died while still a young man, in Orleans 
County, and after this sad event the mother was 
compelled to return to her old home in Palmyra. 
There had been a good property, but this the father 
was cheated out of through the dishonesty of un- 
scrupulous men. James was separated from his 
mother at the age of eight years and went to live 
with Samuel Beals, a perfect stranger to the Patrick 
— — •► 



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LENAWKE COUNTY, 



family, with whom he afterward learned the cooper's 
trade. At the age of nineteen he bought his time 
of his guardian and conuneneed working for him- 
self. The stimulus of feeling iiiniself his own ni.-ui 
eiialjled him to put forth extra efforts, rind llirec 
years later he \v:i< the [irond possessor of >;.'i(iil, :ind 
felt justilied in securing one of man's lir-l M.'ss- 
iiigs— a o,,,„i wife. To tiiis lady. Miss M.-iiy .1. 
M.iorclHius.', he was married June :., IS II, and 
they eame to Michigan siiortiy afterward, prepared 
to share in the fortunes of the pioneers. He liought 
lots, and, building a cooper shop, was engag(>(l at 
his trade four years. Mr. Patrick took up a tract 
of land on section ■>'.) in Rollin Township in l,s.-,3, 
and was soon entrusted with the various local 
offices, serving as Supervisor two terms, and Justice 
of the Peace for a period of eleven years. He 
was also Captain of the home militia here, i-eceiv- 
ing his commission from (4ov. Barry. Other offices 
were tendered him, but he preferred to lead the 
quiet life of a privates citizen, thus escaping both 
care and censure. He has ever delighted in iielp- 
ing those who would try to help themselves, espec- 
ially the young man starting out under adverse cir- 
cumstances, a situation which Mr. Patrick can most 
thoroughly appreciate. 

The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Patrick arc 
recorded as follows: Viorna A. was born in Rollin 
Township, March 4, 1 842, and is the widow of Perry 
N. Rowley and the mother of one child, Willis P., 
who married Miss Elizabeth W. .Seeley, and thcj' 
also have one child, a son. Perry N. Rowley, dur- 
ing the late war, enlisted as a rnion soldier in the 
I8th Michigan Infantry ami died while in the 
service. Oct. 3, 18(54. The second diild of our 
subject, Willis W., who was liorn Sept. I if. is.",."]. 
died Feb.;!, 1 8(;2. The great-grandchild of .Mi'. 
Patrick is a bright little fellow fom- m.iutbs oM. 
and is named I'erry .1. In a family of live peisons 
may be seen four generations. 

Mr. Patrick cast his first Presidential vote for 
Henry Clay, and was for many years identified with 
the old Whig party; since its .abandonment he has 
affiliated with the Republicans. He was a readei- 
of the New York Tribune for twonty-twt) years, 
and voted for tireeley when he ran for President. 
\ r Religiously, he has been connected with the Bai)tist 



Church since about the time of its organization in 
Rollin Township, serving as Deacon, and a man 

always prominent in its councils. He is now pass- 
ing down the sunset hill of life, but possesses the 
inestimable blessing of good health and hosts of 
friends, which are each better than riches, although 
the Patricks have always had a generous share of 
this worl.l's goods, t.. whicii they have been amply 
entitled by virtue of their willingness to secure 
tliese by honest and honorable toil. 



W e"^^ 



r 



\f| K. SMITH is one of the most worthy, 
' ifty and successful farmers, one full of 
rth and jollity, and ever ready to tell and 
{(^JJ enjoy a good joke. lie resides on section 7, 
Clinton Township, where he settled in September, 
183iJ. On his arrival the farm was in a crude 
state with little accomplished in the way of im- 
provement, but l)y industry, good management and 
foresiglit. lie now enjoys a home of 150 acres of 
land in a fine state of cultivation, two miles from 
(Tintou. The farm is well stocked with a fine grade 
of horses, cattle and swine, while all the cereals 
adapted to this climate are here grown with good 
success. 

Our subject is a native of Newstead Townshii), 
Erie Co., N. Y., where he was born on the 6th of 
December, 1820, and is the son of Henry Smith, a 
native of Connecticut, who followed the occupation 
of a farmer. Ileiny Smith left his native State 
when a young ir.an, and went to Ca^'uga County. 
N. Y.. where he was soon aftei' united in marriage 
with Miss Anna M. Boyer, a native of the Empire 
State, born and reared in Cayuga County. Shortly 
•after their marriage, Mr. Smith and his estimable 
\ciung bride removed into Erie County of the 
same State, where they secured a piece of land in 
the wilderness region, and with brave hearts set 
about building np a home as pioneers were wont to 
do. Here they resided for twenty-live years, being 
blessed meanwhile with four idiildren. the second 
of whom, the only son, is the subject of this narra- 
tive. At the end of that time, they made the trip 
to Michigan, via the lake to Detroit, thence by 

•^ 



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' ' 852 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



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team and wagon, loaded with household effects, 
through sparsely settled districts, to their present 
home. The father secured 140 acres of land, which 
at his death, Oct. 19, 1865, came into the possession 
of our subject. The father attained his seventy- 
fifth year, and was closel.y allied to the history of 
his section. He was an honest, upright, energetic 
and thrift}' man, enjoying the confidence and es- 
teem of a large circle of friends and acquaintances. 
Politically he was a Democrat. His widow joined 
the ever increasing majority Feb. 9, 1879, after 
the frosts of eighty-four winters had whitened her 
hair. 8iie lived to see her offspring respected, 
honored and loved, as she herself had deservedl}' 
been. 

The subject of our notice passed liis early life 
under the parental roof, where he was an obedient 
and worthy son, remaining with his parents accord- 
ing to their wish, until they were called to their 
final rest. His schooling was such as the educa- 
tional facilities of the township afforded. Mr. 
Smith was united in marriage with Miss Lydia Sil- 
vers on the 22d of February, 1848. Miss Silvers 
is the daughter of John P. and Jeanette (Hooper) 
Silvers, the former a native of New Jersey, while 
the latter was from New York ; both are now de- 
ceased. They were married at Seneca Falls, and 
settled on a farm in that place, where their daughter, 
Mrs. Smith, was born Dee. 6, 1830. Six children 
were born to her parents prior to their removal to 
Michigan in 1833. Upon their arrival they located 
on a partially improved farm on section 8, Clinton 
Township, and finally owned a farm of 275 acres, 
on which Mr Silvers died in 1882. His first wife 
had died in 1838, and Mr. Silvers buried his third 
wife ere the se^ythe of time selected him as a blade 
of grass to fall before its sway. 

Mrs. Smith became the mother of three children, 
one of whom a daughter. Belle, is deceased ; Porter 
C, the eldest, married Grace Fisk and resides in 
Clinton, where he is engaged in the meat trade; 
Carrie is the wife of Dow Draper, and lives in Clin- 
ton, Mich., where Mr. Draper is engaged in tlie 
livery business. 

Mr. Smith has held the minor offices of Justice 
of the Peace, etc. He is indeed an exemplary 
man, and like his good wife has every encourage- 



ment to build up and adorn their home of love. 
They attend the Episcopal Church at Clinton, and 
Mr. Smith is a decided Democrat. 



HARLES C. RUSSELL, whose name has been 
familiar to the people of Fairfield Township 
^^^y for nearlj' fifty years, came to this section of 
country when nineteen years of age with his young 
wife, in 1 839. They located in the wilds of Fair- 
field Township, of which he has since been a con- 
tinuous resident and intimately associated with the 
growth and prosperitj' of Lenawee Count}'. No 
man has watched with more interest and satisfaction 
the development of the Wolverine State than our 
subject, and he has filled his niche in life worthily, 
assisting, as in him lay, to bring this county to its 
present proud position. He is now not far from his 
threescore years and ten, and has been permitted to 
witness the i-emarkable changes which to the old 
pioneers as they look back seem more like a pic- 
tured panorama than the real events which have 
been passing during the flight of years. 

Our subject, a native of the Empire State, is the 
son of Samuel and Deborah (Sprague) Russell, also 
natives of New York, born, reared and married in 
Dutchess County. They remained there for a time 
after uniting their lives and fortunes, then removed 
to Seneca County, that State, and thence to South- 
ern Michigan, in November, 1836. They spent the 
remainder of their lives in Fairfield Township, this 
county, where the death of the mother took place 
in 1846, and that of the father in 1879. 

Charles C. Russell was one of a family of thiee 
daughters and seven sons, nine of whom lived to 
mature years and eight of whom are now living, 
being residents mostly of Michigan; one son is now 
in Toledo, Ohio. Charles was born in Seneca 
County, N. Y., June 14, 1820, and there reared to 
manhood, engaged in farming .and receiving a fair 
education in the district school. He was married 
in Seneca County, March 9, 1839, to Miss Jane 
Lyke, a native of his own State, and born in Dela- 
ware Count}', Sept. 29, 1815. The parents of Mrs. 
Russell, Samuel and Sarah (Teed) Lyke, were na- 



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a 



a 



LENAWEE COUNTY 



«o3 



tives respective!}^ of New York State and Nova 
Scotia, the mother removing from her native Prov- 
ince with her parents in 1824. Tliey located in 
Delaware County, N. Y., whence they subsequently 
removed to Tompkins County, and there spent the 
remainder of their liv('<. S:inuu'l Lyke departed 
hence in November, is?;;, outliving- his wife cloven 
years. Mrs. Lyke had died in tlic fnll uf ISC.^. 
Their family consisted of foni- ,-(ins and swcn 
daughters, six of whom are living and locntcd ni(i>tly 
in the State of New York. 

Mr. and Mrs. Russell after taking up their abode 
in Fairfield Township, endured in conunon with tiie 
pioneers the hardships of life in a new ct)Uutry and 
lal)ored industriously to bnild up a good home. Li 
this they have been successful, and liavc also lirinij' 
established themselves among the most valued and 
highly respected members of tlie community'. They 
have had no children of their own, but performed 
the part of parents to an adopted son, (ieorge S. 
Russell, whom they reared as they would their own 
child, giving him a good education. He is now 
Frincii)al of tiie .lasptr school, and owns forty acres 
of good land near the village of Weston. Mr. 
Russell's farm includes eighty a(M-es of land pleas- 
antly located on section 20, and provided with suit- 
able and convenient buildings, a goodly assortment 
of live stock, and the various other appurtenances 
of a well appointed country estate. In polities he 
is a decided Prohibitionist. 

ellARLES TEACHOri'. Tliis gentleman, 
when a 3'outh of seventeen years cast his 
lot with the pioneers of Lenawee County, 
settling with his parents on a tract of lanil in Cam- 
bridge Township, and for a |)eriod of thirty years 
engaged continuousl}' in agricultural pursuits. 
From a modest beginning in lilV he acfjuired a 
handsome home and a good piopiTty , and n|)<)n 
retiring from active labor took up his abode in the 
city of Adrian, where he now resides. 

Our subject was born in Ontario County. N. Y., 
Feb. 2, 1837, at the homestead of his parents. 
William and Rachel (Wells) Teach..ut. wli,, u,-rc 
also natives of Ontario County. The liirtli of 



William Teachout occurred in 1805, and that of 
the mother of our subject a few years later. After 
their marriage they settled at the old Weils home- 
stead, where they continued to reside until IS.VI, 
when they came to this county, and the nioihi r died 
at the farm in Cambridge Townshi[i, in IsiIl'. 
William Teachout, after the death of his wife, re- 
moved to the village of Teeumseh, where his death 
occurred in 1869. 

Tlu' parental household of our subject included 
six children, two sous and four daughters, all of 
whom are living. CMiarles. our subject, vvas the 
second son and fouilli eliihl, and remained under 
the parental roof until twenty-two years of age. 
wlien in 185'.t, hewas married to Miss Harriet A. 
P>arrns, of Rome Township, and continneil working 
his father's farm until enabled to purchase a tract 
of land. He selected eighty acres in Rome Town- 
ship, upon which he settled with his family and re- 
mained until about 180.0, when he sold out and 
purchased another farm in the same township, 
which he also sold a few years later, and then se- 
cured possession of a fine tract of 170 acres cm sec- 
tion .'51 in Adrian Township. This he brought to 
a good state of cultivation. re|)aired the <ild bnild- 



a hotel at 
nine host" 
id removed 
>( the Gib- 



ings and put up new ones, ami of this 
still retains possession. 

Mr. Teachout in 1.S76 purchased 
Rome Center, where he officiated as '• 
three and one-half years, then sold out a 
to Adrian, where he became proprietor 
son House. Li 1880 he purchased the Exchange 
Hotel at Teeumseh, which he conducted fourteen 
months, then sold out and removed to Adrian, 
where he has since taken life easily, having little 
care beyond superintending his farm operations, 
which are carried on by tenants. 

Tlie wife of our subject was born in Rome Town- 
shi|i in 1 839, and is the daughter of DeUence and 
Emily (Smith) Barrus. Her maternal grandparents, 
David and Lydia Smith, were natives of New York, 
w'hence they removed to this count}' before the 
marri.age of their daughter Emily. The latter, 
with her husband, settled on a farm in Rome Town- 
ship, where Mr. Barrus died in 1849. They were 
the parents of seven children, three sons and four 
daughters, five of wIumu are still living, and the 

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854 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



i 



mother also, the latter making her home at Adrian. 
Mrs. Teachout was the eldest daughter. Her union 
with our subject resulted in the birth of two chil- 
dren, both boys, Fred D. and Clande Elwood, who 
are twent3'-eight and twenty years of age, respect- 
ively. 

J WILLIAM WHITAKER is one <.f the sub- 
stantial citizens of Hudson Township, where 
he is successfully engaged in agricultural 
pursuits, owning and occupying a fine farm 
on section 2. He was born in Ulster County, N. 
Y., Oct. 10, 182-2, and is the son of John Whitaker, 
a native of the same county, whose father, William 
by name, removed from that county to Ontario 
County about the year 1821. In 183.S he went 
from there to Ohio and became a pioneer of San- 
dusky County, locating in the township of York, 
where he entered a tract of 100 acres of Govern- 
ment land which was heavily timbered. He built 
a log caliin for the home of his family, and engaged 
to some extent in his occupation of a farmer, but 
his health, which was poor when he removed to 
Ohio, continued to fail until his death four years 
later. His wife survived him a few years, spending 
the last part of her life in the village of Clyde. 

The father of our subject grew to manhood and 
married in Ulster County, N. Y., whence he re- 
moved in 182'1 to Ontario County, where he rented 
land and continued to reside until 1836. In that 
year he removed with his family to Sandusky 
County, Ohio, and became actively engaged in 
clearing a farm and in tilling the soil, and made his 
home there for many years. In 1863 he removed 
to Michigan, retiring from the active duties of life 
to the home of our subject, where his death oc- 
curred in September, 1885. His wife was born in 
Durham Count}', N. Y., and her death occui-red in 
Sandusky County, Ohio, !\Iay 24, 1863; both were 
people of genuine worth of character and were re- 
spected accordingly. 

The subject of this sketch spent the fh'st fourteen 
years of his life in his native State, and there on 
his father's f.arm received his tirst lessons in the life 
of a farmer, which in later years he selected as the 



calling best suited to his tastes. He attended school 
both in the district schools of his native State, and 
in tiie pioneer schools of Sandusky County, Ohio, 
continuing to reside in the latter place with his par- 
ents until he was eighteen years old. He then went 
forth to begin the battle of life on his own account, 
first obtaining employment by the month, and at 
twentj' years of age he learned the cooper's trade, 
and continued to pursue it until 1853. At th.at 
time by his industr}' and thrift he had accumulated 
quite a sum of money, so that he was enabled to 
buy a farm and resume the occupation to which he 
had been reai-ed. Accordingly he came to this 
State and invested his money in the farm he has 
ever since occupied in this township. 

A few years prior to coming to Michigan our 
subject was united in marriage with Miss Louisa A. 
Hamilton, Sept. 28, 1847. She was born in that 
part of Huron County, Ohio, now included in Erie 
County, March 11, 1829. Her father, Abram Ham- 
ilton, was a native of Chenango County, N. Y., 
and his father, William Hamilton, it is thought, 
was a native of Scotl.and, and was too 3'oung to re- 
member when he started to cross the ocean to 
America, or the s.nd incident of the death of his 
parents on the w.ay. The little waif was kindlj' 
cared for and reared in the home of a gentleman 
near Esopus, N. Y. He married and continued to 
reside in that State until 1822, when he came to 
Ohio with his familj' and was among the early set- 
tlers of Erie Count.y, in that part of it then known 
as Huron County. Later he removed to York 
Township, Sandusky County, where he plied his 
trades of weaver and miller a short time and then 
lived retired until his death. The father of Mrs. 
Whitaker removed to Ohio with his parents and 
there m.arried Adeline Williams. He then bought 
and improved a farm in Milan Township, Huron 
County, but after a few years he sold it and re- 
moved to York Township, where he bought a farm, 
on which he lived until 1853. In that year he came 
to this county and purchased a farm in Dover 
Township, where he resided for about thirty years, 
but after the death of his wife in June, 1883, he 
spent the few remaining months of his life with his 
daughter, Mrs. Whitaker, dying in September, 1885. 
He was twice married. His first wife, the mother 

— M^ 



lp:nawee county. 



So.i 



of Mrs. Whitaker, died in 18.32; the maiden name 
of his second wife was Kleanor (Swift) Kinney. 

Our subject and hi^ wife made llicir lioiiir fm- 
sixteen years in tlic liUle log house Ihat slood on 
their farm at the time of pnrch.'ise, and tiiongh tliey 
now oeeupy a nuich more commodious and com- 
fortable house, we dare sa_v that thi^y have not been 
any happier in il than they wfi-v in tlie old one 

about the prosperity tliat tlie_v now enjoy. 'I'heii- 
liomo is very pleasantly located and is one of the 
cosiest and most desirable in the township. ;\Ii-. 
Whitaker has erected a good fr.aine bai-n and other 
necessary farm buildings, and evei-ything about the 
]ilace bears evidence of a thrifty owner. Sine(^ the 
farm came into his pos.se.ssiou he has in other ways 
increased its value, by drainage and by careful cult- 
ure, so that the soil h;is lieeii enriched I'ather than 
impoverished; he h.as cleared lifty-live of the eighty 
acres embraced in this f.arm. 

Mr. Whitaker is not unmindful of the share which 
his good wife has had in bringing about their pres- 
ent prosperous condition, and generously accords 
her all praise. She is an excellent housewife, and 
by her judicious management h.as added much to 
their fin.ances. Their union has been blessed by 
the birth of two children: Frank H. and Eleanor 
H. ; the former lives in Rollin Township, the latter 
is with her parents. 

Mr. and Mrs. Whitaker united with the Free- 
will Baptist Church during their residence in Ohio, 
and have since faithfully clung to that religion, 
while their daughter is a member of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church. In [lolitics Mr. Whitaker is a 
stanch Republican. 



y 



l|,ILLIAM 11. KNOX. Among the rising 
young men of Hudson Township, who as 
farmers are contributing to her growth and 
adding to her material wealth, is the subject of this 
sketch. Inheriting from a Scoteii ancestry a vigor- 
ous constitution, sound eoinni(.)n sense anil thrifty 
habits, he is pursuing his chosen calling with much 
success. He now owns a good farm of eighty acres, 
which he has under good drainage and tillage, .and 



which ^yields him satisfactory returns for the money 
and labor he expends on it. He has g<jo(l buildings, 
and is altogether very conifortably situated. 

.Mr. Knox is a native of Michigan, and w.as boi-n 
on his father's homestead in Fairfiehl Township, 
Nov. 2-2, 18.57. His father, James Knox, wa- l...rn 
near Haddington, Scotland, and wa> the ^on of 
.Tames Knox, a native and lif.'-long resident of that 
country. The fathei' of .mr sni.je.'t w.-is reared to 
agricultural pursuits, and after he gi'ew to manhood 
was a itart of the time engaged in diteliing and 
teaming, and some of the time in tending a toll 
gate. When lie was twenty-eight years of age he 
set out for Ameiica to seek his fortune, and came 
directly to Adrian, in this .State, whence he went 
to Fairfield Township and bought a partially im- 
proved farm of Daniel Jliekley on section .'), on 
which was a frame b.arn, the s.-e.,n.l one oillie kind 
ever Imilt in that town>hip, and .-i log hou.se. He 
was a single man at that time and boarded until 
his marri.age, when he commenced housekeeping in 
the log house above mentioned, and has occupied 
that farm ever since. He now own> a line farm of 
189 acres, \r,() of wliich are well improved, a.nd the 
remainder is valualilo timber land, while good frame 
buildings have taken the place of the original struc- 
tures. His wife, the mother of our subject, whose 
maiden name was Emeline Bo3'er. w.as the ilaughter 
of James and .Sarah Bo3-er, and w.as horn ne.ir Kl- 
mira, N. Y. To her and her husband were born 
seven children, namely: James, Louisa, William, 
Deborah. Florence, Archie and Thomas. On the 
•22d of January. IS?.^,. the sji.adow of death fell over 
that household,. and it> hiniates were ln're.aved of the 
kind wife and mother. (For further p.-irent.al his- 
tory see sketch of James Knox.) 

The subject of this sketch w.as the third ehild and 
second son of his parents. He grew to manhood 

ance at the district scluxjl where he gained his edu- 
cation, he worked for his father and gleaned the i)rac- 
tical knowledge of farming which h.as enabled him 
to manage his own farm so iirohtahly. He remaini'd 
will, his fathei until li.' niarrie.l and est.al.lished a 
home of his own on the farm which he still con- 
tinues to oceu|)y. 

The date of the marriage of Mr. Knox with .Miss 



►^l-^ 



u 



856 



LENAA^"EE COUNTY. 



Ida Spencer was June 21, 1882. She was born in 
Camrlen, Oneida Co., N. Y., and i8 the daughter of 
George W. Spencer, a native of Tolland County, 
Conn. When Mr. Spencer was quite young his fa- 
ther, Ephraim Spencer, removed with his family 
from their New England home to New York, where 
he spent his last years in Oneida County. There 
the father of Mrs. Knox married Miss Orica Ray- 
mond, a native of New York State; she died in 
their home in Oneida County. He subsequently 
married Miss Saphronia Robinson for his second 
wife. Mr. Spencer enlisted in 1862 as a member of 
Company H, 117th New York Infantry, and served 
his country faithfully until the close of the war. In 
1866 he came to this county and settled in Seneca, 
but he now lives in Milford, Oakland County. Mr. 
and Mrs. Knox have a son and daughter, twins, 
named Leon and Leo. 

Mr. Knox is a young man with decided views of 
life, and is quite capable of forming his own opin- 
ions and sticking to them. In nothing does he 
show his decision of character more plainly than in i 
his faithful adherence to the Republican party. 
Both he and his wife are much liked and respected 
in this neighborhood. 



/p^EORGE IIEESEN h;is been a resident of 
i{\ (ss) Tecumseh Township since April 19, 1858, 
^^li and one of its most popular and prominent 
citizens. He commenced life com para tivel}^ with- 
out means, and by the exercise of industry and 
perseverance has attained a good position among 
the intelligent men of this county. His early 
home was in Dinxperlo, Province of Gelderland, 
Holland, where he was born March 12, 1829, at 
the modest home of his parents, Rudolph and Petro- 
nella (Taute) Heesen, natives of the Province of 
Suderwick, near Buchold; their residence was called 
Jerrinklioff. The mother was born Aug. 6, 1801, 
and died July 4, 1859. When their son George 
was a youth of seventeen years, the father set sail 
with his family for the United States. They 
remained for a brief time in the city of Baltinidre. 
whence they proceeded to Youngstown, Ohio, and 
uur subject employed himself in the iron and wd[ | 



mines of that region until the following year. He 
had learned the trade of a tailor in his native 
country, and now proceeding to the city of Cleve- 
land, Ohio, followed it there for thirteen j'ears. 
Rudolph Heesen finally came to this count3' and 
spent his last years with his son in Tecumseh, 
dying at the age of sixty-one years. 

The paternal grandfather of our subject. Andrew 
Heesen, was a weaver and dyer by trade, which he 
followed through life, and died at the advanced 
age of eighty years. Mrs. Petronella Heesen died 
at Cleveland, Ohio, at the age of fifty-seven years. 
She was the mother of five children, three sons and 
two daugliters, all of whom are living in Tecumseh. 

George Heesen is the eldest of the [)areiital 
family, and worked with his father at the weaver's 
trade in Holland, serving an apprenticeship of four 
years. He was sent to school during his boyhood, 
and being naturally bright and ambitious to learn, 
obtained a very good education. He continued 
with his parents twelve years after coming to this 
country, and being an expert at his trade received 
excellent wages. He was finallj^ appointed to a 
foremanship in a store at Cleveland, Ohio, which 
position he held two years, and then engaged in 
business for himself as a mei-chant tailor. Three 
years later he sold out, and coming U) Grand 
Rapids, secured a position as foreman of a merchant 
tailoring establishment there, which, however, he 
held only six months, when he became homesick 
and resolved upon a return to Cleveland. He 
remained in Ohio until the spring of 1858, then 
started for the West again, and upon his arrival in 
this county opened a small clothing and tailoring 
establishment at Tecumseh, which he has conducted 
since that time with entire success. Mr. Heesen 
was married in the fall of 1858, to Miss Angelina 
Nyland, one of his own countrywomen, and the 
daughter of Anthony Nyland. Her father followed 
farming, and spent his entire life on liis native 
soil. Mrs. H., in 1853, came with her brother to 
tlic United States, and bravely going to work, 
supported herself until her marriage. This brotlier 
is now a resident of Cleveland, Ohio. 

Mr. Heesen worked in the coal mines of Youngs- 
town, Ohio, in 1846, and assisted in building the 
celebrated " Ward " furnace, the first of its kind iu 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



a.")/ 



that section of the country. He takes considerable 
■satisfaction in looking back over his experiences in 
life, feeling that his efforts to beconic n ni;in among 
men have met witli success. In ci>in|iMny with his 
brother and his cousin he, in 1S72, cslalilished a 
factor_y for the manufacture of hog-rings, which 
proved quite successful in its operations. lie 
assisted his brothers in liusiness, one of whom is 
now occupying a good [josition willi tiie Brewer 
Manufacturing Company. Mr. Ileesen was for 
three years connected with the American Express 
Company, and has been a inemlier of the A'illage 
Board several years, while he is one of the pillars 
of the Presbyterian Chnr<-h. in which lie officiates 
as Trustee. He is also a memlier, and one of the 
principal stockholders, of tlie .Star Mountain 
Mining Company, whose property is located in 
Colorado, and it bids fair to become one of the 
richest mining companies of that State. 

The five children of Mr. and Mrs. Heesen are 
recorded as follows: N(!ilie is the wife of Thomas 
Ailanison, a |)()[)ul.ar jeweler of Tecumseh: Delia 
married John L. Ti;inn, a traveling salesman, and 
they make their lionie in St. Louis; Rudolph occu- 
pies himself in the store of his fatlier, and the two 
are also interested in a fruit-drying establishment 
which the son looks after mainly; Hannah is at 
home; Alfred .1., the youngest, also remains a 
member of the family circle, and assists his fatlier 
in the store. 

Mr. Heesen is a stanch Hepublic.'in, politically, 
and takes a warm interest in Stute and National 
affairs. 



'iri^C^l; 



?t^rt-i^ 



(i? ON. DANIEL TODD. M. 1).. at the time 
jl^^ this sketch is written is the oflicial head of 
^^^^ the city of Adrian, having been elected to 
((^ the honorable position of M.-iyor in 1 ssd. 
In his profession he has occupied the position of 
President of the Southern Medical Association of 
the State of Michigan, and is President of the 
United States Examining Board of Pensions, receiv- 
ing his appointment from Gen. Black, the Com- 
missioner of Pensions, in 1 88.5. 

Dr. Todd was born in Peterboro, N. II.. Dec. 17 
1S27, and his father, James B. Todd, was born in 



the same place Nov. 2.5, 1787, and was the son of 
John Todd. He lived in Peterboro until after he 
was married, and followed farming and laying stone 
walls. In the spring of 1828 he moved to Genesee 
County, N. V.. and purchased a farm of the Hol- 
land Land Company, in Byron Township. He 
cleared 21 (i acres of land, erected good buildings, 
and resided there until his death, which occurred 
M.ay 2(1, isi;;;. On the sth of February, ISIG, 
James B. Todd married Sarah, daughter of Hon. 
Isaac Appleton, of Dublin, by whom he had eight 
children, Daniel Ijeing the sixth child and second 
son. IMrs. Sarah Todd was born in Dublin, X. II., 
March ;',, 17:)(). The .■inccsl.irs of the Todd family 
were Scotch-Irish, and came to this country early 
in the last century. 

Daniel Todd was brougiit up on a farm, and lived 
with his parents until he was ;d)out seventeen years 
of .age, when he began alteiuling the Alexander 
Seminary in Gene.see County, where he remained 
two years. In the spring of 1848 he began the 
study of medicine with Dr. Burdctt J. Lynde, of 
Byron, and remained there until July, 1841), when 
he went to Harvard College and attended the med- 
ical department and hospital until June, 18.50. 
During the summer of that year he came west with 
the idea of prospecting for some jJace in which to 
locate the next year after he should graduate from 
Harvard. He went to Wisconsin, and on his way 
back visited his sister, Mrs. Thomas F. Moore, 
who then lived in Me<lina. There was a great deal 
of sickness in this county that season, and becoming 
.acquainted with Dr. Kibbie. of Canandaigua, he 
was induced to remain during his vacation. That 
was the first season that typhoid fever had made its 
appearance here, and as Dr. Todd had been brought 
into contact with the disease in the hospital at Har- 
vard and had received special instructions, his treat- 
ment of the disease here was (piile successful, and 
he had more business than he could attend to. 

\^r. Todd's experience here that summer showed 
him that all the New England notions would not 
suit the western country, and he finally resolved to 
go to Cincinnati Medical College, where the western 
ideas prevailed. But that fall his father was taken sick 
and he returned home and finally was gradu.ated at 
the Buffalo Medical College in March, 1 8U 1 . About 



►41-^ 



•►HI M — 

' ' 858 



-U 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



the 1st of April of that year he returnert to Michi- 
gan and located at Canandalgua, this county, where 
he practiced very successfully until 1865. In the 
fall of that j'ear he purchased a farm on sections 17 
and 20 in Madison Township, where he lived only 
about one year, when he sold out and purchased 
another farm on section 10. Here he resided and 
practiced his profession until 1 870, when he removed 
to Adrian, wheve he has since resided. In the 
spring of 1878 he was elected Alilerman of the 
Fourth Ward of Adrian, and was re-elected in the 
spring of 1 880. The most remarkable circumstance 
about this election was that he was tlie only Demo- 
crat elected in that ward for nearly twenty years. 

On the 22d of March, 1854, Dr. Todd was mar- 
ried to Miss Julia S., daughter of James and Laura H. 
Welch, of Canandalgua, and they have had four 
children, as follows: James Frederick was born in 
Madison, Sept. 12, 1850; Helen J. was born in the 
same place, Feb. 26, 1858; Emma L. was born May 
12, 1861, and William W.. May 6, 1866. Mrs. 
Julia S. Todd was born in Mandana, Onondaga Co., 
N. Y., June 1, 1833, and came to Michigan with 
her parents in 1852, settling on section 7, Seneca 
Township. Her father was born at White Plains, 
N. Y., March 6, 1796, and married Laura H.', 
daughter of John and Nancy Whaley, of Mandana, 
N. Y. 

Besides attaining eminence in his profession Dr. 
Todd has achieved a good reputation as a citi- 
zen, and in the position which he occupies as 
Mayor of the city, has demonstrated that he is 
abreast of the times in the matter of public improve- 
ment and enterprise. He has always taken an active 
part in political affairs, and has been a leader rather 
than a follower. 

•SpSUGENE DOUGLAS PEIRSON, son of one 
\)r^ of the early pioneers of Lenawee County, is 
JV-^/ now oneof the most intelligent and successful 
farmers and stock-raisers of Hillsdale County, and 
has his residence not far from the flourishing town 
of Hudson. He was born in Hudson, this county, 
July 30, 1856, and is the only living son of Edwin 
and Clemenza E. (Wells) Peirson, a sketch of whom 



will be found elsewhere in this volume. The fam- 
ily is widely and favorably known throughout this 
section of the country, as having formed an impor- 
tant feature in the early settlement of .Southern 
Michigan. 

The subject of this history received his early edu- 
cation in the district school, advanced by attendance 
at the High School at Hudson, and when twenty 
years of age entered the lavv department of Mich- 
igan State Univei'sity at Ann Arbor, from which he 
was graduated with honors, his diploma dating March 
27, 1878. His first business experience was as col- 
lector for a Detroit firm, after which he located in 
Port Huron and began the practice of law. But 
the confinement of office business was not congenial 
to the tastes of an active mind, and Mr. Peirson, 
longing for the freedom of farm life, abandoned tlie 
profession and took np his location on his present 
farm. He has made good headway in his compara- 
tively brief experience here, and in the near future 
will undoubtedly prove the wisdom of his choice in 
making the change in his first plans concerning his 
occupation in life. 

The marriage of Eugene Douglas Peirson and 
Miss Electa J. Warner was celebrated at the home 
of the bride, in Albion, N. Y., Jan. 12, 1881. Mrs. 
Peirson is the daughter of Sheldon and Sarah (Por- 
ter) Wainer. Her father was born in Phelps, 
Ontario Co., N. Y., and removed when a young 
man to Orleans County, where he was married, and 
has since resided. The mother was born in Albion, 
Orleans County, and was the daughter of Allen 
Porter, a native of Massachusetts, and born in 
Franklin County, Aug. 24, 1795. In 1806 his par- 
ents removed to Ontario County, where they were 
pioneers. He enlisted in the War of 1812, and was 
with the band of soldiers that crossed the Niagara 
River to defend Ft. Erie against the British sol- 
diers; he participated in the battle at Ft. Erie. 
After the war was over he purchased a tract of 
timber land near the town of Albion, N. Y., where 
lie opened up a beautiful farm and spent the re- 
mainder of his days, his death taking place after 
he had reached the advanced age of eighty-nine 
years. Chester Warner, the paternal grandfather 
of Mrs. Peirson, was a pioneer of Ontario County, 
where he spent the latter days of his life. He had 

■» 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



850 



^h 



reared a fine family of sons and daugiitci>, and tlie 
family was highly regarded thi-(in<iliout that mh'- 
tion. 

To our subject and his cstiinaliie lady there have 
been born three children, two of whom are living. 
Warner Dwight was born Jan. 28, 188i>; Harry 
Eugene was born April 4, 188(1, and died Aug. I'T. 
188G, and Hubert Henry w;i.-. born Oct. l'. 1S«7. 

-^^ ^-^^ ^=- 



'J' ENRY ^. WHITE. The snug little farm of 
Ir^^^ fifty acres on section 20, in Fairfield Town- 
jjk^ ship, is noticeable for the care with which it 
(^) has been cultivated, and its neat, convenient 
and substantial buildings. The moving s[iirit in its 
establishment spent the first few years of his life in 
Niagara County, N. Y., where his birtli took place 
on the 4th of June, 1833, and from which he re- 
moved with his parents to this county when a child 
four years of age. Here he was reared to manhood 
and received a fair education at the district school, 
becoming at the same time familiar with farm pur- 
suits, in which he has since engaged and which was 
also the occupation of his father before him. 

The parents of our subject, Zebiii;i and Polly 
(Sheldon) White, were natives respectively of \rr- 
mont and New York, the father born in 1801), and 
the mother in 1811. After his marriage Zebiua 
White left his native State and settled in Niagara 
Count}', N. Y., where he continued until Sei)tember, 
1837, when he came with his family to the young- 
State of Michigan, and located in Fairfield Town- 
ship, on section 26. He made good improvements 
and in 187.') left the homestead, whicii he had built 
u)) from the wilderness, and remoxed to .Ias|)er, 
where both parents now reside and are well ad- 
vanced in years. The household circle included 
four children: The eldest, Livona, is the wife of 
L. Q. Mason, a well-to-do farmer of Madison Town- 
ship; Melvina died in infancy; Cordelia married 
Ezra Smith, and resides in Berrien County, tliis 
State; and Henry S. of our sketch. 

Mr. White, in 1875, embarked in the undeitaking 
business, in the vicinity of his home in F'airfield 
Township, to which he has since given his attention 
and is the leader in this line here, getting his sup- 



l)lies from Morenci. He was married. Sept. 3, 1854, 
to one of the most estimable young ladies of this 
section. Miss Jerusha S., daughter of Isaiah Lowe, 
of Jasper, and of whom a sketch will be found else- 
where ii] tills .\i,i-.rM. Mrs. White was born in 
Adrian Townsliip. April 1:1. 1 834, and received -in 
excellent education, engaging in teaching for a 
time before her marriage. Of her union with our 
subject there have been born four children, reared 
as follows : Lucius T. married Miss Mary E. Clark, 
and is farming in Fairfield Township; Zebina died 
Jul}' 11, 1870, at the age of eighteen years; Mabel 
(t. is the wife of J. Clark Swick, of Fairfield Town- 
ship, and Nellie is at home with her parents. 

Mr. and Mrs. White are members of the Univer- 
salist Church, and our subject, politically, votes the 
straight Republican ticket. He has .served as 
Ilighwiiy Commissioner for four years and Drain 
Commissioner three years, and is in all respects a 
highly resi)ected citizen. 

_^ ^^^ v^ 



VtlOHN STEEL, a retired farmer of Macon 
I Township, is spending his declining years in 
_ || ease and comfort at his snug home on sec- 
v(^|/' tion 27, where he has sixty acres of land 
under a good state of cultivation, and with suitable 
and convenient buildings. He has been a resident 
of this townshi])for a jieriod of twenty-three years, 
and is favorably knoun t(j the majority (.)f the peo- 

Mr. Steel is a native of the North of Ireland, and 
was born in 1822. His parents were people of mod- 
est means, and their children early in life were 
taught to depen<l upon their own resources. John 
was varion.sly occupied, and remained in the county 
of his birth until the spring of 1860, when he de- 
termined upon a change of location, and in com- 
pany with a younger sister, set sail for the United 
States. He had embarked upon a sailing-vessel at 
Greenwich, and after a few days out, a severe storm 
came up, in which the vessel was partially wrecked 
and compelled to p;!t back to the same poi t. A 
few days later they started again, and after a safe 
though tedious voyage of ten weeks, landed in New- 
York City. The long time, however, which they 



h 



•►Hh-^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



had been compelled to spend since parting with 
their friends had exhausted their resources, and thej- 
found themselves penniless and among strangers. 
Mr. Steel, however, possessed the honest face which 
secured for him friends and employment, and he 
continued iu the metropolis for a period of four 
years. In the meantime his father, Samuel Steel, 
had joined him, and died in New York City about 
18r)4. The mother had died in her native Irelnnd 
when oui' subject was a small boy. 

I'pon leaving New York City, Mr. Steel mi- 
grated to Livingston County, that State, where he 
was variously employed until 1864. He then came 
on a prospecting tour to Southern Michigan, and 
being pleased with the outlook, purchased tiie land 
which he has since occupied. This was practically 
uncultivated at that time, and neighbors were few 
and far between, but the ownership of property 
proved a stimulus to continued exertion, and Mr. 
Steel, in due time, had built np from the unculti- 
vated soil a comfortable home for himself and 
family. 

Onr subject, while a resident of Livingston 
County, N. Y., was married, JNLarch 17, 1857, to 
Miss Jane Taylor, who, like her husband, was boi-u 
in the North of Ireland, March 26, 1826. She was 
there reared to womanhood, and when twenty-four 
years of age, came alone to the United States and 
for some years was a resident of New York City, 
where she met her future husband. Mrs. Steel ac- 
companied him to the West, and died .at her home 
in Macon Township, March 10, 1883. Of the six 
children born to our subject and his wife only two 
are living: Samuel and John; the others died in in- 
fancy. 

Samuel was liorn in Livingston Count}', N. Y., 
Aug. 10, 1858, and was a lad when he accompanied 
his parents to this county, and completed his edu- 
cation in the district school. He learned the car- 
penter's trade, which he followed for some years, 
and was married in Ridgeway Township, Oct. 28, 
1884, to Miss Anna Stewart. This lady was born in 
Cc)unty Antrim, Ireland, Jan. 8, 1865, and came to 
the United .States with her father when a youug 
child. Her fathei- is now one of the prosperous 
farmers of Macon Township. Mr. and Mrs. Sam- 
uel Steel are the parents of two children: Ira, who 



•► 



was born Aug. 3, 1885, and Roy, Nov. 16,1887. 
They are living at the homestead, of which Samuel 
has had the management since his marriage. 

John Steel, the younger son of our subject, was 
born in New York in 1861, and is assisting his 
brother in carrying on the farm. The entire fam- 
ily are members and regular attendants of the Re- 
formed Church, and father and sons, politically, 
are stanch Republicans. Samuel Steel is quite 
prominent in local affairs anil has twice served as 
Highwaj- Commissioner. 

^1 LBERT D. OSBORN. The subject of this 
l^O sketch is a son of one of the early pioneers 

ll li of Medina Township, and has always made 
(^ his home in the place of his birth. The 

Osborn family have been widely and favorably 
known in the Empire State from the time of its 
early settlement, and both men and women have 
distinguished themselves for their thrift and in- 
dustry. These qualities they brought with them to 
the western wilds, and their descendants are no less 
remarkable for the resolute and determined disposi- 
tion which has resulted in the establishment of good 
homesteads and the accumulation of a competency. 
Of Richard H. and Permelia (Gallup) Osborn, the 
parents of our subject, a sketch will be found on 
another page in this volume. 

Albert Osborn was born in Medina Township, 
this county, June 25, 1847, and passed his early 
years as a farmer's boy, attending the district 
school and assisting in the lighter labors around the 
homestead. After taking a full term in the High 
Schools of Medina and Hudson, he prepared to fol- 
low agriculture on his own account, and soon after 
reaching his majority was married in Crawford 
County, Ohio, Dec. 10, 1868, to Miss Barbara, 
daughter of Michael and Catherine (Barch) Linder- 
man. The parents of Mrs. Osborn were natives of 
German}' and Pennsylvania respectivelj', and their 
family consisted of four daughters and three sons. 
Both died in Richland Count}', where their daugh- 
ter Barbara was born on the 4th of March, 1848; 
she was the sixth child, and leceived a fair educa- 
tion until her marriage. This union resulted in the 



^t^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



8fil 'M 



birth of four children: Eusebius, who iIumI ulicii 
seventeen months old; Elwin D.,Editii I. ;ui<l Lina 
E. 

The property of Mr. Osboru inchule.s 217 acres 
of land on section 18, in Medina Township, npim 
which he has effected good improvements, a.:d 
wliere he is carrying on general farming after tlie 
nn)st modern methods. lie i> wide-auake, in- 
dustrious and energetic, and i.s performing liis part 
in assisting to lieep up the reputation of one of the 
most higiily respected families of Lenawee County. 
In politics he votes the straight Republican ticket, 
and socially is a memiier of the Masonii: fraternity. 
He takes pride in his farm and his live stock, and 
has been quite a prominent othcial of the Agricult- 
ural Society, and was a inenil)er of the Executive 
Committee at the County Fair. 



-leS- - 



^; 



-mr 



(^ NDREW STEPHENSON, foremost among 
(@/lI[ the men who have contributed to tlie agri- 

Wll'. cultural development, and the intellectual 
1^ and moral progress of Len.-iwei' County, is 

now a resident of the beautiful village of ftlorenci, 
which has been his Iiome since about 1 856. He 
purchased 120 acres of land about the year 1857 
where a portion of Morenci now stands, and laid out 
from this land the southern portion of the village. 
The parents of our subject were Andrew and Lydia 
(Lamphear) Stephenson, who were both natives of 
the State of New York. They came to Lenawee 
County, where thej' settled in Seneca Township, in 
1838, and with the exception of about one and 
one-half years which they spent in Chenango 
County, N. Y., they lived in Seneca Township 
until their death. They became the parents of 
eleven children, of whom our subject was the eld- 
est son and the second in order of the family. 

Andrew Stephenson was born in Hancock County, 
N. Y., in 1811, and resided in that State until he 
came to Lenawee County in 1842. While living 
in New York State he engaged as superintendent 
in a cotton-mill, and continued in that business four 
years, after which he came to Lenawee County and 
settled in Seneca Township, about three miles north- 
east of Morenci, where lie purchased eighty' .acres 



d, to which he aftt 


rward ai 


ded ICO acres. 


ve his attention wl 


oily to a 


^ricultural pur- 


ntil 1 SoG, and then 


removed 


iuto tiie village 



of :\Iorenci. 

Our subject was united in marriage in Chenango 
.County, N. Y., with Miss Polly Haven, a native of 
tiiat place. She was the daughter of Asa Haven, 
and the sister of Hon. S. (i. Haven, who was a law 
partner of Millard Fillmore, and was also a member 
of Congress during President Fillmore's adminis- 
tration. Rlrs. Stephenson died at Morenci, April 
23, 1877. and our subject was a second time mar- 
ried, -Ian. .'j, is7'.), to Miss Susan Gehrig, who was 
bom ill Swltzerlaml in 1.S4.'!, and is the daughter of 
George Cc^lirig, ulio was also a native of Switzer- 
land, and emigrated to America with his family in 
1848. 

Mr. Stephenson lii>t e:iiiie to Lenawee County in 
1838, but remained only a short time, and did not 
return to settle permanently until six years later. 
This county was then in ai)rimitive condition, and 
Mr. Stephenson experienced all the vicissitudes con- 
sequent on pioneer life. He has contributed his 
full share toward its upbuilding and development, 
and is now in the decline of life in the enjoyment 
of a competency .and able to look back upon a well- 
spent life. In politics Mr. Stephenson belonged, 
in his earlier years, to the Whig party, but has now 
cast his lot with the Prohibitionists. He is an nii- 
tlinching advocate of temperance, and thorough- 
going in his efforts to relieve this country of the ob- 
noxious evil of intemperance. When he came to 
this county it was customary on all occasions which 
called for the assembling of the neighbors to fur- 
nish intoxicating liquors for the occasion; no house 
frame could be raised without the stimulating ef- 
fects of "John Barleycorn." Mr. Stephenson set his 
face .against this evil, positively discountenancing 
the use of liquor in any form. His residence in a 
new country brought him in contact in many ways 
with this species of vice, and his principles of total 
abstinence became fairly rooted and grounded, and 
he h.as since stood in the front ranks of those who 
advocate its entire suppression. 

Mr. Stephenson laid out and contributed the 
laud for the public park at Morenci, and h.as never 
withheld his means in contributing for the erection 



862 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



of churches and schools. Believing with a grcnt 
writer, that education is a better safeguard of a na- 
tion than a standing arujy, he has labored to give 
to the generation growing up around him that edu- 
cation which should make of them better men and 
better citizens. With this worthy object in view 
he accepted the office of Sciiool Director in Morenci, 
and has also been a memijer of the City Council 
and Justice of the Peace. Mr. and Mrs. iStephen- 
son, together with tiirir f;imily, are attendants at 
the Methodist Chm-ch. 

EYMOOR A. COLBATH, of Rome Town- 
ship, is a son of one of the early pioneers 
of this county, Hiram C. Colbath, who was 
born in Sodus, Wayne Co., N. Y., Jan. 8, 
The latter was the son of Samuel Colbath, 
s born in Maine, Dec. 27, 1788, and he lived 
in the Pine Tree State until reaching his majority. 
He then sought the wilderness of Ontario County, 
N. Y., whence he afterward removed to Wayne 
County, and from thei'e, in the spring of 1832, he 
came with his family to the Territor3' of Michigan 
and purchased a tract of land in Monroe County, 
which he cultivated and occupied until his death, 
July 22, 1837. 

The paternal grandfather of our subject was a 
man of much force of character, and enjoyed the 
confidence and respect of the influential men of 
Monroe County. He was prominent in local affairs, 
and served first as Justice of the Peace and after- 
ward as a member of the Territorial Legislature. 
He assisted in framing the first State Constitution, 
and being a man of good education, did good serv- 
ice as school teacher previously in Monroe County. 
He married in early life Miss Sallie Lewis, who was 
born Feb. 11, 1794, in Connecticut, the wedding 
taking place on the 21st of September, 181G. Of 
this union there were born ten cliildren, of whom 
Hiram C, the father of our subject, was the fourth 
child and eldest son. 

The father of our subject, in January, 1838, de- 
cided upou a change of residence from Monroe to 
Lenaw-ee County, and coming into Rome Township, 
immediately went to work for Daniel Price, with 
■^ 



whom he learned the carpenter's trade. He followed 
his calling for over twenty years, erecting a large 
number of buildings in the town of Rome and vicin- 
ity. In the spring of 1845 he purchased forty 
acres of heavily timbered land on section 28, in 
Rome Township, to which he afterward added un- 
til he had a good farm of 120 acres. This he cleared 
and cultivated and supplied with a good set of 
frame buildings; subsequently he purchased another 
farm on section 35. His success in life was the re- 
sult solely of his own enterprise and frugality, as he 
came to this county without a dollar in money. 
He hauled cordwood from his farm to Adrian for 
over twenty years, and claims to have handled fully 
as much, if not more, wood in Adrian Township 
than any other man within the limits of Lenawee 
Count}'. 

Hiram C. Colbath, on the 22d of January, 1 846, 
was united in marriage with Miss Hannah Elizabeth, 
daughter of Charles and Betsey Owen, of Woleott, 
Wayne Co., N. Y. They became the parents of 
five children, of whom Seymour A., of our sketch, 
was the third child, and was born Sept. 2, 1850, in 
Rome Township. The mother of our subject was 
born in Woleott. N. Y., Dec. 4, 1829, and came to 
Michigan with her parents previous to 1840. She 
departed this life at the homestead Sept. 11, 1867. 
Hiram Colbath was again married, P"eb. 25, 1869, to 
AHss Cordelia, daughter of John and Altheria Hat- 
ter, of Nevvfane, Niagara Co., N. Y. This lady was 
born Sept. 15, 1832, and was the daughter of John 
Hatter, of New York State, who died in 1851 ; he 
was a prominent politician and at one time a mer- 
chant of Lock|)ort. His wife was in her girlhood 
Miss Altheria Bates, and she also died in Niagara 
County, April 29, 1841. Mrs. Cordelia Colbath is 
now living in Rome Township. 

Seymour A. Colbath spent his boyhood and 
youth after the manner of most farmers' sons, re- 
maining under the parental roof and attending the 
district school during the winter season. As soon 
as old enough he was made useful around the home- 
stead, and in the spring of 1868 commenced for 
himself, working a farm on shares. He had good 
health and was stout of muscle, and his chief ambi- 
tion was the establishment of a comfortable home- 
stead, lie chose as the presiding genius of this 



r,ENAWEE COUNTY. 



863 . i\ 



Miss Nancy 'i'riin, "f Iconic 'rouiKsliip, to whom lu> 
was married Sept. 2, 18(;<S. iMrs. Colbath was l)urn 
Dec. 4, 1852, and is the daughter of Ira and Lovisa 
(Howard) Trim, natives respectively of Oswego 
County, N. Y., and Lenawee County, Mich. Ira 
Trim was born Due. 24, 1820, and came to the 
West before his marriage, Feb. 19, I.S.52. He set- 
tled in Rome Towusliip, and tlie death of his wife 
took place July 28, 1 8G4. The (lareulal houseliold j 
included five children, all boys, and three now liv- | 

Mr. and Mrs. Seymour Collmth are the parents I 
of four children: AVilliam E., who was born Oct. | 
20, 1809: Hiram I.. Nov. 29, 1S71 ; Lelia O.. April j 
2;"), 1875, and George E., June 20, 1.S79; they are j 
all at home with their parents. Mr. (Colbath votes 
the straight Democratic ticket and has tilled nearly 
all the local offices of his township. He now fnruis 
on 1 20 acres of the old homestead. 



^p^ AMUEL TINOLEY, who was born in Seu- 
^^ eca County, N. V., May 12. 18 is, ciune 
"|t\/^ with his parents to tins county in is:!.'!, 
while Michigan was yet a Territory. They 
had traveled overland from Detroit, and on the 
17th of May arrived on section 2, in Adrian Town- 
ship, unloaded their goods in the woods and made 
arrangements to stay. Another son of tlic f:iiiiily 
preceded them in 1832, and took up the claini upon 
which, as soon as possible, they erected a log house 
and commenced improvements. The following 
j'ear, however, they removed farther south and pur- 
chased 240 acres of land, this, also, witiiout im- 
provements. Here they again put up a log cabin. 
which remained the home of the family until the 
death of the father, at the age of fifty -eight years. 
His demise was brougiit about under the most dis- 
tressing circumstances, as, in tr^-ing to put out a 
fire, he either was seized with a fit and fell into 
the fire, or was otherwise strangled; when found he 
was quite dead. 

The paternal grandfather of our subject, Daniel 
Tingley by name, with two brothers, emigrated 
from Scotland, and settled in Sussex County, N. 



.).. where he married ami reared his family. In 
early life he had learned the trades of tanner and 
shoemaker, and upon reac^hing manhood, was 
married in his native county, whence he soon after- 
ward moved to New York City, where he followed 
his trade, and finally invested a |)art of his surplus 
capital in lOOarresof land near the city. Later 
lie sold out and icfiinuMl to New Jersey, where he 
engaged in trade for some time, and then went 
back to Seneca County, N. Y., where he spent 
the last of his life, and lived to be seventy-five or 
eighty years of age. 

The grandmother of our subject, wlio in her 
girlhood was Miss Margaret Van Pelt, survived her 
husband some years. After his death she came to 
the West, and made her home with our subject in 
Adrian Township, until passing away at the age of 
eighty-eight years. The Van Pelts were originally 
from Holland, but Grandmother Tingley was born 
in New Jerse.y, where her people followed farming 
pursuits, in which the family had been engaged for 
generations. 

Samuel Tingky, Sr., like his father before him, 
learned the trades of a tanner and shoemaker, and 
also worked considerablj' at carpentering. He was 
a natural mechanic and remarkably handy in the 
use of tools, but in the meantime he also became 
familiar with the various employments of the farm. 
About 1806 he married Miss Rebecca, daughter of 
John H. Holcomb, an Englishman by birtii, who 
crossed the Atlantic at an early day, and located in 
New Jersey. The mother of our subject died at 
the home place about 1848. 

.Samuel Tingley, Jr., by the death of his father, 
was left in charge of the family, and remained with 
his widowed mother several years. Wlien the time 
came for the settlement of the estate, he purchased 
the interest of the other heirs, and has since been 
in possession of the homestead. He has effected 
all the improvements now upon it, which comprise 
a set of good frame buildings, neat and substantial 
fences, and all the other adjuncts necessnry to the 
successful prosecution of agriculture. The home 
is very comfortable and attractive, and is ,i forcu- 
ble reminder of the perseverance and industry of 
the proprietor. Samuel Tingley, Jr.. like his father 
before liim, was an old-line Whig politically, dur- 



H 



864 



■•►HI- 



LENA WEE COUNTY. 



ing his early uijinhoocl, and later identifieil himself 
with the Republican party. 

Our subject, in 1844, was married to Miss .lo- 
hanua, daughter of Jacob Eugell, who was burn in 
Germany, whence he emigrated early in life and lo- 
cated upon a farm in New York State. Mrs. Ting- 
ley was boi-n in Schoharie County, N. Y., Oct. 27, 
1822. She became the mother of Ave children, 
and departed this life at her home in Adrian Town- 
ship, Aug. 23, 1883. Their eldest son, Alfred D., 
is carrying on business in the city of Boston, Mass. ; 
Charles E. is married and farming in Adrian Town- 
ship; Samuel O. manages the homestead; Esther 
J. and Ella (twins) remain at home with their 
father. 



(@^ 



I 



!hA\ C KINZEY SEELEY is now a resident of 
Morenci, where he removed from his farm 
in Medina Township in the fall of 1887. 
He came to Lenawee County in 1839, where 
he has resided ever since with the exception of two 
years. He is the owner of IGl acres of land in Me- 
dina Township, and lOG in Fulton County, Ohio. 

The parents of our subject were Jonathan and 
Freelove S. (Bromley) Seelej', who were both na- 
tives of New England. The father was a lover of 
liberty, and enlisted as a soldier in the Revolution- 
ary War. In 1839 they came to this county, set- 
tling in Seneca Township, where the father died in 
October, 1839. His widow was afterward married 
to Ether Barnes, who died in Medina Township in 
1866. Of her first union there was born a family 
of nine children, four boys and five girls, of whom 
our subject was the youngest. 

Mr. Seeley was born in Franklin County, N. Y., 
on the 26th of September, 1835, and wa.s eonse- 
qnently four years old when he came with his par- 
ents to Lenawee County. At that early day the 
advantages of receiving an educaticm were very 
limited, being confined to the common school, which 
often consisted of a mere log hut, around three walls 
of which slabs were arranged for benches, while tiie 
fourth side was occupied by the cavernous fireplace, 
from which the heat made very uncomfortable the 
children sitting near, while it was ineffectual in 



counteracting the effects of the liyi)erborean blasts 
which penetrated the chinks of the cabin at the 
farther end of the room. Mr. Seeley divided his 
attentions between the farm and this school-room 
until reaching manhood, when he exchanged the 
school-room for the woods. 

In Adrian, Mich., on the22dof December, 1862, 
our subject led to the altar the maiden of his choice. 
Miss Adelia L., daugliter of Dr. Amos and Mary 
(McCrillis) Kendall. Her parents were natives of 
New York State, and her father was by profession 
a physician. They afterward removed to Fulton 
Couutj', Ohio, and thence to Medina Township, this 
county, where thej^ resided many years. In their 
old age thejr returned to Ohio, settling in Fayette, 
where the father died Nov. 16, 1884; his widow 
survives him. They became the parents of six chil- 
dren, two daughters aud four sons, of whom Mrs. 
Seeley was the third child, and was born in Fayette, 
Ohio, Jan. 13, 1844. 

Mr. and Mrs. Seeley have been blessed with a 
family of four children — Mary E., Lillian E., Jennie 
M. and an infant unnamed. Mar}' E. is now de- 
ceased; Lillian is the wife of Millard George, and 
Jennie is at home with her parents. 

In polities Mr. Seeley is Republican, tliough he 
does not aspire to office, preferring to give his at- 
teution to the details of his business. He is a mem- 
ber of the Masonic fraternity, and he and his wife 
are members of the Patrons of Husbandry. 

--^ ■.o*c..@^;><^-.o4o <,.— 

EVI EDDY is a representative of one of the 
imilies of Lenawee County; in- 
may be considered a pioneer him- 
self, as, although he was but a boy when he came 
here with his parents, he underwent with them all 
the experiences of pioneer life, and assisted in 
building up their home. He can remember when 
this part of the county was mostly covered with 
forest trees, with a few clearings marking the homes 
of other pioneers, and when wild beasts, such as 
bears, panthers and wolves, infested the country. 
He can remember when there were no roads to 
other parts of the count}-, or to adjoining counties, 
and when a trip to market or mill was more difli- 



iW/ ill V 1 tl^UUjL 

JIL-^ deed, he ma 



4 



lenaw?:e county. 



865 



cult, and soiJicliiiii's rcMiiiircd u liiv.iler lciii;tli of 
time, than a joiiniey across the continent lo-ihiy. 
Mr. Eddy is intelligent and well infonned on all 
the topics of the day, but liis conversation in re- 
gard to his early life is of special interest, and one 
gets from it a very vivid idea of the times when 
this county was newly settled, of its ai)pearance, and 
of the manners and customs of the ))ioneers, who, 
coming from older and earlier scttledlStates, had to 
adapt themselves to a new life almost on the very 
frontier of civilization. 

Levi Eddy was born in Wayne County, N. Y.. 
.Inly 7, 1822, and is the son of John and Mary Eddy 
(for parental history see sketch of Elisha Eddy). 
He was ten j'ears of age when his parents brought 
him to this State, and settled in Blissfield. The 
surrounding country for many miles was a dense 
wilderness, where wild beasts prowled, and wild 
tnrlieys and other game were .abundant. It was the 
custom then among the pioneers to go hunting in 
tlie fall of the year, and our subject has partici- 
pated in many such expeditions, and has himself 
killed deer, bears, and the smaller game. There 
were no public roads when they first came here, 
and his father assisted in cutting ties for the Territo- 
rial road, leading from Toledo to Adrian. The father 
purchased a farm, and Levi iielped him to fell and 
roll the logs together to clear the fMrui, remaining 
with his parents until 184;"). 

Mr. Eddy married in 184,5, and established a 
home of his own on sections .3 and 10, in Riga 
Township, which then formed a part of Blissfield 
Township, and at that time there were probably 
not more than half a dozen families within its pres- 
ent boundaries. There had been but fourteen acres 
of his land cleared, while the rest of it, like that 
which joined it, was heavily timbered, and included 
in the district known as Cottonwood Swamp. After 
the land became his own beg.i.n the long and weari- 
some task of clearing it, and preparing it for the 
plow. He cut a road through the woods to his 
land, and built a log house, to which liumble homo 
he brought his bride, and there they commenced 
their journey through life together. For forty- 
three years they have lived on this farm, where by 
their united labors they have built up a pleasant 
home. The land is cleared, well drained, and in a | 



<r<Hi(] state of tillage, .and good frame buildings 
have replaced tlie more primitive ones of e.arlier 
years. 

Mrs. Eddy, whose maiden name w.ts Thirza 
Crockett, was the daughter of Nathaniel and Mary 
Crockett (see sketch of .John Crockett for parental 
history), and was born in Huron, Wayne Co., N. 
Y., Aug. 29, 1824. She is the mother of four chil- 
dren, namely; John, wiio lives on tlie homestead; 
William, on the home jil.ace in Riga, aufl Celestia, 
in Blissfield: Lorinda is the wife of Harvey Hon- 
singer. 

Mr. and Mrs. Eddy are wiilely known in tiiis 
township, where tliey liave made their lionic for so 
many years, and tlieir genuine worth an<l un- 
doubted integrity of puri)ose and actions b.ive wo}i 
for them the respect and confldonoe of the people 
.■iriiunil them. 



5^^ FENCER H. FOSTER, in company with his 
£ son Ellsworth D., established the Clayton 
)K ./"owrtta/ in the summer of 1887, and is con- 
ducting one of the spiciest little newspapers 
in this i)art of the Wolverine State. He has had 
considerable business and newspaper experience, and 
is a man of genial temperament who invariably finds 
friends wherever he goes. He holds a life-long in- 
terest in the aft'airs of Lenawee County, of which he 
is a native, having been born at the homestead of his 
father in Dover Township, Oct. 30, 1844. 

The parents of our subject, Harley D. and Nanc3' 
(Abbott) Foster, were natives of Medina County, 
Ohio, the latter the daughter of the late Ezra Ab- 
bott, of Dover Township. Harley D. Foster came 
to this county early in 1835 with his parents, and 
helped to clear a farm from the wilderness, on sec- 
tion 33, Dover Township; he remained at home un- 
til his marriage, Oct. 17, 1843. After their mar- 
riage Mr. and Mrs. Foster settled in Seneca Town- 
ship, where the father engaged in farming, and 
there made their home for nearly twenty years. 
The father, then desirous of retiring from active 
labor, sold out and removed to the village of Clay- 
ton, where the parents still reside and enjoy the 
friendship of a large circle of acquaintances. Of 



-^h 



\k 86C 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



their three chiklrcn, Spencer H., of our sketch, is 
the eldest: Mary N. became the wife of Joel Field, 
now deceased, and is a resident of Jackson, this 
State, while George S. is engaged in the grocery 
business at Clayton. 

Our subject continued amid the quiet scenes of 
country life until twenty years of age, and became 
familiar with the varied employments of the farm, 
which served to develop his muscle and strengthen 
a naturally bouyant constitution. His early educa- 
tion was obtained after the manner of most farmers' 
sons, and he received careful home training, which, 
with the development of correct habits, has con- 
tributed to his success as a man among men. Upon 
reaching his twentieth year, he left the farm and 
vfi\s variously engaged until the spring of 1870, 
when he crossed the Mississippi and took up his 
abode in Butler County, Kan., where he engaged in 
stock-raising about four years, and then returning 
to his native State, carried on farming in Ingham 
County for three years. In the- meantime he had 
acquired sixty acres of land, and now selling out, 
removed to Clayton and engaged as clerk for John 
C. Benedict, with whom he remained nearly seven 
years, after which he was engaged as a traveling 
salesman until the spring of 1887. 

Mr. Foster is a man who has always kept himself 
well posted upon current events, and has always 
been greatly interested in newspaper work. His son 
Ellsworth D., having developed good capacities for 
this department of business, he joined with him in 
the establishment of the Clayton Journal, which is 
generously patronized by an appreciative public, 
and bears fair comparison with other journals of 
this description; the office is conveniently equipped 
for both job and newspaper work. 

The home of Mr. Foster is pleasantly located in 
the central part of the village, and is the resort of 
the refined people of Clayton. Here he was mar- 
ried over twenty years ago, Sept. 12, 1867, to Miss 
Louisa M., daughter of Isaac and Susan (Sanford) 
Benedict, natives of Canada. The Benedicts came 
to this county in 1854, locating at once in Dover 
Township, and have been residents of Clayton and 
vicinity for the past twenty-five years. Mr. Bene- 
dict wassubsequentlj' married to Miss Cordelia Cur- 
tis, of Oakland County, whose parents were residents 



there about four years, and thence removed to 
Hitchcock County, Neb. Mr. Benedict engaged in 
merchandising at Clayton, and also held the office 
of Postmaster. The children of Mr. Benedict by 
his first wife were named respectively, John C, 
Louisa M., Hiram and Sarah. 

Of the marriage of Mr. S. H. Foster and Miss 
Benedict there were born three sons — Ellsworth D., 
Fred H. and Clair B. Ellsworth D. Foster, al- 
though comparatively young in years, has developed 
good business capacities, and is more than ordinar- 
ily enterprising and industrious. He was always 
naturally fond of reading, and when quite a youth 
developed a taste for the newspaper business. When 
but seventeen j^ears old he purchased the Green- 
wich (Ohio) Enterprise, which he conducted but a 
few months, being obliged to abandon it on account 
of failing eyesight. Upon his recover}' he became 
proprietor of the Lodi Eevieiv in Medina County, 
Ohio, which he conducted nine months and until 
establishing with his father the Clayton Journal. 
Both father and son are ready writers, and keep 
fullj' posted upon the news of the day. Our sub- 
ject is liberal in temperance and politics, voting in- 
dependently and conducting the paper upon the 
same principle. He identified himself with the 
Masonic fraternity many years ago, and is num- 
bered among its most useful and valued members. 



■ ^ /RANK W. CLAY. As Mr. Clay is a man 

Pjj who is widely known as an able financier 
and as a representative business man of 
Lenawee County, this work would be incomplete 
without the sketch of his life which is here given. 
Mr. Clay was born May 24, 1837, at Farmer Vil- 
lage, Seneca Co., N. Y., and is the son of Bradbury 
S. Clay, one of the pioneer Baptist ministers of 
Michigan, and Mary (Raymer) Clay. 

Our subject was two years of age when his fa- 
ther moved to the "great West" with his family, 
locating in Michigan. Undoubtedly the home of 
this pioneer preacher was the center of more cult- 
ure and refinement than is generally obtained in the 
homes of the settlers around it, but at the same 
time his means were necessarily limited, and the 



LKNAWKE COUNTY. 



867 



advantages he could afford his children were 
meager. The life of tlie pioneer minister, who no- 
bly went forth to preach the Gospel in the sparsely 
settled and struggling hamlets of the newly settled 
Western States, was one of unceasing toil, stierifice. 
and sometimes even of privation; and as his 
family shared with him these toils and s.icriliees 
life was to them no bed of roses. Oiii- siilii<'i't fol- 
lowed the varying fortunes of his fallierV fauiily a> 
a minister's son in a new country, picking iii) a lit- 
tle education here and there in the district schools 
of Michigan, Indiana and Illinois, wiiere his father 
held pastoral charges at different times. This dis- 
cipline was wholesome, nurturing in him those 
manly qualities of helpfulness, self-reliance and 
energy, and sending him forth into the norld at the 
youthful age of twelve years with the siunid con- 
stitution and healthy appetite bred ol siinple fare. 
As a further preparation for his li;ind-lo-liaii(l con- 
flict with the vicissitudes of the world, he took .a 
course of study at Oberliii, supporting himself in 
the meantime by labor out of school hours. Thus 
fortified, and with no other capital, the sturdy lad 
came to Adrian, Mich., and entered as a cleik in 
the drug-store of S. K. Mart. Mis life has since 
been |>assed in Adri;in, first as druggist, then in the 
loan office of E. L. flark, an.l now as a banker, 
under the tirm name of Waldby & Clay, doing- 
business in the bank building at the corner of 
Maumee and Main streets. It should In.' hi^ pride 
that he has risen to this position by his own indom- 
itable energy and perseverance. 

Mr. Clay was married to Amelia C. iliek'o.x, of 
Rochester, N. V., in December, \si\2: she is a 
native of Avon .Springs, N. Y. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Clay have been born two children: .1 son. Rial, 
who possesses much of the business tact and ability 
that characterize his father, and is in business with 
him, and an accomplished daughter, Geraldine, 
who graces their home. 

Mrs. Clay, a lady of much cultuivand ti'ue re- 
finement, presides over a well-appointed home, dis- 
pensing its hospitalities with a free hand, as all 
know who have crossed its threshold. Mi-. Clay is 
a man of clear, vigorous mind, endowed with ex- 
ceptional business talent, making him a man of in- 
fluence in the city with whose interests his own are 



so closely identified. In politics he is a Democrat. 
In so far as politics means a service of self, he is 
alM.ve it. liiit in so far as it means a service to the 
eoniniunily in which one lives and to the country 
to which one belongs, he has taken satisfaction in 
the faithful discharge of the duties appertaining to 
tho-o civic ofTices to which iiis fellow-citizens have 
lieen plea.sed to call him. He was City Treasurer 
for two years, his practical experience in finances 
\vell lifting him for that post. He was School Di- 
rector f')r three years, and takes an active interest 
in all that |)ertains to educational matters. 

:\VIS C. KITl'S, the (-hampion fruit-dryer 
of Lenawee County, has for many years car- 
L ried on this business in Rollin Township, 
after a process which was the invention of his f.ather, 
.•uid which is familiarly known as the " Fitts' Patent 
Process of Drying Fruits." This is conceded to 
be the best in the market, taking the lead over 200 
other patents now in use throughout the country. 
It has a capacity of from 100 to 300 bushels per 
ten hours. The machines are manufactured right 
on the grounds wherever desirable to be set. To 
this business Mr. F. devotes his entire time and at- 

I tention, and realizes annually a handsome profit. 
He began life for himself as a farmer, but he aban- 
doned that calling after two years, and has since 
devoted himself to his present business, in which 
he takes a genuine interest, and puts forth his best 
efforts. He removed into Rollin in 1880, and took 
po.ssession of liis present home in the eastern part 
of tiie village on the 1st of Sei)tember, 1883. The 
residence and its surroundings indicate the home 
of a well-to-do citizen contented with his k)t, and 
living at peace with his neighbors. 

Oiu- subject was born in Ontario County, M. Y.. 
March 25, 1849, and is the son of Harrison and 
Nancy E. (Houston) Fitts, natives of Massachu- 

1 setts and New \''ork. The parents are still living, 
making their home in Blissfield. They had a 
family of eight children, six of whom are living, 
mostly residents of this county. Mr. Fitts con- 
tinued under the parental roof until thirt3' years of 

I age, and upon leaving school worked with his father, 

— •^ 



868 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



and operated a flour and saw mill. About this time 
he became interested in fruit-drying, together with 
farming, in both of which he engaged in company 
with a brother. The partnership only lasted three 
weeks, Lewis C. purchasing the interest of his 
brother in the fruit-dr^yiug business, and renting 
also the farm of the latter. This, however, he 
abandoned two years later. 

About this time, having in prospect a comfort- 
able home and the wherewithal to make a living, 
Mr. Fitts proffered his heart and fortunes to one of 
the most estimable young ladies of Rollin Town- 
ship,' Miss Nettie, daughter of Daniel and Ann 
(Whitfield) Baker, and the wedding was celebrated 
at the home of the bride, March 31, 1881, and 
amidst general rejoicing. The parents of Mrs. 
Fitts were among the early pioneers of the county, 
and located in Fairfield Township, where her birth 
took place Aug. 20, 1853. She was the second in 
a family of five children, all of whom are living. 
Mr. and Mrs. Fitts after their marriage took up 
their residence within the village of Rollin, and are 
now the parents of a bright little boy, Harry, who 
was born Jan. 10, 1882. 

Mr. Fitts ships the product of his drying estab- 
lishment mostly to Chicago, where he finds a ready 
market annually, and where he has disposed of 
hundreds of tons. As a business man he is thor- 
oughly reliable, and his genial social qualities make 
him a general favorite. In former years he sup- 
ported the Democratic ticket, out now votes the 
Frohibition ticket, and is one of the most active 
workers in the cause of temperance. 

JAMES HARVEY J'ERWILLIGFR. Among 
the citizens of Lenawee County who are in- 
dustriouslj" engaged in agricultural pursuits, 
and who have made the most of the golden 
opportunities afforded by the rich soil of Michigan, 
is the subject of this sketch. His early settlement 
here when this county was being newly settled was 
one of those seeming incidents that sometimes oc- 
cur in the life of a man .nnd seem to change the 
whole course of his life. 

The father of our subject, who was a prosperous 



.^^h 



farmer in the State of New York, disposed of his 
property there in the year 1840, with the determin- 
ation to try farming on the rich and more easily 
cultivated prairies of some distant western territory, 
where the land had not been worn out by over 
cultivation. It so happened that when he was pre- 
pared to start on his ivestern journey, he was de- 
tained on some business, and allowed his wife and 
five children to precede him to Ypsilanti, Mich., to 
make a visit to a brother of our subject, and there 
to await his coming before they pushed on to the 
promised land. While they were staying at the 
house of the brother, the son James visited this 
county, and he was so favorably impressed with the 
lay of the land, the fertility of the soil, and the 
beauty of the scenery, that when his father arrived 
in Michigan he induced him to locate in Lenawee 
County, so it came about that Hudson was the town- 
ship chosen for their abiding-place, and that to-day 
the son is still occupying its soil, and is an honored 
and useful citizen of this community. 

Mr. Terwilliger was born in Wawarsing, Ulster 
Co., N. Y., Aug. 20, 1816. His father, James Ter- 
williger, was born Sept. 28, 1778, it is thought in the 
same town, and his grandfather, Benjamin by name, 
was a farmer, and spent his last years in that town. 
The father of our subject was reared in his native 
county, and there married Mary Terwilliger, a na- 
tive of the same county, and a daughter of Abraham 
Terwilliger. After marriage they continued resi- 
dents of Ulster County until 1821, removing then 
to Cayuga County, and -again in 1825, to Wayne 
County, and settled in the town of Ontario. In 
1840, Mr. Terwilliger disposed of his property in 
order to remove to some newly settled Territory, and 
his family preceded him to Michigan, as above re- 
lated. They journeyed to Rochester with a team, 
and there took passage on the canal for Buffalo, 
whence they embarked on the lake for Detroit; 
from there they drove to Ypsilanti with a pair of 
horses that they had brought with them. After the 
father came to Michigan he purchased 1 60 acres of 
land on section 12, of Hudson Township, and in the 
little log shanty that was on the place at the time of 
purchase the family made their home until he could 
build a more commodious log house. This he soon 
had really for occupancy with the help of others; it 
»^ 



l.ENAWEK COTTNTY. 



son 



was 16x24 feet in dimensions, with a niud-and-stick 
ciiimney and a puncheon floor. Twenty acres of 
the tinihcr had been feUed hut none of tlie hogging 
liad been done except on two acres. Th(> father 
cleared the greater part of his lan<l and erected a 
good frame l)arn before his deatli. His eyes closed 
to the scenes of earth on the iDth of February, 
l.S4 1.and frniu that hnnd.!,. honir whi.-li 1„. had 
built mainly l.y hi> own li.uids m11 tlinl was nioilal o,- 
him was taken to its last resting-place. His devoted 
wife survived him many years, dying on the old 
homestead Dec. l;?, 1S74. 

The subject of this sketrh was rcnred on his fa- 
ther's faiui in New York Mat<>. and thcr.^ took his 
lirst lessons in farming. When he came wilh his 
[larents to live in this township the country round 
about was in quite a wild slate; wolves, di'er and 
other wild game had not fled before the advancing 
steps of civilization. Adrian was for some years 
their nearest market, and was then the nestcru ter- 
minus of the railway. Mr. Terwilliger tells an inci- 
dent of traveling by rail in tiiat day. which is rather 
amusing as looked uiion by the light of the present. 



1" 



till 



participants of that journe}' taken so long ago. It 
well illustrates the gigantic strides that have been 
made in the last half century to promote the com- 
fort of the traveler, and to speed him to his desti- 
nation: antl also sh.nvs the r,,ntr:ist hetween the 
comfortless, tedious journeys of that time and the 
case and swiftness with which we are borne long 
distances at the i)resent day, and by the genius of a 
Pullman arc enabled to travel surroundecl by all 
the luxuries and ciuuforts of honir. In 1S41 he 
revisited his native State, and on his return to >Hch- 
igan perfoianed the last part of the journey from 
Toledo to Ach'ian b\' rail, it taking nearly a whole 
day to go that distance. The cars were so cold and 
uncomfortable generally that he .and others got out 
of the train and ran alongside of it t,o keep warm, 
and to stretch their crampeil linilis. 

Our subject always remained with Ins parents, 
and was their com foi't and stay in their old age. 
His marriage took jilace Mny 1 1, IsC'.i, with Iv Ma- 
tilda Young, who was born in Romulus, Seneea t'o., 
N. Y., June 8, 1833. Mrs. Terwilliger's father, .b.hu 
Voung, was born in England in 17S)G, and was the 



son of Joseph Young, who came to America with 
his wife and located in Seneca County, where the 
latter died. After that he returned to England, 
and there passed his remaining years. His son, 
Mrs. Terwilliger's father, came to America when a 
young m.au, and married in the State of New York. 
He was well educated and taught scho(.)l, and he 
also sfuilied nuMlicinc and practiced it in v.-irious 
phiees. After marriage he bought a farm in Rom- 
ulus, .-ind li\'ed on it for awhile, and then sold it, 
buy in- another in Seneca County, near the town of 
()\iil, and was one of the pi(jneers of the Holland 
Purchase, New York. He was a licensed minister 
in the Methodist Church, and often varied his duties 
as a farmer (u- ph3'siciau by preaching in other 
towns wherever needed. After carrying on his farm 
for a short time he sold it and turned his attention 
to the mercantile business in Ovid, but in 1853 he 
disposed of his business interests and removed to 
.Maryland, where he bought 200 acres of land. He 
did not like it there, however, and soon sold his 
fai'in and i-eturucd to New York, where he bought 
a f.-irni in Varick ■i'ownship. on which he resided 
for live years, when he went to (ieueva and 
l)racticed medicine at the water cure establishment 
with Dr. Smith. In a few months he left there and 
went ^\'est. :ind practiced his profession in Mc- 
(h-egor. Iowa, for a ye.-n-, going from there to High- 
land Park, III. In the year IstU he removed to 
Marion County, 111., and bought a tract of 
land near Kinnumdy, and there death closed his 
earthly i)ilgrimage in September, 1877. There his 
faithful wife, the companion of liis wanderings, pre- 
ce.hMl him to that home not Imilt with hands, her 
death occurring in Septendjcr, 1 8tis. During his resi- 
idence in Amei'ica Mr. '\'oivng liad revisited his old 
home in England twice, the first time in 1833, and 
the l:isl time whil.- he lived in Illinois. His wife, 
whose m:iidi'n n:ime was Panliiia, Schooley, was 
the daughter of ^Villiam H. and Anna (Miller) 
.Schooley. Mr. .Schooley died at the home of a 
daughter in Washtenaw County, at the age of one 
hundred and two years; his wife died in Romulus, 
X. Y. Mrs. Tcrwilligei- had tw<, sisters .and two 
brothers who grew to maturity. Her eldest sister, 
Lazetta, married William C. Barker, of Watkins, 
N. Y'., where she died, and Frances A. married 

— — •► 



-iV-M^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Frank Lerch, of Waukegan, 111., and died in that 
place. William T., her elder brother, was grad- 
uated from the medical department of the State 
University at Ann Arbor, and now resides inA^'ine- 
land, N. J. Her brother Joseph is also a resident 
of that place, and is an inventor. 

Mr. Terwilliger joined the Methodist Episcopal 
Cluu'ch in 1842, and has ever faithfully and con- 
scientiously lived up to its teachings; he has been a 
Class-Leader and Exhorter in the church. He and 
his amiable wife command the respect and confi- 
dence of all in the community. They have a pleas- 
ant and cosy home, and the friend or stranger cross- 
ing its threshold is sure of a cordialwelcome. Mr. 
and Mrs. Terwilliger have no children of their own, 
but have adopted a child of her sister, Liician (i. 
Lerch. 



'SAIAH W. ROBERTSON, a rei)resentative 
farmer and public-spirited citizen, is a resident 
on section 1 .5, Ogden Township, and has taken 
a prominent part in promoting the growth and 
prosperity of the township. It has been well said 
that the history and chara(tter of a country may be 
learned by a study of its people, so it is that we 
may learn much of the history of Lenawee County 
in turning the pages of this work and reading the 
brief biographies of such men as the one whose 
name stands at the head of this sketch. We learn 
of the difficulties they had to encounter in wrest- 
ing the land from the hand of nature, and of the 
obstacles their heroism overcame in the earlj' set- 
tlement of the community, and read of the part 
that they, or their descendants, have taken in 
directing public affairs and in promoting the growth 
and prosperity of the county till it has attained its 
present high rank among the counties of the State. 
Isaiah W. Robertson was born in Preston County, 
W. Va., April 11, 1842, and is the fifth son of 
James and Elizabeth Robertson (for parental his- 
tor^f see sketch of George P. Rol)ertson). He was 
but a year old when his parents left their home in 
^'irginia and migrated to Wayne County, Ohio, 
where they lived for some years; then, after a brief 
residence in Medina County, that State, they re- 
moved in 1854 to this county and located in Ogden 



Township. This township had been then for some 
years strnggling for existence in the dense forest 
that surrounded and invaded the famous Cotton- 
wood Swamp, where it was partly located. Our 
subject was thirteen years old when tlie family 
came to this town.ship. His father bought a tract 
of land heavily timbered, and whether or not he 
believed in the old couplet 

••S;it:i!i tiiuls some iiiiM-liiff still 
For idle hands t(i do." 
he kept his sons out of mischief by keeping them 
steadily at work clearing the land, sowing the seed 
and gathering the harvest. While thus engaged 
our subject contracted habits of industry which 
have been useful to him in after years, and to which 
he is in a great measure indebted for his success 
in life. His work on the farm was varied by at- 
tendance at the district school. The schools of 
those days in Ogden and the suri-ounding town- 
ships were not so good as the schools of to-day, for 
it was impossible in those sparsely settled places to 
take' advantage of the excellent school system of 
Michigan, which had been formulated by the learned 
John D. Pierce under the vigorous encouragement 
and hearty co-operation of such men as Gov. Cass 
and Gen. Crary, and adopted by the State in 1837. 
Mr. Robertson had not yet attained his majority 
when tbe war broke out, and was not then at liberty 
to go forth in his countr3''s defense, so he con- 
tinued working quietly on his father's farm, watch- 
ing the progress of the war with burning interest. 
On the 4th of August, 1862, he dropped his scythe 
in the field, hastened to Adrian, and enlisted in 
Company B, 18th Michigan Infantry, and going to 
the front with that regiment, served until the close 
of the war, being mustered out of service at Nash- 
ville, Tenn., June 26, 1865. He returned to his 
father's home the following 14th of Jul^', where he 
has since discharged his duties as a civilian with the 
same faithfulness and patriotism that characterized 
his career as a soldier. He resumed his duties on 
the farm, working by the month for his father, re- 
maining ill his employ until his marriage, which 
took place March 17, 1807, with Miss Arnanda 
Packard. She is a d.aughter of Nathaniel and 
Mary (Patten) Packard, natives of New York 
State, and early settlers of Fulton County, Ohio, 



•►Hh-^- 




4 



^^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



871 



where their daughter, Mrs. Robertson, was born. 
Mr. and Mrs. Robertson have one son, Joseph 
N.athaniel, born Dec. 13, 1867. 

After his marriage Mr. Rol)ert,son. in coniiinny 
with his brother, rented his father's farm for three 
3'ears, at tlie expiration of whieli time he located 
(in the forty acres of land which he had bought 
before his iclurn from the war, and he still con- 
tinues l<> malcc ills residence there. At tlir tiuieof 
purchase thei'c were only fifteen acres cleared, and 
a small log cabin on it, Init he now has a good set 
of farm buildings, and has added to his landed 
estate until he owns 2:hi acres of land, IfiO of 
which are under cultivation, ruid a part of the rest 
cleared and good pasture laud. 

Mr. Robertson is a self-made man. and has .dil}' 
filled many offices of trust in this township, lie 
has been interested in procuring the present excep- 
tional educational advantages of the township, and 
for nine j'ears served iis SchooJ Director, while he 
is at present School Assessor, and has served for 
seventeen years as Highway Commissioner. AVhen 
he was first elected to this office but little had been 
done in the township in the line of road building, 
but he immediately commenced the improvement 
of the roads already built, and the construction of 
many miles more, and has since superintended the 
building of nearly every road in the township. It 
is due to him more than to any other man that 
no township in the county has better or more miles 
of roads than Ogden Township. 

Socially, Mr. Robeitson stands liigh in the coui- 
nuinit}'. He is a member of David Becher I'ost 
No. 2.'., G. A. R.; Blue Lodge No. Ill, A. K. A 
A. M.; Adrian Chapter No. 10; Knights Templar 
No. 4, Adrian. In politics he is a Reiniblican. 



■^h^ 



'f^ UGENE F. FORD, one of the most enterpris- 
Itr^ ing business men in this section of the coun- 
/iL^ ty, is a resident of section 3 in the fractional 
part of Riga Township, less than half a mile from 
the Ohio State line, and is a man of much versatil- 
ity, and fertile in resource, as may be seen by the 
degree of success with which he conducts the di- 
ranches of business, including farming, brick 



and tile manufacturing, and the manufacture (.>f lum- 
ber. 

Mr. Ford was born among the hills of Ilnnipshire 
('<iuiity, Mass., in the heantiful town of Cuiimiing- 
ton, on the .ith of April, l.sn,nndis the s6n of 
Charles and Fidelia (Bates) Ford (for parental his- 
tory see sketch of Cieorge F. Ford). He came 
from a long line of notable ancestiy, some of whom 
were among the first settlers of Curamington, men 
of intrepid spirit and great force of character. 
Twice at least in their annals have their brave de- 
scendants gone forth as pioneers to encounter the 
unknown perils of tlie wilderness, in the early set- 
tlement of Hampshire County in Massachusetts and 
of Fulton County in Ohio, and we might also add 
of Lucas County, Ohio. 

Our subject was but nine years of age when he 
left that i)leasant home among the hills and went 
with his parents to Ohio, whither his grandfather had 
preceded them years before. He was already partly 
educated in the district schools of his birthplace, and 
here his education was completed in attendance at the 
pioneer school of Richfield Township, and a further 
course at the Maumee Academy. After finishing 
his education he taught school for a time, but he 
had long watched with intense interest the political 
events of the country, which finally culminated in 
the great civil strife. In February, 1862, his pat- 
riotic ardor was aroused to its highest pitch, and 
he closed the door of his school-room to enlist in 
Company A, 89th Ohio Infantry, for three months, 
although he h.ad not then attained his majority-. At 
the expiration of this term of service lie was dis- 
charged and returned home, liut in ISG.'! he re-en- 
listed in the service as a member of the Ohio Na- 
tional Guard, and served 100 days. In February, 
1865, he enlisted once more, this time in Ccmpany 
A, 1 89th Ohio Infantry, and was S(Jon after sent from 
Columbus, Ohio, via Baltimore, to Point of Rocks, 
in charge of pristmers to be exchanged. After 
faithfully discharging this duty he returned to Co- 
lumbus, and thence was sent with his regiment to 
Alabama, where he remained until his honorable 
discharge' in Augu^t, I860, closed his career as a 
soldier; he then returned to his old home in Ohio. 
Mr. Ford was married, Jan. 1, 1869, to Miss 
Painelia Wilson, who was born in Lucas County, 



-•► 



•^^ 



872 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Ohio, Feb. 3, 1846. Her paternal grandfather, 
William Wilson, a native of Pennsylvauia, and of 
(4erinan ancestry, spent his last j'ears near J^ancas- 
ter, Ohio, and here his son William, Mrs. Ford's 
father, was born. After he grew to manhood he 
went to Lucas County, in the early days of its set- 
tlement, and with his uncle engaged in keeping a 
hotel in Sylvania, then bat a hamlet, while the hotel 
was a log house. After his marriage with Miss 
Mary A. Latlirop. he brought land and commenced 
farming in Litchtield Township, and still resides 
there. Mrs. Wilson was born in Allegany Count3% 
N. Y., and was the daughter of Col. l-ucian U. 
Lathrop, a pioneer of i^ucas County. 

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Ford made 
their home on the farm where they still reside. 
The farm confaiins 200 acres of land, of which 120 
is highly improved, and contains convenient build- 
ings, and the appliances for conducting farm work 
b}' the most approved methods. 

Besides paying careful attention to the culture of 
his land, Mr. Ford is engaged in other branches of 
business. In 1880 he commenced the manufacture 
of brick and tile, and still continues the business, 
while in 1881 he bought a siiwmill and has since been 
extensively engaged in the manufacture of lumber. 
To all these different branches of business he gives 
personal attention, and all arc in a flourishing con- 
dition. 

Mr. and Mrs. Ford are the parents of four sons- 
James M., Hiram W., Lewis C. and John. They 
are highly esteemed by their many neighbors and 
friends for their kindly, genial manners and high 
integrity of character. Mr. Ford is a man of 
marked decision and business abilitj'. Me is a i)ub- 
lic-spirited citizen, and his various business enter- 
prises have contrilinted much to the growth and 
prosperity of Rign Township, hi [lolitics he is a 
Republican. 



W;ILLIAM TEN BROECKj SCllERMKR- 
HORN, for nearly thirty years editor and 
„ ^ proprietor of the Hudson Gazette, was born 
in Claverack, Columbia Co., N. Y., March 18, 1835. 
He was the youngest son of William and Helen 
Schermerhorn, the former a native of New York, 



and a descendant of the Knickerbocker families. 
He was a weaver by trade, and pursued that calling 
in Palmyra, Wayne County, where his death 
occurred. His companion, now Mrs. H. C. Morgan, 
is still living, and is a resident of Palmyra. 

Our subject developed at an early age studious 
and industru)us habits, and when but thirteen years 
of age entei-ed the office of the Wayne County 
Sentinel at Palmyra, and thoroughlj' acquired the 
"art preservative." Although his schooling had 
lieen somewhat limited, his keen observation and 
bright mind were ever active, and he w.as counted 
l)y his employers as one of the likeliest young men 
in the office. His ambition to progress in his call- 
ing led him to Utica, w-here he worked for a time, 
and later he was employed in the Wayne County 
Democrat office at Lyons. Desiring to engage in 
business for himself he came to Hudson, in 1858, 
and bought the Gazette, which was tlien in a col- 
lapsed condition. Under the vim and energy of 
his strong, progressive temperament the |)aper pros- 
pered, and won a place among the foremost jour- 
nals of the State, succeeding far beyond the average 
of country weeklies. Mr. Schermerhorn continued 
the successful publication of the paper up to the time 
of his sudden death from heart disease, Dec. 15, 
1 S84. He was a rare type of powerful manhood, 
physically and intellectually, of a poetic and affec- 
tionate temperament, a keen observer of men and 
events, an acknowledged superior journalist, and a 
leader in the Democratic party in Michigan. He 
was fearless and outspoken in his political affllia- 
tions, but was fair and tolerant, an entirely honor- 
able foe. He gave the best years of a busy life to 
the village where he began business for himself, 
and always applied himself energetically to the ad- 
vancement of its interests. He lived an intense 
life, and its unexpected termination was a severe 
blow to his family, the community, his party and 
his profession. 

The maiden name of the wife of our suliject, to 
whom he was united at Lyons, in 1857, was Jennie 
Terry. She was born in Alton, Wayne Co., N. Y., 
and was the daughter of Capt. Horace and Emily 
Terr\'. To her and her husband were born twelve 
children, nine of whom are now living, as follows: 
Emma W., Nellie C, James, Mary B., Byron H., 



•► 



■•► 








t 


f 




-«- 1 




, ~-i 


^« 


^ 








I 


LENAWEP 


COUNTY. 873 - 


1 




Cliarlie T., Frederick N., Vilette T. and Harry V. 


pie of a cultivated and well-educated community. 






C. Emma is the wife ..f Fredciick ,1. Todd, of 


IMr. and Mrs. Tuttle united with the Christian 






Detroit; Nellie is the wife of Fifiiik lianics. cf 


Church aliout ISTO, of whirli they have since re- 






Durango, Col. Willinni T.'ii I'.n.erk. .Ir.. the .,hle.-t 


mained consistent inemli<a>. .and our sulijcet h.as 






son, was attending school at Olierlin Colle.ue at 


been a stanch Republican sine,- llir oigaiii/.ath.n of 






the time of his father's death. He unselHshly re- 


the party. 






linquished his plans for a professional career, and 


The Tuttle family came oiiuinaliy from Fuul.and, 






heroically applied himself U> the work <if carrying 


and o <■ of its mrmbers who ri-ossed the Atlantic in 






on the business and maintaiiiinu tlic family. In this 


l(;;!i; was Ihc rounder of N,.w Haven. C"iin. The 






he succeeded admirably, ker|.iiig tlu- p:iper up to 


children of our subject are of the eighth generation 






the i-eputatii)ii it liad arhicvrd under iiis father's 


of the family iu this country. His father, Oramon 






manngenient, till death callrd liiiii Ironi his lal)ors. 


Tuttle, Sr., was a native of Conni'cticut, and mar- 






April 18, KS87. In l.S,S.3 he uas appointed !'u>t- 


ried .^liss .\bbic r.anies. who was also Injiai in that 






master, and served etliciently until his death, lie 


Stale.. lie was the son of No.ah Tuttle. a direct 






was also selected as Committeenum from Michigan 


descendant of William Tuttle, >[ioken of above. 






by the National Postmasters' A.ssociation. He was 


The parents of our subject, after their marriage, set- 






a bright young journalist, a faithful pul)lic oflicial, 


tled near Camden, Onciila Co.. X. Y.. and suUse- 






a successful business ni.-m, and the short life that 


qnently renioveil to \'ieiui.a in the s.ame county. 






he lived was a noble .and unsrllt-h one. Since his 


where they spent the remainder of their lives. 






death the paper has been under the management 


The mother died on the 7lli of November, 1 s;'„s. 






of tiie second son, James, who resigned from his 


aged fifty-five year>, while the father survived until 


i 




cadctship at West Point on account of his brother's 


1860, and died in Oneida County-, when between 






ill-health. 


seventy-eight and eighty. Their twelve childi-en 






't^ :(§)^^^ 


were named respectively: JMnily, Sallie, Daniel, 
Lent, Mary, Alma, Thankfid, Soi)hia, Nancy C, 






/^pSN^RAMON TUTTLK. .Ik., of Seneca Township, 


Oramon, Jr., Mary (2d) and Xo.ah. Of tli.se seven 






(l 111 possesses as the reward of many years' labor 


are surviving, ma,king tlieir homes, two in New 






^^^ a finely cidtivated tract of eighty acres of 


York, and the remainder in .Michigan. During the 






land on section 3, which he lias improved with first- 


late war Noah enlisted in a reginuait of New York 






class buildings, including a fine dwelling and a good 


Infantry, and iu tlii- capacity saw the Uebelliou 






barn with the other necessary outhouses, all of 


from its beginning to it- clo>e. 






which are models of convenience and finely adapted 


Oramon Tuttle. .Ii., was born in ( (nenia ( ounty, 






to the use of the intelligent and progressive farmer. 


N. Y., April L'7. IS-JI.: lii^ ,;nly days uere I'asM-.l 






Oramon Tuttle came to this i)art of the county 


in the sawmill .and til luniberin,-, dunui; which lime 






during its early settlement, and .assisted in laying 


he receive,] .a limited ..dncal i,,n. II,. IkmI iH^eii 






out roads, being quite an expert as a surveyor, and 


reared to hal,il> ..f in,liistry. and l.y a ,a.ui>e of 






evincing excellent judgment in regard to tiie best 


economy .and piinl,ai,-e. .aiaaimul.atvil c, ,ii>i<i,'rable 






methods to be employed for the building up of the 


money bef<n'e leaving Ihi^ Fmpii,' Stale. This, 






township, and encouraging the immigraticni of an 


however, was lost through misplaccl onfidemtc, and 






intelligent and thrifty class of iieople. He main- 


he was obliged to liegin again at the foot of the 






tained a lively interest in the establishment of re- 


Ladder. About 185') lie determined upon a change 






ligious and educational institution.s, and olliciated 


of location, ami coming to Hillsdale C,.unty, this 






in the various school otlices many years, and until 


State, staid there a b'w iii,>ntli<. but befon^ winter 






younger men came upon the scene to nlicve him. 


took up his resi,haHa. in D,iver Township, this 






He and his estimable wife vvere the paients of twelve 


county. In l<sir)7 he (Huchased eighty acres of 






children, ten of whom they reared to matuie years 


land in Seneca Township, of which he took i)osses- 






and fitted to take their station iu life among the peo- 


sion on the 3d of July, and a few days thereafter • 




n^- 




^ . 


' 


■^*~ 






^» 











-► ■ <• 



874 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



struck the first blow toward clearing his farm. He 
iiad located in the midst of a timber tract, and in 
time purchased a sawmill, where he engaged in the 
manufacture of lumber, and made cheese boxes, 
shingles, etc., besides carrying on the operations of 
his farm. The sawmill was destroyed by fire in the 
spring of 1872, involving a loss to Mr. Tuttle of 
$2,000, uninsured. He now gave up the sawing 
business, and has since given his close attention to 
his farm, which bears evidence upon the face of it 
to what good purpose he has labored. In order to 
perfect the drainage, he practically dredged Black 
Creek for several hundred rods. While thus en- 
gaged, in the fall of 1873, he struck a mass of bones 
which since, under examination by a scientist, have 
been discovered to be the remains of a huge pre- 
historic animal, unknown to modern natural his- 
tory. Mr. Tuttle sent the skeleton to his old home 
in Camden, N. Y. 

Mr. Tuttle, while a resident of his native State, 
was united in marriage with Sallie A. Spencer, the 
wedding taking place on the 12th of September, 
1844. Mrs. T. is the daughter of Ephraim and 
Cordelia (Wooding) Spencer, who were natives of 
Connecticut, and were married in Massachusetts. 
They settled first in the Nutmeg State, and thence 
removed to Camden, N. Y., where the father died 
in 1853, when about sixty years of age. Mrs. 
Spencer and her children then came to this State, 
and she now resides at Grand Rapids, and is eighty- 
three years of age. She was the mother of eleven 
children, of whom Mrs. Tuttle was the third child 
and eldest daughter. She received a common- 
school education, and by her marriage with our sub- 
ject became the mother of a large family of chil- 
dren. These are nearly all married, and comfort- 
ably settled in homes of their own. Charles A., the 
eldest, is still a bachelor; Mary is the widow of 
Charles Babcock, and the mother of four children — 
Edith, Tracy, Hervey and Medora; Caroline E. is 
the wife of Wallace Bryant, and the mother of one 
child, Ernest; William E. was first married to Miss 
Dorcas Hood, and they had one child, a son, Ed- 
win; his second wife was Mrs. Hainiah Rogers. 
Willard died when an infant; Jesse M. married Miss 
Nancy Wolf, and they iiave one child, Floyd E. ; 
Hervey married Miss Mabel Austin, and they also 



have one child, Eunice May; Ida A. is the wife of 
Chester S. Bragg, and the mother of four children — 
Maude A., Eddie, Earl and Ethel; Hiram married 
Miss Mary Carey, and has two children — Mearl R. 
and one unnamed; Frederick and Edwin arc at 
home with their parents. 



t-^ 



R. WILLIAM B. TOWN. A goodly pro- 
portion of the reliable element of Lenawee 
C^ounty have labored on the maxim that "a 
rolling stone gathers no moss," and have 
wisely clung' to the heritage left them by their fa- 
thers. Among them is the subject of this sketch, 
who occupies the land originally taken up by his 
honored father from the Government. Here he 
spent the days of his boyhood and youth and de- 
veloped into manhood, pursuing for a time hib 
studies in the pioneer school. To this section of 
country his parents had removed from the Domin- 
ion of Canada, where William B. was born in Nor- 
wich, Oxford C'ountj% on the 23d of July, 1830. 

Nathan Town, the father of our subject, was a na- 
tive of Massachusetts, where he received his early 
education and commenced the study of medicine. 
When a young man he removed to Herkimer 
County, N. Y.. whence he migrated to the Domin- 
ion soon after the War of 1812. In the fall of 1838 
he made his way to Jackson, Mich., and the spring 
following took up his residence in Rollin Township, 
this county, where he farmed on a small scale and 
continued the practice of his profession until rest- 
ing from his earthly labors; he died Oct. 28, 1854, 
aged sixty-two years! 

The mother of our subject was in her girlhood 
Miss Irene Tompkins, and was born in Waterbury, 
Conn., May 11, 1793. She became the wife of 
Nathan Town March 25, 1813, and bore toherhus- 
liand six children, namely: Eliza and Julia, de- 
ceased; Cornelia, George F., Mary S., and William 
B., of our sketch. Mrs. Irene Town died at the 
homestead in Rollin Township in July, 1859, at the 
age of sixty-six years, having survived her husband 
about five years. 

Our subject pursued his early studies in the dis- 



•►■ 



■•►- 



Hh-* 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



875 



trict school aiicl subsequently atteiulud the sciiool al 
Jackson during the winter season. IIo romiiKMucil 
reading medicine under the instniclinn of Dr. II. 
Powers, of Rollin, when twent\-(>iic ycins of :ii;f. 
and took a two-years course in the medical dcpnit- 
ment of Michigan University. His first iiatient wms 
a resident of Geneva, this township. He gave his 
close attention to the duties of his profession, avail- 
ing liimself of the instructive niedical works of the 
day, and by a conscientious and upright couise in 
due time built up a profitable and extensive l)usi- 
ness. In the meantime he lent liis aid to those en- 
terprises calculated for the general good of the 
community, serving in the local offices, and foi' a 
period of seventeen years was Postmaster of Geneva ; 
this office he finally resigned. He was School Di- 
rector for a period of seven years, and in 1884 was 
elected a member of the State Legislature. During 
his service at the capital he was on various im- 
portant committees, especially those concerning the 
public health and industrial schools for girls, at 
Adrian. He has always voted the straight Demo- 
cratic ticket. 

The wife of our subject, to whom lio was married 
Oct. 27, 1853, was formerly Miss Elmina C, daugh- 
ter of Americus and Martha (Heal) Smith, natives 
of New York State. She was born in Fairfield, 
Lenawee Co., Mich., Aug. 21), J 835. Mrs. Town 
is a lady of much intelligence and is particularly 
interested in benevolent work. She is Treasurer of 
the Ladies' Missionary Society and lias also served 
as President for a term of years. She was one 
of the first members of the W. C. T. U. in Roll hi 
Township, assisting in perfecting its organization. 
and was President three years. She has been largelj' 
gifted by nature with a most charitable and gener- 
ous disposition, and the poor and distressed never 
appeal to her in vain. Mrs. Town is prominently 
connected with the Methodist Episcopal Church, of 
which the Doctor is a regular attendant and gives 
liberally of his means to its support. .Socially, our 
subject belongs to Lodge No. 157, A. F. & A. M., 
of which he has been a member in Addison for tlie 
last twenty years. 

The Town family is of Irish extraction and the 
Tompkins were originally from Scotland. Nathan 
Town commenced the practice of his profession in 



Canada, and was there in 1 83(; when the "Patriot 
War" lirokc out, :ind being in sympathy with the 
patiiots he w.-is .•incsicd on ,■! charge of treason and 
iiiil.riMincd ill II:iiiiih(>ii jail nine months. He was 
then with till' (ilhcrs >eiitenced to be hung, but a 
>li()it tiiiif licfiire the clay set for the execution a 
reprieve rauic fnnii (^»ii('('ii \'ictoria and he was ban- 
ished from Ihc I'rciviiici'. He was compelled to 
leave at once licluif he i-inil.] settle his business af- 
fairs or get his family ready for removal. He im- 
mediately came to I )cri-(iit, aniving here in Novem- 
ber, where he was joined \,y his family a few weeks 
later, and was Uu-ee,, iid plivsieiau to locate in Rollin 
Township. 



t WSl 



ILLIAM J. WILBER is one of the stanch 
^liable citizens of Dover Township, 
he is engaged in farming, and is the 
son of .losepli and Hnth (Briggs) Wilber, the 
former born in Khode I.sland of English ancestry, 
while the latter, it is thouglit, was also a native of 
the same State. They left Rhode Island while 
still single, and were married in Schoharie County, 
N. Y. Some lime after marriage they settled in 
Knox, Albany Co.. N. V., wliere the father died in 
181-2, and liis widow in May of the following year, 
in Schoharie, N. Y. By this sad event a family of 
five children became orphans. 

The |iarental family included five children — Ju- 
dith. Abisha, Amanda, William J. and Sally, of 
whom the three eldest are dead. Judith was first 
married to David Parks; he died in Johnstown, N. 
Y., and she afterward married David Carpenter, 
who died in Madison Township, Lenawee Co., 
Mich., where she also died. Abisha was the wife 
of Ciilbert (iage, and died in Dover Township, this 
county; Amanda was first married to Elias Rich- 
ardson, of Victor, N. Y., where he died; she then 
came to Lenawee County, and was again married, 
to Samuel Jordan, and died in Sturgis, Mich. Sally 
married John T. ^^'llife, and resides in Walworth, 
Wayne Co., N. Y. 

William J. Wilber was born in Knox, Albany Co., 



^\- 



■•► 



4^, 



87G 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



N. Y 

whei 

tlie child to live with him, but when hf 

years old his grandfather's death occur) 



Jan. 10, 1810, and was but three years of age 

is parents died. His grandfather then took 

was nine 

d, and he 



remained with an uncle, W. R. Briggs, at the grand- 
father's old home in Schoharie County, N. Y., 
under whose guardianship he remained until he was 
twenty-one years of age, and was trained to the 
calling of a farmer. 

Mr. Wilber married, in Schenectady County, X. 
Y., Oct. 28, 1833. Lucretia B., daughter of James 
and Doi'cas (Blackmoor) Gale, of Duanesburg, N. 
Y. After marriage Mr. Wilber continued to live 
in his native State for several years, engaged in 
his calling of a farmer, but in 1851 he sold his 
property in the Empire State, and came with his 
family to Dover Township, this county, where 
he procured a tract of land, and has ever since 
been a resident of this township. lie has been 
highly successful in bringing his farm of eighty 
acres into a good state of tillage. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Wilber were born six ehildre'n, of whom the 
following is the record: James Clale lives in 
Florida; Mary A., who was the wife of Gilbert 
Torbron, of Dover Township, died in Clayton, 
Sept. 20, 1885; Joseph Oscar resides in Adrian; 
Walter B., Ernest and John live in Buena ^'ista, 
C.l. 

The mother of these ehililren, who was a faithful 
companion and helpmeet to her husband, died in 
Dover Township, Oct. 17, 1867, and Mr. Wilber 
was again married, Dee. 15, 1870, to Fidelia A. 
(Shaw) McLouth, daughter of Brackley and Lydia 
Shaw. (For parental history see sketch of her 
brother, Hon. Brackley Shaw). She was born in 
Ira, Cayuga Co., N. Y., and was the widow of 
Peter McLouth, who died in Dover Township, 
Dec. 28, 1803. By that marriage she became the 
mother of two children — Charles N. and Edward 
S. Charles married Ida Wallace, and lives in 
Chicago, 111., while Edward married Abbie Ab- 
bott, and lives in Dakota. By her union with 
Mr. Wilber she has lia<l one child, Williau) E., 
who died when about eight months old. 

Mr. and Mrs. Wilber are estimable members of 
the Presbyterian Church of Dover, and they have 
always exerted their influence to promote the 



social and moral interests of the township. For 
eight years Mr. Wilber has done good service as 
Highway Connnissioner. In politics he is a stanch 
Republican. 



j^^ AMUEL D. TINGLEY, the youngest son 
^^^ of the well-known John II. Tingley, and 
]l^^ one of the most promising young farmers 
of RoUin Township, was born at the old 
homestead on the 27th of May, 1851, and has 
always made his home near the scenes of his early 
boyhood. He is active and energetic, both in re- 
gard to his own business and in township affairs, 
being a working Republican and serving as High- 
way Commissioner, Assessor and School Trustee. 
He is in favor of prohibition, and materially assists 
the various enterprises set on foot for the welfare 
and progress of the people around him. He ac- 
quired his education in the district school and 
assisted his fathei- on the farm until his marriage, 
then purchased the old Lamb homestead, where he 
has taken the initiatory steps toward building up 
one of the most desirable country homes in the 
county. 

The wife of our subject, formerly Miss Elizabeth 
Adelle McCurran; is the daughter of Anthony and 
Anna (Gillis) McCurran, and the foster daughter 
of Lewis Lombard, one of the old pioneers of this 
county. She was familiarly known as Miss Lom- 
bard, and in the home of her kind foster-parents 
never felt the loss of her natural protectors. She 
was born on the 20th of August, 1850. The 
McCurran family was of French descent, and in- 
cluded four children, of whom Mrs. Tingley is the 
only survivor. She was carefully reared and well 
educated, and became the wife of our subject on 
the 12th of February, 1874, the wedding being- 
celebrated in Addison, this country. Rev. A. R. 
Ilazen, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, officiat- 
ing. Mrs. Tingley obtained her education in this 
county, finishing her studies in what is now the 
Addison High School, and before her m.arriage she 
taught .school for several years. Eight terms were 
taught in Woodstock Township, and two terms in 
Rollin Township. Mrs. Tingley's sister, Mary 



4^ 



■•► 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Anna, was graduated at-Uiiioii Sining Si-hiidi 
York, and at au early period was given n p( 
in Wasiiingtoii, D. C, teaching tlie cniMuc 
slaves, and there became acquainted uilii (Ol 
R. Thompson, whom she married a few years 

Mr. and Mrs. Tingley have two ciiildren : 
A., who was born in Kollin Township, Ma 
KS,S-2. au.l SU'plien S,. ill tlir >;niir t..\Mi>hip, 
17, ISSC. Mrs. Tiiigley ha^ been a member 
Methodist Episcopal Church at Roilin Center 
nnml)er of years, and also l)elongs to the I 
Missionary Society, with wjiich she identidef 
self at its organization. 



, New 
isition 

pa ted 
. .b,hn 

latei'. 



)f tlie 
for a 
adies' 



^ 



,'))rc 



Wih 



Vi^RANClS A. DEWEY is one of the 
|-Wg) sentative pioneers of tliis county, having 
J!) come here in 1829, in advance of his par- 

ents, and he has since been actively ideiililic'd witli 
t:;e upbuilding of this section beyond most men. 
He is a native of Three Rivers, (Quebec, ( anada, 
w'here he was born Feb. 25, 1811, and is the son of 
Simeon and Betsey (Bigclow) Dewey, both of 
whom were natives of the Old Oi'anite State. In 
]82(! tlie family removed to Buffalo, N. Y., liut 
three years later they came to Micliigan, and settleil 
in Tecumseh. 

Francis A. Dewey was the second son and third 
child of a family of seven children, and resided 
with his parents until he had reached his nuajority. 
He received his first schooling while in Hanover. 
N. II., a part of the time at Moore's Academy, of 
that place, and in 1828, he attended Capt. McCay's 
military school at Buffalo. Following in the foot- 
steps of his father, he became a farmer, and during 
the summer of 1829 he came to Michigan in ad- 
vance of the family, arriving in Tecumseii in Sep- 
tember. In 1830 he was engaged in company with 
Musgrove Evans, as mail carrier between Tecuinseli 
and Ypsilauti, which business lie foUoweil for six 
months. During this winter the mail was only car- 
ried once a week between these two points, and 
only once a month between Detroit and Chicago. 
The latter route was traveled by a Frenchman on 
an Indian ponj', which would sometimes liecomc 
exhausted, and the Frenclwnan would fire his pistol. 



which seemed to give the animal new life, and he 
would then continue his journey with renewed 
vigor. In tlie spring of l.s;n Mr. Dewey went to 
Detroit, and for nearly two years and a half drove 
the stage and carried the mail between that city 
and Ypsilanti, and Detroit and Monguagon. In 
June. 18:U, thinking it about time he should settle 
on land of his own, he located IGO acres of Govern- 
ment land, lying on sections 17, 18, 19 and 20, in 
Cambridge Township, where during the fall of 1 s;i(;, 
he built a log cabin, into which he removed on the 
4th of March, l.siw. This log liouse, located at 
Dewey Lake, occupied the site of the wigwam of 
the Indian Chief Mittean. In the meantime he had 
driven the stage between Tecumseh and ,Iones\ ille 
about two years. He sub.sequently added to this 
farm until he owned over 600 acres, upon which 
he erected a large brick house and good barns; he 
had nearly 300 acres under improvement, and the 
entire tract was well fenced. In l.sd,") he disposed 
of some 200 acres of his bind, and pur 
was known as the "Walker farm at Cam! 
tion, where he now reside.-. 
Mr. Dewey commenced I 
early age, having been appointed Drum Major of 
the 8th Regiment, Michigan Militia, in 1830, .and 
in 1832, he iiarticipated with the regiment in the 
Black Hawk War. lie was the Supervisor of Cam- 
bridge Township in the years 1840 and 1853, filling 
the position with credit to himself and satisfaction 
to the people, while he was Highway Commissioner 
for four years, and Justice of the Peace for sixteen 
ye.-xrs. When the storm of war broke out over our 
country, in 18G1, although too old a man to take 
an active part in the army, he was no less interested 
in the suppression of the Rebellion, and spent much 
time, and contributed large amounts of money to 
fill the quotas of his township. He subscribed S700 
at one public meeting, and subsequently gave 1300 
more for tlie same good i)uri)ose. His only regret at 
that time was his inability to cany a musket. Taking 
a strong interest in the growth of the county, Mr. 
Dewey has been always closely connected with all 
institutions which he believed to be for the good of 
the comnuinity. Among these was the Agricultural 
Society. When the Michigan Pioneer Society was 
organized at Lansing, March 11, 1874, Mr. D. was 



•based 



nc services at i 



Ih-* 



878 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



the 011I3' m;iii fi\>in this county who represented it 
that society. He took an active part in the organ- 
ization, being one of the charter members, and in 
1875 was selected a member of the Executive 
Committee thereof. Subsequeutlj' he was elected 
President of the society, and aftervvard Vice Presi- 
dent, holding the last office for several years, and 
is at the present time one of its most prominent mem- 
bers and one of the most conspicuous of the Exec- 
utive Committee. This latter issues annually a large 
volume of its proceedings, including local and his- 
torical facts concerning the pioneer da3's of the State, 
to each of which Mr. Dewey has been a large con- 
tributor, and from the frontispiece of which the 
classical features of the old pioneer lookout upon us, 

Mr. Dewey and Miss Mary Ann Smith were 
united in marriage Oct. 25, 1836, and they are the 
parents of six children, as follows: Jane S. was 
born Aug. 7, 1837, and died Feb. 10, 1855; George 
H. was born Jan. 10, 1839, and is a^ farmer of Cam- 
bridge Township; John W. was born March 17, 
1841, and is a farmer in this county; Albert F. was 
born April 15, 1843; Franklin S. was born March 
27, 1845, and is a graduate of the Michigan Uni- 
versit3% and a resident of Alpena, where for eight 
years he was Superintendent of Public Schools, and 
Isaac S. was born April 8, 1848. Mrs. Mary Ann 
Dewey was born at Paris, Oneida Co., N. Y., Sept. 
24, 1815, and was the daughter of Isaac and Mary 
Smith; she died in Cambridge Township, Sept. 15, 
1852. Jan. 27, 1853, Mr. Dewey married Mrs. 
Marie S. Smith, the daughter of Julius and Annie 
Hoxie, of Macedon, Wayne Co., N. Y., and on the 
1 4th of September, 1 862, he was again left a wid- 
ower. On the loth of January, 1863, he married 
a third wife, Miss Harriet, daughter of Isaac and 
Mary Smith, of Woodstock, by whom he has had 
three children, as follows: Mary J., who was born 
Dec. 10, 1863; Lystor H., March 14, 1865, and 
Irving A., March 31, 1870. Mrs. Harriet Dewey 
was born in P.aris, Oneida Co.. N. Y., July 26, 
1827, and came to Michigan with her parents in 
1835. 

In Mr. Dewey's life we ttnd an excellent exam- 
ple for young men just embarking in the field of 
active life, of what may be accomplished b}' a man 
beginning at the bottom of the ladder, poor but 



honest, prudent and industrious. In early life he 
enjoyed but few advantages, and relied solely upon 
his own efforts and his own conduct to win for him 
success in life. Nor has this success been only in 
the sense of accumulating wealth, but in striving to 
do good to others, in serving them well, and in 
winning their respect and esteem. He has ever 
strictly observed that most important factor in the 
successful public or business life of anyone, honesty. 
He is a careful, conscientious business man, ever 
adhering to the dictates of his conscience in matters 
both of a public and private nature. He and most 
of his family are active members of the Episcopal 
Church, of which Mr. Dewey is the Senior Warden. 
He begins to show the effect of an active life spent 
on the frontier, and while he holds his mental fac- 
ulties bright and clear, his physical strength is slowly 
succumbing to the hand of time and the frosts of 
many winters. 



^■^^tma"?;^^ 



i.^-a!/2rj?r»v. -vvv- 



ILLIAM W. TILTON first opened his eyes 
to the light in the Old Granite State, in 
Cheshire County, July 21, 1803. His fa- 
ther, Joseph Tilton, subsequently removed to 
Montgomery County, N. Y., and from there to 
Michigan, coming here as early as 1831, and locat- 
ing in the vicinity of Coldwater, where he engaged 
in farming. This business he continued to follow 
until resting from his earthly labors, dying at the 
age of sixty-fonr years. His wife survived him 
many years, and passed away at the advanced 
age of eighty-seven, at the old homestead near 
Coldwater. 

Our subject spent his childhood and youth upon 
the farm, attending the district schools and becom- 
ing familiar with the various enjoj'ments and em- 
ployments of couutr3' life. After reaching his ma- 
jority he set out for himself, and took up a tract of 
eighty acres in RaiSin Township, to which he added 
until he became the owner of 140 acres. The land 
had been but indifferently cultivated when it came 
into his possession, but after laboring industriously a 
number of 3'ears he found himself the owner of one 
of the most fertile tracts of Lenawee County. He 
put up good buildings, stocked the farm with ex- 




"^-^.^^cot^ 



^^z^ 



il^^^^^^^l^ 



•►-II-4*- 



LENAWEK COUNTY. 



cellent grades of (l(iirH-.tic .iniui.-iN. .-iikI -upplicil 
liiinself by degrees with llie most approved in;i- 
chinery. About l.sTO, rnidiiig himself in posses- 
sion of a competence .-uid the necessity fm- his ar- 
duous labors having ceased, he rented tlie farm and 
moved into Tecumseh, where he has since lived, l)nt 
continues to look after the O))erations of the farm. 

Mr. Tilton, although quite young at the time f)f 
the removal of his parents to this State, remembers 
many of the incidents of the overland journey, 
which was made via the Lakes :ind canal to Tecum- 
seh, whence he walked the remainder of the way. 
This tramp occupied two days. duriiiL; -.vliich time 
he scarcely saw a human h:il)il,:iti()n. lie lii'st 
stopped with an old acquaintance, a .Mr. Spafford. 
and thereafter employed himself for a tiinr nt c-:ir- 
pentering. 

Mr. Tilton was m;u-ried in 182'.), when about 
twenty-six years of age, to Miss M;itilda, daughter 
of Thomas Sisson, who emigrated from New York 
State to Michigan in 1.S27. Mr. Sisson also built 
up a good farm from the primitive soil, and died in 
Raisin Township when sixty-five years old ; hi> wife 
had preceded him to the silent land. Their daugh- 
ter, Matilda, was born in New York, Nov. 27, ISIO, 
and by her union with our subject became the 
mother of four children. Their eldest son, Albert, 
was born Dec. 8, 1830, and died in Michigan, ,Ian. 
18. 1870, leaving a wife and three children, who are 
now living in Colorado; Harriet was born Oct. G, 
1832, and is the wife of James Calvin, of Raisin 
Township; they have three ciiildren. Aliigail was 
born March 13, 1840, married Alonzo Bean .'uid 
became the mother nf two children, one now living; 
George W. was born May 17, 1842. and is farming 
with his brother-in-law, Mr. .James Colvin. .Mrs. 
Matilda Tilton departed this life May 27, 18G4, at 
the iioraestead in Tecumseh Township, iiged fifty- 
four years. The present wife of our subject, to 
whom he was married in 1870, was formerly Rlrs. 
Cynthia (Spafford) Bissel, widow of Theodore Bissel, 
late of Tecumseh Township, and daughter of Al)ner 
and Belsey Spafford, natives of New llanipsliire and 
who are now deceased. 

Mr. Tilton is the oldest living settler of Tecum- 
seh Township, and a man beloved by all who know 
him. He has been a member of the Republican 



party since its organization, nnd was .ictive in his 
support of the party in this section during its in- 
fancy. Religiously he is a LIniversalist, and al- 
though now quite aged, keejis himself well posted 
upon matters of general interest and is very intelli- 
gent to converse with. During his younger 3'ears 
he occupied the various minor offices of the town- 
ship, and has always been a man whose word was 
considered as good as his bond. He has built up a 
good record and one of which his children will 
never be ashamed. 

As a representative citizen of Lenawee County, 
whose industry and good judgment surmounted all 
obstacles that stood in his way to success, and as a 
worthy and respected member of the community, 
we are pleased to pre.sent on an adjoining page of 
this Ai.r.uM a portrait of Mr. Tilton. 



_m- 



hiisc n;ime and features are 
■ the people on the southern 
('ount>', came to Southern 
ig of 1832, before reaching 



I irSAIAlI LOWK. V 
|l{ familiar to most i. 
[li line of Lenawee 
Michigan in the spri 
his majority, and took up a tract of land in Adrian 
Township. Four years later he removed to Fair- 
field Township, where he engaged in farming until 
1846. He then removed to Adri.an, and a year 

' later sold his jiroperty near there and coming back 
to P'airfield Township, look up his residence on his 

I land, to which he devoted his attention until the 

i spring of 1874. 

! Mr. Lowe, the year previously, had |iut up a 
steam sawmill at Jasper, and later a flouring-mill, 
in which latter enterprise he was assisted bj^ John 
C'. Mabee, with whom he l)ecame associated in 
partnership, and since th.at time they have operated 
liarmoniously together. ,They are both first-class 

I Inisiness men, and enjoy the patron.age and friend- 
ship of a large proportion of the people in their 
locality. Mr. Lowe has served as Highway Com- 
missioner in Adrian and Fairfield Townships, and 
occupied the office of Justice of tiie Peace in the 
Intter place for several terms. 

Our subject was born at Big Fl.ats, Chemiuig Co., 
N. Y., July 15, 1811. His father, Abraham Lowe, 

I a native of New Jersey, was born Nov. 2, 1777, 



I 



M^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



I 



and all his life engaged in farming pursuits. He 
removed to Big Flats, New York State, previous to 
the year 1800, and occupied one farm there for a 
period of twenty-three years. Upon selling out he 
took up his aliode in what was then Genesee, but 
is now Orleans County, N. Y., where he died in 
May, 18.34. The mother, formerly Miss Mary 
Atwood, was born near Montreal, Canada, Dec. 13, 
1779, and became the wife of Abraham Lowe April 
IS, 1802. Mrs. Lowe, after the death of her hus- 
band, joined her son in Michigan, and died at his 
home in Fairfield, Sept. fi, 18(i5 ; of this union there 
were born five children. 

Our subject received a very limited education, 
and in addition to assisting his father around the 
homestead, also worked at the carpenter's trade in 
Orleans County, until coming to the Territory of 
Michigan. He cultivated the new land which he 
had purchased, and finally traded his village 
property in Fairfield for a farm outside in the 
township, which he retained possession of until 
taking up his residence in Jasper. In the mean- 
time, in 1851, he crossed the plains to California, 
but a residence of five months on the Pacific Slope 
sufliced him, and returning to Michigan, he con- 
tentedly settled down, and has since remained a 
continuous resident of Fairfield Township. Although 
now seventy-seven years of age he retains much of 
his old-time vigor and industry, and is a man who 
in all respects has ap pare ntl_y made good use of his 
time and opportunities. 

jF^ ENRY READ i> a tliriving agriculturist. 
Ir^Jj residing on a fine farm on section 27, in 
/|v^^ Cambridge Township, where he has lived 
(^ since 1835, his father having obtained a 
patent of the place in that year. Henry Read is a 
native of Mt. Morris, Living.ston Co., N. Y., and 
was born Oct. 22, 1827. His father, Don A. Read, 
was a native of Vermont, and was the son of Hora- 
tio Read, who came of old Puritan stock. He was 
a farmer and teacher, and was for many years a 
prominent member of the Masonic fraternity. Some 
years before his death he came to this locality 
where he remained with his son, having become 



totally blind. In early life he was united in 
marriage with Jemima Mead, who died before 
coming to Michigan, in 1844. 

Don A. Read, the father nf our subject, when a 
young man, removed from the Green Mountain 
State to Livingston Count}-, X. Y., and was there 
united in marriage with Hannah Moyer, whose 
ancestors came from Holland and settled in the 
Mohawk Valley. She died in May, 1833. leaving 
three children, Henry, then but six years old, being 
the eldest and only son ; the other children are now 
deceased. Don A. Read first came to Michigan 
with his wife and two children, Henry and Maria, 
in 1830, and at that time took up land in what is 
now CJinton Townshiii, but in a short time returned 
to the Empire State. While there he lost his wife, 
and in June, 1833, he in company with his children 
came back to this State, and after a short residencJe 
in Clinton Township, removed to a farm of 160 
acres in Cambridge Township, where he resided 
until his death, which took place March 10, 1871, 
when he had attained the age of sixty-eight j^ears. 
His second wife was a Miss Larue, a native of New 
York, who died in Cambridge Township in 187U,at 
the age of seventy-two years. 

Henry Read remained at home until he had 
attained his majority, and for seven years there- 
after took general management of the homestead, 
clearing off the most of the debt in wheat when it 
brought less than fifty cents per bushel. On the 
2d of December, 18.03, he was united in marriage 
in the township of Rome, with Miss Alice W. 
Champenois, a native of Westchester County, N. 
Y., and was born Nov. 8, 1833. She is the 
daughter of William A. and Alice (Cornell) Cham- 
penois, who were both natives of New York, and 
the formei' of French descent. The}' came to 
Michigan in 1834, locating on a farm in Rome 
Township, this county, where they remained until 
about 1863, when they removed to Wexford 
County, Mich., where the father died Jan. 18, 1886. 
Mrs. Read's mother died in 1833, when Alice was 
but a week old, and the latter was brought up by 
her stepmother, on the homestead in this county. 
Three of Mr. Champenois' sons were in the Union 
army during the late conflict between the States. 

Mr. and Mrs. Read became the parents of three 



^ 



JU 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



883 



fhildren— ChMilfs II. jiiul Lena A., living ;,t home, 
and Fianee.s, deceased. In politics Mr. Head i.s a 
Democrat, and enjoys some pniminence in local 
circles. He and his wife take a great interest in 
the Grange movement, being lioth mendiers of No. 
•271J, P. of II. 

-^ 4-#- ^ 

■,|^KANK DAVIDS(.)N. Tiie family history 

J^Wgij of this well-Iuiown resident and native of 
), this connty forms an interesting chapter 
among the early events connected with the settle- 
ment of the southern part of the State. His par- 
ents, Simeon and Cerena (Miller) Davidson, were 
natives of Lodi, Seneca Co., N. V., where tiiey 
spent their childhood and youtli, and wiicre tlieir 
marriage took place nl)ont tlie year 1.sl".i. Two 
years later Simeon Davidson and his young wife 
emigrated to the Territory of ^Michigan, locating 
on section .'SO, in Macon Townsliip, tliis county. 
After a residence there of over twenty years. Mr. 
Davidson sold out, and purchased 070 acres in Te- 
cumseh Township, the land at tliat time being con- 
sidered practically worthless. The soil w^as light, 
and there had been very little attempt at cultiva- 
tion, and that had been carried on in a very imper- 
fect manner. 

The father of our subject, however, was a man 
of indomitable perseverance, and delighted in ac- 
complishing things which his neighbors declared 
were impossible. He worked early and late, month 
after month, and year after year, and in due time 
there was presented the sjiectacle of a fine tract of 
200 acres, cleared and made productive, and pro- 
vided with good buildings. Aside from his farm 
labors, Mr. Davidson had followed his trade of a 
carpenter, which he had learned while a young man 
in the Erai)ire State. He put up many of the fiist 
houses, barns, mills and bridges in the northern pai't 
of this county, and as the population increased, en- 
gaged as a contr.actoi' and builder, employing a 
large force of men. 

When Simeon Davidson first settleil in this county, 
the country from Tecumseh to Monroe was an al- 
most unbroken wilderness. The few pioneers who 
had ventured into these wilds hail little but their 



stout hearts and good constitutions, and to these 
.Mr. Davidson proved a most efficient friend. 
When a log cabin was required for the accommoda- 
ti(jn of a new emigrant and his family, Mr. David- 
son was among the first to respond to the call for 
assistance in its erection. He was tacitly given the 
positif)n of " master builder," and with his cheerful 
voice and ready hands made the task one of pleas- 
ure rather than of toil; it was not an uncommon 
thing for a "raising" to be postponed, in case it was 
not convenient for him to attend, until he could do 
so. He also officiated as auctioneer in later years, 
and being a man fluent in speech, proved as suc- 
cessful in this calling as he had in the others. In all 
public measures for the promoti(m of the social, re- 
ligious, moral and educational interests of his 
neighborhood, and for the general development of 
the resources of the country, by railroad or othei'- 
wise, he was ever ready to bear his full share of the 
burden. He was one of the earliest members of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, and here, as in all the 
other walks in life, acquitted himself in a faithful 
and creditable manner, and throughout the countj^ 
was familiarlj' known as " Uncle Sim." He was 
gathered to his fathers like a sheaf ripe for the har- 
vest, and mourned as the personal friend and bene- 
factor of all. 

To Simeon an<l Cerena Davidson there were born 
five children, the record of whom is as follows: 
(jeorge W. and Clarissa died in early childhood ; 
Minor M. was born in Macon Township, this county, 
and is now a prosperous farmer of Tecumseh ; Je- 
hial is retired from active labor, and is a resident 
of the village, while Frank, of our sketch, was the 
youngest of the family. The maternal grandfather, 
Isaiah Miller, and his excellent wife, were of Ger- 
man descent and natives of Pennsylvania. The}' 
came to the Territory of Michigan in 1833, locating 
in Macon Township, where they spent the remain- 
der of their lives. 

Frank Davidson was reared at the old homestead 
in Macon Township, and completed his studies in 
the village school of Tecumseh. He became famil- 
iar with the various employments of farm life, to 
which he took kindly, and was satisfied with the 
laudal)le ambition of following in the footsteps of 
his honored father. He continued a member of the 



-* 



•►Hl^ 



-4^ 



884 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



parental househokl until his marriage, March 26, 
1 862, the maiden of his choice being Miss Eliza- 
beth, only daughter of Henry and Susan Lacock, of 
Tecumseh. Mrs. D. was born in Jackson Count}', 
Mich., Sept. II, 1840, and came to this county with 
her parents early in life. The young people com- 
menced life together at the new farm on section 36, 
Tecumseh Township, where they lived and labored 
for a period of twenty-six years. Our subject then 
sold out, and purchased his present homestead on 
section 36. This comprises 220 acres of fertile land 
in a high state of cultivation, with handsome and 
substantial buildings. Mr. Davidson has devoted 
much of his attention to the breeding of Short-horn 
cattle, fine roadster horses, and Poland-China hogs, 
while he raises each year a large amount of wheat 
and other grain, the greater portion of which is con- 
sumed by the live stock on the farm. He inherited 
in a marked degree the business capacities of his 
father, and like him has developed into a success- 
ful auctioneer, to which he gives considerable time, 
making sales in all parts of the county. His services 
are always in demand as one of the most ingenious 
and experienced of the craft. 

Mr. and Mrs. Davidson are the parents of three 
children — George S., Loana M. and Guy J. Polit- 
ically Mr. Davidson is an uncompromising Demo- 
crat, and a warm supporter of President Cleveland's 
administration. 



^ -^ 






^^^EORGE W. STEPHENSON. Toe mucli 
III g--, honor cainiot be accorded to the early 
^^IJ pioneers of Lenawee County; they weie 
men of strong principles, wonderful energy, and 
untiring industry. They endured hardships that 
are unknown to their children except by name, and 
the least their posterity can do is to think of them 
with due respect, while they enjoy the advantages 
of that education and society which their fathers' 
industry and integrity secured for them. To tliis 
class of men belongs the subject of our sketch, 
now a retired farmer, living in the quiet village of 
Morenci, where he expects to pass the remainder 
of his days in the enjoyment of comforts which a 
long lifetime of industry has gathered around him. 



Our subject derived his being from Andrew and 
I Lydia (Laraphere) Stephenson, who came to Seneca 
I Township in the fall of 1839, where they resided 
until called to their final reward. They became 
the parents of thirteen children, of whom our sub- 
ject was the third, and was born in Westmoreland, 
1 N. Y., May 9, 1815. He was reared on his father's 
i farm until the age of fourteen, when he secured 
1 employment in a cotton manufactory in Chenango 
I County, N. Y., in which he remained nine j'ears. 
He came to this township in the spring of 1839, 
and bought a farm of forty acres of partiailj' 
improved land on section 27. He subsequently 
j added to this purchase until his landed possessions 
' aggregated 24.5 acres, but after occupying his farm 
' until about 1 870, Mr. Stephenson removed into the 
village of Morenci, where he has since resided. 

In Chenango Count}', N. Y., Mr. Stephenson was 
united in marriage with Miss Sallie Daggett, a 
native of Rhode Island, where she was born July 
14, 1815. Her parents were Rufus and Esther 
(Dexter) Daggett, who were also natives of Rhode 
Island, but subsequently removed to Chenango 
County, York State, and remained until their 
decease. To them were born eleven children, of 
whom Mrs. Stephenson was the eldest. Mr. and 
Mrs. S. have four children — Adelia, Rosella, Ellen 
and Adelbert; one child, Gertrude, is now deceased. 
Adelia is the wife of .Joseph Borton ; Rosella of 
William Church, and Ellen of Brainard Greeley; 
Adelbert married Miss Hattie Ingalls. 

In polities Mr. Stephenson is identified with the 
Republican party, arid during his residence in this 
township has held many of the minor offices, 
although he is not an office-seeker in any sense of 
the word. Mrs. Stephenson is a member of the 
Methodist Church. 



jl/ UTHER McROBERT is one of the enter- 
I (^ prising business men of Rome Township- 
1^^ Both as an agriculturist and as a business 
man, he is noted for his integrity, activity and gen- 
eral abilitj'. Ho is a native of this county, having 
first seen the light in Rome Township, Dec. 31^ 
1836, and is the son of Daniel McRobert, whose fa- 



LENAWKK COUNTY. 



S8;i 



t 



tlier, William McRobert, was a native of Scotland, 
and oaine to the'tTnited Siates in his hoyhond days. 
After an extended residence in IJiithind CcMinty, 
Vt., he removed to Clinton C'omilv, N. V.. where 
he was engaged in farming, and died tlieic ;il the 
advanced age of eighty- yours; hi> wife, whd w.as 
born in Connecticnt, i)recedpd liini to Ihe .silent 
land. 

Daniel McHol)ert w.as ,•! native ..f Springlield, Vt., 
and was born Oct. 27, 17'J.s. He i-csidcd there nn- 
til 1801, when he moved westward to Champlain, 
Clinton Co.. N. Y,. with lii> parents. While there 
he followed cariienteiinLi'. hinihering and farming 
nntil the si)riMu of is;!;), when, pntting his family 
into a wagon, he started for the wilds of Michig.an. 
Passing through Ohio and Pennsylvania, iio arrived 
in Lenawee County early in June, after a five- weeks 
journey, and located eighty acri>s of land on section 
27, in Rome Township, clearing it of the heavy 
limber and building a frame house and barns; to 
this piece of land he added eighty acres more. He 
was one of the tirst. if not the very first, to settle in 
this locality, and cut a road through the timber on 
the west line of Adrian Township to his purchase, 
through the heavy woods, a distance of two miles. 
He was a prominent and respected citizen of Rome, 
and held the office of Justice of the Peace eight 
years, and several other minor ollices for various 
terms. He was a soldier in the Toledo war under 
Gen. Brown, serving as Captain of the State Mili- 
tia throughout the hostilities. He died on his old 
homestead Dec. 1, 1877. 

On the 2 1st of January, 1821, Mr. .Mcli. w.-isuiiited 
in marriage with Bathsheba, daughtei- of W'illi.iin and 
Ennice Luther, of Plattsburg. N. Y., who became 
the mother of four children, of whom Luther is the 
youngest. She was a native of X'ermont. whereshe 
was born Dec. 20, 1800. and eaine to Michigan in 
1833 with her husband. Her father. William 
Luther, was a native of Bristol County, R. L. and 
was born Sept. 28, 1774. When lint a child he re- 
moved with his parents to New Hami)shire, after- 
wardgoingto Vermont, where he lived until about 
the year 1800. In that .year he removed to Platts- 
burg, N. Y.. where lie engaged in farniiu- until 
1832, when he came to Michigan and settled in 
Rome Township, one of the pioneers of the county. 



He was quite an influential factor in the growth and 
development of the township, and there died re- 
>p(cled by .all, Oct. 2, 1841. About the year 1798 
he married Miss Eimiee. a daughter of Col. Eb- 
ene/er and Lydia Allen, a relative of Gen. Ethan 
Allen, the ol<l Revolutionary hero. Mrs. Luther 
was born in Tinmouth, Rutland Co., Vt., April 7, 
177!i.and died in Lenawee County, .Mich., Jan. 24. 
1 852. 

Luther McRobert i-emained at home with his par- 
ents until he had reached the .age of Iweiity-one 
years, when he rented a farm which he cultivated 
for .some three 3'ears. In the meantime he had 
gained a knowledge both of the milling trade and 
engineering, both of which he utilized later in life. 
In 18ti0 he look charge of his father's farm, which 
he nian.'iged quite successfully, and the next year 
he purchased a shingle mill, which for some six years 
he employed himself in operating, and then disposed 
of it. Purchasing the homestead of his father, he 
then settled down to the busy life of an agricult- 
urist, lint later on, feeling it necessary to work off 
the surplus energy which w.as not expended in his 
farm l.-diors, he commenced to operate a picket and 
feed mill, which he still owns and which does con- 
siderable local trade. 

On the lltth of Eebruary, 18G0, Mr. McRobert 
wa> united in marriage with Miss Martha, daughter 
of \\'illiaui K. and J.ane (Fleming) Parker. She 
wa> a native of La Porte, Ind., and was born Feb. 
2, 1S41; she died Dec. 28, 1887. Her mother was 
a daughter of James Fleming, a u.ative of Lycoming 
County, Pa., and a sou of John Fleming, who was 
lioni in Chester County, in the .same State. The 
family were descended originally from Robert Flem- 
ing, whose natal place was Paisley. Scotland, and 
who had enngrated to the New World and settled 
in Caua<la at an early date. Mr.s. McRobert's 
mother w:i.-, born iu llonuihis. N. Y., June 12, 1812, 
and died in La Porte, Ind., July 26, 1843. Leftan 
orphan at an early age, Mrs. McRobert was brought 
up by her grandparents. James and Martha Fleming, 
who came to Lenawee County in 1843, and settled 
in Rome Township. Mr. and Mr.-. Luther McRobert 
are the parents of two children, as follows: Mary 
Jane was born Dec. 4, 1803, and married Willis 
(hanger, who was born Jan. 14, 1801 : they are the 



■•►:JI-*«« 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



^i 



parents of one child, Cecil, born April 20, 1887; 
(TBOrge P. was born Feb. 27, 1872, and is still at 
home, availing himself of educational facilities. Mr. 
McRobert has always been an earnest Democrat, 
taking considerable interest in local politics, but has 
never aspii'ed to public office. Known to be a man 
of undoubted integrity, he is regarded by his friends 
and neighbors as one of their most able and solid 
citizens, both in social and pufjlic spheres. He is 
capable of forming his own opinions, and is able to 
maintain them. 



a^N.SEL WITHERELL. This gentleman is 
(^O widely known among the residents of 

7/n4 Franklin Township, of which he was one of 
(^ the early settlers, coming here in the spring 

of 1.S44. He located on section 3, and was remark- 
ably fortunate in his selection of land, which was 
known as a part of the "openings," being but 
slightlj' timbered and requri'ing less labor in pre- 
paring it for cultivation. He learned blactemithing 
in his youth, but for the past forty years has given 
his attention almost exclusively to farming, in 
which he has been remarkably successful. He is 
now the owner of 242 acres of land upon which he 
has effected good improvements, having substan- 
tial buildings and tiie macliinery necessary to keep 
pace with the farm operations of the present day. 

There came to the Territory of Michigan men 
from all parts of New England, attracted hither by 
the inducements held out to the industrious and 
enterprising emigrant. The early years of our sub- 
ject were spent in Chatham, Conn., where he was 
born April 22, 1814. He was left fatherless when 
about three years of age, but he found a iiome 
among the hospitable people of his native town un- 
til a youth of seventeen, and was then invited by 
his sister, Mrs. ,Joli (iravrs. who had come to Miclii- 
gan in the >pring (.)f is:!], ti.i join her here and 
make his home with herself and her luisband. Al- 
though he had been practically bound out to a 
farmer with whom he w'as to remain until reaching 
his majority, the latter generously released him, and 
giving him two suits of clothes and $36 in money, 
bid him Godspeed upon his new venture. Since 



that time he has been a resident of this State, em- 
bracing a period of fifty-six years. 

The father of our subject, also Ansel Witherell. 
during his early manhood engaged in sliad fishing 
on the Connecticut River, and subsequently pur- 
chased a farm in Deerrield, Mass., where his death 
took place about 1817. He had married Miss 
Lovina Chapman, and they became the parents of 
five children, Ansel of our sketch being the third 
child and second son. The mother survived her 
husband twenty-one years, her death taking place 
also in Deerfield about the year 1838. During the 
first few years of Mr. AVitherell's residence in this 
county very close management was required in or- 
der to live comfortably, even for those who had 
money to buy provisions. Meat was very scarce 
and high priced, and the salt pork, costing not less 
than twenty-five cents per pound, was so lean that 
butter must be used to cook it with. The youth 
was rugged and ambitious to make money, and be- 
ing an expert at hunting and trapping soon found 
that he could earn more by following this than at 
anything else. The principal game was deer, 
wolves, otter, Qsher. coon, mink and muskrat, with 
an occasional panther. Mr. Witherell for five years 
kept a regular account, and found upon summing- 
up the results that he had slain 263 deer and thir- 
teen wolves, for the latter of which he received a 
bounty. The skins of the otter were worth from 
$4 to $7 each. Of these he caught large nuaibers, 
while the mink and muskrat which he captured 
were too numerous to mention. 

Mr. Witlierell dilring his numerous exi)editioiis 
through the wilderness often met the Indians and 
mingled with them, becoming familiar witli their 
habits and traditions. He often talked with Bavv 
Beese, chief of the Pottawatomies. whose hunting 
ground inchnled all the territory between Bean 
Ci'eek and Lake Erie, and his burying and planting 
ground was on Iron Creek in tiie present town of 
Manchester, Washtenaw County. There were two 
chiefs in tlie tribe, which included two divisions, 
Baw Beese being the big chief and Meteau the little 
chief ; the former division comprised twenty fam- 
ilies. About that time two brothers, Ira and Jacob 
Ward, located land and put up a sawmill on Iron 
Creek. The second year after their settlement they 



LKNAWEK COUNTY. 



8.S7 



robbed the graves in the Indian bnrying-gi-ound of 
the treasures which had been placed liy the bodies, 
and when the outrage was discdViMiMl Haw Beese 
and Meteau came t<i JMr. Withi-rc-ll to h-arii, if pos- 
sible, who had comniitted the outrage. The settlers 
feared that the Indians w(juld suspect innocent par- 
ties, but it seemed as if they had some knowledge 
as to who were the r<-al perprtralors, for one even- 
ing while . Jacob Ward was driving his eows home 
he vvas shot at, and at (jiicc, with his i)r'othcr, made 
good his escape from the (lountry. 

Mr. Witherell worked with his brother-in-law. 
Job Graves, at blacksniilhiiig sewral years, in the 
meantime saving a snug sum of money which he 
invested in the property which he now owns. Soon 



M:; 



Withi 
liridc 



Thei 



after this purchase he was married 
to Miss Mary S.. daughter of N( 
(Harkness) Clark, and they at once 
gether in the new cabin which .Mr. 
prepared for the reception of his 
union in due time was blessed by the birth of six 
children, namely: Adelia S., who died in infancy: 
Mary J.ovina, the wife of Harlow Welch, of Man- 
chester; .Tehiel A., wlio died in infancy; Edgar A.; 
.lane K., who died when four years old, and Clara 
K., wlio died in 1 sso, at the age of twenty-four 
years. 

Mrs. Mary S. Witherell was born in Carllon. Or- 
leans Co.. N. v., Fel). 2-.', is-_'l, anilc:imcto .Michi- 
gan in IH.'SS with her i)arents, locating first in Man- 
chester, where the mother died in July, 18(i-2. The 
father subsequently became a resident of Franklin, 
where his death took place Sept. :i. I.s7(),at tlie age 
of eighty-seven years. They W(ac natives of New 
York State and the father had all his life engaged 
in farming [)ursnits. 



TIk 



AMP:s E. ROUNDS, 
tleman has been familial- 
Lenawee County for tin 



f this gcn- 
■itizeus of 
>rty years, 



It tli: 



igth of 



(g!/ and he has f 
cupied the farm where he now lives, and which con- 
sists of eighty acres in Medina 'I'own.ship. lie has 
seen a wilderness slowly lint surely developing into 
a rich and fertile stretch of country, and the |)hices 



where the wild deer were wont to congregate grow- 
ing up into valuable homesteads and flourishing 
cities. Although not given to the accumulating of 
wealth, he has nevertheless built np a comfortable 
lii>mestead and surrounded himself with the com- 
forts of life, while better than all, he has lived in the 
enjoyment of the esteem of his neighbors and fellow- 
citizens. 

Our subject, a native of the (ireen .Mountain 
State, is the fourth chiM of Samuel S. and Zilpah 
(Eddy) Ruunds, natives of Rutland County, Vt., 
who after their marriages settled in Clarendon 
Springs; After a few years they removed to Niag- 
ara Coiinly. X. v., where the death of the mother 
took place about is7|. Sanuiel Rounds after the 
death of his wife came to this State and settled 
about two and one-half miles from the site of the 
pre>cnt city of Adrian, where he died when about 
sixty-liM' ye:us old. 'J"he parental family included 
si.v children, two of whom survive. 

The subject of our sketch served a regular ap- 
prenticeship as a siiip carpenter in his native towu, 
und hail a very limited op|iortnnity for education. 
Upon coming west lie stepped first at Palmyra, this 
county, and engaging as a lumber dealer and con- 
tr.acti)r. put up many of the first houses in the 
young and struggling hamlets of Adrian and Mo- 
lenci. The first frame hotel building in the latter 
place was erected under his supervision, and niiU'li 
of the work was done by his hands. He also 
erected .1 great many farm houses and barns in 
Medina and vicinity. It is safe to .say that no one 
man has |)iit up as many buildings in this section of 

JMr. Rounds made his advent into this county in 
the s|iring of ls;!2,and in l.So3 was married to Miss 
Nettie Caroline MiUiinan, the wedding being cele- 
brated at the home of the bride in Wayne County, 
N. Y. JIis. koiinds is the daughter of Rollin M. 
and Hannah Millimaii, of Wayne County, and the 
fourth in a family of nine children, four of whom 
now survive ; they mostly settled in New Y'ork State. 
To .Mr. and .Mrs. Rounds there have been born eleven 
children, the record of wh..m is as follows: William, 
like his father, developed into a natural mechanic, 
and learned the trade of a carjienter, which he 
is foUowing in the vicinity of (.^uincy, this State: 



4 



<^ 



LENAAVEE COUNTY. 






he mari-ied Miss Frances Phelps, and thej' have one 
child, a daughter, Maud. Frances, James and 
Lj'diaare deceased : Riiel during tlie late war enlisted 
as a soldier in tlie Union arm3-, and died while in 
defense of his country; Helen married Jonas 
Sprague, of Medina, and became tlie mother of one 
child, a daughter, Terrisa ; Mrs. S. died at her home 
in Medina in 1866; Martha was the wife of Ben- 
jamin Brink, of Quincy, Mich., and is now deceased; 
Morgan married Miss Sadie Trumbull, who left 
him and one child. Myrtle; he then married Miss 
Alzina Esteline, and they have one child, Louisa; 
Carrie is the wife of John Nygus, they live on the 
old homestead, and have two children — Ruth and 
Orrin. Elmira, Mrs. George Ferris, is deceased; 
Hattie, the wife of Seymour P^steline, is the mother 
of one child, and they reside in West Unity, Ohio. 
Mr. Rounds since the organization of the Repub- 
lican party has voted in support of its principles, 
and has served in his township as Highway Com- 
missioner and School Director. 

\|7 AZARUS G. ELLIOTT came to Michigan 
I ^ Territory when very young, being but 
JJ^Ys three days old when his parents landed in 
Detroit, nearly at the end of their journe}' from 
New Yo,rk State. He was born on Lake Erie Oct. 
7, 18.33, and his parents tiiiis were among the early 
pioneers of Lenawee County. Aden Elliott, the 
father, was a native of Chenango County, N. Y., 
and there married Miss Phebe Griffith, whose 
birthplace was not far from that of her husband. 
They were reared and married in their native 
State, and upon coming to this county the father 
took up a tract of eighty acres in what is now 
Fairfield Township. They settled in the midst of 
the wilderness, making their home in a log cabin, 
and there remained about twenty years, wiien he 
traded his property for a farm east of Morenci in 
Seneca Township, where his deatii occurred March 
20, 1869; the wife had preceded tiiiii to tlie better 
land June '22, 1867. 

The bo.yhood and youth of Laz.-Hn> (;. Elliott 
were spent in Fairfleld Ti)\viislii|], maknig himself 
useful around the growing farm as .>ooiias his years 



permitted. He received a limited education in the 
pioneer school conducted in a log cabin, and re- 
mained a member of his fatlier's household until 
twenty-eight years of age. Then, thinking it aliout 
time to set up an establishment of his own, he pro- 
cured the first important requirement, namely, a 
wife, being- married to Miss Adaresta, daughter of 
E>ben and Sophronia (Root) Buich, also natives of 
the Empire State. They settled in Chenango 
County after their marriage, and after two or three 
removals turned their faces westward, coming to 
Fulton County, Ohio, where they remained eight 
years, and then came to this county and located on 
eighty acres of land in what is now Madison, 
Township, and where the parents spent the last 
years of their life. Esben Burch died on the "id of 
April, 1869, at the age of sixty-four j^ears. The 
demise of the mother occurred in New York, Aug. 
9, lSo'3, wheu she was forty-six yeai-s old. 

Mrs. Klliott was the fourth in a family of six 
children, and was born in Chenango Count}', N. Y., 
May 14, 1844. Her girlhood was passed in Ohio, 
where she improved her education at the district 
school, and developed into an efficient teacher, 
which profession she followed for some time after 
her marriage; she came with her p&rents to Michi- 
gan in 1854. Of her union with our subject there 
were born the following-named children, of whom 
two — Adelpha and Frederick — died at the ages of 
nine and seven weeks. Erne.st, the eldest son, mar- 
ried Miss Myra Fenton, and is farming in Madison 
Township; Burt, Elfre3^ Ford, Frank and George, 
are at home with their parents. Mr. Elliott votes the 
straight Republican ticket and has served as Con- 
stable. He is a member of the Disciples' Church, 
and both he and his wife belong to the F>uit Ridge 
Grange. 

The Elliott homestead embraces 120 acres, and 
the entire landed estate belonging to our subject 
comprises 215^ acres, most of which is under 
good cultivation. In j^ears gone by he dealt con- 
siderably in lumber, which proved a ver^' success- 
ful enterprise. He put up his present house and 
barn, and has effected most of the improvements 
which to-day attract the attention of the passing 
traveler. Mr. Elliott, in 1873, was afflicted with a 
stroke of paralysis and has had two attacks since 



lenawp:e county. 



that time, which have disabled him for the last four 
years. lie believes this to have been the result of 
an iiijurv received about fourteen years ano, and it 
requires much patience and fortiUidc on his pari, 
to be compelled to sit inactive vvhili- the world is 
moving around him. He has all his life, until dis- 
abled, been an active and industrious worl<er, em- 
ployiun liini>elf during' his early mauli.H,d af ch,i|.- 
ping and shingh-niaking, having tinned iml <>( llie 
latter as nianv m> I'.niMl per dav. i 



l/Jl "=ii-t<'most 
W part of Ler 



.,AUREN .1. I'AliKER. ■I'ius name is faniii- 
most of tlic citizens of Mie western 
part 01 Lenawee Count3', and is jinoun ns 
that of a man of the highest moral character, nmre 

valualilcand ellicicnt member of tlic eumniunily. 
Public-spirited and liberal, alw.ays ready to encour- 
age worthy projects, genial and companionable, lie 
is a universal favorite, and an important factor 
among the elements of an intelligent ami refined 
community. His liomestead is pleasantly located 
on section G, in Woodstock Township, and com- 
prises 144 acres .of bighh' cultivated land, while a 
fine residence an<l other good buildings embellish 
the landscape. Stock-raising forni> an important 
feature of his trans.actions, and as a buyer and ship- 
per he takes the lead of the business in this section. 
He has for years been prominent in local affairs, and 
was elected Supervisor in the sjiring of ISSG, and 
re-elected the following year. 

Mr. Parker was born in Erie Comity, N. V., Dec. 
18, 1844, and is the sou of Caleb and Caroline 
(Steward) Parker. The father wasa native of C'<m- 
iiectieut, and went to New York when a young 
man, settling on a farm in Eric County, where he 
spent the remainder of his life. He died in l.sr)7, 
wiien sixty-eight j'ears of age. The mother onl^y 
survived her husband two years, and was fifty-nine 
at the time of her death. They had a family of 
ten ehildien, four of whom are still living. One 

this State; L. A. and Cinthy !■;. are in Ei'ie 
(onnty. X. V. 

Albeit C. I'arker, a brother of our subject, served 



as a Union soldier during the late war, enlisting in 
Company 15, :?d Michigan Infantry, in June. 180 1. 

He was twice Wounded ill battle, in consequence of 
which he was dischargeil about a year after his en- 
listment, and now draws a pension. tu)uld Parker, 
another brother, was a surgeon in the 1 1 til Kansas 
Inf.antry, and after the war settled in Spring Hill, 
that State, where he followe,! the practice of mcdi- 
cine until liis death, which occiirreil in October, 1.S72. 
Harrison Parker, another brother, raised a coiniiany 
in Buffalo, N. Y., but could not himself serve on 
account of [ihysieal disability. The boys all went 
into the army from niotixcs of [lure patii<jtism, to 
which they iia<l been rearcl, having no thougiit <jf 
personal aggr.andizement. They suffered the priva- 
tion and hardshiijs which are the common lot of the 
soldier, and like their forefathers, were willing to 
sacriliee tlu'ir lives if necessary to inaintaiu a [irin- 

Waireii .1. Parker, the subject of this sketch, w,as 
but seventeen years old at the outbreak of tiie war, 
but he was not willing to be behind in his duty to 
his country, and accordingly on the lotli of Octo- 
ber, 1 8(52, he enlisted in Company H, KlOtli New 
York Infantry, under ( ol. (;. li. Dandy, who is 
now in the regular army. Tlu' regiment was soon 
afterward sent to \'irgiiiia, and uith the exi'e|)tion 
of three montlis. during which he wa- eontined in 
the hospital, young ParktT was in tlie priiieipnl en- 
gagements of the army of the South and East. He 
was taken ill in ^'irginia in 18G4, and was first 
placed in the hospital at Portress Monroe, whence 
he w.as removed to Rhode Ishiiid. lie was in the 
service tliree years lacking tliiiteen days, .-md had 
the iuestiinalile pleasure of witnessing the surrender 
of Gen. Lee at Appomattox, speaking of it as "the 
happiest day of his life." Although fre(|ucntly in 
the midst of danger and death, he fortunately es- 
caped wounds and c.-ipturc, and livi's I,, regard that 
period of his life in which he sacrificed his personal 
interests for the sake of an undivided country as 
the most i)raiseworth_v of the wdiolc. 

After the war Mr. Parker returned to bis old 
iKiiiie in Eric Comity, N. V., where he had plighted 
his troth to a maiden of that region, and on the 2()th 
of December, 18G.'i, was united in marriage with 
Miss Adell E. Stowell. Mrs. Parker was born in 



■•► 



•►-■ 



890 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Rochestei-, Oct. 9, 1847, and was the daugliter of 
Ezeriah and Phebe A. (Myers) Stowell, natives of 
the Empire State, where the father in his younger 
3'ears carried on farming and gardening, and where 
tlie parents both still live, the father being seventy- 
five years of age, and the mother sevent}'. After 
his marriage Mr. Parkei- rented a farm in Erie 
Count}', where he remained until the early part of 
1867, when he determined upon a change of loca- 
tion, and in the month of March loaded his worldly 
effects into a dry-goods box, and coming with his 
family to Tecumseh, this State, rented a farm in the 
township. After he h.ad laboriouslj' gathered in 
his first year's crop, the whole was destroyed by fire. 
This was a serions drawback to his hopes, and he 
then went into Jackson County and woi'ked three 
mouths by the day. In 1868 he purchased seventy- 
two acres of land on section 6, in Woodstock Town- 
ship, to which he was enabled later to add a like 
amount, and has now supplied the farm with good 
buildings, and transformed the property into a valu- 
able and desirable homestead. For the past ten 
years, Mr. Parker, in addition to general farming, 
has been largely engaged as a stock-dealer in part- 
nership with Thomas Lewis, of Columbia Town- 
ship. They feed and ship a large number of cattle 
each year, and make a specialty of sheep, shearing, 
feeding and shipping them. Mr. Parker has him- 
self alone a flock of 300 sheep, which represent in 
value a snug sum of money. 

To our subject and his estimable lady there were 
born five children, of whom the record is as follows.- 
Alvin A. was born in Erie County, N. Y., Oct. 30, 
1866, and died Sept. 19, 1884; James H. was born 
in Jackson County, Oct. 10, 1868, and was educated 
in the district school; he is working on the farm. 
Fernando C. was born in this county, April 4, 1874; 
Earl E., Sept. 18, 1876, and Aloy C, Feb. 5, 1885. 
The boys have inherited the good qualities of their 
sire, and bid fair to become useful members of the 
community. 

Mr. P. has supported the Republican party since 
becoming a voter, and has been Imnored with the 
various local offices within the gift of his townsmen, 
serving as Clerk and School Director, and in 188.5 
was elected Justice of the Peace, serving until 1888. 
Socially he belongs to Addison Post No. 277, G. A. 



R. He has always been prominent in the worthy 
enterprises which build up a community, and has 
acted well his part as a man and a citizen. 

^=^ ^- 'I' P" ' 



ikM ^^^'^^ ^- PACKARD, one of the roi)re- 
11 iW tentative men of .Seneca Townshi[i, came 
jj IS to this county with his parents when a lad 
'' seven years of age, and has since been iden- 

tified with its growth and development, watching 
with pride the rapid progress of the country, both 
in relation to its natural resources and its people, 
lie is the eldest son of Ira and Amanda (Compton) 
Packard, natives of Wayne County, N. Y., where 
they were reared and married, and whence they 
came in the spring of 1838, to the new State which 
had just laid off territorial government, and as- 
sumed its rights as a Stale. They located in what 
is now Imown as Madison Township, where Ira Pack- 
ard purchased 200 acres of wild land upon which 
stood a log house and a frame barn. Besides this 
there had been little attempt at improvement, and 
after making his family comfortable, the father of 
our subject commenced in earnest to cultivate the 
soil and build up a home for himself and those de- 
pendent upon him. He was cut down, however, in 
the prime of life, only living eight years after com- 
ing to Michigan; his death occurred Feb. 24, 1844, 
at the age of forty-five years. 

After the death of her husband, Mrs. Packard 
continued at the homestead, and was married to G. 
B. Mann, a native of New Jersey, who is now de- 
ceased. She passed away in 1877, when seventy- 
two years of age. Marvin A., of our sketch, pur- 
sued his early studies in the first school-house in 
Madison Township. This structure, eighteen feet 
square, was built of logs, the seats being of slabs, 
and the solitary desk for the teacher made of the 
same material. He was thirteen years old at the 
time of his father's death, and looked after the 
affairs of the farm as well as he could until the sec- 
ond marriage of his mother. The place was incum- 
bered with a debt, and the boj's as soon as old 
enough were obliged to make themselves useful. 
Marvin A., in common with the others, had but lit- 
tle opportunity for an education, but vvhilc tilling 



-►HI-* 



.►HI-<« 



*4 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



the soil, his ever busy mind was revolving some 
project by which he could seu something' more of 
the world, and liccoine iiotter satistied with his con- 
dition. 

As .a consequence of these cogitations, young 
Packard when twenty years of age, escaped from 
the l)ackwoods, and making his way to Now York 
City, on liie 1st of Noveml}er, l.s.")|. stcpiicil on 
board a sailing-vessel bound for Suji I'"rancisco. 
Their route led them neartiie coast of South Amer- 
ica, and they touched at the ports of Jamaica, Porto 
Rico and Havana, arriving at Panama about tiirce 
weeks after leaving New York. From there tliey 
ci-ossed over to Aspinwalland sailed by tiie piopel- 
ler '-Columbus" toSan Francisco. During tliis voy- 
age they encountered a furious storm, and the ves- 
sel springing aleak, the crew had dilHeulty in keep- 
ing lier afloat. Tluy landed near the Colden (iate 
on the 1st of .January, ls."i2, and young Packard at 
once entered the mines, where he and some com- 
panions who had journeyed with him from this 
State, formed a partnership, and began operations 
at Gold Hill. The company consisted of our sub- 
ject, his brother Joseph, then only eighteen years 
old, four Cutshaw boys, Edward Hunt, James Phet- 
teplace and Jonas Thayer. They entered upon the 
new enterprise with great courage and anticipations 
for the future, and in due time our subject felt well 
rei.aid for his experiment. E<Iward Hunt aftei- l)e- 
ing a resident of Califoi'iiia twenty years, met his 
death by accident. 

Mr. Packard, after spending two years on the 
Pacific Slope returned across Central America nver 
the route then known as the "Vanderl/ill." He ai- 
rivedin New York City on the 15th of April, l.srilj, 
and was welcomed under the old home roof in Madi- 
son Township on the 1st of May following. In the 
meantime he had held in remeinbranee tlie face and 
form of one of his cliildho(jd friends, and soon after 
his return to his old home, was married on the 2oth 
of May, to this maiden. Miss Elsie Phetteplace, who 
was born Nov. 28, 1S31, in Ilartland, N. Y., and 
came to Michigan witii her parents wiien a child two 
years of age. Asa and Hannah (\\'atei>) I'lieite- 
plaee, the parents of Mrs. Packard, were born in 
Warren County, N. Y., and for some years resided 
in the vicinity of Buffalo, where Mr. P. carried on 



his trade of carpenter. Upon coming to this county 
he purchased 110 acres of land in Madison Town- 
ship wliicli lie transformed into a good farmland oc- 
eiiiiied until liis death, Nov. 19, 18(J5, at the age'of 
sevent3'-seven. The mother survived her husband 
twenty' years, remaining a widow, and dying at the 
advanced age of ninety-two years. Tiieir family 
iiieludcd seven children, two sons and five daugh- 
ters, of wliom Mrs. Packard was the youngest. Al- 
though very young at the time her parents, left the 
Empire State, she has a faint recollection of the 
overland journey from Detroit, and how it was per- 

woniaiihood in .Madison Townsiiil). and received 
her education in the eomiiion sehoo], wiiieh was stip- 
lilemcnted b^' attendance .-it I'lof. Harrow.-.' --enii- 
nary. 

menced liousekecping In a modest dwelling on their 
own i:niil. and became the parents of two children, 
a son and a daughter. The elder, Frank, mar- 
ried Miss Lillie Montgomery, and is engaged in 
farming at Fairlielil ; they have two children — 
George and Ira. Miss Matie Packard is a member 
of the senior class at Adrian College, and possesses 
considerable musical talent, takingacourse in music 
at the college. In 18o7 Mr. and Mrs. Packard re- 
solved upon a change of location, and getting to- 
gether their household goods and personal effects, 
inaile their way into Johnson County, Neb., where 
they determined to grow up with the country. 
They started out very e<_>urageously. Imt a few 
weeks after arriving at their destination, they found 
unexpected dillicullies in their path, and the wife 
especially lost her courage entirely. .Su they did as 
a great man}' others have done since, turned ab<nit 
and came back to Lenawee County, and Mr. P. did 
not succeed in disposing of his pi-operty in Ne- 
braska until six years afterward. In l,s,j'.l, Mr. 
Packard conceived tlie idea of going to Pike's Peak, 
and started out from Madison Tovviishi|) in com- 
pany with ten or twelve others. They shipped their 
horses, wagons .and provisions to St. .loseph, Mo., 
and fnjin there >larted liy wagon toward the point 
ill view. When they came in sight of the peak, 
they met scores of peoph; returning, who gave no 
flattering account of the manner in which the giit- 



892 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



tering promises of that region had been carried out. 
Our travelers concluded to waste no more time and 
horseflesh, and at once turned their steps homeward, 
making their way by wagon through Nebraska to 
Burlington, Iowa, where they shipped by rail to 
Chicago, and thence made their way homeward bj' 
wagon. Mr. Packard has thus in his various wan- 
derings contrived to see considerable of the world, 
which, although perhaps not very profitable finan- 
cially, proved an experience witli which he would 
not willingly part. 

Both the Packard and I'hetteplace families have 
distinguished themselves for patriotism. The pa- 
ternal grandfather of Mrs. Packard served in the 
Revolutionary War, and her father, Asa Phette- 
place, took part in the War of 1812, when a youth 
of nineteen years. Ira Packard, Jr., the brother of 
our subject, during the late Civil War enlisted in 
Company B, 18th Michigan Infantry, in 1862. He 
was wounded and taken prisoner, and during the 
time of his bitter experience in Libby Prison, was 
reduced from a man of 200-pounds weight to but 
the semblance of his former self, weighing 100 
pounds. After the surrender of Lee at Appomatto.x 
he was released and taken to the United States 
hospital, where he died, and now fills a soldier's 
grave. Frank Lease, an adopted brother of Mrs. 
Packard, served in the 9th Michigan Cavalry from 
the beginning until the close of the war. James 
Packard, another brother of our subject, is a busi- 
ness man of more than ordinary ability, and proprie- 
tor of the well-known Packard Express Company 
in Minneapolis, Minn. Joseph Packard, another 
brother, is a successful farmer and stock-raiser of 
Butler County, Iowa, and tiie three sisters of the 
family are deceased. 

The farm of Mr. Packard includes 23.S acres of 
valuable laud, where the present proprietor has 
effected the improvements which we behold. The 
house and barn are substantial structures, well 
built, while the stables and other outhouses are con- 
veniently arranged, and finely adapted to the gen- 
eral purposes of agriculture. Mr. Packard for the 
last twenty-one 3'ears has made a specialty of dairy- 
ing, for which purpose he keeps from twenty to 
thirty cows. He cast his first Presidential vote for 
Scott, and has been a member of the Republican 

-«• 



party for thirty-two years. Both he and his estima- 
ble wife are warmly interested in the temperance 
movement, and she is a devoted member of the 
Methodist Church. Mr. P. belongs to the Fruit 
Ridge Grange, and has been Treasurer of tiie 
Grange, and was one of the Building Committee at 
Fruit Ridge. His has been a busj- and usef\il life. 
He has pursued the even tenor of his way as a solid 
and useful citizen, attending strictly to his own con- 
cei-ns, and building a most desirable homestead, 
while at the same time he has taken an active inter- 
est in the growth and development of Lenawee 
County, and has contributed a generous share to its 
present reputation. 



D 



EV. .JOEL SMITH THRAP, who is the min- 
ister of the Methodist Protestant Church 
at Adrian, is a native of Ohio, and was 
W|@born in Muskingum County, near Zanes- 
ville, on the 9th of April, 1820. His father was 
Joseph Thrap, who was also a minister, and one of 
the early settlers of Ohio. Early in life he re- 
ceived a license as minister of the Methodist Church, 
and in 1829 became a member of the Methodist 
Protestant Church, and soon afterward was licensed 
bv that denomination to preach the Gospel. The 
mother of our subject was Jemima, daughter of 
Isaac Camp, a native of Virginia. 

After their marriage, which occurred in 1803, the 
l)arents of onr subject moved to Muskingum County, 
Oiiio, in 1804, the county being at that time_ in 
the wilderness. After remaining there three years, 
they removed to Licking County, where they 
farmed on leased land for a time, after which they 
returned to Muskingum County, where they set- 
tled, and remained until their death, the father 
dying on the 1st of May, 1866, aged ninety years; 
he w;i.s b(jrn Oct. 16, 1776. The mother died in 
July, l.'^Cw. They were the parents of eleven chil- 
dren, whom the mother lived to see married and 
well settled in life. 

Joel S. Thrap, our subject, was the ninth child 
in the parental family, and spent iiis yviuth and 
early ye.ars on the farm in his native county, and 
attended the common schools when not assisting 



-•► 



a 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



SO.". 



in the work upon ttw fai-ni. At the age of twenty- 
two years he entered the ministry, wholl3' inexperi- 
enced as a public spcaicer, l>ut has sin(x! developed 
great ability as a speaker and :i debater. His lirst 
experience in tiiis line w;is in llie ueigliborlioud 
debating societies whieli wi're in vogue at tliat day. 
lie was the owner of the first copy iM' ( unisturkV 
Philosophy in the neighborhood in wliicli hi' was 
reared, and early acquirtHJ a taste for ■science and 
scientific research, lie continued in the pastoral 
work until I8G4, when, in spile of a protest on his 
part, he was appointed the (ieneral Financial Agent 
for the endowment foi' college purposes, which was 
bestowed upon Adrian College, an institution estab- 
lished in 180!1, whicli liad herel.ifore been under the 
auspices of and eontmlled by tlie \V<'>leyan .Metli- 
odists. 

lu 18GG the We.^leyans fouml Uiein>elves almost 
hopelessly in debt, wherenpun tlie corporation of 
Adrian College Association was organized, which 
consisted of twelve men, and this asscjcialion in 
the name of the Methodist Protestant Church made 
application to take a joint interest antl pl.ace an en- 
dowment on the college. At that time Mr. Thrap 
was the general agent of tlie coij.'ge. and in that 
relation traveled all over the Norlhein States and 
visiteil all the conferences and chur(;hes of his de- 
nomination until 1873, in which year he retired 
from the general agency. In 18(1,') he l)ecanie a 
member of the Board of Education, and was a 
Trustee from the time of its organization until 1883, 
when he resigned his position. In the fall of 1883 
he was elected President of the Muskingum Con- 
ference of the Methodist Protestant C-liurch, which 
position he held until 1884, when his oflicial cares 
terminated. Since that time he has lived some- 
what retired, though ho is at present the member 
elect of the General Conference of his church, 
which will assemble in the city of Adri.an in tlie 
month of May, 1888. He has been an iudomital)le 
worker in the religious field, as well a> an active 
business man all his life, and what he h;is accom- 
plished stands greatly to his credit. 

On the 15th of July, 184.'j, Mr. Thrap was mar- 
ried to Miss Hannah E. Rogers, of Bel Air, Harford 
Co., Md. Mr. and Mrs. Thrap are the parents of 
three children, two of whom are living; Catherine 



A., the wife of Dr. T. M. Lewis, now of Ker City, 
Fla.; and J. Rose, the wife of H. B. Roberts, a 
farmer by occupation, residing in Lenawee County; 
John R. died in March, 1873, at the age of four- 



-^r«#ii 


m^:^t^i\^ 


^ 1). MACIIAM, 


of Raisin Township, is. 


l/i. land on scclii 


n I'l. whieli i- ailmiial.lv 


^] adapted to the 


pur|ioses of general farming 


and equipped with a go 


od set of frame buildings. 


modern m.achini^ry. and 


a choice assortment of live 


stock. Thev eanie l(. 1 


ii> homestead in tlie spring 


of 1877, anil under tlie 


wise iiianipulatii.iii of a tlior- 


ough and progressive f: 


rnier, it has become one of 



M 



the most desirable in this section of country. 

Our subject is a native of the Dominion of Can- 
ada, and was born in ( i ley County, Ontario, April 
•25, 1853. His father, .lobn iMaehani, came to the 
States in IHfw, and located at once on a farm in 
Deerfield Township, this county, where he has since 
made his home, and during his residence of fifty 
years in this section ha> become widely and favor- 
ably known as one of its most valued and useful 
residents. The parents were born within twelve 
months of each other, and the aged mother still sur- 
vives. John Macham was born in Ireland, whence 
his parents soon afterward removed to Scotland, 
and afterward to Canada, where he met and married 
the lady who became the mother of our subject. 
She was born and reared in the Province of Ontario, 
and they became the parents of seven sons and 
three daughters, all of whom are living and seven 
of them married and settled in comfiirtable homes 
of their own. 

Our subject was the third child of his parents and 
vviis reared under the home roof, receiving a good 
education and completing his studies in the academy 
at Deerfield. He was bright and ambitious and 
when eighteen years of age started out in life for 
himself. A few years later, when about twenty- 
four years of age, he was married, Jan. 17, 187 7, to 
Miss Jennie Rector, of Tecumseh Township. Mrs. 
Macham is the daughter of John and Permel 
(Raymond) Rector, natives of New York State, 



894 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



who crime to this county hi their j'(juth and settled 
in Teeumseh Township. The_y removed to Delta, 
Ohio, where they were living at the time of the 
birth of their daughter .Tennie, which took place 
June 28, 1863. Six years later they took up their 
residence in Teeumseh Township, where Mrs. M. 
was reared and educated. Here they have since re- 
mained residents on a good farm, and are classed 
among the well-to-do farmers. 

Our subject and his wife have two interesting- 
little daughters — Bertha and Blanche. Mr. Machani, 
politically, is a solid Republican, and with his ex- 
cellent wife is a regular attendant of the Presbyter- 
ian Church. 



>^5^ 



^h 



(i^iREDERICK II. CORWIN has been a man 
|^g)i prominent in the business circles of Fairfield 
It^ Township for a period of seventeen years, 
during which time, besides the pursuit of agricult- 
ure, he has held the various offices and been other- 
wise identified with its most important interests. 
His life has been one of prudence and industry, and 
his toils have been rewarded with a home and a 
competence. He is now retired from active labor, 
and amid the surroundings of a pleasant village 
home at Fairfield, is passing down the hill of life 
surrounded by hosts of friends and all the good 
things which a reasonable man could ask for. 

Mr. Corwin is a native of the Empire State and 
was born in Suffolk County, Sept. 13, 1818. He 
continued to live near the place of his birth until 
a youth of sixteen years, when he removed with his 
parents to Niagara County, where he remained until 
the spring of 1853. He had in the meantime, Nov. 
13, 1847, been married at Royalton, in the latter- 
named county, to Miss Louisa J. Treadwell, a na- 
tive of that place, where she had spent iier life up 
to the time of her marriage. 

In 1853 Mr. Corwin decided upon seeking his 
fortunes in the further west, and accordingly, ac- 
companied liy his family, made his way to this 
county, purchasing a farm on section 21, Ogden 
Township. Upon this he effected good improve- 
ments .and continued there for a period of eighteen 
years. Then, feeling that he had contributed his 



full quota toward the agricultural interests of that 
section, he sold out and took up his residence in 
the village of Fairfield, where he has since lived.. In 
1884 he purchased eighty acres on sections 12 and 
13, in Fairfield Township, which he still owns. 

Mr. Corwin, while a resident of Ogden Township, 
held the office of Justice of the Peace for eleven 
years. He was noted for his skill as an agricultur- 
ist and his reliability as a business man. He med- 
dles little with politics, but has supported the prin- 
ciples of the Republican party since its organization. 
Socially, he and his excellent wife belong to Fair- 
field Grange, which was organized about 1875, and 
of which they were charter members. Mrs. Corwin 
has for many years been identified with the Chris- 
tian Church. 

Our subject and his wife are the parents of five 
children, namely : Emerson, Parker, Libbie, Charles 
and Grace. The eldest of these is thirty-eight years 
of age and the youngest twenty -eight. They also 
have an adopted daughter, Lillie, aged fourteen 
years. Miss Libbie Corwin, in 1877, became the 
wife of Nicholas Wotring, a well-to-do farmer of 
Ogden Township; Charles married Miss Ida Brown, 
of York County, Neb., in 1879, and is carrying on 
farming in Furnas County, Neb. ; Grace, Mrs. 
William R. Porter, resides with her husliand on a 
farm in Fairfield Township. 



§ENJAMIN F. DePUY. In the history of 
nations past and gone it is observed by the 
intelligent reader that great stress is laid 
upon the founding of a family name, and 
he who possessed ancient and noble blood was 
invariably looked upon as a little better than those 
who had lost track of their family history, or per- 
haps had none of which they might be proud. In 
accordance with the accepted truth that history re- 
peats itself, biography to-day is taking an important 
place in the literature of the age, and men are be- 
ginning to search among the archives of the past 
with the hope of finding something in regard to 
their ancestors which may reflect honor upon 
themselves. This is admitted by everj^ intelligent 



►►HI 



-4^ 



^^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



895 



•Ml 



person to be a laudable interest and aniliitiim. and 
the gentleman wliosc name stands at the licad of 
this sketch ha.- wisely l^reserved the iccdids which 
have Ijeen handed ilowii tn him and fioiu wliicli no 
amount of nionc}' would induce him to |i.iil. 

The DePuy family oiijiinated in I'lancc scviial 
hundred years ago, and the lirst known rc|ircs('nta,-- 
tivo in America was one Benjamin, wiin ciussed the 
Atlantic prior to the Revolutionary War and 
settled, it is believed, in Ulster County, N. Y. lie 
was a descendant of the old Huguenot stock, and 
l)ursued the peaceful calling of an agriculturist 
in the Empire State the remainder of his life. Me 
married and reared a fine family of sons ami 
daughters, who are recorded as having been most 
worthy and intelligent citizens, but who drifted 
from the home roof and liecame residents of dif- 
ferent States of the Union. 

Samuel DePuy, the great-grandfather of our 
sid)ject, spent his boyhood and youth in his native 
county, but upon reaching manhood lie removed 
to Cayuga County, N. Y., there married and 
reared a family. He owned slaves in the State 
of New York, most of whom he liberated prior 
to the year 1828. His son Benjamin, upon reaching 
manhood, married Miss Sarah Hornbeck, whose 
ancestors were originally from Holland, sturdy 
and substantial people, noted for their honesty and 
then* courageous defense of tiie principles in which 
they believed. 

The wife of Benjamin I)(d'uy, Jr.. was lioru in 
New York State and grew to womanhood in Cayuga 
County, to which place her future husband had 
drifted when a young man and where they were 
married. They settled down upon a tract of land 
from which they built up a comfortal)le and modest 
homestead, and there spent their declining years, 
dying at an advanced age. Their eldest son, 
Samuel, was born in Cayuga County, where he 
developed into manhood and was more than ordin- 
arily intelligent. He took an active interest in all 
matters affecting the welfare of his native county, 
and married one of its most accomplished ladies. 
Miss Ann Bingham, the wedding taking place in the 
spring of 1833. Mrs. Ann (Bingham) DePuy, was 
a native of New Jersey, of English ancestry, and 
a member of a family largely represented in the 



New England and INIiddle States. Her parents re- 
moved from New .Jersey to New York during the 
early settlement of Cayuga County, iiml followed 
the peaceful jiursn its of agricultui-r until resting 
from their earthly labors. 

In 1835, two years after his marriage, Samuel 
DePu3', who had taken quite an interest in military 
tactics, was appointed First Lieutenant of the 
l.")8th New York Militia, having risen to this honor 
from a private. He held this r:nik while a resident 
of the Empire State, and pi-olialily until the regi- 
ment was disbanded. In 1 s;,l', after the birth of 
six children, of whom lienjamin 1\ of this sketch 
was the eklesi -on and fourth child, Samuel DePuy 
and his wife broke loose from old friends and 
associations and departed from the scenes of their 
youth to seek a home in the young and rapidly 
growing State of Michigan. They cast their lot 
with the people of Macon Township, this county, 
settling on a tract of improved land on section 30, 
where they continued to make their home, living 
peaceful and worthy lives, and enjoying in a marked 
degree the confidence and esteem of the people 
around them. The father folded his hands for his 
final rest on the 7th of March, 1872, when sixty- 
two and one-half years old. The mother followed 
her husband Sept. 27, 1874, when sixty-seven j'ears 
of age. The latter was a devoted member of the, 
JMethodist Church, to which Samuel DePuy con- 
tributed liberally, although not a member of 
any religious organization. He was an uncom- 
promising Democrat, politically, and took a warm 
interest in everything pertaining to the develop- 
ment and welfare of his adopted county. 

The subject of this biography was born in J>iv- 
iugston County, N. Y., Feb. 25, 1.S41, and came 
with his father to this county when a lad about 
ten years of age. He was an unusually bright and 
intelligent boy, possessing a peculiar tact for busi- 
ness, and greatl}' interested, like his father before 
him, in military tactics. When eighteen years of 
age his great desire was to enter the Military 
Academy at West Point, but to this his excellent 
father seriously objected, judging from his own ex- 
perience that although in some respects an under- 
standing of military affairs was desirable, yet it 
usually transpired that the time given to this was 



-^•- 



■•► 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



t 



practically thrown avva_y. Benjamin F., as a dnli- 
fnl soil, wisnly yielded to his father's behest, and 
after a eondict between his inclination and his duty 
settled down upon the farm, and has since been en- 
gaged in agricultural pursuits. He is now occu|)y- 
ing the homestead of his father, keeping np the 
reputation of the estate and of his family in an 
admirable manner. 

One of the mostimpoi'tant and interesting events 
in tlie life of our subject occurred on the 28th of 
November, 1866, when he was united in marriage 
with Miss Elizabeth Bramble, the daughter of a 
prominent family in Franklin Township, this county. 
She was born at the homestead there about 1846, 
and remained the companion of her husband but a 
little over one year, her death taking place March 
1-2, 1868. Mr. DePuy was a second time married, 
Aug. 7, 1872, to Miss Sarah Almeda Spalding, a 
native of Tallmadge, Summit Co., Ohio, where she 
was born Aug. 14, 1846. Mrs. DePuy is the 
daughter of Joseph and Flora (Meacham) Spalding, 
natives of New York State, where they were born 
and reared. From there they removed to Summit 
County, Ohio, where their marriage took place, but 
.ifter the birth of their two children — Francis and 
Sarah — they came, in 1853, to Michigan, locating 
ill Franklin Township in September. There the 
mother died three years later: she was a most ex- 
cellent woman, beloved by a large circle of friends. 
The father is yet living, active and intelligent as in 
his younger days, and continues on his farm in 
Franklin Township. After the death of his first 
wife he married Miss Pauline Lee, of Summerfield, 
Monroe County. 

Benjamin F. Depuy has inherited in a marked 
degree many of the traits peculiar to his ancient 
and honorable ancestry, chivalrous in his manner, 
bright, intelligent, genial and social, and is a man 
who is recognized by all as haviug been one of 
Nature's most favored children. His farming 
operations are conducted skillfully and to the best 
advantage, and he numbers his friends by the score 
in Macon and adjoining townships. He was par- 
ticularly fortunate in the selection of the lady who 
now presides over his home, Mrs. DePuy being in 
all respects the suitable companion of an intelligent 
and high-minded gentleman. They are the parents 



of one child only. Brunella F., who was born July 
28, 1876. They are regular attendants of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, and Mr. DePuy uni- 
formly casts his vf»te with the Democratic party. 




ject of this sketch, who is serving as Supervisor of 
Macon Township. He is a native of this State, 
and although in the prime of life has for many 
years been closely identified with the business and 
agricultural interests of Southern Michigan. He 
was born in York Township, Washtenaw County, 
April 17, 1841, and came with his father to Macon 
Township, of which he is now a resident, in the 
spring of 18,57. He has been by nature endowed 
with fine intelligence and the love (.)f learning, and 
is a gentleman with whom it is a pleasure to con- 
verse. 

The property of Mr. Gilmore Includes a good 
farm of 110 acres, desirably located on section 15, 
and upon which the proprietor has effected first- 
class improvements. He has had a life-long experi- 
ence in agriculture, and wisely considers that there 
are few vocations more satisfactory and none more 
honorable than the free and independent one fol- 
lowed by the farmer. He comes of an excellent 
family, being the son of Lj'man Gilmore, who was 
born in Vermont, and was of New England ancestry 
for several generations. The latter when a boy re- 
moved with his parents to Steuben County, N. Y., 
during its early settlement, aud there he remained 
until 1832. His father, Robert Gilmore, now de- 
termined to proceed still further westward, and 
accordingly made his way to the Territory of Michi- 
gan, settling in the woods of York Township, Wash- 
tenaw County. The first day's work which Lyman 
Gilmore did upon his arrival here was for their 
nearest neighbor, six miles dist.ant, and for which 
service, instead of being paid in hard cash, he was 
given a water jug. To this, however, he did not in 
the least object, as it was something which was 



►►Hh-^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



ii.T.lr.l in Ihr iMinil.v, jmhI which tlic ImIIici- ,,( (,iir 
siilijei-t used lor iiuuiy a (hi.y aftenv.-inl. 

Robert Oilmore, the paternal jiraivlf'Mtlicr <>( diir 
sulijeot, upon coming to Michigan, pinclinxMl lightv 
acres of (Tovernment land, and had the hoiKir of 
being the first man to secure a liome from \'nc\v 
Sam in Vork Township, WashtenaAv County. The 
last days of this good old man were sprni in loni- 
parative poverty, as he had hist liis once line prop- 
erty )\v misplaced confidence in an ungrateful kins- 
man. He died at an advanced age, in Wayne 
County. He had been a hard-working m.aii, faithful 
and conscientious in the perforniaucc <>( lii> duties, 
was a kind and indulgent husliand and fathci-, and 
■ his name is held in kindly renuMnbr.ance liy tiiose 
who are left to recall his deeds. 

Lyman Gilmore, the father of our >ubject, was a 
young man when he accompanied his parents to 
Mit^liigan, and shortly after his arrival returned to 
the Empire State, and was married to one of his 
childhood friends, Miss Almeda Ilerendeen, who 
was also born in Steuben County, N. Y., of which 
State her parents were natives. She was a lady 
possessing many lovable qualities, and remained the 
faithful and affectionate companion of Lyman (Til- 
more for a period of more than fort}' years. She 
became the mother of four children, and departed 
this life at the homestead in Macon Township in 
December, 1873, when fifty-nine years of age. 
Early in life she had become identified with the 
Baptist Church, and continued a consistent member 
until her death. 

The maternal grandfather of our subject, Thomas 
Ilerendeen, came from York State to Michigan in 
1832, with his family, at about the same time of the 
arrival of the Gilmores. He also pitched his tent 
in the unbroken wilderness of Washtenaw County, 
but later removed to Newaygo County, where he 
spent the remainder of his days. He took a lively 
interest in the progress and development of his 
adopted county, and was always ready to assist by 
his labor and influence the enterprises calculated 
to advance the welfare of the people around liim. 

The subject of this biography i> the youngest 
but one of his parents' famil}',and the onl\- surviv- 
ing son. He has one sister living, Mrs. Mary A. 
Darling, widow of the late Dr. N. A. Darling, who 



ate of ihc Micliigan Male Lniversity at Ann Arl)or. 
His death was occasioned by blood poiscming con- 
tracted in the dissecting room of that institution. 
.Since the death of her iiusband Mrs. Darling has 
lived with and taken care of her aged father in 
Macon Township. The eldest daughter, Jane, mar- 
ried William W. Ambrose, and became the mother 
of one child, Ambrose L., who is now a successful 
practicing physician at Hanover, in Jackson County. 
Edwin A., the younger brother, died when a lad 
nine years of age. J. F. pursued his first studies 
in the common schools, and being fond of study 
acquired a good practical education. 

Ujion the first call for troops to aid in suppress- 
ing the Rebellion young Gilmore was one of the 
first volunteers, enlisting in Company G, 4th Michi- 
gan Infantry, his regiment being assigned to the 
Army of the Potomac under Gen. McClelland. He 
participated with his comrades in all the battles of 
the memorable campaign under that General, being 
in the seven-days fight before Richmond, and at 
the battle of Chickahominy, where they engaged a 
whole rebel brigade. Subsequently, in August, 
IHG.'J, while on duty at Kelly's Ford, Mr. Gilmore 
received a severe sunstroke, from which he suffered 
much, and which finally resulted in his discharge for 
disability. 

Mr. Gilmore upon returning home finally recov- 
ered his health, and later re-enlisted, and was again 
sent to the front, doing i)rovost duty until the close 
of the war. He returned as commander of the 
company, and received his second honorable dis- 
charge in May, 1.S65. Nearly two years later, in 
January, 1867, Mr. (iilmore was united in marriage 
at Milan, Monroe County, this State, to Miss Julia 
A. Bradley, who had been born and reared in that 
county. Mrs. Gilmore is the daughter of Eber and 
Hannah (Whitney) Bradley, who came to Michigan 
in the pioneer days, and built up a good homestead 
in Milan Township. She was born Jan. 3, 1840, 
and received a fair education, while at the same 
time becoming familiar with all useful household 
duties. Her studies were completed in the Normal 
School at Ypsilanti, and she subsequentlj' engaged 
as a teacher for some time before her marriage. 

Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore became the parents of 



I^lll^ 



898 



lp:nawee county. 



seven children, of wliorn one died. Tliose siii-viv- 
ing are Clarence, Frank, LuUi. Alta, .Tnlia E. and 
Ray. With one exception all arc at home. Frank 
is attending school at Tecumseh. Mrs. (iihnore is 
prominently connected with the Baptist Church, 
and a lady highly esteemed among her acquaint- 
ances. Mr. 6. takes an active interest in local poli- 
tics, and has been a life-long Republican. He was 
first elected as Supervisor in 1884. He also served 
as Townslii|j Cleric and Treasurer, discharging the 
duties of his vaii(iu> ottiees iu a manner creditable 
to himself and satisfactory to all concerned. 



■|f7 EMUEL JAMES MORSE, proprietor of the 
I (^ Medina Flouring Mills on section 34, Ilud- 
JL^ , jjyii Township, is a native-born citizen of 
Medina Township, Lenawee County, and is now 
one of its leading business men, contributing in no 
small degree to its material interests. The grand- 
father of our subject, the Hon. Lemuel Mor.se, was 
born iu Massachusetts, Feb. 25, 1779, and became 
an early settler of Ontario County, N. Y., finally 
removing from there to Huron Count}', Ohio, wheie 
he bought a tract of land partly improved, on 
which he continued to reside till his death; his farm 
is now incorporated in the town of Bellevue. He 
was a man of sound character and much ability, 
and during his residence in the State of New York 
he was quite active in public life. In politics he 
was a Whig, and was one of the leaders of that 
party in the count}' where he was a resident, and 
was chosen to represent that party in the New York 
State Assembly. 

Charles C. Morse, the father of our subject, was 
born in Ontario County, N. Y., in May, 1815, and 
was quite young when his parents removed to Ohio, 
where he grew to manhood. He was a master of 
several trades, having learned the shoe trade in his 
youth and also the tanner's trade, and later that of 
a miller. He was married in Ohio to Miss -Sarah C. 
FoUett, who was born in Bennington, Vt., April 24, 
1817, and was the daughter of James D. and Sarah 
(Kelley) Follett, the former born July 2, 1776, and 
the latter July 2. 1792. In 1844 Mr. Morse can.e 



with his family to Lenawee County, the removal 
being made with teams, and bought land on section 
3 of Medina Township, where he started a tannery, 
and also engaged in the shoe trade. In 1857 he 
.and his partnei-, J. Chri.-toplicr, bought a grist and 
saw mill and a, farm ou section 34 in Hudson 
Township, and he turned his attention to milling 
and farming, continuing his residence in Medina 
Township, however. There he was a conspicuous 
ligure iu pulilic affairs, ably filling the various 
otiices of trust within the gift of his fellow-towns- 
men, and also representing Medina for some years 
as a member of- the County Board of Supervisors. 
His death occurred Aug. 22, 1886, and was a severe 
blow to the various interests of the township where 
he had so long been an honored citizen, while his 
wife, who shared with him the respect of the com- 
munity, died at their home in December, 1887. 
Thej' ivere the parents of seven children, as follows: 
Alice C, Adelaide B., Charles, Lemuel, Nerina, 
Carroll C. and Hettie S. Alice is the wife of W. 
D. Stalker, and lives in Sacramento, Cal. ; Adelaide 
is the widow of J. M. Consaul, and lives in Medina 
Township; Nerina is the wife of Mr. Goulds- 
borough, and lives in Hudson Townshi|); Charles, 
Carroll and Hettie live in Medina. 

The subject of this sketch was born 'July 30, 
1844, and was the eldest son of his parents. He 
received an elementary education in the district 
school of his native town, and was then sent to Oak 
Grove Academy, and after finishing a coui'se at 
that excellent institution he entered Bryant, Strat- 
ton & Goldsmith's Commercial College at Detroit. 
His education well fits him for any position in life 
that he may choose to occupy. He remained in the 
old home with his parents until his marriage, in the 
meantime acquiring a thorough, practical knowl- 
edge of the manufacture of flour, to which he had 
resolved to devote himself. In 1873 he became 
associated with his father in the ownership of the 
mills, and continued in partnership with him and 
his brother until the death of his father necessitated 
a division of property, and he bought the grist- 
mills. He has since put in all modern. machinerj- 
for the manufacture of flour, and is doing a flour- 
ishing business. He is widely known in Lenawee 
County, and is considered a wide-awake and enter- 



•►Hl-^ 



-► ■ <• 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



pnsino- rnaii, whose ('x]icrieii(:e cuiistiiutcs Imii an 
authority on all (nicstion- |i(i iMiiiiiig in lii.^ line of 
business. 

The marriage of onr sniijort with SmiiiIi C. Cogs- 
well took place in 'Sl.iy. 1 ^i7;'i. SIk' was Imrn in Spring- 
ville, Erie Co.. N. Y..Mn.l is tlic .laughtcrof Henry 
and Caroline A. (Hayes) Cogswell. Of Ihisnnion 
one child has been born, Jennie 11. 

Mr. and Mrs. Morse are people of intelligence 
and cnlture, whom it is a pleasure to meet, and their 
ilelightful home is the center of attraction to a host 
of friends. Mr. Morse is a prominent member of 
the Evening Star Lodge, K. A- A. .M.. ami Royal 
Arcannin of Hudson. 



'■^j 



T^DWARD A. MlLLHvKN, a highly esteemed 
l^ citizen of Adi-ian, is a native of Cheshire 
JL-:^ County, N. H., whei-e he was born near the 
town ofKeene, the county seal. Dee. 1), I.s4(». His 
father, E. A. Milliken, Sr., was also a native of the 
Old (^ranite State, and born in the same county, 
near Peterboro. He married Miss Susan E. Towne, 
of that county, who was also born neai' Keene, and 
after marriage they went into Xew York State, and 
settled on a farm in Orleans Connty; there the 
mother died in 1842, when onr sniijeet was .aliout 
two years of age. 

After the death of his wife, the elder Milliken re- 
turned to his native State, and lived there nntil 
18ol, then coming to this county, settled in Ihid- 
son Township, near the village of Medina, whence 
he removed later in life to Medina, where he now 
resides. At the time of the removal from New 
Hampshire, there were Mr. Milliken and his sou, a 
wife and two children, a half-brother, and Edward 
A. of our sketch, the latter but eleven years of age. 

Our subject completed his education in the vil- 
lage school at Medina, and remaine(l with his father 
until sixteen years of age. He then icpaireil to 
Canandaigua, N. Y., where he attended school one 
winter, and in the spring entered the printing-otflce 
of his uncle, N. J. Milliken, with whom he served a 
thorough apprenticeshii) at the "art preservative," 
and continued until the outbreak of the Rebellion. 
In May, 1861, he volunteered as a Union soldier in 



Company (!, 18tli New York Infantry, under com- 
mand of Capt. Henry Faurot, and was assigned to 
the Army of the Potomac. Young Milliken with 
his comrades particiiiated in the first battle of Bull 
Run. iu which he e.scai)ed unharmed, and was sub- 
sequently in every general engagement of his regi- 
ment until the close of his term of enlistment, when 
he received his honorable discharge, and relumed 
to New York State. 

Mr. Milliken soon after lieing nuistered out, re- 
enlisted, in Comp;iny II. Uh New Y'ork Heavy Artil- 
lery, which was stationed at Ft. Marcey, near Chain 
Bridge. The following spring they were assigned to 
a position near Culpeper Court-House, where they 
were soon detailed for the Peninsula campaign, and 
remained in the southeast until the surrender of the 
rebel army. At one time the regiment was stationed 
to dismantle some of the forts in and around Arling- 
ton Heights. They were mustered out at Hart's 
Island, N. Y., in September, 186.5, and after his 
final discharge, Mr. Milliken returned first to Can- 
andaigua, N. Y., and from there went into the oil 
regions of Pennsylvania, where he was engaged in 
speculating. The following summer he returned to 
his father's in Michigan, and after a few weeks went 
west as far as Elkhart, Ind., where he was employed 
in a printing-office for a time, and from there re- 
moved to Canada. 

In January-, 1872, occurre( 
Milliken with Miss Nellie .M. 
taking place at the home of 
Mich. The young lady had 
her husband in Medina, and 
Apollos and Lydia (Eaton) Drown, who were form- 
erly of Canandaigua, N. Y. After their marriage 
Mr. and Mrs. Milliken went back to New York, 
and located upon the island of Tonawanda, where he 
carried on farming for a gentleman in Buffalo, and 
remained four years. The old friends, and the re- 
membrance of the early associations of Mr. Milliken, 
were always leading his thoughts toward the West, 
and upon leaving this farm, he determined to set- 
tle permanently in Lenawee County, and accord- 
ingly took up his residence in Adrian. 

Owing to his hardships and exposure in the army, 
Mr. Milliken about this time met withagreat afflic- 
tion in the loss of the use of his lower limbs, and has 



1 the marriage of Mr. 
Drown, the wedding 
the bride in Adrian, 
been a schoolmate of 
was the daughter of 



H^^-m-M- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



been unable to stand or walk for the i)ast seven 
years, while he was confinefl to his bed at one time 
for eighteen months; by the aid of a wheel chair 
he manages to get about considerably. Mr. M. is 
a Republican in politics, and socially a member of 
the G. A. R. He has been receiving a pension from 
the Government since March, 1SS.3. 



ni 



RS. MARY CAMPBELL, widow of the late 
.James Campbell, a man who was reg.arded 
ith the deepest respect throughout Medina 
Township and vicinity, occupies the home- 
stead left her by her husband, and which comprises 
the southeast quarter of section 5. Here she is 
surrounded by all the comforts of life, and is the 
center of a large circle of warm friends. She has 
been a resident of this county since a young girl 
eleven years of age, having come to the young- 
State of Michigan with her parents when the face 
of the country' bore little resemblance to its present 
condition. 

Mrs. Campbell is the daughter of Micliael and 
Elizabeth (Mannix) Flynn, natives of Ireland. 
The mother came to America when about sixteen 
years of age, and after her marriage settled"' with 
her husband in Utica, N. Y., where their daughter 
Mary was born on the 18th of March, 1830. They 
continued to live in the Empire State until the fall 
of 1841, then came to this countj- and settled in 
Hudson Township, where they spent the remainder 
of their lives. Their three children, of whom Mary 
is the eldest, lived to maturity; John is a sea cap- 
tain, and Elizabeth is the wife of Edw.ard Gray, a 
prosperous larmer of Hudson Township. 

Miss Mary Flynn continued under the parental 
roof until her marriage with James Campbell, which 
took place at the home of her parents in Hudson 
Township. Sept. 18, 1852. Mr. Campbell was born 
In County Louth, Ireland, March 17, 1827. He 
was reared upon a farm, and thereafter engaged in 
agricultural pursuits until his death, which took 
place Aug. 8, 1885, at the homestead which he had 
labored to build up for himself and his family. 
His parents, James and Bridget (Hoey) Campbell, 



crossed the Atlantic in 1 832, and four years later 
took np their abode in this county, locating in Me- 
dina Township, where they continued until resting 
from their earthly Labors. Their three children 
were named Patrick, Peter and James, of whom 
Patrick is deceased. Of Peter a sketch will be 
found on another page in this volume. 

Mr. Campbell was a man kindly and genial by 
nature, and the universal favorite of his neigh- 
borhood. He was noted for his [)rbmptness in 
fulfilling his obligations, and made it a point to 
avoid promising anything which there was any 
doubt about his being able to perform. He was 
a man kind and thoughtful in his family, and of 
his pleasant union with the subject of this sketch 
there were born ten children. The eldest, William, 
a young man of good business capacities, is a 
railroad engineer, and makes his home in Toledo, 
Ohio; Lizzie developed into an efficient teacher, 
and has ciiarge of a school in Marion County, 
lud.; Ella is the wife of James H. Davitt. a promi- 
nent attorney of East Saginaw; Agnes, Isabella, 
Anna, Alice, Charles, George and Robert continue 
at the homestead with their mother. Mr. Camp- 
bell was a member of the Church of the Sacred 
Heart at Hudson, to which he always gave his warm 
and cordial support. The widow and children also 
belong to the same church. 



♦5^^5-~ 



vwj OH 



OHN S. CLARK was one of the representa- 
iive farmers and stock-raisers of Lenawee 
County, raising sheep and thoroughbred 
f^^J Holstein and Jersey cattle. He quite fre- 
quently exhibited his stock at public exhibitions 
and usually carried off a large number of the prizes, 
especially on sheep. ~ Mr. Clark was born in Dum- 
merston, Vt., in 1819, and went south when a young 
man. He was a school teacher and a teacher of 
penmanshij). He came to Michigan in 1840, locat- 
ing in Clinton, where his death took place in 1883. 
He was a successful man .and progressive in his 
ideas, liberal minded, and a public benefactor. He 
held some of the township offices and in ])olitics 
was a Democrat. 

The subject of our sketch was united in marriage 



•^•- 




LENAWEE COUNTY 



!in 



i 



■^ 



at C'lintun with Miss Louisa M. Skinner, wlio was 
b(^i-n in Lockport, N. Y., on tlie 1st of January, 
1S27. Wlien two yoais old slie was deprived 
of the care of hor luolliei', whose maiden name was 
Alice Ryan. The paternal parent i if .Mrs. Claik was 
Alien Skinner, a machinist, wIki died in l.ixkport 
when Mrs. Clark was seven years of agt>. i^ouisa 
was the only child, and at the death of hei- mother 
was taken by her aunt, Catherine Ryan, who mar- 
ried Thaddeus Clark, both natives of \'ermont, 
but married in New York State. 

Thaddens Clark w^as a lilaeksmith by trade, and 
lifl|>e<l to construct asliiji (<<v seivice in Ilie War <if 
ISiL'. In 1831, with his wife and niece, and a, Mr. 
.lohn Tyrrell, he came with teams o^u-land to 
Michigan, bringing their worldly effects in a, wagon. 
and located in Clinton Township, securing land on 
which the village is now located. He secured a 
large propertj", consisting of 400 acres of land, whicli 
he lived to see nearly all well imi)roved at the time 
of his death, April 1;"), 1870, at the ripe old age of 
ninety-one j'ears; his w'ife preceded him April 13, 
] 870, at the age of seventy-si.\. They were both 
of active and temperate habits, and tJieir li\cs were 
sunshine and pleasure until thi'ir v\i»v, .ifter isixt}' 
years of married life. The}' held a warm phice in 
the hearts of a large circle of friemls in this part of 
the country. The wife wa> a membcT of the Pres- 
byterian Church. He g.-ive liberally to have the 
railniad built into the town :uiil <■, muibutetl freely 
toother local enterpriser, and rharitMble pui-poses. 
They had no ehildi'cn of their own but, they fos- 
tered several to maturity. Their niece, .Mrs. CUark, 
has become owner of the liome>^te;id. 

John S. Clark was a nephew of Thaddeus Clark. 
Mrs. Clark had by her marriage with our .subject the 
following children, two of whom, Kate and Albert 
F., are deceased. The names of the living are : John 
F.. a graduate of the i)harmacj' deiiarlment of the 
University at Ann Arbor, who married Jane K. 
Ncwcomb, of Blissfleld, and lives attirosse I'oint, 
this State, where he is agent of the stock farm; 
they have two chil.lren, Louis L. and Hazel IL, the 
former of whom ha.s received a good education and 
lives at home. The youngest of the family, Charles 
F., is married to Miss Ellie M. liartlett, of Clinton, 
ni^ar which he owns a good farm ; he is well edu- 



cated, comiJeting his studies at Orchard Lake, 
INHch., and lives at home. Mrs. Clark and children 
are members of the Kpis<-oiial Church at Clinton. 



'' 


'' 




^-Sr* 


■4i-' 




^ 


OHN 


11. 


TODl 


) is 


a i)romi 


lei 


t residen 


succ 


iSSl 


ul gen 


era! 


farmer 


of 


Rollin T 


ship 


w 


lere lu 


lu 


s a, line 


fa 


•m, conta 



l^/y a handsome and commodious house, with 
suitable out-buildings for the successful carrying on 
of his agricultural business. The suliject of our 
sketch was born in tJii^ city of New York, on the 
28th of February, is;;i). .-nid is the son of ( iabriel 
H. and Mary P. (livhmd) Todd, who arc now resi- 
dents of the city of Adrian, having come from .\ew 
York in 18;il. 

The pari'nta! family of our subject consisted of 
nine children, of whom .b,hn II. is the eldest son. 
One brother, Elbert S., is a prominent Doctor of 
Divinity in Baltimore, and another, Jacob W., is in 
Colorado, engaged in mercantile pursuits. Oscar 
and Charles D. are now residing in Los Angeles, 
Cal., where they a,re dealing in real estate; George 
H. is in the employ of the Michigan Central Rail- 
road : l<;ii/,abeth is t,he widow of William Beecher, 
and resides with her p.areuts in Adrian; Rachel A. 
is the wife of Port.T L. Sword, a lirick manufacturer 
of Cleveland, Ohio; Aman.la died in ISCl at the 
interesting age of fourteen years. Three brothers, 
Charles, Oscar and (ieorge, enlisted in defense of 
the Union and served nearly all through the war, 
in wliich, by their courage and energy, they earned 
a good record; Charles was wounded, and is now 
the recipient of a pension. 

John 11. lived at home with liis parents until 
twenty-three years of age, assisting on the farm 
and attending district schools, which were at that 
early day very rude, often built of logs with the 
furniture made of slabs. At the age of twenty- 
three oiu- subject was married to Susan M., daugh- 
ter of William and .leimett (Knowles) lloxter, 
who are still living in Adrian. Mrs. Todd was born 
in .Seneca County, N. Y., Feb. IG, 18;i;i, and edu- 
cationally had only the advantages of the district 
school, while she had to do the family washing in 
the morning before she could set out for her day's 



t 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



'^ 



studies. Her parents were among the earliest pio- 
neers in this county. 

After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Todd lived 
in Rome Township until 1862, when they sold out 
and came to Rollin Township, where they have 
since resided. Their home has been gladdened by 
the arrival of four children — Mary, Ida J., Heman 
II. and Charles H. Marj' was born in Rome Town- 
ship, Sept. 13, 18o3, married Eugene Perkins, a 
miller, and has two children, one boy and one girl: 
Ida J. was born July 22, 18.55, married Edwin 
Childs and has two children, both boj^s; Heman 
H. was born April 30, 1858, married Rosa Chat- 
field, and had two daughters, one of whom is now 
dead; Charles H. was born Dee. 17, 1876, and is 
attending- the district school. All of the children 
received their education in the district school ex- 
cept Heman, who attended the Raisin Seminary. 
C^harles will probably receive a college education. 

The family of our subject are all consistent 
Christians, and honored members of society. They 
are memoers of the Methodist Church, with which 
our subject has been identified since its organiza- 
tion and h.is been a member since 1 847. He is also 
an ardent worker in the temperance cause, always 
voting the Prohibition ticket. Mrs. Todd is a 
member of the Mission.ary Sofiet}^ and of the AV. 

c. T. r. 



',|;OHN BRITTUN, a prominent figure in the 
|| affairs of Ridgeway Township, was f(n-merly 
l| engaged in farming |)ursuits, but some time 
(^// since retired from active labor, and is now 
connected with the Wabash Railroad as man.ager of 
the signals at Britton Station, and also peiforms a 
like service f<n- the C. I. & N. R. R., which crosses 
the first-mentioned road at this place. Mr. Britton 
has been a resident of Lenawee County for a period 
of thirt}' -seven years, during which he has been 
veiy successful in the accumulation of property, 
and has been largely identified with the building 
up of the little town of Britton, which was named 
in his honor. Through his influence only the best 
(if wooden buildings have been constructed, and 
his Icmpenuicc principles have been largely re- 
sjiected in the maUe-up of the population, as it is 



composed of a people who are strictly in favor of 
cold water as a beverage. 

Mr. Britton was born on the other side of the 
Atlantic, in Yorkshire, England, Feb. 6, 18.13, and 
is the j'oungest child of John Britton, Sr., also a 
native of that county, where both were reared to 
farming pursuits. The father married a lady of his 
own county, Miss Sarah Coats, also of pure English 
ancesti-y, and in 1850, with his wife and four chil- 
dren emigrated to the United States. Shortly 
after setting foot upon American soil they came 
to the West, and located upon a tract of land in 
Ridgeway Township. The elder Britton had a cap- 
ital of only iiloO, and consequently there was no time 
to be lost. The family took possession of a small log 
building, and the father entered with energy upon 
the cultivation of the soil. They lived econom- 
ically, and endured manj' hardships and inconveni- 
ences, but in due time the father of our subject found 
himself upon his feet, and on the road to prosperity. 
He succeeded in accumulating a good property, and 
continued on the homestead which had been built 
up by his industry and perseverance until resting 
from his earthly labors. His death took place in 
the spring of 1875, when he was sixty-eight years 
of age. He was a man who stood high in the esti- 
mation of his neighbors and townsmen, and served 
as Road Commissioner for some time. The mother, 
who is still living at the advanced age of eightj'- 
two years, makes her home with her son, our sub- 
ject. Both parents were active members of the 
Methodist Church in their younger years, to which 
faith the mother still clings as her comfort in her 
old age. 

Mr. Britton remained a member of the parental 
household until his marriage, which took place on 
the 25th of March, 1855. The lady of his choice. 
Miss Sarah A. Osterhout, w.as born in Macon 
Township, this county, but at the time of her mar- 
riage was a resident of Hillsdale County. She is 
the daughter of Flower and Eleanor (Miller) Oster- 
hout, who removed from Seneca County, N. Y., to 
Michigan during the early settlement of this county. 
The father purchased a tract of land in Macon 
Township, and, transforming it into a good farm, 
remained there until his death, which occurred 
Aug. 29, 1844. Mrs. Britton was only a youn<; 





' 


< 






-^^d 


1 ^m 


•►- 




- , 


^* 




LENAWKI' 


COUNTY. DO.-i ' 






child vvhuii iRT tVilluT (li.Ml, .-md u-,-,~ ir.-nr.l l,y her 


three years, Justice of the Peace four years, Road 






iiiiitenial .unuidnioUicr. Of her iiiai'n.-i^^v wilJi our 


Commi.ssiouer and Treasurer, and has otherwi.se 






siilijcct Mktc uiM-e li.ini tour chiMrfii. .mr of wlioiii, 


ligured prominently .imong local interests. He is 






Zora. .lio.l in ii.f.-niry. ThoM' suvi\inu aiv Will- 


.a stanch Republican, politically. :iiid with the -ev- 






iam, who iiiarri.Ml Mi^s I';ii/,a ( uriis, ami i,- cai'i y- 


laal members of his f,,mily. an act,i\c member of 






ino-,m flu' iKanr fan,,; .Morris 1)., an cnploy,. of 


the Methodist Chiireh. 






tiif Wabash liailroa.l, and located at iMilan. fhis 








State, and Can-ic K.. an inleicstiuii voun- lady of 


- * -^^^^^^^^^s^ ■-— 






sixteen years, uh,, resides at home with her par- 








ents. .Mr. and .Mrs. lirillou soon aflei' their niar- 


•"-p^llO.MA.s CAIIACAX. The career ,,f this 






ria.y-e loe.ated on the larni of onr sidijeel. .a p.art of 
which has I.een laid off in villa-v lols. I'hey h.'ive 


'4<B^' -'■""'■'""" ''■'■" '"'''" '""■ "'■ """■'■ tliauordin- 
V^^ ary int,a-e.^;. illn.Mraling in .-, f.aciblc man- 






witnessed reniarkal.le ch.inues within the last thirty 


ner the selr.madc man who has bmglit his wav to a 














prosperity of Lenawee (\niiity. 


great industry and perseverance amassed a comfort- 






during the i)ro-ress of the late lielud , Mr. 


able litXle fortune and fully established hiniself as a 






IJritton. in .'\u.nnst, 1 sCi'. eidisted in Company K, 


citizen of more than ordinary worth ami usefulness. 






•JGth Michigan Infantry, and with his reginn'nt was 


Nearly his entire lib' has been ^pent amid rural 






a,s,sjgiied to the .\nny of the Potomac, under com- 


scenes and cmphyiiKaits. and he now bears the rep- 






mand of (icai. (irant. Company K w.as a.ssij-iK'd to 


utation of being one of the most prosperous farm- 






detached duly nmsl ,,f the lime, an.l s.aw little act- 


ers and land-owners of the county. He has for 






ive service, although aUvays ready to go to t.lie 


many years given much attention to the breeding 




t 


front should it receive orders. .Mr. Ihitlon enlisted 


of line horses, and in this department of farm life 






as .a priv.ali-, and was pronn.ted step liy step until 


has been iinif.irmly smaa'.ssfnl. In earlier years he 






he reaehi'd the rank of Kirst Lientcu.ant. lie re- 


struggled against the disadvantages of a limited 






ceived his houorahlc discharge in .1 nne. 1 m;."!, and 


education, but has kept his eyes open tu what was 






returned to the peaceful i.nr-nits of f.arni life. 


going on around him in the world, receiving from 






Our .subject was largel,\ iustrnment.al in estahlish- 


his ..hservation of men and things perh.aps a more 






ilig the right of way for the W.ahash Ko.a.l through 


practical schooling than he could have obtained 






this .section of country, and, as is pidhal)!\- under- 


from a cllegi.ate cmi-c 






stood l)y the foregoing details, was practic.allN the 


The early years of our subject, were spent in 






founder of the town of Britton. lie licait his cai- 


( ouuty WCstmealh. Ireland, whciv his birth to<ik 






ergies and furnished the means required to iiialu; it 


plac-e ill the humble home of his parent.s. in May, 






attractive as a plata.- of settlement, and has taken 


l,s;,ll. He was the cldi'st of a bniiily of twelve •■liil- 






especial pains to invite.a class of [teople here, wlio. hy 


dren, the olf~priiig of .l.ames ami Klleu (.Doyle) 






their iutelligcnce and molality, will f..rm .an intelli- 


(iah.-igau. who wei'c also of Irish birth and parent- 






gent and praiseworthy community. lie disli.ised 


age, and continued upon their natixe soil five years 






of his laud at the most iv.as, , liable ligures f(.r town 


after their marriage. In 1 s;) 1 they started for 






lots, and Jiriltou .St:it,iou i^ now a brisk little col- 


.Vmerica on a sailing-vessel, and .after a voyage of 






ony, provided with live stores, a sawmill and a 


seven weeks, lande.l in New York City .Inly .'l of 






steam staveinill, with other advantages essential to 


that year. From the metrop<ilis tiiey made their 






the growth of the town. Mr. Britton himself put 


way into (ieuesee County, settling ill the town of 






up live dwellings, and two store buildings, , and tlnae 


[>(d^.y, wheal' the bitlier ocaipied him.self .at what- 






is probably now a coiumiinity of I'do peopli', who 


ever he c.mld find t.. <lo. eng.aged princH^ally, liow- 






in a large measure partake of the iiitcnvst of it.> 








founder in its advancement and prosperity. 


coiinly, .and purt-hased i-ighty acres of land oil sec- 




i 


Mr. Brittun hassta\ed as Township Supervisor 


tion 1, in .Medina T.iwnship, which land is now the 










■ -'- 






1 ^' 




. 


■ 


. 



4 



904 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



"^ 



property of our subject. The father after securing 
this land returned to New York, where he continned 
three years, then came with his family to Michigan 
and began the improvement and cultivation of the 
land which he had purchased. The parents Ijotli 
lived to be quite well advanced in years. Mrs. 
Gahagan died at her home in Hudson, this State, 
Feb. lo. 1879, on the fiftieth anniversary of her 
wedding day. The father survived a little over 
two years, his death taking place in Hudson, March 
10, 1881. 

Thomas Gahagan engaged niostly in fanning un- 
til 1855, and then, in company with his brother 
John, took passage on the United States mail steamer 
"Illinois" for the Pacific Slope, with the intention 
«of seeking his fortunes in the gold mines of Cali- 
fornia. Crossing the Isthmus at Aspinwall, tliey 
were transferred to the steamer "Golden Gate," on 
which they sailed for San Francisco. Upon their 
arrival there the brothers entered the mines, and 
were fairly successful in their seai'ch for the yellow 
ore. Our subject remained in California for a 
period of six years, then returned to Michigan and 
established himself in the mercantile business at 
Hudson, in which he was also quite successful. 
During his five years' residence there he made the 
acquaintance of Miss Mary Brown, of Adrian, 
whom he married May 5, 1862. Mrs. Gahagan was 
born in Adrian, May 12, 1843, and is the daughter 
of William and Julia (Flynn) Brown, the former a 
native of Palmyra, N. Y., and the latter horn in 
Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland, and came to the 
United States in 1837. The parents were married 
in the city of Maumee, Ohio, and for several years 
followed farming in both States. Upon coming to 
this county, they made their home at Adrian, where 
the father was engaged as contractor on the Lake 
Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad. He died 
April 14, 1875; the mother is still living, continu- 
ing to make her home in Adrian. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Gahagan liave licen bora ten 
children : John W. is a teacher of excellent reputa- 
tion and pursuing his chosen calling at Woodstock, 
in this county, where he has been engaged for some 
time; Ellen M., the fourth child, like her brother, 
took kindly to her l)ooks and has been successfuly 
eraplo^'ed as a teacher; she attends the Hudson 

4* 



High School during her vacations. The remaining 
children — Francis J., Joseph P., James F., Daniel, 
Thomas E., George Moore, Mary A. and William 
E. — are at home with their parents. 

Mr. and Mrs. Gahagan were reared in the doc- 
trines of the Catholic Church, but are liberal 
in their religious views. Mr. G. gives little 
attention to politics, but usually casts his vote 
with the Democratic party. He inherited his love 
of good horseflesh, and others of the Gahagan 
faniil}' have attained a good reputation as breeders 
of draft horses. Our subject owns twenty head of 
high-bred Normans, including the celebrated stal- 
lion "Gov. Ogiesby," which is the only Percheron 
Norman horse ever brought to Medina Township. 
He is a magnificent animal, a model of beauty and 
sj'nunetry, and valued at several thousand dollars. 



%s ETER CAMPBELL was born in County 
jjl Louth, Ireland, but is undoubtedly of an- 
)^ ]^ cient Scotch ane€stry, the Campbells fleeing 
from Scotland during the religious wars in 
that country three centuries ago. Their later de- 
scendants lived in County Mayo for several genera- 
tions, and the parents of our subject were James 
and Bridget (Hoey) Campbell, who were both na- 
tives of Ireland. They were married in County 
Louth, which iiad also been the home of their child- 
hood and youth, and continued there until 1832, 
when Ihej^ emigrated to the United States and 
settled in Livingston County, N. Y., but in 183G 
the}' came to Southern Michigan, where the father 
took up a tract of G<jvernment laud ia .Aledina 
Township. 

Peter Campbell at present occupies the land 
from which his father built up a good homestead, 
battling with the new soil, from which he had been 
compelled to clear the heavy timber. James Camp- 
bell, Sr., rested from his earthly labors about twenty- 
five years ago. The mother survived her husband 
probably three years, and the death of both took 
place at the home which they had labored together 
to establish. They were people who cared very 
little for worldly pomp and show, but lived quietly 
and unostentatiously, secure in the respect and con- 



LENAAVEE COUNTY. 



905 



fldence of their friends and neighbors, and when 
they closed their eyes upon earthly scenos were re- 
gretted by all who had known them and who iiad 
learned to respect their character. 

James and Bridget C'ain|)bell were the parents of 
three children. The third son was named after his 
father, and is now deceased. The eldest child, Peter, 
attended the first school in Medina Township, which 
was conducted in a log cabin with none of tlic c'on- 
veniences of the present day. When old enough 
to look out for himself, being desirous of seeing 
something of the world, he migrated eastward to 
the State of Ohio, and engaged as a contractor on 
the JMichigan Southern Railroad and Erie & Wabasli 
Canal. He remained in the Buckeye State two 
years, then returned to this county, convinced that 
there were few places more desirabh^ than tiie young 
and growing State of Michigan. He then com- 
menced farming, at which he has since continued, 
the greater part of the time on the old homestead 
of his father. This, as may be supposed, possesses 
to him a raucli greater- (lian a mere money value, 
and he is often rcnniidc<l of the diligence and 
perseverance with -wiiich liis h(>nt)red sire labored to 
cultivate the soil and build up a homestead for his 
children. 

Teter Campbell, who wa.s bora in ls2tJ, was first 
married in 1.S54, in Medina Townsiiip, to Miss Mar- 
garet Kennedy, and they became the parents of 
three chihlren: The eldest, Mctor E., married Miss 
Mary Russell, of Hudson Township, and is working 
in the car shops in Springfield, Mo.; Peter \. is an 
engineer, is married and resides in Chicago; May, 
Mrs. Fitzpatrick, is a resident of Hudson Township. 
Mrs. Margaret Campbell departed this life at tlie 
homestead in Medina Township, Nov. 27, 18G6. 

The present wife of our subject, to whom he was 
married Dec. 31, 1807, waa Miss Rose, daughter of 
Cornelius and Mary (Cahill) Murtey, and was born 
in County Meath, Ireland, iu August, 1848. Her 
l)arents were also of Irish birth and parentage, and 
emigrated to America when Rose was a child tiu'ee 
years of age. They located lir>t in Sanduskj' 
County, Ohio, and about 18()() came to Soutlieru 
Michigan, and have now been residents of Dover 
Township about twenty-two years; though quite 
aged they are in the enjoyment of ver^' good health. 



Mrs. Campbell was the sixth in a famil}' of ten. 
Of her union with our sulijeet there have l)een 

born nine chihlren. OIK' of whom died in infancy ; 
the others are all at home and luirsuing their >tiidles 
in the district school. They are named ropcdlvely, 
Mattie. John .1., i.ouis. Frank. Edith, Purl, Clai'a 
an<l Leo. 

Mr. Campbell, in IsTl'. put up an elegant resi- 
dence, and has llr^t-cla^^ barns and ont-buildings in 
the rear. The grounds adjaeent are ornamental 
with trees, and walks and neat fences, which, to- 
gether with tlie well-kept live stock and other ap- 
purtenances <ir the complete home, forms a delight- 
ful picturi' to look upon. Mr. Campliell has been 
quite prominent In townshii) affairs, serving as Over- 
seer of Highways and occupying the various school 
offices for the pa.st ten years. He and hisesLiuKible 
wife were leare.l in the faith of the Catholic Cluncli, 
to which they still loyally adhere, and Mr. C.. [loliti- 
cally, is one of llie ino>l reliable member.- of the 
Democratic |)arty. 



AMES B. 'IIIOKN, the populru- and ethcient 

Postmaster of Hudson, was born in .Jefferson 

II Township, Hillsdale Co., Mich., June -T), 



I 

(^ ISli;. His father, Janie. Henry Thorn, was 
one of the very earlie.-l settlers of Hills.lale County, 
and was very influential in shai)ing its affairs, his 
rijie judgment and keen intellectual powers making 
him a leader among nnai. He was born Jan. ■_'(), 
psu;, in Dutchess Coiuitv, .\. Y.. anil was quite 
young when his father died leaving a large family 
in rather straitened circumstances. He, however, 
managed to secure .a, good education, which was use- 
ful to him in his busy ami iionorable ('areer iu after 
life. 

.Mr. Tliorn, the father ,.f oui- >ubject, remained 
in the State of his birth until he was eighteen years 
old, then ambitiously decided to go to some west- 
ern Territory and make a home and a place for 
himself in the newly settled <'ountry. Actuated by 
that motive Ik- came to .Michigan in 1834, and stilid 
for awhile at Detroit, then went to Ypsiianti, and 
from there to Farmington, Oakl.and County, where 
I he taught school, but in the spring at the close (jf 



906 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



the session he could collect but $;')() of the llOO due 
him. He then explored Bean Creek Valley in 
search of a suitable location where he could estab- 
lisii a home, and flnallj' selected the southeast 
quarter of the northeast part of section 13, in what 
subsequent!}' became Jefferson Township. He then 
walked to Monroe, and entered it at the Govern- 
ment land-ofilce on the iid of Ma}-, 1835. The 
receiver remarked that he had the whole township 
to select from, as that was the first land entered in 
that townsliip. After pa3'ing the fee for entering 
his land he had but ten cents left, with which he 
bought crackers and cheese to fortify himself for 
his long walk to Tccumseh. In the spring of 183C 
he commenced the improvement of his land, first 
liuilding a log cabin for his habitation, and on the 
15th of October, he took unto himself a wife in the 
person of Miss Mary Monroe, whom he installed as 
mistress of his little home, and in their wedded life 
she was. devoted .to his interests, and nobly shared 
with him the privations of their pioneer life. 

In after years Mr. Thorn re[)laced the log house 
with a substantial frame house, and erected other 
good frame buildings, cleared his land, and added 
to it by subsequent purchase until he had a fine 
farm of ItiO acres, beautifully located near the vil- 
lage of Pittsford, and yielding him rich returns for 
the labor he expended on it; this remained his home 
until his death. He was engaged in mercantile 
business for a number of years in the village of 
Pittsford, and was the first Postmaster of that town, 
then called Sparta, retaining the position until 1861. 
He was a man of unusual ability, possessing a mas- 
terly intellect, superior perceptive faculties, and a 
warm personal magnetism. wh'uAi ihew to him many 
friends. Thus endowed, it i> not. siugiilar that he 
played a leading part both in the public and social 
affairs of the town.ship. He was repeatedh' called 
upon to hold (jtticial positions. He was Supervisor 
five years, Justice of the Peace thirteen years, and 
filled other offices with credit and ability. He was 
always a Democrat, and the iiiemli, rs i>f tliat part}' 
looked to him for couusrl and :i~-isi;inri'. lie was 
equally at home in social ciiclcs. and was passion- 
ately fond of un\>\r. wliiir liis line tc]i,)i- voic- was 
listened U> willi plraMiiv as lie sanu" tlic i-liurcii 
hymns and tunes wliicli he so dearly loved. His 



death, which occurred April 11, 1885, was felt as a 
personal loss bj' everyone in the community, where 
he had so long made his home and to whose inter- 
ests he had ever been devoted. All the business 
houses in the town were closed, and every possible 
mark of respect was shown to his memory. At the 
time of his death his wife had been dead many 
years, her death occurring Feb. 19, 1852. To them 
were born six children, four of whom are now liv- 
ing, namel}': Wraj' T., of Minden, Neb.; Eugene 
W. and Josephine E., residents of Iowa, and James 
B. He was married the second time, to Sarah A. 
Dillon, and had three children : Heniy; Mar}', the 
wife of M. F. Tuck, and Waldo, all living. 

James B. Thorn grew to manhood in his native 
town, and there at the district school, and later in 
attendance at a select school in the village of Pitts- 
ford, received a substantial education, which was 
further supplemented by a year at Hillsdale Col- 
lege. At the age of eighteen he commenced teach- 
ing, and taught three terms of winter school in the 
village of Pittsford, and also taught three terms of 
district school. When school was not in session 
he was engaged as a clerk in a Pittsford store. On 
the 27th of August, 1871, the marriage of Mr. 
Thorn with Miss Ellen C. Kilborn took place. She 
was born in Concord Township, Jackson Co., Mich., 
and is the daughter of Luther C. and Chloe P. 
(Thayer) Kilborn, natives of Vermont. They came 
to Michigan in 1845, where Mr. Kilborn rented land 
in Jackson County for a few years, and in 1849 he 
bought a farm in Concord Township, and there re- 
sided until 185'.), when he sold airl reino\cd to 
Pittsford. 

After marriage our subject taught school in Pitts- 
ford Township for one term, and then came with 
his wife to make his home in Hudson. He bought 
an insurance agency, and in June ot that year en- 
tered the bank of Boies, Rude & Co., as book- 
keeper, and retained that position in the bank for 
thirteen years, gaining the full confidence and trust 
of his employers by his faithful devotion to their 
interests. During that time he also retained his 
insurance business, finally disposing of it in Janu- 
ary, 1886. He then visited Nebraska and Iowa to 
see his sister and brothers, remaining in those 
States for six months, and then returned to Hud- 



•►:ll-4» 



4 



^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



907 



son. On the 22d of M:iy, 1887, he commenced his 
service as Postmaster, and in the diseiiarge of tiic 
duties of that office lias iiivcii L;iMicr;il satisfMclion 
t<:) the people of this comniuiiil\ . 

Mr. Thorn is one of the Icadiiii;- DeiuocraLs of 
the phice, yet notwithstanding' tiiat this is a tnwn 
with a large Repuliiican majority, he stands s<> iiigii 
in tlie re-ard of his fcilnw-citizcns as a man n[ nliil- 
ily and niid..ul)l('<l integrity. Hint he lias Ijcm ic- 
pi'atcdly clc-ted lo ollirr withonl, r.ganl t.i his 
political (■unnccticns. IK- was elected Township 

position. lie was mad.' .-i m( inlici- of the Sehool 
Board in ISSi , sci-ving conlinnonsly since, and is 
now serving his third year as President of the 
bo.-ird. of which he was also for three yeais Tivas- 
lu-er. S(,cia,lly he belongs to the Lenandalc Lodge 
No. C;!, K. of P. .Mr. Thorn and his cstimalile 
wife are mendjers of the IJaptist Society. 



ATkICK IIOC.VN. The well-appoinle; 



Iv local I 



^\\J) — - --.>-"ve .aces 

'JsJj?^ on section b, in Medina Townshij), came 
||\ into the possession of the sidiject of this 
sketch in the spring of 1854, although he did not 
commence its improvement nntil some time later. 
He had varicmsdillienlties to contend with, ani<,ng 
them being the lack of ready cash, which he was 
trying to .acciimnlatc as well as he could by honest 
labor in the fields of other men, until he could alford 
to go to work on his o\vn land. The property at 
the time bore small eomparison with its preseni ap- 
pearance, having been but indilfer(!iitl3- cultivated, 
,<tnd little attempt made at other imi)roveinents. A 
resolute will and strong liaiids, however, hav(^ ef- 
fected a fine transformation, and we have now the 
picture of a comfortable lioniestead, \vitli the pleas- 
ant suggestion of something laid by lor;i rainy day. 
Mr. Hogan is a gentleman C(jnsideialily ad winced 
in life, having been born May li!, 1.sl>.1. in ('oiint\- 
Clare, Ireland, which was .also the biitJiplaee and 
life-long home of his iiarents, Michael ami ( atli- 
erine (Grifflu) Hogan, who lived on the small farm 
which h.ad descended to the father of our subject 



rom his father befo 



Mid 



H< 



man of considerable importance in his county, hold- 
ing tile position of Roadinaster under the (;ov(>rii- 
iiienL His duties were to maintain an oversight 

over 11,,. public hi-liw;iys of his e ,ty, an.l see 

that they were kept in good repair, lie died in 
Ireland in 1873, a year after the mother had p.-issi^I 
avv.ay. 'I'lie parental family consisted ol' nine 

whom came- lo the I ■nitcvl Stale- assisted by their 
brother Patrick. His sister Kale is in St. Louis, 
Mo.; Bridget is living in Medina Township, and 
his brother John is in Adams Township, Hillsdale 
County. 

Patrick Hog.aii was the eldest child of his par- 
ents, and in common witli his brothers and sisters, 
received a cominon-school education. \\ hen old 
enough to be of service he occupied liiniself on the 
farm of his father, and assisted the lall.-r in his .lii- 
ties along the public highways, which in reality 
^yielded a better income than the farm. Patrick, 
however, -was not satisfied with the prospect held 
out either on the ro.ad or the farm, and at an 
early age began to realize the fact that he must seek 
some other country for the fnlHIlmeut of the .ambi- 
tions which early began to swell in his breast. He 
east a longing eye acro.ss the sea .and di'termiiieil to 
seek his fortune in the New World. 

In.lniic. I Sp), Patrick Hogan bid adi.ai lo the home 
of his .■hildhooil ami his old friends, and boarded a 
.sailing-vessel at Calway. IVom which seven weeks 
later he stepped up.m American s.,il in Hie city of 

New York. There he soon met .- Id-l iiii.. friend. 

Prank Fitzpatrick, whom he had not seen bir many 
years, and they had a joyful time recalling their 
boyhood days and recounting their plans lor the 
future. Mv. Hogan was pleased at oiua- with the 
prospect before him, and procee(|ed up the ln>a,nli- 
fnl Hudson River to .VIbaiiy, wlaac he had other 
fri(aidsand cousins, then after visiting .aiiiong these 
returned to Bulfalo, and began to proceed with the 
more serious business of life. Making his way to 
Cattaraugus County, N. Y., he visited for a brief 

ciiiity hiied out on a farm for a year at §1(1 a, 
month, out of which during the year he sent §25 to 
his mother in the old country. Tiie ne.xt year his 
wages were increased, and on account of his hoii- 



••► 






LENAWEE COUNTY. 



esty and industry he secured the friendship of all 
who knew him. Each year found him making head- 
way, and he at length was given the position of 
overseer of a large farm in Cattaraugus County. In 
the meantime he had been steadily sending remit- 
tances to his mother and other members of his fam- 
ily in Ireland, and in a short time was^joined here 
by his brothers and sisters. 

Mr. Hogan left New York State for this county 
in 1854, and continued to work as a farm laborer 
several years. Shortly after his arrival he purchased 
thirty acres of land which he sold three or four 
years later. He first operated for himself on rented 
land three years, and then purchased the property 
which he now owns and occupies. This was but a 
timber tract, upon which he struck the first blow 
with the as in the spring of 1861, while he now has 
nearly the whole of it cleared and supplied with 
good buildings. In the erection of these his own 
handiwork has been largely emploj'ed, as he is a 
mechanic of considerable natural genius. The prem- 
ises present the picture of comfort and good order, 
and are the suitable reward of the man who would 
scorn to hold property by any other than honest 

Our .subject, while a resident of New York State, 
made the ac(iuaintance of Miss Ellen Reynolds, of 
Cattaraugus County, who was born in 1824, and to 
whom he was married on the 9th of April, 1853. 
JNIrs. Hogan's parents were natives of County Clare, 
Ireland. Mr. and Mrs. Hogan are the parents of 
four children: their eldest daughter, Bridget, is tiie 
wife of Michael Malouey, of Defiance, Ohi(r, fore- 
man of a carriage manufactory there; John married 
J\liss Katie, daughter of John W. Kelly, of Me- 
dina, and in the spring of 1886 removed to Kansas, 
but not liking that section of country they returned 
to Medina, and he is now engaged in farming; he 
is the father of two children — Laura and Jenny. 
Miss Katie Hogan is at home with her father. Mrs. 
Ellen Ilogan died July .'lO, lis(;2, at the .age of 
thirty-eight years. The present wife oi our sul)- 
ject was formerly Miss Ann Branagan, to whom lie 
was married in the winter of 1863. 

Mr. Hogan votes the straight Democratic ticket, 
and is strongly in favor of temperance, although like- 
wise in favor of personal liberty. He has been 



School Director six years, Commissioner of High- 
ways, and administrator of estates, and once ran 
for Supervisor, when the Republican majoritj- in 
the township was 1G2, and came within seven votes 
of being elected. He and his family are members 
and regular attendants of the Ciiurcli of tlie Sacred 
Heart at Hudson. 



\Ti__ KNRV BRAZEE, of Adrian To\vuslii|), oc- 
l¥)ii cupies the old liomestead of his father, 
1^^ which the latter commenced building up in 
(jM) the pioneer days. It comprises 100 acres 
of good land, and is provided with all the com- 
forts and conveniences of a modern country estate, 
well stocked with good grades of the domestic 
animals, and supplied with all the necessary ma- 
chinery for carrying on agriculture after the most 
approved methods. Besides this property Mr. 
Brazee has 105 acres of land in AVayne County, 
wliich is operated by a tenant. He is in all respects 
comfortably settled in life, with the prospects of 
a competency for his old .age. 

Mr. Brazee was born in New York, May 21, 
1833, and started out in life oii his own account 
when a j'outh of sixteen, working as a farm laborer 
Ity the day or month. Some years later he was 
the owner of a little farm in Barry County, tliis 
State, upon which he settled with his young wife, 
having been married to Miss Maria McConnel 
on the olst of December, 1801. Mrs. Brazee is 
the daughter (jf Matthew B. McConnel, a sketch 
of whom will be found elsewhere in this Album. 
The young people continued on their first fjirm for 
a period of twenty years, and then, our subject 
coming to this county, located in Adrian Township 
uiK>n a tract of forty-flve acres, which had fallen to 
him in the apportionment made by the father to the 
sons. This had not been thoroughly cultivated, but 
Mr. Brazee made improvements enough to sell it to 
good advantage, then going into Wayne County, 
he piu-chased the property which he now owns. Our 
subject has been intimately acquainted with hard 
work, and from a boy was always willing to put his 
shoulder to the wheel, whether for himself, or for 
his father's family. In li is youth he often worked 

•►d 



LENAWEK COUNTY. 



for thirty-seven and ono-hnlf cents per dny, nt out- 
tino- cord wood, and other lalior wheio the ex<'rci^(" 
of eoiisiilerablo inus(d(Mvas rcciuircd. II, ■ w.-is I'ml- 
iniate in possessing a good constiUitioii. :iinl iindcM' 
tliat excellent discipline his sineu> witc ilr\c>l(i|ic'd, 
together with the principles of lioiinr and lioncsly, 
which have made him in every sense df tlic woril ;i, 
man among men. lie meddles little with pcilitus, 
and has little faith in the disinterest('(|ness,,f imhlic 
ollicials. 

Wore we to close np this liiogi'a|)liy uitliout tlie 
mention of those tn whom onr sniijeet, owes his 
origin, it would Lean .mii-si.in whiel, wuuld senreely 
be'Ovorlooked hy the ..Id ie>idents of Lenawee 
County, and many of their deseendauts. .lohu 
Brazee, the father of Henry, was born in the :\Io- 
hawk Valley, N. Y., March 2(1, IsOd, and was the 
son of John and Catharine Brazee, who subse- 
rpiently removed to Ontario County, of which they 
were among the flrst settlers. He was reared to 
farming pursuits, and upon reacliing manhood, be- 
came possessor of a farm in I'errinton, that county, 
where he resided until c<miing to Michigan, in the 
fall of 1825. Having been familiar with life in the 
wilderness of AVestern New York, he was eminently 
fitted for the labors which lay before him in what 
was then a Territory. He purchased a quarter sec- 
tion of land in Adrian Township and located from 
the Ctovernment forty acres adjoining on section 
18. Much of this was covered with heavy timber, 
from which he cleared over 100 acres, put nj) good 
buildings, and was spared many years to enjoy the 
reward of his industry. He was a resident of 
Adiian Township for a peiiod of forty-four years, 
during which time he acquitted himself as one of 
the most valued members of the community, fore- 
most in every good work, and the substantial en- 
courager of every enterprise calculated for the 
building up of his adopted township, and tlie prog- 
ress of its people. 

John Brazee, before leaving Ontnrio County, N. 
Y., was united in marriage with Miss Hannah, 
daughter of Francis and Malana Sayles, who was 
born in the same locality, and in the same year as 
her husband, on the 25th of July. She accompan- 
ied her husband to this count}', and .-ifter l)eeomiug 
the mother of nine children, departed this life at 



Adrian, in March, 1878; John Brazee died Fe 
ISTil. Mrs. Bra/.ee traced her nueestors ba 
Ilollan.l and ( JerniMuv. »l,iie the I'.raz.'e famil 



il. tl 



iti\ 



country being Joini llra/ee. wlio came from !• 
with Gen. LaFay'tt" during the progress ( 
Revoluti.mary War. 

Mr. ■■md Mrs. Heniy I'.razee are the paivi 
seven <:hildren. Tlieir eldc^st daughter, Ida 
well-educated young lady, is teaching school 
mer is learning the trade of a miller in Sprins 
Mark R. continues witli his parents; Euuna is 
pleting her studies in tlie Knisiu \alley Seui 
while Bertha, Ella and M.-md CMUtinne uud. 
same r()cif. 



-^^^- 




LANSON BANCS, who was one of t.lie 
settlers of Lenawee Count}', where 
1 foi' sixty 3'cars, an honored and 
.^spected citizen, was born in Stamford, 
Delaware Co., N. Y., Sept. 25, IHIII. He was tlu> 
son of Joseph Bangs, wliu was born in the same 
State, April 25, 1777, and died in Tecumsch, this 
county, Jan. 7, is is. .Ic^eph Bangs married IIul- 
dah, daughter of Isaac and Maiy Silliman, of Dela- 
ware County. N. Y., by whom he h.ad eight chil- 
dren, Alanson being the eldest. 

Alanson Bangs lived at home imtil he was about 
twenty-one years of age, and w;is brought up a far- 
mer, and inured to hard labor, as his parents were 
poor, and he, being the eldest of the family, took 
the heaviest of the work. 

Mr. Bangs was married just after he was twenty- 
three, and the following spring, accompanied by 
his young wife, and with about 1100 in money, he 
started for Michigan, arriving in Tccumseh in 1825, 
after a six-weeks journey. He came expecting to 
settle on land tliat his father had taken up on sec- 
tion 32, but it was edvcrod with heav}' timber, and 
he did not like it. He soon afterward purchased 
forty acres on section L in Raisin Township, and 
after p.aying for this land he had only §10 left. 
He lived on his first purchase for al)out seven years, 
and then traded it for eighty acres on the same sec- 
tion, where he lived as long as he followed farming. 



r 



•►Hl^^^ 



910 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



He after ward purehased 100 aci-es on section o. 
milking a farm of 240 acres of prime -farming land. 
He was a tliorougii and successful farmer, an enter- 
prising, hunorable citizen, and a good neighbor. 
He was one of the earliest settlers of Lenawee 
County, coming the second year after the fii-st 
white settlement was made. He saw it in its native 
wildness, and contributed as largely as any other 
man to rescue it from that state, and develop its 
pi-esent high condition of cultivation and prosper- 
ity. In his haliits he was quiet, unobtrusive, indus- 
trious and unostentatious; in his manners he was 
courteous, friendly and kind, but difHdent and re- 
tiring. His affections were strong, and his friend- 
ships ardent, and he loved his family with a fer- 
vency of affection rarely equaled. He was a de- 
vout Cliristian, though his extreme timidity of 
spirit deterred him from ever uniting with the visi- 
ble church, or publicly identifying himself witli its 
enterprises. 

December 1."), lS-24, Mr. Bangs wa^ married to 
Mary, daughter of Uriyon and Jane Mackey, and 
tliey became the parents of eight children, as fol- 
lows: Joseph was born Nov. 16, 1827, and died Jan. 
18, 1832; Betsey Jane was born Oct. 11, 1829. and 
married George W. Haight, of Jackson, IMicii. ; 
Uriyon F. was born Jan. 20, 1831, and died Aug. 
.s, 1842; Huldah M. was born Aug. 31, 1834, and 
married Edward L. Russell, of Raisin Township; 
Hannah J. was bjrn May 3, 1836, and died March 
12, 1837; Alanson B. was born Oct. 23, 1838, and 
is a farmer of Raisin Township ; John F. was born 
May 4, 1840, and died Aug. 8, 1842; Mary Ellen 
was born Nov. 14. 1843, and died Oct. 27, ISM; 
Mrs. INIary Bangs was born in Stamford, Delaware 
Co., N. Y., Sept. 20. 1801, and is still living, mak- 
ing her home at tiie residence of her son, Alanson B., 
of Raisin Township. Her parents were farmers of 
Stamford, and were early settlers of Delaware 
County, N. Y. Her mother died in Stamford, in 
1811, and her father afterward married Sarah Jen- 
kins, and came to Micliigan in 1S.58, where he died 
in Raisin Townshij). in 1873, in tiie ninetieth year 
of his age. 

On the .Tth of February. 1873, Alanson Bangs, 
the subject of this sketch, departed this life, after 
being a resident of tiiis State for almost half a cen- 






tury, and during that long period of citizenship he 
held the esteem and respect of all who knew him. 
He bore a heroic part in making of the wilderness 
of Michigan one of the finest cultivated States in 
the Union. He has an enviable place in the mem- 
ory of all who look back with reverence to the |)io- 
neer settlers of Michio-an. 



^ B. BANfiS is a successful general fai-mer, 
and pleasantly located on section 4, Raisin 
Townsliip, where he owns 120 acres of 
land, under a good state of cultivation, 
well improved in the way oi buildings, orchards, 
fences and ditches, and well stocked with the 
various kinds of domestic animals. Our subject is 
a native of Raisin Township, where he was born on 
the old family homestead, on the 23d of October, 
I 838, and near which he has since resided. 

The father of our subject, Alanson Bangs, was 
one of the first settlers in the State of Michigan, 
his advent into Lenawee County having occurred 
in 1825, sis weeks being required to make the 
journey from Delaware County, N. Y., to Tecum- 
seh. At tiie time tl\e father came to Michigan, 
Monroe was the nearest town, to which it required 
five days to go and come, for the purpose of selling 
the produce of the farm, and to pm-chase food 
necessary for the sustenance of life; tlie nearest 
mill was also located at that point. He had all 
the experiences known to pioneer life. Tlie Bangs 
family were among the ver3^ first settlers of Raisin 
Township, and they were the very first in develop- 
ing and opening the wilderness in this part of the 
county. The father made his home upon the farm 
in this township until he died, on the nth day of 
February, 1873. He was a good man, and devoted 
his time to hard work, such as fell to the lot of 
those who opened up this country. The mother, 
who survived her husband, makes her home with 
her son, the subject of our sketch. 

Mr. Bangs, during his youth, devoted his time 
to work upon his father's farm, and remained with 
his parents until he reached his majority. On tiie 
9th of May. 1866, in Tecumseh, he was married to 
Miss Almeda M. CoUer, a native of Raisin Town- 



•►-f^ 



••► 



ship, who was reared in Tciui 
fhild ofThomas CoIUt. wli., . 

to Michigan ^ c linn' in 

three years after tlir liiitli • 
maiden name of Mrs. lianas' 
Hendershott. After thi' (l<'atl 
became the wife uf Sanmel 
in which place they at pre-rnt 
was reared liy iiei- limther and 
cation in the conunon scIkxjIs, 
two children, named Montclh 
After their marriage M 
h)cated on the farm on wiiidi 
began their chosen worl< in 



I.KNAWEE COUNTY. 



■ f .Mrs. 



r.anus. 

iictiuT was Mar. 

1 of h.T husbaml 

Henry, of Te.-nn 
resi.l.-. Mrs. i! 

received a -ood 
She is the niolhi 
and Artluir A. 

■. and Mrs. h 



1 



resided upon this place continuously since, and li.n 
met with excellent success in all their nndertakin 
Their home is a pleasant one, and has cheerfvd a 
comfortable surroundings. Mr. Bangs has i 
allied himself to either of the old political parti 
but votes and acts with that party which nio.st ( 
plicitly declares itself in favor of temperance a 
Prohibition principles. lie is a man strong in 
convictions, and vigorous in the advoe.-icy of a 
cause he espouses. 

-^ o^o-f^)-^®-"*- <-— 

f^/ LBA .T. CASI-:. Although e p:irativcl.' 

@/lII | young man, this gentleiiiun t.-d<es ra 

/// i- among the most sne<-essful farlners a 
i^J stock-raisers in this .section of the conn 

He now owns and occupies the homestead loeati'd 
his father on section 24, Cambridge To«nsh 
Alba J. Case is the son of Galusha and Susan 
(Bedell) Ca.se, and was born in Winds., r, Ashtabi 
C:o.. Ohio, Nov. 13, 1S5I. His falliev was a nati 
of Connecticut, the son of Aaron Case, who wa 
farmer in that State, where he lixcl some yea 
From there he removed tf) Ashtabula County, Oh 
and twentj' years later came to C.-unbridge Tov 
ship, this county, where he.lir.l in ls70, at the n 
of eighty-two years.- Early in lit.' biMnlered int 
matrimonial alliance with .Miss Roberts, .-i n.ilivc 
Connecticut, but who die.I bcfi>i-e be rcniove.l fr. 
that State, at the age of thiily-live. 

f4alusha Case, the father ..f our subject, was I 
eldest son of Aaron Case, ami reside. I .-U home w 



ts until h 


^ ha.l atta 


ined the age of seveu- 


>. At t 


l.'it time, 


in cmpany with his 


lennan. 


lie\ sl.-n-t 


cd out to s.M'k their 


valkiuL; a 


1 111,' wa\ 


from their li..in,' in 


1 of SI<-:h 


V ll:iliit,s- 


• to Ashtaiuda County. 


■re they 1 


>.aterl in 


the woods, seeking to 


tor thci 


i-clv<'s Ik 


mes in the primal wil- 


Afterh.' 
Connect 
wbi.'b he 


li;i.isl;ni. 
.•ui,, pur.- 

phM.Ml t 

,.| MM..rs. 


!.• family, his f.-illicr. 



t ^ np Kill 

the family ~ 
sha went I.. T. 
years, part .if 



led 



lilK- 



surveying i)arty vn- 
he (Government. lie 
afterwar.l took up s.une land in T.-.\a~ with lli.' in- 
tention of remaining there, but becoming sick, lie 
returned to Ohio and settled down with the rest of 
the family. About this time he married Susan 
Adeline Bedell, of Ashtabula County, who had come 
to Ohio from I'tii-a, N. V., the place of her birth, 
with her parents, \\'illia,ni .and Catherine (Leppcr) 
Bedell, in KS:!(i; siie w.-is born .June S, 1821. Iler 
father settled in Ashtabula County, Ohio, in an 
early day, where Ik^ and his wife both coniijletcd 
their lives of usefulness. 

During the m.,nth ..f Novend)er, ISCC. Calu.sha 
Case removeil t.. Michigan with his family, pur- 
chasing a faiin in Caudiridge and Franklin T(iwn- 
ships, of .\. Whrcd.-r. Here he remained improv- 
ing hi> l>laee until ISSl. when he remove.l to 1 )e- 
troit, an. 1 there. .Innc' 2.S. ISSC, passed to his re- 
war.l. lie was b.,rn Nov. I'.l, KS17, near Hartford, 
C.>nn.. .'lu.l w;is the father .>f the following-named 
ehil.lren: Dr. William N.. :i resident of Marengo, 
Calh.iun C.Minty, this StaU'; iMartiu E., a farmer 
resi.ling in Franklin T..wuship; Alba. I.: Ovid M., 
a itrominent lawyer of Detroit, who represented his 
(Ikstriet in that city three terms in the State Legis- 
lature, and died while a member of that body: Le- 
land. a resilient .if Detroit, a teacher and stenog- 
rapher, ami Catherine, residing with her mother in 
Detroit. Galusha Case, like all those hardy New 
Englanders, .sons of stern Puritan forefathers, was 
imbued with energy and wisdom, which he exerted 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



*^i 



for the benefit of himself and tliatof the conimunity 
in which he lived and died, regretted by all with 
whom in the course of a busy life he had come in 
contact. He was a strong adherent of Democratic 
principles, and quite active in local politics. 

Alba J. Case received an excellent education, 
finishing at Adrian, Mich. Returning to his father's 
house he there made his home until April 7, 1874, 
when he was united in marriage with Ella J. Loomis, 
and they became the parents of one child, Guy L. 
Mrs. Case is the daughter of Sereno and Ann A. 
(Noble) Loomis, both of whom are still living in 
Windsor, Ashtabula Co., Ohio. Mr. Loomis was a 
native of that county, and was bora April 24, 1821, 
while his wife was boru in Vermont, July 11, 1828, 
whence she had come when seven years of age to 
Ohio, where she grew to womanhood. Mr. and 
Mrs. Loomis .are the parents of five children, as 
follows: Ella J., the wife of our subject, who was 
born in Windsor, Ohio, May 9, 1853; Elwin, Alice. 
Allison and Harriet. 

Alba J. Case is singularly modest and retiring in 
disposition, genial in address, generous to a fault, 
and his friends are as numerous as his acquaintances. 
He is a man of decided ability, and of more than 
average education, and although a young man, is 
decidedl}- popular with his neighbors. In social 
life he is very entertaining and pleasant, and is well 
calculated to aid in the upbuilding of the progres- 
sive county of Lenawee. 



^j^^ AMUEL HOPKINS. This gentleman, one 
^^^^ of the honored citizens of Ogden Town- 
tt\/_Jj) ship, descends from nn illustrious family, 
the original settlers of that name coming 
to America in the Mayflower, and one of them, 
Stephen Hopkins, whose name is written in zig- 
zag letters, indicating the trembling hand of age, 
was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, 
that magnificent document which pledged the lives 
and sjicred honor of our forefathers to the cause 
of liberty and freedom. The names of these men, 
even the most humlilo of them, will go down the 
centuries as honored and revered. The subject of 



this sketch, descending from such stock, it is little 
wonder that of the Michigan pioneers he has been 
rated among the most energetic and successful. 
He being a Virginian and his wife a Marjdander, 
the3' have given to the world a vigorous and hardy 
famil}' of children, who are magnificent specimens 
of man and womanhood, and upon whom the rights 
of citizenship rest creditablj'. 

JMi. Hopkins, whose farm i.s located on section 
14, Ogden Township, was born in Preston Count}-, 
Va., on the 26th of June, 1818. His father, Levi 
Hopkins, was born in Great Barrington, Mass., in 
1750, and his grandfather. Rev. Samuel Hopkins, 
was a noted preacher in Colonial times. The 
great-grandfather was a cousin of Stephen Hopkins, 
the signer of the Declaration of Independence. 
The father was educated for the ministry, but 
failing health compelled him to turn his attention 
to other pursuits, and he adopted farming as his 
occupation. He did not regain his health, and by 
the advice of his physicians, in 1795 he emigrated 
to Virginia, and bought land in Preston County, 
where he resided until his death. His wife, the 
mother of the subject of this sketch, who in her 
girlhood was Elizabeth Yautz, was born in Hagers- 
town, Md. 

Samuel Hopkins was reared to manhood in Vir- 
ginia, where he was married and resided until 
1855, when with his wife, eight children, and his 
mother, he started with three horses and a wagon 
for Michigan, and after seventeen days' travel 
landed in Lenawee County. After a few days de- 
voted to prospecting and examining the surround- 
ing country, he purchased 120 acres of land, which 
included his present farm, and paid therefor $1,050. 
There were but ten acres of this land cleared, and 
the only habitation was a rude log cabin, but he 
now has eighty acres under an excellent state of 
cultivation, with a full complement of all the vari- 
ous farm buildings. It is only those who have set- 
tled in the wilderness and cleared up a farm that 
can realize and appreciate tlie labor and unremit- 
ting toil required. 

On the 8th of Jul}-, 18.38, Mr. Hopkins was mar- 
ried to Miss Susannah Loar, who was born in Alle- 
ghany County, Md., on the 22d of April, 1819, 
and for nearly fifty years this couple have lived 






-i 



-4^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



-•►- 
913 



U 



happily toi^i't her. .■in. 1 nuw nijov cxccllrut health. 
with the possibility »( \\\\u;j; many \eai> to <-()ine. 
To them have been born eleven eiiildren, whose 
record is as follows: Mary !,. was buin in Alary- 
lanrl, and married W. R. Fisher: David H. lives in 
Bear Lake, Manistee Co., Mich. ; Margaret A. E. 
married Ilenrj' F. Dawson, and lives at Ogden Sta- 
tion; George W. lives .it Re.ir Lalie; Lovini.a E. 
lives with her parents: \'iigiiii:i ('. married Charles 
Blake, and lives in ()gd(Mi Township; Martha E. 
married John Collons, and lives in Bear Lake; Mis- 
souri S. married Enos T. Huey, and lives in Ogden 
Tow'nship; William lives at Bear Lake; Rosalinda 
,T. married H. A. Hoag, and lives in TecMimseh, this 
county, and J. Wesley Milton lives in Arkan.sas. 

Mrs. Hopkins' father, George Loar, was born in 
Alleghany County. Md., and her grandfather, Jacob 
Loar, was a farmer, and spent the last d.ays of his 
life in the same county. Her father was a farmer 
by occupation and died in Alleghany County. Mrs. 
Hopkins' mother, Margaret Rhinehart, was born in 
Alleghany County, Md., and w.as a daughter of 
George Rhinehart, a native of tlie .same county, and 
a daughter of Thomas Rhinehart, ;i njitive of Ger- 
many. 

The subject of this sketch and liis wife are not 
only among the oldest people, l)ut among the oldest 
residents of this section of Michigan. They have 
been here so long that their names are almost house- 
hold words within many miles of their residence, 
and they are always referred to in terms of re- 
spect and esteem. It is a pleasure to the pub- 
lishers of this work to give tliem ;i pioiniiient place 
in its pages. 



IhA. ^^^' ^^^^^^^ HAYWARD, one of the pio- 
il% '"'''' ™o'''^®''* 0*^ Seneca Townsliip, and 
I 11) widow of the late Micajah Hayward, is the 
f daughter of Benjamin and Betsey (Wood- 

ard) Sanger. Her parents were natives of Coii- 
nectieut, whence they removed in their youth to 
the vicinity of Canandaigua, Ontario Co., X. V., 
where the mother died in middle life, aged foity- 
two years. Mr. Sanger subsequently came to the 
West and settled iu Seneca Township, this county, 



in July. is:'>;>. He iiKule liie journey liy l;ike from 
Buffalo t<i Detroit, and thence liy WAinni to his 
destination. His daughter Phila walked nearly all 
the way from Detroit to Tecumseh, as the wagons 
were heavily loaded. 

Benjamin Sanger took up eij^hty :icres of Gov- 
ei'ument land, upon whieli be built a log liouse, and 
proceeded to fell the trees .-ind ])repare the soil for 
cultivation. Here lie lived and laboi'ed sixteen 
years and died at the age of sixty-six, about 1849; 
the mother died about 182S. They were the 
parents of nine children, of whom Phila, the 
youngest, was born in Canandaigua, N. Y., Sept. 3, 
1822. and was eleven years old when the family 
left the Empire State for the Territory of Michigan. 
She became familiar with the toils and hardships of 
life in a new settlement, and in the school of expe- 
rience developed into a sensible j'oung woman, 
blessed with good health and courageous to meet 
the duties of the future. .She continued under the 
parental roof until sixteen ye.ars of age, and May 
12, 1839, was married to Micajah Hayward, the 
wedding taking place at the residence of the bride's 
parents, and witnessed by a number of their friends 
and acquaintances. 

Mr. Hayward was a native of Farmington, N. Y., 
and was born Jan. 1 «, D^IG. His i)arents, Henry 
and Elizabeth (Willitts) Hayward, were natives 
respectively of Massachusetts and New Jersey, 
whence they removed witli their parents to Ontario 
County, N. Y., and were subsequently married. 
The Hajnvards came to Michigan in 1833 and 
located in Seneca Township, where Henry Hayward 
departed this life at the age of sixty-four years, 
and his wife, Elizabeth, Aug. 1 3, 1 849, aged sixty- 
six years. Micajah was the seventh of their nine 
children, and was reareil to farming pursuits, which 
he followed all his life. At the time of his de;ith 
he was the owner of over IIOO acres of land, all iu 
Seneca Township. In connection with his farming 
he had built two sawmills, a gristmill and a chee.se 
factory, which he operated successfully. He died 
at his home in Seneca Township, April 10, 1887. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Hayward there were born five 
children, namely: Betsey, Roswell James, Judith 
P., Effle J. and OUie Ann. Betsey is the wife of 
Silas W. Morris, of Seneca Township, and the 



•>-ih 



■•►Hl-^ 



^\f 



♦-Hh 



oil 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



mother of seven children — Roswell James, Helen, 
Alta D., Wilford C, Clifford M., Clara and Ada P. 
Roswell J. married Miss Eva Potter, and is farming 
in Seneca Township; they have two children — 
Harry P. and Micajah. Judith P. married John 
Nelson, who is engaged as Station Agent and farmer 
at Seneca Station, and has four children — Janette, 
Louise, Johnny M. and Benjamin: Effie J. is the 
wife of William Wiley and the mother of two chil- 
dren — Floyd A. and David R. ; Olive Ann was 
married to Jonathan Saulsbury, and they live on 
the old homestead. 

Mrs. Hayward has lived to see many ciianges, 
and often recalls many interesting incidents of the 
early times whieii the people of to-day know little 
about by experience, at least. She is now sixty -six 
years old, but active and intelligent, beloved by 
her children and friends, and passing down the hill 
of life in the peace and comfort to which she is so 
amply entitled. 



OREN E. GREEN, a prosperous farmer on 
section 25, Medina Township, is the eldest 
son of the well-lcnown pioneer, Noah K. 
Green. In writing biographies of prominent men 
and pioneers of Lenawee County, a link would be 
lost and the chain broken were we to omit a sketch 
of Noah K. Green. He dates the origin of his 
family back to Henry Green, who with his wife and 
three brothers came to America from Greenwich, 
England, in 1629, in one of the eleven vessels 
whose passengers founded Salem Colony in Massa- 
chusetts. 

The name of this family was formerly written 
" Greene," but tiie final " e "' has been dropped by 
most members of the family since the beginning of 
the present century. Henry and his wife were the 
parents of eleven children, among whom was Henry, 
Jr., the second son, who married Miss Juda Gile, 
by whom he had eight children, one of these being 
Hczekiah, the grandfather of Noah K. Hezekiah 
Green was born in Windham County, Conn., Nov. 
12, 1733, his parents having removed from the Bay 
State to Connecticut a number of years before. 

Hezekiah Gi'cen married Alice Leavens, of Wind- 



ham Count}', in 17;');"), and they had eight children. 
He continued to work as a farmer in that county 
until 1780, when with his family he removed to 
Berkshire County, Mass., where his wife died in 
1796. He survived her thirty years, his death also 
taking place in Berkshire County, Mass., after he 
had reached the advanced age of ninety-two years. 
He was a cousin of Gen. Nathaniel Green of Revo- 
lutionary fame, and a personal friend of Washing- 
ton. Among his sons was Noah, Sr., who was born 
in Windham County, Conn., Aug. 20, 1761. The 
boyhood of the latter was spent on his father's 
farm, but when called upon to defend the liberty of 
his conntrjs he cheerfully went forward to assist in 
swelling the ranks of American si)ldiers, and fought 
all through the Revolutionary War. After the 
war he removed with his parents to Berkshire 
County, Mass., where he became prominent in 
political affairs and held various important offices. 
In 1791 he married Miss Rebecca Converse, who 
was born in Windham County, Conn., in 1769, and 
died in 1803. They had one son, Oren, who grew 
to manhood, and met his death on the ill-fated 
steamer " Erie," which was destroyed by Are about 
1841. In 1804, Noah Green, Sr., married his 
second wife. Miss Sarah Davis, of Windham County, 
who became the mother of Noah K., the father of 
our subject, and died in 1815. Noah, Sr., was sub- 
sequently married in 1817, to a third wife. Miss 
Betsey Harwood, of Hampshire Count3^ Noah 
Green, Sr., by his three wives became the father of 
fourteen children, five of whom lived to mature 
years. The result of the last marriage was the 
birth of three children, one of whom survives, 
Harriet, now Mrs. Wai'ren, who resides in Wauwa- 
tosa. Wis. 

Noah K. Green, the father of our subject, was 
born in Berkshire County, Mass., Dec. 24, 1 808. 
He passed his early years amid the rugged hills of 
that county and received a fair education in the 
common schools. He was also under careful 
parental training, and upon reaching manhood was 
well fitted to occupy an important i>osition among 
his fellowmen. Upon reaching maturity he chose 
for his wife a maiden of his own county. Miss 
Esther E. Baldwin, and they left New England 
shortly afterward, casting their lot with the pio- 



•►^lh-4^ 



M^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



915 



•►HI-*- 



iieers of Micliigiin Territory. Mr. (Jroen took up :i 
tract of land in Metlina Townsiiip, aufl in connec- 
tion witii the irai)roveniei)t and cultivation of tliis, 
interested himself in tlie welfare of the [x-oiile 
around him, and was acknowledged by his com- 
munity as a man eminently fitted to look after 
their interests. He represented the t<twnshi[) in the 
County Board of Supervisors for a i)eriod of four- 
teen years, and in 1850 was eltH:ted to repi-esent 
the county in the Legislature, l)eing a member of 
that body until 18G3. During his services in the 
(leiieral Assembly he introduced man}' important 
measures for which his name will be held in grate- 
ful remembrance. During the dark days of the 
Rebellion he stood steadfastly by the cause of the 
Union, and in all the relations of life, whether pub- 
lic or private, was ever recognized as the honest 
man, the liberal-minded citizen and the reliable 
friend. His death, which occurred on the 8tii of 
May, 18,S(;, was mourned as .-in irretrievable loss 
to Lenawee County, whose iutei'ests lie had held 
first and foremost for a period of over fifty years. 

The children of Noah K. and Esther E. (Baldwin) 
Green, four in number, and all sons, were named 
respectively, Oren E., Noah T., (ieorge 1). and 
Henry E. Their mother was liorn in Berkshire 
County, Mass., Aug. 14, 1807, and is still living, 
making her home with her son, our subject, at the 
old homestead. She was one of the first white 
women who came to Medina Township, and cheer- 
fully took up her home in the wilderness, ready to 
bear the burdens of life with her heroic husband. 
Their eldest son, Oren E., the subject of this sketch, 
was born Nov. 14, 1835, and was the second baby 
in Medina Township. He attended the first school 
organized in the township, which was conducted in a 
log house, about 1 l'x 1 G feet iu dimensions, with slabs 
for benches, and furnished generally in the manner 
of those days; this iii-st school was taught liy Miss 
Amorette Belden. Oren E. made his home with 
his parents until his marriage, which occurred iu 
1859, his bride being Miss Lucy, daughter of 
James and Lucy (Cotrell) Rogers. Mr. Rogers 
was a native of Ashfleld, Mass., and his wife of 
Worthington, that State. They were married in 
their native State in 1837, and upon coming to this 
county, lived in Medina Township until Mrs. 



Green was five years of age. They then removed 
east as far as Ohio, where the father died in 1846; 
the mother is still living there, making her resi- 
dence iu AVilliams County, ami is now sixty-eight 
years old. 

Till' man-iage of Mr. ;uh1 Mrs. (iri'cn was celel)- 
rated in Hillsdale, this State, and they began life 
together upon the farm which they now occupy. 
The record of the five children which have been 
added to their houseliohl is as follows: Alice F. is 
the wife of Prof. E. A. ConditI, and resides iu Delta, 
Ohio; Agnes L. married W. F. Smith, proprietor 
of a hotel in Hoskins, Dak.; Lura M. and George 
W. are at home with their parents; George R. died 
at the age of eleven years. 

Mr. and Mrs. Green are prominently connected 
with the Congregational Church at Morenci, and 
assisted materially in the ei'ection of the church 
edifice there. Mr. G., politically, votes the straight 
Republican ticket. As a farmer, a Inisiness man 
and a citizen, lie is a worthy representative of <ine 
of the earliest settlers and most honored jiioneers 
of this county, and his homestead, with its finely 
cultivated fields, its excellent l)uildings and well- 
kept stock, rauks well among the many dcsii-alile 
estates of Southern Michigan. 

1-17 ON. THOMAS F. MOORE. Among the 
Ir''^] successful agriculturists and prominent liusi- 
/IVj^ ness men of Madison Townshii), who have 
(^^ attained success in life through their own 
individual efforts, is the subject of this biographi- 
cal sketch. The parents of IMr. Moore were Na- 
thaniel and Sarah (Ferguson) Moore, both natives 
of Peterboro, N. H., where thej' grew to man and 
womanhood, married, and there passed their lives. 
His father's occupation was that of an agriculturist, 
and although farming iu the hilly towns of the New 
England States is not the pastime it seems to be on 
the level prairies of the West, he, by the energy and 
perseverance characteristic of tlie people of the 
Granite State, was successful. Besides attending 
to his home duties he took an active interest in 
town affairs, and was one of the Selectmen of 
Peterboro for sixteen years, lie and his vvife were 



•l^-HI-^- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



earnest supporters of the Presbyterian doctrines, 
and were memliers of that church for nearlj- thirty ! 
years. She died April 10, 1850, and he survived 
her until Oct. 27, 1853. 

The parental family of our subject included ten 
children, seven sons and three daughters, namel.y : 
Henry, William, John, Nathaniel, James, Jane, 
Sarah. George W., Martha and Thomas F. ' Of this 
large family only three members are now living: 
Nathaniel, who resides on the old farm in New 
Hampshire; George W., who settled in Medina, 
Lenawee County, in 1 836, on land bouglit from the 
Government, and Thomas F., our subject. Thomas 
F., the youngest of this family circle, was born in 
Peterboro, N. H., Oct. 2, 1819, and in this rugged 
hilly country, as he grew to a vigorous manhood, he { 
received a practical education at the district school, j 
supplemented by three terms of diligent study at | 
Appleton Academy, New Ipswich, N. H., and a j 
tliorough course of industrial training on tiie lioine ' 
farm. 

At the age of eighteen 3rears Thomas Moore left 
the parental home and sought to carve his own fort- 
une. At first he worked by the month farming; j 
but he toolv great pleasure in reading, and still 
pursued his studies, keeping them fresh in his mind 
bj' teaching in the winter season. Glowing accounts 
of the rapidly growing West reached him, and the 
3'outli determined to prove their reality for him- 
self. He worked his way along, reaching Erie 
County, N. Y., but remaining here one j'e.ar onl^', 
he pushed still farther west, and came to Lenawee 
County, Mich., in 1839. Being pleased with the 
country, he purchased 160 acres of land from the 
Government, and though there was much labor to 
be performed in preparing this land for cultivation, 
he undertook the task, and in a few years had 100 
acres well cleared. He lived here fifteen years and 
then exchanged this f.ann for 200 acres in Madison 
Township, section 20, on which he has since re- 
sided. He has since added to his possessions until 
he is now the proprietor of 300 acres of land, and 
has a fine farm, with substantial and commodious 
buildings, and all the modern appurtenances for 
conducting a well-ordered estate. 

Mr. Moore was married in Byron, Genesee Co., 
N. Y., May 28, 1840, to Miss Rachel D., daughter 



of James B. and .Sarah (Appleton) Todd, and niece 
of the late Samuel Appleton, of Boston. Mr. and 
Mrs. Todd were natives of Peterboro and Dublin, 
N. FI., respectively, and settling in Peterboro after 
marriage, remained there until 1828, when they 
migrated to Byron, N. Y., and lived there until 
their death, which occurred for the father Ma^' 29, 
1863, and for his widow in March, 1884. To them 
were born a familj' of eight children, namely: Isaac 
A., Rachel 1).. Sarah. Emily, John, Daniel, Samuel 
and James F. Five of tliese have passed away ; the 
three living are Isaac, Rachel and Daniel. Isaac 
resides in Byron, N. Y., and Daniel in Adrian, 
Mich. Mrs. Moore, the second child in order of 
birth, was born in Peterboro, N. H., May 3, 1819, 
and was nine years of .age when her parents re- 
moved to New York. Her union with Mr. Moore 
has been blessed by the birth of six children, three 
of whom died in infancy ; the remaining ones are 
James M., Hattie N. and Samuel A. The first- 
named married Miss Delophene Smith, and resides 
in Jackson, Mich., where he is engaged with the 
Michigan Central Railway C'orapanj'; Hattie N. is 
the wife of Warren N. Beal, and lives in Madison 
Township, while Samuel A. died in Madison Town- 
ship, Jan. 14, 1878, vvhen eighteen years old. 

Mr. Moore takes a vital interest in the prosper- 
ity of his adopted township and State, and no meri- 
torious scheme for the improvement of either is ad- 
vanced but he is ready and willing to aid the en- 
terprise to his utmost power. His ability and 
probity of character have won a just recognition, 
and he has served the public in many capacities 
with honor to himself and credit to his constituents. 
He represented his district in the Legislature in 
1861 and the following year, and in the Senate in 
1863 and 1864. With his discerning mind and en- 
lai-ged views, he advocated all new measures that 
seemed to him beneficial to his State or country. 
He took a pronunent part in securing the necessary 
appropriation to arm and equip the brave soldiers 
who were first sent to the field. For ten years he 
was Superintendent of the poor in Lenawee County, 
and was Chairman of the committee that built the 
county poor house. He served several years as 
one of the Board of Prison Inspectors. For four 
years he has been one of the Supervisors of Madi- 
■» 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



iJl -lI-l<..own Law..,.,,,... , 

Wfl been ii resident of this eon: 



son Township, and for two terms Chairman of the 
board, and he was also Vice President of the Eirst 
National Bank of Adrian for four years. 

Mr. Moore is ably seconded in all lii> efforts, 
morally, spiritually and intellectually, by his estim- 
able wife. They are both zeal,), is an,! e.-irnesl 
meiiibers of the Presbyterian C'hureli. in whii'li he 
has be,.n an Elder for many years. In politics he 
was fiirnii'rly a Republican, but has now identitieil 
himself with th,. Pr,>hibiti,.n parly, an<l ,.ons<.ien- 
tioiisly npholils its i>rin,.iph's. 

[j-ILLIS T. LAU'RKXCK, pr,>pri..tor of the 
Adrian, has 
)unty nearly twen- 
t3'-five years, and one of its most active citizens. 
He has had a thorough experience in his capacity 
as •• mine h,>st," a luisiui.ss towhicli li,. is peculiarly 
adapte,!. .-in,! in ulii,.|i li,. has b,.,.,, uniformly suc- 
cessful. In adilition to his extensive private inter- 
ests he has ilistinguished himself as a public-spirited 
citizen, i-ontribnting liberally of his time and means 
as a worker in political campaigns, and is one of the 
most valued members of the Democratic part}' in 
this section of the .State. He was twice selected by 
an admiring constituency as their candidate for the 
State Legislature, but of course suffered defeat with 
the rest of his ticket in ;i counly wliicli at that 
time was largely Republican. Th,. party wa-^ ,:inite 
contented, however, with the knowledge that Mr. 
Lawrence liail reduced the Republican majority 
greatly. He served eight years as Alderman, and 
was once the Democratic candidate for Mayor. 

The early life of Mr. Lawrence w.is replete with 
difficulties and hardships, as at a tender age he was 
thrown upon his own resources, an(i umler a liai-,1 
taskmaster learned to fight for himself, lie thus 
gained that self-reliant and independent spirit 
which in later years paved the way to his success in 
life. lie was b,>rn in West P.loomfield, Ontario Co., 
N. Y., Oct. 12. I.sr.i. Al th,. age of eight years he 
was bound ,)ut U> a farni,.,-. from whom after four 
years' servic,. h<. ran ..,way ,in account of being 
whipped and ,j\ ,.i-\v,>ik,.,l ami meeting with general 
b.ad treatment. .Shortlv after he was attacked with 



typhus fever, with which he suffered the followini. 
.f 



winter, and in the sprinj. 
his physician to pay his d. 
t<i,)k him three years t,i li 
allowcl ,me shilling per <1 . 
employed in a w,„.len fa,.t,)ry at s,-, 
y,.ar, whi.n the business was abandt 
l.awren,.,. bauid employment in 

ing, anil linall\ 
|!30 more, cml. 



2 went to work for 
- bill, and which it 
it(.. as he was only 
After this he was 
>!.') per m,>nth one 
d, and young 
jhair factory, 
rked at blaeksmithing and farm- 
li a capital of ^20 and credit for 
I in the grocery business. After 
v:u-ions oth,.]- changes we lind him largel}' interested 
in a |)a(.k,.t line on the (ienesec ^■alle3" Canal, oper- 
ating a line ,if freight boats between Buffalo and 
New Yoik, and a line of packets between Rochester 
and Danville. Subsequently he engaged in general 
merchandising, and in 18o3 put up what is now the 
Bracket House in Rochester. He became quite 
prominent in thiit city, and three years later was 
elected Assessor of the Second \\'aril. In \><:'ii he 
went to Oswego, and invested .-i |>.-irt ,>f his capital 
in a large brick block, which, soon after its con- 
struction, was destroyed by fire, involving a great 
loss, as there vv.as but little insurance. 

.Mr. l,auren,.e while a r,.si<lent of R.K-hester was 
mani,.<l. Oct. 11. l.'.!41,lo Miss .lane Adelia .lack- 
son, a uativi- of iirailford County, Pa., and born 
Oct. 11,1824. She only survived her marriage a 
few years, her death taking pl.aee in Rochester, May 
1 I. l.slf.. Mrs. .lane Ailelia Lawrence was the 
-rambiaimhter ,,f an Lnglishnian of noble birth, 
and lh<. h,.ir t,, :i large pr,.perty. which probably 
for .'iotl ye;,i> has been the subj,.ct of litigation 
an,l is now in chancery. One l.-nly of the family 
bore th,. rank ,if Connb.ss. Our subject has 
the r,.,.onl <.f the family for s,.veral generations, 
which in,licat.es them to have be,.n people of wealth 
and ]irominence, who niaile trn.ir mark wherever 
their lot in life was cast. 

Our subjec^t, in April, 1803, .sold his property in 
Rochester and Oswego, and coming to Adrian pur- 
chased the Bracket House and the Prairie Cottage 
Earm, and subsequently became the owner of other 
valuable property. Thi.se he greatly improved, and 
was in this manner tlie nu-ans ,>f ad, ling to the 
wealth and beauty ,,f th,. r\ly an,l ,.ounty. He has 
been identilici with many of the publi,. i.nter|irises 



Ih-^ 



918 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



of the city, including the Masonic Temple, of which 
lie was President of the Board of Ti-nstees four 
years, and Chairman of the Building Committee. 
In 1869 he rented Sweet's Hotel at Grand Rapids, 
which he disposed of six months later, and return- 
ing to Adrian purchased the Rowley F.irm, whicli 
he owned several years. vSubsequently he became 
proprietor of the ground familiarly known as the 
l)lace of exhibition for the County Fair, and upon 
which he expended $18,000 in its improvement. 
He has always been noted for his public-spirited 
liberality, and has given of his means witli a free 
hand to the enterprises calculated for the upbuild- 
ing of the citj'. He is a man of excellent judgment, 
and one universall3' lool^ed up to in matters con- 
nected with the welfare of the cit3'. No man is 
more widely or favorably known throughout Lena- 
wee County, and there are none who have mani- 
fested greater interest in maintaining its position as 
one of the most desirable sections of Southern 
Michigan. 

William Lawrence, the father of our subject, a 
native of New York State, was born Dec. 8, 1789, 
and was one of the most prominent farmers of On- 
tario Count}'. When a young man he served as a 
soldier in the War of 1812. He was married early 
in life, in 1808, to Miss Sela Thompson, then of 
West Bloomfield, N. Y., but who was born in Provi- 
dence, R. I., April ."), nUi. Her parents emigrated 
with ox-teams fri^im Rhode Island to Western New 
York, and were three months on the road. They 
settled on the Genesee Flats, and the land which 
AV^illiam Lawrence industriously cultivated was sub- 
sequently familiarly known as " Big Tree Farm." 
He finally removed to Rochester, wliere his death 
took place March 20, 18G4. Mrs. Lawrence, seven 
years later, came to Michigan and made her home 
with her son, W. T. Lawrence, in Adrian, until she 
was called hence on the 24th of F'ebruary, 1871. 
The first representative of tlie Lawrence family in 
this country was John Jjawrence, an Englishman b}' 
birth, who settled in Monmouth, N. J. His de- 
scendants are now numerously represented in vari- 
ous parts of the Empire State and the West, and 
are uniformly intelligent people and \a]ued citi- 
zeii>. 

Willis T. Lawrence was again married. May 2.j, 



1847, to Miss Marion, daughter of Joseph and Polly 
Wadsworth, of Pittstown, Rensselaer Co., N. Y., 
and they became the parents of two daughters. 
The elder, Marion Sela, was born in Rochester, May 
15, 1848, and is now the wife of D. A. Whitney, of 
Detroit, Mich.; Erin Hickok was born Dec. 31, 
1849, and died Oct. 12, 1850. Mrs. Marion Law- 
rence was born in Pittstown, N. Y., Aug. 27, 1829. 
Her father was a native of Bennington, Vt., his 
birth taking place Feb. 15, 1795; his death occurred 
in Rochester, Aug. 17, 1864, from cholera. 



iT' ENRY C. HALL, the leading grocer of 
\¥y^ Hudson, is a man whose exceptional busi- 
Jv^j^ uess talents and wide experience have been 
(^ important factors in his prosperity, and 
have gained him an assured position in the mer- 
cantile circles of Lenawee County. He is a native- 
born citizen of this township, and was liorn April' 
4, 1841. His father. Dr. Leonard G. Hall, was a 
pioneer of Lenawee County, and for man}' years a 
prominent physician, being one of the earliest of 
that profession who established himself in practice 
in this county. 

Dr. Hall was born in Duanesburg, Schenectady 
Co.. N. Y., Aug. 7. 1 806, where his father, a native of 
Massachusetts, was an early settler. In 1806 the 
father removed to Cold Brook, Herkimer County, 
and was also an early settler of that section of the 
country, which was at that time considered in the 
Far West. There were no railroads or canals in 
the whole length and breadth of the United States, 
;uid their removal thither was made with ox-teams. 
The grandfather of our subject took up a tract of 
land in New York, which was heavily timbered, 
and there on the frontier of civilization made his 
home until death, in the meantime clearing a 
large farm from the wilderness. 

The father of our subject was reared on the old 
homestead in Cold Brook, and in his youth turned 
his attention to the study of medicine, as he was 
liy temperament and nature peculiarly adapted for 
the life of a physi(nan. In acquiring his profession 
he had to overcome many obstacles, but his indom- 



■?^»- 



•^f^ 



LENAWEK COUNTY, 



itable will triumphed. Having first to earn money 
to pay for his tuition he selected the shoemaker's 
trade, and after learning it he wrnt to St. Cather- 
ines, Canada, and was there employed by the con- 
tractors of a canal to make bo(jts and shoes for 
their men. He carefully saved his earnings, and 
was thus enabled to attend the College of Physi- 
cians and Surgeons at Fairfield. N. Y.. from which 
he was graduated with honors, his diphmia bearing 
the date of Jan. 2.'5, 1834. Thus well equipped for 
his chosen career, he selected the Territory of Mich- 
igan, the southern part of which was being rapidly 
settled, as a promising field for a young physician 
to establish a good practice, and directly after 
graduation came here and located in RoUin Town- 
ship. Soon after settling he was elected Justice of 
the Peace, and during the time he held that ofliee 
he married only one couple, who in IK,s7 celel)rated 
the fiftieth anniversary of their marriage. He 
made his home iu Rollin with Daniel Rhodes, con- 
tinuing in practice there until 1840, when he came 
to Lanesville, as the village of Hudson was then 
called, and opened an oftice iiere. This city was 
then but a small h:iiulel with no railway connections, 
so that he was obliged for a time to drive to Mon- 
roe for his medicines. He continued in active 
practice here till 1860, when he opened a drug- 
store, and after that [iracticed but little, and then 
only among his fi'iends, until his (h'ath, uliieli oc- 
curred Oct. 29, 1877. 

During Dr. Hall's long resideucr lure he won 
the entire confidence and respect of all in the com- 
munity. In politics he wa> a AVhig until the form- 
ation of the Republican party, of which he be- 
came an ardent sui)porter, continuing to advocate 
its measures until 1872, when he became independ- 
ent and was attached to no party. His wife, Nancy 
K. Wells, was a native <jf North Adams, Mass., and 
daughter of Daniel and Mary Wells, who sijent 
their entire lives in the Bay State. Mrs. Hall died 
in Hudson, Oct. 12, 18oo, on the anniversary of 
her wedding day, which w.as Oct. 12, 183;). To 
her and her husbMud were born four cliildreu, 
namely: Henry C., .lohn W., lone C. and lufz F. 
The last named is the wife of W. II. Conies, of 
Hudson; lone C. is married to A. R. Smart, M. 
D., of Toledo; John lives iu Detroil. 



Henry C. Hall was reared iu the town of his 
birth, receiving a most judicious training in good 
principles and habits from his excellent mother, 
whose loss he was called to mourn while 3'el a boy. 
His primary education was received in the public 
schools of Hudson, and was finished at Bryant & 
Stratton's Commercial College at Cleveland, Oliio, 
from which he was graduated in l.S.V.l, having 
received a practical business edu<-atiou. Aftei- leav- 
ing college he clerked in the Union store at Hud- 
son for one year, and then deciding to take a Euro- 
pean tour he went to New Y'ork City, intentliug to 
embark from there, but in that city he met a friend 
who induced him to go to California instead. At 
San Francisco he engaged with J. W. Ilarker to go 
to Hangtown, or Placervillc as it is now called, to 
take chaigc of a general store, and he remained 
there fifteen months thus engaged. He then re- 
turned to the East, and locating in New York City 
became engaged in the produce commission business, 
and also as a merchandise broker. At the end of five 
years he disposed of his business in those lines and 
engaged iu the tea trade for the following three 
years. At the end of that time he concluded to 
return to the home of his birth, and accordingly 
came to Hudson and opened a store for the sale of 
groceries, crockery, china ware and patent medicines. 
Since that lime he has established a thriving trade, 
as lie understands well how to cater to the wants 
of his customers, and by his honorable dealings 
gives general siitisfactiou. 

Mr. Hall married, Dec. 24, 1870, Miss M. Joseph- 
ine Henians, a native (if Jackson County, this State, 
and daughter of Enoch and Elizabeth Hemans. 
She is a member of the Episcopal Church, and a 
lady of much culture, sharing with her husband 
his popularity in social circles. 

Mr. Hall is a very prominent nieuiber of the 
Democratie party in this section of the i-ountry, 
having twice been legislative candidate of that 
party for this district, and notwithstanding the fact 
that his [larty is hopelessly in the minority here and 
he was tlni> drfeated, he polled a large vote both 
times, which shows that he is highly regarded as a 
citizen. He has served as City Treasurer for one 
tei'iii. Our subject is also a conspicuous and in- 
lliiential member of various soci.al organizations (jf 



•►^l*-"^ 



•►Hh-^ 



920 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



this State. He is a member of the Knights of 
Honor, being Grand Dictator of the Lodge of the 
State of Michigan. He also belongs to Lenandale 
Lodge No. G3, K. of P., of Hudson, also Council 
No. GOs, Royal Arcanum. 

ellAKLKS MITCHKLL. one .,f the oldest 
pioneers of Lenawee County, came to the 
vicinity of his present homestead, in Madi- 
son Township, in the spring of 1845, where he has 
since resided. He has now passed his threescore 
and ten years, and by an upright and worthy life 
has gained the esteem of his fellowmen, while his 
industry and frugality have secured him a comfort- 
able home in which to pass his declining years. His 
property includes 100 acres of good land, on sec- 
tion 33, where he lias erected good buildings and 
ill other respects distinguished himself as a pro- 
gressive farmer. He has been an interested witness 
of the growth and development of Lenawee County, 
and ft)rmed one of the important factors in bring- 
ing it to its present condition. 

Oursubject was born in Delaware County, N. Y., 
Aug. 24, 1814, and is the son of David and .Sarah 
(Dibble) Mitchell, who were natives respectively of 
Connecticut and New York. They located in Del- 
aware County after their marriage, where they be- 
came the parents of nine children and spent the 
remainder <«f their lives. Charles Mitchell was 
the fifth child of the parental household, a member 
of Avhich he remained until reaching his majority. 
Thence he migrated to Calhoun County, Mich., 
where he was engaged in farm [nirsuits until 1 843, 
then removed into Barry (bounty, and in the spring 
of 184.0 came to Lenawee County, locating in Madi- 
son Township, of which he has since been a resi- 
dent. 

The lady who has been the close friend and com- 
panion and the honored wife of our snl)ject for a 
peri<_)d of nearly Mty years, was in her girlhood 
Miss Ann D., daughter of Elias and Adeline 
(.Stephens) Dennis, natives of New England. They 
came to tliis c<.)uiily from Ontario County. N. Y., 
locating in Adrian, uiinv Ihe father w:i> engaged 
in farming and where tlieir decease look place. 
-4* 



Their daughter Ann D. was the third of five children, 
and was born in Farmington. Ontario Co., N. Y., 
.Se[)t. 18, 1821. She remained with her parents until 
their death, and then with relatives and friends until 
she became the wife of our subject, March 24, 
1831), before reaching her eighteenth birthday. 

The four children born to this union are all living 
and recorded as follows: Betsy A. married N.J. 
Strong, and resides in Madison Township ; Jeanette is 
the wife of C. D. AVest, of the same township; David 

D. is a minister in Worcester, Mass., and Charles 

E. is carrying on agriculture in Madison Township, 
this county. This interesting family of six persons, 
parents and children, are all members of the Free- 
will Baptist Church. 

J^EROMK CAMP. Many of the farms of 
Lenawee Countj^ which attract the attention 
I of the passing traveler by the air of comfort 
' and plenty which surrounds them, are owned 
and occupied by the well-to-do sons of the early 
pioneers, among whom the subject of this sketch 
occupies a worthy position. His property embraces 
100 acres of land on section 8 in Fairfield Town- 
shii), of which he took possession in the spring of 
1887. The little household includes the wife and 
mother and two children, Levi B. and Omar A., who 
are now nineteen and seven years of age respect- 
ively. With the exceiition of two years spent in 
West Toledo, Mr. Camp has been a resident of this 
county' his entire life, mostly engaged in farming 
pursuits, though since 187;> he has been engaged 
in a wholesale butchering business in Toledo, in 
connection with a partner, the firm name being 
Clayton, Camp de Co. Tliis business is conducted 
on an extensive >c,ile, furnishing mostly the local 
markets. 

Mr. Camp wa« born in Dover Township, Sept. 
20, 1 844, and is the son of Ambrose and Phebe J. 
(Mills) Camp, natives of Wayne County, N. Y., 
where they were reared and married, and whence 
they came to this county soon after uniting their 
lives and fortunes. They were the jiarents of three 
children who still survive, of wht)m Jerome is the 
second in order of birth. Ambrose Camp died in 



!?^»- 



h 



LENAWEE COUNTY 



Hillsdale County, Mich., vvhile on a visit to a 
nephew, while the mother passed hei- last days at 
the home of licr daughter in MiMlinfi Tuwusliip. 

Our subject upon estalilisliing a hduu* for him- 
self, chose for his life companion one of thr niosl 
estimable young ladies of Fairfleld Tciunsliip. 
namely, Miss Adelia, ilanghter of Levi ami Betsey 
(Bross) Russell, who were earl>' pioneers of this 
couutj', where they spent the remainder of their 
lives. Mrs. (lunp was horn at Ibc old Russell 
homestead .luni> 27. lsll.:cnd rcm.aincd under the 
parental roof until her mtii'riagr. This union re- 
sultedinthe birth of two i-hildrcn. aircady n.amcd. 
Mr. Camp is one of tlie most rellahh' memhcis (,f 
the Republican party, and as a Imsincss man and 
citizen is held in the higiiest esteem, 

'Sp^DWIN HAFF was an oflicer in tlie late 
lU Civil War, where he served with bravery 
1*^ — -^ and distinction, taking part in many battles 
until he received a severe wound which incapaci- 
tated him from further service, and he then retired 
from the army with the rank of First Lieutenant. 
He is now prosperously engageil in farming in 
Medina Township. Mr. Haff's parents were Hiram 
and Cynthia (Avery) Haff, natives of New York, 
who removed to Sandusky Count3', Ohio, and there 
our subject was born on the 7th of ALuch, l.s4t). 

F^dwin Haff grew to manhood on a farm, makinii 
himself useful in its varied labors and receiving his 
education chiefl_y in the eomnion schools. He re- 
mained on the home farm until lie w.as twenty-one 
years old, when the war bre)ke out. and he enlisted 
in August, 1861,iuCom))any F, i!Mh ( )lii<i Infantry, 
and went to the front in the service of liis country, 
his regiment forming a part of tlie Army of the 
Ohio. He enlisted as a private, but soon his intel- 
ligence, capacity, and courage in action won liim 
deserved promotion to the rank of Sergeant. Ik- 
was afterward promoted to tlie rank of First Sei-- 
geant, and at the battle of ( 'liirkamauii.a he had the 
command of his eonipan^', and for his services in 
that action the brave yoiini; ollicT was made 
Second Lieutenant. At the haltle of Bii/.zanl's 
Roost Lieut. Haff wa.- wounded in ihi' knee, which 



disabled him for further service, as he was obliged 
to use crutches for two years afterward, and he 
was honorably discharged. He was with his regi- 
ment in the many engagements in which they took 
part [irior to that time. 

After his ilischarge l.ieut. Haff retnrneil to San- 
dusky County, and as soon as he was able to attend 
to business his fellow-citizens, in just recognition 
of his ability and his good services as a [latriotic 
soldier, elected hiin to the otiiceof County Auditor 
in the fall of IStii;. Though he was rather a young 
man to hold sneli a res|ionsible position, yet his 
~t<'ni experience in tlie exciting years of the war 
had early dcvelo|.e.l his character and well fitted 
him for public life. In the fall of 1868 the satis- 
faction and confidence of the people in his honora- 
ble discharge of the duties of his office was voiced 
in his re-election to the same position for a secoml 
term. In 1870 he retired to private life, at the 
expiration of his .second term as Auditor. 

Mr. Haff had been reared as a farmer, and after 
his retirement from ollice his thoughts naturally 
reverted to the occupati.m uhi.-h he had left when 
he went t,. the haltle-lield in the lirst year of tlic 
war, and wisely concluding to return to it again, 
he came to the rich agricultural regions of Southern 
Michigan to select some Land foi' that purpose. He 
here bought -.'OO .acres .,f very fertile land in Me- 
dina Town-hip. on which he settled and has sine.' 
been actively engaged in improving and cultivating 
his farm, to which he ad<led by a subsequent pur- 
chase forty acres. Lient. Haff was married, Dec. l>2. 
18G.S. in Clyde, Ohio, to Miss Libbie, daughter of 
Dennis and Catherine De Kan, who was born in 
Sandusky County, Ohio, April 11, 1S44. The 
following-named children have been liorn of their 
union: (Jeorgie M., Lennie and Belle. 

Mr. and Mrs. Haff have a, [.leasant, attractive 
lionie. to which their many friends always receive a 
cordial and genial welcome. Mr. Haff is promi- 
nently identified with the Democratic |)arty of this 
townshii). 'i'he same public-spirited conduct that 
marked his course in his native State from the time 
when In- tiist .attained the full privileges of citizen- 
ship, has also charactcri/.cd his course as a citizen 
of Lenawee Ctainty. wIuk he has also held respon- 
sible offices. In the fall of 1874 he was elected 



«► ■ "" <• 



--^ 



LENAAVEE COUNTY. 



County Register of Deeds, for Lenawee County, 
serving in tliat office for one term. He was twice 
. elected County Clerk, and has held tlie office of 
Suijervisor of Medina Township for two terms. 
He i.s a nien>))er of Medina Lodge, F. & A. M., and 
of Atlrian Connuandery. 

eHARLES W. DUNN. Pi om mint among the 
agriculturists who have contributed by their 
energy and industry to the growth and pros- 
perity of this county is the gentleman whose name 
heads this sketch. His parents were Jefferson and 
Adelia (Morris) Dunn, both natives of the State of 
New York, who early in their married life came to 
Michigan, settling first in Wayne County, whence 
they removed to Lenawee about the year 1833, thus 
being among the early settlers of this county. 
Here the father died June 24, 1838, and Mrs. Dunn 
afterward married Nelson Smith, who has since 
died, and she survives him at the advanced age of 
eighty-four years. 

Mr. and Mrs. Dunn were the parents of four 
children — Sabra, Charles W. and John W. (twins), 
and Robert J. Sabra died at the age of thirteen 
years; John was killed when he was ten years old 
by being thrown from a wagon ; while Robert re- 
sides in Fairfield Township. 

Robert J. Dunn in coming to Fairfield Township 
in 1 833, had to cut his own road for a half mile 
through the dense forest to the spot where he 
located, and when there they unloaded their house- 
hold goods under a tree, there being no otiier shelter 
until they erected a cabin. 

Our subject was boru in Wayne County, Mich., 
while his mother was there on a visit, the da,te of 
his birth being Nov. 24, 1834. He was reared in 
the home that his father had built in the newly 
settled township for his young family, and where 
death early deprived them of his care. He was 
educated chiefly in the common schools of his native 
State, which even at that early date, though one of 
the youngest of tlie States of the Union, was noted 
for her active measures for the education <>i her 
youth; and her common-school system, cviu before 
iier admission to the Union, was far in advance of I 



that of some of the much older States. A superior 
educational system, devised by John D. Pierce, 
Superintendent of Public Instruction, was adopted 
by her Legislature the very year that she was ad- 
mitted into the Union. Mr. Dunn early became 
inured to the toils as well as the pleasures of farm- 
ing, and chose that vocation as his life work. He 
now owns the old homestead and the farm connected 
with it, which consists of 140 acres of carefidly 
tilled soil, whereon he has erected substantial build- 
ings and made many valuable improvements. 

The marriage of Mr. Dunn with Miss Mary J. 
Sanford occurred Jan. 1, 1862. Her parents were 
natives of New York State, and came to Michigan 
in 1849, making their home in Fairfield Township, 
L(;nawee County, where he resided until his death, 
which occurred in Detroit while there for medical 
attendance in November, 1879; his wife continues 
to make her home in Fairfield Township. They 
were the parents of three children : Mary J. ; Martha 
E., who died in infancy, and Edgar A., who resides 
in Fairfield Township. Mrs. Dunn was born at a 
pl.ace four miles south of Norwalk, Ohio, May 1, 
1S38, and receiving a good education became a 
school teacher, and pursued that vocation with suc- 
cess until her marriage. She is an active worker in 
the Baptist Church, of which she is a member. 

His integrity of character and devotion to tho.se 
principles which he believes to be right have gained 
for Mr. Dunn the respect aud confidence of his 
neighbors. Heartily sympathizing with those who 
battle against one of the great evils of the day, Mr. 
Dunn is a Prohibitionist; he was associated with 
the Republicans until he espoused the Prohibition 



&ENRr MANWARING, a farmer and an 
j itsteemed citizen, is a resident of Riga 
Townshii). Mr. Manwaring's early life was 
a constant struggle for the independence 
and comfort he has finally achieved. He is a na- 
tive of Connecticut, where his birth occurred in 
Waterford, New London County, Aug. 8, 1834. 
Ills father was Isaac Man waring, a native of Con- 
necticut, who married Eunice, the daughter of Paul 



■•► 



•►-A-^- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



923 



^ 



and Mar}' (Rogers) Beebe. Mrs. Beebe was a 
lineal descendant of John Rogers, who was burned 
at the stake in Englan<l during the time of the 
religious persecution. Mr. r.c('lH''.s iineestor.s came 
to New England in the earl_y part of the seven- 
teenth century. In 1811 Isaac Manwaring died, 
leaving his widow with seven children to care for. 
She was a worthy. iiidustriou> w.,m.-in. and did 
what she coidd to provide for their comf.irt : her 
death occurred in New J^ondon, Conn., in 1S.")j;. 

Our subject was but seven years of ago when he 
was deprived of a. father's care, but his mother 
managed to kcej) him with her until he was nine 
years old, when she was ol)liged to .-urrender him 
to the care of relatives, lie tir.st went to live with 
a cousin, but at the end of a year he went with an 
uncle in his native |)lace, Waterford. ;uid lived with 
him for a year, lie next went to the home of .Mi-. 
L. T. Rogers, in the same town, where he worked 
four years for his board and clothes, then, having 
resolved to become a sailor, he shipped on board a 
fishing smack for one season. On his return from 
the voj'age he obtained employment in a bakery in 
New i.ond(m for the wintei-, .-iiid after that he en- 
gaged again .as a sailor in a coasting schooner, and 
followed the sea for some time, sometimes co.asting, 
sometimes fishing, and was thus employed until he 
was .seventeen years old. lie then exchanged his 
occupation of a .sailor for that of a machinist, work- 
ing in a machine-shop in New Loudon for three and a 
half years. He then made another and a final fish- 
ing trip, and in the year 185() a friend, Geoi'ge 
Beebe by name, induced him to accompany him to 
the West. They wi-ut to Fultou County, Ohio, and 
there found work at farming, as they had resolved 
before they left Connecticut that they would en- 
gage fn that occupation. Our subje(;t worked for 
SI3 a month until the following Se[itember, and 
then, feeling the need of a better education, heat- 
tended school at Waterville, Ohio, where he made 
rapid progress in his studies and soon made up for 
lost time. In the following spring he obtained em- 
ployment in .-i brickyard in Springfield, Lucas Co., 

home, not living any length ol time in any one 
place, on account of his varied occupations. 

Mr. Manwaring was now able to lake an impor- 



tant step toward the attainment of the object of his 
imbitions and desires to found a home, by his 
narriage, Aug. ;!(), l.s,-,7, with Miss Maria Bemis, 
vho h.as since faithfully .■issi>ted him and encour- 
iged him in his work. Mrs. Manwaring was born 
n Springfield, Lucas Co., Ohio, Jan. 7, 1835, and 
s the daughter of Abel and Esther (Cumraings) 
IJemis, natives respectively of Vermont and New 
Vork. They were among the eari^- settlers of 
Springlield, Lucas Co., Ohio, where Mr. Bemis 
bought a heavily timliered tract of land, on which 
he built a log house for his family, and in that 
' house his daughter, Mrs; Manwarini;. was born. 

S))ent his last years in the home of his daughter, 
Mrs. Manwaring, dying Oct. 20, 1873. His wife 

I died in Monroe County, this State, Oct. 11, LSCl). 
They were the parents of ten children, four sons 
;uid six daughters. Three of their son.s — Joseph, 
William and Charles — served honorably in the late 
Civil War, and William and Josejjh died in the 

j .service of their country. Charles is now living in 
AN'hiteford. Monroe County, this State. 

In l.S;')8, a few months after his marriage, Mr. 
Manwaring located on a farm at Ottawa Lake. 

j Monroe Co., Mich., but after a time he rented land 
until the year 18G1, when he bought twenty-seven 
acres of land at Ottawa Lake and built a l(.)g liou>e 
for shelter, lie thus had just est.ablished a permau- 

I ent home, which, however humble it might be, he 
could still call his own, and was .soon settled and 

I commenced the improvement of his land. But the 
terrible Civil War was then r.-iging, and although he 
had not wholly paiil for Ins home, he put aside all 
private considerations and enlisted on the Dtli of 
August, 18112, in Company K, 18th Michigan In- 
fantry, and went to the front in the service of his 
countiy. lie remained for twenty-one nioutli> .-i 
mendjer of the 18th Michigan, which was attached 
to the Army of the Cumberland, and was then 
transferred to the Naval Department, in accord- 
ance with (ieneral Order No. 91, War Depart- 
ment, lie served on bo.-ird the war ship "Winne- 
bago," on the Mississippi River until August, 18U-I, 
wiien he went to Mobile with Farragut's fleet, and 
was present at the capture of that city. He re- 
mained there till Jul}', LSO.'), when his ship was 

~":r^ •► 



924 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



ordered to New Orleans, where he received his dis- 
charge the following August. 

After receiving his discharge our subject returned 
to Michigan, where with patient courage he com - 
nieneed anew his labors to build up a home; for 
while he had been fighting the battles of his country 
tlie little home which he had left, not being paid 
for, reverted to its original owner. His health was 
much impaired by the rough life of a soldier, and 
for awhile after hi>i return he was sick. As soon 
as he was able U< work he obtained employment in 
the Adrian carshops, but the close confinement 
necessitated by his work did not agree with his 
health, so in 18G6 he rented a farm, and in tiie fall 
of 1867 bought where he now resides. The land 
was heavily timbered, and he had to cut away the 
trees to make room for the log house which he built 
for the residence of his family. He now has twenty- 
four acres well improved, and the greater part of 
the remainder partly cleared and good pasture land, 
and he has erected a comfortable dwelling, witii 
other frame buildings adajited to the necessities of 
his farm. Thus by unceasing diligence and perse- 
verance Mr. Manwaring has attained the fruition of 
his early ambitions. Mi-, and Mrs. Manwaring's 
wedded life has been blessed by the birth of two 
daughters named, Laura, who was born April ">, 
1860, and died at the age of six months, and 
Emma, who was born Jan. 11, 1868. 

In politics Mr. Manwaring is a firm believer in 
tiie principles of the Republican party, wi.ich lie 
supports b3' vote whenever occasion offers. He is 
a member of Scott Post No. 43, G. A. R., at BJissfleld. 

^ -#~#- ^ 



f« RS. ANN P. HUME is a resident of Me- 
\\\ dina Township, where she is located on a 
1^ fine farm of 130 acres of excellent land 
under a good state of cultivation. She 
is the daughter of Stephen and Ruth (Smith) 
Payne, t\w former a nati\e of Massachusetts, and 
the latter of Connecticut. 

The mother of our subject at the age of seven 
years migrated with her parents from Massachusetts 
and settled in Monroe County, N. Y., where they 
resided until the death of her mother, in 1844, at 



forty-eight years of age. The father broke up 
housekeeping after the death of his wife, and spent 
the remainder of his life with his children, dj-ingat 
the home of his son Lewis, in New York, Feb. 7. 
1880, at the advanced age of eighty -nine years. 
The parental family included five children, two 
sons and three daughters, of whom Mrs. Hume was 
the third child, and was born Feb. 10, 1823, in 
Bergen, Genesee Co., N. Y. Here she passed her 
girlhood, first attending the common school, after 
which she entered the Ladies' Seminary, at Genesee, 
N. Y., at the request of her aunt, Mrs. Ann Colt. 
She also attended the select schools and was en- 
gaged in school teaching one 3'ear, while she was 
identified with the educational interests of tiic 
count3^ for several years. 

In 1846 our subject was married to Roderick R., 
son of Moses and Sally Hume, natives of Berkshire 
County, Mass. His parents settled in Monroe 
County, N. Y., whence they removed in 1854 to 
this county, and subsequentlj' to Hudson Village, 
where the decease of the father occurred .lune l.i, 
1864. After the death of her husband, Mrs. Hume 
returned to New York to spend the winter with 
her son. Dr. Stephen Hume, and was tiiere taken ill 
and died Nov. 7, 1868, and her remains were 
buried at Hudson. Of their family of six sons and 
two daughters, Roderick was the third child in 
order of birth, and was born May 28, 1816. Mr. 
and Mrs. Hume passed their childhood together, 
attending the same schools, public and select. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Hume there were born seven 
children, as follows: Charles R., Oct. 21, 1847; 
Frank L., Oct. 14, 1849; Anna Carolina, .July 21, 
1852; Sarah Thankful, April 14, 1856; Mary P., 
,Ian. 27,1860; Will E., Sept. 2, 1862, and Alice 
M., Jan. 8, 1866. Charles is in Caldwell. Kan., 
practicing medicine, and married Miss Nettie Ross; 
they have two children — Ross and Ray. Frank L. 
is engaged in mercantile business at the same place, 
and married Miss Mary Fulton, and they have two 
children — James and Francis; Anna C. is deceased ; 
Sarah T. married Otis B. Fitch, a merchant of Ft. 
AVayne, Ind., and has four children — Jesse Hume, 
Alice May, Gr.ace Anrelia and Roderick William ; 
JMary P. is deceased, and \X\l\ E. is at home: Alice 
M. attended the Ft. \\'aviie High Sciiooi for two 



:r^:^ 



-^^ 



,KNAWEE COUNTY. 



\ 



years, and is at present engager! in ictuliiiiu in Dis- 
trict No. 10, in Medina Tovvnsliip, :uiil li:is t;iuuht 
two years; nbeii not thus eimaucd slic resides nt 
lioinewitli her mother. 

The snbject of this siietch was l)orii in the im- 
mediate neighborhood of Mrs. Cleveland's gr.oiil- 
mother, Mrs. Rogers, and was her personnl friend. 
In religion she is a Presbyteiian. while her hll^bMnd 
was also a member of the s.-inie ehnicli. In poblics 
Mr. Hnme was identified with tiu' Repnblicnn party. 
Mrs. Hume is noted for her force of character and 
sterling worth. She is an aft'ectionate friend and a 
good neighbor, and is deservedly esteemed by all 
those who have the pleasure of her acquaintance. 



tr EKBERT B. HATHAWAY, the Pivsident 

/llj^ Palmj'ra Township on the L'Oth of January, 
^^ 1845, and his father, George A. Hathaway, 
was born in Palmyra, A\'ayne Co., N. Y. The 
grandfatlier, Hiram Hathaway, was a native of 
Massachusetts, and emigrated from there to Wayne 
County, where he was one of the very first settlers. 
At that time there were no railrcmtls or canals, and 
the removal was made with teams. For manj- years 
he kept a hotel in Palmyra, of which town he was 
a resident until his death. Tiie nld homestead is 
now occupied b}' one of his sons, an imcle of the 
subject of this sketch. The giandmulher lived 
until she was one hundred and two years of age, 
and during the latter years of her life took great 
pleasure in relating the events and incidents in the 
career of the early pioneers. 

Upon arriving at numhood, Mv. llatli.-i way's fa- 
ther vvas married to Adeline Ch;ise, of Palmyra, 
where they remained residents nntil is.'li', when 
they came to Lenawee Countj', and selllrd in what 
is now Palmyra Township. Tliey came by the 
way of Erie Canal and the Lakes to Toledo, and 
then by a team through the wilderness to Pal- 
myra. Upon iiis arrival in this county he entered 
a tract of timber land, on which he built a log- 
house, but not long after he sold this land, and 
bought a tract on the River Raisin, containing a log 
house, in which the subject of this slceteh was 



born. The father clenre.! quite a lar-e ti:ict of 
land and engaged in farming tlieie for ninny years, 
lint spent the latter ye;n> of hi,- life in retirement 

died in 188.'). They were the parents of four 
ehililren: (ieorg'ian.-i, wlio died at the age of ten 
years; Edward, living in Arkansas; Herbert B., 
and May, who died in ISTf), at the age of taenty- 
two years. 

The subject of this sketcli spent his youth .-is- 
sisting his parents in clearing the land and tilling 
the soil, and at intervals attending the pioneer 



Angi 



Mich 



\. in w 


lich h 


, receivi 


ig hi 


-, 18IJ5. 


Aftc 


t to Co 


orado 


. United 


Sdiles 


nd in th 


s .ser\ 


the West, dui 



school. I »i 
Company I 

served until the clo>c' of the 
discharge from the >ervice in 
his return from the aiiny he 
and was there in the service of 
in the Quarterm.aster's dei)artme 
ice lie spent nearly three year; 
ing that time being engaged in Kansas, Colorado, 
New Mexico ajul Wyoming. After his i-eturn to 
the East he engaged in manufacturing bi-o.nn- 
handles at Palmyra, wliich he continued until 
187-2, and then went to Benton County, Ind., and 
engaged in the lumber business for two years, after 
which he went to Kentucky, and for two years en- 
gaged in the stave business. In 1875 he re- 
turned to Michigan, and eng.aging in selling pumi)s 
and wind-engines in Allegan County, remained 
until 1879, when he removed to Blissfield and |)ur- 
chased the broom-handle factory and planing-mill, 
which he operated in company with Nathaniel 
Stoner, until 1883. when lie bought his partner's in- 
terest, since which time he has bnilt a sawmill, and 
conducted the business alone. 

In October, 1872, Mr. Hathaw.ay was married 
to Sarah Spaulding, of Lewiston, Niagara Co., N. 
Y., and they have four children — Maud, May, Hope 
and George. Mr. Hathaway is one among the live 
and enterprising business men of Blissfield, and his 
manufacturing establishment is of great benefit to 
the town and surrounding country, as it affords a 
market for the various varieties of timber which 
grow in this part of Michigan, and gives employ- 
ment to quite a nuralier of men. He has been for 
a considerable time a member of the Board of Town 



r 



•►Hh-^*- 



926 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Trustees, and is at the present time President of 
the board. He is an enthusiastic member of Scott 
Post No. 4o, G. A. R., and a member of Blissflehl 
Lodge No. 144. A. F. & A. M. In politics his 
affiliations are with the Democratic party, although 
he does not take a very active i)art. 



/p^RANT FE 
^^^ was born 



•► 



-^1-^ 



^P^' 



!»^RANT FELLOWS, a painstaking and rising 
attorney in tlie village of Hudson, 
in the township where he now 
lives on the 13th of April, 1865, and has made this 
county his home ever since, except one year spent 
in the South. He is the son of Hiram N. and Maria 
(Perry) Fellows, both of whom were members of 
old pioneer families. Hiram N. Fellows was a 
native of the town of Brutus, Cayuga Co., N. Y., 
!md was born Sept. 7, 1818. He was the son of 
Judson and Hannah (Andrews) Fellows, who were 
of English ancestry, and he was the. last survivor of 
their family of six children. 

Hiram N. Fellows spent his boyhood .and youth 
upon his father's farm in the tlien new settlement 
in the wilds of Western New York. Possessing an 
iron constitution and a powerful muscular organi- 
zation, he, at the age of seventeen years, with a 
hardihood characteristic of the pioneers in these 
western wilds, left the parental roof, migrating to 
what was at that time the Territory of Michigan. 
Locating in Medina County, in this township, for a 
number of years he was employed as a farm laborer 
1)3' the month, having ever before his mind tiie 
goal for which he was striving, a farm of his o\vn. 
With rare self-denial he carefully saved all that he 
earned in this manner, and invested his monej' in 
real estate, thus laying the foundation of his fort- 
une. Like all others who came to tins county in 
those early days, he was compelled to endure many 
hardships from which those of the present genera- 
tion would shrink in dismay. 

During the great fresliet of .June, 183G — ,an event 
often spoken of by the early settlers — after a con- 
tinuous vain of fourteen d.ays, when the eountry 
was nearly innnd.ated, the family foi' whdin Mv. 
Fellows was working at the time came to a point 



where it was necessary to obtain some provisions. 
Nothing eatable vvas to be found in the house ex- 
cept a small quantity of dried venison. Although 
but eighteen years of age, young Hiram volunteered 
to go to the nearest neighbor, some thirteen miles 
distant, and ascertain if it was possible to borrow 
something upon which the family could subsist 
until the roads were passable. The want of the 
common necessities of life was nothing new to the 
family or to the community at large, but the ques- 
tion at this time was, whether to make this perilous 
trip or starve. At night a council of the family 
w!is held, and the extremity to which they were 
reduced demanding immediate exertions, Hiram 
the next morning after breakfasting upon a piece 
of dry venison started on foot. He was obliged to 
walk nearly the whole distance through the water, 
which in several places was waist deep. On his 
arrival at the neighbor's, he found that the family 
had some flour, and borrowing twelve pounds of it, 
started to return, carrying the flour and protecting 
it from the rain with his umbrella, and made the 
trip of twenty-six miles in one day. Passing 
through many experiences of this and greater h.ard- 
ships, the time came at last when he eould rest 
from his labors, but not until his youth had fled. 

In 1841, Hiram Fellows was united in marriage 
with Miss Maria Perry, a native of New York, and 
the daughter of Abel Perry, of Medina Township. 
In 1851, Mr. Fellows removed from Medina to 
Rome Township, and thence to Hudson Township. 
At the time of his death he had a fine farm, which 
he had brought to a high state of cultivation by 
patience and industry, and on which he had accum- 
ulated some very line stock. In politics he was a 
stanch Democrat of the Jeffersonian school. Tho 
principles of that party seemed to his mind a sure 
and proper foundation for our free government. 
He was the father of nine children, Abel, who was 
born Dec. 11, 1843, and Grant, the subject of this 
sketch, being the only ones now living. Mr. Hiram 
Fellows died in this township, Aug. 17, 1876. His 
wife was a native of Lysander Township, Onon- 
daga Co., N. Y., of which .State her father was 
also a native. Her mother, before her marriage 
was Miss Lueinda Ainsworth. 

Gr.ant Fellows remained at home with his parents, 
»^ 



u 



•►-II-4* 



I.RNAWEE COUNTY. 



027 



•^h 



receiving the rudiments of his eiliu-uliun in the dis- 
trict schools of tliat locality, until he was thirteen 
j'cars >>t aye. when he was sent to the \ilhiuf of 
Hudson, and entered the Higli School of tiiat place. 
He was graduated from that institution in l.ssi, 
and going- to Missouri in 1883, was occupied for 
about one year in teaching school in Crawford 
County, in that State. RctMrnin.L; lo Hudson in 
1884, he commenced the study of law with L. K. 
reinson, with whom he remained until he was 
admitted to the bar, Dec. 11, 1886. He at once 
opened an office in Hudson, and on the 1 4th of 
March, 1887, he became Village Attorney, which 
oflice he holds at the present. 

In politics Grant Fellows differs from the creed 
of his father, and is a Reiiublican of the strongest \ 
type. In 1886 he traveled through the counties of | 
Lenawee and Hillsdale, m.aking speeches for the 
benefit of that party with considerable credit to 
himself. He is a member of the High School 
Alumni Association of the village of Hudson, and 
in 1886 held the position of President of the 
society. Although young in years, he is already 
taking his part in the world, and is rapidly rising in 
pojiularity .and in the general esteem of his fellow- 
citizens. 



\fl EVI W. BAKER, a representative farmer 
I ^ and stock-raiser of Dover Township, was 
JLA\ im,.„ j„ Macedon, Wayne Co., N. Y., Aug. 
17, ISo,"), and is the son of Samuel and Charlotte 
(Mills) Baker, both natives of New York. After 
their marriage they settled in Wayne County, that 
.State, but in 1840 they removed to Lenawee 
County, this State, and settled in this township, 
which continued to be their residence until death. 
Mrs. Baker's death occurred Oct. 22, 1868, and Mr. 
Baker did not long survive his estimable wife, iiis 
death occurring Oct. 5, 1870. They were much re- 
spected by the people among whom they had made 
their home for so many years. They were the par- 
ents of two children — Amos M. and I^evi W. 

The subject of this sketch was liut live years 
old when he came with his parents to Dover Town- 
ship, and since that time he has known no other 
home, having lived here as a boy and man for 



nearly fifty years. He was educated in the com- 
mon schools of this township, and his early train- 
ing on a farm tended to make him a practical 
and energetic man. When lu' was old enough to 
choose his vocation in life he wisel}' decided to 
continue in the occupation to which he had been 
bred, and his work has been crowned with suc- 
cess. He has a farm of 120 .acres of land on sec- 
tion 8. whicli is under excellent tillage, everything 
about the place showing careful and thrifty man- 
agement, while he has erected a good set of build- 
ings and made many other valuable improvements. 
Besides |iayiuL; i-ar<'ful attention to the cidture (if 
the soil, Mr. liakcr has devoted a good deal of time 
to stock-raising, a<'hicviiig much succr\ss in that 
line, as is attestc<l by his line herd of weli-lired 
•animals. 

Mr. Baker vv.as married in Dover Township, Dec. 
3, 1807, to Miss Martha Crater, and to hei- hearty 
co-operation he owes much. Her parents were 
Matthias .and Deborah (Shippy) Cfater, the former 
a native of New Jersey, and the latter of Vermont. 
After marriage they settled in Wayne County, N. 
Y., where Mr. Crater died June 20, 1854, while 
Mrs. Crater survived him many years, dying in 
Rock County, Wis., Dec. 27, 1871. Mrs. Baker 
was the only child of their union, and was born in 
Arcadia. Wayne Co., N. Y.. Sept. 2'J, 1S4(I. To 
her and her husband has liccu lioru one son. Andrew 
S., his birth oecurriuL: in Dover Townshi|i. .Inly :!, 
1870. 

Mr. Baker is a worthy citizen, doing what lies in 
his power to promote the best interests of the town- 
ship: in pt)litics he cast.s his influence and vote for 
the Repul)lR"ui party. Mrs. B.aker is a much t's- 
teemed member of the Baptist Chiu'cli. 



ILLIAM M. .I(_)11NS0N is distinguislied as 
being one of the oldest native-born citizens 
W^' of Ogden Township still a resident within 
her bordei's, though a man yet in the prime of life. 
His father, William .lohiisou, was one of the orig- 
inal settlers of the towuslii|), coming here in 1836, 
while the town was yet uiniamed. Mr. Johnson 
gives us a graphic account of his father's settle- 
ment in the primeval forests of Lenawee County, 



«<»■ 



11-^ 



4 



- ► ■ -4* 



9-28 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



wliicli well illustrates the energetic and daring spirit 
with which the brave pioneers of that day encoun- 
tered and overcame the obstacles to settlement. 

AVilliam Johnson, the father of onr snbject, was 
an Englishman l)y liirth, and born in Lancaster. 
When lie had grown to manliocid he decided to 
leave his English home, and to seek his fortnne on 
American soil, accordingly he emigrated to this 
conntry and located in New York State. His fiist 
step toward a better fortune in this counUy seems 
to have been his marriage in .Seneca Falls, Caynga 
Co., N. Y., with Miss Mary Murphy, a native of 
New .Jersey, and shortly after this event tiiey 
sought a home in the sparsely settled regions west 
of New Yovk State. Traveling by the slow methods 
of procedure in those days, they penetrated to the 
then wilds of Fulton County, Ohio, and there lo- 
cated and lived until the year 1836, when Mr. 
Johnson, thinking they could <lo better in Michi- 
gan, came to what is now Ogden Township, this 
county, and selected a tract of land. He then 
walked to Monroe County, where the land-oflice 
was located, to enter the land, but found that it 
had been already taken up, so he returned to the 
same place in Lenawee County, and made another 
selection of land. Upon his second visit to the 
land-office he found that that too had iieen en- 
tered, but undaunted by this failure lie made a 
third selection of forty acres of land on section 29 
of what is now Ogden Township, and on his return 
a third time to the Government land-otfice he 
found that no one had a prior claim on the land. 

That one may better understand. and appreciate 
the courage and hardihood required to undertake 
that pedestrian trij) from Lenawee County to the 
land-office in Monroe County, we must remember 
that the distance to be traveled was fifty miles 
through a dense almost trackless forest, save for oc- 
casional trails of the Indian, or some wild beast, 
and when we take it into consideration that three 
times did he perform this journey, on foot and 
alone, our appreciation of his resolution and forti- 
tude is increased. After securing the entry of his 
land. Mr. Johnson returned, and energetically set 
to work to prepare a home for his family. His 
tract lay in the midst of the primeval forest, and 
he had to obtain all his building material directly 
•^ 



from it, and fashion it rudely with his own hands. 
He erected a log cabin, splitting .shakes for the roof, 
and i)uncheon for the doors and floor; no sawed tim- 
ber was used in its construction. The chimney was 
build tm the outside of the house, and was com- 
posed of mud and sticks, with a huge fireplace, and 
as the3" had no stove, his good wife cooked their 
meals by the open fire, baking bread in a large 
kettle. Mr. John.son had no team at first, but cut 
and rolled his logs t(jgether bj' manual labor, and 
tlien liurned them. He was finally able to buy a 
yoke of oxen, with which he did his farm work 
and marketing for years. He lived to see the 
county well developed, and died March 1, 1878, 
while his wife had preceded him to the silent land 
May 14, 1862. They had three children: Phebe A., 
now deceased ; William M., our subject, and Mar- 
tha, the wife of Alfred Young, living in this town- 

i ship. 

Mr. Johnson was the second child and only son of 

I his parents, and was born in this township, Jan. 27, 
1839. He remembers when deer, wild turkeys and 
other game roamed at will through the forests and 
over the prairies of this county, and as soon as he 
was large enough to shoulder a gun, he used to go out 
hunting, and killed his share of deer and other wild 
game to suppl}' the famity larder. He attended the 
pioneer schools, and assisted his father until he was 
twenty-two years old, when he settled in a home of 

I his own, reclaiming his land from the wilderness, as 
his father had done. He now has eighty acres of 

I land, forty acres of which are in a fine state of im- 
provement. 

j Mr. Johnson lias been tiiree times married. He 
was first married in December, 1860, to Miss Ann 
Galligan, a native of Northfield, WashtenaMf Co., 
Mich., of which county her father, Bryan Galligan, 
was a pioneer. After a wedded life of ten j'ears 
she died in 1870, leaving a .son, Eugene, who mar- 
ried Caroline Stock, a sister of his present stej)- 
mother; they now reside in Anaheim, Los Angeles 
Co., Cal., where he holds a clerkship.' Mr. John- 
son's second marriage was with Miss Sarah Young, 
a native of Pennsj'^lvania, and daughter of John 
and Betsy Young; she died in 1880, leaving one 
son, Arbie. 

The third marriage of our subject took place Jan. 
•►^ 




4"^^^ 



-^^h^^^^^- 



•►Hh-^ 



-•► 



931 



r.ENAWEE COUNTY, 



10, lS.S2,witli Mi.ss iJliliie SUH-k.-A iiMlivc ,.r l.iK-jis 
County, Ohio, and a daiigliter ol (lodlVey ;uk1 .lulia 
Stocli. Her father was horn in Wnrtemherg, Ger- 
many, and came to America when a young man, 
and located on land in Lucas C'ovmty, Ohio, where 
he lived seven j'ears, and then came to Riga Town- 
ship, where he bought land and improved a farm, 
which he now occupies. His wife, whose maiden 
name was Julia A. Housen, was born in Hanover, 
Germany, and came to America when she was 
twenty-one years of age. She met .Mr. Stock in 
Toledo, Ohio, where tliey were married. Two 
children have been liom of this union-;-Kst]ier 
May and Eva Julia. 

Mr. and Mrs. Johnson liave the esteem and re- 
spect of all in their neighborhood, and they are in- 
fluential members of the Evangelical Church. Mr. 
Johnson is a man of sterling worth and earnest con- 
victions, and in nothing does he show this more 
than in his stanch adherence U> the Hepuhliran jxirt^'. 



(17 ON. WILLIAM L5AKEH was for many years 
lf)l' ^ h>ading citizen of Lenawee County, and 
%^ was engaged in the mercantile and other 
(^) business at Hudson. He was widely known 
throughout Southern Michigan as a man of rare 
business talent and unswerving integrity, who 
wielded a marked influence in promoting the busi- 
ness interests of the county and township of which 
he was an honored citizen. He was a native of 
New York, his birth occurring at Ft. Ann, Wash- 
ington County, Oct. 21, 1818. 

The father of our subject, likewise named ^^'ill- 
iam, was born in Berkshire County, Mass., Dec. 4, 
1784, and removed from there to Ft. Ann, N. Y., 
where he made his home during the remainder of 
his life. His wife, wiiose maiden name was Sarah 
Wheeler, was born Jan. 2, IT'.M, and s|)cnt her last 
years at Ft. Ann; they were the parents of six 
children. 

During his boj'hood our subject attended school, 
and when it was not in session assisted his father in 
the labors of the farm. He was a lad of more than 
ordinary intelligence, and his cultivated mind was 
as much the result of careful reading and quick 



powci-s of observation as of systematic study. In 
18;J7 he left the home of his parents and came to 
Michigan to join an elder brother, who was a civil 
engineer, and at that time engaged in making rail- 
way surveys in Sonthein Michigan. :\Ir. Raker 
assisted his brother foi- some tim(',Viut in 1S4I he 
turned his attention to the mercantile trade in Hud- 
son, and from that time until his death he was en- 
gaged in that and other [branches of business here. 
When he first made his home here there was no rail- 
way in the country west of Adrian, and all his 
goods had to be drawn by team from there. Be- 
sides his business as a merchant, Mr. Baker was 
part of the time engaged very extensively in buy- 
ing and selling stock, grain and lumber, driving 
the cattle to Toledo for shipment. 

The marriage of Mr. Baker with Miss Delora 
Osborn took place July 11, 1843. She was born 
in Perrinton. Monroe Co.. N. Y., March 9, 1821, 
and is the daughter of John and Mercy A. 
Osborn, of whom a sketch is given elsewhere in 
this work. She is now living in a commodious 
brick house pleasantly located on a rise of ground 
and commanding a fine view of the village and t\w. 
surrounding country. Mrs. Baker is a member of 
the Congregational Church, .iud is a woman of flue 
character and much ability. To her ready tact and 
pleasant maimers in entertaining his friends and 
associates in their beautiful home, her husband was 
undoubtedly much imlebted for his po))ul.-iiity ami 
influence. To them were born three children: 
Gamaliel (1st) who died aged about four 3'ears, 
John M.. and Gamaliel (2d). John M. is in 
the mail service of the United States as Division 
Superintendent, with h.eadquarters at Cleveland, 
Ohio. Gamaliel married Miss Emma Elliott, and 
is c:iriyinu 011 farming in Hudson Township. 

Xotwitli-lmiding his arduous private duties our 
subject de\oted much time to public affairs, as he 
was often called upon to serve in various official 
capacities, in which he won the entire confidence of 
his constituents. He was elected to the State Sen- 
ate on the Republican ticket, where he won for him- 
self an honorable record. His memory will ever 
be revered in this community. 

While the memory of such men as Mr. Baker 
needs no effort of art to perpetuate it, still v\'e be- 



r 



935 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



lieve that ns a future generation listens to the nar- 
rative of "what their fathers did in those days," i 
the view of these pictured faces will inspire them i 
to emulate so noble an example. It is with pleas- j 
ure, therefore, that we present on an adjoining 
page of this volume a portrait of Mr. Baker. 



UTHER WARNER, a pioneer farmer of 
Hudson Township, came to Michigan in 1 832, 
rhen tall forest trees were still waving over 
the land where now stand thriving villages. Settle- 
ments were few and scattering, and the deep silence 
of the wilderness was unbi'oken, save by the occa- 
sional ringing of the pioneer's ax, and at night by 
the bowlings of the wild animals. This part of 
Michigan had been less than a quarter of a century 
before condemned by Government surveyors and 
geographers as swampy land, unfit for agricultural 
purposes, and had been left to the Indians as n 
hunting-ground. But its value as farming land was 
beginning to be perceived, and in the course of a 
few years our subject witnessed many changes, and 
saw the commencement of man}' new settlements. 
He can tell man}' interesting tales of pioneer life, 
illustrative of its various phases of pathos, self- 
sacrifice and mutual self-helpfulness. 

Mr. Warner was born in Walworth. Wayne Co., 
N. Y., Sept. 14, LSI 8, and is the grandson of Daviil 
Warner, a native of New England, and an early 
settler of Walworth, where he bought a tract of 
timber land and improved a large farm. He was 
one of the members of the first Grand Jury that 
was ever convened in that county, and was other- 
wise prorainentl}' connected with public atfairs dur- 
ing his long and useful life, which extended over 
nearly a centur}', his death occurring in 1824, at the 
age of ninety-eight years. It is not known whether 
his son Russell, the father of our subject, was born 
in Nevv England or in the State of New York soon 
after his parents settled there. He was reared in 
the pioneer home of his parents, and married in that 
town Ora PheljK, a native of Monroe County, N. I 
Y., and the daughter of Silas Phelps, a Revolution- \ 
ary soldier, who was a pioneer of that county. 
After marriage Mr. Warner bought a tract of | 



timbei- land in. Manchester, Ontario County, and 
resided there until his death in 1828, having in the 
meantime cleared a good farm. After her husband's 
death the mother of our subject married again, the 
name of her second husband being John Thompson, 
and died in Manchester, Ontario Co., N. Y., in the 
home of her husband. 

Luther Warner was but a lad of ten years when 
he had the sad misfortune to lose his father. He 
remained with his mother for awhile, and finally 
went to live with an aunt in Monroe County, who, 
in 18S1, removed to the Territory of Michigan, 
settling in Oakland County. In 1832 her nephew 
joined her, coming via canal to Buffalo, and thence 
liy w.ay of Lake Erie and the Detroit River to 
Detroit, and from there on foot through the woods 
to Oakland County. When he made that memor- 
able journey from Nevv York he was but a boy of 
fourteen years, but he was a self-reliant, manly 
youth. He remained with his aunt until 183'J, and 
then came to this county, and bought on section 1 
of Hudson Township a tract of land on which the 
forest trees were still standing; he built a log house 
on the place, and commenced to clear his land. In 
the fall of that year he revisited his native State 
and spent the winter, returning to this Stale in the 
spring. He was then without domestic ties of his 
own. and made his home with his sister in Rome 
Township until his marriage, which occurred in 
June, 1841, with Miss Sarah Carpenter, a native of 
New York. They commenced their married life in 
the home he had built in the forest clearing on his 
farm in Hudson, but their life together, however 
happy, was brief, as the death of the young wife 
occurred in the year following their marriage. Mr. 
Warner was a second time married in June, 1845 
the name of his bride being Melissa Wilson. She 
was also taken from him after a few years of mar- 
ried life, leaving two children — Beatrice A. and 
Mark L. 

The third marriage of our subject took place 
Sept. 7, 1858, and was with Miss Nancy Bennett, a 
native of Columbus, Ohio. Her grandfather, Moses 
Bennett, was a farmer, and spent his Last days in 
Ohio, while her father, Joel Bennett, was a native 
of Pennsylvania. He married in Elmira, N. Y., 
Mercy Winkler, a native of that place, and daughter 
m^ 



-4•■ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



933 



ifc uiid 



•Mh 



of John \VinUK-i-, niid then witli 
l)r()th(n- he inignited to Kentucky, thiating down 
the Ohio River in a flatboat until they ai-rived on 
the Kentucky shore opposite Poi-tsmoniii, where 
they made their home for a short time. Tliey then 
crossed the river to the town, nnd fioiii tlierc went 
to Columbus, and after livini>- near tliat city a short 
time they went to Miami County, whence they sub- 
sequently came to the Territory of Michigan. The 
journey was made entirely' in a wagon drawn by 
oxen, and two weeks were consumed in traveling 
the distance, which was 200 miles. Mr. Bennett 
bought a tract of timber land on section 25 of Ilud- 
.son Township, and at once commenced the erection 
of a log house and the clearance of ills land, and 
there resided until the death of his wife in 1,S4;1 
A few years after that sad event he dispose<i of his 
l)roperty in Hudson and removed to Adrian, where 
he remained till 18G0, tiien went .and lived with his 
ciiildrcM until his death, Feb. .!, l.sc.-,. 

Our sul)ject and his family rontinued to reside on 
tlic farm that he had bought wiien h(> first started 
out in life until 18(18, in the meantime clearing the 
land, erecting a good frann^ barn, and otherwise 
greatly increasing its value. He then disposed of 
tha,t place, and bought llic f.-irni where he now re- 
sides in tfie same section. Here he and his wife 
have a cozy home, and can now take life more leis- 
urely than in times gone by when they were gath- 
ering together the competency by whii'li they are 
now enabled to spend their years in ease and com- 
fort. Of their union one d;uiglitcr has been l)orn, 
Jennie M. 

In politics Mr. Warner has for many years been 
a faithful follower of the Democratic |)arty;and as 
an honest man and a good citizen he deserves the 
respect and considei-ation in wliicli lie is held by 
.all. 



/^^ HARLES H. KENDRICK, one of the pio- 
(|( neers of Lenawee County, and a resident on 

^^f' section 28, Blissfield Township, w.as born in 
.Schlotheim, Germany, on the 13th of December, 
1827. He is the son of William and Doretha 
Kendrick, both of whom were n.atives of Germany 
where the mother spent her entire life. The father 



and his three children came to America in 1843, 
and settled in Macomb Count}', Mich., where they 
lived for a few j-ears and then removed to New- 
port, where he bought a farm and spent the last 
3-ears of his life. The names of the children are ; 
Henrietta, the wife of Charles Ilaghan, who lives in 
Waverly, Iowa: Frederick 1).. who lives in Detroit, 
and Charles H., the subject of this biography. 

Charles H. Kendrick attended school quite 
steadily until he was fourteen years old, and then 
began work in a i-ope factory, where his wages 
amounted to about tifty cents per week. He w.as 
in his sixteenth year when he came to America with 
his father, and upon his arrival went to work in a 
sawmill in Macomb County, where he remained for 
two years and then began to learn the trade of a 
shoemaker. He did not like that occupation, and 
after working three months, went to Canada and 
staid two or three months, and then returned to 
Macomb County, where he remained until 184(i. In 
that year he came to Lenawee Countj', where he ar- 
rived without money enough to buy a meal, but 
very soon procured work at $6 per month, and 
he continued thus employed at various occupations 
for three years, by which time he had earned suffi- 
cient money to purchase forty acres of land, which 
is now included in his present homestead. This 
land at the time w.as heavily covered with timber, 
and he paid $15. 25 per acre for it. He continued 
to work for other parties, excepting in the winter 
season, when he engaged in deadening and clearing 
the timber from his own land. He built a log house 
on the place in which he settled at the time of mar- 
riage and which the family occupied a number of 
years. 

On the :)th of October, 18.51. Mr. Kendrick was 
married to Maria Austin, who was born in Steuben 
County, N. Y.,on the 10th of February, 1823. They 
have had six children, four living, viz: Etta, the 
wife of Ruel Payne, a farmer near Blissfield : Emma; 
Cicero, who married Irene Beach and assists in car- 
rying on the home place, and Jennie. The deceased 
were Charles W. and Mary M. Mrs. Kendrick's 
father, Isaac Austin, was born in Maine, and after- 
ward removed to Vermont, where he worked upon 
a farm. He went to New York from Vermont, 
married, and resided there until 1840, when he came 



nnt 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



to Michigan and l)ouglit twenty acres of lanrl in 
Palmyra Townsiiip, on which he resided for a few 
years. He then sold that property and bought land 
in the northeast quarter of the southeast quarter of 
section 28, BlissBeld Township, and cleared a farm 
from the wilderness, where he resided until his 
death. The maiden name of his wife, the mother 
of Mrs. Kendrick, was Louisa Pierce, who was born 
in New York State, while her father was Daniel 
Pierce, a native of A'ermont. He removed from 
tlmt State to New York, and then to Michigan, and 
spent the last years of his life with his children in 
Lenawee County. 

Mr. Kendriek's industry has been richly rewarded, 
and he now has 1 20 acres of as fine farm land as 
lies in any part of Michigan, and the buildings 
which he has erected for the comfort of his family 
and the shelter of bis domestic animals are models 
of their kind. Mr. and Mrs. Kendrick are mem- 
bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which 
they are of excellent standing. Mr. Kendrick acts 
and votes with the Democratic party, but does not 
sacrifice any time that would be valuable for busi- 
ness or social affairs to politics. 



T^OBERT BOYD is a general farmer, residing 
lUir on section G, Raisin Township, where he oc- 
cupies a pleasant rural home, and is coni- 
Ifortably surrounde<l. His farm is con- 
ducted after the most improved methods of agri- 
culture, and he has displayed excellent taste and 
judgment in the details of improvement about the 
place. Mr. Boyd is a native of County Antrim, 
Ireland, where he was born in January, 1831, and 
resided until he reached mt,nhood and was married. 
In November, 1850, in County Antrim, Ireland, 
Mr. Boyd was married to Miss Mary Preston, who 
was also born in 1831, in the same county. Her 
parents died when she was quite a small child, and 
she was reared to womanhood by strangers. After 
the birth of their first child, Mr. and Mrs. Boyd set 
out for the New World, arriving in this country in 
1852. Immediately upon arrival at New York, he 
started for the State of Michigan, and located at 
Tecumseh, but after landing at this place, he made 



n^ 



the unwelcome discovery that he had but one cent 
left. However discouraging the circumstances and 
surroundings were, he did not feel cast down, 
but immediately sought employment of the farmers 
throughout the surrounding country, and was 
successful. The first work he secured was to drive 
an ox-team, the first he had ever seen, and he soon 
found himself in trouble. When about to make his 
first attempt, he inquired of the owner for a pair of 
lines with which to guide them. He was not accom- 
modated with these articles, but being left to his 
own resources he soon mastered the art of driving 
oxen without lines. He lived in Tecumseh for some 
time, and finally purchased his first land in Raisin 
Township, which consisted of twenty-five acres, 
about four years after he arrived in the county, 
while he is now the owner of 100 acres, all in one 
bod}' on section 6. He has had all tiie experiences 
of a pioneer, even if he did not become a citizen of 
the county in the pioneer days. 

Mr. and Mrs. Boyd are the parents of nine chil- 
dren, of whom the living are Emma, William, Mag- 
gie and Frank. Emma, the eldest, is the wife of 
James Smith, and they live near Franklin Centre, 
Lenawee County. In the year 18G5 four children — 
William, Alfred, David and Addie — died of diphthe- 
ria inside of two weeks' time. One other child, 
Eliza, by name, is also deceased. 

Mr. and Mrs. Boyd are Protestants in their re- 
ligious belief, as are also all the members of the 
family. In political matters Mr. Boyd acts with the 
Democratic part}', but not to the extent of becom- 
ing an office-seeker. He is a man who is modest in 
his demeanor, and very tolerant of the ideas of 
others. He is an excellent neighbor, and enjoys the 
esteem and respect of all the people of the sur- 
rounding neighborhood. 



•^ ESLIE T. GOFF, of Blissfield Township, was 
I (@) born on the old homestead where he now 
jJ*-^ resides, April I, 1845, and is the son of one 
of the first settlers of this county. His father en- 
tered land from the Government at $1.25 per acre, 
which, like the surrounding country at that time, was 
a dense wilderness, and one can easily imagine that 
__ ■ » 



-U 



4 



LEXA^VEE COUNTY. 



o;i.i 



the present beautiful and procUictixc farm is the 
result of long-continued and industrious labor. 

The fatlier of our subject, Sewcll S. (ioff, a na- 
tive of ilassaeiuisetts, was born in the town of 
Royalston, Jan. 29, 1811, wiienec, in early manhood 
he removed to Lewiston, N. Y., and from there, in 
1829, to this count}'. Here he entered forty acres 
of land on section 20 of what is now Blissfield 
Township, where he made arrangements to establish 
a permanent home. Soon afterward lie married Mrs. 
Margaret, widow of .Samuel Buck, whose husband 
was one of the first settlers of the county, and owned 
a trai't (.f land adjoining that of Mi', C.ff. Mr. 
and Mrs. ( i off iiegan life together in a log bouse, 
which they occupied uiany years, and from which 
they removed to a house on the bank of the river 
cast of the log hou.sc. They finally returned to the 
old farm, where An>. Maigarcl C.ff departed this 
life May .'Jl, i.S.;9: hcic als.. the father of our sub- ' 
jectdied twenty-six 3'(«rs later, on the 2od of Jan- 
nary, I8()0. Mr. Goff was a second time married, 
to Miss Lucy Frary, a sister of his first wife, and 
who was born in New York, Feb. .5, 1 <S20. They 
were the daughters of David Frary, also one of the I 
pioneers of Blisstiekl Township. t)f the lirst mar- j 
riage there were born three children: AVaiiier W.; 
Almira, who became the wife of A. L. Bliss, and is 
now a resident of Adrian, and Sewell, who died in ' 
infancy'. Of the secon<l marriage there u-ere four 
children, three now living, namely : I'bilaiider, who 
resides with his brother; Leslie T. of our 
John A., a resident of St. Mary's. 

Our sulijecl was reared .amid the see 
neer life, and com|)leled ids edtiealion in the dis- 
trict school. He remained under the home roof 
until the death of his parents, and was first married 
April 10. l.SUC, to Carrie I)., daughter of Rev. Mr. 
Kellug: by hei- he had twoehildren: Lucy Mabel. 
n<iw tb.'wifeof W. W.Smith, and VVilli.aui llerberl. 
who lives at the home (dace with his father. Mr. 
(ioff was divorced from his first wife, but the chil- 
dren continued to live with him. On the -.'Mth of 
January, 1878, Mr. Goff was a sei'ond time uuiteil 
in marriage, with Miss Clara A. l.aliounly, .Mr>. 
Goff was born in Reedtown, Ohio, .Ian. 22. I.s.")7, 
and is the daughter of Chancey and Eli/a l.allouuLy. 
who are living in Blisslield Township. .Mr. and 



md 



pio- 



Mrs. Goff have one child, a son Charles, born July 
20, 1881. 

Our subject ha- from ye.ar U> yeai- acbbd im- 
provements to the old homestead, and is now the 
proprietor of sixty-one acres of v.aluable land under 
a good state of cultivation. He possesses all the 
qualities of a reliable citizen, and enjoys the confi- 
dence and esteem of his neighbor.-. In politics he 
is a Republican. 

-^ ^-^ ^ 



ELLIOT l;. KlLr.rRV resi.le- on M'ctiou 21 
^i general farming and stock-raising. He pur- 
chased this place in 1819, when it was but slightl}' 
imi)roved, but he has since brought it to a high 
state of cultivation, and has now a fine place of 
about 1 80 acres of land and gives most of his attention 
to stock-raising. He was born in the State of \^er- 
mont. Sept. (J, 1827, and is the son of Richard Kil- 
bury, who was the sou of Richard Kilbury. ,Sr. The 
latter was a Scotchman who came ficim his u.ative 
hills to the I'nited States and made his h.une in 
Ohio, east of Cleveland, where he followed the busi- 
ness of blacksmithing and where he died. He mar- 
ried and became the father of a family of three or 
four children, one of whom, Ricliard. Jr.. was the 
father of the .-ubjeet of this sketch. 

When quite a young man Richard, Jr., left the 
parental roof, removing to \'ermont, after serving 
an apprenticeship at the blacksmith's trade. While 
there he was united in marriage with Miss Lueinda 
Johnson, a native of New England, and some years 
afterward he rem<_)ved to Ohio, where, in 1832, the 
parents and three of their children succumbed to 
that dread scourge, cholera. In consequence of this 
sorrowful event, Elliot was left an orphan before he 
ua- six year> old. At that time he made his home 
with Dr. Baltes Ruple, a stranger, with whom he re- 
mained until he was sixteen years of age. He then 
removed to his uncle's, who lived near Cleveland, 
anil there attended school for awhile, after wliich he 
-pent some five summers sailing on the lakes. At 
that time Chicago was but a hamlet and Toledo was 
in its infancy. While thus engaged he became ac- 
quainted with ;i Ca|)t. Case, with whom he came to 



A 



936 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



the then new township of Cambridge, and deciding 
to locate here toolv up a farm and commenced to 
improve it. Feb. 10, 1S51, in Cambridge Town- 
sliip, the subject of this notice was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Catharine E. fSheeler, a native of 
Sussex County, N. J., who was born Jan. 13, 1830. 
She is the oldest child of George and Jane (Onstead) 
Sheeler; the latter is now deceased, dying June 27, 
18.S5. The father is still living on the old home- 
stead, where he first settled in May, 1836. Mrs. 
Kilbury was a child of but six years when her par- 
ents removed to this State, and here she was reared 
and received her education in the commtm schools of 
that day. Notwithstanding the lack of educational 
advantages at that time general in this country, 
Mrs. Kilbury, by diligent and constant labor, suc- 
ceeded in acquiring a good education. Mr. and 
Mrs. Kilbury became the parents of six children, 
onljr one of whom is living — George R. The others 
died in infancj', except Viola J., who was the wife 
of Harvey Griffln, and Perrie Senia, who died at 
the age of eighteen. 

Mr. Kilbury and his wife are quite [iroinineiit in 
tlie Grange movement, both being members of 
Lodge No. 271). He is in politics a Democrat, and 
enjoying the confidence of his fellow-citizens, has 
held the office of Justice of the J'eace for years. 



J} OHN CHRLSTOPHERS. The mercantile in- 
terests of Medina and vicinity are worthily 
I represented by this business-like and ener- 
getic citizen. His early home was in the 
Buckeye State, where he was born in Huron County. 
Dec. 6, 1822, and was the second in a family of 
four sons and one daughter, the offspring of Dr. 
Richard P. and Sarah (Chapman) Christophers, na- 
tives of Connecticut. 

Richard P. Ciu-istophers was born Feb. 22, 17!)3, 
and his wife March 14, 1791. The father of the 
latter was born in 1757, and served in the Revolu- 
tionary War. The parents of our subject were 
married in Perkins Township, Erie Co., Ohio, in 
181S. Richard P. Christopliers was a man of more 
than (irdiuary ability and obtained a college educa- 



I tion. Besides having been graduated from Yale, he 
j also took a full course in a medical college in his na- 
I five State and was one of the pioneer physicians of 
I Erie (then Huron) County, Ohio. The parents spent 
their last years in that State, the father dying near 
I New London on the 16th of August, 1829. The 
mother subsequently made her home with her chil- 
dren in Bellevue, wliere her death took place March 
8, 1854. 

()ur subject was but a lad of seven 3rears at the 
time of his father's death, and three years later be- 
gan life for himself, entering the employ of his 
uncle at Huron Village. At the age of fourteen he 
commenced his apprenticeship at the tanner's trade 
in Bellevue, Ohio, at which he served seven years, 
and made his way to this State in 1 844, in company 
with Charles C. Morse, and located in Medina 
Township, where he continued thirteen years en- 
gaged in tanning. In 1 857, in company with Charles 
C. Morse, of Medina Township, he purchased an 
interest in the Titfln River Mills, where he engaged 
in the manufacture of flour and lumber until 1860. 
The two had hitherto owned but a one-half interest 
in the mills, and now purchased the remaining half. 
In 1873 Mr. Christophers disposed of his interest 
in this to the sons of Mr. Morse, who still continue 
the business; he had been in company with Charles 
C. Morse about thirty years. 

In 1876 Mr. Christophers, in company with his 
old partner, Charles C. Morse, Charles Hamlin and 
Rev. H. P. Eldridge, visited the Centennial Expo- 
sition at Philadelphia. They had been there but a 
short time when Messrs. Morse and Hamlin were 
taken ill and our subject returned with tlieni in 
September. Later, with a party of ten he retraced 
his steps and made an extensive trip through the 
East, visiting Washington, D. C, Baltimore, New 
York, Brooklyn, Coney's Island, Niagara Falls and 
other points of interest, not forgetting the tomb of 
Washington at Mt. \'ernon. The}- also visited the 
city of Harrisburg, and returned via Cleveland, 
Ohio. 

Mr. Christophers, now quite satisfied with his 
travels, returned to Me<lina, and in the spring of 
1S77 he puichased a stock of drugs and groceries 
and built up a good trade. Six years later he put 
up the fine brick store which he now occupies, and 



^l-<. 



Hh^ 



LKNAWEK COUNTY. 



o;n 



here he carries on general merchandising, number- 
ing his patrons among the most prominent and well- 
to-do citizens of the Miutheni part uf the rdunty. 
Me is a stanch Mii)purter of the Krpiililicaii party, 
and in all respects a representative citizen. 



— ^- 



jg\Ol>. NATIIAMEL 15 

^ ueriiaps one of tlic I 



;li)UEI)(;i 



the 



_ State of Miciiigan, .-nid i- citainly tlic liero 
of ;i remarl<al)ly interesting liisloiy. llci> the scion 
of excellent j-higiisli and Welsh .-m.-esti y, who lo- 
c;itcd in New Kngland ilinin- the Colonial day>. 
The paternal grandfatlier of onr >nlijcct it is he- 
lieved settled in (Connecticut. .\ni<inu lii> >ons uas 
Daniel, who was born Feli. 7. 177-'. and in early 
m.anh.iod migrated to Vermont, where he married 
Mi.ss Mehital.le Hristol at Sandgatc That same 
year, with his young bride, he moved to Cayuga 
('oiinty, N. v., where Nathaniel B. was born March 
2.S, lHi:i, in the then young city of Anburu. 

D.'.nicI Kldredgc. although jn>l cominenciug life. 
an<l cudeavoriiigto build up a farm fi<uu a tr.act of 
land p.artially uncultivated, when the call for soldiers 
came during the troid)les of 1812, proffered his 
services .as a Federal soldier. Me was recognized 

in the battle at t^ueenstown, where the American 
army, under (len. Van Rens.selaer, was taken pris- 
oners. Their release, however, was effected not 
long .afterward upon the final victory of the Fed- 

The KIdredges were es>enti.ally .-i ^tilling, ener- 
getic and patriotic set of men. Daniel Fldreclgi'. 
the p.aternal grimdfather of our subject, who was 
born in .Alassachnsetts. Feb. •.'.">. I7 1."i. coumiauded 
a company during the >aitirc K<'Voluti<ii]ary Wai-. 
and his commi.ssion, dated De.-. i'. I 77(i. ami Mgned 
by John Trumbull, is now in po>M.^,-,ioii of his 
grandson, Nathaniel P.. His wife was the daughter 
of Col. Seth Warner, tiie great Indian tighter of 
Massachusetts. 

The subject of this history received an academic 
education, and commenced teaching when sixteen 
years of age, which piofession he followed sever.al 



i •►HH^ 



winters. He was an uncommonly bright and activ(? 
youth, and at this time w.as appointed a cadet to the 
.Military Academy .at West Point by President 
.lackson, but was oliliged to decline for the reason 
that his father felt unable to furnish the outlit. 
Four years later he commenced the study of medi- 
cine under the instruction of his brotiier. Dr. 11. 1). 
Eldredge. .and w.as graduated fr.uu the .Medical Col- 
lege at F.airlield, N. V. hi Oct-olier following, he 
came to Oakland County, this .State, which was then 
in its infancy, and from 1 .s.'w to 1 S43 engaged in 
the practice of hi- prolessjon. In the meantime he 
had been m.aiTied to Mi» .le.aiiette Patten, the wed- 
ding t.akiiig plaia' .at the home of the bride. April 
•21.1 .s:!li. Mrs. Eldivdgc is the daughter of ( .eorge 
Patten, of excellent Seoti-h birth and ancestry, and 
who for many yc.ai> caiaied on farming extensively 
ill Comnuace Township. Oakl.aud County. 

in August, |si;!, leiiioved to Lapeer, and in com- 
pany with Di-. De l.askie Miller, for many years a 
Professor III bbish .Medical College, continued the 
practice of mediciue until l.s.')2, and in the mean- 
time olliciatcd as .Instice of the Peace, Chairman of 
the Board of Sui»ervisors. and in many othiu- im- 
portant positions. In 1845 he w.as Clerk of the 
.Senate, and in 1848 a member of the House. Me 
was next elected .ludge of the Probate Court of 
Lapeer County, during which time Charles M. 
Walker, then a law student, was his clerk. In 18.53 
he was appointed Po.stmaster of Lapeer, and served 
three years. The following year, having already 



d b 



with 



his former clerk. C. M. Walker. They were twice 
afterward, and while partners, opposing candidates 
for l^roseiaiting Attorney, but retained their former 
friendship and united interests. 

I'l tlieoiitlireak of the KchelliiMi, Nathaniel P.. 

Eldredge. as was to be expected, w.as the first man 
who enlisted from La|)eer County-, .and his partner, 
.Mr. Walker, was the second." Mr. E. raised a com- 
[laiiy and appointed his |iai-tuer Orderly Sergeant. 
The company was assigned t,o the 7tli lubintry, and 
before the regiment left the State, in September fol- 
lowing, our subject was promoted .Major, and C. 
.\1. \\:ilker quartermaster. Col. Eldredge par- 



i 



•>HP-^ 



•► 



■•Hh 



938 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



•► 



ticipated with his regiment in the affair at Balls 
Bluff and Edwards' Ferry, and after the unfortun- 
ate events which followed, wrote a letter in which 
he severel}' blamed Gen. Stone, which letter was 
published undesignedly, and for which Gen. Stone 
ordered the offender's arrest. After waiting six 
week.* for his trial. Col. Eldredge resigned, and upon 
his return home Gov. Blair first appointed him a 
member of the .St;i,te Military Board, and in April 
following, a Lieutenant Colonel of the 11th In- 
fantry. 

Col. Eldredge joined his rrginieut in Tennessee, 
and was witii it in several skirmishes and battles 
until his healtli failed, and he resigned in 1863. 
Two j^ears later he moved to Adrian, and with his 
old partner, C. M. Walker, commenced the practice 
of law. He was a man destined always to public 
position, and in 1870 was elected Mayor of Adrian, 
to be honored in the fall following as the nominee 
of the Democratic party for Congress in the district 
composed of Wayne, Monroe, Lenawee and Hills- 
dale Counties. In 1874 he was elected Sheriff' of 
Lenawee County. In 1882 he was the successful 
candidate for Congress, and was re-elected in 1884. 
His term ended in March, 1887. 

There were born to Col. Eldredge and his es- 
timable lady seven sons and four daughters. His 
eldest son, Lansingh B., during the war was Major 
of the 4th Michigan Cavalry, and after its close was 
elected Sheriff' of Lapeer Count3', being then but 
twenty-six years of age. Tlie second son, Levvis T., 
was for many years teller and hook-keeper for the 
Lenawee Count}' Savings Bank, and subsequently 
became book-keeper for the hardware establishment 
of R. J. Jewell; he is now in Lenawee County. 
Dan B., in 1879, was appointed Station Master and 
Freight Agent at Quincy for the Lake Shore & 
Michigan Southern Railroad, and is now cashier of 
that road in Buft'.alo; George H., a portrait painter 
of rare merit, is now here ; John B. in early life 
learned the trade of a coppersmith, and is now As- 
sistant Postmaster in Adrian. The youngest son, 
David D., is in Buffalo in the Lake Shore Railroad 
employ. The two daughters were named respectively 
Louisa A. and Ella. The elder resides at home ; the 
younger is the wife of William P. Smith, of Ionia 
County. The wife and daughters have been regular 

■^ 



attendants of the Presbyterian Church for many 
years, and the Colonel contributes liberally to the 
support of this ciinreh, althongli not liimself a 
member. 

Col. Eldredge came to Michigan about the time 
of its transformation from a Territory to a State, 
and when it contained about 110,000 inhabitants. 
It was then represented in Congress by one member 
only, and the development of its great resources had 
scarcely begun. He has watched the growth of 
this fine section of country' under the hands of the 
briive sons of toil, and has seen it steadily advanc- 
ing until it has become a commonwealth of which 
the pioneers are justly proud. Under the encour- 
agement and labors of such men as the subject of 
this history, it uow possesses a school system equal 
to any in the United States, with a University famil- 
iarly known all over the land, and unexcelled in 
wealth by any State in the Union. It numbers now 
at least 2,000,000 inhabitants, with eleven Members 
of Congress, and a reputation as one of the leading- 
sisterhood in the Northwest. 



J/OHN G. MILLER, one of the very snccess- 
I ful and energetic farmers of this county, re- 
I sides on section 22, Macon Township, where 
' he has a homestead of 100 acres of fine land, 
with his residence on Lake Ridge, and also owns 
fort}' acres on section 1 4. Mr. Miller came to this 
county in 1854, and settled on what was then a 
wilderness in Macon Township. He is a living 
example of what industr}' and energy will accom- 
plish, as he began a poor man and is now, by his own 
efforts, in possession of a good, comfortable home. 
iMr. Miller was born in Bavaria, Germany, Nov. 
29, 1824, wliere he remained till twenty-three years 
of age. In 1847 he accompanied his parents, George 
and Dorothea (Englehart) Miller, to America, where 
after a voyage of eight weeks the}' all landed in 
Quebec, Canada, and thence made their way to the 
Uuito.l States, locating on a farm of forty-four 
.acres in T]iiml)ull County, Ghio. After spending 
two years there our subject set out on his own 
account, going to Mercer County, Pa., where he 
rented a farm, and in two and one-half years a(;- 



!?^»- 



I 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



030 



'^ 



cainulated some S700. He then joined his parents 
in Ohio, and all came to Micliiijan and purchased 
land in Macon Townshi|i. uln-rc \.\\v |iareiit> li\ed 
until their di>ath. at the auc> •<{ ciiility-fmu' and 
eighty respectively. 

.lohn G., our suhjic-t, was the <iidy miu. and had 
Ave sisters, all but one (jf whini] an- now lixinn. and 
arc married to the folldwiiiu-nanK-d liciillcnicn : 
David Eastlick. .lohu liadnnan, .lohii llahn and 
Fred Millei-. 

Mr. MUh-v was manied in ■|'runilMill C.uniy, 
Ohio, in 184.S, the lady of U\> cIkmcc licing ('.•.rolinc 
Dcniger. who was lioni in llavariti. (Jcrniany, in 
IKL'T. Wiien but a child sli.' was b.Tcft by death 
of licr mother, and this was folluwcd soon after by 
the death of her other parent. Some time afterward 
she came with the Miller family to the United 
States, and located with them in Trumbull County, 
Ohio. She became the mother of eight children, 
four of whom are now dead; the living are: Fred, 
who married Mis.s Emma Karcher, and lives with 
her father; Carrie, Mr.s. llcmry Smith, of Muskegon; 
Mich.; Edward, who married Maggie Quin, and 
lives in Clare, Clare Co., Mich.; and Leonard, who 
is at home. The deceased were Maggie, Katie, 
Christie and Mary. The lirst two lived to lie mar- 
ried. 

Mr. and Mrs. .MiHcr arc uicnd.crsot the Lutheran 
Chnrcli. In politii-s Mi-. .M. is a Democrat. 



w:^: 



f 



HILLIF WAREIIAM. One of the most 
able and higidy improved farms of 
Lenawee County is owne(l and cultivated 
by the gentleman whose nanie heads this 
sketch. He is located in Wdodstoek Township, 
where he owns i'-io acres of e.xcellent land, and is 
engaged in general farming and stock-raising. He 
has occupied his present residence since LSGO, and 
as the result of his industry and perseverance he 
has accumulated a conii)etency which he may now 
enjoy. 

Mr. \rarehani was b(^rn in (luuljerland County, 
Pa., Nov. 12, 1S07, .and is the son of Fhillip and 
Mar^- (Johnson) Warebam, the fonuer l)oiii in 
Cumberland County, while the mother was a native 



of Ireland, where she was born in County Fer- 
managh. Fhillip Wareham, Sr., was by trade a 
blfieksniilli. but he followed the occupation of a 
f.-irnier, an. I >peuiling hi> life in his native State, 
died at the age of hfty-four year>. The decease of 
his wife occurred when she w.-is alxnit sixty-two 
years of age. The (jaternal grand I'.-itJier of om- sub- 
ject, Fhillip WarehMin. wasa native of ( lermany, and 

Kevolutionary War. lie settled in Cnnd.erland 
County, I'a.. and followed the occn|iation of a 
farmer until hi> death .-it the home of the father of 
oin- subject at the age of seventy-nine year>. His 
wife, Betsey Ilanes. pieee.led him to the silent land 
lifleeu years. 

The parental family of oui- subject included 
eight children, of whom but two ari' now living. 
Johnson, the other living member, is a resident of 
Carlisle, Fa., where he is engaged in his occupation 
of a carpenter. Fhillip Wareham was reared on 
the farm, attending the district school in winter un- 
til he became able to handle a Hail, and remained 
engaged on the home farm until twenty-foiu- yeais 
of age. From that time until he reached his thirty- 
first year he was variously engaged in that 
neighborhood, and he then removed to Wayne 
County, Ohio, and operated a f.arm on shares. He 
continued thus engaged until the fall of 1S4-8, when 
he removed to Eaton County, this State, .and pur- 
chased IGO acres of land with the money he had 
saved while fanninu rented land. He made this 
his residence until \!^i>i), clearing his farm and 
bringing it to a good state of improvement, build- 
ing a log cabin and barns. He finally sold this 
farm and removed to Woodstock Townshiii, wheie 
he purchased his present pioprity. 

On the 28th of October. !«:;(», .jur subject was 
united in marriage with Miss Rtichel, daughter of 
Conrad and Rachel (McNeil) Dewey. She was a 
native of the same (county as her husband, and was 
born Feb. 29, 1808. Iler [jareuts were agriculturists 
1)3' occupation and spent their entire lives in Fenn- 
sylvania. where they reared a family of eight chil- 
dren, of whom .-dl aie now deceased. The wife of 
our subject pa,ssed away at her home in this county 
on the 5th of M.arcii, 1 sTT). They became the par- 
ents of seven children, namely : Theodore, ILamil- 

•► 



Hl-I. 



040 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



ton, Phillip, John C, David P., Margaret C. and 
Jolmsou. Theodore was born in Cumberland 
Count}', Pa., Oct. 31, 18:51, and married Miss 
Nancj' Brown, who has borne him two children; 
their elder (laughter married E. Holland, and has 
five children; Hamilton was born April 7, 1«34, 
and married Miss Julia E. Delany; they had a 
family of three children, one of whom is deceased; 
their eldest daughter became the wife of E. Spauld- 
ing and has three children. Phillip was born April 
28, 183G, and married Miss Catherine A. Casey: 
John C. was bom Oct. 7, 1838, and married Vina 
Holmes, by whom he had two children, one of 
whom is deceased; David P. was born May 23, 
1841, and died June 21. 1861; Margaret C. was 
born June 10, 1843, became the wife of J. N. 
MikeseU, and died March 2, 1863; Johnson was 
liorn Sept. 19, 1845, .and married Miss Hattie Hol- 
land, who was born Aug. 26, 1846; they have two 
children: Percy E., who was born Jan. 4, 1871, 
and Bertha M., April 21, 187G. 

Mr. Wareham resides with his son, but still owns 
the farm, and in his old age retains in a great de- 
gree his mental and physical faculties. In politics 
he is a Democrat and is unswerving in his princi- 
ples. He is not very much interested in the sub- 
ject, however, but he regularl}' records his vote for 
the party of his choice, and cast his first vote for 
Andrew Jackson. While a resident of Eaton 
County, Mich., he was elected Treasurer of Carinel 
Township, and held the office four years. 

LBEKT HUMPHREY BUMP, Sr., is well 
;nown throughout this and adjoining 
ounties as a .pioneer, who made his home 
n Southern Michigan in the early days of 
its settlement, ;in(l has since witnessed its wonderful 
development. In nothing has the progress of the 
country and times been more marked than in the 
modes of traveling. When he first came liere the 
<inly Mieausof transportation was by means of wag- 
ons (Irnwii by horses, or niore commonly by oxen, 
over exceedingly rough roads, sometimes rendered 
almost impassable b}' mud, so that the ad vent of the 
first railwixy into Michigan, although it was of the 



most primitive construction, was a great event in 
the lives of the early settlers. The rails were of 
wood, while the cars were drawn by horses, and our 
subject proudly handled the lines of the horses that 
drew the first car that ever came into Adrian over 
that road. Mr. Bump was born in Chatham, Co- 
lumbia Co.. N. Y., Jan. 29, 1818. 

The grandfather of our subject, Benjamin Bump, 
was a native of New England, and one of the early 
pioneers of Saratoga County, N. Y., where he took 
up a tiact of land in Greenfield and improved a 
farm, upon which he resided until his death. The 
father of our subject, Bartlett Bump, was born on 
his father's homestead in Greenfield, and tliere 
lived until he was eighteen years old, when he re- 
moved to Chatham, and went from there as a sol- 
dier in the War of 1812. After his return to that 
place when the war had closed, he married Miss 
jMary Swift, a native of Connecticut, and in 1825 
they removed to Wayne County, where Mr. Bump 
engaged in farming on shares. In March, 1833, he 
came to Michigan, where he made his home with 
George Crane, in Palmyra Township, and continued 
working for him until the construction of the rail- 
way was commenced in 1834, when he took a con- 
tract to build the first section of such road ever 
constructed in Michigan. He, however, sublet that 
contract, and in 1835 took another, to construct 
three miles of the road in Palmyra Township, com- 
pleting it in 1836. In 1837 he removed to Hills- 
dale County, and buying a tract of timber land in 
Wheatland Township resided there until his death. 
He had in the meantime cleared a fine farm, and 
elected good buildings to take the place of the rude 
log house in which his family first lived when the^' 
settled there. To him and his wife were born four 
children, namely: Albert H., Barbara A., Charles 
and Benjamin F. Barbara married J. F. Taylor, 
of Wheatland : Charles lives in Toledo. Ohio, and 
Benjamin F. resides on the farm where he was 
born, in Wheatland. Mr. Bump's death occurred 
ill August, 1887, he having attained the age of 
eight}' -seven years. He and his wife enjoyed the 
respect of all in the community as people of genu- 
ine worth. 

The subject of tlii.s sketcli was fifteen years old 
when he came with his parents to this county, and 



r^^*- 



4 



LENAWEE COUNTY, 



941 ' ^ 



lived with Mr. Crane in Palmyra 'i'^>n■ll^llill until 
he was twenty-one years of age, when lu' ri.MTivo<l 
from him eighty nc-res of LiiniuT hiihl in tlio tcwn- 
>hii) of Wlieatlaii.l, .section :'<■'>. In the fall of 1 .s;;(; 
the cars began to run from Tuli'ilo to Ailrian. and. 
as we have before said, were diawn by hor-i-. wliirb 
were changed three times on tlic ti'i|>. 'I'hc WvM 
cars that passed over the r.ailway (■.■irriril the olli- 
cials, and our subject met the Irain three .and one- 
half miles from Adrian with a pair of .Mr. Crane-s 
horses, which he attached to iheli.ain and .beu it 
into Adrian. .Mr. linnip iMiinedi.alely look povses- 
.sion of the land winch hi.- employer hail given him 
and erected a log hou>e. into •.vhieh lie brought his 
bride, and there hi.s children were bcnn. lie 
cleared about sixty acres of the land and erected 
frame buildings, but in 1 ><7o he >old out, and re- 
moved to .Medina Township, in this county, where 
he bought a hue farm (if 120 acacs. .and rcsiih-d there 
prosperously engaged in farming for some years. 
In l.s8o he iiad a got"l opportunity to exchatigc 
that property for his present farm on section 1(1 of 
Hudson Township. This is very finely located, ad- 
mirably adapted to all farming purposes, and has 
an ample set of buildings, while everything about 
the place sh(.)ws good management on the part of 
the owner. All his prosperity he owes to well-di- 
rected energy and economy, and sound ju<lgment on 
all matters pertaining to his line of business. 

Mr. Bump was first married, in November, 18 12, 
to Fanny, daughter of -lohn and Elizabeth 
(Vaughn) Hawkins. She was born in Oxfordshire. 
England, in 1818, and came to Amciic.a in is:;.;. 
The parents settled near Rochester, where hei- lather 
died, and the mother died in IlillsdaK- (onnty at 
the home of our subject. .Mrs. IJnmp died in .May, 
1871, and left to mourn their loss six childi-en; 
Bartlett H., George H., Albert II., .May !■:.. faimia 
J. and Ellen C. Bartlett resides in Wlie.alland ; 
George and Albert in Hudson; .May, .Mrs. Dcaini- 
son, in Muskegon; Emma, Mrs. TrnmbnII. in Hud- 
son, and Ellen, Mrs. Helmie, in \Vh.-.alland. 



Ml 



ps secon.i 11 
1s7l', with liebecea A. 
I'latlsburg, Clinton Co., 
was the daughter of Lc 
Nichols. She ha<l beei 



Smith. 
C. v., .M: 
i and lii 



(Watrousj 



Thomas C. Smith, who died in New York in 1860. 
leaving four children, namely: Cornelia M., Harvey 
'J'.. Eugene and Levi N. Cornelia, now Mrs. llaff, 
lives in Clinton County, X. Y. Harvey and Lex i 
li\e in Mt. Pleasant, Lsabclla Co., Mich., and Eu- 
gene lives in Medina Township. Mrs. Bump came 
to Michigan with her three .suns, in the year 1 8(52, 
and settled in the town of Medina. 

Mr. and Mrs. Ihinip are pa.ssing their livcs(iuiet,ly 

by many friends, l.,\ wh.mi tliey are held in the 
highest regard and esteem bir their true worth and 



■^•^- 



^/^ TEPIIEN M. .MEAIJ. The State of iMiciii- 
^!^^ gan is noted .all over the country for its hos- 
IjL^J) pitable people, and this reputation has been 
well e.ariuMl. as any stranger who travels 
tluduuh the State must I'oiKaale. As a representa- 
tive of these iKJspit.abIc people in Jjcnawee County, 
the subject, of this sketch stands prominent. He 

was born in Lain- o. Berkshire Co., Mass., <m the 

ISlh'of September, 1 .s;22, .and is the .son of Seymour 
Mead, who was boni in tlu^ same town Nov. 11, 
1781), and the grands,, n of Stephen Mead, who was 
born in the l,,c:ility known .as llorseneck. near the 
line sel)aratiiiL: the States of New York .ami Con- 



. Willi 

laght sons .and one , laughter. 
,as born in 1 CC:;. and marry 
Stamford. Coiiii.. had tw,, 



rah 



•>^M^ 



.Mr. .Mead traces his .aiHM'slry lo William .Mead, 
who w.as born in Stainf..rd. Conn., in l(;il,.and had 
a family of 
Ebenezer v 
Knapp, of 

Ebenezer. .Jr.. was In.ni Oct. 2.-.. li;'.)2. and married 
Hannah ISrowii, and their son Cal.'ii married Ilaii- 
n.ah ISunnell, who ha.l three children. Their son 
St,e|ilien, the great-giandlather of the subject of this 
sketch, was born on the 2d of March, 1711, married 
Elizabeth lloUey, and removed to Lanesboro in 
17()r), in the settlement of which i)lace he was a pio- 
neer. Thisjoiiine> th.-y made on !ior.s,-l,ack. when 
the grandfather of the subj,.<.| ,,r this sketch was 
but two years of age. and was carried in liis moth- 
er's arms. The great-grand bather bought ipiite a 
tract of timber land about one mile from the \ il- 



•►-11-^ 



942 



LENAWEE COUNTY, 



lage of Lanesboro, which he cleared and cultivated, 
and made his home until his death ; it is now owned 
by a cousin of the subject of this sketch, named 
William Mead. The grandfather resided on that 
farm until he died in 1863, at the age of ninety- 
seven years, and the father, Seymour Mead, was 
reared at the old homestead, and followed farming 
there for many years. He and his father and 
brothers built a woolen-mill near the old homestead, 
and engaged in the manufacture of cloth, besides 
which they operated a marble quarry, doing an ex- 
tensive business. He remained a resident there un- 
til 1847, when he sold his interest and removed to 
Willoughby, Ohio, where he lived until 1851, and 
then came to Blissfield and rem.ained until his death, 
(in the Kith of March, 1869. The maiden name of 
his wife was Lucy Mason, who was born in Lanes- 
boro, Mass., on the 29th of November, 1798. 
There were five children, as follows: D. R. died 
in Pittslield ; Mary is the widow of D. 8. Harring- 
ton, and lives in Bangor, Mich.; Stephen M. is the 
subject of this sketch ; S. Lafayette and George A. 
P. died in Blissfield. The wife's father, Reu- 
ben Mason, was born Sept. 12, 1773, and married 
Mary Piatt, who was born in Lanesboro, Mass., on 
the 22d of April, 1779. The mother of Mr. Mead 
died in Blissfield on the Isluf May, 1875. 

The subject of this sketch attended the common 
schools in the winter season, and during the spring 
and summer months assisted his father in various 
ways. Before the days of railroads, he teamed to 
Albany and other towns, and in 1840 drove a stage 
from Lanesboro across the Hoosac Mountains. He 
lived in Lanesboro until 1860, and then went to 
Cleveland, Ohio, where he drove a stage for the 
greater part of' two years, and then took employ- 
ment on the Lake Shore Railroad, and remained 
with that company for twenty-six years. He was 
first a brakeman on the gravel train, and was pro- 
moted from tiiat to the various grades, until he 
reached the position of conductor of a passenger 
train, in which capacity he served twenty-one years, 
running between Cleveland, Erie and Buffalo. In 
1878 he resigned his position, and coming to Bliss-, 
field, settled on his present farm, U> whieii he lias 
ilevoted his attention ever since. 

Mr. Mead was first married on llie 5th of Octo- 



ber, 1842, to Harriet Garlick, who was born at 
Lanesboro, Mass., April 18, 1824, and was a daugh- 
ter of Eli Garlick: she died in Pittsfield, Mass., 
Sept. 20, 1846. They had one child, Dwight S., 
who now lives in Blissfield. Mr. Mead's second 
marriage was on the 30th of May, 1848, with 
Minerva S. Humphrey, who was born in Lanesboro, 
Mass., on the 22d of April, 1829. She is the 
daughter of Reuben Humphrey, of Hallowell. Me., 
who vvas born in 1808, and his father was Aaron 
Humphrey, who emigrated to America and settled 
in Maine. He was an Episcopal minister, and 
preached in various places, and finally died at 
Beloit, Wis., when ninety-two years of age. The 
father of Mrs. Mead was a shoemaker, and has al- 
ways followed his occupation; he still lives in Lanes- 
boro. His wife was Adah Ann Butler, of Lanesboro, 
daughter of Silas Butler of the same county. He 
owned a woolen-mill, and died in North Adams in 
the ninety-first year of his age. Mrs. Mead's pa- 
ternal grandmother was Shoal Libby, who died at 
Beloit, Wis., and her maternal grandmother was 
Adah Piatt, who died in Lanesboro, in her seventy- 
eighth year. Mr. Mead's brother George was born 
in Lanesboro, Oct. 16, 1826, and went to Wil- 
loughb}', Ohio, with an elder sister in 1840. In 
1851 he came to Lenawee County, and engaged in 
farming until his death on the 6th of December, 
1875. Lafayette was educated for a teacher, and 
engaged in that occupation for seven years at Ded- 
ham, Mass., and afterward for thirteen years in 
Nantucket, Mass. lie came to Blissfield in 1865, 
where he died on the 24th of August, 1869. 

Mr. and Mrs. Mead's only child, Carrie S., was 
born on the 21stof March, 1849, and died Dec. 16, 
1877, at Cleveland, Ohio, and was buried at Bliss- 
field. Mrs. Mead is a member of the Episcopal 
Church, with which she united when in the city of 
Cleveland. Mr. Mead joined the I. O. O. F. in 
Massachusetts in the year 1840, and is now a mem- 
ber in good standing of Blissfield Lodge No. 258. 
He owns two farms, one in Riga Township, of 110 
acres, and the farm on which he lives, which con- 
tains 100 .-icres. He purchased this land in 1859, 
when it w;is wliolly covered with trees and under- 
growth, luil while living in Cleveland he had the 
timlier removed and has since thoroughly under- 



"^•- 



lknawep: county. 



94?. 



diainerl it. with tile. The farm j< 
Blissfielfl, and is considered vpr\ 
buiUlings which he has erected up 
in every respect, and arraiijicd (,n 
comfort. The home of Mr. and 
very hospitable one, .and they Inko 
pleasure in entertaining their frienc 
manner. On account of tiie gen 
both, they are popular with the pe 



^NDKEW TAYLOR. One of the fnusl 
^0| farms in Rome Township, located (ni sc<-- 

lljm tion 8, and comprising eighty acres of l.-md, 
1^ is the property of an early pioneer of Mils 

county, wiio came to Michigan hefure it had lieeii 
admitted into the Union as :i State. He .irrixcd 
here in the spring of ISS'i, and a few months later 
purchased the land which has siuct' hceii in liis pos- 
session and which, after years of industrious labor, 
he converted into a beautiful and valuable home- 
stead. Here ho still resides, retired from the act- 
ive duties of life, and is enjoying, as he deserves, 
the ease and comfort which he honestly earned. 

Our subject was born March 26, 1814, and is the 
son of Ichabod and Zady (Stilson) Taylor, natives 
of Connecticut. The father was a farmer by oc- 
cupation, and after marriage removed with liis lit- 
tle family to Delaware County, N. V.. wlieic his 
death took place when he was fifty-seven years of 
age. The mother died six years previously and 
was fifty-four at the time of her decease. They 
were the parents of fifteen children, Andi-ew being 
among the youngest. 

The boyhood and youth of Andrew Taylor were 
spent after the manner of most farmers' sons whose 
education was conducted in the district school. 
Soon after reaching his majority, and realizing the 
fact that he must depend upon himself in the future, 
he m.ade his way to the Territory of Michigan, and 
was first employed as a farm laborer in Tecumseh 
Township. The nest year he rented a tract of land, 
and at the beginning of the third year purchased a 
quarter section, which is now included in his present 
farm. On the 7th of March, 1838, he was married to 



young peo 



the 



"<•- 



Mi^s.Icmima Rogei'S, and 

building up a lionicstcad. and iierame the paicnts of 
the foilowing-nanied children, six of whom are still 
living: George, Edwin, .Teanette, Minerva, Hiram, 
Frank and Cornelia, Mrs. Jemima Taylor departed 
this life at her iiome in Rome Township, Dec. ■>■':. 
1 8.')7, at the age of forty years. Mr. Taylor, in 1 8(;(), 
was married to Mrs. Charity M. (Palmer) Stearns, 
of Rome, and they became the i)arents of one child, 
BairdE.. who is now married and the father of two 
children. 

Mr. Taylor cast his first Presidential vote for 
.Tackson, and has usnall}' voted the Democratic 
ticket, but is mainly inde|)endent, aiming to support 
the best men for office. He has been quite promi- 
nent in township affairs, and held various positions 
of trust and responsibility. He rendered substan- 
tial assistance in Ijnilding the Baptist Church edi- 
fice at Rome. He has given much .attention to the 
embellishment of his home, which, with its appur- 
tenances, forms one of the most attractive features 
in the landscape of Rome Township, being sup- 
plied with substantial buildings and a choice as- 
sortment of live stock, while everything about the 
premises is carefully attended to. 

J^OHN L. MATTHES, an experirnced and 
successful contractor and builder, has pur- 
sued his calling among the people of Adrian 
f< ir many years, during which time he has built 
up a handsome home and .accumulated acompetenc}' 
for his old age. He is a native of a far country, hav- 
ing been born across the sea in the little Kingdom of 
Bavaria, Oct. !•>, 1824. In the twenty -third year 
of his age he set out for the United States, and soon 
after lanrling in New York City made his way to 
Monroe County, Mich., where he began learning 
the carpenter's trade. At this he employed him- 
self in the city of Monroe for a period of eighteen 
years, and at the expiration of this time he came 
to Adrian, and for eleven years thereafter operated 
a sash factory. 

Mr. Matthes, upon disposing of this business, was 



•► 



044 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



employc'l is a cnrpenter by John Towsand, on the 
Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway, and 
when this contract expired returned to his trade, 
and not long afterward was entirely employed as a 
contractor and builder. He possessed much nnlii- 
ral genius, and this, together with his excellent bu>i- 
ness capacities, contributed to make him a first- 
class workman, upon whom the people could depend, 
and a business man whose word could be relied on. 
He is a fine illustration of the self-m.-ule man, as he 
commenced in life dependent upon his own efforts. 
He has reared a large family, educated his children 
properly, and occupies an enviable social and finan- 
cial position among th(; intelligent people of a 
thriving and populous city. 

The parents of our subject, (iodfrcy and Mar- 
garet (Meyer) Mattlies, were also of German birth 
and parentage, and the father carried on farming 
in a modest manner in his native kingdom, where 
he died when our subject was le.ss than two years 
old. The mother also died in Bavaria, in 184;!. 

John Matthes, after coming to the United States, 
was married, in 1847, to one of his own country- 
women, Miss Margaret Kaumeier, with whom he be- 
came acquainted in Monroe County, this State. 
This union resulted in the birth of eleven children, 
nimielj': John L., John Godfrey, Margaret C., 
C. Frederick, Catharine, Mary, William, Emily, 
Herman, Louisa and August. John L., Margaret 
and Emily are deceased. The family residence is 



pleasantly located on Frc 
enjoy the friendship of a 
ances. 



nt street, and its inmates 
large circle of acqunint- 



—>-^<^ 



--Hf 



*-»i- 



fl? ON. ORSON GREEN. The essential points 
r'^^l in the life history of this popular and well- 
>\\J^' known resident of Lenawee Count}' are 
(^j) niaiuljr as follows: A native of Palmyra, 
Ontario (now Wayne) Co., N. Y., he was born on 
tlie 6th of March, 1812, and is the son of Ephraim 
Green, Esq., of New England birth and parentage. 
Ephraim Green was born in the town of Thompson, 
Conn., and there passed the early part of his life, 
migrating to the Empire State when a young man 
twentj' years of age. He took up a tract of uucid- 



tivated land, from which he Imilt up a good home- 
stead .and there spent the remainder of his life. 

Ephraim Green, after his removal to Western 
New York, was married in Ontario County, in 1790, 
to Miss Sarah Claghorn, who became the mother of 
nine children, live boys and four girls, and died at 
her homo in Ontario County when sixty-three years 
of age. The elder Green was a man of much force 
of character and decided views, an old-line Whig, 
politically, and an anti-Mason. He w.as Captain of 
Militia during the War of 1812, and filled tlie vari- 
ous offices in the township where he settled. Both 
parents were devout Christian people, the father 
belonging to the Baptist and the mother to the 
Presbyterian Church. 

Orson Green continued on the home farm until 
reaching his majorit}', receiving his education in 
the public schools, while he inherited in a marked 
degree the intelligence and decided traits of charac- 
ter of both parents. April 10, 1833, he left the 
Empire State, and landed in the Territory of Michi- 
gan on the 6th of Maj' following, having walked 
the entire distance, stopping first near the embryo 
town of Palmyra. Thence a few days later he re- 
paired to Adrian, and after traveling about in this 
count}' a few weeks, returned to Detroit and took 
a steamer for Buffalo, landing a few d.ays later in 
Cattaraugus County, N. \. 

\w the meantime Mr. Green had decided to make 
his future home in Michigan, and believing that he 
could labor to better purpose with the sympathy 
and companionship of a wife, he was married on the 
5th of February, 1834, and in May following 
started for the proposed new home. Leaving his 
wife at Van Buren, he came to RoUin Township 
and took up 240 acres of Government land, being 
one of the first men to locate permanentl}' in this 
section. He cleared a spot large enough for a cabin 
and garden, then returned to Van Buren for his 
wife, and they made their home with their nearest 
neighbor until the fall, when Mr. Green put up a 
log house into which they removed before it was 
provided with either a floor or a window. Thus 
they passed the winter, and in the spring completed 
the "residence." 

Mr. Green and his wife occupied this humble 
abode, with some additions to its convenience and 
•>. 



.►Hh-* 



^l 



l.KNAWEE COUNTY. 



ni." 



comfort, for a period of twcnty-t\v( 
put up the present dwolliim', wliifli 
considered one of llir lincsl in 
around. Tiie first t;iiili' of llic ycm 
board supported by .■> cdiiiilr nf w 
sorted in one of tlie ious of the Ihmi: 
they used their truniis. I^iixurics 
at that time and their contrivance 
the conveniences vvhicii were aliui. 
in a well-ordered household, wci- 
ludicrous as they were ingeiiinns. 1 
to live in a most economical niiuiii 



ictimes as 
ere forced 
id experi- 



■^t-* 



enced what peo|)le of tiic prcseni day would denom- 
inate "hard times." 

'Die wife of our subject was formerly Miss Eliza- 
betii Douglas, daughter of Daniel and Hannah Doug- 
las, the former of whom died in the Kin|)irc State. 
while the latter subsequently cniic U> .\li<higan and 
passed her last years in Van liuriu, \\ .lync t'ounly, 
where her death took place at the age of sixty-two 
years. Mrs. Elizabeth Green was born March liS, 
1814, and became the mother of four children: 
The eldest, Daniel 1-)., was born Nov. 27, l.'^;i(;,and 
died Jan. 25, 1848; Ephraim C. was born .Ian. 18, 
1838, and married Mi.ss Elizabeth Crunimey, who 
was born Aug. 21), 1842, in Albany, N. V.; to them 
vfere born four children, two sous and one daughter 
of whom are living; Eiihraiin is opcniling a part of 
the old homestead. Saiah iM. was born Nov. 27, 
1840, and lilizabeth I)., Feb. .t, 18.'i(). Tlic former 
is at home, while the latter married Francis Alex- 
ander, a well-to-do farinei- of Rollin Township, and 
they have one daughter. Mi'. Alexander was born 
May 20, 1849, and is the son of David and 
Mary Ann (Hull) Alexander. David Alexander 
died in Rollin Township at the age of sixty-nine 
years; his wife is living and occupies the old home- 
stead. Mrs. Elizabeth Green died Feb. 25, 1850, 
when thirty-six years of age, in the log house to 
which she had corae as a bride and where her chil- 
dren were born. Mr. Green, on the 23d of Febru- 
ary, 1863, was wedded to the sister of his lirst wife. 
Miss Clemenza Douglas, who died eight years later, 
on the 24th of August, 1871, aged fifty y-ears. 

Mr. Green was Justice of the Peace in KoUin 
Township before its organization or the admission 
of the Territory into the Union as a State, the elec- 



tion being authorized by the (Jovernor. He held 
this ollicc for -a period of twenty years ami tinally 
refused to become :i ,-indi.late. He was elected 
Supervisor in iJie spiin- of isl.",. nnd in thiscapac- 
ity he served six ye:ivs in succession and was aftci-- 
u-.'ii-d elected twice to the >iime office, serving in all 
eleven or twehc yenis. He w;is Assessor S(!Veral 
terms, itut] in I S.V.I was first elected to the State 
Legislature ainl tliere.-ifler re-elected in 1871, being 
a member of this b.idy for a perioil of four years. 
Hon. Orson (JreiMi while at tlie State Capital 
served upon many important committees, nnd was 
especially intere,ste<l in ch.'iritnble institutions and 
prison reform schools, in coinici'tion with which he 
made many useful sui; got ions and brought about 
various measures which proved greatly beneficial 
in the management of Ihcse institutions. No man 
evinced more interest in the establishment of re- 
ligions and educational institutions in Southern 
Michigan than the subject of this sketch. He as- 
sisted in the Iniilding of the liist church in Kollin 
Townshij). iu 18(;8, and with his estimable huly lias 
lieen a member in good standing of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church for many years. He cast his first 
I'residential vote for William Wirt, and was an 
old-line Whig until the organi/al ion of the Re- 
publican party, when he gave his cordial support 
to the latter. Now, nearing the close of a long and 
useful career, sheltered by a pleasant and comfort- 
able home and surrounded by hosts of friends, he 
is reaping the reward of a life well spent and one 
which has been generous in good deeds and char- 
acterized by unselfish devotion to the interests of 
the people around him. by whom his name will be 
held in ivimlly remembrance long after lie shall have 
been gathered to his fathers. 



^■^^^^■^ •: — 



S; SAAC C. GUNN, of Woodstock Township, has 
jlj a snug farm of sixty-six acres located on sec- 
li\ tiou 30, under a fine state of cultivation and 
provided with a good set of frame buildings. The 
home surroundings are remarkably pleasant and in- 
viting, comprising as they do all the little accessories 
naturally suggested by taste and means. There is, 
besides a comfortable dwelling, the ample barn and 



r 



-4*- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



convenient outhouses, a good orchard, and various 
fruit and shade trees that form a i)rotection from 
summer's heat and winter's storm. Mr. (4unn tooli 
possession of this property in 18.54, and has made 
many improvements, indeeil altout all thnt render it 
attractive and valuable. 

The history of the subject of this sketch is in its 
main points as follows: He was born in Sussex 
County, N. J., Oct. 27, 1819, and is the son of 
Jacob and Mary (Ogden) (4unn, natives of the same 
county, where they were i-eared and married, and 
whence they removed in 1 845 to a point near Mont- 
rose, Pa., where tliey spent the remainder of their 
lives. Both parents died at about the age of sixty - 
seven years. Their family included thirteen chil- 
dren, nine of whom are yet living. The paternal 
grandmother lived near the Delaware River, and 
spent her entire life in New Jersey. 

Mr. Gunn of our sketch left the parental roof 
when a lad eight years of .nge, and was bound out 
to a farmer with whom he remained seven years. 
He attended the district school, and at the expira- 
tion of this time returned home and remained with 
his father's family until reaching his majority. 
Soon afterward he rented a farm, which he operated 
two years, and in the meantime was married, April 
16, 1842, to Miss Sally Ann Drake, a maiden of 
his own county. Mrs. Sallj' Ann Gunn died about 
seven years after her marriage, leaving five children, 
of whom only one is now living, namely: Mary K., 
who is the wife of Levi Mering, a machinist of 
Monroe County, Fa., and the mother of six children. 
One of their children is married, and our subject is 
now a great-grandfather. This wife's parents were 
natives of New Jersey, where they spent their 
lives. 

Mr. Gunn was a second time married, to Miss 
Mary E. Wedge, who was born in Luzerne County, 
Pa., July 28, 1825, and the daughter of Squire and 
Catherine (Husted) Wedge. Squire Wedge was a 
native of Connecticut, whence he removed succes- 
sively to New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio, dying 
in the latter State when about sixty-eight years old. 
His wife subsequently came to this county, and 
died at the iiome of our subject when sixty-two 
years of age. The grandparents of Mrs. Gunn 
died when she was a little girl. Of this marriage 



of our subject there were ten children, five now liv- 
ing: Rhoda was boin in Ohio, Oct. 27, 1852, and 
is now the wife of Samuel Hogue, and the mother 
of two children; Altha and Alice (twins) were born 
July 7, 1857: llie former is now tiie wife of Fred 
15. Emmons, and the mother of one child, while 
Alice married A. F. Wofid, and has two children. 
Charles E. was born in Woodstock Township, June 
7, 1859, and is farming with his uncle in Laclede 
County, Mo.; Oliver T. B. was born Aug. ;!, 18G1, 
and makes his home with his parents; he is carrying- 
on a brickyard and is a j^oung man of gi'eat promise, 
and a universal favorite in his neighborhood. 

Mr. Gunn, soon after his first marriage, purchased 
;i farm of thirty acres in New Jersey, which he 
worked six years, then sold out and removed to 
Ohio, during its early settlement. He then pur- 
chased twenty acres of land in Huron County, 
where he farmed three years, and then with the de- 
sire to push still farther westward, came to this 
county, where he soon purchased the property 
which he now occupies, and to which he has since 
given his time and attention. Mr. and Mrs. Gunn 
are active members of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, in which our subject has officiated as 
Steward and Trustee, and has otherwise been 
prominent in all good works. Politically, he form- 
erly voted the straight Republican ticket, and is 
now a strong temperance advocate, casting his ballot 
with the Prohibitionists. He meddles little with 
politics, however, preferring to give his .attention 
to his farm and family. 

^-^ ^ 



Hl-M- 



'^ )|)ALDEN WING is a farmer who for the 
\jQjt long period of half a century has pursued 
W^ his calling in Rollin Township and assisted 
in developing the varied agricultural resources of 
its rich soil. These long years of toil and change 
have brought to him a well-earned competency and 
a comfortable home. Mr. Wing comes of good 
New England stock, and is himself a native of 
Berkshire County, Mass., where he was born April 
12, 1814. His parents, who were natives of Con- 
necticut, went to Massachusetts when they were 
young, and there his father, Elijah Wing, followed 
*^ 



•►Hl-^^ 



.^t 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



■•►Hlr-4* 



947 



the occiipuliMii i>r ;i l;iniirr. In \s-ji; lu' rciniivcd 
with his family to Steuben Louiity, N. V., and 
there passed his remaining- days, dying- at the ago of 
sixty-six. Mis wife, wiiose maiden name was 
Hannnli Squire, lived to the advanced .^ge of eighty- 
two, her death oecurrinu- in Michigan in the home 
of her son, Sj)cncer Wing, of this township. These 
good people were the parents of twelve children, 
six sons and six dangliters, all of whom lived to 
maturity and were married. 

Our subject passed a part of lii> lioyhuod an}ong 
the beautiful Berkshire hills, but when he was nljont 
twelve years of age his parents removed to Steuben 
County, N. Y., and there he grew to manhood, per- 
forming such labors as were required of a titrong 
and active lad, and making himself very useful and 
necessary to his father in the management of his 
farm. He gleaned his education at the district 
school, and in the knig winter evenings by the light 
of a candle or the still brighter light of tlu- "ood 
fire roaring- u]> the wide-mouthed open rhininey, ho 
learned many a le.sson which has not since been 
forgotten. He assisted in carrying- on the home 
farm until he was twenty-live years of age. 

In the meantime Mr. Wing was married t(j .Miss 
Elvira, sister of A. II. Raymond (see his sketch 
for parental history), the date of their marriage 
being Jan. 12, 1837. In 1<S38 INlr. Wing and his 
young wife with their infant son came to Michigan 
to make their home in this State. ;\Ir. Wing bought 
eighty acres of school land, and took u|)the calling 
in this new State which had been that of his fore- 
fathers for so many years in the older and earlier 
settled States of the East. His first work was to 
Iniild a house to shelter his family, and he then en- 
tered upon the laborious task of clearing his land, 
felling the trees and uprooting the stumps. He was 
a young man of good habits and endowed with 
much strength and gi-eat powers of endtu-ance, 
which enal)lcd him to do a great amount of labor, 
and in the years of hard work that >ucceed(Ml he 
brought his farm to a good state of tillage and 
erected comfortable, convenient buildings. 

The good wife who accompanied Mr. Wing to 
this State, and who had so faithfully performed her 
part in the establishment of their home, was taken 
from him by death at the age of fifty-nine years, 



and her children were left without a mother's care; 
she was highly respected for her many womanly' 
virtues. Seven children were born to her and her 
husband, four of whom were living- at the time of 
her death : the followinu is their record : Stephen 
C. was born in SI,cubiMi Cnunty. N. V.. .lune 'J, 
1838, and died here ,Iune 7. ISK;: Oscar L. was 
born in Rollin Township, .Tan. ;U , 18 H, and died 
Sept. 14, 1842: Philura H. was born in Uollin Town- 
ship, Aug. 25, ISl.-i.and died .Ian. .-;i. IS-lt: Henry 
S. was born Aug. s, |,Sl,-,.nn<l died .March 17. 1846; 
Mary L. was born Oct. I, 1.S4,S. and married Thomas 
M.aloney, Nov. 4. KS?."): he is teaching- school in 
Washington Territory, and they are the parents of 
three children. Crosby W. was liorn in tin's town- 
ship, Aug. 11. IS.-, Land w.-is killed <.u the cars on 
the Baltimore &■ Ohio Railway .lune 1). 1S78; he left 
a wife and two children, both of whom are now 
dead. Cl.-irence O. w.as born .Tune 19. 18.58. and 
he married Miss Martha Beal Dec. 14, 18S1 : they 
have one daughter. 

Mr. Wing was a second time mari-icd, Oct. 27, 
187.5, to Helen Morehouse, who was born in Orleans 
County, N. Y., .Inly G, 1835, and is the daughter 
of Aaron and Lucinda (Thumb) Morehouse. Mr. 
Morehouse followed the occupation of a carpenter, 
and coming to Michigan in 1861) settled in Calhoun 
County, where the mother died at the age of forty- 
seven years: he died in this county at the age of 
seventy-one. They were the parents of thn-e 
children. Their son Charles W. took part in the 
late Civil War as a member of the light artillery, 
and after two j^ears' service he died of a sickness 
contracted on a Southern battlefield ; Alice mar- 
ried J. W. Page, of this township (see sketch of 
Mr. Page). 

To Mr. and Mrs. W^ing has been born one child, 
who died in infancj'. Mrs. Wing is a lady of 
superior intelligence and education. She was an 
excellent teacher before her marriage, and taught 
school thirty -two terms. She is a prominent figure 
in social affairs in this township, and is an esteemed 
member of the Metliodist Episcopal Church. She 
has been a member of the missionary society since 
its organization, and of the Women's Christian 
Temperance Union since 1878. Mr. Wing is an 
earnest Prohibitionist, and is doing good work for 



.^h 



Jl 



948 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



the temperance cause. He is a rlevout member of 
the Methodist Episcopal Chiu'ch, in which he has 
lieen Class-Leader for forty -two years, while he 
very^ seldom misses a Sunday at church. His home 
has always been a leading resort for the J'lethodist 
ministers, and in early days his first house, which 
was built of logs, was often used for church 
purposes. 

;k,,..A\ ARCU8 L FRAZIER is a prominent dairy 
farmer and breeder of thoroughbred Jersey 
cattle, residing on section .31 of Hudson 
Township, where he has a good farm, pleas- 
antly located aud admirably^ suited to his purposes. 
He has made a careful and intelligent studj' of the 
best methods of conducting a dairy, and has paid 
special attention to securing the best grades of cat- 
tle for dairy use. 

Our subject was born in Scriba, Oswego Co., 
N. Y., Jan. 11, 1826, and is a descendant of the 
thrifty Scots, who made their home in the northern 
part of Ireland many years ago. From there his 
great-great-grandfather came to America in Colonial 
times, and his son, John Frazier, the great-grand- 
father of our subject, during the Revolutionary 
War rendered gallant assistance in freeing his 
adopted country from British rule. He died at 
Middlefleld, Otsego Co., N. Y., soon after the close 
of the war, leaving a widow with a large family of 
children. His son Stephen, the grandfather of our 
subject, was born March 8, 1773, at Kingston, R. 
L, and learning the trade of a baker in Boston, 
Mass., followed it there for many years. He mar- 
ried Ruth Torry, a native of Williamstown, that 
State, aud daughter of John and Ruth (Tyrell) 
Torry, natives respectively of Williamstown, Mass., 
and Middletown, Conn. From Boston Mr. Frazier 
moved to Cobleskill, N. Y., and there turned hisat- 
tention to agricultural pursuits. In 1805 he sold 
his farm there aud purchased another in Gei'man 
Flats Township, where he removed with his family, 
and made his permanent residence until his death 
in March, 1845. His wife died in January, 1857, 
aged eighty -seven years. They were both respected 
as worthy, industrious and honest people. 

The father of our suliject was two years old when 



his parents removed to German Flats, and he assisted 
his father in the management of his farm until his 
marriage with Miss Lydia Young, when he sought 
a home elsewhere for himself and bride. Samuel 
Young, his wife'.s father, was a blacksmith and gun- 
smith, and resided in New Jersey, where his daugh- 
ter, Lydia Ann, the mother of our subject, first 
opened her eyes to the world. He afterward re- 
moved to New York, and there welded the first gun 
barrel ever made in the Remington works, now at 
Ilion, N. Y. He spent his last years in Russia, 
Herkimer Co., N. Y. 

After marriage the parents of our subject settled 
in Oswego County, N. Y., having purchased a farm 
in the township of Scriba. In 1 833 they removed 
to Royalton Township, Niagara Co., N. Y., where 
the3'. resided on a farm two and one-half years. In 
the meantime the father took a western trip in the 
fall of 1835, for the purpose of looking up land, 
having decided to try farming on the virgin soil of 
some State or Territory which had been newly 
opened up for settlement. He went as far west as 
Chicago, where a great deal of the land now in- 
cluded within the city was then Government land, 
but he was probably deterred from taking up a 
claim there on account of the swampy and appar- 
ently* worthless character of the land, little dream- 
ing that in less than half a century by the indomit- 
able energy and enterprise of man it would become 
the site of one of the largest and most magnificent 
cities on the continent. From Illinois he came to 
Michigan, then a Territory, and being pleased with 
the country bought a tract of land in Salem, Wash- 
tenaw County, and in April, 1836, returned from 
New York with his wife and seven children to lo- 
cate on it, going by water to Detroit, and there hir- 
ing a man with a team to take his family and goods 
to their destinatitm. There was a log house on 
the place when they moved there, and in it they 
made their home, and Mr. Frazier set to work to 
clear the rest of his land, forty-five acres having 
been cleared before it came into his possession. In 
1844, having greatly improved his farm, he traded 
it foi- another in Hudson Township, the one whicii 
his son Marcus now occupies. The family moved 
to it in the month of May, driving their stock ahead 
of them, and on the night following their arrival 



■•► 



•►HH-* 



■•► 



I.KNAWKK COUNTY. 



.f the .>li 



l):i<;vs and turnip?. 'J'liere were ninety :icrcs n\ I lie 
liuid cleared at tlie time <if purchase, on which stood 
a loii- shanty and a small liarn. Mv. Fv.r/Aev rc|,l.-i.-ed 
the shanty liy a hewn loi; house lSx;',(l t'cct. :ind 

some years l;itcr IniiJI ti rr couiuiodious tr.MMie 

house and a good set of farm htiihiings. lie lived 
on his Hudson farm eight years, antl then disposing 
of it removed to Cioshen, Ind.. where lie engaged in 
dairy farming, making the ninniifaclurc of rhccse a 
specialty, and made his h.>nic in th:it place until 
death. His widow resided with the subject of this 
sketch for a number of yeai's, her death afterward 
occurring in the home of her daughter. Mis. Coon, 
of (ioshen, lud. Both she and her husband were 
people of blameless character, and wei'c held in high 
consideration wherever they had m.-nlc their home. 
They were the parents of ten children, ciglit of 
whom grew to maturity. 

.Alarcus Frazier was the second child of his par- 
ents, and was ten years old when he accomi)anied 
them to JMichigan, and can relate many interest- 
ing incidents connected with their journej' antl 
their subsequent life, both in Washtenaw .and J.,en- 
awec Counties. The facilities for attaining mu ccl- 
ucation were not such ;is are eiijoyed by the rising 
generation at the present day, but he made the most 
of his limited opportunities, and by close applica- 
tion to his books when in school obtained a fair ed- 
ucation, which in matiirer ye.ars he has broadened 
and developed by observation an<l a careful perusal 
of the best authors. He attended school only in 
the winter, as was then the custom, and assisted his 
father on tlie farm during the remaimlerof theyear. 
At the .age (jf twenty-one he left the home roof and 
started out to find employment elsewhere, and nfter 
working by the month in Michigan for one year he 
returned to his native .State and worked there in the 
same manner. 

While working in New York our subject entered 
into a matrimonial alliance on the 5thofM.ay, l.s.50, 
with Miss Sarah E. Greene, who was born .at German 
Flats, Herkimer Co., N. Y., July 8, 1827. She is a 
woman whose intelligence and fine disposition com- 
mand respect. Mrs. Frazier's [taternal ancestry is 



-grandfather, Ambrose 
Mitfolk Countv. L. I., 



from Dutcli.s- County ii 


177.-. ti, Kcnssclacr County, 


and after piiisuing liiso, 


cupiilioii there twenty years 


removed in 17'.i.'. t.. I) 


iniibc. ilcrkinuM- County, 


where he died An- 2'.). 


is:;7. haxiiig in the mean- 


time improved :i taiin. 


II is uif.', (udaelma Lester, 


died .Innc 1. I.s2(;. J' 


icir son .lohn was born in 


Dutchess Countv. April 


17. 1770, and married there 


Unth Harker, in 1 7!M) 


In 17;)3 they settled in 


Danube, lleikinier Com 


Iv. where thev both died. 



cendier, 1^!;")1. Their s<m Amln'ose, Mrs. Fraziei''s 
father, w.as born in .Schodack, Rensselaer Co., N. Y., 
Sept. 18, 1791, and w.as two years of age when his 
parents removed to Herkimer County, where he 
grew to manhood, and subsequently learned the 
trade of a blacksmith. He married there Dimmis 
Skeels, their marriage occurring in theyear 181.5, 
but she died in 1S16. On the 23d of M.arch, 1819, 
he married Martha Frazier. who \v;is born in .Scho- 
dack Feb. 21, ISOl. They made their home in Ger- 
niiin Flats, where he had bought .-i farm, and there 
they resided until death, hers occurring Apiil 2 1. 
1842, and his June 7, 1803. 

After marriage Mr. Frazier I'ontinued working in 
New York for a year, then returned to Hudson and 
worked his father's farm on shares the two follow- 
ing years. He then bought a farm of sixty acres 
.adjoining his f.ather's farm, but a ye.ar later he sold 
it and went back to New York, where he bought the 
Greene homestead and some land adjoining, and 
engaged in the dairy business until after the w.ar 
l)rokc out. He then threw aside all personal con- 
siderations vvith the patriotic motive of taking part 
in quelling the Rebellion, and went to New York for 
the purpose of enlisting, but upon examination was 
rejected .as physically unsound, aiul w.as obliged to 
return to Herkimer Countj', perhaps to do as good 
service for his country in private life. In L865 he 
sold out there, and returning to Michigan lionght 
the farm in Hudson which his father had formerly 
owned, .and on which he has since made his home. 
He at first engaged in general farming, turning his 
.attention to dairy farming in 1867. In 1870 he met 
with a serious loss, his dwelling-house with all its 



-•-* 



050 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



contents being consumed by fire; he tlien built the 
brick residence lie nnw occupies. 

In 1873 Mr. I-'i-nzier tiu-ncd his .attention to tlie 
improvement of liis stoclv with uood graded Jer- 
seys, witli tlie object of mailing butter, and since 
that time has supplied the market with a superior 
article in that line, besides raising a number of pure 
blooded animals which he has sold at high prices. 
He now has sixteen thoroughbred Jerseys of the 
Alphea, St. Lambert and Stolie-Pogis strains. He 
bought two heifer calves four months old, for 
which he paid $100 each. 

Ml-, and Mrs. Frazier's pleasant home is the 
center of culture and refinement. Their union has 
been a happ}' one and has l>een of mutual benefit; 
it has been blessed Ijy the birth of three children — 
Nelson E., Mary E. and Elmer E. ; the3' are all well 
educated, and the daughter, an accomplished young 
lady, is a graduate of tiie Chautauqua course of 
study. Mr. and Mrs. Frazier are members of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, and use their influ- 
ence to promote the moral status of the community. 
In politics our subject is a Republican. 



J "(Oil 
I Lc 
1 tli: 
I m< 



OIIN B. CLEMENT. While traveling in 
Lenawee County the biographical writers of 
Album met with comparatively few 
(((i))SI! men over fifty years of age who are natives 
of Southern Michigan. The vast majority of those 
who to-day are tilling the soil after an easy manner, 
and are occupants of comfortable and valuable 
homesteads, migrated from the Eastern or Middle 
States, and brought with them the hardy elements of 
that section which were so essential in subduing the 
soil, building up the pioneer home, and preparing 
the way for coming generations. Many of these 
can trace their ancestry back to the best countries 
of Europe, and it is pleasing to note with what 
willingness and pleasure tliey respond to the de- 
mands of the biographer upon their time and 
memory. Men usuallj' derive much pride and 
pleasure in tracing their ancestry, and especially if 
they have sprung from families of worth and influ- 
ence, as is frequentlj' the case in the majority of 



those who have been considered worthy of repre- 
sentation in this work. 

The suliject of tliis biography, a native of But- 
ler County, Pa., was liorn Oct. 3, 1 825, while his 
father, Andrew Clement, was a native of County 
Antriui in the North of Ireland, and of Scotch 
ancestiy, the descendant of those independent 
spirits who fled from their native soil to escape re- 
ligious persecution. Andrew Clement grew to man- 
hood in the place of his birth, where he was married 
and became the father of two children. Being am- 
bitious for the welfare of his little family, he emi- 
grated to America in 1822, and located in Butler 
County, Pa., where he rented a tract of land and 
engaged as a farmer and stock-feeder, shipping his 
animals to the markets of Philadelphia. He did 
not live to carry out his plans for the future, his 
death taking place very suddenly in 1827, five years 
after his arrival in this country. 

The mother of our subject, formerly Miss Mar- 
garet Hamilton, was born of Scotch ancestry in 
Couiitv Down, Ireland, in November, 1798. After 
the death of Mr. Clement she was married to 
Thomas Campbell, and with the means which her 
first husband had left her she purchased a farm in 
Butler County, Pa., which she occupied with Mr. 
Campbell until the spring of 1832. They then 
sold this property and removed to Niagara County, 
N. Y., where they lived until 1837, then started for 
the young State of Michigan. The journey was 
made via the Lakes to Toledo, where they spent the 
winter, and where the death of Mr. Campbell oc- 
curred quite suddenly. Mrs. Campbell and her 
children in the spring came to Lenawee County, 
locating in Palmyra Township. The eldest, a son, 
was twentjr years of age, and all the children were 
old enough to be of assistance to their mother. They 
worked together and prospered, and Mrs. Campbell 
spent the last years of her life in ease and comfort 
at the home of our subject, at his present residence 
in Ogden Township. 

The mother of our suliject had seven children 
by the first marriage, and two by the second. Five 
of the family lived to mature years. James died 
March 8, 1839, when twenty-one years old ; Andrew 
died in Adrian Township, in 1870; William died 
May 17, 1886, in Kansas; John B., of our sketch, 







• 






^ 




1 -*- 


■p 


LENAWKF 


COtTNT'Y. ;i:.i ' 


\^ 




was the sixth child; Letitiii, a child of the second 


Mr. and Mrs. Clement became the parents of ten 






in;in-iage, became the wife of Prof. Foster, of Ypsi- 
lanti. 


children, eight of whom are now living: Gieorge 
married Martha Ross;Knimais the wife of Silas 






.John 15. Clement was a lad of twi'lve years when 


(iordan, and Andrew married Delia Hogland ; they 






lie came with his motlier to this county, and heat 


are all residents of Edwards County, Kan. Ida J. is 






once commenced working by tlic month for Uicliard 


the wife of Frederick Cray, a farmer of Ogden 






Carter, receiving for his services his l)i)ard and 


Township: William married Nellie Mcintosh, and 






clothes until 1811. He then gav s.^vrn months' 


is engaged in the piaiMou business at Topeka, Kan.; 






hdKU- fur twenty acres of wil.l Ifuid in Og.h'n Town- 


Mary married Kd w.ard Tlie.al. and is a resident of 






ship. .and in 1 .S4;i added 1., his iv.al eslate l.y the 


Knglewood, 111.: while UoHin and Minnie are at 






imrrhascof forty .acacs. 1 |m)1i iciching his tweii- 


home with their parents. John, the second son, was 






ty-hrst year he was the ouiier of -ixty .a.aes, luiiii- 


born April ■>'<, isr)2, and was married Dec. 22, 






cumliered, .and upon his twiaity-lirsl liirlh<l.ay lie 


|S7(|; he died live months later at the home of hi. 






was married, and the young ronpK^ eomimaRaal 


parents. Kdwin. the sev.aith child, was born IKa-. 27. 






hou.sekeeping in tiie log ealjiii on liis farm. In l.S."i2 


1860, and died .Inly 12, Isc:;. Mr. and Mrs. 






Mr. Clement sold his little farm for $:m and pur- 


Clement arc iiromincntly connected with the Meth- 






cii.ased 120 ac're.s in the limber on section 1, in 


odist Episcopal Church, in which our subject olli- 






Ogch'ii ■l'ownsiii[i, where he pnl up aiiotli<a- log 


ciates as Steward .and 'I'laistee. 






house and pioeeeded as before, improving th.' land 


.lonatlian (iray, the father of Mrs. Clement, 






and enlianeiiig its vahie. To (his he subsequently 


learned the trade of a, carpenter ill early life, which 






addrd by a, later (lurehasc. .and is now the owner of 


he followed in New York State until coming to 






140 acres all under .a g 1 stale .,f ,ailt i v.ation, and 


this county. Iha- m.aternal grandfather, Calvin 






with excellent farm buildings, liis career, however, 


Robertson, was a blacksmith by trade, and spent his 






has not been without its re\erses, as in 1 .s.si; his 


la.st years in Steuben County. X. Y. Mrs. Clement 






barn v/ith imist of its contents was ilrslroy(Ml by 


has had a full ex[)erience of life in a new country, 






fire, entailing a loss of *2,200. He imimaliately 


and like the women of her time stood bravely uji 






rebuilt, spending no time in bewailing his misfort- 


by the side of lier husband in his labors and didi- 






une, and is now upon his feet again ready for any 


culties, pro\ ing at all tallies liis unfailing helper. 






other emergency. 


Together they li.ave sia'ii the country transformed 






The wife of our subject was Miss I'luihaua' K. 


from a wihhaness into smiling farms and beautiful 






Gray, a native of Dundee, Yates ( o., N. 'i .. .and 


cities, and the places where deer, bears and wolves 






born Jan. 20. 1.S2.S. Her father, Jonathan (iray. 


roamed unrestraiiHal. made fertile by the hand of 






w^as liorn and reared in Dutchess County, whence 


the husbandman. In this great work they have 






he removed to Yates County during its earliest set- 


also materially assisted, contrilmting to the build- 






tlement. In 1833 he became a resident of Alle- 


inu- up of the lainuly, and rearing their children to 






gany County, andtive years later niigr.at(Ml to this 


lic<aime good citizens, anil are now entitled to 






State, ni,al<iiig the journey in the tedious manner of 


wortln rei)reseiitation in the history which is being 






those day.s — by canal boat, lake scho.mcr. .and o\cr- 


given to the rising generation. In politics Mr. 






land with teams. He first rented land in ( )gden 


Clement is a Democrat. 






Township, then purchased eighty acres on section 








11 amidst the heavy timber. He put up a log 


•.J'.- .■>- • 






'^^' •L*l*i* ^-•— ' 






house, cleared the most of his land, and occupied 








it until his death, which took place in iscii. He 


-^IIOMASO II UM.K, 1 tumei leMd.n^ on 






had married in his native State. Miss Sallie Uoliert- 


\^^ mm, who, while uoiking toi his own iiitei- 






son, who was born in New York City, .and died at 






the old homestead in Ogdeii Township, this (a>unty, 


Lst>. has contiibnted to the pios|)eiity of the louii- 






in the month of Aiiril, 187SI. 


shq) He is.ui Englishman \>) bath, xiid wa- bom 




^ J. ^- : 




1 ^g 




_ ,. 




^" 


I 


1 





I 



952 



LENAWEE COUNTY, 



"r 



in Derbyshire, England, March 25, ,1836. His 
grandfather, Charles Turner, was also a native of 
that shire and spent his entire life there as a far- 
mer. His son Joshua, the father of our subject, 
was also a native of Derbyshire, where he was 
reared to tlie life of a farmer. He was there 
united in marriage with Maria Morris, who was 
born in Staffordshire, and they passed their wedded 
life in Derbyshire, and there died. They had 
seven children, six of whom grew to maturity, and 
tiiree of them came to America — William, Mark 
and Thomas. William served in the late Civil 
War as a member of the oth New York Cavalry, 
and died in Andersonville Prison, giving up his 
life for his adopted country. Mark lives in Riga 
Townshij). 

Thomas Tunier was reared on a Derbyshire 
farm, receiving in that English home a practical 
training in farm labors, and lessons of industry 
which have been important factors in his success 
on American soil. In the year 1865 he left his 
English home to try his' fortunes in the United 
States. After his arrival in this country he went 
to Cleveland, Ohio, and there found employment 
in an oil refinery, but while working there a fire 
broke out and in a brief space of time he lost all 
that he had accumulated. Undaunted by this loss 
lie went to Berrien. Mich., anil commenced anew 
tlie slow process of building up a fortune. He ol)- 
tained employment in a stone quarry, where he re- 
mained for two years, and in 18G8, having care- 
fully saved his money, he came to this county and 
bought the land he now owns and occupies in 
Riga Township. He did not iuimcliately locate 
but continued working in Berrien for two years, 
except during tlic winter, when he worked clearing 
his land which was then heavily timbered. He 
had built a log cabin, and in 1870, having married, 
commenced to live on his land permanently. He 
now has eighty acres cleared, and has erected a 
good set of frame buildings. Thus, although 
scarcely more than twenty years have elapsed since 
he left the home of his parents in tlie iieart of old 
England and came to America, he lias founded a 
home in his adopted country and been much pros- 
l>ered. In the spring of 1 88.") Mr. Turner built a large 
barn, luit in the following November the barn 



with its contents, including all his farm implements, 
grain and a team of horses, was destroyed by fire, 
entailing a loss of nearly 12,000. 

jNIr. Turner has been twice married. His first 
marriage occurred in 1870, to Elizabeth Brown, who 
was, like himself, of English birth, and a native of 
the same shire. Their pleasant married life was of 
short duration, as she died in 1873. His second 
marriage occurred March 6, 1876, and he was then 
united to Christiana, daughter of William and Mar- 
garet (Gray) McCorraick (for parental history see 
sketch of M. McCormick). Two children have 
been born to Mr. and Mrs. Turner — Oliver, and 
a second child who died when five days old. 

Although Mr. Turner is a native of one of the 
most povverful monarciiies on earth, he is a pro- 
found believer in Republican institutions and prin- 
ciples — no American is more so. He is interested 
in political affairs, and gives his hearty support 
to tlie Republican party. Mrs. Turner is a mem- 
ber of the Church of (T,,d. 



■^IT^ENJAMIN C0LEOR0\'E. The fine resi- 
'hJ^ dence of this enterprising young farmer of 
//^nJI] Medina Township attracts the admiring at- 
^^^^ tention of the traveler through that section 
of country, and with its surroundings, its stretch 
of meadowland and highly cultivated fields, pre- 
sents an extremely pleasant picture to the eye. 
Mr. Colegrove has control of seventy-nine acres, 
where he carries on general farming, and judging 
from his wise management and prudent invest- 
ments, will in time be numbered among the leading 
agriculturists of this part of the county. 

Mr. Colegrove was born in Medina Township, 
Xo\ . 11. is."i7, and while in his boyhood became 
perfectly fiiniiUar wilii tlie routine of farm life. 
His parents, .lohn T. and S. Hortensa (Holmi'S) 
Colegrove, were among the 'early settlers of Lewa- 
nee County, and their biography will be found on 
another page in this volume. Benjamin received a 
good education in the district school, and being a 
bright and observant boy, made the most of his op- 
portunities and developed into a well-informed and 
intelligent man. His arrangements for his future 



n 



•►-II-4*- 



LENAArEK COUNTY. 



few 



included a home and domestic tics, 
months prior to reaching liis majority lie was mar- 
ried, Jan. 20, 1878, to Miss Frances Rice, the wed- 
ding taking place at the home of the bride in Me- 
dina Village. 

Mrs. C'olegrovc was ln.rn .luly 1. \>^r,'.). and is the 
daughter of Phillip and Mary (Smith) lliec, na- 
tives of New York State. Her father was Ixjrn in 
Wayn(! Countj', and traces his ancestry hack to En- 
gland, iiis grandfather emigrating from that country 
to Canada uhcii ah,>y. The father married Miss 
Mary Smith. -I.an. '.). 1 s.",:;. ;i Native of Coliimhia 
County. N. Y.. and tiie daughter of Rolicrt and 
Catharine (Speed) Smith, and they continued i)i 
Wayne County, N. Y., twelve or fourteen j'cars. 
From there they came to Michig;;ii, hicating on a 
farm west of the village of Medina in this count}', 
where Mr. Rice followed agricultural pursuits nine 
years, lie then retired from active labor and re- 
moved into the village, where, with his aged part- 
ner, he still resides. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Colegrove there have Ijcen born 
three children — Clark E., Sylvanus .1. and Philip 
— all living and pursuing their studies in the district 
school. The parents of Mi-. Colegrove are living 
at Medina Village. Our subject operates seventy- 



nnie acres ownei 
the old dwelling : 
of a fine, modern 
Politically, Mr. 
publican ticket. 
Orange at Moren 



by nis 
o that i 
structu 

Colegr 
and is 
•i. Mn 



er. and has remodeled 
I'scnts the appearance 

votes llic str.aight Re- 
mcndier of Morenci 
)K'grovc is an intelli- 



gent, well-educated lady, having 
studies at Oak Grove Academy, 
tended for several years. 



)f C 



slid 



ARRISON FITTS, ,,f the lirm 
Fitts & C«)., proprietors of th^ 
Fruit Evapc.irator and Feed Mill, was born 
in Oxford, Worcester Co., Ma>s., on the 
)f March, *1. SI. 0. His father, Andrew Fitts, 
was born in the same county, and his grandfather 
was a farmer, who spent the last days of his life in 
Oxford. The father was icar.'d on a, faiiM ami 
followed that oc.-uriation all his life. 'Jhc niolhcr 



;3th 



was named Ruth Pike, and wais also a native of 
Massachusetts, where she was born in the town of 
Charlton. They both died at Oxford, and were 
buried in the same cemetery. They were the 
liarents of ten children, all of whom grew to man. 
and won)anhoo<l. 

The subject of this sketch was the eldest child in 
the [larental family, and assisted his father in the 
work upon the farm and attended the district 
school while a boy. He remained under the \n\r- 
ent.-il roof until his nineteenth year, when he be- 
gan to leain the trade of a miliwright in Oxfor.l, 
and served an apprenticeship of three years. After 
completing Ins ap])renticesliip he followed the trade 
in different parts of Massachusetts as a journcy- 
m:ui worker for t\\(i years, and then went to Wayne 
CV)unty, N. Y., where he became a contractor, and 
built and furnished mills in different parts of that 
State until 1851, when he came to Michigan and 
h)c.ated in Somerset Township. Hillsdale County, 
where he bought 1 •_'(> ncics ol land, on which there 
was a water power anil a sawmill. He repaired this 
sawmill .uid put In one run of stone to grind wheat, 
and live years later he built a new mill on the 
place, which i.i still in opcivition. He employed 
parties t,o .-uperinlend these mills wdiile he worked 
at his trailc a> a millwright in Hillsdale, Jackson, 
Lenawee and Clinton Counties. In 18G0 he sold 
his property in Somerset Township, and bought a 
farm in Rollin Townslnp, to which he removed his 
family. So(mi after he bought a property in Jack- 
son County, on which he built acnstom flouringand 
saw ujill, which is now the i)roperty of his son-in- 
law, and in 1881 he removed to Blissfield, where 
he has since remained. On the 1st of January, 
1884, he received a patent for a fruit dryer, which 
he had invented, and he and his son Charles H. be- 
gan the business of diying apples in the same year. 
This dryer h.as the capacity of one ton per day. 
Besides himself, six of his children are engaged in 
the same business in other places. 

In 1844 .Air. Fitts wa> married to Kancy E. Hus- 
ton, who w;is born in Madison County. N. Y.. and 
they have had seven children: Ruth A., the wife 
of A. Heath, lives in Hanover Centre, Mich.: Ver- 
nelia A. married Jerome Segar. and died in Rome. 
.Mich.; l,eui> live^ at Rollin. and Charles H. ;it 



•►Hh-* 



•r^^ 



954 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



•► 



Blissfitild ; Sarah ie the wife of G. T. Greenshaw, 
and lives in Jackson Countj'; Austin lives in Bol- 
lin and Franlc is yet at home. 

Mr. Fitts cast his first vote for Martin Van 
Buren, and has always been a member of the Demo- 
cratic party. Although he had inferior facilities 
for obtaining an education, he is a man of superior 
intelligence, and clear headed upon all the subjects 
of the dny. He is thoroughly a self-made man, 
being the architect himself of whatever fortune he 
possesses. 



'OIIN K. GURNEE, whose head is whitened 
by the snows of eighty-two winters, came to 
11 the West over fifty-six years ago, during 
i\^// early manhood, and centered his strength 
and courage upon the task which then confronted 
the pioneer settlers of Southern Michigan. He 
has been the privileged witness of the remarkable 
changes which have occurred during the lapse of 
years, and has contributed in no small measure to 
the development of this section of country. He 
was in early life inured to habits of industry, and 
esteemed it no hardship to earn his bread by the 
sweat of his brow, being, in fact, proud of the 
strength which enabled him to assist in conquering 
the soil ami pavin;,; the way for a later civilization. 
He has built up a -.mmI record, and one to which 
his descendants will be |)roU(l to revert in coming 
years. 

Mr. Gurnee was born in Rockland County, N. Y., 
Jan. 9, 1805, and is the son of Halsted and Hannah 
(Coe) Gurnee, the former also a native of Rockland 
County, and the latter of English descent. Halsted 
Gurnee was a miller by trade, and was also inter- 
ested in sawmills and mercantile pursuits, but was 
cut down in the prime of life, his death taking 
place in Rockland CNiuiity when he was but forty- 
seven years of age. The parents of our subject 
were married in 1802, and the mother died in 
Seneca County, at the age of hftj'-seven years. 

John R. Gurnee continued under the home roof 
until he reached tiie age of fifteen years, then 
going to Orange, N. Y., engaged in a tobacco 
factory. He had always been a bright and observ- 
ant lad, and at an early age became perfectly 
4 * 



familiar with the machinery of the mills operated 
by liis father, so that when a boy of ten, he was 
often left in charge during liis father's absence. 
As may be supposed, he was not contented in a 
tobacco factory, and five months later went to 
Hempstead, N. Y., and engaged on a farm, whence 
he subsequently migrated to Bloomfield, N. J., 
and engaging in a woolen factory, remained there 
thirteen months. At the celebration of the '• Glorious 
Fourth" of 1824, his left hand was nearly blowri 
away by the bursting of a gun. Young Gurnee 
being now practically disabled for manual labor, 
rei)aired to New York City, and entering a private 
school, virtually began his education, as heretofore 
lie liad very little book learning. The following 
summer he worked on a farm, and in the fall was 
employed on the canal, then in process of construc- 
tion from Buffalo to Troy, N. Y. After the death 
of his father he assumed the management of the 
farm, upon which he remained witli his mother until 
the fall of 1831. 

Oiu- subject now determined to see something of 
the West, and accordingly started for the Territory 
of Michigan. Upon his arrival in this county he 
traveled about until the spring of 1832, and being 
not quite ready to settle down retusned to his 
native State, where he worked by the day during 
tlie following summer and fall. He then returned 
to Michigan, and located upon a piece of ground 
which had been purchased for him by another 
party, comprising eighty acres, without any im- 
provements whatever. He made it his first business 
to put up a log house, and having been married in 
1832. he took up his abode 'with his family, and 
they occupied this dwelling for a period of four- 
teen years. During this time he had industriously 
cultivated this land and been prospered in his 
labors, and he was now able to put up a modern 
and well-appointed residence. This is now owned 
by <jur subject, and occupied l)y tenants; it is 
located a quarter of a mile from the present home 
of the father. For the past sixteen years Mr. 
(iuruee has wisely taken life in an easy manner, 
and given full scope to his life-long taste for travel. 
He owns 380 acres of timber land in Grand 
Traverse County, which will in due time comprise 
a fine propert3' for his children and grandchildren. 



Ih-^ 



■•►Hh-^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



95.^ 



Mr. Gurnee, while a resident of New York, was 
inai Tied, Nov. 25, 1832, to Miss Hester Beach, a 
native of his own county in New ^■(l|■k, and one 
of his childhood associates. She was iM.rn Oct. 8, 
1810, and by her union witii our sidijecl became 
the mother of five (;liildren. 'I'lieir eldest daughter, 
Mary, died in Chicago, Sept. 17, 18G1; Helen M. 
is the widow of W. R. King, of Chicago, and owns 
forty acres adjoining the property of her father; 
Lucy, Mrs. Horace K. Beacham, lives in Williams- 
burg, this State; Frances died in the fifteenth year 
of her age, July 27, 1857; Ella, Mrs. E. G. Savage, 
is at home with her father, .as is also her daughter 
Grace, an accomplished and interesting young lady 
of nineteen years. 

Mr. Gurnee, although never prominent in poli- 
tics, has always taken an interest in cui-rent events. 
and since 1824 has clung to the principles of Ileury 
Clay, of which great man he has been a waiiu 
admirer for more than sixty years. 



(>^LBERT W. KNOWLES occupies tiie old 
©0| homestead of his father on section 24, in 

jlflL Rome Township, where he first opened his 
(g|' e3'es to the light on the 14th of October, 

1853. He was reared to farming pursuits, and has 
been content to follow agriculture as his vocation, 
a calling in which he has succeeded admirably by 
the aid of his sound common sense and persever- 
ing industrj'. He makes a specialty of line stock, 
feeding horses, cattle and sheep, having of the lat- 
ter a fine flock of 200 head. He has now uniler 
his control 182 .acres of land, and tiie farm is sup- 
plied with substantial buildings, conveniently ar- 
ranged for all the purposes required. 

Our subject is the son of one of the <il(l<'st pio- 
neers of Lenawee County. Ilezekiali Knowlcs, a 
native of Haddam, Middlesex Co., C <jnn., where he 
was born Aug. 23, 1808. His father, Hezekiah, 
Sr., was born in the .same place in 178G, and car- 
ried on the business of a tanner and currier for 
many years. In 1817 he removed to the State of 
New York, and settling in ^'arick, Seneca County, 
engaged in the lumber business there until the 
spring of 1837, when he decided to cast his lot 



with the pioneers of Michigan, and arrived in 
Adrian on the 10th of June of that year. He at ouee 
■purchased eighty acres of land in Rome Townshii), 
where he continued until his death, which occiu-red 
March 22, 1840. He had married about tiu' year 
1807, Miss Anna, daughter of Henry ami Susan 
Smith, of Haddam, Conn., by whom he ha.l eight 
children, Hezekiah, Jr., the father of our subject, 
being the eldest. His wife was Im,iii in IL'iddani in 
17:iO, and dierl in Adrian Township, this county, 
in 1870. 

llc/ckiah ICnowlcs. Jr.. came to lliis Stale in 
18;!7.and opened a general store at Warsaw, in 
Adrian Towusliip. After selling his goods, he pia-- 
ch:ised a farm on section 24, in Rome Township, 
where he resided until his death, in 1886, at the age 
of seventy-seven years. He had married, Nov. 12, 
1833, Miss Eliza, daughter of Michael and Eliza- 
beth Vreeland, of Fayette, Seneca Co., N. Y., who 
became the mother of two children, and died at 
the homestead in Rome Township, Dec. 20, 1840. 
Their daughter, Elizabeth Anna, is now the wife of 
Dr. Perkins, of llu.ls.,n. this county, while Oliver 
W. die<l Aug. 22, Ik;)'.), when a litxlc <,vcr one year 
ohl. The second wife of Hezekiah K:.owles. Jr., 
to whom he was married Oct. 10, 1844, was Miss 
Margaret, daughter of Abraliam and Maria Shu- 
maker, and they also became the parents of two 
children, Lorissa A. .and Mary A.: tlie former is in 
Adrian, and the latter died when a child, in 1.S51. 
Mrs. Margaret Knowlcs died in Rome Township, 
Jan. 20, 1849. On the IGth of September, 1852, 
occurred the third marriage of Mr. Knowlcs, with 
Mrs. Elizabeth (Soop) (iardner, of \\ayiic County, 
Mich., and (if this union there was boin one son, 
Albert W., of our sketch. The mother of our suli- 
jcct was the daughter of Abram and .Maria Soop, 
and was born in Albany, N. Y., Sept. .1, 18li;. She 
came to Michigan with her parents in IS.'r.', and 
died at the homestead in Uoiue Township. Nov. 5, 
1874. 

Our subject spent his boyhi>od and youth on the 
ohl |ilace, and wIkmi eighteen years of age coni- 
nicuced \\oiking the farm of 110 acres, which had 
l)een purchased by his father from Mr. Sfiftord, in 
1836. He continued thus eni[iloyed until about 
1880, when his father gave him the entire use of 



•►HK-^ 



■•►HI-4* 



^H* 



LENAWEI' COUNTY. 



tlie land, and upon the death of the latter he came 
into full possession. He has carried on in an ad- 
mirable manner' the work begun by his honored sire* 
ill the pioneer days, and it is hardly necessary to 
say that the old homestead has for him a far more 
than moneyed value. To this place he brought a 
bride in the spring of 1S80, having been married, 
April (i, to Miss Jessie E., daughter of David and 
Emelinc (liawley) Smith, who were natives of New 
York, and came to Michigan befo)'e their marriage. 
She was born in Rome Township, Jan. 23, 1856, 
and received careful training from an excellent 
mother and a fair education in the district school. 
Of her union with our subject there is one child 
only, a daughter, Edith May, who was born May 
12,1884. Mr. Knowles votes the straight Demo- 
cratic ticket, but lias little to do with public mat- 
ters. 



jy^ RS. LORETTA WHEATON is the widow 
of Peter M. Wheaton, late of tliis county. 
Her residence is on tlie old homestead 
(>\\ section 15 in AVoodstock Township, 
where she is surrounded by several of her chil- 
dren. This farm contains over 240 acres, on which 
is a fine residence, while tjie out-buildings and other 
improvements are of a high eharactei-, and eveiy- 
thing betokens thrift and care. 

Peter M. Wheaton first saw the light in Aurelius, 
Cayuga Co., N. Y., Aug. 14, 1822, and was the son 
of Ichabod and Catherine Wheaton, natives of the 
State of New York, and of English and German an- 
cestry. In the fall of 1828, wiien Peter was but 
six years old, his parents removed to \'ictor, On- 
tario County, in the same State, where they resided 
until the fall of 1836. At that time, in order to 
better their fortunes, they migrated to Michigan 
and settled in Adrian Township, this county, where 
Mr. Wheaton, the elder, was engaged in farming un- 
til August, 1840, when both he and his wife died, 
Mrs. Wheaton on Sunday and her husband tlie fol- 
lowing Friday. Tiie fever and ague always com- 
mon to new countries is said to have been the cause 
of their deatli. 

From the time of coming here witli liis |)aicnts in 
1.S36, Peter M. AVlieaton was a constant resident of 



Lenawee County until the date of his death. Per- 
forming farm labor b}' the day or month until the 
fall of 1845, he accumulated a little fund of money, 
with which he purchased a tract of land on section 
21. This was in a state of original wildness witii- 
outany improvement whatever, but being .•vn active 
man and filled with energy, he soon cleared and im- 
proved about thirty acres of it, and putting up a 
log cabin lived there for about two years, when he 
sold out and purchased 120 acres on sefction 16. 
This was also new land, so putting up another cabin 
he took up his residence thereon, where lie remained 
about eighteen months. Growing dissatisfied with 
tliis purchase he then disposed of it and bought an 
improved farm of eighty acres on section 15, where 
he lived about two years. A 100-acre tract on 
section 27 now meeting his fancy, he sold the place 
where he was then living and purchased the former, 
wliere he lived some four years. The farm and 
residence where his widow and family now reside, 
he purchased as an improved place in 1870. 

Mr. Wheaton commenced life without an}' means, 
but possessed with a will to do and strong arms. As 
can be seen above, he owned several farms and 
cleared a great many acres of land. He made 
his first mone3', the nucleus of his fortune, -by tak- 
ing the contract for chopping off the timber and 
clearing a piece of land for Levi Bennett, on Bean 
Creek, in Rollin Township, which employed his time 
for two winters. With the money he received he 
made his first purchase in real estate, and with his 
good wife settled down to the hard and laborious 
life of a pioneer farmer. To the worth}' helpmeet 
wlioui he chose must be ascribed a large portion 
of Ills success in life. Pos.sessed of considerable 
energj' and activity, she assisted him to the best of 
her powers in all his undertakings, and by thrift and 
economy lessened his labor. 

June 25, 1845, Peter M. Wheaton was united in 
marriage with Loretta Sanford, who was born in 
Wales, Erie Co., N. Y., Sept. 9, 1826, and is the 
d;Uighter of Malaehi and Balsora Sanford. Her fa- 
tlier was a native of Phelps, Ontario Co., N. Y., 
where he was born Dec. 31, 1799, and was the sou 
of Ezekiel and Susannah (Badger) Sanford. Eze- 
kiel Sanford was born in New Lebanon, Conn., and, 
his p.arents belonging to the society of " Shakers," 



■^^h 





* 


f 








^. 


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■* ¥ 


r"^* 




LENAWEE COUNTY. 957 ^ 






he remained with that peculiar people until he was 


Township, Feb. 5, 1887. He left a sorrowing fam- 






some fourteen years old. Malaclii .Sanford came to 


ily and a large circle of friends to mourn their loss. 






this State in 18.S7, and sctllcMl in Wund^tocii; 


-A good man is known by his w.,rks,an.l .Mr. Whe;i- 






County, wiiere he died .M;nvli ;•.. l.sTO. llr U:u\ mar- 


ton possessed the este.'m :niil onshlerati.ui of the 






ried Mrs. Balsora, the uiduu of .lar.vl Sc.,tt. of 


connnunity in a high degr.'c, thereby -h.iwing that 






Wale.s ErieCo., N. v.. and dau-liier ..f .lohn M. 


his life had been tille.l with noble .lecls. 






and Mercy (Hoyt) Holmes. n( the same [jhiee. I,y 








whoni he had Innr rhildren, Mrs. Wliealon l.eing 


'^: 5' K-^ - 






the seeon.l: the latt.-r :ind one l.n.liier. K. .M. San- 








ford. are still livinu. Mrs. lialsora, Sanlord wns a 


1 EWIS C. BAKER, of Adrian Township, oe- 






native of .Sarato.ua Sprin-s. .\. V.. and was l.orn 


j cupies the c)ld homestead of his father, tin- 






Fell. 17, 17',(:l: she died in W Isloek 'rouuship, 


,LA. lanil which the latter entered from the Gov- 






April :>.. l.siw;. 


ernment wliile Michigan was a Territory: the fam- 






Mr. an.l Mrs. IVler M. Wheaton were Messed 


ily h.avc iiecn reshleiits of this county since that 






with a large family of chiMren, r.>eoid<".i as folh.ws: 


tini.'. Our sidiject was the si.Kth of ten children. 






Malachi S. was born April :;il, ISlC. niarri.Ml Miss 


an.l w.as born Feb. LS, l.Sll. under the roof where 






Louisa Heniinover. and i~ the parent of three chil- 


In- 11. ,w lives and has since called home. Like Jjis 






dren: Ida R.. who was horn (»el. 7. JSC'.l. and died 


father bcb.r,. him Ur is a th.irotigh an.l skillful 






Al.ril 21, 1S,S4; Lnther M.. Immii Oet. '.). 1^71. and 


farmer. p..ssessing excellent judgment an.l goo.l 






Loretta E.. Jan. "io, liS74. lie is a resident of .laek- 


business aipacities. 'J'he elder Baker assisted largely 






son County, this State, engaged in farming. Alfred 


in the development of Adrian Township, and to his 






A. was born Jan. 7, 18-18, married Miss Elizabeth 


son the intelligent people of the community now 






Heminover, and is the father of three children: 


lo.>k to perpetuate th.' w..ik whi.'h was begun by 






William IL, born Dec. 2(;, 1S7-J; Armintha J., Oct. 


the olil pi..ueer and .■.an-ied on in .a m.)st praise- 






30, 1874, and Lydia, May 22, 18,s(;. Erastus M. 


worthy manner. 






was born .Sept. 15, 1819, and died Aug. 2G, 1851 ; 


Norton Baker, the father of our sid>ject, was born 






Horace G. was b(n-n Nov. 15, 1851, married Mary 


in Manchester, (_)ntari.i ('..., X. Y., Dec. 'J, isdi'. 






Kane. :uid is ;i farmer of Woodsldck Township; 


while the paternal grau.lfather. Joseph M. Baker, 






they have tw,, children: LeCnind. i.orn May ;5(l. 


auativeof .Massachus..tts. wa- lM,n"i Feb. 19. 17«(). 






1881. and (Jeorge, Nov. 22. I.ss2. I'.elsey 15.. now 


ami soon aflerwar.l his p:nents removed to Rut- 






■Mrs. Alva Bedell, of Wood>to,-k Township, was 


lanil, Vt. Joseph .M. conlinued there under the 






born Nov. ;'., 185:^ (see sketch of .\lva Bedell) ; 


home r.j.)f until ninelriai yc:.rs of age, and then set- 






Catherine H, was b,,rn Nov. 29, l.s55. and died 


ting out f.ir hinjs.'lf. niigrate.l U> t)ntari.> Comity, 






April 27. I.S(;2: James ( ). w:is |„,rn Dec. 2i;. 1^57. 


.\. v.. wlieie h.' s.m.i. atlerwar.l pur.-has.Ml a f.anii 






and married Cora, the .hmghter of Albert and .hdia 


near what w.as th.^n th.. I..w]i .if F.aniiiiigl.in. hi 






(Brink) Briggs; she is the mother of one child, John 


the spring..! is:;,! In- .lisp..s...l „{ his intcicsts in 






M., who was born Jan. 10, 1887; George w.as born 


that section .an.l c..iniiig to this .■.,nuty piirchascl 






Jan. 2 1, 1860, and died March 1 of ihe s:.nu.y<'ar: 


land rium lli.' G.. v. •nun. ait aii.l locate. 1 in the new 






Elmarand Ellen (twins), weic born .March .). IMW. 


tinMishiji ..f l;..iiie, where lie built up a goo.l 






Elmar married Mary J. Tayloi-, of Woodstock Town- 


homestead, which he oecu|)ied until a few years 






ship, and is the parent of one boy. La \ eine. who 


before his death, when he finally moved into the 






was born (.)ct. 10, 1887; Anna 11. M. w:is born 


village, where his demise took place May 27, 1.S72. 






April 2. 1SG3; Ira I., May 17. 1 sr,5. an.l .lob C, 


Ab..nt th.. y.'ar 1 son .I.,>cpli M. Bak.a- w.as uiiite.l 






Jan. l:j, 1,S71 ; these are at home; tw.. chil.bvn .lie.i 


in marriage with .Miss S:illy {'ruthers, whose ac- 






in infancy. 


(inaintanee he hail made after going to New York 






After a long life of usefulness. I'eter M. Wheat.m 


State, the wedding taking place in Phelps, Ontario 






• died at his residence ..n section 15, in Woo.lslock 


Comity. She was born in ILalf Moon, N. Y., in ' 




'^ 






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r 


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■^^ 



^K^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1778. She became the mother of six sons and 
five (laughters, ami came with her husband to tills 
county, lier deatli taking place in Rome, Sept. 15, 
1851. Of this marriage Norton Baker was the eld- 
est child, and as liis father was one of the pioneers 
of Ontario County, N. Y., the early advantages of 
the boy were extremely limited. The schools were 
few and far between, but he learned to read and 
write mostly at home, and after liecoming old 
enough to be of service on the farm, worked there 
and in a distillery until he was about twenty-eight 
years old and until starting for the West. He came 
to Michigan in the spring of 1833, with his father, 
and took up a tract of land in what w.as then Logan, 
but is now Adrian Township. lie cleared 150 
acres of land, bringing it to a good state of culti- 
vation, and provided it with excellent buildings, 
barns, sheds, etc., and a good orchard, and still 
makes it his home. 

The land which Norton Baker selected was situ- 
ated on the sloping banks of Wolf Creek, a fine lit- 
tle stream of water vvliich passes nearly through the 
center of the farm, increasing its value as pasture 
land besides contributing to the general fertility of 
the soil. He had been accompanied in his western 
venture by the young wife whom he had married 
Sept. 12, 1830, in Ontario County, N. Y., and who 
was Miss Almeda, daughter of Jonathan and Mary 
Howland, of Manchester. Mrs. Baker was born 
Dec. 6, 1812, and was of New England ancestry 
for several generations. Her father was a native of 
Adams, Mass., where he was born in 1789, and tlie 
mother of Worcester, E. I., born in 1786. Mr. 
Howland came to Michigan in 1840, an<l purchased 
a farm in AiTrian Township. His death took place 
in 1.S71. His wife had died the first year of their 
arrival here, in .September, 1840. 

Mr. and Mrs. Norton Baker exi)erienced nil the 
difficulties of life in a new couutiy, and in common 
with the people around theu;, bore patiently aud 
courageously tlic trials and struggles which they 
had come fully prepared to meet. The father of 
our subject i)ossessed the sturdy spirit required b^' 
the men of those times and was prospered in his 
labors. In due time the pai-enlal househokl in- 
cluded ten chiidi-en, who were named respectively: 
Sarali M., now the wife of iJr. NVillard Perkins, "of 



Franklin, this county ; Isaac H., who died in Adrian, 
April 3, 1852, in the nineteenth year of his age; 
Ellen L., Mrs. George Gambee, of Adrian ; Lois A., 
who died March 12, 1852, at the interesting age of 
sixteen years; Mary E., the wife of George Hunt, 
of Rome; Roxanna I., who died April 2, 1852, 
when eleven years of age; Lewis C, our subject; 
Frank I., who died June 2, 1802, when seventeen 
years old; Almeda A., who died Feb. 16, 1852, 
when four years old, and Ava E. 

The Lewis homestead forms one of the most at- 
tractive spots in the landscape of Adrian Town- 
ship and it is to be hoped that it will continue in 
the family for generations to come. 

yi/ EO II. McCONNELL. The gentleman 
I (@ vvhose name heads this sketch is one of the 
j "—^ .yoimg a'lcl successful general farmers of 
Raisin Township. He is a native of Fairfield 
Township, Lenawee County, where he was born 
Jan. 22, 1859, and is a descendant of the McCon- 
uells of County Antrim, Ireland. His father, Hugh 
McConnell, was born in that county in the year 
1820, and came to this country with his father when 
he was thirteen years old. His parents after spend- 
ing sometime in Canada came to the United States, 
and located in Toledo, Ohio, and there Hugh Mc- 
Connell grew to manhood. Deeming that he could 
more advantageously ply his vocation, that of farm- 
ing, in a more newly settled country, he turned his 
footsteps toward Michigan, and came to Fairfield 
Township, this county, where he located and made 
his home until his death, June 9, 1878, at the age 
of fifty-eight. Although not one of the first settlers 
of the township he was looked upon as a pioneer 
who did much to forward its interests and render 
it prosi)erous, and was much respected for his in- 
telligence, sound judgment and unswerving integ- 
rity of character. His good wife, whose maiden 
name was Margaret Jane Colvin, survives him, 
making her home with her son, the subject of this 
sketch, and is hale and active at sixty-five years of 
ago (foi parental history see sketch of J. B. Colvin.) 
She was boi'u in Monroe County, N. V., and came 
to Michigan with her father, who was one of the 



»¥^m^4* 



•► 



I.ENAWEK COUNTY. 



pioneers of this coiiiitv. She liccruiic llic iimtlicr 
of seven children, four of whom ;irc liviii;:. ii:niicly: 
Eliza J., the wife of F. L. \\illiMiii>. re.si.lin,.; in 
Ker City, Fl;i.: Siis.aiina. tin' wife df .lolui Sli,,e- 
niaker, a f. inner in Fniiticld Tnu ii>lii|i ; l.co II., nnd 
Kdward C. a teleuraiih (i|icrntor in the ciniiloy of 
tlie Union Pafilic Kailvvay C,,nipany. in .Montana; 
the names of Mie .Icci .-immI wciv Aithnv. Kva and 
Arthur .1. 

Onr subject w;is eihn'atcd in the m'IiooI> of his 
native town and rcni.-dncd al iionic \vi!li hi.- parents 
until his father's ileatji, where ids education was 
further supplemented liy a |)raetical ti'aining in 
farming under the father's wise truidanee. In the 
year 1882 he rented a fann of eiulily-foiu' aero on 
section 15 of Raisin Township, .an.l Iktc he has 
since made his home. Though a young farmer, Mr. 
McConnell's careful training, coupled with energy 
and perseverance, ha.s m.ade iiim successful in liis 
calling, as he now ocecnpies tiu' old Cojvin home- 
stead. 

In his work Mr. McCoiniell has had the assistance 
of a good wife, to whom he vvas married in Fairfield 
Township on the 16th of Noveinl)er, 1882. Iter 
maiden name was Clara K. INIorlcy, and she was 
born in Chicago, III., Jan. Id, 18(;i. I lei- parents 
were Robert and Serena (Sparrows) Morley, the 
former a native of England, and a carpenter Ity 
trade. He came to Fairfield in 1881 and there 
died, while his wife died in Cliicago, III. 

Three children have l)een born lo Mr. and Mrs. 
McConnell — Nina C., Norman L'. and lOdward H. 
Mrs. McConnell is an active and influential mem- 
ber of tiie Baptist Cliureh. In politics iMr. McCon- 
nell is an adherent of the Republican [larty. 

^^^UCiUST GLASEU, a reprc.-^c.nl.Mt.u.. l)n,si- 
iM/lJI ness man of Ri.ifa Town>hi|), is a nu'inbcr 

(^ merchants. Mr. (ilaser was l)orn in Badm, 

Geniiany, Feb. 29, 183G, and is tlie son of -Ernest 
Glaser, who was also a'nativeVif JBaden, and spent his 
entire life there. Our; stdiject was very early de- 
prived of the care of his parents, his father 
dying when he was l>ut six months old, and liis 



niothi-r when he w.as live years of .age. and the un- 
fortunate rhild w:.s llirncrforlh rcarc.l by strangers, 
and at a very vuMilul :igc cominenced to make his 
own way in 'the woild, lie :itt.aided school quite 
regularly until be w.is thirteen years old. nnd ac- 
quired a fail' eduerition. 

Our subject tlien e:inie to America, with his 
brother William, .■ind hnidin- in New Y,,rk, pro- 
ceeded immedi;ilely lo S.-mdnsky, ()liio, where 
he served :in .Mpprenlieeship of two yeai's lo le;i|-n 
the shoeni.Mker's tracb'. After ae(piirin- a good 
knowledge <.if this trade, he did journey work for 
three years, and at the expiration of that time 
opened a shop and I'Ugaged in the business on his 

war, he resiiondeil with tlie p:itriolie .Ti'dor of a na- 
tive-born citizen to the first C'all of the t4overnment 
for troops, lie served two months at Camp Tay- 
lor, and then, his term of enlistment ex|)iring, he 
was honorably discharged and retin-ned to Sandusky. 
In June, 18(;2, he again eidisted and liecame 
a member of ComiJau}^ D, 128th Ohio Infantry, 
and served with his regiment for awhile at John- 
son's Island. The reginuait w.as afterward sent to 
Point Lookout, iSId., but at the time of the at- 
tempted release of the rebel prisoners on Johnson's 
Island, it was recalled to do garri.son duty there. 
Our subject remained on the island until after the 
close of the war, receiving his discharge in June, 
1865, having faithfully diM-h;n-ged his duties as a 
citizen of the Fnited States. 

After the war iMr. (;iasei- came to IMicliigan to 
make his home, first spending two mouths in Bliss- 
field, and then coming to Riga Township, where he 
has since been a, resident. He opened a shop 
and worked at his old Irade for two years, then put 
in a stock of groceries mihI established himself in 
the grocery business, whieh he conducted with much 
success for three ye:us. lie then soldoutthat busi- 
ness, and erecting the bnihling he nt present oc- 
cupies, eommeneed busini'ss as a boot and shoe 
dealer. He conhned himself exclusively to that 
business for some time, but finally put in a stock of 
general merchandise, and under the firm name of 
Glaser & Ruedy. (■stablished his present business. 
He has studied the wants of the people, and by close 
attention to business and square dealings, has se- 



4 



060 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



^ 



cured <i good trade which is coiistaiitly iiiere.asiiit;-. 

Mr. Ghiser was first iimrried, ill ls."i7, to (.'hi'is- 
tiaiia Shetler, a native of Wurtcniherj;-, (U'riuany. 
She died in 1870, and left three children— Louis, 
William and (ieorge. She was a kind and devoted 
wife and motlier, and was held in respect by all 
who knew her. Mr. G laser's second marriage, 
which occurred Se|it. 10, 1.S71, was to Mrs. Barbara 
(Tagsold) Miller, who was born in Bavaria, Ang. li), 
1847, and was the daughter of John and Christiana 
Tagsold, and widow of John Miller. Her parents 
came to America and settled in Riga Township 
early in its history, and here spent their last years 
on a farm which they had cleared from the wilder- 
ness. To Mr. and Mrs. Glaserhave been born four 
children— Theodore, Alma, Agnes and Carrie. Mrs. 
(i laser had a son, William, by her first marriage. 

Mr. and Mrs. Glaser are held in deservedly high 
repute as people worthy of the confidence and es- 
teem of all in the community. Mr. Glaser is a 
prominent member of Scott Post No. 43, G. A. R., 
and of Riga Lodoe No. ?.r,l. L O. O. F. 



^4^m^-^ 



JR. HENRY P. COMBS, a retired physician, 
J residing in the township of Rome, has 
alwa3's occupied a prominent place in the 
" political circles of the town and county- 

Being a gentleman of superior education, he lias 
been induced by his fellow-citizens to represent 
them in various capacities, and has always done so 
with honor to himself and credit to his constituents. 
Dr. Combs is a native of Onondaga County, 
New York State, where his birth took i)lace on the 
19th of June, 1820. He is the son of John 
Combs, a'native of New Hampshire, who removed 
to Central New York in an early day. He was a 
c'arpenter by trade, which business he chiefly fol- 
lowed, having but little taste for farm life. In 
1816 he was united in marriage to Miss Maria S., 
daughter of Henry S. Piatt, one of the pioneers of 
that portion of the Empire State, and who died there 
at the age of sixty-nine years. John Combs was 
taken from his family b}' death when he had barely 
attained the age of thirty-four years. His widow 



married Joseph Rhodes and removed to Adrian, 
Midi., ill 1838, where she died, aged sixty -two 
years, leaving three children. She was a consistent 
member of the Methodist Church, and a most esti- 
mable woman. 

Dr. Combs remained at home with his mother un- 
til he had reached the age of eighteen years, at- 
tending the schools of the county most of the time, 
and laying a strong foundation for his future edu- 
cation. After some time spent in the schools of 
Adrian, he commenced the study of medicine, 
which ho closely followed for more than three years 
and a half. Two full courses of lectures were 
then attended by him at the college at Cleveland, 
Ohio, and from there, after graduation, he came to 
this township, in 1845, and began the practice of 
his profession. Continuing in the art of healing 
the sick, he met with great success, and follovved it 
until 1865, when he retired from practice. Since 
that time he has been chiefly occupied in looking 
after his farm and attending to his political duties. 

In politics Dr. Combs is a Republican, having 
been formerly a member of the great Whig party. 
In 1857 he was elected a member of the State 
Legislature, and served in that body for two years, 
and so well did he serve the people that in 1863 he 
was again sent to that body for another term. He 
has also been called upon to fill the positions of 
School Inspector and Township Clerk for several 
years, and that of County Superintendent of the 
poor for more than thirteen years. Never grudg- 
ing the time spent in the service of the community, 
he has always retained the esteem of the people. 
Consistent in all things, his political life has been 
an honor to him and to those who appreciated his 
most excellent qualities both of heart and mind. 

In 1858, the Doctor took for a partner in life. 
Miss Lucy A. Sharer, ^^'ho was born in Wayne 
County, N. Y., March 30, 1 834. She is the daugh- 
ter of David and Pamelia (Langdon) Sharer, of 
Wayne County, N. Y. The former was born 
in Maryland in 1807, but removed in early life 
to the State of New York. He was a cooper by 
trade, and followed that business as well as farming 
for man}' years. He removed to Michigan in 1835, 
and is now living with the Doctor. His wife died 
here May 18. 1881. 



•►Hh-^^ 



<*Ai 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Dr. and Mr*. Henry Combs arc tlic 
two cliildren : John II., wlio was lioni l)c( 
niarrie.l Miss Nellie E. Willianis. aii-l is 
of one eliild. Alice E.:Ali(vl-;. was liorni 
died in the same year. Mr.aiid Mrs. Com 
attendants of the Baptist Ciini-ch. and 
religion into their everyday atfairs. 



^B-^i 



Rome Townshii), whicii 1 




las >iiu 


• ore 


i|.ic(l. 


,nd 


to which he has added nii 


il 


icnow 


L-IS a 


incot 


ite. 


including 200 acres <if la 


nd 


with St 


bstan 


tial bu 


ild- 


ings, a choice assortment 


of 


live St. 


ck, a 


id all 


the 


other appurtenances of t 


le 


nodern 


con 


try h< 


ne. 


In addition to general fai 




g Ih- n 


akrs 


I speci 


ilty 


of blooded sheep, wiiich ; 


re 


the so 


urv ( 


f a ha 


ud- 


some income annually. 


II 


'. has been q 


lite prom- 


inent in local affairs, serv 


ng 


as Con 


stable 


. High 


vay 



and Drain Commissioner, Deputy Sheriff and Justice 
of the Peace. To the latter oirice he was elected 
in the spring of 18G6, and has helil it by successive 
elections since that time, lie represented his town- 
ship in the Count}' Board of SM|)ervisors, and has 
been a member of the Hepublican partj' since its 
organization. 

Our subject, like many of the early settlers of the 
northwestern part of this county, is a native of 
Ontario County, N. Y., and was born Feb. 1, 1827. 
His father, .Tacob Teachont, Jr., w.as the son of 
Jacob, Sr., whose father, a native of Holland, em- 
igrated to America in early manhood, .•Utcr his mar- 
riage, and died in New York State at the .age of 
eighty-four years; his wife lived to be ninetj'-two 
years old. He was a shoemaker by tr.'ule, which he 
followed the greater part of his life, .lacob Teach- 
out, Jr., was born in Schuyler County, N. V.. in 1 784, 
and started out in life for himself when a. lad fif- 
teen years of age. He continued on the f.arni in 
Ontario County until 18G4, in the meantime having 
purchased land for himself. At this date he dis- 
posed of his property in the Empire State, and 
coming to Michigan, made his home with his s(jn, 



GlEORGE W. TEACIIOIIT cast his lot with 
J the early settlers of Michigan in tiic spring 
_, of 18.i2. locating on eighty acres of land in 



in Hillsdale County, where his death took place in 
l.s7i;,at the age of ninety-two years. Hi-, wile was 
Miss Rachel, daughter of Kiij:,!, Curtis, of New 
York State, who died in ( )nf luio ( •,,unty when aiiout 
sixty-live years of .■ilic. His wife subseipiently 
came t(j Michigan, and died -.a the home of her son, 
in Cenesee C(junty, aged eighty -eight 3'ears. 

The mother of our subject was also born in 
Schuyler (bounty. N. V., in 1 7i)-l, .and died there 
when sixty-iilu.' yc-irs old. .lacob Teachout, Jr., 
was Republican in p,,litics .luring the later years ,,f 
his life. In (;aily manh.).)il he ha.I voted the Dem- 
ocratic ticket, but sulisequently (^hanged his views. 
15oth parents were mendiers .if the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church, an.l re;in-d llicir Ihirte.ai i-hiMren in 
a careful ami con.s.'i.aiti.iUs m.anuer. 

(ieorge \V. Teachont, with the exce|)tion of three 
years spent with his brother-in-law, at Port Gibson. 
was a member of the ])a,rental household initil 
twenty-one years of ag.^. In September, 1848, he 
was married to Miss Harriet VV., daughter of Will- 
iam Teachont, of New York State, who was the son 
of John Teachout, a native of New I'ork State, 
wIk) came to .Michigan during its i)ioneer days, and 
died in Camliridgc Townslii|,, this .'onnty. at the 
house of his son William. wlu'U seventy years of 
age. His wife had dieil in New York State while a. 
3'oung w.Mnan, and before the removal to the West. 
William Teachout came to iMichigan in 18.5'i, an.l 
purchased a faiui in C.-nnbridge Township, this 
county. His wife, the m.)ther of iMrs. Teachout, 
was Rachel, daughter of Peter Wells, of New York, 
and died in Cambridge Township, this county, 
when fifty-eight years .)f age. John Teachout had 
served asa soldier in th<> War of 1S12, and after be- 
ing transforme.I from a soldier to a civilian, fol- 
lowed agricultural pursuits. 

Mrs. Harriet W. Teachout was born in -Ontario 
County. N. Y.. Sept. 7, 1830, ami after marriage 
she and .)nr subject, I'omiu.aic.'.l life t.igetlier on ,a, 
I small farm in their n.alivc .-oinity, wh.a-e they cou- 
j tiuued until 18,'j2. i\Ir. T. then sold out, and com- 
ing to this county, (lurchased eighty acres of land 
in Rome Township, whicli is now^ included in his 
present homestead, an.l t.) which he ad.Ie.l until the 
farm comprises 200 acres. With the exception of 
I one and one-half years, .luring which he was oper- 



•► 



-•► 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



•► 



atiug a, grist anri woolen mill in Adrian, he has been 
continuously engaged in farming.- 

The four children of Mr. and Mrs. Teachout are 
recorded as fullows: Benjamin F. was born .Ian. 
17, 18i;), in ()nl:iii(> County, N. Y., and was con- 
sequently l.Mit a little over three years of age wiien 
his ]iarents came to this count3^ Mere he grew to 
manhood, and married Miss Adel, daughter of John 
Sicldes, of New York State, and who is now pro- 
prietor of the Gibson House in Adrian ; they have 
one child, a daughter, Florence W., eleven years of 
age. Benjamin is a fine musician, and has engage- 
ments all over tiie county. Helen E. and Ellen A. 
(twins) were born .Sept. 30, 1853; Helen is the wife 
of F. A. Desermia, of French descent, who conducts 
a hotel at Ousted, and has an interest in farm prop- 
erty in Rome; they have one child, Beulah A., 
five years of age. Ellen A. married John Sickles, 
Jr., who is in the hotel business at Adrian, and they 
have one child, Jennie F., now fourteen years of 
age. William A. was born Aug. 27, 1855, and 
married Miss Mary, daughter of Henry Christman, 
of Rome; they have two children, a daughter and 
a son, named respectively Zeda and Clare ; this son 
is conducting a iiotel at Rome Center. 

ENJAMIN LAUR. One of tlie neatest 
farms and most comfortable appearing 
f»5)))|| homesteads in Cambridge Township is the 
one owned by Mr. Laur, on sections 26 and 
27, where he has 1 80 acres of land, all well improved. 
He gives much of his attention to stock-raising, in 
which line of farming he has been eminently suc- 
cessful. 

Mr. Laur is a native of what is now known as 
Elgin County, Ontario, Canada, and was born May 
17, 1827. His father, George Laur, was a farmer, 
a native of Ontario, and lived and died on the 
farm where our subject was reared, in the county 
of Elgin; this land was received from the Govern- 
ment for serving in the War of 1S12. (Jeorge 
Laur, being a subject of the King of Great Britain, 
served in the English armj^ as Sergeant, and pur- 
chased cattle for the regiment. His first wife, 
whose maiden name was Elizabeth Ilerett, became 



the mother of seven children, of whom Benjamin 
was the youngest. In 1828 this estimable lady 
died, and all her children have followed her except 
John, who lives in Canada, and Benjamin, our sub- 
ject. George Laur subsequenth^ to this married 
Jane Marsh, and died in 1860, at the age of 
sixty-three years. The paternal grandfather of the 
subject of this sketch was John Laur, a native of 
Germany, who when a j'onng man came to Amei'ica 
previous to the Revolutionary War, and located in 
the State of Pennsylvania, where he remained some 
years; then removing to Canada he located in 
Welland County, Ontario, where he and his wife 
remained until their death; the land, embracing 
quite a tract, is still owned by the family. 

Benjamin Laur was reared and educated in the 
count3^ of his nativity, and first came to Michigan 
in 1846, but after a short visit returned to his 
Canadian home. In 1848 he again came to the 
United States, and traveled extensively through 
Illinois for his health, that being very delicate at 
the time. Somewhat later he came to Adrian, 
Mich., where he was united in mai-riage, Feb. 28, 
1849, with Miss Lydia P. Scott, and shortly after- 
ward i-eturned to his home in Canada, where lie 
made his residence for four years .in Elgin County, 
after which he returned to Adrian Township, 
where he purchased a farm and lived eighteen 
years. In 1869 he bought the place where he 
now lives in this township, and removed here. 

Mrs. Laur was born in Farmington, Wayne Co., 
N. Y., Jan. 8, 1827, and is the eldest child of 
George and Mai'y (Pratt) Scott, the former of 
whom is a native of Cumberland, England, and the 
latter of New York. George Scott came to America 
when eighteen years of age, and after a tempestu- 
ous voyage, lasting nearlj- six months, located in 
the State of New York, whei-e he was subsequently 
married. When Lj^dia was but a few months old 
the family removed to Blichigan by way of the 
Erie Canal and the lake to Monroe, whence they 
came by ox-teams through the unbroken wilderness 
to Adrian Township, and located in June, 1827, be- 
fore the village of Adrian had been started. The 
land on which they located, comprising more than 
a section, was taken up by the grandfather, Joseph 
Pratt, at Government prices. Five years later the 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



963 



latter died, while his wife, uiiu.'si' inniih'ii ikiuic wa^ 
Rebecca Wilbur, sui-vived her husband, tiiuilly pass- 
ing away to her rest I'roMi the home of her grand- 
daughter in 1864, at the ripe age of seventy-eight 
years. The Pratt and Scott families were all members 
of the Society of Friends, and governed all their 
actions by the tenets of these noble people. 

George Scott, the father of Mrs. Laiir, is yet 
living in Adrian Township, having reached the 
advanced age of eighty-five years, and notwith- 
standing his labors in early life lie retains his physi- 
cal and mental strength to a great degree. His 
wife, who died in 1874, was the mother of eight 
children, thi'ee sons and five daughters, one son and 
three daughters of whom are yet living and are 
married. 

Mr. and Mrs. Laur are the [larenls of six chil- 
dren, as follows: Mary E. is the wife of Henry 
Howes, residing on a farm in Fairfield Township ; 
Emmelletta is the wife of Thomas Smith, a resident 
of Jackson Countj', Mich. ; Eliza Jane is the wife 
of AVilliam Lindsey, a resident of Oceana County, 
Mich.; Delphine A. is the wife of Martin Lee, re- 
siding in Cambridge Township; Kate is the wife of 
Elsten Fullmer, of Antrim County, Mich., while 
George A. remains at home liclping his father to 
operate the homestead. 

Like their ancestors, Mr. and Mrs. L;uir afliliate 
with the Friends, or Quakers, in religion, and travel 
through this world fully imbued with the upright 
intentions of that noble sect. Their example to 
the rising generation cannot iiut be helpful, for in 
their lives their precepts are exemplified in tlieir 
practice. 



ANIEL WIGGINS. The pleasantly lo- 
cated farm of ninety acres situated on 
section 33, in Macon Township, invariably 
attracts the attention of the passerby from 
the business-like manner in which it is conducted and 
the general air of thrift and prosperity that sur- 
rounds it. This became the property of Mr. Wig- 
gins over thirty years ago, in the spring of 1854, 
and when, as may be imagined, it bore little resem- 
blance to its present condition. It was then a 
wild, uncultivated tract of land which had been the 



possession of David Stout, .-nid upon which there 
were no improvements worth mentioning. Not 
long after Mr. Wiggins took it in hand, however, 
it was evident that a, decided change was taking 
place, and each year since that time has added 
something to its value. There is now a good set 
of frame buildings, neat and substantial fences, a 
choice assortment of live stock, modern machinery, 
and all the appliances of the first-class country es- 
tate. 

Mr. Wiggins is a native of Yorkshire, England, 
where he was born Feb. 10, 1828, and continued a 
resident of his native county until after his mar- 
riage. He is the eldest son of John and Anna 
(Silversidc) Wiggins, the former a painter and 
cooper, who pursued these trades his entire life, 
which he si)ent in Yorkshire, finally being laid to 
rest upon his native soil at the age of fifty-eight 
years. His wife, Anna, whose birthplace was not 
far from that of husband, died while comparatively 
a young woman. Their family included seven 
children, five of whom are still living. 

Upon reaching manhood Daniel Wiggins was 
united in mari'iage with Rliss Jane Britton. a his- 
tory of whose family will be found in a sketch of 
John Britton, published elsewhere in this volume. 
The wedding took place at the home of the bride 
in Yorkshire, in Decembei;, 1849, and a few months 
later the young couple started on a voyage to the 
United States. They embarked on a sailing-vessel 
at Hull, and landed in New York City in June, 
1 850, whence they proceeded at once to Southern 
Michigan, locating in Macon Township, this county. 

Mr. AViggins came to this county with a capital 
of $90, which he invested fortunately, and by his 
good judgment and forethought was enabled to in- 
crease his talent in genuine Scriptural manner. He 
was never backward .about putting his shoulder to 
the wheel, and for a few years labored early and 
late for the development of his land and the build- 
ing up of his homestead. He was particularly ex- 
pert as a plowman, and took the first premium at 
the county fair four years in succession and one 
premium at the State fair, where the result of his 
skill was viewed with admiration liy hundreds of 
spectators. 

Mr. and Mrs. Wiggins became the parents of 



r 



964 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



■^y 



eight children, and the mother departed this life at 
her home in ^Macon Township, July 17, 187fi, at 
the age of fifty years. She was a good woman in 
the broadest meaning of the word, a devoted wife 
and mother, and the center of a large circle of warm 
friends. She had long been a member of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, and was always earn- 
est in the Master's cause. Their son, Eddie C, died 
Dec. 21, 1859, when two years of age; the remaining 
children are John T., who married Miss Cheever, 
and is farming in Macon Township; Daniel R., 
Francis A., Hannah M., Ida M., Hattie L. and Joseph ; 
all are married except Joseph. 

Our subject, Nov. i2, 1877, contracted his 
second marriage, with Mrs. Alvena (Swick) Miller, 
who was born in Macon Township, Nov. 13, 1840, 
and is the daughter of John E. Swick, who is men- 
tioned in the sketch of AVilliara Swick, which will 
be found elsewhere in this volume. Mrs. W. was 
reared and educated in her native county, and was 
married to her first husband, Albert Miller, in 1859. 
Mr. Miller was instantly killed by the explosion of a 
boiler in a sawmill at Saline, in Washtenaw 
County, in 1871. Of this first marriage there 
were born three children: Cassius M. C. and Em ma 
A., who are married, and Charles S., who makes his 
home with Mr. and Mrs. Wiggins. Mr. Wiggins 
bj' this later marriage is the father of one child, a 
daughter, Mary, born Aug. 4, 1879, and now an 
interesting little" girl of eight years. Mr. Wiggins, 
politically, uniformly votes the Republican ticket, 
and in religious matters, has for many years been 
a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church. 



R. WILLIAM BROWN, for twenty-five 
years or more, was a successful practicing 
physician of this county, but in 1882 he 
associated himself with his youngest son 
and established the leading drug-store of Addison, 
to which he has since given a share of attention. 
He is a pharmacist of long experience, and his son 
Day, the junior partner, received his instructions 
from his father. Their store is finely appointed, 
and they carry a full stock of drugs and medicines 



with the various other articles pertaining to this 
branch of trade. 

Dr. Brown is a native of New York State, and 
was born near Ft. Ticonderoga, on the 3d of August, 
1821. His parents, Jeremiah and Mary (Water- 
man) Brown, were natives of Vermont, the former 
of whom was born May 2, 1789, and departed this 
life at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Roberts, in 
Addison, Feb. 7, 1874. Mrs. Mary Brown was 
born April 21, 1796, and preceded her husband to 
the silent land ten years, her death taking place at 
her home in Minnesota, Jan. 18, 1864. Jeremiah 
Brown served as a soldier in the War of 1812. He 
left his native State soon after his marriage, remov- 
ing to Ticonderoga, N. Y., where he lived for a 
short time, then returned to the Green Mountain 
State and resided ten years. In 1 840 he set out 
once more, and coming to Southern Michigan pur- 
chased ten acres of land in Rome Township, where 
he resided until 1 848. Then selling out he moved 
to Vfoodstock Township, and after a short time 
bought forty acres in Cambridge Township. He 
kept this but a short time when he sold it, and in 
connection with his son William bought eighty 
acres in Woodstock Township, which continued to 
be his residence several years. Selling this prop- 
erty he moved to Minnesota, and purchased eighty 
acres of land in Hennepin County, and there re- 
mained until the death of his wife, ivhen he sold 
that [iroperty, and came to Addison, Lenawee 
County, and spent the remainder of his days at the 
home of his daugliter, as above stated. He was 
eighty-five years of age at the time of his death. 

Of the six children born to Jeremiah and Mary 
Brown, William of our sketch was the eldest, and 
with the exception of one sister, Esther, Mrs. 
Roberts, who died in Addison, July 2, 1874. they 
are all living. William continued under the home 
roof attending the district school during his boy- 
hood, and doing very little work until tliirteen 
years of age, after whicii when not in school he 
was employed upon the farm. Later he went to 
Niagara County, N. Y., and attended a private 
school under the instruction of Prof. Wliitlock, and 
afterward engaged a? a teaciier two years, spending 
his vacations upon the farm. In the meantime he 
took up the study of medicine, and later entered 



<^ 



4^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



965 i ' 



the office of Dr. ('a.-,>, (,f i;<,iiic r..u ii>l,i|,. u ith 
whom he spent two ye;us. After the clealh of Dr. 
C. he placed himself under the tuition of Dr. 
Grove :ind subsequently Dr. Si)al(ling-, of Adrian. 
He commenced the practice of his profession in 
1 846 in Rome Township, and has followed it in 
the northwestern part of the county u|i to the pres- 
ent time. 

Dr. Brown has been popular a> a ni.an as well as 
a physician, and np to the election of President 
Buchanan labored in support of tiie Democratic 
party. The agitati(jn of the various questions of 
that momentous period led him to adopt different 
views, and he identified himself with the Reiiuh- 
lican party, where he has since been found one of 
the most earnest supporters of its principles. With 
a thorough contempt for the oHice-seeker he has re- 
peatedly declined honors, but has consented to 
serve in the positions where he believed he could do 
the most effective work. He has served as School 
Inspector two terms and Director eight years in the 
township of Woodstock, and was elected to the 
office of Town Treasuicr, which t)tlice ho held one 
year. 

The marriage of Dr. William Brown and .Aliss 
Sarah Temperance Church was celebrated at the 
home of the bride in Hudson Township, March 6, 
1842. JMrs. Brown was born in Lj'ons, N. Y., Jan. 
28, 1823, and died at her home in Addison, kSejJt. 6, 
1880. She was a lady of many estimable qualities, 
and an active member of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church. The three children born of this union are 
recorded as follows: Sarah F. was born in Rome 
Township, Nov. 28, 1842, and became the wife of 
William Kline, who died Jan. 30, 1880, leaving his 
widow and four children; Mrs. Kline has one son, 
married and living in Addison; his wife was Miss 
Catherine Underwood. Jeremiah Brown was born 
in Rome Township, April 22, 1845, and married 
Mrs. Ann VanVleet; he holds the position of clerk 
in the hardware store of Addison. Day was born 
July 4, 1849, and makes bis home with liis fatlier; 
he employs his time in the store. 

Dr. Brown belongs to the Southern Micliigan 
Medical Society, having been a member for the last 
six years. Socially he is connected with Lodge No. 
157, A. F. & A. M., and is a Knight Templar, be- 



\uuis\uix to lliilMlai.' Coiiimandery No. .'i. He 
has also attained to the 1 Itli degree of Scottish 
Rite. He is a warm defender of the principles of 
Masoni-y, and takes pride in his advancement. Day 
Brown for the last three years has been a member 
of Addison Lodge No. 3S2, I. (). O. F. 



-^■^ 



yMLLIA.AI BOWERMAN was born in Amer- 
' ica. but is not a n.ative of tlic United 
W^ States, his birth occurring in Norwich, Ox- 
ford County, Ontario, Canada, on the 22d of 
January, 1836. Tiie paternal great-great-great- 
grandfather was a native of Germany, who came to 
America in Colonial times and located in Dutchess 
County, N. Y., where he was a pioneer settler, and 
passed the remaining days of his life. The great- 
great-grandfather, John Bowerman, was a native of 
Dutchess County, and was a farmer; he spent the 
last years of his life on the shore of the Bay of 
tiuinte, Canada. The grand fatlier, who was also 
named John Bowerman, was born in Dutchess 
County, N. Y., reared to manhood and there mar- 
ried Mary Beagle. 

A few years later, accompanied by his family, 
and his father and family, John liowerman emi- 
grated to Canada, and settled on the shore of the 
Bay of Quinte, a few miles from Kingston, where 
they were among the early settlers. There the 
grandfather and great-grandfather secured a tract 
of Government land, which they improved. The 
great-grandfather died there, and after his death the 
grandfatlier sold out and again removed to the 
frontier, settling in Norwich, Oxford County, 
where he was a pioneer, and after improving a 
farm he died there. The father, Isaac Beagle Bow- 
erman, was horn in Canada in 1812, and learned the 
trade of a carpenter. After marriage he provided 
a home for his family by buying a farm and erect- 
ing comfortable buildings thereon. He continued 
to work at his trade the greater portion of the time 
until his death, which occurred there in 1885. He 
was twice married. The name of his first wife, the 
mother of the subject of this sketch, was Mary 
West. She was born in Palmyra, Wayne Co., N. 
Y., and was the daughter of Levi West, also a iia- 



•P^ilr-4*- 



one; 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



'^ 



tive of New York, but of English aiiee.-<try. There 
were five children as the result of this marri.ige, and 
four by the second marriage. 

The subject of this sketch was the second child 
of the family. His opportunities for education 
weie not such as are enjoyed by the youth of 
to-day. The school he attended was on the sub- 
scription plan, and ready money to pay for tuition 
was not to be had at all times. The greater part of 
his education is of a practical nature, and relates 
principally to the problems of his farm. He as- 
sisted his parents with the work on the farm, and 
improved such opportunities as he had to acquire a 
knowledge of the carpenter's trade from his father. 
He spent one winter in Lenawee County before he 
was twenty-one 3'ears of age, but with that excep- 
tion he resided with his parents until 1858, when he 
came to this county to live, and made his home 
with his imcle at Lenawee Junction for a time, 
after which he lived with a cousin until his mar- 
riage. He followed his trade quite steadily until 
1880, when he settled on his present farm. But 
little of the land was then improved, but he has now 
brought the greater part of it under cultivation, 
and has erected thereon good and substantial farm 
buildings. 

On the 30th of June, 18G1, Mr. Bowerman was 
married to Miss Lydia, daughter of Reuben >S. and 
Olivia Ingersoll, and they have had six children — 
Mary, Maggie L., Lizzie E., Charles B., Ralph A. 
and Bessie J. The Bowerman family through all 
the generations have been Quakers, but Mr. and 
Mrs. Bowerman are members of the Presbyterian 
Church. Mr. Bowerman is a Republican, and shows 
his devotion to his party by regularly voting its 
ticket and assisting in all honorable ways to elect 
its candidates. 



^t-W..^.tfij^^ 



e-"-^SFl'-3?-a'^^^"--'^ 



S 



ALVIN H. CRANE. As an influential citi- 
zen of Madison Township, and a gentleman 
Jy highly esteemed for his sterling worth and 
integrity, it gives us pleasure to place this brief 
commemorative sketch before the reading public. 
Mr. Crane's lineage is easily traced back to the Pil- 
grim Fathers, and in him is illustrated the saying 



"The subtle drop of blood which forever bequeaths 
its tendencies descends from sire to son through 
long generations." Thus is worth derived from 
worth, and the Crane honesty and rectitude of pur- 
pose are recognized throughout the county. The 
parents of our subject are George L. and Leah 
(Ramsdell) Crane (for parental history see sketch 
of Hon. George L. Crane.) 

Calvin H. Crane is a native of Madison Township, 
where his birth occurred May 20, 1842, and hero 
his early life was spent on his father's farm. This 
home atmosphere in which he was reared was full of 
a good, practical teaching which enabled him to reap 
more abundantly the benefits of the district schools 
which he attended. The education thus received 
was supplemented by a few months' study at the 
Union Springs Academy in Union Springs, N. Y., 
and a course at Bryant & Stratton's Commercial 
College in Detroit. 

Railroads a:nd a railroad life have fascinations 
about them that the average young man cannot 
well resist, and Mr. Crane was filled with a desire to 
make railroading his occupation, but after serving- 
two and one-half years as fireman on the Lake 
Shore & Michigan Southern Railway, he retired per- 
fectly satisfied with his experience in that line. 
Since that time he has given his attention to farm- 
ing and dairying, and in hotli of these industries he 
has had pronounced success. 

BIi-. Crane was first married in Rose, Wayne Co., 
N. Y., April 11, 186G, to Miss Jennie, the estimable 
daughter of the late George W. and Elsie Mirrick. 
Mr. Mirrick died in Adrian, Mich., July 31, 1887, 
while his widow still survives. Mrs. Crane was 
born in the town in which she was married, April 
14, 1838, but her happy married life was of short 
duration, as she died in Madison Township Nov. 
30, 1871, leaving one child, George H., who was 
born Nov. 25, 1871. He is now (1887) complet- 
ing his education in Raisin Valley Seminary, Lena- 
wee County. 

The second marriage of our subject was solemnized 
in Hillsdale, Mich., July 24, 1878, with Mrs. Emma 
C. (Livermore) Kellogg, daughter of James and 
Harriet (Riley) Livermore, of Hamilton, N. Y., 
and widow of Lewis B. Kellogg, of Clyde, N. Y., 
who died Dec. 3, 1875. She was born in Madison, 



r 



4 



■••-Hh- 



LKNAWKK COUNTY. 



Madison Co., N. Y., Aug. 23, 1842, and by her 
first marriage had one child, May L. Kellogg, who 
was born April 13, 1871, and is nuw attending 
Kaisin Valley .Seiniimry. Mrs. Crane's father. Mi'. 
J^ivermore, was a native of Kcw Ytirk, where he 
was born in Saiigertield, Aug. 2;j, 1814; he died in 
tiie place of his liirth, Sept. 12, 1.S54. Her mother 
was also born in Snngei-tield, Oneida Connt^', Sept. 
2f;, 1813, and died in Hamilton. April 20, 1853. 

Mr. Crane takes a warm interest in all public 
m;itters, botli local and general, and has held the 
odlce of Townsliii) Treasurer one yenr, 1 s7s. besides 
serving as one of tjje School l)ircctoi-> of Mndisi.m 
Township two terms. Socially he i> a Knight 
Templar, being a membci- of Adrian Commandery 
No. 4, a member of Adrian Lodge No. 10, F. A A. 
M., and Adrian Chapter No. 10, R. A. M. In poli- 
tics lie is independent, lie is held in high esteem 
in the community in wliich he resides, and is al- 
ways foremost to indorse every good work that he 
deems of tissistancc in advancing the interests of his 
town or county, elevating its social status, or im- 
proving its educational resources. It is to men of 
like energy that Michigan is indebted for the posi- 
tion which she hohls among tlie States of this great 
Federal i:nion. 



'^ (i. HALL, one ot the \\ell-mtoinied and 
mjLM iei)resentativeciti/( ii- ot tlie touiwliip of 

iriii Raisin, \vheie heouns i line turn ol l_'o 

1^ acres, on which is a good md jloitalile 

home, tomes from a family whose hi-loi\ bc^ m in 
this county in 1 h3."). The fathei nas Edmund 
Hall, a n.itive of Steuben County, N. Y'., and came 
of an old family of that State. Edmund Hall was 
reared in tlie county of his nativity until 1835, 
when he came, a single man, to Michigan, and se- 
cured a farm on section 25 in Raisin Township. 
The deed which he received for it, and in which his 
title was vested, was signed bj' Andrew .lackson, 
then President of the United States. 

Upon his arrival in Michigan Edmnnd Hall 
found a vast wihlerness of timber, into which he 
went, and selected a [ilace where he iiiii^ht cut out 



the farm which he selected is now one of the finest 
and best improved in Lenawee County. Here he 
makes his home, at the age of eighty-one years, 
highly respected and esteemed by all who know 
him. He has always been a vigorous and healthy 
man, and it is one of his boasts that he never found 
it necessary to apply to a piiysician on account of 
any sickness of his own. He has always been a 
stanch Republican, and has taken a lively interest 
in political affairs, both of a National and a local 
character. On the 10th of P'ebruary, 1836, he w.as 
married to Lncu-etia Raymond, a native of Steuben 
County, N. Y. She is still living, iind like her hus- 
band, retains her mental and physical vigor. The 
father is a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, and the mother belongs to the Society of 
Friends. They are both highly respected by the 
people of Raisin Township .and Lenawee County. 

A. G. Ilall is the second child and son of the 
four children born to his parents, and first saw the 
light of day in Raisin Township, on the old home- 
stead, on the Cth of April, 1839. He was reared at 
home on his father's farm, upon which he worked 
until he arrived at his majority, receiving his 
education in this township and at Adrian. Ou 
the 4th of March, 1868, in Palmyra Township, Mr. 
Hall was married to Laura A. Wilder, who was 
born in that township on the 13th of January, 1842, 
and is the daughter of Artemus and Fannie (Coo- 
ler ) Wildei. The father came of an English fam- 
ily, uliK'h tiaces its ancestry back to 1497, in En- 
gland, but finds that originalh it was from Ger- 
many. Members of this faniih Iiim held high 
place in Enolisli social, religion^ .uid ( diicational 
spheres, and in i)olitical matters in the \ uited 
States. The late Marshall P. Wilder was for years 
Treasurer of the State Horticultural Society, of 
Massachusetts, and of the United States Historical 
and Genealogical Society. He, as well as others of 
hi- family. acliieve(l national reputations in their 
\ arioiis depailiiieiits of life. Artemus, the father 
(if Mrs. Hall, was reared at Attica, New Y'ork State, 
and tliere married Fannie, sister of Judge Thomas 
M. Cooley, who is now Chairman of the Board of 
Inter-State Commissioners. She was reared in New 
York .State, where she remained until her marriage 
with Mr. \Vilder. Soon after their marriage the}' 



•►Hh-* 






^u 



^•►Hl-* 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



left New York, and in August, 1839, arrived in 
Lenawee Country, and settled in PalnQ3a'a Town- 
ship, lie died in 1866. at the age of seventy years, 
and sliedied in 1 869, at the age of sixty-eight years. 
Mr. and Mrs. Hall became the parents of two 
children, one of whom is deceased. Arthur A. is a 
graduate of the Tecnrnseh High School, and is pre- 
paring for the profession of teaching. After mar- 
riage Mr. Hall began school teaching, and was en- 
gaged in the public schools of his county for more 
than twenty terms. He located on his present home 
farm in 1873, having previously lived for some 
years in Tecumseh Township. Before their mar- 
riage Mrs. Hall also taught eighteen terms of school 
in Lenawee and adjoining counties. She is an in- 
telligent and educated lady, and well informed upon 
all the subjects which interest the people ; she is a 
consistent and earnest member of the Presbyterian 
Church. Mr. Hall is a solid Republican of the 
most enthusiastic character, and is a member of the 
Republican County Central Committee. He takes 
an active part in the political affairs of the town- 
ship and county, and contributes his best energies 
to make his party successful in the various cam- 
paigns. In 1885 he was elected Supervisor for 
Raisin Township, and discharged the duties of that 
office faithfully and to the satisfaction of the peo- 
ple. He has been School Inspector of this town- 
ship for several years, and calls to the discharge 
of the duties of this office much practical experience. 
Being a practical educator his interest in school 
matters is more than ordinary. He and his wife 
are both popular with the people among whom ] 
they live, and have established themselves in their j 
esteem and I'cspcct. i 



RA GOODSKLL, Postmaster, and member of 
the firm of A. A. Goodsell & Co., general mer- 
chants at Jasper, came' to this county from Ver- 
million, Ohio, in the fall of 1854. His early life 
was spent in the agricultural districts of Chautauqua 
County, N. Y., where his birth took place near the 
town of Portland, Sept. 13, 1832. He remained in 
that \ieiiiity until a \outh of eighteen, then going 
to Krie County, Ohio, engaged as a farm laborer 



until starting for the West. He pursued the same 
calling a year after reaching this county, and then 
rented a farm in Ogden Township three years. 

Mr. Goodsell had in the meantime been married, 
and in the spring of 1859 started for Pike's Peak. 
Upon arriving at a point 300 miles west of the 
MissoiH'i River, they met a caravan of emigrants 
returning eastward, who assured them that Pike's 
Peak was a swindle and a cheat, and JMr. Goodsell, 
wisely profiting by the experience of those who had 
been there, turned about and retraced his steps to 
this county. This adventure had involved consid- 
erable expen.se, exhausting his ready means, and he 
was now obliged to begin over again and work out 
as before. After one season thus spent, he rented 
a farm in Fairfield Township, and the following 
year he purchased a tract of land on section 13, in 
Fairfield Township, upon which he continued until 
the spring of 1 882. In the meantime he had opened 
up a fine farm of which he is still in possession, and 
which is now oper.ited by a tenant. In 1882 Mr. 
Goodsell left the farm, and removing to Jasper be- 
came associated with his present partner, and as 
both are men of energy and honesty, they have 
built up a good patronage, and are each year ex- 
tending their operations and increasing their stock. 
This comprises everything needed in the county or 
village household — provisions, drugs, boots, shoes, 
etc. 

Tiie marriage of our subject with Miss Elizabeth 
C. Phillips took place at the residence of the bride's 
parents on the 12th of December, 1856. Mrs. 
Goodsell is the daughter of Alanson and Eliza W 
(Walker) Phillips, who are natives respectively of 
Massachusetts and New I'ork. Mr. Phillips left 
the Bay State in early manhood, and after his mar- 
riage settled with his bride in Ontario County, N. 
Y., where they resided until the spring of 1835. 
Thence they came to this county, locating first in 
Madison Township, but two years later removing 
to Fairfield Township, where the death of the father 
took place April 7, 1879, and that of the mother, 
Aug. 14, 18»5. Mr. and Mrs. Phillips were the 
parents of five children, three sons and two daugh- 
ters, (if whom Elizabeth C, the second child, was 
Im.iii in Ontario County, N. Y., Feb. 5, 1834, and 
was about one year old when her parents came to 



Ih-^*- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



this county. Of her marriage with our subject 
there was born tine chiUl onl}', a son, Arthur A., 
who MKuried Miss Ella M. Buck and resides in Jas- 
per. 

Tlie parents of our sul)ject were Zalinan L. and 
Lucy (Cole) Goodsell, both natives, it is supposed, 
of Columbia County, N. Y. The father it is 
iiuown was born and reai'cd there, and aftci- mar- 
riage settled in Hillsdale, that county, whence he 
subsequentlj' removed to Chautauqua County, where 
the mother died on the 10th of May, 1843, when 
fifty years of age. The father of our subject came 
to Lenawee County in lS,-,7, three year> after the 
arrival <.)f his sou Ira. and located in Ogden Town- 
ship, but finally removed to Madison Township, 
after he had lived in Adrian for two years. His 
death took place on the Cth of April. 1873. The 
household circle includ..d eleven children, two of 
id six lu,ys and three girls 
rit\-: of these six are now 



whom died in infa 
lived to reach thei 



Ira Coodsell is the eighth child of tlie parental 
family, and received a comuion-scliool education. 
Like his father before him, he cast his political fort- 
unes with the Democratic [)arty. Although never 
an office-seeker, ho has represented Fairfield Town- 
ship in the County Board of fSupcrvLsors, and has 
been otherwise prominent in Icieul aff.-iirs. He was 
appointed Postmastci- in .l;niuary. ISSII. and is dis- 
charging the duties of his otlice in a m.-itter credita- 
ble to himself, and satisfactory to the coumunutv. 



-^r^'^ 



i^LFKED BELCHER i 

\ 0fu\ \ dent and prosperon> 
lr| Kolliu Township, wh- 

County, N. Y., ,lune 1, isi'i' 



nei-. situated in 
he has resided 
iirn in (ieuesec 
d is till' sou of 
Enoch and Elizabeth (Bennett) Belcher. The fa- 
ther of our subject was a native (jf Connecticut, 
whence lie removed after he i cached the age of 
manhood to (Tcuesee County, N. Y.. an<l resided 
thei'e until 1833, when he (•anie to .Michigan, and 
rented a farm in Adrian Townsiiip, this county. 
After his first year's residence in tiiis cininty, he 
removed to Hollin Township, and entered KJO acres 



I of Government land, on wliieh he was successfully 

I employed in redeeming it from a state of nature, 
until his decease, which occurred at the age of sev- 
enty-three 3'ears ; his wife died when sevenl3'-fivc 

[ years of age. Their family C(imprised nine children, 
of whom three ai'e yet living. A brother of our 
subject resides in Indiana, and a sister in Wood- 
bridge, Hillsdale Co., Mich. 

Our subject was reared on the farm until he at- 
tained ills twenty-second year, engaged in clearing 
land and assisting in other farm duties. He had 
very limited o[)portunities for securing an education 
in the n>u.-d manner, lint he was fond of reading, 
and supplementing what he attained at the district 

I school by a judicious course of reading, he has be- 
come well informed on the events of the day. At 
the age of twenty-two years Mi'. Belcher engaged 
in clearing land for hinisi'lf. and continuiug at this 
work for the ne.xt four years, found himself in a 
position to take up the responsibilities of a married 
life. 

Our subject was uniteil in marriage with Miss 
Mary A. Rockwell, who was born in Chautauqua 
County, N. Y., in 1830, and is the daughter of Hi- 
ram and Margaret (Parks) Rockwell. Her father 
followed the occii})ation of a farmer, and came to 
Michigan at an early day, where he spent the re- 
mainder of his life, dying in Fannington. The 
mother of Mrs. Belcher is still living and resides in 
Minnesota. Mrs. Belcher was one of seven children, 
and has borne to our subject a family of four chil- 
dren, named as follows: Salem M., Ellen A.,. lames 
and ^tepllell .1. Saleni was born Feb. IG, 1851, 
and resido with his father on the (jld homestead; 
Fallen A. wjis born March 10, 1 .sr)3, and is now the 
wife of Henry Page, a merciiant in Burlington, 
Coffey Co., Kaii.;.Iames was born June li, 185.'), and 
married Aliss Celia Payne, and they have four 
children, two sons and twd daughters: his farm ad- 
joins that of our subject. Stephen J. was born 
March 28, 1866, and operates his father's farm of 
185 acres; he married Miss Dor.a Snyder. These 
children received such an education as was obtain- 
able at the district schools, when, .is their father was 
anxious to give them those advantages of which he 
himself was in a large measure deprived, he sent 
them to the High School of Hudson. After mar- 



.»-lh^ 



■?^»- 



4 



970 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



i 



riage our subject continued his farming operations 
on section 16 until 1854, when he removed to liis 
present location. In 1803 he responded to the call 
of his country for assistance in her hour of danger, 
and enlisted in the Mechanics' Corps, under Capt. 
Boone, of Quincy, Branch Co., Mich. 

Upon his return from the war our subject re- 
sumed his agricultural occupations and engaged in 
the raising of graded stock, to which he has since 
devoted much attention. He has been quite suc- 
cessful in this undertaking, and exhibits a fine col- 
lection of horses and cattle. He does not take much 
interest in politics, but his sympathies are with the 
Republican party. He is an advocate of all meas- 
ures which tend toward the advancement of the 
community and the development of the resources 
of his county. Our subject is of English ancestry, 
and his grandfather was the first representative of the 
family in this country. He took part in the Revo- 
lutionary War, while his son, the father of our sub- 
ject, was engaged in the War of 1812. The family 
were honored and esteemed in their da3^ and gen- 
eration, and their name and example furnish their 
descendants with a pattern worthy of emulation. 



Iji^M ICHAEL J. MARTIN, one of the most en- 
terprising farmers of Macon Township, has 
eighty acres of choice land in his homestead, 
and forty acres on another portion of the 
same section. Like many wlio fifty years ago sought 
their home in Michigan, he is a native of Seneca 
County, N. Y., and w.as born in Lodi Township, 
March 23, 1829. He came to this county with his 
parents when a child four years of age, and they 
settled in the wilds of Macon Township, where 
their career thenceforward was like that of hun- 
dreds of others who endured privations and hard- 
ships, but who almost without exception built up 
for themselves good homes and lived to see their 
children comfortably settled around them. These 
and their offspring are now enjoying the advant- 
ages which have been secured to them through the 
sturdy efforts of the pioneers. 

Stephen P. E. Martin, the father nf ,.ur subject, 
and a native of Middlesex County, N. J., was from 
■^m 



an old family which settled in New England during 
the Colonial days, and traced its descent back to 
Holland. The paternal grandfather, Michael Mar- 
tin, was a farmer and slaveholder in New Jersey 
until slavery was abolished in that State. He spent 
his entire life in Middlesex County, where he mar- 
ried a lady of birth and parentage similar to his 
own. Their son Stephen upon reaching manhood 
continued the farming pursuits to which he had 
been reared, and married Miss Abigail Clarkson, of 
Middlesex County, N. J. The family history of 
the Clarksons will be found on another page in this 
volume. 

After the birth of two children Stephen Martin 
and his wife determined upon a change of location, 
and gathering together theh- personal effects he 
moved into Seneca County, N. Y., where they took 
up their residence in Lodi Township, and two more 
children were subsequently added to the household. 
Not being satisfied with his labors in the Empire 
State, the father of our subject determined upon a 
removal to the Territory of Michigan, and made 
his way here after the manner of the travelers of 
those days first by canal and lake, and from Detroit 
to this county laboriously with an ox-team. They 
located on a tract of wild land in Macon Township, 
but Later removed to Raisin Township, where the 
father secured a partly improved farm, and here his 
death took place in 1846, when he was nearly fifty- 
four years old. He was a man of uuich force of 
character, and in early manhood had identified him- 
self with the Democratic party, of whose principles 
he was a firm advocate until the day of his death. The 
mother afterward made her home with her children, 
and lived to be ninety-three years of age, her death 
occurring in Macon Township, April 9, 1887. She 
was a woman of great energy and resolution, and 
continued hale in both mind and body until nearly 
ninety years old, after that being quite feeble. 

After the death of his father our subject con- 
tinued with his mother in Raisin Township until his 
marri.age, which most important and interesting 
event in his life was celebrated at the home of the 
bride. Miss Jane A. Miller, in Macon Township, 
Oct. 2i, 1850. Mrs. Martin was the daughter of 
L. V. and Sarah (Huff') Miller, natives of Seneca 
County, N. Y., where they were reared and married. 
—9^ 



u 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



971 



After the birtli of their first child, in April, 1832, 
they started on the long and tedious journey to 
Michigan, locating in Hilisd.-ili- County, where the 
mother died a few years later. AIi. .Miller then re- 
moved to Macon Township, this county, and is still 
living, making his home with his son, and being 
now eighty-one years old. Mrs. Martin was a child 
when her parents came to Michigan, and was reared 
to wouiauhood in Hillsdale County. After being 
the faithful and affectionate companion of her hus- 
band for a period of twenty-flve years she departed 
this life at her home in Macon Tcnvnship, Oct. 28, 
1881. To Mr. and Mrs. Martin uere born four 
children, as follows: Their cliU^st daughter, Ida B., 
is the wife of Frederick Belaud, and they are living 
upon the homestead of Mr. Martin, and have two 
children — Charles C. and a babe unnamed. The 
eldest son, J. DeWitt, is finely educated, and holds 
the position of Principal of the school at Moore- 
ville, Washtenaw Countj', while S. Sophia and Harry 
T. are at home with their father, both being well 
educated, and the latter a teacher. 

Mr. Martin located in Blacon Townslii|) soon 
after his marriage, and has been a resident here 
now for over thirty years. He is numbered among 
its most useful and self-sacrificing citizens, and has 
always taken a lively interest in the welfare of his 
adopted township. All the family attend the 
American Reformed Churcli. Mr. Maitin is Demo- 
cratic politically, and has served as Township Clerk, 
Treasurer and School Director. 



\lpOIIN O. MAXWELL, Supervisor of Cam- 
ji bridge Townshi}) for the last seven years, is 
jl one of it^ well-known and most successful 
'^Mj general farmers, and has a, lieautiful and 
well-ordered homestead on section .■i2. (■onii)rising 
eighty acres of land, the greater part of which has 
been brought to a high state of cultivaticm. The 
buildings are all that could be desired by tlu; first- 
class agriculturist of cultivated tastes and amjilc 
means. Aside from the home farm he owns [jrop- 
erty on section .33, which is also well improved. In 
all the enterprises which have tended t(»ward the 
building up of Cambridge Township, Mr. Ma.\.well 



has been usually a leading spirit, contributing 
liberally of his time and means to whatever would 
benefit the community. 

The subject of this biogra|)hy first oikmrmI his 
eyes to the light in the township of Milo, Yates 
Co., N. Y., Dec. 25, 1834. He comes of an e.x- 
ccllent old New England family of Scotch descent, 
whose ancestors crossed the Atlantic during the 
Colonial days. Two brothers came together and 
located in Rhode Island, whence one subsequently 
emigrated to Long Island, and from him descended 
the branch of the family to which our subject be- 
longs. The records indicate that one of his sons. 
John Maxwell, settled in Westfield, N. J., in 1G(J5, 
and located on wiiat was known as tiie old Eliza- 
bethtown tract. He was there married and became 
the father of four children — William, John, Jr., 
David and Esther. Of William nothing is known; 
John, Jr., became the father of two children — 
Nathaniel and John ; ))ut little is known of David, 
and Esther died quite young. 

John Maxwell, Jr., was a soldier with the \'irginia 
troops of the Continental army, and was in the 
battles of White Plains, Oct. 28, 177G, and German- 
town, Oct. 4, 1777. He died a soldier at Middle- 
brook, N. J., in the latter year, and his sou Nathan 
was killed in battle during the Revolutionary War. 
John, the brother of Nathan, married Miss Eiunice 
Osborne and had five children, namely : Jacob, Brit- 
ton, P^lizabeth, John Osborn, Esther and Israel. 
John Maxwell, the father of the foregoing five 
children and the grandfather of our subject, was a 
mason by trade and a master in his profession. He 
had served his apprenticeship at Long Hill, Morris 
Co., N. J., under a man by the name of Jacob 
Britton, and afterward made one of his sons a 
namesake of his employer, to whom he was greatly 
attached. After the death of the latter J ihu Max- 
well became guardian to Abraham and Israel, the 
two sons of Mr. Britton. He was appointed to the 
position by Richard Howell, the Governor of New 
Jersey. He had also been commissioned Captain 
of the State Militia, and was generally prominent 
in public affairs, lie was married, Nov. (i, 178;'), to 
Miss Eunice Osborne, and in 1800 removed with his 
wife .and family to a point near Sparta, Sussex 
County. There his last child and youngest son, 
9^ 



972 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Israel Baker Maxwell, was born, and there he with 
his estimable wife spent the remainder of his days, 
both living to a ripe old age. 

Jacob Britton Maxwell was married to a Miss T. 
Russell, by whom he had one child, and by a second 
marriage, with Mary Little, he had four children. 
His sister Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of the 
family, was twice married, first to a Mr. Van Bus- 
kirk, and lastly to a Mr. Montoguil, and was the 
mother of children by both. The other brother, 
John Osborne Maxwell, married Miss Betsey Corey, 
and became the father of five children. After her 
death he was married to a Mrs. McPeek, who had 
formerly been a Miss Little. Estiier Maxwell, the 
second daughter, died in early childhood. 

Israel Baker Maxwell, the father of our suljject, 
and the youngest son of John Maxwell, was born 
in Sussex County, N. J., Eeb. 8, 1803. He learned 
the trade of a carpenter when a young man and 
followed it more or less all his life. After com- 
pleting his trade he married Miss Mar^' A. Onsted, 
who was born in Sussex County and is believed to 
have "been a descendant of the old Jersey Dutch 
stock. After the birth of three children — -Nancy, 
Esther and Eunice — Israel B. Maxwell with his 
family removed to Yates County, N. Y., and re- 
sided there in the township of Milo two years, 
during which time their fourth child, John 0., was 
born. He removed from his native county with his 
parents soon afterward, and in the spring of 1835 
was brought by them to Michigan, crossing Lake 
Erie to Detroit and thence with a team across the 
countrj- to Cambridge Township. Israel B. Max 
well took up 240 acres of Government land on sec- 
tions 29 and 32, making his home on the former. 
Upon this land he labored industriously until the 
spring of 1852, but the results being not entirely 
satisfactory he decided to seek the Pacific Slope and 
endeavor to better his financial condition in the 
gold regions of California. After a few years his 
family received intelligence that he had been taken 
ill and been sent to the hospital at San Francisco. 
That was the last information that could be obtained 
by the sorrowing wife and family, who, after wait- 
ing anxiously for years in the hope of his return 
home, were compelled at last to give up all expecta- 
tion of ever seeing him again. The mother sur- 



vived a few years, making her home with her 
younger son, Peter, until her death, which took 
place on the .")th of March, 1865. 

The children of Israel B. and Mary Ann Max- 
well are recorded as follows: Nancy, the wife of 
Anion Pratt, died in August, 1871 ; Esther inairied 
Henry Powell, a respected farmer of Camliridge 
Township ; Eunice became the wife of Lewis Swart- 
out, and died in August, 1858; John O., of our 
sketch, was the next in order of birth; the two 
youngest children were born in Cambridge Town- 
ship. Jacob B. married Miss Catherine Ateu, and 
is farming not far from the old homestead ; Peter 
m.irried Miss H. V^an Alstine, and is farming in 
Cambridge Township. 

John O. Maxwell was a j'outh of ciyhtciMi years 
at the time of his father's death, and had dis- 
tinguished himself as a bright, industrious and 
ambitious boy, who made the most of his oppor- 
tunities at school and was not afraid of downright 
hard labor. He now applied himself diligently to 
the improvement of the land which had fallen to 
him as his portion of his father's estate. He 
sensibly waited before taking upon himself further 
responsibilities until the 24th of April, 1858, and 
was then married in Cambridge Township to Miss 
Charlotte Onsted, who was born in that township, 
Jan. 7, 183'.i. Mrs. M. is the daughter of Peter 
and Elizabeth (Conkling) Onsted, who emigrated 
from the Empire State to the Territory of Michi- 
gan in 1836, where Mr. O. took up a quarter section 
of Government land and purchased eighty acres 
besides on section 33, in Cambridge Township, 
where he battled with the soil continuously for a 
number of 3'ears, and succeeded in building up a 
valuable homestead. Here the kind, loving and 
affectionate Christian mother died in the summer of 
1852. Peter Onsted was subsequently married and 
finall3' removed to the city of Adrian, where his 
decease occurred in the spring of 1883, when he 
was seventy-one years of age. 

Mrs. Charlotte Maxwell was the sixth child in a 
family' of ten children, four sons and six daughters, 
and continued under the home roof until the death 
of her mother, when she made her home elsewhere 
until her marriage. She is spoken of b3' all as a 
lady of kind and generous impulses, proving a 



=t 



■ih^ 



LENAAYEE COUNTY. 



fl-n 



friend in time of need to all in distress, strangers 
as well as acquaintances. Her larue-hearted henev- 
olence has been the means of rclicviuij; many 
aching hearts and suffering ImmIjcs. Shr is the 
mother of one child only, a daughter, Helen E.. 
who is now the wife of Oeorge Bennett, of Rome 
Township, and the mother of two children — Lynn 
M. and .1. DeWitt. 

Mr. and Mrs. M.axuell are charter mcndiers of 
theSpringville Patrons of Husbandry, of Cambridge 
Township, No. 279, of which order Mr. M. has 
been Treasurer since its organization, in 1874. He 
is also i)voininent in Masonry, being a member of 
Conimandery Knights Temi)lar. A(hian Lodge No. 
■i, and also of Chapter No. 10, Blue Lodge, in 
Brooklyn, Jackstjn County. He cast his first Presi- 
dential vole for Pierce, and since that time has 
been a stanch supporter of thi' Demociatic [lai-ty. 
In the discharge of liis duti(•^ as Supervisor he has 
given immixed satisfaction, and ranks among the 
leading men of the township, one always interested 
in all matters tending to its w<dfare and progress. 



RANK ALEXANDER. 



■re came to 
Iji^^ Michigan fi'om Wayne County, N. V.. in 
JK^ 1«57, David and Mary A. (Howell) Alex- 
ander, with their little family, prepareti to establish 
a home upon a portion of the uncultivated land of 
Rollm Township. David Alexander purchased 1(50 
acres of land on section 3-J, all of which he brought 
to a fine state of cultivation, [lutling up a good 
house and barn, and by degrees adding other build- 
ings necessary for the succes.sfid prosecution of his 
calling. Here he continued the remainder of his 
life, and after building ui) a recor<l as an honest 
man and a gooil citizen, peacefully |j:is.mm1 :i,\vay at 
a ripe old age on the 1st of .lanuary, !««(), leaving 
a wife and four children. 

Harriet, the eldest daughter of D.avid and Mary 
A. Alexander, was b.un An,-. 20, l,s41,and iieeanie 
the wife of S. M. Burgess; she is now a resident of 
Michigan and the mother of one child. (JeorgeN. 
was born Oct. 7, 1843, in Wayne County, N. V., 
and durini; the late war enlisted as a siddier in the 



Union army, being a member of Company H, 
1st Michigan Light Artillery: he was discharged 
for disability, but re-enlisted iu the t;th Regiment 
Heavy Artillery. He marri.^d .Miss Nellie Knight, 
and is now connected with ii railroad in Washing- 
ton Territory, having his headquarters at Seattle, 
and is the father of two children. Frank, the sub- 
ject of this sketch, wa> born iu Wayne County, 
N. Y., May 20, 184'.); William 1". was born Aug. 
12, 18ol, in the same county, and manied Miss 
Ada Hardy; they have four children, ami aic livln- 
on a farm in Rollin Township. 

Mr. Alexander received a fair education, and 
when twenty-one years of age engaged in teaching 
in his native township, and in 1873 rented the farm 
until the death of his father. After this event he 
still continued on the homesteatl, whore he has 
ii'iven the best efforts of his life toward its impro\ e- 
ment and embellishment, and has taken [iride in 
perpetuating the work which his honored father so 
worthily began. He vv.as marrieil, on the 8th of 
April, 1874, to Miss Elizabeth D., daughter of 
Orson and Elizabeth (Douglas) Creen, ouc of the 
first families iu Rollin Township (see sketch of 
Orson Green). Mrs. Alexander was born Feb. ,"), 
18.i0, and became the mother of one child only, a 
daughter, Sarah A., who was born Dec. 5, 1880. 
Mr. and Mrs. Alcxandei- are members in good 
staudinc of the Moth.odist ( luuch. and are actively 
interested in missionary work. Mr. Alexander, 
politically, is a st.inch rioiiililtionist, and has the 
warm sympathy in his labor- of his estimable wife. 

He h.as occupied the various tinvuslnp olHees, sei'\ - 
ing as Treasurer and School Direeloi, and otherwise 
signifying his lively interest in the moral and 
educational welfare of the [leople. 

The Alexander family came ori^iinally from 
Scotland. Frank Alexander, a great-uncle of our 
subject, was an artist of remarkalile talent, ami 
another uncle was a preacher of note. On the 
mother's side the family were of equal talent, 
people of great strength of character and uniformly 
prominent in the [ilaces where they took up their 
abode. They served as soldiers in the Revolution- 
ary War, and ?'rank, of our sketch, has now in 
his possession the mu.sket his maternal grandfather 

•>. 



^•; 



974 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



of 



Colonists foi- 



carried during the strug< 
their independence. 

David Alexander was born in Windham County, 
Conn., Feb. 2, 1811, and was taken by his pa;-ents 
to Wayne County, N. Y., when a child of twenty 
months old. His father, Nell Alexander, a native 
of Connecticut, died there at the age of fifty-seven 
years ; he for a long term of years held the office of 
Justice of tlie Peace. • His wife died at the age of 
seventy-one. The father of our subject was in 
former years a Democrat, but in 1 844 voted the 
abolition ticket, and later identified liiniself with 
the Republican party. 

_^^ o^..(cy^^^^^:o^o.- -v^ 

jj^^ TEPHEN BUGBEE, a native of Orleans 
^^^ County, N. Y., cast his lot with the pio- 
(fl/Jl) neers of Michigan at an early day and em- 
ployed the strength of his manhood in sub- 
duing the primitive soil in Lenawee County. He 
was born May 23, 1831, and is the son of Moses 
Bngbee, who first opened his eyes to tlie ligiit on 
the 22d of June, 1787, in Connecticut. The mother 
of our subject, formerly Miss Elizabeth Bently, was 
a native of New York State and born July 30, 
1796. Her father, Eizekiel Bently, served in the 
Revolutionary War and spent his last years in Or- 
leans County, N. Y., living to be eighty years of 
age. 

Moses Bugbee, the father of our subject, through 
his own efforts acquired a fair education and taught 
school for a time in his own neighborhood. He was 
married soon after reaching his majority, and with 
his young wife settled upon a farm in Orleans 
County, N. Y., where they became the parents of 
seven children, all sons. Twenty 3'ears later, after 
his family had grown up around him. he disposed 
of his interests in the Empire State and came to 
Michigan while it was a Territory, reaching this 
county in the si)ring of 1829. In February, 1830, 
he settled upon a tract of land wliicli was after- 
ward included in the limits of Adrian Township, 
and was probably tlie first settler there. There was 
but one house between him and the embryo town, 
a distance of four miles. The father of our subject 
had a thorough contempt for the frivolities and 



superfluities of life and pursued his farming oper- 
ations with oxen alone, claiming that he could de- 
pend upon them and they were not apt to run 
awaj'. He was of a contented disposition, and spent 
the last days of his life upon the homestead which 
he had labored so industriously to build up, and 
where he had surrounded himself and his family 
with many comforts. He looked his last upon the 
scenes of earth on the 19th of April, 1869, while 
the wife and mother survived a few years, her 
death taking place Feb. 26, 1875. They were peo- 
ple greatly respected by their neighbors and sought 
in all ways to follow the precepts of tlie Golden 
Ride. Although they could not give their children 
the advantages of a collegiate education they 
trained them to habits of industry and principles of 
honor, and thus fitted them to take their jilaces in 
the world and exert a good influence npun those 
around them. 

Our subject spent his childhood and youth under 
the home roof and at an earlj' age was married, 
Dec. 28, 1847, to Miss Almira, daughter of Jacob 
Sanders, who was a shoemaker by ti-ade and had 
migrated from New York State to this county, in 
1838. He followed his trade until his death, which 
took place Jan. 9, 1860, and is remembered as an 
honest and hard-working man who did his best to 
provide comfortably for his large family. He had 
but 15 in his pocket when reaching this county but 
made friends with all who knew him, and neither he 
nor his ever suffei-ed for the comforts of life. He 
married Miss L)'dia, daughter of James Egbert, of 
Pennsylvania, who migrated to Illinois in the pio- 
neer days and died in Hillsdale County, this State, 
at the ripe old age of seventy-two years. Mrs. 
Sanders was born in Pennsylvania, Dec. 20, 1793, 
and after the death of Mr. Sanders was a second 
time married, her last husband onlj' living about 
six months. She spent her last years in this county, 
and died Aug. 30, 1804. 

Mr. Bugbee up to the lime of his marriage had 
labored at home upon the farm, and now with a 
laudable desire to retain possession of the home- 
stead, purchased the interests of the heirs, having to 
pay for this the sum of |>2,250. The personal prop- 
erty was equally divided. Our subject and his wife 
had thus a good start in life, and in due time be- 



^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



075 



came the parents of five children : Mary wns horn 
Oct. 7, 1848, and is now the wife of R. R. Geor<,re, 
a pR)sperous farmer of Rome Towiisiiip; Jacob N 
was born Sept. 7, 18.t:3. and is a cariienter by trade 
and at present a resident (if Coloi-adu : lir innnied 
and became tlie fatiier of one rliild, .'iiid his wife 
died some time since. John K. was born Ang. -26, 
1862, and operates the farm on shares with his fa- 
ther; Frank C. was born Nov. 28, 18C4, and is 
married and farming in Rome Townsliip. and is tlie 
father of two children; Minnie I\I. uas lioin May 
7, 18C9, and is at home with iier parents. 

Our subject was the fourth of seven sons born to 
his parents, and has tiiree brothers in tin's State, all 
engaged in farming. Two years after tlie father 
settled here he went fisliing, and upon ills return 
home was treed by the wolves wlio surroundcil Ids 
perch and made themselves merry at his expense 
until morning. He was afterward very mucli an- 
noyed by the hungry rascals, wliicii each night for 
a long time made a path around liis sheei) P''" '" 
the vain endeavor to get at tlie inmates. Indians 
•also were plentiful in tliat region then, and one 
night three of them sought shelter under the hos- 
pitable roof of Mr. Bugbee, where they remained 
all night, using a stick of wood for a pillow. Tiu'y 
learned that the white man was tl\eir frienil and 
frequently came t<j tlie caliin, never making any 
disturbance. 

The father <jf our subject ideutilii'd himself witli 
the Democratic party in early manhood. Inil after 
the organization of the Republicans clianged his 
views and upheld the latter the remainder of his 
life. Religiously he was a zealous member of the 
Baptist Church, which lie regularly attended with 
his wife and children. 

\i?%ORMAN F. BRADISII. Dining the decade 
jjj between 1830 and 1840 the tide of emigra- 
^ tion turned toward Michigan, and many of 
the leading men of to-day came in during that 
time. Some of these were men in the jirime of 
life, who had already accumulated some property, 
and in the unbroken wilderness of this Territory 
saw greater and more speedy results for the invest- 



ment of tlu'ir capilal. Some were young men just 
starting out to fight life's battles, and deemed this 
a promising field for the free scope of their energies 
and ambitions. INIany were yet children who came 
with their jiarents to this new field of action, and 
of this latter class was our subject, Mr. Bradish. 

The parents of INIr. Biadish were Calvin and 
Nancy (Post) Bradish (for parental history see 
sketch of Augustus W. Bradish). Our subject 
was born in Wayne County, N. Y., Aug. 2;"), 1822 
and is the youngest of a family of twelve children. 
He was only nine years of age when he came with 
his parents to Lenawee County in 1831, and he 
has lived in the vicinity of his iH-eseut home in 
Madison Township sim-e that date. He was reared 
on the home farm, and there recei\ed tlie benefits 
of a practical instruction in all thing.s pertaining to 
farm life. Being ambitious he was anxious to start 
out ill life for himself, and having elder brothers, 
so that his help was not especially needed at home, 
his father gave him his time somewhat before he 
attained his majority, and his energy and wise in- 
dustiy have gained him success. Most of his life 
has been spent in farming, and in connection with 
this occupation he opcralcd a threshing-machine 
during the summer ami fall months for a period of 
sixteen years. He is now the proprietor of 230 
acres of valuable laud on section 23 of Madison 
Township, upon which he has erected ample and 
convenient buildings, and has all the necessary 
inii)lements for carrying on farming after the most 
approved methods. Like all successful persons he 
has occasionally met with disasters and losses; in 
the summer of 1885 his barn was struck by light- 
ning and was destroyed with all its contents, entail- 
ing a loss estimated at from *1,500 to $2,000. 

Mr. Bnadish was ra.arried in Ovid, Seneca Co., 
N. Y., Oct. 7, 1845, to Miss Caroline, daughter of 
.John and Elizabeth (Lobdell) Caton, both natives 
of Palmyra, N. Y. Mrs. Caton died there in 1827, 
and after her death Mr. Caton removed to New 
Jerse}-. They had five children, namelj' : William, 
Samuel L., Elizabeth, John D. and Caroline M. 
The youngest of the family, the wife of our subject, 
was born in Palmyra, Wayne Co., N. Y., Sept. 30, 
1826. To Mr. and Mrs. Bradish have been born 
five children, namely: Mentha A., who died when 



r 



»► m^ <^ 



^•^i 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



five years old; Helen A., who dii'(l when twenty 
months old ; Russell N., who married Miss Jennie 
Spaulding, and lives in Madison Township; Mentha 
Amanda, who is the wife of George B. Horton, and 
resides in Fairfield Township, and Maggie A., who 
died Fell. 18, 1864, aged twenty months. 

Mr. Bradish takes great interest in the welfare of 
the township, and lends his influence to the pro- 
motion of the best interests of town and State. 
He has held the office of Highway Commissioner, 
and served the county as Deputy Sheriff. Socially, 
Mr. and Mrs. Bradish are members of the Madison 
Grange, and politically Mr. B. is a Republican. 



J'jJOSKPH R. BELL, a leading farmer and 
|| stock-buyer of Seneca Township, was born 
|{ in Portage County, Ohio, Dec. 22, 1851, 
Jj and came to this county with his parents 
early in 18."..'). Jonathan G. Bell, the father of the 
subject of this sketch, was a native of England, and 
born in the county of Cumberland. He was reared 
to manhood in the land of his birth, and was there 
united in marriage with Miss Anne Smith. 

Shortly after his marriage Jonathan Bell con- 
cluded to seek his fortune in the New World, and 
accordingly embarking, after a tedious voyage, 
during which time he had the misfortune to lose 
his wife, he landed in Canada, where he remained 
some years. While a resident of the Dominion, 
he again entered into the marriage state, this time 
with Miss Frances Roach, a native of Cumberland, 
England, and born in 1818. Her parents came to 
the United States and settled in Cortland County, 
N. Y., but three yeais later removed to Ohio. 
From the latter place, in 1855, they removed to 
Michigan, and settled in Seneca Township, where 
thej- at present reside. Both have attained their 
threescore and ten ye.ars, and are passing their 
declining lives in peace and comfort. Jonathan 
Bell w.as the father of nine children, two girls b3' 
the first wife and seven boys bj- the second. 

Joseph R. Bell, the fonrtii child of his parents, 
was reared on his father's farm and receiveil his 
education in the common district schools, and has 
always been engaged in agricultural pursuits. He 



is at present largely interested in the purchase and 
sale of live stock, which he carries on in connec- 
tion with his farm. Jan. 1, 1874, he was united in 
marriage with Miss Mary Ann Hayward, who was 
born in Seneca Township, Jan. 5, 1847. She is the 
daughter of Stephen and Sarah Jane (Sanger) Hay- 
ward, a history of whom is given in the sketch of 
their son Henry Hayward, in this Album. Mrs. 
Bell was the fifth child of her parents, who were 
pioneers of 1834, and was reared among the familiar 
scenes of Seneca Township, receiving her primarj' 
education in the district schools, and finished it at 
the Raisin Valley Seminary 

Mr. Bell owns some eighty acres of land on 
section 22, which manifests by its high state of 
culture, the interest and ability of the proprietor. 
He has been in the stock business for some twelve 
or fourteen years, and has met with a merited suc- 
cess. He is a most excellent citizen, a public- 
spirited man and a kind and devoted husband. 
Taking great interest in the welfare and progress of 
the county and town, he enjoys the respect and 
esteem of all his appreciative neighbors. 



'I/_, IRAM A. CURTISS, one of the ohl settlers 
ifjjl of the township of Ridgeway, came to this 
t^W^ county nearly half a century ago, and now 
{^) owns eighty acres of land, most of which is 
well improved, on sections 4 and 33. Since 1876 
Mr. Curtiss has let his son manage the farm, and he 
lives in quiet. He was born in Paris Township, 
Oneida Co., N. Y., June 17, 1816, and is the son of 
Charles O. Curtiss, whose biography is given in 
connection with the sketch of Mr. Lyman Curtiss in 
this work. 

The subject of this sketch spent his early life on 
the f.arm back in York State, and while yet living in 
his native county, was united in marriage, in 1842, 
with Miss Lydia Hull. Miss Hull, who was born in 
Herkimer County, N. Y., Dec. 11, 1819, was the 
daughter of Benjamin Hull, a native of York (State. 
He was a farmer, and later in life went to Wiscon- 
sin, where he died. Mrs. Curtiss remained at home 
until her marriage; she became the mother of five 
children, and died at her home April 21, 1887. Of 



■•►^fc 



LENAAVEE COUNTY. 



-•► 



the five children, three died when young; thelivinjj- 
are William H., wiio married Elizabeth Zeluff, a na- 
tive of Ridgeway (for parents' history see sketch 
of John Zeluff); they live on and operate the Cur- 
tiss homestead belonging to the father. Kliza, the 
other living child, is the wife of WiilLnni Hritlon, 
and lives in Britton ; they own a large farm. The 
deceased were Hannali J., who died April 12, 1845, 
aged two years and nine daj's: C'hai-les E., who 
died March 13, 1851, aged two ye:irs and three 
months, and George W., who died aged one year 
and two months. 

Immediately after niairiage Mr. Curtiss set out 
from Utica, N. i'., via canal and lalie to Detroit, 
and thence by team to Ridgeway, landing here in 
October, 1842, and securing a part of the farm he 
now owns and lives on. The farm was all woods, 
and Mr. C. can be credited for its improvement. 
Mr. and Mrs. C. are members of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, while in politics Mr. C. is a Re- 
publican. With Mr. Curtiss lives his sister, Julia 
A., who was born in Paris Township, Oneida County, 
Nov. 27, 181H. She lived at her home in Oneida 
until 1880, when she came to this jiart of the coun- 
try, and made her home with her brotlier; she is a 
mendter of the same churcii. 



I 



-B- 



RS. ANN KING, widow of the late Wil!i:im 
King, of Rollin Township, was born in the 
district of C^alloway, Scotland, July 12, 
18;il, and came to the United States in 
1 854, when a young lady twenty-three years old, it 
having been agreed between herself and future 
husband, Mr. Robert Sloan, that if he was pleased 
with the outlook she should follow, which she did, 
and worked out until her marriage as hereafter 
stated. She is the daughter of James and Cather- 
ine (Broadfoot) Beattie. She continued with her 
parents until reaching womanhood, in the meantime 
receiving careful home training from her excellent 
mother and a fair education in the common schools. 
Our subject was first married to Robert Sloan, 
Oct. 9, 1S.')5, in Livingston County, N. Y., and be- 
came the mother of one child, a daughter, Katie, 
' who was born Jan. 1, 1857. She is now the wife 



of AVilliam AV. King, a resident of Rollin Township, 
and has one child, a daughter Bertha, two years of 
age. Robert Sloan was a native of Scotland and 
died in Hillsdale County, Mich., in June, 1857. Mrs. 
Ann Sloan hcranic the wife uf William King on the 
1st of Al)ril. 1S.-,S. Mild tdllieni wen' born two eliil- 
dren: Robert B., April 10. l,«i;i,and William W., 
Oct. 10, 1864. The former died at the age of three 
years and three months; William W. married Miss 
Mary Hitchings, and is working the homestead. 

William King was born in Aj'rshire, Scotland, in 
1813, and died at his home in Rollin Township in 
the spring of 1.S84. He remained in the land of his 
birth until a youth of nineteen years, and after 
working in a shipyard about twelve months, sailed 
for the United States. During tl>e tempestuous 
voj'age the ship was wrecked, but young King fort- 
unatel3- escaped perishing, and a little over thirteen 
weeks after leaving his native land, arrived in New 
York City. He was there employed in a foundry' 
for about three years, then made his way to Michi- 
gan, arriving in this county about 1840. He was 
first employed on a farm near the town of Niles, 
after which he came to this county and purchased 
forty acres of land in Rollin Township. Later he 
traded this for the homestead which he left to his 
widow, and upon which she now resides. 

The parents of Mr. King died in Scotland, after 
attaining to a good old age, having both reached 
their fourscore years. The family was of excellent 
ancestry, and possessed in a marked degree the re- 
liable and substantial traits of the Scottish nation- 
ality. Mr. King politically was a Republican. The 
King family have always been the friends of tem- 
perance and morality, and Mrs. King for many 
years h.as done good service as an intelligent Chris- 
tian lady, in the Methodist Episcoi)al Church, of 
which she has been a member fur many years. 



a^l RS. SUSAN II. HAGAMAN, now a 
ll % <1e"t of Morenci, is the daughter of James 



and Nancy (Ballard) Day, who were na- 
tives f)f Thompson, Conn., where her fa- 
ther spent most of his life and where his decease 
I occurred. His wife was subsequently married to 



•►-w-^ 



=4- 



978 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Abel C. Ely, of Ohio, and late in life removed to 
Moienci, where his death took place. They became 
the parents of a family of nine children, five sons 
and four daughters, of whom Mrs. Haganian wa.s 
the fourth child in order of birth. 

The subject of this sketch was born in Thomp- 
son, Conn., Feb. I'i, 1815, and ]iassed her early 
years partly in the place of her birth and partly in 
Massachusetts. She afterward accompanied her 
mother to Lake County, Ohio, where she lived un- 
til her marriage. Her first marriage took place at 
her mother's home in Ohio, Sept. 20, 1 842. Her 
husband, Franklin Cawley, was a native of Penn; 
sylvania and had come to .Seneca Township seven 
years previous to his marriage. He was a mill- 
wright by trade and was also engaged in agricult- 
ural pursuits, occupying a part of what is now the 
village of Morenci. He was engaged for some time 
in the lumber business, also operating a sawmill, 
and made Morenci his residence until his death, 
which occurred on the 23d of October, 1858. By 
this union there were born six children, two of 
whom died in infancy; the other four were named 
as follows : Frank E., Anna C, Sarah L. and Perley 
F. Frank married Miss Sarah Scofield, and resides 
in Morenci ; Anna is the wife of Watson C. Crabbs, 
and resides in Toledo, Ohio; Pei-ley F. married 
Miss Luella Rorick, and resides in Fayette, Ohio. 

The subject of our sketch was a second time 
united in marriage, in Morenci, with Joseph Haga- 
nian. Mr. Hagaman was born in Varick, Seneca 
Co., N. Y., March 18, 1816. and was the son of 
John S. Hagaman, a native of New Jersey, and Mrs. 
Elizabeth Waldron, also of New Jersey. Joseph 
Hagaman was reared on the farm in Seneca County, 
where he received a good common-school education, 
and in 1841 came to Michigan and settled in Me- 
dina. He was first married in 18.3H, to Miss Leah, 
daughter of Samuel and Catherine Blain, of Varick, 
N. Y. This lady died in Morenci, Oct. 4, 1863, 
leaving no children, and on the 7th of September, 
1864, he was united in marriage with the subject 
of our sketch. In 1864 Mr. and Mrs. Hagaman 
settled in the village of Morenci, where he was vari- 
ously occupied until his decease, which occui red 
on the 27th of August, 1881, 

Mrs. Hagaman is a lady of exemplary character, 



•►Hl-^*- 



cheerfully assisting by her counsel and in a more 
tangible manner all enterprises which have for their 
object the promotion of the cause of morality and 
the advancement of the best interests of the com- 
munity. She is comfortably situated, and toward 
the close of a well-spent life can look forward to 
the prospect of spending her declining years in the 
enjoyment of ease and comfort. 

WTLLIAM WALDRON, son of a well-known 
pioneer of Lenawee County, is one of the 
most prominent and successful farmers of 
Tecumseh Township, where he has spent his entire 
life, having been born on the old homestead of his 
father, Dec. 19, 1850. The first roof which shel- 
tered him was that of a little cabin erected by the 
elder Waldron upon the uncultivated tract of land 
which became his property in the spring of 1 S46, 
and where he still lives. A sketch of Aaron K. 
Waldron and his wife, the parents of our subject, 
will be found elsewhere in this volume. Here, 
suffice it to say, that they are among the best known 
and most highly respected citizens of Lenawee 
County, to which they came in the pioneer days, 
and in whose progress and development they have 
borne an important part. 

The subject of this biography spent his boyhood 
years, in common with the sons of pioneer farmers, 
in assisting to bring the wild soil to a state of cul- 
tivation and building up the improvements, one af- 
ter another, which transformed the primitive home- 
stead into a modern and well-appointed farm. His 
early studies were conducted in the district school, 
and later he entered the High School in the village, 
where he made such good use of his time that he 
developed into a well-bred and well-informed young 
man. He continued with his parents until reaching 
his majority, and then liegan farming on his own 
account upon his father's land. 

Mr. Waldron wisely determined before taking 
upon himself the responsibilities of a family, to 
make full preparation for their comfort and welfare 
and having done so, he was married, March 30, 1881, 
to Miss Isabel F., second daughter of George and 
Helen (Fitzsimmons) Griswold, of Tecumseh Town- 
•►- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



ship. He li.i<l now become the possessor of n snuij- 
farm ou section 31, not far from Lis father's old 
homestead, and two miles west of the village on the 
pike road. To this he brought his bride, and thej' 
began life together un<ier the most f.avorablc aus- 
pices. The property includes 111 acres of land in 
a good state of cultivation, well stocked with choice 
grades of cattle and horses, and Poland-China hogs. 
Mr. Waldron is also an admirer of fine poultry, and 
has given particular attention to this department, 
keeping some of the best grades of the white 
Cochin-China, which frequently carry otf the l)lue 
ribbons at count}' fairs. The residence is a tine 
brick structure, two stories in height, finished :ind 
furnished in modern style. 

Our subject, like his father before hhn. is a 
straight Republican, politically, and has been (juite 
prominent in local affairs, serving as School Director 
and Pathmaster, and is otherwise identified with the 
best interests of his township. He keeps himself 
well posted upon matters of general interest and at 
the local elections supports the man best qualified 
for office, irrespective of party. 



t 



J~OSEPH R. BENNETT, one of the best 
known citizens of Lenawee County, and Pres- 
ident of its savings bank, presents the illus- 
tration of a self-made man who has been 
eminently successful in business, and by his worthy 
life long years ago established himself in the esteem 
and confidence of those about him. His has been a 
busy life, from the active labors of which he 
wisely retired in 18<sa, and now in the enjoyment of 
a competency is spending his ileelining years 
quietly in the city of Adrian. 

Many of the solid men of this county came from 
the old reliable Empire State. Like many of his 
compeers our subject vvas born there, in the town 
of Shelby, Orleans County, May IH, l«iy. His 
youth and childhood were spent on the farm of his 
father, but the parents in 1825 removed to Ala- 
bama, (ienesee County, where Joseph R. studied in 
the common schools and obtained the rudiments of 
a good education. He was a lad of fifteen years 
when the}' came to Michigan, and the elder Bennett 



put up the third house in Rollin Township, this 
county. Father and son labored tt)gether on the 
primitive soil and built up a home in the wilder- 
ness, where the young man remained until reaching 
his majority, and then set out for himself by pur- 
chasing a farm in the southern part of Rollin Town- 
ship. Upon this he operated two years and in the 
meantime had become quite prominent in public 
affairs. He was now appointed Deputy Siieriff and 
removed to Adrian in order to attend to the duties 
of his ofl3ce. This he held two years and in 1845 
was elected Constable. At the expiration of the 
term of his oflSee he was nominated for Sheriff on 
the Whig ticket, but suffered a defeat, for which, 
however, he was compensated by his election to the 
office in 1 850, on the same ticket, although the 
c(ntnty was largely Democratic. This was a flatter- 
ing testimonial, as showing the estimation in which 
he was held by his fellow-citizens. 

At the expiration of his second term of office Mr. 
Bennett purchased a half interest in the drug 
business of F. J. Remington, and in 1856 was again 
elected to the office of Sheriff on the Republican 
ticket. He was re-elected in 1858, and served four 
terms in that office, which he then left only to ad- 
vance still higher, as in 1861 he was appointed 
Deput}' United States Marshal, and had charge of 
the criminal business of the office until September, 
1862. He was then selected as United States As- 
sessor of Internal Revenue for the First Congres- 
sional District of the State, and was thus occupied 
four years, when he was removed by President 
Johnson. He had previous to this offended the 
Chief Magistrate by refusing to endorse his policy, 
and at the time made this characteristic remark; 
"He can cut ray head off but cannot turn it around." 

Upon the change of administration Mr. Bennett, 
in 1861), was appointed by President Grant to the 
office of the United States Marshal for the eastern 
district of Michigan, which he filled Ijy re-ap- 
pointment until 1877. To all parties having official 
relations with him Mr. Bennett gave complete satis- 
faction, and his whole record during that period is 
one of which he may justly be proud. 

Maj. S. E. Graves, the son-in-law of Mr. Bennett, 
purchased the interest of Mr. Remington in the 
drug business. Mr. B. assumed the place of the re- 



•p^f^4- 



i^h 



982 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



tiring partner, and the firm name was changed to J. 
R. Bennett & Co. ; he still continued a silent part- 
ner in the business, which has long stood upon a 
sound financial basis. He has been interested in 
various manufacturing enterprises, and no man has 
talcen a warmer interest in the growth and develop- 
ment of Lenawee County, or contributed more 
cheerfully of his time and means to build up and 
perpetuate the institutions calculated to insure the 
welfare of its people. 

Mr. Bennett, in 1840, and while a resident of 
Rollin Township, was united in marriage with Miss 
Nancy J. Rowley, then a resident of Hudson, Mich., 
but born in Onondaga in 1824. The young peo- 
ple commenced life together in Rollin Township, 
and to the wise counsel and very cheerful assist- 
ance of his amiable and excellent wife, Mr. Bennett 
ascribes a lai-ge measure of his success in life. As 
a lady possessed of all the womanly virtues, she 
was to her husband a faithful helpmeet and to her 
neighbors an ever kind and generous friend. Of 
this congenial union there were born two daugh- 
ters — Helen M., who became the wife of Maj. S. E. 
Graves, and died June 6, 1883, and Dora E. Mrs. 
Bennett died April 18, 1880, and the family now 
consists of the j^ounger daughter, Dora E., and 
Walter J., son of Major and Helen M. Graves. 

The family residence is a commodious and sub- 
stantial structure pleasantly located at No. 55 South 
Main street, and replete with all the comforts of life. 
It is without question the home of refined and cul- 
tivated tastes, and a pleasant place of resort for the 
scores of friends whom the family have gathered 
around them during the long years of their resi- 
dence here. 

We take pleasure in presenting on an accompany- 
ing page of this Alkum the portrait of Mr. Bennett, 
as being that of a representative citizen of Lenawee 



Countv. 



^i»<^^^i^ 



JOHN CHEEVER is an old and representative 
farmer now living adjacent to tlie village of 
Britton. at which place he made a settlement 
in 1881, and at the time purchased eighty 
acres of land on sections 3 and 4 of Ridgeway Town- 
ship. He had formerly lived on section 33 of this 



township, having settled here in 1852, at which 
time he bought seventy-flve acres of land, most of 
which was wild. He first came to the county with 
his parents in 1837, and after he purchased the 
seventy-five acres on section 33 he made it liis 
home until he came to the farm where he now re- 
sides, and still retains its ownership. 

Mr. Cheever was born in Champion Township, 
Jefferson Co., N. Y., on the 9th of January, 182C, 
and in 1837 he came with his father to this town- 
sliip and county. He was the youngest but one of 
the children born to his parents, Jacob and Rachel 
(Rice) Cheever, natives of Jefferson County, N. Y., 
where they were reared and married. After the 
birth of all their children, they came to Michigan, 
halting in the States of Pennsylvania and Ohio on the 
way, and landed in the township of Ridgeway in 
the fall of 1837. The father bought his first land 
on section 3 of this township, and after he had im- 
proved this new farm, his wife died in 1853, at the 
age of sixty. Later the father went to Ridgeway 
Village, where he died in August, 1859, at the ad- 
vanced age of eighty-four years. He was an ex- 
cellent citizen, and a standi Dejnocrat in politics; 
lie was a soldier in the War of 1812. 

John Cheever lived with his parents until his 
marriage, which occurred on the 8th of March. 1 851 , 
in this township, the lady of his choice being Cath- 
erine, the daughter of Andrew and Esther (Car- 
penter) Coryell, the former of whom is dead, and 
the latter, at the age of eighty -six years, lives in the 
village of Ridgeway. The parents were natives of 
Seneca County, N. Y., and were for some years resi- 
dents of Steuben County, in that State, but away 
l)ack in the twenties they came to Michigan, 
and located in what is now Ann Arbor, and tiiere 
the father erected the first frame house known to 
that city. The parents subsequently went to Mon- 
roe, Mich., and there their daughter, Mrs. Cheever, 
was born on the 24th of February, 1832. After 
she grew to girlhood, the family came to JacI«on 
County, and later on to Lenawee County, and lo- 
cated in Ridgeway, where the father died. 

Jlrs. Cheever remained with her parents until her 
marriage. She became the mother of twelve chil- 
dren, of whom eight are living: Martha was a 
teacher for five years, and is the wife of John Wig- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



983 



t 



gins, now living <jn n I'lirni in Mncon Township; 
Mar^- A. is at home; Andrew married Allha Binn, 
and lives on a farm in Ridgeway Township; Olive, 
William, Kean and Engene (twins), and James E. 
are at home. The four deceased were : David A., 
who was killed in the amphitheatre disaster at 
Adrian, Mich., in 1879; Sarah Malona, who died 
Ang. 18, 1880, .Tames E. and .Tames E. ("id). 

After marriage Mr. Cheever lived in Macon 
Township for two years, and then removed to his 
farm in Ridgeway Townshii), where he has suc- 
ceeded well as a farmer and stock-grower. He and 
his family are members of the Christian Church, and 
in politics he gives his allegiance to the Democratic 
party. 



<||^0WMAN E. SEAGER. Among the bright. 
IL^ intelligent and enterprising farmers of Len- 
/^^lll awee County, who have come from the New 
^^7^ England States, is the gentleman wliose 
name is given above. He is one of the most es- 
teemed citizens of Rome Township, where he has 
lived for the last quarter of a century. He is a 
native of Rutland County, \'t , where he was horn 
Dec. 10, 1834, and is tiie son of Aaron Seager, a 
sketch of whom will be found in connection with 
that of Dr. A. W. Seager, of Adrian, who is a 
brother of him of whom we write. 

Bowman remained at liome with his parents in 
the good old New England cottage until about 
1859, when he rented a place which he commenced 
to farm. About a year later he made a pnrciiase 
of the same place, which lay in the town of Chit- 
tenden, Vt. While cultivating the soil of this spot 
of earth, the dark clouds of war gathered and broke 
over our beloved country, and the rulers were call- 
ing every day for men to help defend the National 
life. Mr. Seager, overpowered by intense patriot- 
ism, entered into the service of the National Gov- 
ernment, enlisting Aug. 25, 18G3, in Company G, 
12th Vermont Infantiy, under Capt. Ormsby, who 
is now the Lieutenant Governor of the Green 
Mountain State. Going into camp at Brandon, Vt., 
he was enlisted and mustered in at Brattleboro, 
and the regiment was removed to Washington, 
where, after staying some thirty days, spent in or- 



ganizing and drilling, they moved tf> the front. 
From that time until the 20th of December follow- 
ing, they were on duty at Fairfax Court House. 
After taking part in several skirmishes, he partici- 
pated with the regiment in the glorious and decisive 
battle of Gettysburg, July 1, 2 and 3,1863, al- 
though at the time laboring under physical disabil- 
ity. Becoming sick, he was sent to the hospital, but 
afterward returned to his regiment, from which he 
was mustered out July 20, 18(i.">. 

Returning from the army to iiis Now England 
home, he disposed of what property he had, and com- 
ing to Rome Township purchased some sixty acres 
of improved knd. Two years later he added forty 
acres to this, and here he resided until 1871, when 
he removed to his brother's place, which, a year 
later, he purchased, and where he still makes his 
residence. This is one of the finest improved farms 
in the county, and even the unobservant man can- 
not help but see tlie justifiable iiride that Mr. Sea- 
ger takes in it. 

On the 1st of November, 18C5, Mr. Seager was 
united in marriage with Miss Alice, daughter of Da- 
vid and Alice Jerrells, the former a native of 
Trumbull, Fairfield Co., Conn., and born July 18, 
1800. He was the son of Ebenezer Jerrells, also 
a native of the same State, who, when a young- 
man, learned the carpenter's trade, which he fol- 
lowed most of his life. In 1814 he removed to 
Perrinton, Monroe Co., N. Y., where, after making a 
farm he resided until his death, which occurred in 
1821. About the year 1.S04 he married Miss 
Nancy Rowell, of Trumbull, Conn., and they had a 
family of eight children, of whom David was the 
eldest. Mrs. Nancy Jerrells was also hum in Trum- 
bull, Conn., in 178(1, and died in I'errintou, N. Y., 
in 1865. 

David Jerrells remained with his mother for some 
twenty -six years, obtaining in the meantime a good 
common-school education. In the fall of 18.")l,he 
came to Micliigan on a prospecting tour, and land- 
ing at Detroit, traveled through Wayne and Wash- 
tenaw Counties until he reached the residence 
of Samuel Keyes, his brother-in-law, about two 
miles south of Adrian. He remained here through 
the winter chopping and hunting, but in the spring 
of 1832 he returned to the State of New York, 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



thi-ough Cauada, on foot and alone, traveling 
thirty-five miles per day the entire distance. The 
same fall lie returned again, and located eighty 
acres of land on section 21, in Rome Township, tak- 
ing up eighty more the next spring, and here he 
has resided ever since. It is an undeniable fact 
that he was the first man married within the present 
limits of Rome Township, Esquire Job Comstock, 
of Adrian, performing the ceremonj', Sept. 28, 
1834, at which time he was united with Miss 
Alice, daughter of William and Alice Luther, of 
Rome Township. They have been the parents of 
seven children — Mary E., Phebe J., Franklin L., 
Harvey E., George E., Alice A. and Charles H. 

Mr. and Mrs. Seager are living in their comfort- 
able home, surrounded by their family of four 
children. George B. M. the eldest, was born in 
Rome Township, Aug. 19, 1867, and assists his 
father in the farm duties; Maud, the second child, 
was born Oct. 5, 1869; she is an exceedingly bright 
girl in many respects, and has developed quite an 
unusual musical talent; Archie, the third child, w.is 
born Feb. 3, 1871, and Bradford L., the youngest, 
Oct. 9, 1878. Mr. Seager is one of the strongest 
and leading Democrats in his township. 

^-^ ^ 



PARDON T. DAVENPORT, one of the old- 
I est and most honored |)ioneers of Blissfield 
Township, is now located on section 19, 
where he has a fine farm with good improve- 
ments, which he built up from the uncultivated soil 
by years of persevering industry. His early home 
was near the Atlantic Coast, in Tiverton, R. I., 
where his birth took place March 10, 1815. lie 
came to Michigan in 1835, and has lived to see tiie 
country develop around him, the waste places be- 
come fertile, and the long stretch of uncultivated 
country now embellished with beautiful farms and 
flourishing cities. He has noted the changes in his 
adopted State with unmixed satisfaction, and has 
contributed his full share toward its agricultural in- 
terests. 

The father of our subject, Ebenezer Davenport, it 
is supposed was born in Rhode Island, and oper- 
ated a grist mill and farm, carrying on the former 



business at Tiverton until 1821-. He then sold out, 
and accompanied by his wife and six children, 
started for New York State. Their outfit consisted 
of three horses and one wagon, and they made the 
journey overland, after the fashion of the emigrants 
of those days, camping out at night, anS cooking by 
the wayside. They settled in Wayne County, but 
removed not long afterward to Yates County, and 
a year later the elder Davenport traded the propertj' 
which he had secured for land in Wayne County, to 
which he removed, and there spent the remaimler of 
his life. 

The mother of our subject, who in her girlhood 
was Miss Mary Beals, was born in Rhode Island, and 
died in WajMie County, N. Y., several 3'ears before 
the death of her husband. Their family included 
nine children, eight of whom lived to attain theii' 
majority. Of these Pardon T. was the fourth in 
order of birth, and was a lad of but ten years old 
when his mother died. He was then taken into the 
home of a cousin in Wayne County, where he lived 
until fifteen years old, and then commenced to learn 
' the trades of a brickmason and plasterer. He served 
j an apprenticeship of nearly two years, when he was 
considered competent to receive journeyman's 
I wages, and not long afterward he took jobs on his 
I own account, and continued in this manner in New 
i York State until 1835. He then determined to 
j change his location and started to the Territory of 
j Michigan. He footed it from Wayne County t(5 
I the Erie Canal, and thence took passage to Buffalo, 
[ walking from there thirtj' miles to Silver Creek, 
where he took a lake steamer to Detroit, and from 
j the latter city marched on foot as before to the pres- 
ent site of Adrian, which was tlien but the begin- 
ning of a town. He worked on a farm in that 
vicinity one season, and filled in his leisure time at 
his trade. His first job of mason work in the Ter- 
I ritory was plastering the Quaker Church year 
j Adrian. He was prospered in his labors, and in due 
j • time entered eighty acres of timbered land near 
Hudson, which however, he never settled upon, but 
sold it six years later and purchased the tract upon 
which he built up his present homestead. This also 
was originally heavilj' timbered, and he did not take 
possession of it until 1857, although he had cleared 
a part of the land. He first put up a frame house, 
w^ 



f 



■^- 



LENAWKE COUNTY. 



985 



Hh-^ 



and procoeded as rapidly as possible with the cul- 
tivation of tiie soil, which, as may be siipi)osed, in- 
volved persistent and hard labor. 

i\Ir. Davenport wisely waited until he could see 
Ills way plain before him ere he assumed marital and 
domestic ties, and the responsibilities of a family. 
The time now having arrived, he was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Frances Maria Warren, the wedding 
taking place at the home of the bride in Dover Town- 
ship, Nov. 28, 1838. Mrs. Davenport wns l.ci'n in 
Farinington, Ontario Co., N. Y.. l""cli. -.'ii, ishs. 
The only child of our subject and his wife is a son. 
George, wh,, was Ihmii in l!bs>licld. I )(t. ;1I, 1 ,s45. 
He married .Miss Knieiine Buck, who is a native of 
\Villiaras County, Ohio, and the daughter of George 
Back; they have two children, Nellie M. and Harry 
C, and reside at the old homestead. 

When Mr. Davenport first came l<>lhi> section. 
deer and other wild game were plentiful, and in the 
winter season, when there was little to do upon the 
farm, he occupied his time largely in hunting, and 
in one year killed over 100 deer, besides wild tur- 
keys and other game. As time passed on and the 
country became settled, these denizens of the forests 
and field disappeared, falling victims to tiie nuuch 
of civilization. 

In due time Mr. Davenjiort met with the reward 
of his labors in plowing and sowing, and was en- 
abled to replace the primitive dwelling by a neat 
and substantial modern residence A liai-n was also 
added, and the other necessary liuildinus foi the 
storing of grain and the shelter of stock, and he has 
availed himself as far as possible of modern ma- 
chinery and modern meth<Mls. His early education 
was extremely limited, but lir lia> ex I'l- Iicimi a lover 
of good books, and consecpiciitly li:i>:itlained a use- 
ful fund of information, and has kept liimselt well 
posted upon State and National events. In [lolities 
he is a Republican. 



► c^fsm- 



urARREN A. BAILEY, mannf 
cheese boxes, moldings, and a I 
other article- <.f tlii- deseriptio 
important factor in eonneetion with tin 
interests of Fairlield, where he has beet 



ine of 



known since boyhood. He was born in Niagara 
Count}', N. Y., Sept. 14, 1839, being the second 
child of Alfred and Celinda (White) Bailey, also 
natives of the Empire State, the former born in 
AYayne County, Aug. 2(;. 1808, the latter in Wash- 
ington County, Nov. 25, 1817. After marriage 
the parents continued in Niagara County until May 
8, 1845, and then came to Southern Michigan and 
located in Fairfield Township, where, with the ex- 
ception of a few months, they continued until their 
decease. 

Alfred Bailey was a wagon-maker by trade, which 
occupation he pursued in connection with farming. 
He (lied at the homestead in Fairfield Township, 
Nov. 10, 18611. The mother subsequently remtyved 
to Blissfield Township, and died at the home of her 
son, March 14, 187ii. The two other children of 
the parental household are in Fairfield Village. Mr. 
IJailey received his edueation in the common 
schools, and inherited in a marked degree the natural 
mechanical genius of his father. He was fond of 
music, and wlien a boy of fourteen years con- 
structed a violin wliieh was of very creditable 
workmanship. Although notcapableof producing 
the sweet sounds extracted by Ole Bull from his 
famous instrument, it suited at least the youthful 
audiences which frecpientl}' gathered around the 
young mechanic and musician in silent a<hnirati<jn 
of his talents. 

Yonng Bailey at an early period commenced 
assisting his father in the wagon-shop, working 
with him for a period of seven years, when in Sep- ■ 
tember, 18G1, he decided to try his hand at farm- 
ing, but the following year returned to his wagon- 
making. In the meantime, the Civil War being in 
progress, he was included in the draft but furnished 
a sniistitute. During the winter of 1862-63 be 
worked steadily in the shop of his father, and was 
thus occupied until in the spring of 1867, when he 
established his present business, associating himself 
in partnership with C. M. Baker. They continued 
together oiie year, and then Mr. Bailey purchased 
the interest of his partner and in August, 1868, he 
associated Jacob Rappin the business and continued 
it until December, 1870, after which time he con- 
ducted the business on his own .account. He com- 
mands a good patronage from the best business 



t 



IH-^ 



986 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



n 



elements of the place, having all he can conveniently 
attend to. 

Mr. Bailey in early manhood was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Loretta A. Wliite, the wedding 
taking place at the home of Elder Griffiths, in 
Madison Township, June 13, 18G1. Mrs. Bailey is 
the daughter of William and Armenia (Sawyer) 
White, natives of New York, who came to Michi- 
gan June 25, 1860. The mother departed this life 
in Ionia County, July 10, 1874, while Mr. White is 
still living and a resident of Fairfield. Mrs. Bailey 
was born in Niagara County, N. Y., Sept. 18, 1841, 
and her union with our subject resulted in the birth 
of three sons — Warren L., Byron C. and James B., 
who ai-e all at home with their parents. 

Mr. Bailey, politically, is a straight Republican. 
He has never had any aspirations for ottice, and has 
little to do with public affairs aside from perform- 
ing his duty as an American citizen and casting his 
vote at the polls. 



EDWIN W. AMES, a leading lumber manu- 
facturer and dealer, and a prominent stock- 
raiser, pleasantly located on section 7 of 
Hudson Township, is a native of this State, and 
was born in Pittsford Township, Hillsdale County, 
Feb. 3, 1836. His father, Charles Ames, was born 
in Petersham in 1799, and was the son of Peter 
and Sarah (Clark) Ames (see sketch of C. H. 
Ames for parental history). 

Charles Ames was but a boy when ids father 
died, and he soon after commenced to learn the 
shoemaker's trade at Barre, Mass., and when he 
had mastered the art he went to Boston, and there 
pursued it for awhile. He then resolved to try his 
fortunes in the South, as skilled artisans in his call- 
ing were in demand there, and accordingly estab- 
lished himself as a shoemaker in Mobile, Ala. [ 
After a time lie visited Massachusetts, driving I 
from Alabama to Baltimore with a horse and 
wagon, and proceeding from there to his Jiative 
State. On his return to Alabama from his old 
iionie he located at Blakel^'', and there pursued his 
trade (juite successfully for some time, after which 
he returned to Boston, making the entire journey 



by water. He afterward made his home in Buffalo, 
N. Y.. and was working there when the Erie Canal 
was completed and the water was first let into it. 
From Buffalo Mr. Ames went to Geneva, N. Y., 
and married there, April 10, 1823, Miss Sarah S. 
Ball, a native of that place and the daughter of 
Nathan Ball, a clothier, who pursued his business 
there during the last years of his life and died 
in 1 826. He was originally from Massachusetts, 
removing from there to Vermont and thence to 
Ontario Count}', N. Y. His wife, whose maiden 
name was Jane Smith, vvas a native of Massachu- 
setts, where her birth occurred in 1767. She spent 
her last years in Pittsford, this State, dying at the 
advanced age of ninety -two years. 

The father of our subject finally removed his 
business to Geneva and there continued in it until 
1831, when he took a trip to the West, visiting 
Chicago and Milwaukee, which were then small 
towns. He paid but a short visit to either place 
and then returned to Geneva, where he re-estab- 
lished himself in the shoe business, and continued 
it until 1 833. In the spring of that year, accom- 
panied by Thomas Pennock, he made another jour- 
ney to the West, coming to Michigan, then a 
Territory, via canal and lake to Detroit. From 
that city they started on foot to what is now Raisin 
Township, where they met Hiram Kidder, who 
started with them on a pedestrian trip to explore 
Bean Creek Valley, taking provisions along with 
them as there were no accommodations for travelers 
on the way. The father of our subject selected 
320 acres of land on sections 1 and 12 of Pitts- 
ford Township, and entered it at the land-office in 
Monroe. He then went back to New York, and in 
the fall started for Michigan with his family. 
Landing at Detroit he, with others who had accom- 
panied him, put two 3-oke of oxen to the wagon he 
had brought with him and started for his future 
home. Mr. Kidder had preceded them a few days 
and settled on his land on section 7 of what is now 
Hudson Township. Mr Ames and his family staid 
with him about a month until he erected a log 
cabin on his own land. Their nearest neighbor in 
an easternly direction, with the exception of Mr. 
Kidder's family, was eleven miles distant, and in 
the other directions, north, west and south, there 



♦HH-* 



■•►HH^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



were no neighbors for even a greater distance. 
Mr. Ames did most of his farming, milling and 
marketing for some time with oxen, and for several 
years Adrian was the nearest market, and Teenm- 
seh the location of the nearest mill. It used to 
take a week to go to mill, get a grist ground and 
return. Deer, wild turkey and other game were 
very plentiful, and the fiunily larder was well sup- 
plied with meat, in 1847 Mr. Ames returned with 
his family to Geneva, N. Y., and lived there nearly 
foui- years; he then returned, and taking uphis resi- 
dence on his farm resumed agricultural pursuits. 
He cleared a large farm and erected good build- 
ings, and there made his home until his death, in 
1874; his wife died in 1869. They were the par- 
ents of three children, two of whom are now living. 
Jlr. Ames was a man of shrewd business qualifica- 
tions and was highly successful throughout life. 
Both lie and his good wife commanded the iiighest 
respect and honor of tlie people among whom they 
made their home. 

Edwin Ames, the subject of this sketch, was the 
youngest child in tlie parental faniil}' and the onl^- 
one born to his parents in Michigan. His birtli- 
place was the log cabin which his father had erected 
for the shelter of his family when he first took u() 
his residence, and there the first few 3'ears of his 
life were spent. His education was gained partly 
in the pioneer schools of Pittsford and also in a 
public school of Geneva, N. Y. He remained on 
the home farm after the return of his father and 
family from their few years' residence in Geneva, 
until 1857, to assist his father in the management 
of his large farm. After leaving home he engaged 
in the jewelry business in Hudson for one year, 
and then went to Chicago and engaged in the same 
business for anotiier year. At tiie ex[iiration of 
tiiat time lie retunicd to lli^ did Ikiuk-, resuming 
the occupation to wliicli he liad been reared, and 
in 1875 lie located on the farm which he still owns 
and occupies. It is a valuable farm and was once 
platted for j^ village and was named Keene. Here 
he has since also been engaged in the lumber busi- 
ness in connection with his extensive farming oper- 
ations. His sawmill stands on the site where Mr. 
Kidder, the pioneer of Bean Creek Valley, built 
tlie llrst sawmill ever erected in this section of the 



countr}-. The mill is well equipped with good 
machinery, and Mr. Ames is doing a fine business. 
Our subject is a man of good principles and 
business habits. In politics he is prominently 
identified with the Republican party of Hudson 
Township, heartily advocating its principles and 
measures. He j.)ined the Maxon Lodge, F. & A. 
M.. and is new a member of Hudson Cliaiiter. 



(^^^ AMIKL KING, extensively engaged in 
^^^ farming in Hudson Township, is an English- 
Ifl^^ man by birth. Although he is not among 
the earliest settlers of this county, yet he 
came here when the country was new, before it had 
been settled a quarter of a century. His wife, how- 
ever, is a much older settler, having come here with 
her parents in 1836. Lucena Van Akin, who be- 
came the wife of our subject, was born in Junius, 
N. Y., May 2, 1831, and is the daughter of Hiram 
and Hannah (Wilson) Van Akin, natives of New 
York. We are pleased herewith to be able to give a 
short sketch of her parents, and to incorporate a few 
facts of her own life. 

The father of Mrs. King was the son of John 
and I\L-ugaret (Westfall) Van Akin (see sketch of 
W. H. II. Van Akin for parental history), and was 
born and reared in Pheljis, Ontario Co., N. J. He 
married there in 1829, and in 183G left his native 
State, and came with his wife and two children to 
the Territory of Michigan, making the entire jour- 
ney Iiy land with a pair of horses and a wagon. 
He had two brothers in Wayne County, and they 
first paid them a visit. Then Mr. Van Akin started 
with his little daughter Lucena to Bean Creek Val- 
ley, leaving his wife and the other child with their 
relatives in Wayne County'. Mrs. King was then 
but seven years old, yet she has quite a distinct re- 
membrance of that tedious journey through the 
woods. The roads were very bad, and Mr. Van 
Akin left his wagon and one horse two miles west 
of Adrian as there was no wagon road beyond, 
nothing but a trail, and proceeded on horseback 
with his little girl before him. When they arrived 
at what is now Clayton it was very dark, and they 



;*^HI-^ 



♦-II-* 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



^^ 



stopped at the house of John Colwell. Early in 
the mornino; they resumed then- journey, and in the 
course of the day came to the present site of Hud- 
son, wliere Mr. Van Akin's mother and two of his 
brothers lived. He thore selected a tract of land 
on section 18, and now included within the incor- 
porated limits of Hudson, and then returned to 
Wayne County for the other members of his family. 
After coming back with them and some household 
goods they went into a vacant log cabin until he 
could build a house on his own land, but a short 
time later the cabin and all its contents were burned. 
He then prepared to go to Detroit to get the re- 
mainder of his household goods, which were there 
stored in a warehouse, when he received word that 
the warehouse had been destroj^ed and his goods 
with it, and they were thus left in the winter season 
without furniture or scarce a change of clothing. 
In si)ite of these drawbacks Mr. Van Akin pros- 
pered. He built a substantial log house for a hab- 
itation, and ciintinued to reside on his land until 
1884, having in the meantime improved a good 
farm. Then he and his wife came to live in the 
home of Mr. and Mrs. King, and here their useful 
lives closed, the death of the mother occurring in 
April, 1880, and that of tiie father in July, 1887. 
They will long be remembered as fine representa- 
tives of the pioneers of 18;j(j. 

The subject of this sketch was born in County 
Norfolk, England, Dec. ID. 1819, and was the son 
of Samuel and Elizabeth (liccd) King, both natives 
and life-long residents of England. During his life- 
time his father followed the trade of a shoemaker, 
with the exception of six months' service in the 
English army. Mr. King's grandparents were 
Mathew and Margaret King. Our subject had one 
brother, James, and a sister Sarah wlio came to 
America; the former located in New York, and 
subsequently came to Hudson; he now resides in 
Jefferson Township, Hillsdale Count}'. The sister 
married Stephen Thurston, and now resides in 
Osseo. 

Our subject was reared on a farm, and at four- 
teen years of age he commenced to receive wages, 
three shillings per week, and boarded himself. 
When fifteen years of age he hired out for a year 
at two pounds and boartl, and continued to work 



at that rate for two years. He then became engaged 
in the herring fishery, and during the next five 
years made seven voyages. In 1852 he resolved 
to try life in America, and accordingly he set sail 
from London, and landed at New Yoi'k after a 
voyage of forty-two days. At that time his per- 
sonal property consisted of $12/), and he set to work 
with a will at anything his hands could find to do 
that he might increase it, and at some time be able 
to make a home for himself. He first stopped at 
Medina, Orleans Co., N. Y., and there engaged to 
work on a farm for six months. He then found 
employment in a stone quarry, and later in a tan- 
nery, where he was engaged until 1853, and in De- 
cember of that year he came to this county, and 
obtained a job at cutting wood in Hudson. In the 
spring of 1854 he bought 160 acres of land on sec- 
tion 17 of Hudson Township, paying $125 cash, 
and the balance of the price, which was $625, in five 
years. He continued industriously at work, ditch- 
ing, digging wells and cisterns in the summer, and 
chopping wood in the winter, until the year 1867. 

Mr. King was married, Aug. 23, 1865, to Mrs. 
Lucuna (Van Akin) Belcher; Mrs. King had been 
previously married, Dec. 3, 1847, to John Belcher. 
who was born in Verona, N. Y., in 1818, and was 
the son of linoch and Betsy (Bennett) Belcher. He 
came to this countj' with his parents, who settled in 
RoUin Township in 1837, and at the time of his 
marriage Mr. Belcher settled on his farm on section 
18, of Hudson Township, and lived there until his 
death in 1860. He was a thrifty, well-to-do farmer, 
and at the time of his death was the owner of 137 
acres of land. Six children were born of that mar- 
ri.age, namely : Thomas W., who lives in Indianapo- 
lis, Ind.; Homer D., living in Kent County; Clarie, 
who lives with her parents; Mary died aged thir- 
teen months : Harry, who died aged fourteen 
months, and John Herbert, aged ten years. 

In the December following his marriage Mr. King 
made his home on a farm which he had bought just 
prior to that time, and which he still occupies. It 
is located across the road from his first purchase, 
which he still retains, and comprises forty acres of 
land, of which onlj' two acres were cleared when it 
came into his possession. He bought twenty .acres 
of it in 1857, and in 1863 completed the purch: 



•►-■-^ 



se. W 



LENAWEE COUNTY, 



989 



On the last tract there was a log house in which his 
family lived for a time, hut he now hns the piitiro 
forty acres (■leared. :ii)il alxi tliirly :icn'> of his 
original purchase, ami has n i:ir-i- frainc l).-irn mikI 
otlier suitable farm huihliiigs. hi 1 .ss:; hr cicctiMl 
a commodious brick house, :iiiil ritt,c.l it up witli 
ever}- convenience and cuiiildrl, and in tills pleas- 
ant dwelling the family liavr sinre lived. 

Our subject owes his success in life in hnrd work 
and shrewd nianajicnieiil, eoinl.ined with the hearty 
co-operation of a capable wife. Their union has 
been blessed by the liirlli of Miice rliildren, n.ainely : 
Samuel, Mary and Margaret. Saniiiel is laiw a 
student at Hillsdale College, and .Mary is .attending 
the High School at Hudson; .Margaret is at home 
with her parents. Mrs. King is an estimable member 
of the Methodi-st Episcopal Church. Mr. King is 
an intelligent and honest citizen, and as sin-li will 
deserves the respect in which he is held. In polities 
he is a Republican, and cast his lirst vote for Alira- 
ham Lincoln. 



«^&^^ 



'^IJOHN WILLIAM P,HO\V\,a resident of .sec- 
I tion 21 of Blissfield Township, is one of the 
I] self-made men and substantial farmers of 
1^^ the township. Commencing with a purchase 
of twenty acres of laud, he farmed th.at. in addi- 
tion to a portion of his father's land for a time, and 
then bought eighty-four acres, which is included in 
his present farm, and added other lots until he now 
has 164 acres, whicii he has divided into two farms, 
each with good buildings and other neees.sary im- 
provements. 

Mr. Brown was born in Strectsboro, Ohio, on 
the 7th of April, 1841, and is the son of Francis 
Brown, who was born at Newbiu-g, Oi'ange Co., N. 
Y., and is the grandson of a fanner wlio spent his 
last days in that ceiunty. The father of the subject 
of this sketch was but four years old when his 
father died, and was reared on the farm until he 
was sixteen years of age, and was then appren- 
ticed to the trade of caJiinet-uiaker. After serving 
for a lime he enlisted in the I'niled Stales m.ariiie 
service, the eluties of which were to guard American 



merchant vessels on the high seas. He cruised on 
the Atlantic and racific Oceans, and the Mediter- 
ranean Sea, and visited neai'ly all the seaport towns 
of the world. The ship I'U wliich he sailed returned 
after a cruise of foiii- ye.ars and nine months, when 
he was honor.ably diseh.ai-ged fremi tlie .service. 
During a pari of his service he was Acting Ordei'ly 
Sei'geant under Commodore Patterson. After his 
discharge lie went to Ohio and settled at Streetsboro, 
where he worked at his trade for a lime, and then 
bonghl a farm in Hudson Township, Sumniil 
County, on which he engaged in farming until 1S4S, 
when 111' -old out and removed to , Medina, near 
wliieh plaee he bought a farm and lived until 18.-);-i. 
In that year be sold his Ohio piroperty. and coming 
to Lenawee County, bought a farm of sixty acres, 
upon whicli he farnu'd .and worked at his Iradi' 
until his death, whirb orenrred at the age of eighty 
in the year ISS:;. 

The mother of the subject of this sketch, whose 
maiden name was Lucetta Johnson, was a native of 
Ohio, while her father was a native of Connecticut, 
and was a pioneer settler of Ohio, being at Cleve- 
land when that city consisted of three log houses ; 
the motiier is still living. 'I'liey were the parents of 
five children, who .are recorded as follows : Mary 
married Dr. Kdwiii Turner, and died in Blissfield 
Township: Henry I!, lives in Coldwater, Mich.; 
Frankie died at the age of six ye.ars, .and Lorin at 
the age of two years, .lolin \V., the subject of this 
sketch, was twrhe ye.ars old when his parents carae 
to this eininty. .and be attended the district schools 
in Ohio and also in this county. Being the eldest 
son itdevohed upon liiin to assist in the work on 
the farm. 

August;'.!, IStW. our subject enlisted in defense 
of his country's Hag, joining Company B, 11th 
Michigan Infantry. He joiiu'd the regiment at 
Chattanooga, and p;irticipated in the battle of 
Nashville, and einitinned in the .service until the 
close of the war. K'ceiuving his discharge in June, 
18G5, he returned home and again entered on the 
peaceful pursuits ()f life. 

In December, l.S(;:i. Mr. Brown was married to 
Jennie Barrett, who was born in Blissfield Township, 
and is the daughter of Israel and Sallie Barrett, 
who were pioneer settlers of the township. She 



•►Hh-^^ 



4- 



990 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



receiver! a good education, graduating at Albion, 
and taught school both before and after graduation. 
Mr. and Mrs. Brown have two children, whose 
names are Mabel and Edward. Mr. Brown is a 
Baptist in religious belief, while his wife is a mem- 
ber of the Methodist Episcopal Churcli. Mr. Brown 
is a Republican in politics, and upon all occnsions 
performs whatever duties may devolve upon him for 
the furtherance of the doctrines of that party and 
in securing its success. He is credited with being 
one of tlie best farmers in the county, and in 
fact his farm and all its accessories stand as evi- 
dence of the truth of the assertion. He has been 
Justice of the Peace for twelve years in this town- 
ship. 



^^KORGE B. HORTON is a general farmer 
III <^w) '^"''^ dairyman, residing on section G, F.nir- 
^^"ll field Township. He came to this county in 
1853, when eight years of . age, fiom Niagara 
County, N. Y., and is the son of Samuel and 
Lucina A. (Perkins) Horton, natives of England 
and Herkimer, Countj', N. Y., respectively. Soon 
after marriage- they removed to Medina County, 
Oiiio, where they lived about two years, and then 
returned, first to Orleans County, and later to 
Niagara County, where they lived until the spring 
of 1853. Tliey then came to Lenawee County, 
settling in Fairfield Township, vvhere the father 
lived until April 25, 1872. The motlier still sur- 
vives and lives in Morenci. 

The subject of this sketch was born in La Fayette, 
Ohio, April 17, 1845, and was the second of 
three children born to bis parents. The others are: 
Alice jM., who was born in La Fayette, March 26, 
1842, and is now the wife of Cosper Roric, of 
.Seneca, this county, and Harriet A., who was born 
in Fairfield, Oct. 16, 1853, and is now tlio wife of 
Dr. H. S. Jewett, of Dayton, Ohio. 

Our subject was reared on a farm, receiving a 
common-school education, and also attended the 
colleges at Adrian and Hillsdale. He has always 
been engaged in agricultural pursuits, and now 
operates four cheese factories, located in Fairliclil, 
Madison and Seneca Townships. He niauufartures 



annually about half a million pounds of cheese, 
which he markets in Michigan. He is also the 
owner of 600 acres of valuable land, and has in 
process of erection a magnificent residence, the cost 
of which will be fully 110,000. 

On the 3d of January, 187.S, Mr. Horton was 
united in marriage with the lady of his choice. 
Miss M. Amanda, daughter of Norman F. and Caro- 
line (Caton) Bradish. She was born in JLadison 
Townsliip on the 18th of June, 1854, while her 
father, Norman Bradish, was born in Wayne County, 
N. Y., Aug. 25, 1823. He married, Oct. 7, 1845, 
Miss Caroline Eaton, of New York, and they became 
the parents of five children, as follows: Amentha 

A. was born Sept. 11, 1846, and died Jan. 23, 1852; 
Helen A. was born Jan. 23, 1849, ^and died Aug. 
1, 1851; Russell N. was born Feb. 22, 1852, and is 
a farmer at Madison ; Mentha Amanda is the wife 
of our subject; Maggie A. was born Maj' 25, 1862, 
and died Feb. 18, 18G4. Mr. and Mrs. Horton 
have been blessed with three children: Alice L., 
who was born Sept. 27, 1878; Norman D., July 
18, 1881, and Samuel W., May 3, 1885. 

In 1853 the father of our subject commenced 
the manufacture of cheese in a small way. increas- 
ing his dairy from year to year, until at the time 
of his death he had made a reputation as a dairy- 
man and farmer second to no man in the West. 
He owned 469 acres of land and between forty and 
fifty cows. Mrs. Horton was the first cheese- 
maker in Lenawee County, and superintended her 
husband's factory for eight years; most of the 
prominent cheese manufacturers in the county 
received their first instruction from her. George 

B. Horton always lived with his parents, and at 
the death of his father assumed control of his 
business, which he has since extended to its jiresent 
dimensions. 

George B. Horton was elected President of the 
Lenawee County Fair Association in 1877, and has 
served in that capacity for ten years. He and his 
estimable wife are members of the Fruit Ridge 
Grange, of which Mr. H. was Master ten years, and 
Master of the county organization six years. He 
is a member of the Executive Board of the State 
Grange, and of the State Board of Agriculture, 
ai)poiiited by Gov. Luce. Mr. II. was appointed 



•►-■-* 



:?^»- 



•►Hh-4*- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



i 



Postmaster at Point Ridge. 


under President 


vvliere his death took place in 1817. Peter Bitely 


Arthur's administration. II<' < 


.wns an.l ..|KTates 


and one of his lirotliers served as soldiers in the 


a large general store, located on 


Ills nnin, wliich is 


Revolutionary War, and the father of our subject, 


known as Fruit Ridge Farm. 




then but a hoy, held the horse of (ieu. Ethan Allen 
when he dismounted and <leni.-nided the surrender 


^^ — €-*^^- 


^^^ 


of the fort. Peter rcmaiiieil uu.ler the home roof 



.f P: 



J,()IIX BJTKLY. 
I among the honored pion 
I this section of counti-y wh 
^ ' a Territory, lie mrule I 
ously from New York via the Kr 



■ Miehi-Mii wns 

Canal and the 
Lakes to Monroe County, and from there, liy 
wagon, stage and on foot to this county, lie had 
very little cai)ital and was employed as .-i farm la- 
borer until January, l.s;;(;, then started out in 
search of a permanent location. Returning east as 
far as Steuben County, Ind., he looked around for 
a time in that locality, but not being suited, he 
started on foot in eomi)any with Charles Ilutchins, 
his brothei--in-law, lirst to Ft. Wayne, thence to 
Chicago, which was at that time a small town. Not 
fnuling anything desirable around Chicago, they 
walked l)ack to Adrian, where Mr. Bitely resumed 
his labors on a farm until his marriage. In the 
meantime he had purchased forty acres of land on 
section oi, in Palmyra Township, where he put up 
a log house, and in 1842 eonnnenced in earnest 
the improvement of his property. Having by this 
procedure signalized himself as a member of the 
community, he settled down and has since lemained 
among the people who soon recognized in him a 
valuable addition to their numbers, and in whose 
confidence and esteem he has since l)een estal>- 
lished. 

Mr. Bitely was born iu Monroe, N. Y.,.lnly 1(1, 
1812, and is the son of Peter Bitely, a native of 
New Jersey. The paternal grand father, .lohn Bitely, 
Sr., was a native of (lermany, whence he em- 
igrated when a young man ti> America, accom- 
panied by two brothers, and settled in New Jersey, 
while his brother sought a location farther Soutli. 
After a time. Grandfather Bitely removed to .\ew 
York and took up a tract of land which included 
the subsequent site of Ft. Ticonder(.)ga. lie there 
improved a farm and icmained in tlint l(je:iliiy un- 
til after the War of 1812, then remi>ved U.Monroe. 
M» 



with his parents, and after reaching manhood, made 
the acquaintance of Miss Martha McDonald, an 
Albany lady of Scotch ancestry, who became his 
wife, and they settled down on a tract of land near 
.Monroe, N. Y. There he ol.ened uy a, good farm 
and continued to live until l.s;il, when he re- 
moved to Madi.son County, where he remained 
seven years. In the meantime, John, of oin' sketch, 
had migr.-ited to Michigan, where, in l.s;^,s,;t,he p;ir- 
ents followed, and with him spent the remainder 
of their lives. 

The parental household of oui- subject included 
ttve daughters and four sons, namely: Polly, Sa- 
line, Eunice, Sylvia, John, Nancy. Amos, William 
and Walter; of these four are living. William 
during the late war served iu a Michigan regiment 
as a civil engineer and mechanic, and was with 
Sherman in his mai'ch to the sea; he escaped un- 
hai-mcd and is now carrying on farming in Palmyra 
Township. Martha is the wife of Jerome DeBar, a 
farmer of Palmira Tovvnship; James died in 1864; 
Eunice is the wife of Reuben Hill, who is operating 
the old homestead. John is the fifth child and eld- 
est son. 

Mr. Bitely started out for himself in life when a 
boy twelve years of age, and was lirst employed by 
a farmer in Madison County, N. Y., with whom he 
remained for a i)eriod of twelve years, and until 
coming to the W^est. This genth'uian, Daniel ^\'. 
Walrath, treated the youth as one of his own fam- 
ily, and under his kindly training he giew up with 
habits of industry and laid the foundation lV,r Ins 
future success in life. After the outlueuk of the 
Late war, he •■idisted in Comiiany F, 7th Michigan 
Cavalry, and seived all througli the war, taking part 
in its principal battles, namely: ilagerstown, Get- 
tysburg, ;uul the Wiklerness, besides other minor en- 
gagements, and marching with Sheridiui along the 
Shenandoah Valley. Although (Miduring with his 
comrades the hardships and priv:i.tions incident to 
I life in the army, and being often in places of dan- 
•► 



992 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



ger, escaping by a hairsbreadth, he retiinierl com- 
paratively unharmed, and after receiving his lion- 
orable discharge, in 18G5, resumed his farming op- 
erations upon the land which he had purchased. 

Mr. Bitely, about 1872, disposed of liis farm 
property and purch.ased his present residence. His 
lias been a rich experience, and no man has looked 
upon the development of the Great West, and es- 
peciall}' of the State of Michigan, with greater in- 
terest, while at the same time he has contributed 
his quota towards the development of Palmyra 
Township. He has, in all respects, acquitted him- 
■self as an honest man and a good citizen, and while 
passing down the sunset hill of life, may satisfy 
himself with the comfortable reflection that he has 
labored according to his opportunity, and with ex- 
cellent results. 

John Bitely was married, in 1840, to JMiss Per- 
melia Smalley, a native of New .lersoj', and the 
daughter of James Smalley, also a pioneer of Len- 
awee County, who settled here in 1835. She be- 
came the mother of six children and departed this 
life at her home in this township, in October, 1876. 
One daughter, Phebe J., was born Feb. 10, 1842, 
and died in 18(54. The other children are James, 
William, John, ]\Iartlia and Eunice. 

When Mr. and Mrs. Bitely began hoiisekecijiilg 
the wife did the cooking over a fireplace. The tea- 
kettle was hung on a crane and a tin "reflector" 
served as an oven to bake the liread and pies. The 
first stove was purchased by the sale of pork at 
$1.2.'i per 100 pounds. This article of furni- 
ture, as may be imagined, was a prized addition to 
the stock of household utensils and considered a 
very stylish affair, although lacking in very many 
respects the improvements of the cooking ranges 
of to-day. 



\i7 YMAN A. CURTLSS is ,„„• ,_,( tin 
I (jp) tiers of Ridgeway Town.shiii, in u 
-lli^ now living on section 4, wiicre he 
120 acres of land in 1838, and located in 
cut out the timber and brush of what is ii 
the best improved farms in the township 
way. Mr. C'urtiss was borji in the to 
Paris. Oneida Co., N. Y., on the 17Uiof M; 



oldest set- 
hieh he is 
purchased 
1839. He 
ow one of 
of Ridge- 
ivnship of 
reh, 1814. 



Charles O. Curtiss, the father of our subject, was 
a native of Columbia (Jounty, N. Y., where he was 
born Dec. tj, 1785, and was reared in that State. 
He removed to Paris, Oneida Co., N. Y., and there 
married Hannah Hammond, who was a native of the 
county, where she grew to womanhood. The Cur- 
tis and Hammond families were both of English 
descent. The parents of the subject of this sketch 
after marriage took up a home in Oneida County, 
and remained there until their death. The father 
died at the age of about eighty-three, and the 
mcjther when she was forty years of age; they were 
ineinlwrs of the Methodist Episcopal Church and 
were devout Christians. By three marriages the 
father of the subject of this sketch became the 
father of seventeen children, of whom L3'man A- 
was the fourth child by the first wife, and was seven 
years of age when his mother died. 

Mr. Curtiss grew to manhood in his native county, 
and on the 8th of March, 1839, was married to 
Miss Polly Dunham, who was born in the Black 
River country, Onondaga Co., N. Y., and there 
lived until twelve years of age, when she went to 
live with her uncle, J. Dunham, of Oneida County, 
and there became acquainted with Mr. Curtiss. 
She is the daughter of Aaron and Mehitable (Wood) 
Dunham, who were farmers by occupation and 
natives of Massachusetts. They were reared and 
married in tliat State and later removed to New 
I York, but finally became citizens of Ohio, whore 
the father died, at Birmingham; latei- the mother 
came to Michigan and died near Lansing. Mr. 
and Mrs. Curtiss are the parents of six children: L. 
Milton; Darius J., who married Margaretta Gibson, 
and manages the farm of his father, and Mary A., 
Samantha J., Sarah A., and Ann O., deceased. 

Soon after their marriage, in the month of 
May, Mr. and Mrs. Curtiss came to Michigan by 
canal and lakes to Toledo, and from that place to 
P.ilmyra by steam, and thence by horse [jower to 
Tecnmseh, the trip requiring eight days. At that 
time the limbei- on each side of the road was undis- 
tuibed and just as nature had placed ii. They 
began their residence here by erecting a log house, 
in which they lived for some years, when they put 
u\) a more connnodious residence which was subse- 
quently improved and is ^'et their iiome. Mr. and 



' ^ ^ 



Hh-^ 



-•►HI-4* 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



993 



^i- 



Mrs. Cuitiss jind tlic nionihois of tlicir fnmily linvi 
been for many years ;u-ileiit iiiimiiIici> "f the Mrtli 

Oflist Episcopal C'lnili-h. .-ilnl :lli- .■lUKHIi; tllr llHis 

respecter] citizens of i;iilL;c\\:i\ I'nwiisliii). Mi- 
C'urtiss in liis poiitic-)! Mllili.-iti.m.s li.-i> cIk.-c^h to ))» 
classed as a Kepiililii-an. ami he has alua\- lirei 
loval to tiie men ami ni<'asnres of tiiat parlv. 



i-i: 



lu^ ARVEY SIIELDEN was boni in Leeds Coun- 
jfjl) ty, Ontario, Canada, March 17. lM3:>.andis 
^>^ the son of Triienian Shclden, who was also 
(^ born in Canada, in 1797, while his omnd- 
father it is thought, was fjoni in \eiii,uiit. and re- 
moved thence to Canaila. The father i,'!' uiir suliject 
located in Leeds County before iiis mai-riaj^e. ami 
lived there until 1838, when he came to this eoini- 
try and settled in Lenawee Count}', Ogden Tiiwn- 
ship, section 22, on land which lie purchased from 
the Government. He also bought some laud ad- 
joining on which he bnilt a log house. At that 
time deer were plentiful as well as wild turkeys, 
wolves and bears. He resided there sonu^ years, 
improving his farm considerably, when he snjd dut 
and bought land on sections 2 and ;!. 'I'lieic were 
twenty-five acres cleared, containing a log house, 
which in time gave place to frame Imildings, and 
he lived there until 1808, when he sold and removed 
to Mi.ssouri, settling near Plattsbnig, where he re- 
mained until his death in 1 >!S2. He was twice mar- 
ried, bis first wife, the mother of our subject, being- 
Susanna Knapp. She was born in Canada, and \vas 
the daughter of Itbamer Knapp; she died in Ogilen 
Township. 

The subject of this sketch was the fifth child and 
fourth son in the parental family. When almul six 
years of age, he came with bis parents to thise.mnty, 
where he attended the pioneer sclaiuls. ami assisted 
his father on the farm until twenty-niie yi-ars nl' age. 
On the 2d of February, isr.-j, be started for Cali- 
fornia, where he remained four years, being vari- 
ously employed. -Part of the time he worked in a 
gold mine. On his return he resumed fanning' opera- 
tions; his father gave him a farm of Ids acres on 
which he located, and has since added to it until he 
now owns 200 ;ieres of land with good buildings. 



On the 1 tl.h of April. 18fiO. he was united in m.ar- 
riage with Miss Mary Ann Crockett, who was born 
in Huron. Wayne Co.. N. Y., April U, 1836, and 
was the daughter of Nathaniel Crockett, born in 
Maine in 1799. where he lived until about the age 
of thirteen, ami then rcmoveil to New York. In 
183(; he sold out and came to this county, settling 
on section 35, Ogden Township. About the year 
1823 he married Miss Mary, daughter of William 
White, of Wayne County. N. Y., by whom he had 
eleven children. 

Mr. and Mrs. .Shelden are the i)arents of two chil- 
dren: Minnie, who was born in Ogden Township, 
and married Albert I'.rown. and Ferley H.. who was 
als,, born in Ogden Township. :\rr. Shelden was 
only six ye.-irs old wluai his p.-irents came to Lena- 
wee County, and he attended ,,iie of the first schools 
ever taught in this towHship. It was located on 
his neighbor's laml and built of logs with long, 
rough home-made lieuches. In politics INlr. Shelden 
is a Republican. 



JEFFERSON LOUDEN is a general farmer 
and stock-raiser, residing on section 15, 
Cambridge Township, where he has a line 
farm of 12G acres of land, which he has 
brought to a high state of cultivation. Having si)ent 
all of his life in this eounty, he is strongly imbued 
with the spirit of its inhabitants, and is a true rep- 
resentative of its people. 

Mr. Louden was born in Adrian Township, Oct. 
8, 1831, and is the sou of William Louden, a native 
of New York, and of Dutch ancestry. W'hile a cit- 
izen of the Empire State, William Louden entered 
into a matrimonial alliance with Miss Eliza Vader, 
a native of Massachusetts, where she had been 
reared to years of maturity. In 1829, after the birth 
of four chil<lien, they came to Michigan across the 
Lake, and took up .IlIO acres of Government land in 
Adrian Township, and here in what was almost a 
virgin wilderness they began to make a home tor 
themselves, literally hewing it out of the woods. At 
that time inhabitants in this county were "few and 
far between." After making some improvements 
here, some years later Mr. and Mrs. Louden re- 



■^ 



r 



^^►HH*! 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



4 



tiirnerl to Now York, where the.y both died, each 
having attained their threescore and ten 3'ears. 

Jefferson Louden was the fifth child of the pa- 
rental family, and the first born after coming to this 
county. He was reared among the wild surround- 
ings of -Iiis pioneer home in Adi'ian Township, and 
helped develop the farm where his father erected his 
humble cabin. On the "iSd of March, 1871, he en- 
tered into a matrimonial alliance with Miss FLinnah 
U. Booher, a native of Cambridge Township, and 
born on the old Booher homestead, June 21, 1840. 
Siie is tiie second child and daughter of Jacob and 
Maigaret (Snyder) Booher, natives of Germany, 
and now deceased. Her parents were among the 
very first settlers in this township, having made a 
settlement here in the then unbroken timber early 
in the thirties. They were quite successful in life, 
like so many of their country people, and attained 
an easy competency which they enjoyed until their 
death. They had four daughters, one of whom died 
while very young. Those living are Mrs. Catherine 
JM. Shuttis, Mrs. Hannah Louden and Mrs. Mary 
Brainard. Mrs. Louden remained at home until her 
marriage, by which she becajne the mother of three 
children — Nellie, Mary A., and Clarence, deceased. 

Politically, Mr. Loudon affiliates with the Kepuli- 
lican party, and has been honored bj' his fellow-cit- 
izens with the office of Township Treasurer, which 
he filled with credit to himself and honor to those 
who elected him. 



AVID SMITH, Ji!., came to the Territory 
of Michigan and settled in Rome Town- 
ship in the spring of 1832. He Labored 
industriously for years with slow returns, 
.and succeeded in building up a comfortable home 
from the wihlerness. He proved just such a man 
as was needed in the early settlement of the town- 
ship, his labors not being confined to his own per- 
sonal interests, but from the very first he encouraged 
the settlement of a good class of people, and was 
foremost in the enterpi'ises which were inaugurated 
for the general good of the community. 



Our subject was born near the town of Constable, 
St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., Oct. 30, 1812, and came 
to Southern Michigan in 1832, the year before the 
arrival of his father, David Smith, Sr. The latter 
was a native of Connecticut and was born Feb. 8, 
1 78G. While still a child, his father, Ezekiel Smith, 
removed to Vermont and located on the Lamoille 
River, where ho followed farming twelve years. 
During this time the family was visited with a sad 
calamity in the death of the wife and mother, Mrs. 
Mary (Flint) Smith, who was drowned in the La- 
moille River. P^zekiel Smith was afterward married 
to Miss Mary Bullen, and in 1798 removed to 
Lower Canada, where he lived until tbe bre.iking 
out of the War of 1812. "He was then compelled to 
leave his property and remove to New York State. 
He lived first in Constable, St. Lawrence County, 
and then in Manchester, Ontario County, spending 
his last days in the latter place. 

David Smith, Sr., came to the States at the same 
time and for the same reason that his father did, 
and purchased a farm in Manchester. From there, 
in the spring of 1 833, he came to the Territory of 
Michigan and located nearly 200 acres of land on 
section (1, in what was then Logan, but is now 
Adrian Township. In 1835 he built a sawmill on 
his farm, receiving the motive power from Wolf 
Creek. Here he was one of the very first settlers, 
and being a remarkably .intelligent man and public- 
spirited, he was foreinost in all the public improve- 
ments, and rendered efficient service in building up 
the new township. He was appointed Commis- 
sioner to lay out public roads, and assisted not only 
in chopping the trees from these, but building- 
bridges between Adrian and Devil's Lake. When- 
ever an unfortunate settler was in need of assistance, 
David Smith was one of the first to aid him. He 
spent his last days in Rome Township, dying at the 
age of ninety-five years at his son David's home. 

The mother of our subject, who was married to 
David Smith, Sr., Nov. 6. 1807, in (^lebec, Canada, 
was Miss Lydia, daughter of David and Lydia 
Roberts of that place, and was born in Vermont, 
May 3, 1789. She came to the West with her 
family, and also died at the home of her son David, 
in Rome Township, M.ay 14, 1875, aged eighty-six 
years. The parental family included eleven 

-^ ' 9^ 



>► i ^« 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



995 



I 



chiklren, ten sons and one (lauglitor, of whom 
])avi(l, Jr., was the third child. lyikehis father lie- 
fore him, he has contributed his full ,<h.ire toward 
all that was necessary to be done in estMblisliinjj 
the educational and religious institutions which 
have such an important bearing u|iou the innial 
and intellectual welfare of the community. Me 
was twenty years of age upon coming here, and be- 
ing blessed with good health and strength, ac- 
complished a very great amount of work during 
the following thirty years. He w;is uiauicd, un the 
Gth of August, 18.37, to Miss Emeline, daughter of 
Levi and Olive Hawley, of Rome Township. Mrs. 
Emeline Smith was born in Seneca, Ontario Co., N. 
Y., June 11, 1814, and came to Michigan with her 
parents in 1835. Her father was also a native of 
the Empire State, and died at the old home in 
Rome Township on the 7th of May. 1852, aged 
eighty-two yeai-s. His wife, formerly Miss Olive 
Payne, was a native of Rhode Island and survived 
her husband less than a year, dying in Rome Town- 
ship, Jan 4, 1853. The eldest daughter of Mr. and 
Mrs. Smith, Hercella, was born Oct. 28, 1838, and 
is the wife of Miran Every, of Rome Township; 
Harriet S. at an early age developed a fondness for 
her books, and was carefully educated, completing 
her studies in Adrian College and Raisin Valley 
Seminary; she chose the profession of a teacher 
and has just rounded up her thirteenth term at 
this work. Emily was born Sept 10, 1847, !Uid 
is now the wife of Phillip Bates, a merchant of 
Rome Center; William H. enlisted in the Union 
army Aug. 1, 1802, becoming a raendiei- of 
Companj' A, 17th Michigan Infantry. He was in 
all the b.attles of the Southeastern campaign, and p;irt 
of the time formed one of the staff of Gen. AVilcox. 
He was wounded at Spottsylvania Court House and 
confined in the hospital two weeks. His comp;iny 
was in every battle of the regiment except one, and 
became familiarly known as the Adiian Cadets. 
After a three-years service he was musteicd out 
June 15, 18G5. Soon after returning from the 
army he was married to Miss Elizabeth Wood, of 
Rome Township, and is now farming in Adrian 
Township. Florence A. was born Nov. 20, ls49, 
and is the wife of C. R. Knowles, Hudson Town- 
ship; Jennie E. was born Jan. 23, 1857, and is 



the wife of Albert A\'. Knowdcs, Rome Township; 
Thaddeus and an infant unnamed arc deceased. 
Mr. Smith and wife celcbr^ited theirgolden wedding 
Aug. G, 1S,S7. 




ONI 



Th. 



at the head of 
I old Welsh name, and 
it is a sturdy represeula- 
if a family of that name, who came from 
Wales to America in the early history of this coun- 
try long before the United States had become an 
independent nation. There is a tradition in the 
l)rescnl famil}' thiit tlu^ great-great-grandfather of 
our subje<'t was a native of Wales, and that he came 
to America years ago and first made his home 
in Nova Scotia, whence he came to the United 
States in Colonial times. 

The grandfather of our subject, Richard Jones, 
was, it is thought, a native of Montgomery County, 
N. Y., where he spent his last years. The father of 
our subject was born in Montgomery County, and 
when a young man he removed from there to Her- 
kimer County, and there married. He bought 
forty-five acres of timber land in Litchfield Town- 
ship, and afterward became very successful as a 
dairy farmer. He greatly increased his landed es- 
tate until, at the time of his death in 1877, he owned 
375 acres of well-tilled land, on which he had 
erected comfortable buildings. His wife, wluise 
maiden name was Elsie Gardner, was born in 
New York State in 1799, and is still living thei'c in 
Herkimer County at an advanced age. 

James J. Jones was born ou the old homestead in 
Litchfield Township, Herkimer Co., N. Y., July IG, 
1834. He was reared in the home of his birth, and 
at the age of seventeen, having acquired a good 
education, he commenced teaching and taught the 
two following winter terms, and engaged in farm- 
ing when not teaching. In 185G our subject was 
married to Miss Abbie Tread way, who was born in 
Jefferson County, N. Y., March 2, 183G, and is the 
daughter of Christopher and Margaret (Caswell) 
Tread way. The following six years after marriage 
Mr. Jones managed his father's farm, but his steady 
application to his work in looking after the interests 



•►HI 



-^•- 



996 



4 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



^^ 



of a large farm caused his health to fail, and he w:is 
obliged to relinquish that occupation for a time. 
He then resolved to go to Detroit and prepare him- 
self by a course at a business college for a mercan- 
tile life. He left his family at his father's home, 
and went by Lake Erie to Metamora, Ohio, and 
thence to Detroit, in this State, \vhere he entered 
Bryant & Stratton's Business College, in which lie 
became grounded in the studies most important to 
a practical business man. In the following spring- 
he returned to New York and engaged in mercan- 
tile business in Ilion. After pursuing that business 
for a year he returned to the old homestead and 
resumed his former occupation. 

In the year 1867 our subject came to Michigan, 
and located in Adrian Township, this county, where 
he engaged in farming, alternating that work by 
teaching in Adrian during the winter. In I8G9 he 
came to Riga Township and purchased the place 
where he novv resides, containing ninety-seven acres 
in Riga Township and twenty acres in Ogden Town- 
ship. It was then in its natural state, still unre- 
claimed from the forest, and the road which now 
passes his house was not then built. His first 
work was to fell trees so as to clear a space where 
he could build a house, and he then set vigorously 
to work to clear land for cultivation. He applied 
himself very diligentl3' to his hard labors, and 
had quite a tract cleared when, in 1876, he met 
with a serious accident which nearly cost him his 
life, and put an end for a long time to the work in 
which he was engaged in clearing and improving 
his farm. He was walking one clay on a railway 
track near the junction of two railways, and step- 
ping from one track to the other to avoid an ap- 
proaching train, he was struck from the rear by 
another train that he had not seen. He was ren- 
dered insensible, and sustained very serious injuries, 
his skull being fractured and several ribs broken. 
For a long time his life was despaired of, but his 
good constitution at length triumphed, and the long- 
struggle between life and death was decided in favor 
of the former, and he was spared to his friends, al- 
though he regained his health very slowl^'. Four 
or five years of his life were thus rendered useless 
so far as his work was concerned, but these years of 
enforced idleness may have been a blessing to him 
■^fi -^— ^— ___^_^___ 



and to those aljout him, the patient endurance of 
his ills may have strengthened his character, and he 
may have been led to feel the trutii of the beauti- 
ful words of the blind old poet: 

"They also serve who only stand and wait." 
With the assistance of his sons our subject has been 
enabled to clear nearly sixty acres of his land, on 
which he has erected a comfortable home. 

To Mr. Jones and his wife have been born three 
eliildren — Harve}', Mark and Susie E. Mr. Jones 
has been blessed by a good wife who has been a 
ciieerful and ready assistant to him in lightening 
the burdens and trials of life. They are members 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and cordially 
assist in its good works. Mr. Jones is in politics a 
Republican, stauchly upholding the measures of 
that party; he is also an earnest Prohibitionist, and 
is himself stricth' temperate. He is a man of intel- 
ligence, whose life is guided by the highest princi- 
ples of rectitude and honesty, which are the best 
qualifications for a good citizen. 

yi^.ENJAMIN C. FRANKLIN, a prosperous 
114^ farmer located on section 29, Seneca Town- 
//^jll ship, was born in this township, Nov. 5, 
v^^^ 1842, and with the exception of a few years 
he has made this pl.-xce his residence ever since. The 
parents of our subject were Amos and Cynthia 
(McKinney) Franklin, who migrated from Brad- 
ford County, Pa., in the spring of 1835, and settled 
in Seneca Township. 

Over half a century' ago the prospects of those 
who settled in this part of the country' were not of 
an enviable character, but Amos and Mrs. Franklin 
cheerfully engaged with other pioneers of that day 
in subduing- nature, building cabins, clearing land, 
and laying the foundation of the happy homes 
which now thickly dot this section of country. 
With all their labor they were social and happy, 
rearing their families to habits of industry and in- 
tegrity, while giving them such an education as la}-^ 
within their reach. In 1844 the family suffered an 
irreparable loss in the death of the father, Amos 
Franklin, and the widow with her five young chil- 
dren was left to engage in the battle of life without 

9^ 



u. 



lp:nawee county. 



997 



the guidaufo uf the IiusIi.-iikI .ind tMlh.'i-. She per- 
formed her part well, liviiiji li> see her children 
grow up honored and respected members nf the 
eoinmunity. .and passed to her reward in 1^71. 

Our subject was the fourth cliild of tlie parental [ 
family and was born in Seneca Township, Nov. 5. [ 
1842. He received such education as the district 
schools of th.at day .afforded, and learned the car- 
penter's trade, which he followed for a i)eriod of 
ten years, at the end of whicii time he engaged in 
farming and since then h.as made agriculture his 
life work. He owns forty-eight acres of land in 
Seneca Township, which lie has improved and de- 
veloped into a high st.ate of cultivation, and has 
erected thereon substantial and <()nim()di<ius build- 
ings, suitable for his occupation. i 

Our subject was united in marriage, Aug. -Jl, 
1881, in Seneca Township, with Miss Clara I., 
daughter of Moses and Rachel (Luther) Neygus, 
who was born in that pl.ace on the 3d of September, 
1 860. This union was bles.sed by the l)irth of one 
child, whom they named K. Clyde. The political 
views of our subject harmonize with the Repub- 
lican doctrines and he gives that i)arty his cheerful 
support. Mr. Franklin has held manj^ of the minor 
offices of the township and in his official capacities 
has given satisf.action to tiiose whom he re[)re- 
sented. He is a memljer of the Masonic fraternity. 



'->'^^^V^V5:5<^^ 



•►He*- 



\i7SAAC FARST, a native of Seneca County, N. 
I Y., came to Medina Township in the spring of 
|1| 1851. to look about him and see what the 
prospect w.asfora desirable and permanent location. 
He was well pleased with the country .and the i)rog- 
ress the young State had m.ade since its admission 
into the Union, and went back with a favorable 
report to his father in Seneca County, who returned 
with him to this county. The latter, George Farst, 
was a native of Northumberland County, Pa., 
where he married Miss Catherine Pontius, .and car- 
ried on blacksmithiug during his early manhood. 
From there they removed to Seneca County, N. Y., 
locating near the young town of Fayette, where 
the father became owner of a good farm. 

George Farst, upon the recommendation of his 



son Is.aac. took up his residence in Medina Town- 
ship in September, 1851, purchasing li>(t acres of 
land and devoting himself thereafter to agricult- 
ural pursuits until resting from his earthly labors. 
The mother p.assed aw.ay in the f.all of 1864, and 
the father foiu- years later. Their family consisted 
of nine children,- four sons and five daughters, of 
wht)m Isaac was next to the eldest. He w.as born 
July 21, 1813, in Fayette Township, Seneca Co., 
N. Y., and received a good education at a private 
school, there being no other accessible at that time. 

Isaac Farst began life for himself when a youth 
of seventeen, and learned the shoemaker's trade, at 
which he worked two or three winters foUowing. 
Th's life, however, w.as not sufficiently .active, and 
he soon ab.andoned it and eng.aged in carpentering, 
by which, as he possessed considerable natural 
genius in tiiis line, he maintained himself very 
comfortably. A few months after his twenty-first 
birthday he was married, Dec. 2, 1834, to Miss 
Sarahjjdaughter of Frederick .and Catherine (Peifer) 
Keefer, who were both n.atives of Northumberland 
County, Pa. They had a family of nine sons and 
tvYo daughters, of whom Mrs. Farst, the third in 
order of birth, w.as liorn Dec. 31, 1811. Mrs. 
Keefer died in Elk County, Pa., in 1848, while Mr. 
Keefer subsequently removed to Iowa, and died at 
the residence of iiis son .losluia, in Mt. Pleasant, in 
1880. 

Mr. and Mrs. Farst spent the first years of their 
wedded life in the P^mpire State, removing to 
Michigan .after the birth of all their children except 
the youngest. These, eight in number, are recorded 
as follows: Charles was born M.arch 29, 1836; 
Aiiron, July 31, 1837; Hannah, Feb. 25, 1839; 
Adeline, April 9, 1843; Clara, Oct. I, 1844; George 
W., Oct. 1, 1846; Oliver, Aug. 12, 1851, and 
John G., M.ay 1, 1856. HM.nnah died April 23, 
1840, and Charles, July 30, 1840. Aaron F.arst, 
the eldest living .son of our subject, is engaged in 
the Buckeye shops at Akron, Summit Co., Ohio; 
he was first married to Miss Sarah Bump, who is 
now deceased : his second wife was Miss Mary 
Moore, and they have three children — John R., 
Frank W. and Royal E. Adeline is the wife 
of Edwin Ash, of Medina Township, and the 
mother of three children — Mary A., Nellie C, 



■► ■ ^» 



•»»-ll--4«- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



deceased, and Edith L. Clara was first married 
to Reuben George, and became the motiier of 
one son, Frank E., now a resident of Dodge City, 
Kan ; slie was subsequently married to William 
Connery, and they had two children — A. Bernice 
and Clara Elizabeth; she died Aug. 7, 1880. George 
Farst married Miss Martha Cox, and is carrying on 
farming in Medina Township: they have three 
children — Isaac, Hattie and Ross Earl. Oliver mar- 
ried Miss Delilah Stiles, and is farming in Seneca 
Township; John G. married Miss Hattie Layman, 
and resides in Medina Township. 

Mr. Farst delighted in hunting during his early 
years, and has shot wild turkeys innumerable in 
Medina Township. Once he brought down a deer, 
which was considered a very good "find," as in the 
fifties this choice game had become quite scai'ce. 
After his marriage he secured eighty acres of land, 
which he lias improved into a good farm and su[)- 
plied with first-class frame buildings. He is a man 
of good standing among his neighbors, and uni- 
formly votes the Democratic ticket. He has served 
as juryman and Highway Commissioner, and be- 
longs to Morenci Lodge No. 73, L O. O. F., in 
which he has held all the offices up to Vice Grand. 



..o*o..@>,<^^..< 



117 ENRY HAYWARD is one of the leading 
']fy^ farmers of the township of Seneca, owning 
/^^^ and occupying 116 acres of fine land on sec- 
^^ tion 23, where he carries on general farming 
and dairying. The high state of culture to which 
he has brought his place, the handsome residence 
and neat barns and out-buildings, bear witness to 
the industry and taste of the proprietor. He is a 
representative of one of the oldest pioneer families 
of the township, a sketch of whom is given below. 
He is a native of this county and township, and 
made his appearance on the stage of life March 24, 
1840, being the second of a family of ten children 
born to his parents, Stephen and Sarah .Jane (San- 
ger) Hayward. 

Henry Hayward, the grandfather of the subject 
of this sketch, was born in Cummington, Mass., 
July 12, 1787, and was the son of one of the heroes 
of the Revolutionary War. About 1831, he made 
M* 



a trip to Michigan, and traveled through what are 
now the counties of Wayne, Oakland, Washtenaw 
and Livingston, and located 240 acres of land in 
the last-named county before returning home. 
Having an excellent opinion of the country, in 
1833 he again came to Michigan, this time making 
a trip through Monroe and Lenawee Counties, and 
purchased one tract of land for himself on section 
.5, in what is now Hudson Township, and a 160-acre 
piece for a son-in-law, J. R. Hawkins. In 1 834, 
after receiving a good price for his farm in Ontario 
County, N. Y., he came to Michigan and settled on 
section 10, Seneca Township. He erected a saw- 
mill on Black Creek, which was the first one built 
in the township, and most of the lumber used in the 
neighbo)-hood for several years was the product of 
this mill. He made his residence on his farm until 
his death, which occurred Jan. 26, 1842. His 
father, Stephen Hayward, liad participated in the 
battle of Bunker Hill, and was afterward a Lieuten- 
ant in the Continental arrny. The wife of the lat- 
ter was formerly Miss Hannah Tracey. 

Henry Hayward, Sr., was married, Nov. 14, 1808, 
to Miss Elizabeth Willitts, who was born in New 
York State, Feb. 26, 1782. She was the daughter 
of Micajah and Judith (Cramer) Willitts, who were 
pioneers in Ontario County, N. Y. Stephen Hay- 
ward, the fathei- of our subject, came to Lenawee 
County with his father in 1834, and remained at 
home until his marriage with Sarah Jane Sanger, in 
January, 1837; this was the second wedding in 
Seneca Township. Stephen was born in Farming- 
ton, Ontario Co., N. Y., in 1814, and married the 
daughter of Benjamin and Betsey Sanger, a native 
of the same county and Slate as her husband, who 
had come to Michigan with her father and settled 
in Seneca in 1834. Benjamin Sanger was a native 
of Connecticut, and had been a soldier in the War 
of 1812. His wife, whose maiden name was Wood- 
ard, was a native of the same State and died in New 
1 York in 1827; he died in Seneca Township in Feb- 
ruary, 1849. 

The subject of. this sketch passed his boyhood 

I days on his father's homestead, spending his time 

in assisting in farm labor and attending school. On 

the 24th of May, 1 859, he was united in marriage 

t with Miss Helen Whaley, a native of Gorham, Ohio, 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



where she w;is born March 1.5, lS41.aii(l the (laugh- 
ter of Cyremis aiul Sally ((iorhamj Whale.v. Her 
father was born in Cato, Cayuga Co.. N. Y., Oct. 
;il. 1 !S1(5. and remained witli liis ])arents until he 
was about eleven j'ear.sold. Ilis fatlicr then placed 
hiui in the employ of a farmer who paid $.'!.•_',') per 
mouth for his services, all of which went int(j the 
family exchequer. This was followed up until Cy- 
renus was nineteen years old, when he made u|i his 
mind that he was entitled to the rarniiiu> of his 
own labor. He accordingly .startccl west, but after 
getting forty miles from home he thought better of 
it and returned. After working by the month for 
about four }'ears in Onondaga County. N. Y., in 
18o'.) he came to Michigan and srttlccl in .bickson 
Count}', whence he soon removed to Fulton County) 
Ohio, where he remained until 1S42. He then sold 
out in Gorham, Ohio, and returning to Michigan, lo- 
cated in Seneca. Feb. 4. is;;5, he married .Miss Sally, 
daughter of Shnbael and Polly (o.rhani, by whom ! 
he had seven children, of wlioni Helen was the .sec- 
ond, "^His wife was born in Klbi-idge, Onondaga Co,, 
N. Y., July 4, 1818. 

Mr. and Mrs. Henry Hayward arc the pai-ents of 
seven children: Felch, Arietta, Ralph li., Robert, 
Stephen, Jane and Reuben. Felch married \iola 
Aldridge, of Seneca Township, and is the parent of 
one child, Millie; he resides in Seneca Township. 
Arietta is the wife of I). M. Hough, and the mother 
of two children— Helen \. and Clifford R.: she 
lives in Eaton County, this State. The rest of the 
children are at home with their parents. In polities 
Mr. Hayward afliliates with the Democratic party. 
He is highly respected, and with his good wife en- 
joys the regard and esteem of the entire comunmity. 



s^USTIN S. WILCOX, for a period of tifty 
Wful years made his home on section 31, in i 
jTlt, Adrian Township, to which he came when I 
(^ a young man in the twenty-sixth year of I 

his age. At that time there was upon the land a 
log house, and ten or twelve acres were cleared, but 
it is now one of the most desiralile homesteads in 
the township. It lies on the south side of the old 
Territorial Eoad, better known as the "Plank I 



Road," and is four miles wc^it of the city of 
Adrian. Mr. Wilcox cast his lot with the pioneers 
of Lenawee County when the cabins of the settlers 
were few and far between, and took no unimportant 
l>art in the development of the resources of this 
county. Agriculture was his life-wish, although 
when young he took a warm interest in military 
tactics, and was Captain of a company in the New 
York State Militia. Aside from this he was a very 
quiet and unobtrusive citizen, seldom holding office, 
but uniformly voting the straight Democratic 
ticket. 

Mr. Wilcox was born in Saybrook, Middlesex 
Co., Conn., .Vpril 21', IHlL', and departed this life 
at his home in Adiian Township, this count}'. May 
•27, 1887. His |)arcnts, Capt. Austin and Clarissa 
(Nettleton) Wilcox, were natives of Connecticut. 
Austin Wilcox, Sr.. was born in Madison, Conn., 
Aug. 28, 1779, and departed this life in Bergen, N. 
Y., Aug. 18, 18o6. March 27, 1805, he was mar- 
ried to Clarissa Wilcox, but she died at the home- 
stead in Bergen June 10, 1829, many years before 
the decease of her husband. 

The p.aternal grandparents of our subject were 
Edmund and Elizabeth (Scrantoii) Wilcox, who 
were residents for many years of \Vestbrook, Conn., 
where they were well known as prominent and use- 
ful members of the community. Their son, Austin, 
Sr., carried on a l)lacksmith-shop and a farm in his 
younger years, but subsequently kept a public 
house, and was for several years Postmaster of Ber- 
gen. The children of Captain and Clarissa Wilcox, 
eight in number, were named respectively: Chloe, 
Polly Ann, Clarissa, Austin Scranton, Elizabeth, 
William Seward, Henry Hamilton .and Harriet 
Adelia. The sons all reside in Adrian; four of the 
daughters are deeea.sed. Harriet married Samuel 
Church, of Bergen, N. Y., who is now deceased, and 
continues to m.ake her home in Bergen. 

Our subject continued a member of his father's 
household until twenty-five years of age, and then 
in the fall of 1837 made his waj' to the young State 
of Michigan, which had been admitted to the LTnion 
a few months previously. He immediately pur- 
chased eighty acres of land, which is included in 
his present homestead, and to which he subsequently 
added until he was the owner of 186 acres well im- 



*Hh-<« 



1000 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



•^1= 



^^EORGE W. MOORE. Tbo family Listoiy 
III g— , of this gentleman, who has beun a resident 
^^il of Medina Township fifty-two years, is sub- 
stantially as follows : John Moore, Si-., the progenitor 
of the Moore family, was born in Argyleshire, Scot- 
land, in 1 648, and was killed at the massacre of Glen- 
coe, March 13, 1692. His son, John Moore, Jr., 
was born March 13, 1692, and was a native of 
Glencoe, Scotland, whence he was taken when an 
infant to Londondeny, Ireland. In 1 720 he crossed 
the Atlantic and settled in Londonderry, N. II., 
where he engaged in farming. There also he was 
married to Miss Janet Cochran, and they became 
the parents of four sons and three daughters. 

William Moore, the grandfather of our subject, 
was born in Londonderry, Sept. 26. 1731, and upon 
reaching manhood married a maiden of his native 
county. Miss J.ane Holmes, w^ho was of Scotch-Irish 



proved, and supplied with good buildings. Upon 
his journey to this State he was accompanied b^' his 
young wife, he having been married to Miss Han- 
nah Bodwell on the 1st of April, 1836. 

Mrs. Wilcox was born in Verona, Oneida Co.. 
N. Y., Nov. 21, 1815, and is the daughter of Will- 
iam Bodwell, a native of New Hampshire. The 
family was of English descent, and the mother, 
Mrs. Betsey (Kimball) Bodwell, vvas also born in 
New Hampshire. Mr. Bodwell was a capable busi- 
ness man, and engaged as a builder and contractor, 
but he died in early manhood, when his daughter 
Hannah was a child two years of age. The mother 
spent her last years in Brockport, N. Y., dying at 
the age of seventy -five. 

Mr. and Mrs. Austin became tlie parents of ' 
seven sons and two daughters, as follows: Homer 
A. died in infancy; Henry N. is a resident of De- 
troit; Sarah F. lives at home; Theodore H. died 
when six years of age; Louisa E. is the wife of 
William S. Knapp, of Topeka, Kan.: William S. 
died at the age of twelve years ; Herbert continues 
on the homestead with his mother; Lewis T. died 
in infancy, and Ira Bidwell is on a farm in Rome 
Township. Mrs. Wilcox is the sister of the late 
Justus H. Bodwell, an old and prominent merchant 
of Adrian, who di."(i suddenly in 1864. 



parentage. Like his fatlier before him he followed 
agricultural pursuits, but upon the beginning of the 
French and Indian wars he left the plow to take up 
the musket, and rendered very effective service. 
He finally removed from the vicinity of London- 
derry to Peterboro. N. H. William Moore and his 
wife became the parents of twelve children, of 
whom Nathaniel, the father of our subject, was the 
second son and the fourth child. 

Nathaniel Moore was born March 28, 1770, and 
continued on the old homestead his entire life. 
This propert}^ descended from father to son through 
several generations, having been acquired b}' Will- 
iam Moore in 1763. Nathaniel Moore was married 
at Peterboro, N. H., March 14, 1800, to Miss Sarah 
Ferguson, who was also of Scotch-Irish ancestry. 
Her father, Heniy Ferguson, was the son of John 
Fergu.son, one of the first settlers of Peterboro. 
Nathaniel Moore became prominent in local affairs, 
being one of the Selectmen of the town, and for 
man_y years a Deacon in the Presbyterian Church. 
He was a man of sterling integrity and high moral 
principles, and greatly esteemed by all who knew 
him. He died Oct. 27, 1853, at the advanced age 
of eighty -three years, while his wife had preceded 
him to the better land some three years, her death 
taking place April 10, 1850, when she was seventy- 
four years old. Their ten children were named 
respectively: Henry, William, John, Natlianiel H., 
James, Jane F., Sarah, George W., Martha F. and 
Thomas F. Of these but three are now living. 
Nathaniel H. continues in possession of the old 
homestead in Peterboro, N. H. ; George W. is the 
next eldest, and of Thomas F. a sketch appears 
elsewhere in this book. 

George W. Moore was born at the old liomestead 
in Peterboro, N. H., April 3, 1814. He remained 
at home until a youth of eighteen years, and was 
then apprenticed to his brother William to learn 
the machinist's trade, which he followed until 1836. 
In the spring of 1834 he migrated to Michigan and 
purchased 210 acres of Government land on section 
3, Medina Township. After securing his title he 
returned to the Old Granite State, and followed his 
trade there until in September, 1836. Being now 
reinforced with a small capital he came back to the 
AVest, and began the improvement of his purchase. 



-Hh^ 



lenawp:?: county. 



1001 



With tho exception <if fivi 
hired a man to chop, thvvc 
whatever ui)Oii his l;iii(l. 
seemed an Ilciculeaii one. 
youth and hopr, and >ot :i\>< 
hition uhicli lie h;id inheiite 
He labored ah.ne in.hi>lri, 



Ha 



■hilM> 



,pl, 



d hy 
Iren- 



uty t. 
and i 
enlist 



the \Ve>f. and took 
nhirh iKid l.een erecl(_ 
Imrn tlieir three chil 
M. and Kmily C. 

Upon the breakiiii; 
C vvas a student in tl 
at Ann Arlior. pre par 
law, which (irofessioi 
He consi<Iere.l it liis d 
plans and interests, 
lirst call for troops, 
Michigan Infantry, for thi-c 
present at the firsl: I km t tie 
was wounded in the hip .■hh 
arm broken ln'sides. I le \ 
confined at Lililiyand Coin 
the following year, when he 
exchanged the following 
enlisted at Jackson and v 
Lieutenant of Company I, 1 
He vvas proffered the IJi-iili 
I2th Tennessee Cavnlry liy 
declined tiie hon(n'. ['jxin 
one years of age, he was ci 
Company 1, and had comnr 
the battle of Fox Creek. 
Decatur, in Noven'tber, 180 
against the rebel sharpshoo 
of forty men captured 114 
of bravery gained him tlie 
Thomas, and also an open 
before the regiment. 

In February, ISO."), Capt 
Provost Marshal of Hunts 



acres, which he had 
vere no improvements 
The task l)efore him 
liut he was strong in 
Mil il. wiih all the reso- 
1 from !ii> forefathers, 
usly until in August, 
his ,,ld home in New 
If a wife and helpmeet, 
f th.-il month to Miss 
IS liorn in I'eterlioro, 



if the l.-ilv w;n-. William 
hi-.'in State liii versify, 
nself for the practice of 
lad decided to follow. 
I lay .aside his personal 
n Al.-iy. ISCI. after the 
•d in ( omp.-my IC. l.st 

of liull Run. Here he 
I shoulder, and had an 

rnliia l'ris<ms until M;iy, 
; w.as paroled, and was 
August. He then re- 
i-as commissioned First 
isth .Miehig.'ui Infantry, 
■nunt Colonelcy of the 

An.bew .l,,hn>,,n. but 
the d.-iy he wa> twenly- 
nnmissioned Caiilain of 
iind of the regiment at 

Ala,. At the siege of 
4, he led a gallant charge 
ters, and with his band 
of the enemy. This act 
personal thanks of (xen. 

letter which was read 

. .Mo.)re w:i> appointed 
ville, Ala., which posi- 



tion he held until the close of the war. In October, 
186."(, he went to Texas as Quartermaster under 
den. Custer against the Comanche Indians, but in 
March. 18(')6, he was drowned while attempting to 
cross a stream in the Indian 4'erritory while on his 
way from Texas to Kansas with a herd of cattle 
which he had purchased. 

Nathaniel Moore, .Tr., died when a lad seven 
years of age. and Emily is the wife of (ieorge F. 
Phelps, of Ionia. Mich. Mrs. Caroline Moore de- 
parted this life at lier home in Medina Township, 
March 17. IS 111. Oiu' subject was subsequently' 
married, in IJarre, Orleans Co., N. Y., March 4, 
1S.5-J. to Miss Harriet P., daughter of Maj. Daniel 
P. and Betsey (Ivnight) Bigelow, .at the residence 
of the parents in that place. This union resulted 
in the hirth of two children — OeorgeD. and Hatlie 
1,. (ieorge 1). married Miss Effie B. Lawrence, and 
is fanning in Huilson Township. He received a 
tine education and was graduated from the Michi- 
gan Agricultural College in tlie class of '71. Mrs. 
Harriet P. IMoore died at the homestead in Medina 
Township, April 1.'), ISSO. 

The present wife of our subject, to whom he was 
married in Clarkson, Monroe ('<>., N. Y., April (i, 
1882, was formerly Mrs. Altiiea A. (Blodgett) 
Bordwell, daughter of .Tolin Blodgett, of Cl.arkson, 
N. Y.. and widow of .losejih Bordwell. who died in 
Albion, that Stale, .lune 17. 1S77. Of her first 
marriage there were born four children : Her eldest 
son, Jose[)h N.. married Miss Mina Cramer, and 
resides in Rochester, N. Y. : INlary A. .and Ada M. 
died in infancy; and .lohii B. resides in Albion, 
Orleans Co., N. V. -Mrs. .Moore was born in Clark- 
son, Aug. 20, 1824, and was married to Joseph 
Bordwell April 2!), 18.52. Her parents were John, 
and Lucy (Barlow) Blodgett, whose family included 
eight children. ..f whom Mrs. Moore is the sole, 
survivt)r. 

(;eorge W. Moore, in the winter of 1 837, a.ssisted 
in the organization of Medina Township, .and was 
one of the first Assessors, holding the office for some 
time. As the township became settled up and the 
town began to assume modern manners and institu- 
tions, he was foremost in its various enterprises, 
among the first of which was the Farmers' Mutual 
I Insurance Company, of Lenawee, in which he 



'4- 



1002 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



^J 



served as Director for a period of fourteen years. 
He repeatedl.v represented his township in State 
and count}' political conventions, and w.as the 
Chairman of three different county conventions, 
besides holding other important and honorable 
offices. 

Id 1850 Mr. .Moore sailed from New York to 
California, spending a month on the Isthmus of 
Panama, and landed in .San Francisco April 14, 
having been three weeks im the journey. He had 
intended to follow farming on the Pacific Slope, 
but being unable to carry out his original plans 
engaged in a sawmill several months at 8100 per 
Tnonth. He remained in the Golden State about 
two years, then returned to Michigan and settled 
down upon his farm in Medina Township, engaging 
in agriculture and adding to his real estate until he 
is now the owner of about 300 acres. 

The little log house which Mr. Moore put up fi>r 
the reception of his bride in the spring of 183(i, li;is 
long since given wa_v to a commodious, modern 
dwelling, and the first rude stable years ago disap- 
peared, its site now being occupied by a large and 
commodious liarn. In addition are the various 
other buildings indis|)ensable to the progressive 
modern farmer. Mr. Moore introduced the first 
mower anrl reaper into the western portion of I^en- 
awee County, and while giving due attention to the 
modern methods of agriculture, has ever borne in 
mind the importance of education to the rising- 
generation. He has been foremost in the establish- 
ment of religious and educational institutions, being 
one of the founders of Oak Grove Academy, and 
one of the most prominent and active members of 
the Congregational Church. In 1 868 he invested 
considerable capital in a woolen-mill established at 
Morenci, but which did not prove a paying invest- 
ment. The building was subsequently converted 
into a flonring-mill, to which purpose it is still 
devoted. 



t>' 



. li. JULIUS VAUGHAN, a physician and 
surgeon of the regular school, now located 
1 Springville, township of Cambridge, of 
this county, began the practice of his pro- 
fession here in the spring of 1802. He is a native 
of Concord Township, Erie Co., N. Y., born March 



21, 1833, and is the son of Lemuel C. P. Vaughan, 
1 a farmer of that State, of Welsh ancestry. The 
1 latter was the son of James Vaughan, also a native 
j of the State of New York, and a very prominent and 
I intelligent citizen of Washington County, where he 
held man}- offices and where he died. He married 
1 in early life a Miss Moon, who survived him, he 
I dying when about sixty j-ears of age. Lemuel C. 
j P. was reared in Washington County, of the Em- 
1 pire State, and married there Miss Achsah Twiss, 
' who is a native of New Hampshire, and daughter of 
Jeremiah Twiss ; she was born in the same State. 

Shortly' after their marriage Lemuel C. P. and 
wife moved into the fcjrests of Erie County, where 
he took up and bought some 500 acres of land, 
which he lived to see improved and the surround- 
ing country well settled up. He died at Spring- 
ville, Erie Co., N. Y., in September, 1879, at 
the age of sixty-four years. lie had been quite 
Ijopuhir in that [lart of the country, and had taken 
ail active |iart in local politics, having held many 
local otKces. He was an old -school Abolitionist, 
being one of the supporters of John P. Hale for 
[ President in 1 852. He was esteemed by a large 
circle of .acquaintances, and died respected by all. 
His wife still survives him, and although seventy- 
j five years of age still retains both her mental and 
' physical powers in an eminent degree. 
j Dr. Julius Vaughan is the eldest of seven cliil- 
j dren, five sons and two daughters, all of whom are 
living. The record of the family is as follows: 
i Russell J. married Therisa Green, and lives in Erie 
I County, N. Y. ; Alonzo L. married Emma G. 
Smith, and is a dentist in the same county ; Jennie 
A. is a stenographer and typewriter of New York 
City; C. L. is a dentist at Brooklyn, Jackson 
Co.. Mich.: Lorenzo A. married Mai-y Potter, 
and is a farmer in Erie County, N. Y. ; Achsah is the 
wife of Dr. Daniel Lewis, of New York City, a 
practicing physician of the regular school, who 
makes a specialty of cancerous affections and skin, 
diseases, and is connected with the hospital for the 
cure of those ailments. 

Dr. Vaughan passed his early 3'ears at home, 
where he received a good practical education at 
GrifHlh Institute in his native county. Later, when 
about twenty-four years old, he began the study of 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1003 



medicine. He then entered the College of Ph3'si- 
cinns and Surgeons in New York City, by which 
he w;is graduated in the ,-iuninier of 1S(;(I, and lias 
practiced in thi.s county since tlic spring of ISdi'. 

Our suliject was married in Cambridge Town- 
sliip, June .i, 1866, to Miss Anna E. Wicldiam, a 
native of Wexford County, Ireland, where slie was 
born Nov. 1.",, 184 1. Ilcr latiicr. Tll.)nla^ Wick- 
ham, died in Ireland. She has tuo .sistcr>, Mary, 
who is living in Minimouth, 111., and Maggie, living 
at Central Park, Chicago, 111. Their mother, whose 
maiden name was Ellen Hay.-, came to the United 
States ill l,s.-,l. and lived in New Vurk City and 
Buffalo about three years. At tlie latter pl.ace she 
died, leaving her youngest daughter, .Mrs. \'anghan, 
a child ten years of age. alone. .Soon after she 
came to this township, and lived in the family of 
William .-md Caroline (ie.ldes until she was mar- 
ried. 

Dr. and Mrs. \'augliau are the parents of one 
child, Charles H., who is still living at home. In 
politics the Doctor is a Pi'ohiliitionist, but was foi-m- 
erly a Democrat, and has luken soiiu^ interest in 
local politics, having held several towMslii|i offices. 
Himself and wife wen' charter membei-s of the 
Oood Teinplar.s' Lorlge established in this county. 



^^\ APT. CHARLES R. MILLER is a na- 
f|[^^ tive of Central New York, and w.as born in 
^^^^ Moravia, Ca.ynga Couulv. on the Till of June, 
18.S4. He is the sou of Aum.s and Catharine (Bart- 
lett) Miller, who were also natives of the Empire 
State. At the earl}- age of tlnee years he came 
with his parents tu Michigan, tlu' journey being 
m.ade in a lumber wagon. 

The life of our sul)ject, until he lia.l attained the 
age of nineteen, was spent on a farm ne.-ir Bridge- 
water, Saline Township, Washtenaw County, In- 
spired with an ambition to qualify himself for fu- 
ture progress in life, he labored li.-nd lo olitain an 
education, and during many of the uintei- months 
he taught school, while In summer lu' worked on a 
farm. By dint of that persistent application wliich 
formed a notable trait of his character, lu' eoin- 
pleted the course of study at the Stale .Normal 



School at Y'psilanti, and was graduated in 18.5.'). 
The same year he entered the .Sophomore Class at 
the State University, and won his iliploma with the 
class of '."iS. He lead law f,.r tlieyear folhiwing in 
the office of (lov. Felch, at Ann Arbor, and again 
returning to the University, entered the law de- 
])artmeiit, and was graduated in Ai)ril, 1860. 

In 1.S60 .Mr. Miller moved to St. .loseph. Mo., 
and opened a l.-iw olHce, but he found clitfereut work 
for a Union man among the rebels of the Missouri 
border, and returning to Michigan in the winter of 
1862, he enlisted in the 18th Michigan Infantry in 
Au-ust of that yeai-. He w.-is made Second Lieu- 
tenant, and s(,on after the regiment moved to the 
front he was i)romoted to the position of First Lien- 
tenant. He served in Kentucky with the regiment, 
being in the field some twelve months, and during 
this i)eriod he rose to the Capt.aincy of his com- 
pany. The 18th Kegiincnl w;is subsequently or- 
dered to Tennessee, and at Nashville he was de- 
tached from the regiment and put on the staff of 
the Post Clommander. later being made Assistant 
Judge Advocate on the staff of .Maj. (Jen. Rosseau. 
By special order of (ieu. (ieorge H.Thomas, Capt. 
Miller was next made .riidge Advocate of the De- 
partment Court-Martial, and while holding this po- 
sition he tried very many military cases for the 
United States. At the end of the war Capt. Mil- 
ler was mustered out, having jierformed very nearly 
three years of important and responsible military 
service. 

Upon liis )-eturn li e from thearmy, Capt. Miller 

married Miss M.'u-y I,. Bei'kcr. of Ann Arbor, who 
was born in New York State in 1 s;;.s. Soon after 
marriage, Capt. Miller settled in Adrian, and be- 
came a member of the law firm of Geddes & Mil- 
ler. That the Ca|)tain has jnospered well in his 
profession hardly needs saying, his unimiieachable 
business habits, wide i-eadlug, intuitive acumen, and 
stiird}' fidelity to his profession.al trust, naturally 
bringing their just reward. In 1868, and again in 
1870, he was elected Prosecuting Attorney for Len- 
awee County, making a splendid record during the 
two terms of his incumbency of that important of- 
liee. Since that time Capt. Miller has held no polit- 
ical elective ofHee. He never solicited public pre- 
ferment, but [neforred to devote his energies to his 



'■'\ 



■♦- 



•^^ 



•►-Ih-^ 



1004 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



private business, in wliieh he has met with great suc- 
cess. For nearly eleven years he was a member of 
the Aflrian School Board, acting as Secretary dur- 
ing that time, and the schools owe much of their 
superiority to his care and practical judgment, for 
if there is any one thing which excites his truest 
enthusiasm it is tlie cause of popular education, the 
benefits of which he himself has fully received. 

Capt. Miller was appointed by Gov. C'roswell on 
the Board of Management of the State Industrial 
Home for Girls, and was subsequently re-appointed 
by Gov. .Jerome. He was Treasurer of the board, 
and had no small share to do with the successful in- 
ception of the institution, which now stands as the 
pride of the city of Adrian, and a benefaction to 
the State. The only position now held by the Cap- 
tain is the Presidency' of the Board of Trustees of 
the First Presbyterian Ciiurch, of Adrian. He is 
no ofHce-seeker, but in whatever position his fellow- 
citizens have placed him he has been content to do 
his duty, honestly, capably, conscientiously and 
fearlessly. Not long since he was supported by the 
Lenawee County delegates for the Republican nom • 
ination for Representative in Congress ; this prefer- 
ence on the part of the delegates came from no per- 
sonal solicitation of his own, and had the choice of 
the convention fallen upon him he would have as- 
sumed the responsibility of the position, and fought 
with all the old-time soldier tenacity to bring the 
campaign to a successful outcome. He has met 
with gratifying success so far in life, and there is no 
reason why he should fail now. He is a student, a 
thinker, a man of conviction.s, coupled with the 
courage to maintain them. He is a fitting repre- 
sentative of the earnest, safe and trusty men Amer- 
ican institutions can develop from tlie humblest be- 
ginning when properly used. 

There have been born to Capt. Miller and wife 
two daughters: Mary S., an under-graduate in 
Wellesley C'ollege, neai- Boston, and .Jessie. 



^ON. CORNELIUS KNAPP is .me of the 
\\ prominent and representative citizens of 
'' Rome Township. Coming here in 1835, when 
I but a lad eleven years of age, he has watched 
rowth and development ol this township from 



its earliest days. Since attaining manhood he has 
always taken great interest in the well-being of the 
community, and has been an important factor in 
making it what it now is. He is a native of Nas- 
sau, Rensselaer Co., N. Y., and was born .June 12, 
1824. 

Reuben Knapp, the father of our subject, was 
boiii in Cherry Valley, Otsego Co., N. Y., in 1799, 
and removed to Nassau with his parents when a 
chihi. In the latter place he resided until about 
182o, when, going to Perrinton, Monroe County, 
he rented a farm and tilled it for about three years. 
In the spring of 1827 he removed to Wayne 
County, N. Y., where he purchased a farm, on 
which he lived until the fall of 1835, when he sold 
out and came to Michigan. Locating in Rome 
Township, he bought a small piece of land of some 
twenty acres, containing a log cabin, and on which 
a few improvements had been made. He then 
returned to New York State, and selling out what 
pro|)erty he had there, came back the same autumn 
with his wife and six children. Settling down on 
his place he commenced to clear the land, which 
was far from being a farm, the heav3' timber stand- 
ing thickly over most of it, and to make himself 
a home. He was a stonemason by trade, and did 
a little of that business after coming here. 

On the 22d of October, 1822, Reuben Knapp 
married Polly Marks, who vvas born Nov. 25, 1790, 
and was a daughter of Joseph and Sarah (Steinhart) 
Marks. She became the mother of six children, 
Cornelius being the second, but on the 24th of 
December, 1847, Mr. Knapp had the misfortune to 
lose ills wife. His little family requiring a mother's 
care, he again entered into the marriage state Oct. 
31, 1848, this time with Miss Harriett E. Hicks, a 
native of Nassau, N. Y., but on the 12th of August, 
1849, he was again left a widower. Again, Ma3' 
24, 1850, he entered into a matrimonial alliance for 
the third time. Miss Mariah E. Gurlej' being his 
chosen companion, and she added two sons to his 
famil3-. 

Jonathan Knapii, the grandfather of the subject 
of this sketch, was also a native of Cherrj' V.alley, 
N. Y., where he followed farming. He was a sol- 
dier in the Continental army during the Revolu- 
tionary War, and his eldest son, Isaac, participated 
. ► 



Ih-^- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1005 



ill tlie conflict with firt-nt P)iitfuii in the ^V;lr of 
1812. At an earl}- (l;iy lie reiiiov(Ml to Rensselaer 
Couiitv in the Empire State, where lie dieil at an 
advanced age. 

Cornelius Knapp made his home with his father's 
family, and wa> liroiight up to the life of a farmer 
until he had reached the ai>-e of twenty-five years, 
receiving his education in a loo -rhool-house, built 
in the primitive fashion, which stood lint a short 
distance from his father's house. .\t the age of 
nineteen years, having a natural genius for ine- 
chanies, he adopted the trade of a carpenter, working 
the first year for ^1 1 a nioiilh. and the next ((.ir 
^1 a day. This hiisiiiess he followed for some 
twelve years, when in 184',» he purchased a farm on 
section 18, in Rome Townshi)), on which he re- 
moved in 18,il, and where he has ever since m.ade 
his home. 

The subject of this sUetcli lia.^ always been a 
Republican in politics, and has taken a prominent 
part in the local councils of th.at party. Being a 
man in whose prudence and ability the community 
had confidence, in ISO,') he was elected as the mem- 
ber of the County Board of .Snpervisoi-s from the 
township of Rome, and remained in that office for 
eleven consecutive years. At the expiration of 
that time he went to California with his wife for a 
little recreation, and retnrniiii; the following year, 
was re-elected as re|)resentative on llie Board of 
Supervisors, and was retained in this office five 
years more. Growing in popularity throughout 
the country as he became better known, in ISTI he 
was elected member of the llou>eof Ke|ireseiitatives 
of the Michigan Legislature, and for two terms 
occupied a seat amid that august body. He was 
very eflicient in his duties while there, and in- 
troduced some very valuable measures. 

Hon. Cornelius lviiap|i was nniled in inariiage 
with Miss Harriet II, .Jeffery. .Inly 27, isi,s, who 
was born Dec. 3, 182G. at Sandgate, county of 
Kent, pjiighind, and is the daughter of James K. and 
Harriet (Marsh) Jeffery. Her father was born in 
the same count}' in England. .Ian, 2'.). I.so.I.mikI wm> 
the son of James and Rebecra (S.-iiidford ) .leffery, 
of that place. Mrs. Knapp's grandfather, James 
Jeffery, a fine specimen of the sturdy English 
fanning class, was born Feb. 27, 1777, and died Dec. 

-4» — 



7, 1839. Like iiis ancestors be followed the busi- 
ness of farming, and never left the county of lii> 
birth. In 17'.m; ho married Miss Rebecca Sandford, 
a daughter of ,M;irk Sandford, and she became the 
mother of thirteen children, James K., the father of 
Mrs. Kiiap|), being the fourth child and second son. 
Mrs. Reliecca Jeffery was born in Folkestone, in 
Kent, in 1 777. .■uid di<Ml there in 1843. Iia\ ing sur- 
vived her husband a little over three years. .lames 
K. Jeffery, when seven yi'ars of age, was sent to a 
boarding-school, where he remained some six years, 
ami at the age of fourteen years he was sent to 
Fr.inee. where he wm> enteivd into a school for the 
if learning tlie Krenrli language. Having 
1 gentleman farmer's son. he 
I to engage in an} labor, but 



puri 
been br(_inglit 
was never cidf 
from the time 



iitil 



time in hunting, lis 
when he concluded to come to tiie free shores of 
America. Accordingly, on the Stii of .May. l,s;{0. 
Mr. Jeffery with hiswife and three children, sailed 
from Rye in a vessel bound for the United States, 
and on the 4th of 
York C^ity. Afte 

burg, he removed to Oneida Coimt}-. N, V,. ai 
spring of 1831 leased a farm. The folh 



foll( 



d ill New 
Williaiiis- 



the spring 
year he purchased some 
morelaiid, ..n which he er. 
after three years, being nn 
he abandoned il to liipiida 
the spring of ls;;(; he c.-ini 
on IGO acres ol i.-md 



West 



his indebtedness. In 
Michigan and located 
section 7. in Rome 



Township, and afterward purchased 240 .-icres 
adjoining. He rcsideii on this property until 
1842, when he purchased ninety acres of land on 
section 8, where he built a large house and 
kept a tavern for some four years. He has made 
this place his residence ever since, and is recognized 
as being one of the leading and wealthy citi/.ciis of 
the township. 

.lames K. Jeffery and ,Miss Harriet, daughter of 
Edward and .Mary .M.-nsh, of Dover, England, were 
married on the StJi of March, 1 S2i;. and became the 
parents of eight children, as follows: Harriet IL, 
the wife of Cornelius Knapp, the subject of this 
sketch: Margaret, Mrs. Daniel O'Dell, living near 
Stockton, Cal. ; Rebecca, deceased; Eliza, Mrs. 



•►HI-4- 



4 



••►Hh 



1006 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



William Willitts, of Ingham County, Mich. ; Nancj% 
Mrs. .Jared Rider, of Ingham County; Eleanor, 
Mrs. John Hart, living at Stockton, Cal.; Edward 
J., a resident of Portland, Ore. ; and Susannah, Mrs. 
George W. Darling, of this county. 

Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius Knapp were the piuents 
of two children. One, a boy, died when but three 
months old; the other, Rebecca, was born Dee. 21, 
1848, and died March 3, 1887, leaving her husband, 
Henry H. Fei-guson. and one child, the latter a 
boy now some fifteen years of age, living with his 
father. Mr. and Mrs. Knapp are regular attendants 
of the Baptist Church, and take a leading i)art in 
the church vvork in this vicinity. 

/^; F. <fc C. C. MORSE. This firm is engaged 
(|( ^.^ in the lumber business, carrying on a saw- 
^^^ mill in Hudson Township. They are the 
sons of Charles C. and Sarah' C. (Follett) Morse, 
the father a n.ative of New York, and the mother 
of Vermont. Having been married at Bellevue, Ohio, 
Mr. Morse, the father of the subject of this sketch, 
continued a resident of that State until April, 1844, 
wiieu he came to Michigan, locating in Medina 
Township. For about a j^ear after coming here he 
engaged in farming, and then formed a co-partnei'- 
ship with John Christopher, in the shoe business in 
the village. This continued until the spring of 
1857, when the firm purchased a half interest in the 
Tiffin River Mills, and for man}' years operated 
them under the firm name of C. C. Morse & Co. 

In 1859 Messrs. Morse and Christopher, buying 
out tiie interest of Mr. Henion, took into partner- 
ship Lemuel Morse, arranging that each of the three 
would have one-third interest. In 1 860 C. C. 
Morse and .lohn Christopher |)urchased the portion 
of their partner, and operated the mills together 
until 1873, when .Mr. Christopher disposed of his 
interest t<> Chiulcs F. ami Carroll C. Moi'se, the 
present proprietors; at the same time L. J. Morse 
purchased an equal interest with his brothers from 
his father. They carried on the business together 
until August, 188(), since which time the sawmill is 
under the name of C. F. & C. C. Morse, and the 
gristmill under that of L. J. Morse. Their father. 



Charles C. Morse, died Aug. 22, 1886, at the age' of 
seventy-one years. His wife survived him but 
little over a year, dying Dec. 26, 1887, aged seyentj' 
years. They were the parents of a family of chil- 
dren as follows: Mrs. William D. Stalker, a resi- 
dent of Sacramento, Cal., and the mother of two 
children, Willie M. and Nina A. ; Addie B., Mrs. 
Consual, the mother of two sons. Charles F. and 
Fred M., who have resided with their uncle, Charles 
F. Morse, since their father's death. The elder of 
these, Charles F., is a member of the class of '91, 
in the Naval Academy of the United States, at 
Annapolis, Md., and was the successful competitor 
in a class of ten, passing a most satisfactory exam- 
ination. Hettie. the youngest sister of the subject 
of this sketch, lives at home with her brother; Nina 
married R. J. Gouldsborough, who is a commercial 
traveler, and is the parent of two children — Fay M. 
and Alice S. ; Charles F. was born Dec. 16, 1848, 
and Carroll C, April 25, 1852.. Charles F., who 
was the fifth child, passed his early days in the 
home of his parents in Medina Township. He re- 
ceived his primary education in the district schools, 
and attended Oak Grove Academy for ten years. 
He is with his brother the owner of a farm of sixty- 
six acres of land, which they manage themselves in 
connection with the mill. The houses on this place 
were constructed by the father. 

In 1876 Messrs. C. F. & C. C. Morse, thinking 
they had earned a rest, made a trip to Phil.adelphia 
to view the Centennial Exposition, and while East 
visited the city of Washington, Washington's tomb 
at Mt. Vernon, the city of New York, Niagara 
Falls, Watkins' Glen, and many other places of 
minor note. The mill is doing quite an extensive 
business, sawing about 200,000 feet of lumber 
yearly and turning out some 200,000 shitigles in 
the same time. C. F. Morse is a member of the 
Knights of Pythias and of the Patrons of Hus- 
bandry. He is, in politics, a Republican. 



ORATIO L. WILSON, a well-to-do and in- 
[| dustrious young farmer of Madison Town- 
ship, has selected his homestead not far from 
the place of his birth, which took i)lace on 
n 2i» in this township, Oct. 15, 1855. He is a 



■*^l-^ 



•►Hl-^- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1007 



descendant of one of the best old families of the 
Empire State, and his parents were Charles A. ami 
Lucy .1. (Heed) Wilson, who were niarricil in the 
East and not long afterward migrated to Miclii- 
gan, locating in Madison Township, where the 
mother died when about thirty-ttve years of age. 
Charles A. Wilson is still living and a resident of 
Madison Township. 

The four children of the parental household were 
named respectively: Horatio L., Hattie S., (ieorge 
A. and EUa. Horaticj L. spent his boyhood and 
youth mostly upon the farm, attending the district 
school during the winter season. With the excep- 
tion of three seasons m which lie was engaged in 
painting, he has followed his present vocation, and 
nothing pleases him better than to till the soil and 
watch in the growing croiis the results of his la- 
bors, lie has labored intelligently and with good 
success, and as a farmer and citizen, much is ex- 
pected of him in the future. 

Mr. Wilson made his home with his |)areMt.s until 
nearly twenty years of age and was married early 
in life, Sept. 8, 1875, to Miss Martha A., daughter 
of Alford and Catherine (Leonard) Crane, natives 
of Monroe County, N. Y., whence they emigrated 
to Michigan in 1836. At that period Lenawee 
County was thinly settled, and they made the jour- 
ney hither armed with the courage and determina- 
tion which were the chief characteristics of the men 
and women of those days. They lived to see the 
country grow up around them and took no unim- 
portant share in its progress and development. 
After long and well-spent lives they passed to their 
final rest within a few weeks of each other, the 
mother .Feb. 26, 1884, and the father March 6 
following. Their children inchuled four sous and 
two daughters, of whom Mrs. Wilson, the wife of 
our subject, was the youngest, and was born in 
Madison Township, July 'i.'J, 184!t. She became the 
mother of three sons, of wlioiii two are living: 
Charles A., who was born Feb. I-', ls;Si', .uid Fred- 
die A., Sept. 1, 18H4. Eddie L., who was l)orn Sept. 
23, 187'J. died when eight months and nineteen 
days old. 

Mr. Wilson seems to have begun life in the right 
manner, pursuing the even tenor of his way with 
excellent judgment and contributing his quota to- 



ward the maintenance of law and order and the 
other elements which constitute an intelligent and 
well-ordered community. He is quiet and unoli- 
trusive in his tastes, and finds his chief enjoyment 
around the f.arni ami within his household cii'cle. 
Lpon becoming a voter he identified himself with 
the Republican [.arty, with which he uuiformly 
casts his l)allot at general elections. 

TF^jOBERT V. HOODY is a resident of M-.renci, 
'r;i^ Seneca Township, near which he has a fine 
/Iv'Al establishment for the breeding of horses, 
^^known as the "Silver Creek Home." He 
is the son of Daniel Boody, who was a native of Ver- 
mont, while his mother. Mary Sevey, was a native 
of New Hampshire. 

The parents of our subject lirsl settled in the 
Province of Quebec, Canada, where they lived sev- 
eral years, and then removed to Rochester, N. Y., 
where they remained about four years. The father 
engaged as eontraclor on the Wabash Railroad and 
removed to Delphi, Ind., where he made his resi- 
dence about one and one-h.alf years. H,e then dis- 
posed of his interests in the railroad and returned 
to Rochester, N. Y., where he bought a farm ad- 
joining the city, on which he lived nbout eight 3'ears. 
He then went to Allegany C<iunfy, N. Y., where he 
bought a line stock farm of 400 acres, and after- 
ward bought an interest in plund)ago and iiou 
mines in Upper C'anada,, which interot he held 
about four years, lie came to Coldw.-iter. Mich.. 
about 1872. where he resided until liis death, which 
occurred Oct. 2."), 1876. 4'lie p.-irental f.-imily of 
our subject included four eliiidien. two sons and 
two daughters, of whom Roliert 1'. was tlie eldest. 

Robert P. Boody was boni in Orleans Conuty, 
Vt., near the Canadian line. Oct. 17, !«;;[, and was 
educated in the common schools. He was prepared 
for entering college, but was prevented from carry- 
ing out his cherished wish by ill-heidth, and engaged 
in civil engineering on ;i r.-iilroad. vvliicli lie followed 
three years „n the New York Ceiil,r.-il .V- Wabash 
Railroad. He owned a part of the 400 acres his 
father had purchased in Allegany County, N. Y., 
and having a great desire to engage in fine stock 



■•►HK 



1008 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



raising, he began by raising sheep, and invested 
large sums of money in that particular line of stock. 
From Allegany County he removed to Chesterfield 
Township, Fulton Co., Ohio. After leaving the 
railroad employ lie was engaged in the nursery 
business at Rochester, N. Y, for the firm of Nelson 
& Barker. The}' had a branch of the business at 
New Allian}', Ind., of which Mr. Boody was acting 
as general manager and book-keeper; this was prior 
to his farming operations in Allegany County. 

After severing his connection with Nelson & Bar- 
ker our subject purchased a farm of 320 acres in 
Fulton County, Ohio, in company with his brother- 
in-law, D. A. Collins, where they engaged in rais- 
ing Short-horn cattle, Poland-China hogs and Me- 
rino sheep. Mr. Boody bought out the entire in- 
terest after two years, and since that time has car- 
ried on the business on his own account. He re- 
sided on that farm, which he still owns, seventeen 
years, and in April, lS8o, he came to Morenci, 
where he bought a residence and has since liviul. 
His sales of high-grade stock are quite extensive, 
and he owned the first recorded Short-horn in Ful- 
ton County, Ohio, paying $500 for the heifer. He 
became quite famous as a breeder of fine stock, 
but has since given up everything except the breed- 
ing of Percheron horses and roadsters, to which he 
devotes all his attention. In the spring of 1 88.5, in 
partnership with B. H. Anderson, lie pui'chased two 
horses, for which they paid the sum of 15.000. Mr. 
Bood}'^ also purchased a tract of land in Seneca 
Township of twenty and one-half acres, on which 
he has erected his fine breeding establishment. 

On his farm Mr. Boody has about thirty head of 
valuable horses, breeding and rearing draft and 
carriage horses being his main business. He has 
acted as judge of stock at exhibitions in different 
States and Territories, and is a gentleman thoroughly' 
conversant with his business. Mr. Boody has 
recently purchased the entire interest of his part- 
ner and is carrying on the business alone. 

Our subject was in.irried in Chautauqua County, 
N. Y., Dec. 19, 1858, to Miss Emily M., daughter 
of Adnah B. and Asenath M. (Chadler) Kinsman, 
natives of New England. The parents settled in 
Chautauqua County, N. Y., where they still reside, 
and became the parents of eight children, four 



sons and four daughters, of whom Mrs. Boody is 
the eldest. She was born in Vermont, March 4, 
1836, where she was reared and received a liberal 
education, and was successfully engaged as a teacher 
prior to her marriage. Mr. Boody has been Presi- 
dent of the Morenci Agricultural Societ}' for several 
years, and prior to this was President of the Agri- 
cultural .Society in Fulton County, Ohio, two years. 
He was also President of the Tri-State Thorough- 
bred Stock-Breeders' Association of Fulton Countj', 
Oliio, three years. 

Mr. and Mrs. Boody aie members of the Congre- 
gational Church and Mr. B. has been Superintend- 
ent of the Sunday-school for a long term of years. 
He is a member of the Morenci Lodge No. 73, 1. O. 
O. F., and is also a member of the society of Good 
Templars. He is a strong temperance advocate 
and backs up his principles b}' his practice. Mr. 
and Mrs. B. are also members of the Patrons of Hus- 
bandry. Since seventeen years of age Mr. Boody 
has been a leader of some choir, and is at present 
leader of one of the largest chorus choirs in this 
section of the country. 



■^'^^^ 



OHN S. JOHNSON came to this county with 
his parents in 1844, when a lad ten years of 
age, and assisted his father in the opening 
up of the new farm in Medina Township, of 
which he has since been a resident and where he 
now owns a valuable property of 1 60 acres, pleas- 
antly located on section 16. He is of a good 
family, and from a very small capital has accumu- 
lated a comfortable home and laid by a snug sum 
for a rainy daj-. He ranks among the representa- 
tive men and thrifty farmers along the southern 
line of Lenawee County. 

The parents of our subject, Z. K. and Caty 
(Schuyler) Johnson, were natives respectively of 
Yates County, N. Y., and Roxbury Township, 
Morris Co., N. J., the father born Oct. 18, 1801, 
and the mother, Aug. 11, 1802. The Schuyler 
family removed from New Jersey to New York 
when Caty was a child four years of age, locating 



-•► 



•»-¥- 



<^ 



u 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



lOOii 



p 



at Seneca Lake. Seneca County, wIrtc Ihcy n'sidcil 
twenty-five years. She then removed with her 
parents to Allegany County, where she resided 
until LS44; she is still livinsi at the old homo- 
stead, heing now eighty-six yc-ns (.lil. Mrs. 
Caty Johnson has lieeu a lady of i;reat eiieigy 
and industry, having inherited these qualities t'loni 
a long line of excellent ,'l,ncestr3^ She is a descen<l- 
ant of Col. Schuyler of Revohitiouary fame, and 
possesses a reraarkal)le menidiy. hein^ aMi' t<> recall 
many incidents of that [tcriod, a.s llu'\ were related 
to her by the brave spirits who fought for their 
independence. Grandfather Schuyler settled in 
the Empire State and his fatiier latpr took up his 
residence in Waterloo, where he spent his last years. 

The father of our sulijeet came to this county 
in 1844 and took up a tract of school land, which 
he at once began to build upon and imi)rii\e. .Idhn 
S. completed his studies in the district school, and 
continued with his fathei- until the .".id of Novem- 
ber, 1S.')7, when he was married to Miss .lane Ann, 
daughter of Capt. .lames I^ocknian, formerly of 
Stateii Island. Mr. L. vi'as a ship-builder by trade, 
and in his P^astern home also followed coasting and 
oyster gathering, in which he was commaiuh-r of an 
oyster vessel; he also opei-aliMl a fen-y and was a 
pilot of great skill. Mr. .lohnson met his wife first 
in Medina Township, and they were married at 
Tompkinsville, N. Y. Their only child, a daughter, 
Carrie, was b(n-n May 22, IS,",?, and .lied May ■_'. 
18G1 : the mother passed away on the ,sth of .Inne 
following. 

Jlr. .lohnson was married a second time, to Miss 
ICnuna .lane Biadish, of Medina. Mrs. Emma .T. 
.Johnson was born in Macedon, Wayne Co., N. V., 
March 22, 183."), and is the daughter of William 
F. and Rebecca (Warren) Bradish; by her luiion 
with our subject she became the mother of six 
children, namely: McLelland, who died in infancy; 
R. M.. who died when two and a half years old; 
Albina, Nellie, Lena and Lettie; the remaining 
children are all at home. Mr. .Johnson has no 
political aspirations, preferring to give his attention 
to his farm and business affairs. He casts his vote, 
however, at the general elections, and sides with 
the party whose views are most in accordance with 
his principles. 



T^LIAS HROWER. son of the well-known pio- 
jlU] neer. Archibald Rrower, who settled in Sen- 
■iL^ eca Township in 1833, when starting out in 
life for himself engaged in the milling business, 

out, anil purchaseil the farm on section 11, which 
he has since occupied, ;ind transformed into a valu- 
alilc and desiialile homestead. He is a man of 
good business capacities and intelligence, interested 
in the [H'cigress and welfare of the ))eo|jle aronml 
him, Democratic in politics, and accounted anion.u 
the reliable men of I^enawee Comity. 

Archib.ald Brovver, the father of our snliject, was 



born in Dutchess C( 

He left his native Sta 



ity, N. v., V 



Senei 



Township; his daughter, .Mrs. Alma Willett. was 
the first white child born here. He mairicd .Mi-.s 
.Julia A. Millett, of Fairfield Township, who was 
credited with being the lirst white woman who sd 
foot in Seneca Townslii|). They became the pai- 
ents of six children, namely: Alma, Elias, Willi:un, 
Sarah Ann, Alfred and John. Of these all are now 
living, and reside, one in Missouri, one in Jowa, and 
the others in Michigan. 

The subject of this notice was horn .Marcli ;;i. 
1837, in Seneca Township, and as soon as old 
enough his services were utilized on the new farm, 
where he a.ssisted in choppiny down trees, clearing 
the ground from stumps, and preparing the soil for 
cultivation. His education was extremely limited, 
school-houses being few and difficult of access.. His 
father had put up a saw and grist mill on a farm, 
which Elias took charge of at the age of twenty- 
seven, and in wliich he subsequently purchased a 
one-third interest. One other important event of 
his life was his marriage with Miss Sarah .(. Kiner, 
which took place in Senec;i, at the home of the Inide, 
Feb. to, 1863. 

Mrs. Brovver is the daughter of Conrad and 
Elizabeth (Stumbaugh) Kiner, natives of Pennsyl- 
vania, who removed to Ohio, and from there to 
this county, in 1 848. They purchased eighty acres of 
land, wdiich Mr. Kiner imi)roved into a good farm, 
where both parents spent the last years of their 
lives. They were the parents of ten children, and 
their daughter, Sarah J., w.as born at Columbus, 
1 •^ 



a 



<^ 



1010 



-•► 



i^. 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Ohio, on the 3d of September, 1847. She received 
a common-school education, and became the wife 
of onr subject when eighteen years of age. Tiiis 
union resulted in the birth of eight children, who 
are recorded as follows: Henrj^ is the engineer of 
the Weston Mills, and resides .it Weston; he mar- 
ried Miss Mina Van Sickle, and they have one 
child, a son, Ray Henry. Frank attends school at 
Weston; Olive has cliarge of the homestead, and 
the other children were named respectively, Burt; 
Rosa, deceased ; Louisa, Clarence E. and Lawrence. 
Mr. Brower, with his wife and three children, be- 
longs to Fruit Ridge Grange, of which he has been 
Treasurer three years, while his son Frank is Stew- 
ard in this order. Mr. B. meddles very little with 
political matters, but usually votes for the Demo- 
cratic candidate. 

^-^ ^ 



^\- 



,* IV'ILLL4.M D. JAMES is pursuing the even 
\/iJ// tenor of his way in a comfortable manner 
W^ on a farm of 110 acres, occupying the 
southeast portion of section 8, Medina Township. 
He is an emanation of the Empire State, and tiie 
son of Alonzo L. and Minerva (Titus) James, who 
were also born in New York State, where the 
father was known as one of the most popular hotel- 
keepers in Orleans County. 

William D. James was the fourtli in a family of 
five children, and was born Feb. 2, 183(;. He came 
to this State with his brother Norman B.. in the 
fall of 18.53, and located first in Hudson Township, 
where he was married on the 3d of April, 18.o9, 
and thereafter worked on the farm of his father-in- 
law for six years. His first purchase of land was made 
in this township, but he only held it a few days 
and soon afterward purcliased his presfent farm. 
He had intended to go into tlie hotel business in 
partnership with his brother Norman, but the owner 
of the property changed his mind and decided not 
to sell. Mr. J. was for a time employed in a spoke 
factory, but after securing his land, turned his 
attention to its improvement and cultivation, and 
has since given to it his undivided attention. 

The wife of onr subject was formerly Miss Harriet I 
D., daughter of Stephen and F^reelove (Terpening) I 



Perkins, natives of Cayuga County, N. Y. They 
came to Michigan in the fall of 1831, arriving in 
Lenawee County on the 4th day of November. 
The face of the country was then mostly covered 
witli timber, and Mr. Perkins securing a tract of 
land, Cdnunenoed the establishment of a home, and 
thereafter dealt considerably in real estate, bujing 
and selling several farms. He died at his home- 
stead in Hudson Townshij) in 1874, while the 
mother is still living, ami is now eighty-seven 
years of age. Their family included ten children, 
as follows: John was born Nov. 4, 1820; Samuel 
C, Feb. 5, 1823; Moses, Feb. 2, 1825; Nelson, 
April 1, 1827; Franklin, June 8, 1829; Lewis, May 
7, 1831; Susan M., Aug. 20, 1835: Cynthia M., 
Oct. 4, 1837; Harriet D., Nov. 17, 1839; Stephen 
Harrison, March 24, 1842. Stephen Perkins was 
born June 26, 1797, and married Freelove Terpen- 
ing Dec. 23, 1819. 

To Mr. and Mrs. James there have been born 
foui' ciiildren. Their eldest, Frederick P., is a pro- 
fessional dentist, and a resident of Sleepy Eye, 
Minn ; Minerva L. is married and a resident of 
Medina Township, where her husband, Charles 
Sutton, is engaged in farming; William D. is 
attending the dental school at Minneapolis, Minn., 
and Frank S. remains on the farm during his 
vacations and is pursuing his studies in the Faj'ette 
Normal School and Musical College. The boys 
and girls comprising the family of Alonzo L. and 
Minerva James were named respectively, Fidelia, 
Norman B., Sarah E., William D. and Oscar F. 
Fidelia became the wife of John L. Hoy t," who died 
in Hudson Township, April 23, 1884. Norman B. 
married for his first wife Miss Mary Moshler, who 
died, and he was then married to Miss May Titus; 
he is carrying on the produce business in Hudson. 
Sarah, the wife of Stephen Connor, died in Big 
Rapids, Mich., in August, 1885, while Oscar F. 
married Miss Dora Baker, and resides in Dakota 
Tcrritjry. 

ELWIN M. CAMBURN. The tlirift and in- 
dustry of this gentleman are fully apparent 
in the valuable and productive farm which 
he has built up during a period of seventeen years, 
and where he has been industriously engaged as 



f 



-^^ 



*^fr^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



general fnniier and stock-raiser. The property lies 
on section 4, in Macon Tovvnship, and includes 
eighty acres, the greater part of wiiich has been 
utilized to the gi'eatest advanta<ie, and yields 
generously the liest products of SiMithern Michi- 

Our subject is a native of Macon 'I'ownship, and 
was born at his father's old homestead on section 
4, Jan. 2.5, 184i1. The Latter, John ('anjl)urn, was 
a, native of Barnegat, N. .1., wIicmcc he came when 
a youth of sixteen years with his father, Hebron 
C'aniburn, to this county, and {(jcated on section 4, 
Macon Township, at a time when the settlers were 
few and far between, and the year before Michigan 
had become a State. Hebron ('ainl)iirn. the 
paternal grandfather of our suljject, was married in 
New Jersey to Miss Lavina Boyer, who accom- 
panied him to the West, and they labored together 
in building up a homestead from which they p.assed 
away when ripe in years. Tiieir son .John remained 
under the parental roof initil reaching manhood, 
and then married Miss Elizabeth ftlorgan, win) was 
born in New York State and came with her father, 
Cliarles Morgan, to Michigan vviien a child nine 
years of age. She is still living and makes her 
home with her son, our subject, being now sixty- 
three years old. John Caml)urn died at the home- 
stead in 1872, aged fifty-one years. He was an in- 
dustrious and capable man and in politics a >oIid 
Republican. 

The boyhood and youth of our- sidiject were 
spent after the manner of most farmers' sons, .assist- 
ing in the labors around the homestead, and 
receiving his education in the district schools. 
Upon reaching manhood lie was married, on the 4th 
of March, 1878, to Miss Mira Smith, who was born 
in Lacon Township, May 24, 1850. She is a lady 
of good education, a graduate of Raisin Valley 
Seminary, and followed the profession of a teacher 
some years before her marriage. Mr. .and ."\Irs. 
Camlinrn have two children — Bessie, who was 
born Jan. 25, 1880, and Ernest, Maicii 24, 1S84. 

The wife of our subject is the daughter of Rev. 
Herman C. and Mary (Pennington) Snuth, who 
came to this county earty in life, and the father a 
few years later was ordained a minister of the 
Free-Will Baptist Church. His career, however, 



was cut short in middle life by the dread disease, 
consumption, of whii'h he <lied in JNUnnesota where 
he had gone for his healtli. March 15, 1855. Mrs. 
Smith is still living, making her home with her son 
Isaac, in .Macon Townsjiip. mid Is al>oiit sixty-one 
years ..f age. 

Though but a yoiitli, .Mr. Camburn responded to 
his country's call in her hour of peril, and enlisted 
as a member of Company 1), Uth Michigan In- 
fantry, in which he did good service. Mr. Camlnirn 
usually votes the Uepiiblicaii ticket, although 
reserving the right of a free American citizen to 
support the man whom he lliliiks best qiialihed for 
otflce, irrespective uf parly. 



EWiS (lOODWIN. Of those wh,, M-ltled in 
of .Michigan when it wa> yet a wil- 
?rness is the subject of this sketch, who 
came to Lenawee County when its forests were inhab- 
ited by wild animals of all kinds, and game, includ- 
ing deer and turkeys, was so plentiful that the .set- 
tler could stand in the door of his cabin and with 
his trusty ritlc bring down his iiiek of the Ib.ck <;r 

herd. Mr. (; Iwiii hud faith in the future of 

Michigan, and although the means of transportation 
were of the most primitive kind, which included 
journej's on foot, he traveled from the East where 
he vvas born, undaiinted. U> the spot where, with his 
own hand, he made :i home for himself and his. 

Mr. Goodwin vvas born in Oxford Count}-, Me., 
on the 15th of August, 1808, while his father, John 
(ioodwin, vvas born in Mrginia, and when fifteen 
years of age enlisted in the Continental army and 
served three years in the Revolutionary War. He 
then followed the sea until he was thirty-five years 
of age, when he married and .settled in Maine, buy- 
ing lan<1 in Turner, and there spent the remainder 
of his life. The m.-iternal grandfather of Lewis 
Goodwin wa> Stephen Veatten, who was a native of 
England and settled in Maine, where he s]jent the 
remainder of his life in Minot. 

Lewis (ioodwin was in his tifth year when his 
mother died and after that he lived with his uncle, 
Stephen Yeatten, in the town of Minot, until he was 
fifteen years of age. For one year thereafter he 



•►-II 



1 



<^ 



1012 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



•► 



engaged at work bj- the month in a blacksmith's 
shop, and then in a sawmill. In 183.T he went from 
Maine to New York State, going from his home to 
Boston in a stage, from Boston to Providence by 
railroad, and from Providence to New York lij- 
steamer; then by Ilndson River and the Erie Canal 
to Buffalo, where he worked for a few moiiths. 
From that city he went to Silver Creek, where he 
remained until February, 18.S7. In that year he 
concluded to come to Michigan, and accomplished 
the journey by crossing the lake to Detroit, and 
then traveling on foot to Clinton, Lenawee County. 
At that time he was a single man, and worked at 
clearing land at $18 per month. He continued to 
work by the day and month, saving his earnings, 
and in 1850 bought forty acres of land in Og- 
den Township, of which he cleared a portion but 
did not settle upon it. In 1856 he bought the place 
where he now resides, which consists of 100 acres 
of land, more than half of which is improved, and on 
which he has erected good and comfortable buildings. 

In IS.iO Mr. Goodwin was married to Miss 
Rachel Allen, and there were born to them the fol- 
lowing-named children: George, May 4, 18ol; 
Orra, Nov. 26, 18.54; Melissa, Aug. 16, 1857; Wal- 
lace, .June 23, 1860; Elizabeth, June 17, 1863; Ida, 
April 20, 1865, and John, June 20. 1 i:<^i\H. Wallace, 
Ida and John are deceased. 

While the beginning of his lite in Michigan was 
under the most unauspicious circumstances possible, 
it has proved all right in the end, for Mr. Goodwin 
has now a good farm and is surrounded in his old 
age with all the comforts of life in the midst of a 
community of intelligent people, all of whom are 
much attached to each other. Mr. Goodwin has lived 
to see the State of which he was one of the first set- 
tlers occupy a leading position among the States 
of the Union for commercial importance, the intel- 
ligence and morality of its people, and the develop- 
ment of its natural resources. 

'■■^!»-^»!^^^*^;^. '^i.f- 

i^NSEL P. CODDINGTON, a native of the 
WEM Empire State, came to this section of 

//rit country when a young child, with his par- 
(^ ents, Alvah and Barbara (Swick) Codding- 

tou, who first settled near the timber of Washtenaw 



I County, whence they removed ayear later to Bath 
Township, Clinton County, when their nearest neigh- 
bor was three miles away. The f.ather improved a 
farm from the wilderness, and then becoming home- 
sick for his old haunts in Tompkins County, N. Y., 
repaired thither, where he spent a few years and then 
returned to Michigan and died at the home of his sou, 
our subject, on the 18th of June, 1882, when in the 
seventy-fourth year of his age. The mother died 
a few years before her husband, March 13, 1876, in 
Tompkins County, N. Y. The parental household 

I included two daughters and one son, of whom 
Ansel P. was the youngest, and was born Oct. 19, 

I 1835. 

i Our subject passed his boyhood days at the prim- 
itive homestead of his parents in Clinton County, 

I receiving the rudiments of an education .it the dis- 

I trict school, after which he completed his studies 

t at Stearkey Seminary, Yates County, N. Y. The 
second year after ihe outbreak of the Rebellion he 
enlisted, Aug. 4, 1862. in Company G, 109th New 

' York Infantry, which was .assigned to the Armj' of 
the Potom.ac, but subsequent!}' our subject was 
detailed to the Commissary Department as a clerk, 
in which capacity he served until he was promoted 
Second Lieutenant. A few months later he was 
given the r.ank of First Lieutenant, and again 
becoming connected with the Commissary Depart- 
ment, acceptably filled the position of Acting- 
Assistant Commissary on the staff of Gen. Meade 
for several months. In the changes which were 
subsequently brought about, he was placed first in 
charge of Patrick Station and afterward assigned to 
Humphrey Station, which he continued to hold 
with his men until the fall of Richmond. 

Lieut. Coddington, after this event, was placed 
in charge of the commissar}' trains passing over 
the South Side road, running from Petersburg to 
Burksville, and near the point which was afterward 
made memorable by the surrender of Gen. Lee. 
He continued with the troops until they were mus- 

''• tered out, and received his honorable discharge near 
Georgetown, D. C, in June, 1865. 

Mr. Coddington, upon retii-ing from army life, 
made his way to his old home in Tompkins County, 



I N. Y., and engaged in the fire and life insurance 
I business, which he conducted successfully until his 




^^c<, y^J' 



'^^^IXyf 



t 

Hi-*- 



-•►Hh-4* 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1015 



return tu Micbigan, iiliotit 1877. N(it loiiir after- 
ward lie purchased his jjresent farm on section 28, 
in Tecumseh Township, fonii)rising 112 acres of 
valuable land in n high stale of cultivation. Among 
the attractive features of the bonic^tcad arc the 
handsome residence and its sin icuniduigs, which, 
with the substantial barns and out-)juildings, in- 
dicate in a forcible manner the- thrift and indus- 
try of the proprietor. The farm lies adjacent to 
the village of Tccunisch, convcMieiit to sc'bool, 
church and market, and is looked upon as a 
most desirable piece of property. It is well stocked 
with the best grades of cattle, horses and Shi'op- 
shire sheep, Mr. Coddington being especially suc- 
cessful in the latter industry. 

Our subject was first married in Seneca County, 
N. Y., to Miss Mary M. Kelly, who was born in 
that county, and by her marriage with Mr. Cod- 
dington became the mother of five children, named 
respectively: Alvah .1., Anna C, Sarah L., Barliara 
E. and Edgar A., and ail still at home. Mrs. M.ary 
M. Coddington departed this life at her home in 
Tompkins County, N. Y., in 1877. Mr. Codding- 
ton was married to his |)resent wife, formerly Miss 
Fanny Teeter, in Octobei-, 1877. Mrs. Fanny 
Coddington was born in Tonijikins County, N. Y., 
Jan. 12, 1840, and is tiie daughter of John and 
Mary Teetei', natives of the same Slate, where also 
their decease occurred. 

Mr. Coddington, politically, votes the Democratic 
ticket, and religiously is identified with the Baptist 
Church in which be is a Deacon, and has been Trus- 
tee and Secretary of the board for the last eight 
years. 



<3=^=^<i 



E>- 



Ibei 



MicI 



.►-^h 



EZRA AMES is hebl in h 
sped as an early |)ionecr 
igan. He is now living in retirement in his 
pleasant home in the town of Ihidson. lie is con- 
sidered an auliiorilj' on the early history of this 
part of the country, and can give much interesting 
and valuable information conceriung the settlement 
of the various towns in this i-egion, and of the pio- 
neers and their mode of life. When he first visited 
Michigan, and located in what is now Pittsford, 



Hillsdale County. Adrian, then a small village, was 
the nearest settlement, and the surrounding country 
was for many miles nothing but a dense wilderness, 
given over to wild beasts, such as bears, wolves and 
deer; and all the I.'hkI, with the exception of the 
few tracts taken up by the early settlers, w.as Gov- 
ernment land, and for sale at |1.2,o per acre. 

Mr. Ames is a native of the old commonwealth 
of Massachusetts, and was born in Petersham, Wor- 
cester County, Nov. 150, 181.'i. His |)arents were 
Peter and Sarah (Clark) Ames (see sketch of C. H. 
Ames for parental history). In early life he was 
left an orphan, his mother dying when he was but 
six months old, and his father's death occurring 
two years later. Thus early deprived of the care 
of father and mother he was taken to live with an 
uncle in Petersham, and made his home with him 
until he was fourteen years old. This i-elative was 
very exacting, and the few years spent with him 
were filled with toil. lie was not allowed to en- 
gage in boyish spoi-ts, aii<l his education was en- 
tirely neglected as he was not permitted to go to 
school. From his uncle's he went to the home of 
an elder brother in Francestown,N. H., from whom 
he received kinder treatment, and received some 
educational a<lvantages, while during vacations he 
assisted his brother on the farm and in the sawmill. 

On the Gth of .September, 183.3, Ezra Ames com- 
menced a memorable journey to Michigan, to look 
up land for pre-emption, ;incl going l)y stage coach 
to Troy, N. Y., there i'niliarke<l on the canal for 
Buffalo, and thence went to Detroit by steamer. 
The latter city was then a small place, giving no 
indication of its present size and importance. At 
Rociiester, N. Y., he had been joined by his broth- 
ers, and they accompanied him to Michigan. They 
bought a yoke of oxen and a wagon, and came 
from Detroit to what is now Pittsford, Hillsdale 
County, where the brothers located. Our subject 
took up his residence with one of them, ami worked 
for him a year; and tlien with the money he li.ad 
earned, and ^50 which he had when he came here, 
he entered 1 20 acres of Government land. In the 
fall of 1834 he returned to New Hampshire, and 
resided with his brother, Clark Ames, until the year 
1838, when he returned to this State, and rented 
the Kidder sawmill, and continued to man.age it for 



1016 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



two years. In 1842 he came to Hudson, and com- 
menced to operate a hotel, and in that year he built 
the first two-story frame house ever erected in this 
town. In 18.39 Mr. Ames was desirous of attend- 
ing a Fourth of Jul}^ celebration in Deti-oit, and, ns 
there was no other means of travel at his command, 
he and his brother set out on foot, making tlit- 
journey in three days. 

In 1 843 Mr. Ames gave up the hotel business^ 
and opened a shoeshop, and did custom worl\, 
building up quite a trade, and employing at times 
seven or eight men. He continued in that business 
a number of years, and made considerable money; 
in connection with this he oj^erated a dry-goods 
store for about two years. He then settled on the 
land he had taken up from the Government in 
1834, and became actively engaged in farming, 
making many improvements on his farm, and .so in- 
creasing its value that in 1883, when he decided to 
retire from active life, he was enabled to sell it at a 
high figure. He then came to Hudson and bouglit 
the place where he now resides. It is very finely 
located within the city limits, and comprises five 
acres of land on which he has a commodious, com- 
fortable dwelling and other dwellings. This pros- 
perity has not been attained without hard work on 
the part of our subject, who is a self-made man. 
His labors have been directed bj' sound common 
sense and wise management, which, coupled with 
the assistance of his wife, have been the sole factors 
in making his life a successful one. 

Mr. Ames was first married, Sept. 7, 1839, to 
Susan Lewis, who was born in Franeestown, N. II., 
April 10, 1815. She became the motlier of three 
children, of whom one is now living, and died Dec. 
31, 1847; her surviving son, George F., resides in 
Sheridan, Montcalm Co., Mich. The second mar- 
riage of our subject occurred Aug. 30, 1849, with 
Miss Lucy Moon, who was born in Niagara May 27, 
1822. One child has been born of their union, 
Charles R., who now resides in Buffalo, N. Y. BIr. 
Ames met with a great affliction in the death of 
his wife, which occurred on the 20th of August, 
1 887. She was a consistent Christian, liaving been 
a member <if the Baptist Churcii since the year 
18.50. 

Mr. Ames was in early life a Whig, but he be- 
■^ _ ^ 1 



came a member of the Republican party as soon 
as it was organized, and from that day to this has 
stood firmly by it, advocating its measures when 
occasion has offered. He has been a constant sub- 
scriber to its great organ, the New York Tribune, 
since 1845, and during the forty-three years that 
have since elapsed, has faithfully perused its col- 
unnis, gleaming therefrom much that has profited 
him in his agricultural ])ursuits. and also keeping 
well informed of the progress of events in the 
outside world. Mr. Ames is held in the highest 
trust and confidence by his fellow'-citizens on ac- 
count of his unswerving integrit}' of character. He 
was Justice of the Peace for Hudson Township for 
twelve years, and tried many cases during that 
time, and of the number appealed not a decision 
of his was ever reversed. 

As a representative pioneer citizen of Lenawee 
County, and one who has ''borne the burden and 
the heat of the day," we have pleasure in pre- 
senting a portrait of Mr. Ames in connection witli 
tliis biograpliieal notice. 

TKPHEN C. LOMBARD. The stock-rais- 
ing interests of RoUiu Townsliip are well 
represented by this gentleman at his fine 
farm on section 4, and to tliis department 
of agriculture he has given the study and the labor 
of years with excellent results. It is generally con- 
ceded that he has one of the finest estates in the 
western part of Lenawee County, the land being 
thoroughly cultivated and supplied with a hand- 
some and substantial set of buildings. Mr. Lom- 
bard has taken great pains in the embellishment of 
his homestead, and ranks among the representative 
men whose forefathers migrated froin New En- 
gkind in the e.arly days, and the traces of whose 
footprints exist all the w.ay from the Atlantic 
Coast to the Mississippi. 

Our subject was born in Ontario County, N. Y., 
Nov. 25, 1829, and is the son of Lewis Lombard, a 
native of New Hampshire, and born in 1798. The 
latter accompanied his parents to the Empire State 
when a lad twelve years of age, and remained a 
resident there until 1 859. He then cast his lot with 
•>- 



-4^ 



» ■ ■4* 



r.?]NAWEP] COUNTY. 



1017 



.. 1ml iu- did not 
?;ith occurring' six 
ill sixty-one years 
■lit of Nfw Yorlv 
, a native of Clie- 
le tlie parents of 
ircliving, namely: 
Mlward R.. a resi- 
lic paternal t;rand- 
in the Revolution- | 
raiidfatlior served ! 
, and spent some j 
ated in the French , 
pd at (iuadaliipe, I 
lie Soiitiiwest and i 
i 



the pioneers of Soiitliiau .Michi; 
acres of land in Rollin Tounsh 
live to carry out liis plans, iiis i 
inonths after his arrival here, wl 
old. lie married, while a ic-i( 
State, Miss Philura t'liecsliruiin 
iiango County, and they lieca 
three children, of whom only twc 
Stephen C, of this sUetdi, and 
dent of Eaton County. Mii'h. 
father of oursuhjcct wasa .Majo 
ary W.ar, while the maternal 
also as a private in that striiggi 
years as a sailor. He also partici 
and Indian War, and w.as captu 
Mex., after he had migrated U, 
enlisted as a soldier. 

Mr. Lombard remained urn hi 
until reaching his twenty-ninth year, in the mean- I 
time learning the tr.ade of .a lilack>mith. hut mostly : 
following farm pursuits, lie prece<lc(| his father to 

oil 

this count\', purchasing the land which he now oc- 
cupies, and where he ha.s given his best years of 
labor in building up a hoinestead. He was mar- { 
ried, Oct. -'l, 1858, to a lady of his own county iri 
New York, Miss Mary A., daughter of Silas and 
llannaii (Snedeker) Richardson, who was born 
March 20, 1835. The parents of Mrs. L. were na- 
tives of New York, and the mother <lie(l at the 
homestead in Ontarifi t'ouiity, that State, when flir- 
ty' -nine years of age. The father is still living, and 
occupies the land which his father took up from the 
Oovernment when first coming here in 1802; he is 
in his eighty-fourth year, and is still hale and hearty. 
The grandfather of Mrs. Lombard and one of her 
uncles sei'ved in the Revobiticmaiy War. The pa- 
rental household included two children. Her 
brother served in the Rebellion, and after the war 
remained in Virginia, where he died in 1872. 

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Lombard are re- I 
corded as follows: Charles was born in Rollin Town- i 
ship, Dec. 5, 1859, and died Nov. U, 180^; Harry 
was born April 18, 18G2. married Miss Katie A. 
Jenkins, and is farming in Rollin Township; his wife 
is a native of Michigan, and w;is liorn Aug. 25, j 
1860. Albert G. wa>liorii Sept. 24, 1SG4, and mar- 
ried Miss Florence, daughter of .bihn and Frances , 



Rogers, of AVoodstock Township; he is proprietor 
of a good farm adjacent to his. father's homestead. 
Edward A. was liorn Oct. 14, 1866, and continues 
at home with hi.s parents; E. Grace w,as born Jan. 
19, 1869, and is teaching in Addison. Thechildren 
have all received a good education, and are well 
fitted for their future station in life as the offspring 
of a representative citizen of the county. 

Mr. Lombard makes a specialty of sheep-raising, 
having some line speciiiiciis of Aniericaii Merino reg- 
istered ill the herd-hook of .Michigan and Vermont, 
and takes the lead in this industry in this county. 
He has expended hundreds of dollars, and in 1877 
sent to Vermont, selecting quite a number from one 
of the finest tlocks in Middlebury, Addison County, 
that State; his son Ibiriy is also dealing in the same 
class of .stock. 

Mr. Lombard put up his present handsome dwell- 
ing in 1876, and has gradually added all the out- 
buildings required for the successful prosecution of 
his various farm interests. Politically he votes the 
Republican ticket, and has filled the minor offices of 
his township, besides serving as Justice of the Peace 
for a number of years. .Socially, he belongs to 
Lodge No. 157, A. F. ct A. M., at Addison. Mr. L. 
has living with him two of his father's brothers, 
Harry T. and Samuel H., aged eighty-four and 
eighty years, respectively. 

As illustrative of the homesteads of Lenawee 
County, so commoilious and tasteful, in contrast 
with the log cabin of the pioneer settler, we are 
pleased to firesent on another [lagc of this Ai.bu.m 
a view of Mr. Loinb.ard's residence with its environ- 
ments. 



EN J AM IN REASON ER, of Medina Town- 
ship, over whose head the snows of eighty 
'■D)J|] winters have passed, still maintains his resi- 
lence uiion the quaiter •section of land 
which he took up over fifty years ago. His farm 
entire comprises 850 acres of land with substantial 
improvements, and the soil brought to a high state 
of cultivation. As one of the pioneers of Lenawee 
County, Grandfather Rea.soner is held in peculiar 
respect, which feeling has been greatly augmented 
by his excellent qualities as a man and a citizen. 



■*► 



1018 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



-t 



He is HOW practieallj- retired from active labor, and 
.surrounded by hosts of friends, and all the other 
comforts of life, is spending- his declining days in 
the ease to which he is so amply entitled. 

Mr. Reasoner, a native of Dutchess County, N. 
Y., was born Oct. 15, 1807, and is the son of Jacob 
and Hannah (Acker) Reasoner, also natives of tiie 
Empire .State, the father of Dutchess County, and 
the mother of Schoharie County. The parents con- 
tinued in their native State after their marriage un- 
til the death of the mother in 1843. The household 
included fourteen children, six sons and eight daugh- 
ters, of whom Benjamin was the seventh. After 
the death of his wife, Jacob Reasoner made his home 
with his children, and died at the home of the sub- 
ject of this sketch in Medina Township. Benjamin 
and his brother Bradley B., are the only two surviv- 
ing members of the family, and the latter is now a 
resident of Mills County, Iowa. 

Mr. Reasoner spent his boyhood and j'outh on 
the farm of his father in Schoharie County, N. Y., 
where he received a limited education, but was 
trained to habits of industry and economy and be- 
came familiar with the various employments of the 
farm. In the meantime he had elected to follow 
the calling of his father before him, and after ar- 
ranging his plans for the maintenance of a famil3', 
was married, July 11, 1830, before reaching his 
twenty-third birthday, to Miss Martha, daughter of 
Samuel and Zilpah (Eddy) Round, wIk. were at that 
time residents of New York. The imrcnts of Mrs. 
R. were natives of Rutland County, V't., where they 
were married and continued to live for fifteen years 
afterward. Thence they removed to Niagara 
County, N. Y., where the mother died the year fol- 
lowing. Mr. Round then came to Michigan, and in 
1850 settled in Adi'ian, of which he was a resident 
for twenty years, and where his death took place in 
1870. The parental family comprised three sons 
and three daughters, of whom Mrs. Reasoner was 
the eldest. In common with her brothers and sis- 
ters she received her education in the public schools, 
and continued with her jjarents until her marriage. 

The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Reasoner are 
recorded as follows: Guelma and Jacob are de- 
ceased ; Martha is the wife of Samuel Craig of this 
^■ount}', and the mother of four children, namely: 



Osemus, Diana. Edmund and Edwin. Lettic died 
when about four years of age ; Maria is the wife of 
Jerry Rice, and the mother of four children, namely : 
Bradley D., Viola Adelia, Charlotte G. and Jerry 
E. ; this daughter lives with her parents. Benjamin 
is a resident of Otsego Countj', this State ; James 
married Miss Melissa A. Kimis, and they have tliree 
children — George B.. James H. and Rnel D. Chloe 
is the wife of Henry Law, of Vermont: Francis 
married Miss Ellen N3'e,and lives in Medina Town- 
ship; they have one child, a son, Leon. Mary M. 
is the wife of William Walker, of Medina Town- 
ship. 

Mr. Reasoner politically', votes for principles, not 
men, and the principles he advocates are those 
usually ennnciated by the Democratic part_y. His 
father was one of the honored old iiatriots of the 
War of 1812, and the family have ahounded in 
honest men and virtuous women. 

^ €-^l> ^ 

VwJOHN W. ALLEN, familiarly known as the 
I son of Stephen Allen, whose biography ap- 
'II pears elsewhere in this Album, was born in 
(^Jj Seneca County, N. Y., Jan. 18, 1830, and 
was but five years old when his father came to this 
county. He was a remarkably bright and interest- 
ing child, and possessed some traits of character 
which distinguished him from otiiers of his age. 
His father's family made the journey from New 
York to Michigan after the manner of the emigrants 
of those days, much of tlie way overland by teams. 
After they had reached Genesee County, John W. 
got out of the wagon, and putting his hands in his 
pockets, declared he was going to return, as the 
prospect before him was by uo means agreeable. 
He was finally '-persuaded," however, to resume his 
journey with the family, and feels at the present 
time that it was one of the best moves he ever 
made. 

Stephen Allen, upon reaching this county, located 
with his family in Madison Township, where John 
W., our subject, with the exception of a trip to Cali- 
fornia, and the time spent in finishing his educaciou, 
has since resided. He pursued his first studies in 
the district school, and after completing them at 



^L 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1019 



the higher schools of the county, started for the 
Pacific Slope, in September, 1851, vi;i the Isthmus. 
Ulion reaching California, he entered the mines, and 
for three 3'ears employed himself in searching for 
the yellow ore. meeting with fair success. lie re- 
turned in hs,j4, and inirchased eighty acres of land 
in Madison Township, to which he afterward added 
ninety' acres of the original homestead, and has 
since been industriously engaged in its cultivation. 
Upon tills there were few ini|)i(p\enicnts, iinnc of 
■dny value, and in lix iking upon the lunidsonie home- 
stead which is conspicuous on account of its taste- 
ful buildings, and its general air of comfort and 
plenty, it is eas.y to imagine that much labor, time 
and money have been expendeil. The f.arni is well 
stocked with good grades of the doniestii- ■•luinuils, 
while there is a fine orchard, with fruit and shade 
trees around the residence, and the premises gener- 
ally indicate the supervision of a. thorough and skill- 
ful farmer, who, while tilling tlie soil has not neg- 
lected the emltellishment of the lionie. 

Mr. Allen was first married, in April, ISi;-.', to 
Miss Martha TenBrook, who was born in this 
county. She remained the com|ianion of her hus- 
band less than six niontlis. her death tnking place at 
their home in Madison ■l'owii>hi|i, in October fol- 
lowing their marriage. Mr. Allen was wedded a 
second time, in Seneca County, N. Y., Jan. 11, 
1865, to Miss Mary Van Duyu, who was born in 
that county, March 28, 1837. They have onechilil 
only, a son, William W. S., who was born Nov. Ill, 
1869, and continues at home with his parents. Mr. 
Allen cast his first Presidential vote for Winficld 
Scott, and has since continued an ardent supporter 
of Kenublican principles. 



ATIIAN A. r.AILKY, a native of this 
L'uunty, was born May 20, 1.S40, :ind occu- 
pies his father's old homesteatl on section .3, 
in Adrian Town.ship. The latter. Paschal D. Bailey, 
a native of Oneida County, N. Y.. came to the 
West in the pioneer days, and with the otlier men 
of that period distinguislied liiniself as a hard- 
working and enter|)risiiig citizen, who liuilt up a 



I 



good homestead, and in all respects acquitted him- 
self as an honest man and a good citizen. He was 
married, in Oneida County, N. Y., to Miss Mary 
Ann Rowley, a native of that place. 

The subject of lliis history si>ent his boylioo<l 
and youth after the manner of the sons of pi.meeis, 
and was trained to hal)its of indnsUyand economy. 
lie attended the district school and made himself 
useful about the lioraestcad until reaching his ma- 
jority. .-UKr'wns thereafter variously employed for 
four or live years. On the 1st of October, 1S6.S, 
he was united in marriage with Mi.ss Lydia Mapes, 
who was liorn in Franklin Township, May 25, 1846. 
The father of Mrs. Bailey, Wilson Mapes by name, 
came to Lenawee County during his early manhood, 
and earrieil on fnrniiiig until resting from his 
earthly labors. He spent his last days in Manistee, 
his death taking place April 14, 1879, when he was 
sixty-nine years old. The mother had died when 
a joung woman thirty-three years of age. 

IMr. Bailc}- after his marriage settled upon a tract 
of thirty acres in A(h'ian Township, where he op- 
erated three years with good results, and then pur- 
chased eighty-five acres in Franklin Townslii[(, 
which he occupied six years and upon wliich he 
niadi- good improvements. At the exi)ii-ation of 
this time he sold this property and purch.ased the 
interest of the other heirs in his father's estate of 
120 acres, wliich he has since occupied. The farm 
of our subject was originally land entered from the 
(iovernnient l)y Paschal D. Bailey, while Michigan 
was yet a Territory. Through a process of careful 
cultivation it has become ver^^ valuable; on another 
page in this work is shown a view of Mr. Bailey's 
homestead. The family is one of the oldest and 
most highly respected in Ijcnawee County. Our 
subject usually votes with the Democratic party, 
although reserving the right to support the man 
whom he considers best qualified to serve the in- 
terests of the people. 

The [larental family included four children, two 
sons and two daughteis. Caroline married Eli 
Havens, and is now a widow, residing in this town- 
ship; Elnora married Robert Sloan, of Adrian 
Township; Herman Bailey is a resident of Franklin 
Towusiiip. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Bailey 
were luirn as follows: Mary A., July 15, 1870; 



i 



<• 



1020 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



'^ 



Myrtie E., June 22, 1872, and Arthur N., Jan. 13, 
1874. They are hcing well educated, and are all 
.nt home with their parents. Mrs. Bailey had three 
brothers in the Civil War, where two were wounded 
and one Icilled; her grandfather, Isaiah Mapes, was 
a soldier in tiie War of 1812. 

- -^ — ^^B ^^ 



-t 



y)lLLIAM WEATHERBY. Tlie subject of 
this biography cast his lot with the pioneers 
of Michigan Territory in 1831. He was 
then eighteen years old and the support of his aged 
parents, whom he brought with him to the western 
wilds and toward whom he performed the part of a 
tender and affectionate^ son until they no longei' 
needed his filial ofHces. He located on the south- 
cast quarter of section 9 in Fairfield Township, at a 
time when the country around was an untrodden 
wilderness, there being bnl}- an Indian trail from 
the main road through the woods to iiis laud. He 
was obliged to cut a road about two and one-half 
miles through the timber to get his wagon through, 
lie put up a log shanty, installed his mother and 
sisters as housekeepers, and prepared to do battle 
with the difficulties which would naturally arise in 
his path. 

This w.as jui^t before the outbrealv of tlic Hlacii 
Hawk War, and Indians oceasionall}^ came along 
requesting to stay all night ; they were usually put 
off in a friendly manner with some fitting excuse. 
William Weatherby about that time, with others, 
was warned to appear at Adrian equipped for war, 
but an attack of ague rendered him ineligible, much 
to the relief of his mother and sisters. The pio- 
neer family struggled along making reasonable 
headway, Mr. Weatherby felling the timber, pre- 
paring the soil for cultivation, and adding to the 
home in the forest the little comforts and conven- 
iences wliich his thoughtful care suggested from 
time ti> time. The even tenor of their lives was 
broken in npon by the marriage of Mr. Weatherby 
and Miss Sarah C. Carpenter, which was celebrated 
at the home of the bride, Dec. 31, 1835. The 
new family thus established continued with the old, 
and Mr. Weatherby was prospei'ed in iiis labors of 
^ ' tilling- the soil and accumulating something for a 



rainy day. He added to his first purchase of land 
until he became the owner of 260 acres, all 
cleared and provided with good buildings, which 
he still owns. In 1871 the house was destroyed 
by fire, with nearly all its contents, but the year 
following Mr. Weatherby put up a new and better 
one, and in the spring of 1878 purchased sixty 
acres of land on section 18 in Fairfield Township, 
of which he took possession, leaving his foster son, 
Willi.am W. Wyman, in possession of the original 
farm. Here he still resides, and now at the age of 
seventy-five years is regarded with peculiar respect 
and veneration by the people among whom he has 
lived for over half a century. 

Mr. Weatherby was the first man to own sheep 
in the township of Fairfield, and his wife spun, 
wove and made into cloth the first wool manufact- 
ured there. His fiock of sheep vvas twice destroyed 
by wolves, with the exception of an old ewe, the 
pioneer sheep of the county, which both times es- 
caped and afterward raised five lambs in thirteen 
months. She was subsequentlj' taken to Seneca 
Township, where she was again a pioneer and re- 
plenished her kind, living to a happy old age. The 
settlers, in spite of their hardships and toils, man- 
aged to sandwich in a good many pleasures, not the 
least of which were deer hunts and the capture of 
other game. Mr. Weatherby possessed a remark- 
able dog which, for courage and persistence, was not 
equaled in that section of country, and was the hero 
of many thrilling events. 

William Weatherby was born in Manchester, 
Bennington Co.. Yt., July 21, 1813, and is the son 
of William Weatherby, Sr., a native of Boston, 
Mass., and Ijorn July 22, 1769. The father con- 
tinued in the Bay State for a period of thirty-six 
years, then removed to Bennington County, Vt., 
with his family, and purchased a farm which he oc- 
cupied until 1823. Thence he migrated to Tioga 
County, X. Y., and eight years later came to Fair- 
field Township, this county, where his death oc- 
ciHTcd at the home of his son, our subject, Aug. 19, 
1835. He had married, Dec. 8, 1797, Miss Relief 
Miller, of Marlboro, Mass., by whom he had eight 
childien, William, of our sketch, being the young- 
est of six sons. .Mrs. Relief AVeatherby was l)orn 
in Marlboro, Feb. 20, 1775, and passed away about 



-^ 



^^►^h-* 



•►-Ih-^ 



LENAAVKK C0U3STY 



lUSl); 



one month before the defease u 
Kairflekl Township, July 1 H, IcS;!,"). 

Mr.s. Sanih C. Weatherby, tlie wife of our sub- 
ject, was born in Shelby, Orleans Co., N. Y., Aug. 
10, 1815, and is the daughter of Elder .James and 
Catherine Carpenter, natives of New York, wlm 
spent their last years in Fairfield Township on sec- 
tion 18. Our subject and his wife had no chilihvn 
of their own, but adopted a boy. William W., son 
of Parker and Asenath {Car[)enter) Wyman, to 
whom they performed the part of kind and aft'ec- 
tionate parents, educating' him and giving him a 
good start in life. Mr. Wyman was born Feli. 1, 
1844, and spent his childhood and youth at the 
Weatherby homestead. He was married. July .!. 
1865, in Fairfield, to Miss Salina, dau-hter of .lo- 
seph and Sally (Baker) DeLand, wlm was born in 
Fairfield Township, Aug. 13, 1847. They settle.! 
on the farm belonging to Mr. Weatherliy, where 
Mr. Wyman died March ;ll, 1880. They were the 
parents of five children, of whom two, Cora S. and 
Delight, died at the ages of twelve and five yeais 
respectively. Those surviving are Laura A., who 
married George B. Scliomp, an<l li\r> in Fairfield 
Townshi|), and Blond and Warren B., wIki .ontinue 
on the homestead with their mother. 



LONZO FOSTER BIXliY, the -ubj.ct of 
this sketch, was born in I5a,t;ivia, (ienesce 
County, New York. .Inly C. ism. His 
paternal grandfather. S;iiuiicl I'.ixby, a res- 
>t Massachusetts, was 1h.i-ii in Sultdn. Wori-es- 
nty, in the year 17 li'. and u.-is the lii>t 



died 



white male child born in that lowi 
advanced age of ninety-seven years, and his wile. 
Anna (Chase) Bixby, at the agt' of one hundred 
and four. The maternal grandfather of Mr. Bi.xb^'. 
Abel F\>ster, was also a resident of Massachusetts, 
and born in 17ii'.). He married Miss Nancy Tucker, 
and both lived to a good old age, surrounded by a 
large and unusually prosperous family. 

David Bixby, the father of Alon/.o, was boiii in 
Sutton, Massachusetts, in 17.s;!, and his uioliier, 
Laura (Foster) Bixb3-, in 17!.).). They were mar- 
ried April 9, 1811, and resided some years .-dter- 
ward in Charlton, Massachusetts, where Mr. Bixby 



was engaged in mercantile business. In 1815 they 
removed to the State of New Y'ork, whore they 
remained until the fall of ISl'7. when they took up 
their residence in Adrian. Ibis comity, ilniing the 
period of its early settli'Mient. M\. I'.ixby pur- 
chased of the GoverumcHt n tract c it; li'o acres of 
laud, where he resided uitli his family until 1S53. 
He tfieii retired from the active laliors of life and 
took possession of a pleasant home in the city, 
where lie conlinucil nulil (lie tiiiH' of his ilcath, 
which tiecnrred on ilic Itli of .binuniy, isr,.',. .Mr. 
Bixby had arriwd .-it the ad\aiieed age of riglil\-- 
two years, and during the long period of his Hfc 
had ranked among the highly esteemed nml honorfd 
men of his (•ominniiity. iNTrs. Laura Bixbv con- 

liliued t. .-iipy the f^imily iv^ideiice .■iftcr the 

dece.asc'of licr hiisUaud until she p:isscd .■iw.-iy, April 
I l', 1 .s,s-2, at the age of eighty-seven years. She was 
a remarkably genial and wcU-beloved lady, .-lud her 
name is held in tender remembrance by .■ill who 
knew her. 

The subject of this bi.igraphy w:i,s the only son 
of his parents, 
teen years of 
liberal eiliiciitj. 
enter upon a c 
Granville and 
Hudson, Ohio. Later he entered the law ollice of 
Baker & Mill.anl. in Adrian. ;iud in isj;;, after a 
most satisfactory examinatimi, was admitted to the 
bar. Mr. Bixby commenced the practice of his 
chosen profession in Canandaigua, Michigan, but 
after a few months failing health from an affection 
of the lungs compelled him to seek a warmer cli- 
iiKiti\ and he took u|i his residence in La (; range, 
Texas. Border troubles, terminating in the Mex- 
ifan War, agitated the country, and he became one 
of the renowned Texan Rangers, participating in 
the battle of Monterey, and enduring luiich hard- 
ship and suffering. He returned to Adrian in the 
fall of IsiC, and opening an office resumed the 
practice of law in his boyhood home. 

In 1.S50 Mr. Bixby was elected Prosecuting At- 
torney of Lenawee County, running far ahead of 
his ticket. He contiuneil the practice of his pro- 
fession until the last illness which terminated in his 
death, April is, ls7o. lie had maintained the 



•,v. Then an earnest desire for a 
iiiiliiced him to leave the farm and 
ise of study, which he pursued at 
tin' Western Reserve College, at 



-It-* 



•^»- 



I 



1022 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



position of one of the leading members of the Lar, 
and was a man of strong and positive character, 
l)ut with a genial and kindly nature that secured 
him warm and lasting friends. He was a kind son, 
a tender husband, a fond, indulgent father, an 
obliging neighbor, a fast friend, a good citizen, an 
able law3rer, with integrity unquestioned, and his 
loss was deeply moiu'ned. He left to his children 
a rich legacy, "a good name, which is lietter than 
great riches." Resolutions of respect were passed 
by the Masonic order, of which he was a worthy 
member, and the legal fraternit}', bearing testi- 
mony to the regard in which he was held by his 
brethren and associates. 

On the 19th of October, 1851, Mr. Bixby was 
married to Miss Emma L. Keeney, who was born 
in Le Roy, Genesee County, New York. October 
6, 1824, and was the youngest child of Joseph and 
Mary (Bishop) Keeney. Her parents were natives 
of New London County, Connecticut, and were 
among the early settlers of Le Roy, her father 
being a farmer near th.at beautiful village. Mrs. 
Bixby was educated at the Le Roy Female 8emi- 
narj', now Ingham University, from which institu- 
tion she was graduated in 1845. She soon afterward 
accompanied a sister to her home in Adrian, and 
subsequently engaged in teaching, always occupy- 
ing a high position. Since the death of her husband 
she has lived at the old homestead in Adrian. 

Mrs. Bixby is a lad}' of genial nature, public- 
spirited and possessing great energy, and much of 
her time and efforts have been given to works of 
l)ublic interest, while no home duties have been left 
undone. She has been President of the Ladies' 
Library Association, of Adrian, since its organiza- 
tion in 1868. By a vote of the association she 
was appointed, with Mrs. Andrew Howell, to com- 
pile a history of the various Ladies' Library Asso- 
ciations of the State. This was successfully accom- 
plished, and a volume placed in the woman's 
department at the Centennial Exposition in Phila- 
delphia, in 1876. Mrs. Bixby was also Secretary 
of the Michigan Ori)lian Asylum Association for 
some years, until by act of Legislature it became a 
State institution. Slic h:i.s l)L'en active in otiier 
benevolent movcmcnls, and Is generally acknowl- 
edged a lady of culUir.' ami worth. 

M» 



Four children survived Mr. Bixby — David A., 
born September 24, 1854: William K., January 2, 
18.")7: Minnie E., October 16, 1858: and Fred F., 
August 9, 1866. One son, George Spofford, born 
April 23, 186.3, died at the age of three years and 
three months. David Alonzo Bixby graduated in 
the Adrian High School, in 1870, and also in the 
literary' department of Michigan University in the 
year 1875. He read law for a time in Adrian, and 
was soon elected City Recorder, being three times 
re-elected to the same office. He served as Repre- 
sentative in the Legislature during the session of 
1883, and has held other positions, elective and ap- 
pointive. In the fall of 1884 he was elected to the 
office of County Clerk, and was the only Demo- 
cratic clerk ever elected in the county. Few young 
men of Mr. Bixby's 3'ears have held such important 
positions as acceptably. 

William Keeney Bixby was also a graduate of 
the Adrian High School, a member of the class of 

1873. His preferences not running in the direction 
of a college course, and there being no desirable 
opening in Michigan, he left home in the fall of 

1874, at the age of seventeen, for Texas. He soon 
secured a position as railwaj^ baggage agent and 
was gradually promoted until he became general 
baggage agent of the International & Great North- 
ern and Texas & Pacific lines of railway. In June, 
1881, he was married, at San Antonio, Texas, to 
Miss Lillian B. Tuttle, a native of Eastern New 
York, and a lady of most sterling worth. In the 
fall of the same year, on the consolidation of the 
Gould system and removal of all general offices to 
St. Louis, Missouri, he also removed thither, being- 
placed in charge of the stationary department of 
that system. In the spring of 1887 he resigned 
this position for that of supply agent of the Mis- 
souri Car and Foundry Company, was soon after 

I elected Secu-etary, and is now Vice President of 

[ this company and also of the Kansas City Car and 
P'oundry Coin])any. Two bright little children, 

r Master Sidne}' Tuttle Bixby and Miss Ennna Stew- 

I art Bixby, add joy to a happy home. 

Miss Minnie E. Bixby was also a graduate of 
Adrian High School, of the class of 1874, and a 
student at Ingham University, Le Roy, New York, 
for ^«ne year. In 1882 she was married to William 



■*► 



lenawep: county. 



1023 



Holland Samson, a journalist of marked ability, and 
removed at once to Kocliestcr, New York, where 
slic still resides. One mhi. Rns>oll Ai,)n/.i>, liurn 
September 2G, 1887, with her home duties eiiiphiys 
her time and attention. 

Fred Foster Bixby having nearly enujiileted the 
course of study in the A<lrian Ili.uh School, iu the 
fall of lSS-2 took a positiiui with his lu'other, W. 
K., at St. Louis, in the staliounry ih'|i.-irlnient of the 
Miss(juri Pacific Railway Com[)any. lie is at this 
time in Dallas, Texas, with the Texas & Pacific 
Railroad stationary department, a responsible post 
for a young man of twenty-oni^ years, and the posi- 
tion is most creditably filled. 



<* felLLIAM ANDERSON, one of the most 
\jjji prosperous farmers of Madison Township, 
VW is the owner of 240 acres of land on sec- 
tion 30, which is nnder a high state of cultivation 
and provided with neat and substantial farm build- 
ings. Mr. Anderson has spout nea/ly his entire life 
in this section of country, and was born in the 
township where he now lives on the fith of Sep- 
tember, 1844. He was reared to farming pursuits, 
and with the exception of six mouths spent in Ful- 
ton County, Ohio, has been a continuous resident 
near the home of his childhood. 

Mr. Anderson when starting out in life for him- 
self chose for his wife one of the maidens of Fair- 
field Township, Miss Nancy Abljott, to whom he 
was married on the 6th of Ainil. ISTC, tlie weildini;- 
taking place at the home of the lu-iilc. Soon al'tcr- 
ward the young people settled ui>oii a tract of land 
in Seneca Township, which Mr. Anderson had pur- 
chased and which they occupied three years. Then, 
believing that he conld better himself, our sulijeet 
removed across the line into Dovei- T(ju nsliip, upon 
rented land, which he occupied one year, anil in the 
spring of 1880 found himself vvitli sufficient capi- 
tal to make his first purchase of KIO acres, which 
now comprises his present fai-m ; the rest of iiishiud 
lies elsewhere in the county. The improvements 
on his homestead have lieen effected by himself 
mostly, as there were no buildings of any value 
upon the land when he took possession of it. The 
-^ . 



premises now present the picture of comfort and 
plenty, which is so pleasant to the eye and indica- 
sive of taste and industry. Mr. Anderson is a gen- 
tleman greatly respected among his neighbors, quiet 
and unobtrusive in his manner, interested in the 
various enterprises tending to tlie good of the com- 
munity, and uniformly votes the straight Demo- 
cratic ticket. 

The wife of our subject was born iu Fairfield 
Township, April 8, 18.">2, and is the daughter of 
William and Lavina (Stuck) Abbott, natives of 
New York, whence they removed to Michigan 
aljout 1840, and settled in Fairfield Township, where 
the father followed farming, and where his death 
took place in IS.iO. The mother is still living and 
makes her home in Weston. Mr. and Mrs. Ander- 
son became the parents of five children, of whom 
one, Florence, died in infancy. Those surviving 
are: AV^ebster .S., Laveru \\'., .John and Frederick, 
and they all live at home with their parents. 

Our subject is the son of John C. and Almyra 
(Griffith) Anderson, the father of Scotch birth and 
ancestry, an:l the mother a native of New York 
State. John C. Anderson crossed the Atlantic in 
early life and took up his residence in New York 
State, where he engaged in farming and whence he 
removed, before his marriage, to the West, settling 
in Madison Touuship, this coimty, and thence re- 
moving to Adrian Township, where the mother 
died. The father subsequently removed to Fulton 
County, Ohio, where he spent his last years, his 
death taking place about 1861. The p.arental house- 
hold included seven chihlreu, of whom William, 
our subject, was the second in order of birth. 



GEORGE FREDERICK HARSH, f<,rmerly 
a resident of Ogden Township, was born in 

_ Preston County, W. A'a., in the year 1823. 
His grandfather was one of the [jioneers of Preston 
County, which was at that early day included in 
Randolph County and formed a part of the State 
of Virginia. He settled near the present site of 
the village of Aurora, and learned the trade of a 
blacksmith, which he carried on there until the day 
of hisde.ath. 

The father of our subject, Frederick Harsh, was 

■ ► 



•►HI— 4 



1024 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



a native of Virginia. After iiis marriage with 
Sarali Ballard, likewise a Virginian, he settled two 
and one-half miles from Aurora, and reclaimed a 
tract of land from the forest, on which he resided 
until his death. To him and his wife were born 
twelve children, of whom George F. was the only 
one who ever located in this count.y. He was 
reared on his father's homestead, and actively 
assisted in the labors of the farm as soon as he be- 
came old enough. At the time of his marriage he 
bought 160 acres of timber land, two miles from 
his father's farm, building a log house on his 
land, and in that humble abode the newlj^ married 
young couple commenced life together. Mr. Harsh 
was active and industrious, and before many years 
had cleared quite a tract of liis land, though a large 
part was too rough for cultivation. At the close of 
the war times were very hard in that part of the 
countr3', and prospects were not veiy encouraging, 
so Mr. Harsh resolved to make a change, and 
accordingl}' he sold his farm in West Virginia for 
$1,000. He then came to Michigan, and in Ogden 
Township liought 110 acres of land, included in the 
present farm, for which he paid $1,800. There 
were about ten acres cleared, on which were a log 
stable and a vacant school-house, which latter he 
utilized as a dwelling, and it remained his home 
until his death. After he had established his 
family comfortably in their new home he actively 
commenced the clearing and cultivation of his 
farm, but before he had accomplished all that he 
ambitiously hoped to do in the improvement of 
his farm, his useful career w.as cut short by 
death, in Februar3', IbTO, when he- was yet in the 
prime of life. In the few years that he had been 
a resident of Ogden Township he had gained the 
respect of the people among whom he had made 
his home, as a g(>u<l man and a useful citizen. 
After his death his nidow, a woman of much 
business ability and tact, took charge of the farm, 
and, with the assistance of her children, continued 
the improvement which her husband had begun, 
and has earned the reputation of a very successful 
manager. The greater |)urt of tlic land is now 
improved and well cultivated, and she has erected 
a fine set of buildings, ranking with the best in the 
township. Elsewhere in this volume is shown a 



view of Mrs. Harsh's homestead and its surround- 
ings, as typical of the buildings in this section of 
counti-y. 

Mrs. Harsh, whose maiden name was Ann Salome 
Rudolph, was born in Preston County, Ya.., Aug. 2, 
1830. Of her union with her husband ten children 
were born, namely. J. Luther and John G., living 
in Ogden Township; Sarah P., the wife of M. L. 
Wilt, of Palmyra Township, and Emma E., wife of 
Jesse Foglesong, of Ogden Township; Jesse W., 
living in Ogden Township, and Martha R., L3'dia 
A. and Burton F., at home with their mother; 
Lenard C. and Anngeletta E. are both deceased. 

The grandfather of Mrs. Harsh, Peter Rudolph, 
was a native of West Virginia and an earl^' settler 
of Preston County, where he bought a tract of 
timbered land tvvo miles southeast of the ()resent 
site of Aurora, and cleared a farm and there died. 
The father of Mrs. Harsh, John Rudolph, married 
Anna M. lleckert, a native of Preston Count3', 
W. Va., and daughter of Peter Heckert, a pioneer 
of that county. After his marriage Mr. Rudolph 
settled on timber land, two miles from his father's 
farm, and in the log cabin he built there Mrs. Harsh 
was born. Her father died on his \'irginia farm 
which he had cleared from the forest, while her 
mother came to this county and spent her last days 
with her children. 



DWIN CRt)SS, a geulleman in the prime of 

Elite and in the midst of successful farming 
o|)erations on 100 acres of good land on 
section 15, in Madison Township, is, in addition to 
general agriculture, giving much attention to 
blooded stock, including Durham cattle and Po- 
land-China swine. He is' a 'man of more than 
ordinary intelligence, and maintains that it is the 
best economy to raise good grades of the domestic 
animals, as their care and keeping cost no more 
and the returns are much greater. He takes pride 
in his farm, his stock, and especially his little family, 
which consists of an amiable and excellent wife and 
one child, a son, Japheth. 

Our subject was born in Madi.scni T()Wii>hip, this 
county, July 20, 1840, and remaiMcd under the 



■*► 



•►-B-^*- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1025 



home roof cUiring his boyhood and youth, acquiring 
his education in the comnion s<-iiuol. His parents 
were possessed of but mode?-t means, and Edwin 
started out early in life for liiniself, leaving the 
farm, and engaged in running a confectionery 
wagon in Lenawee County for about fifteen years. 
He Hnally returned to tiie farm iiursuits with which 
he had become faniiliar during his boyhoo<l, :ind in 
which he now takes much satisfaction. He was 
married in Steuben County, Ind.. Jan. 1, 18(;(j, the 
maiden of his choice being Miss Su.san, daughter of 
William and Elizalieth (Kellein) Patee, natives of 
Delaw.are and Knox County, Ohio, icspcctivcly. 
The p.arents of Mrs. Cross located lirst in Knox 
County, whence they removed later to Defiance 
Count}', in the same State, and from there to Steu- 
ben County, Ind., where they spent their last days. 
The parental houseliold included eight children, 
three sons and live daughters, six now living, 
namely: Polly, George, Sarah, Su.san. Phebe and 
William. Those deceased were : Elizabeth, who 
died at thirty-three years of age; and Samuel, who 
died in infancy. Mrs. Cross was born in Defiance 
County, Ohio, Aug. 20, 184-1. 

The parents of our subject, Darius and Lucretia 
(Ranney) Cross, were natives of Rovve and Buck- 
land, Ma.ss., whence they removed before their 
marriage to this St.atc, and were made one in Mad- 
ison Townshi|), this county. They located ui)i_>n a 
farm in this township, and with the exception of 
four years spent in Palmyra Township, here pMsscd 
the remainder of their lives. Their family consistcil 
of five daughters and one son, of whom Ihrec only 
are now living, namely: Ruth, the wife of (icorgc 
Cross, of Berry County; Edwin, our subject, and 
Cora, who resides jit home Mr. Cross has served 
as School Director and Overseer of Highways; in 
politics he is independent. 

JJOSEl'H W. 0S150KNE, a prosperous ami 
successful yoiuig farmer of Macon T,. un- 
ship, owns l.'>Oacresof finely cultivated lainl 
' on section iM. He took possesion ,,f this in 



the spring of 
l)rove merits, li 



1<1 besides effe 
(led it with a 



ment of live stock, kept up the buildings in good 
condition, and has all the necessary machinery for 
carrying on ;igri<-ultnre after the most approved 
niethcds. 

Our subject has been a resident of this county 
his entire life, having been born in Macon Town- 
ship, .Tune 2'.), 1849. His father. William H. Os- 
borne, was a native of Seneca County. X. Y., 
and c(.)niing to the State of Michigan sodii after 
his marriage settled in the unbroken woods of 
Macon Township about the year 1833. The young 
wife survived her marriage only a few yeais. and 
Mr. Osborne was subsequently married to Miss 
Mary Foote, of Schenectady, N. Y., and returned a 
second time with a bride to Eenawee County. 
This lad}- became the mother of seven children, of 
whom Joseph W., our subject, was the fourth child 
and second son. The [)arents, in 1883, removed to 
the village of Tecumseh, and are spending their de- 
clining years in ease and comfort. 

Joseph W. Osborne completed liis education at 
Albion College, and reoeived careful home tr;iining 
from his I'xcellent parents. One of the most inter- 
esting events of his life was celebrated on the 8th 
( )f February. 1871, when he was mairied at the homr 
of the bride, to Mi.ss Helen Hand, a daughter of one 
of the pioneer families ()f Macon Township. She 
was born in that township, June 10, 1849, in the 
same montli and the same year as her husband. 
I ler father, Edward Hand, a native of Massachusetts, 
Iniilt up a good home in Macon Township, where he 
siient his last years, and died in the spring of 1884. 
lie was a goi.il man in the broadest sen.se of the 
term, waiinly interested in e\eiy enterprise calcu- 
lated to benelit the peo()le and build up the com- 
mnnity, a member in good standing of the iMeth- 
odist Fipiscopal Church, and politically, a Democrat 
of the first water. The mother is still living and 
makes her home with her son on the old farm. 

Mrs. Osborne si)ent her childhood and youth un- 
der the parental roof, and completed her studies at 
(iraylock Institute, M.assachusetts. Of her union 
with our subject llieie 1im ve been born two .-hihlren, 
Aini.-i M. and llatlie J., bright girls of lif^'en and 
eleven years respectively. Mr. and Mrs. Osborne, 
soon after their marriage, located upon their present 
farm, and have one of the nu)st attractive homes in 
' •^ 



•► 



1026 



LENAAVEE COUNTY. 



the townshij). Neatness and order pervade the 
whole premises, and give ample indication of the re- 
fined and cultivated tastes of the proprietor and his 
accomplished wife. They are members in good 
staudinji' of tlie Methodist E])iscopal Church, and 
Mr. O., politically, votes the straight Republican 
ticket. 



^^P:0RGE GARLING, pleasantly located on 
111 <^ section 31, in Medina Township, has under 
^^^ his control 238 acres of fine farming land, 
and is the owner of a handsome residence and the 
various other farm buildings included in the com- 
plete country home. He is a man who has labored 
hard in the accumulation tif his property, and one 
held in respect by his neighbors as possessing all 
the qualifications of a good citizen. He was born 
in Germany on the 28th of Januarjf, 1820, and em- 
igrated to America when a boy. with his parents. 
He consequently long ago became an American cit- 
izen, familiar with our country's laws and institu- 
tions, and feels an interest in its progress and pros- 
perity equal to that of the native-born citizen. 

The father of our subject, George Garling, Sr., 
was also a native of Germany, where he was reared 
to manhood, and married Miss Barbary Miller, one 
of his own countrywomen. After the birth of four 
children they emigrated to the United States, and 
located in Pennsylvania, where the father labored 
until his death, about 1845. The mother survived 
her husband a number of years, and she passed 
away at her home in New YorI< .State. In Amer- 
ica six more children were added to the household 
circle, making a total of ten, as follows: Lena, 
George, Philip, Frederick, Lucy, John. Henry and 
Eliza, besides two who died unnamed in infancy. 

Mr. Garling was a boy of seven years when he 
first set foot upon American soil, and soon after- 
ward was thrown upon his own resources, and com- 
pelled to look out for himself. He worked the first 
year for his board and clothing, and his wages the 
second year included JtlO besides. He continued 
in this manner for eight years, his wages each year 
being increased as his services became more valu- 
able. In the meantime he attended school, being- 
instructed first in his native tongue, and afterward 



attending an English school. After the family took 
up their residence in New York State, George 
learned blacksmith ing, and continued working at his 
trade three or four years. In 18.51, shortly- before 
reaching his thirty-first birthday, he was married to 
Miss Lavina, daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth 
(Shiley) Acker, natives of Pennsylvania, the for- 
mer born in 1803, and the latter some years later. 
The3' lived on a farm in Seneca County, N. Y., and 
their daughter, Lavina, together with their other 
nine children, received a common-school education ; 
she continued with her parents until her marriage. 

Mr. and Mrs. Garling commenced life together 
in New York, and in due time the household circle 
included five children. Their eldest son, William 
P., married Miss Esther Scott, and is farming not 
far from his father's homestead, in Medina Town- 
ship; they have two children — Olivia and Gartha. 
Jacob H. died when about three years of age; Ida 
E. is the wife of Abel Perry, of Wright Township, 
in Hillsdale County; they have two children — Clar- 
ence and Lee. George W. married Miss Mar^' 
Lance, and is farming in Medina Township, and 
Elmer E. is at home with his parents. 

Our subject with his family came to this county 
in the fall of 1854, and purchased 100 acres of land 
on section 31 in Medina Township, which he still 
owns. Upon this there was only a log house, and 
he was obliged to go in debt $400 in order to get 
possession of it, and en.able himself to proceed with 
its improvement and cultivation. Like most men, 
he has labored hard, and met with losses, but he has 
still been enabled to make headway, and now has 
the prospect of being able to lay b_v a snug sum for 
his old age. 

Mr. Garling, in 1870, added to his real estate by 
the purchase of sixty-eight acres on section 31. 
Three years previously he had put up his present 
residence on his first land, and completed other im- 
provements, which he had had in contemplation for 
yeais. As is usual with the thrifty German farmer, 
he has a good bam with other substantial out-build- 
ings, and takes good care of his stock. In 1880 he 
purchased twenty acres more, and five years later 
ndded to his property fifty acres on section 30. He 
met with great loss in 1886, his barn having been 
struck 1)V lightning, and together with its contents. 



>►■ <• 



■•► 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



105 



ha^', grain, etc.. was entirely destroyed, lie ,s[)ent 
no time l)ewailing- hi.s misfortune, l)ut at once i)iit 
up another barn, whicli was completed in the sum- 
mer of 1887. Not far from it stands a hlacksmith- 
shop, where he does his own smith wmk, tliereliy 
saving hundreds of dollars each year. 

Mr. Garling, politically, voted with the Demo- 
cratic party until the organization of the Repub- 
licans, in 1856, since which time he lias sided with 
the latter. He is called a Chi'istian in the true sense 
of the word, although not identified with any 
church organization. His estimable wife lielongs to 
the United Brethren Church. .Mr. (Jarling has 
served as Highway CommissinncT mid ScIkkiI Direc- 
tor, and also as Juryman. 

As representative of the Imildiugs in this section 
of country, we are pleased to |)resent on anotiier 
page of this Album a view of Mr. (;ailing's resi- 
dence, together with its surroundings. 



Jfj OHN MORIARTY. Tiiis name in itself is a 
i suggestion of energy and force, and is rightly 
I applied to him who bears it, for he is one of 
Jj the most thorough and skillful farmers of 

Medina Township, and owner of one of the best 
farms within its limits. He is the architect of his 
own fortune, and but one more of the nun who 
came to this county poor in pocket, l)ut rich in 
determination, and armed with the surest weaijon 
to achieve success. The pioneers of Southern 
Michigan have usually Labored arduously for their 
possessions, and the sul)ject of this sketch has been 
one of the foremost in this field. He is now reap- 
ing his reward, not only in the midst of a generous 
share of this world's goods, but in the resiieet of 
his neighbors and fellow-citizens. 

Erin's Green Isle has been prolific in her contri- 
bution to the bone and sinew of Araeric.in industry, 
sending forth in generous numbers her sons to cul- 
tivate an alien soil. That there were greater in- 
ducements here does not detract from the credit 
due them for their perseverance, and the result of 
their labors has been to materially aid in the build- 
ng of a free and proud Republic, upon whose cul- 



tivated soil they liud a free and welcome home. 
Young iSIoriarty growing to manhood in his native 
land pondered early upon these facts, with which he 
became acquainted while yet a boy, and determined 
to seek the " Land of Promise" at the earliest op- 
portunity. 

Mr. Moriarty was born near the town of Trallee, 
County Kerry, Ireland, June 24, 1830, and is the 
second living son of James and Mary (Connor) 
Moriarty, natives of the same place, where tliey 
spent their entire lives upon their native soil en- 
gaged in ftarming in a small way. Tlie fathei- was 
called from his earthly labors when between fiftj-- 
five and sixty years of age, in 1855, while the 
mother survived iicr hnsh:nid until 1864, and was 
about sLxty years old ;it the time of her death. 
They were people greatly res|)ected in their county, 
where the father was prominent, and regarded as a 
most honor.ablc citizen. Their famil3' consisted of 
four sons, who all lived to mature jears, and three 
of whom are residents of this State; the other son 
is deceased. 

The Moriarty boys all received a good education 
in their native land, and our subject remained upon 
the farm assisting his father until twentj' years of 
age. Soon afterward he began to make prepara- 
tions for his cherished scheme of coming to America, 
and on the 9th of June, 1851, he repaired to Glas- 
gow, whence in company with a cousin he sailed 
for the New ^V^orld, landing in New York City five 
weeks later. From the metropolis he soon made 
his way to Cayuga County, whither his brother 
Michael had preceded iiira, and engaged at what- 
ever his hands could find to do — first in a hotel, and 
then on a canal boat, and for some time at the small 
salary of seventy-five cents a daJ^ The railroad 
and the farm also came in the line of his labors, and 
notwithstanding his small wages he managed to 
save more than enough for one to live upon, and 
so in time decided to share his frugal fare with a 
wife and helpmeet. 

Mr. Moriarty, while a resident of Cayuga County, 
N. Y., had made the acquaintance of Miss Cather- 
ine Stack, whose attractive qualities captured his 
heart, and tliey were united in marriage at the home 
of Miss S., Nov. 1, 1854. The wife of our subject 
was liorn not far from the home of her husband in 



^^ 



•►Hh-< 



1028 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



County Kerry, Iielaiul, in June, 1830, .-uid is the 
(laughter of Maurice and Bridget (Sullivan) Stack, 
natives of the same locality, where the father occu- 
pied himself as a labored. They spent their entire 
lives in Ireland, each dying when about sixty years 
of age, Mr. Stack in 1848, and his widow in 1865. 
i\Irs. Moriarty is the only child living- of a family 
of three sons and three daughters, and came to 
America when seventeen years of age. After tiieir 
marriage Mr. and Mrs. Moriarty continued in the 
Empire State, where our subject was engaged first 
upon a coal dock at $1 a day, and the second year 
as night watchman, which position he held four 
years. During this time he saved ^600, besides 
sending money to the '• old folks at home," and this 
he determined to invest in Michigan real estate. 
In the spring of 1861 he came to this county, and 
purchased eighty acres of land in Medina Town- 
ship, of which he took possession with his family 
on the 4th of April following. There were upon 
it a few indifferent buildings, which some time since 
gave place to a good house and barn, besides the 
other appurtenances necessary to the convenience 
of the modern agriculturist. 

Mr. Moriarty, besides the various improvements 
which have involved the outlay of a snug sum of 
money, has also added materially to his first pur- 
chase, being the owner of 282^ acres unincumbered. 
At the time of his first investment he lacked %100 
of the required amount, and his brother kindly 
mortgaged his cattle to procure the money for him; 
this debt he paid during the year. At the time of 
making one of his purchases of land a rascal by 
the name of Nevins had committed forgery and 
obtained money by giving the property as security. 
Pending the settlement the County Treasurer had 
paid out by mistake to some person to him un- 
known the sum of $10, and had concluded to 
suffer in silence the consequences of his oversight. 
It so happened that Mr. Moriarty was the individual 
who had received the surplus change, and as soon 
as the latter discovered the error he hastened to the 
official to have it corrected. The latter was so 
pleased with his honesty that he rendered him 
material assistance in dealing with the mischief 
which ensued through the villainy of Nevins, .and 
Mr. M. was enabled to establish his clear title to 



the property. This was but an instance of "lion- 
esty rewarded." 

Since coming to this county Mr. Moriarty has 
turned his attention exclusively to farming, and has 
for the past few years made a si)ecialty of sheep- 
growing, dealing mostly in blooded Hampshire and 
Shropshire Downs. In addition to the various in- 
terests of the homestead he has been quite promi- 
nent in local affairs, and in the spring of 1887 
was elected Township Treasurer, but on account of 
illness withdrew. He takes a genuine interest in 
the affairs of his adopted country, and keeps him- 
self well posted in matters of public importance. 

To our subject and his estimable lady there have 
been born nine children, namely: James, Mary 
(deceased), Michael, Florence, Thomas (deceased), 
Ellen, Thomas (2d), Catherine (deceased) and 
Catherine. Their eldest born, James, now a promi- 
nent young man of twenty-five years, is the able 
assistant of his father on the farm; Michael is 
engaged with the Toledo & Ann Arbor Railroad 
Companj* in the northern part of the State; John 
married Miss Anna Breen, and is a resident of De- 
troit; Florence, a graduate of the law department of 
Michigan State University, is practicing her profes- 
sion at Ypsilanti; Ellen and Catherine are at home 
with their parents. The children have received 
excellent advantages, and are well fitted to take 
honored and honorable positions in life. The entire 
family are Catholic in religious faith, and attend 
the Church of the Sacred Heart in Hudson. 



t 



^»- 



^^EORGE SHEELER is one of the old set- 
III (— tiers of Cambridge Township and is well 

f^sil known throughout its limits. After a life 
of activity he is now spending the sunset of his 
days on the old homestead on section 20, where he 
has lived since May, 1836. On coming here in that 
year he first took up some eighty acres of land on 
which he commenced to make improvements, add- 
ing to this from time to time until he is now in 
possession of some 600 acres of fine land. When 
Mr. Sheeler came here this country was covered 
with its primeval growth, and he was compelled to 
cut a ro<id for over a mile and a li.alf to this place. 

•^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1029 



11 


X.M 


•town 


Siib 


sex 


s 


tllf 


Mill of 


Will 


:im 


W 


illia 


ni Sho 


^ler. 


Sr., 


11 


the 


sainc 


coil 


ity. 


'•s 


ait't 


Hem 


<lic(l 


na- 


ni 


lit; I 


111' ii|ie ngc of 


I 


tllf 


fatlic 
(•a ii 


..f 

Sii 


llie 
sex 


a 


IH'. 

i.MI 


Ull(, 

' life. 


(;ci 


,1-o-e 



liv( 



He detenninerl to get a start in life, however^ and 
nothing discouraged him ; no work was too hard, 
and it is said of him that for a long time lie walked 
three miles to his work and returned over the ^^ame 
ground each day. W.nk like this t.-lls in the end, 
and he is now known as.inc.f the iiiu>f suceessliil 
men of this locality, havinu on his farm a line set 
of Iniildings, with ne.it siirroiindings. a desiraMe 
home in his old age. 

George Sheeler was Ih.iii i 
Co., N. J., May '.), IMO."), and i 
Sheeler, and the grandson of 
both of whom were born i 
The last-named married Mai 
tive of the same State, and 
his native county, upon attaii 
ninety years. William Sheele 
subject of this sketch, was 
County, N. J., to Catharine ^Nfaim', 
him many years, he dying in 
Sheeler was one of a family ( 
sons and six daughters, all of 
and womanhood. He was reared and educated in 
the county of his nativity until he was about 
twenty-three years of age, when he was united in 
marriage with Jane Onsted. a native of the same 
county, and born March I), 1810. Some eight j'ears 
after this marriage they migrated to this county 
where the wife, after some fifty-six years of mar- 
ried life. died.Tune 2.-!, l.ss.-,. She was a noble 
woman and worthy helpmeet to her hiishand. assist- 
ing him in all his efforts to build up tlieir line home 
in tliis wilderness, and rejoiced to see it so well im- 
proved before her death. She was the mother ut 
ten children: Catharine, the wife of E. R. Kilbury; 
John, living on a farm in .Jackson County, this State, 
who married Susan Winnie, a native of New York: 
Ann, the wife of C. W. Greenlief ; Sarah, the wife 
of Israel Edwards, living on a farm in this town- 
ship; Israel, who married Louisa Sager, and lives 
in this county : Lemuel, who married Jennie Bing- 
ham, and is a farmer in this locality; Franklin P., 
now occupying 160 acres of the old homestead 
farm on section 20, where he lives with his wife, 
formerly Ellen Porter, of AA'oodstock, who is the 
mother of two children — (ieorge and Hettie — and 
three deceased — William, Rhoda and Emarilla. 



When the family i 
they did not have th 
at the present time, 
by canal to the lak 



this part of the country 
itages of travel pijssessed 
<■ content with traveling 
ell they crossed on the 



Porter boat, and were brought from Detroit to their 
present home across the country by team. After 
locating here it was necessary for Mr. Sheeler to 
make two trijis on foot to Monroe to secure the 
title to his place. Mr. Sheeler is now and has always 
been a thorough Democrat, having cast his first 
vote for (ien. Jackson, and it is said of him that 
he has never missed a town meeting nor an election 
since he came here. He has never hiwl any ambi- 
tion to hold public office, although in his younger 
days he gave much attention to local polities. Here 
he has lived and grown old. distinguished for good 
works, and one of the most respected and esteemed 
citizens of this locality. He carries well, notwith- 
standing his eighty-three years, the strength, both 
physical and niental, that he possessed in younger 
days. lie is truly one of the landinai-ks of the 
county. 



IZRA C. CORYELL, 
Tecnmseh, Mich., wa 
.Seneca Co., N. Y., Au" 



retired fanner of 
born in Romulus^ 
, KS22. His grand- 



father, David Coryell, came to Michigan in the 
early days of its settlement, and located in Ridge- 
way Township, this county, where he died in 1838. 
His son, Andrew Coryell, the father of our subject, 
was born in New Jersey, in December, 1800, and 
was a carpenter and joiner by trade. His wife was 
Esther, daughter of Ezra and Lucy Carpenter, and 
was born in the western part of Massachusetts. 

After their marriage the parents of our subject 
settled in Seneca County, N. Y., whence they 
removed to Steuben County, and resided there but 
a few years, after which they came to Washtenaw 
County, Mich., and located on a farm, where Mr. 
Corj'ell worked at his trade in connection with 
farming. Later he removed to Monroe County, 
where he remained six years, and then returned to 
Washtenaw County, and from there went to Jack- 
son County. In 1841 he came to Lenawee County, 
and settling in Ridgeway Township, carried on 
farming- and worked at his trade until his retire- 



•►HI-4* 



1030 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



ment from active life. lie died tliert' in Septem- 
ber, 1 883 ; his widow and seven children still survive. 

Ezra C. Coryell, the eldest of the parental family, 
was four years old when he came with his parents 
from New Yorii to Michigan, and his boyhood was 
passed with them in the various places in which 
they settled, attending school at Monroe, and sub- 
sequently at Ridgeway. At the age of twenty 
years he purchased his time of his father, and be- 
gan the life of a free and independent farmer. His 
first occupation was the breaking of new lands, 
using a plow drawn by four j'oke of cattle, and 
this was his business until he was twenty-four 
years old. At that time he commenced to clear 
and improve a farm for himself, and also took con- 
tracts to clear and break land for other parties, 
continuing in that work until he had his own farm 
ready for tillage. After a residence of six years on 
' that farm of sixty acres, he exchanged it for one 
of 100 acres in Fairfield Township, in this county, 
on which he resided the ensuing five years. He 
next located in Raisin Township on a small farm of 
thirty-five acres, to which he added more land until 
it comprised sixty-one acres, but in 18G4 he dis- 
posed of that property for the neat sum of $6,000, 
and removed to Tecumseh with his family, which 
has since been their home. Meanwhile he has pur- 
chased, and now owns, a farm of 110 acres in 
Clinton Township, on which he has fine buildings, 
and another of fifty acres near that one. These 
farms, which are worked on shares, he keeps well 
stocked, and realizes good returns. 

Mr. Coryell was first married in ls4;!. to Miss 
Joana Harding, of this county, but she died in Sep- 
tember, 1885, leaving no issue. Mr. Coryell's 
alliance with his present wife, whose maiden name 
was Lydia M. Haight, was contracted Oct. 7, 
1886. She was born in Washtenaw County, 
Mich., and is the daughter of Hon. Salmon L. and 
Emily (Fowler) Haight, formerly of Steul)en 
County, N. Y. 

Mr. Coryell is a gentleman who has accumulated 
what he has of this world's goods through his own 
efforts, and his record of success speaks louder 
than words from the pen of the biographer. When 
, he first became a resident of this county the ready 
I cash he had on hand would hardly pay for a half- 



interest in a cow, and his pork ho fattened on 
shares. Prosperity attended his industrial efforts, 
while the art of saving money was developed 
while accumulating it, and he is now enabled to 
spend his remaining years in retirement from active 
life. While in Ridgeway Township Mr. Coryell 
very ci-editably filled the office of Justice of the 
Peace. Both Mr. and Mrs. Coryell are worthy 
members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in 
which he has served as Class- Leader sever.al years, 
and is now Steward. 



J -^UDGE NORMAN GEDDES. This gentle- 
man, who has been Judge of the Probate 
Court of Lenawee County, by appointment 
and election, since 1880, is a citizen of whom 
Adrian can be proud, because of the interest he has 
always taken, and the liberal spirit manifested in 
educational matters. Much of the prosperity of 
the educational and benevolent institutions of 
Michigan can be traced to the efforts of Judge 
Geddes. 

Our subject is a native of the State of New 
York, and was born in the town of Livonia, Liv- 
ingston County, April 14, 1823. He is of Scotch 
descent, his great-grandfather, James Geddes, with 
his three sons, Paul, AVilliam and Samuel, having 
come from Scotland to America in 1752, and set- 
tled in Pennsylvania. His mother, Elizabeth Ged- 
des, was the daughter of the eldest son, Paul, and 
his father, Samuel Geddes, the son of the youngest, 
Samuel. They were married on the 7th of Octo- 
ber, 1802, in Northumberland County, Pa., and 
soon after removed to New York, settling in Liv- 
ingston County, where they resided until 1833, when 
they removed to Niagara, and thence, in 1835, to 
Cambridge, Lenawee Co., Mich., where the father 
died in 1848, and the mother in 1865. Thej' had 
four sons — Paul, James, William and Norman — and 
two daughters — Margaret and Caroline. Norman is 
the only surviving member of the family; Paul 
was one of the pioneers of Cambridge, settling there 
in 1833, but for the last years of his life he resided 
in Battle Creek; James, the second son, was for 
fourteen years Treasurer of Lenawee County ; he 
never married, and died in the year 1864. 
.^ 



u 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Wlien Nonnaii (Joddes was seventeen yt 
.age, liaving received a connuon- 



L-llool edlleatiou 
he taughit school two terms, after which he spent 
some time at the branch of the Michigan University 
then located at Teenniseh, and in 184:i lie entered 
tiie law otHce of Hon. Richard Butler, at Mt. Cle- 
mens, where he pursued his legal studies under his 
direction, and that of the Late (jiles Ilubhard, Esq., 
supporting himself in the meantime by teaching, un- 
til 1846, when he entered the law office of the late 
A. C. Harris, at Adrian, and was admitted to the 
bar in 1847. After his admission he taught two 
terms as an assistant in Prof. Hance's Academy, .an 
institution of considerable note in Adrian .at that 
time, and has since been in pr.acticeof his profession 
with the exception of some six years, during which 
time he had charge of the collection department of 
.a large commercial house in Buffalo. Soon aftei' 
his admission to the bar, Judge (4eddes formed a 
law partnership with llou. Smith S. Wilkinson, now 
a distinguished citizen ut lnwa, wliich continued for 
three years. In 1804 he formed a partnership with I 
the late Lucien B. Bowen, which continued until 
Mr. Bowen's failing health compelled him to retire i 
froui the practice. In 1865 he formed a law part- 
nershij) with Charles R. Miller, which continued un- 
til 1881. In 1849 he w.as elected Recorder of 
Adrian, which was then a village, and held that i 
office for three years, being twice re-elected. In 
1851 he was elected Justice of the Peace, and in 
1864 was elected Circuit Court Commissioner, and 
re-elected in 1866, holding the office for four years. 
In 1 869 he was elected Mayor of the city of Adrian, 
which office he filled with dignity and satisfactorily. 

At the close of the war of the Rebellion, Judge | 
Geddes was active and prominent in the organiza- j 
tion of the Lenawee County Soldiers' Monument [ 
Association, and also of the City Soldiers' Monu- j 
ment Association, and was Secretary of both bodies, j 
In this position lie performed a large amount of j 
efficient labor, and at the celebration of the coniple- j 
tion of the monument on the 4th of July, 1871, w.as 
the orator of the da^', and upon this occasion he de- 
livered an address which was commended by both ' 
the people and the press for its eloquence and set'pe. 
In March, 1880, Mr. Geddes was appointed by Gov. 
Charles L. Croswell to the office of Judge of the , 



Probate Court of Lenawee County, and in the fol- 
lowing November he was elected by the i)eople by 
a handsome m.ajority to the same office. In 1 884 
he w.as re-elected, and holds the office .at the time of 
the writing of this sketch. Judge Geddes has held 
responsible positions in the educaticmal and benevo- 
lent departments of the State. He has especially 
been largely identified with the growth, prosperity 
and success of Adrian College, and for many years 
has been President of its Board of Trustees, and un- 
tiring in his efforts to secure to that college that 
recognition and appreciation from the citizens of 
the city and county, which its merits and locati<jn 
entitle it to receive at their hands. He is also one 
of the Trustees of the Eastern Michigan Asylum, 
having been appointed bj' Gov. Croswell, re-ap- 
pointed by (iov. Jerome, and once more appointed 
by Gov. Alger, for the term expiring Jan. 1, 1891. 
In all these public positions Judge Geddes has dis- 
played unusual earnestness and sincerit}' of pur- 
pose, and it would be hard to place a value ui)ou 
his services. 

On the 9th of October, 1848. Judge Geddes was 
married to Miss Laura E.. daughter of the late Lj'- 
raan Casey, then a resident of York, Livingston Co., 
N. Y'. She died on the 21st of April, 1851, leav- 
ing one son, Frederick L. Geddes, now a lawyer of 
Toledo, Ohio. On the 29th of November, 1853, 
.ludge Geddes married Harriet D., youngest daugh- 
ter of tiie late Hon. John Barber. She died on the 
:50th of April, 1857, leaving one son, Herbert (ied- 
des, who resides in Colorado, and one daughter, 
Harriet E., now the wife of W. N. VanBrunt, of 
this city. He was again married, Sept. 15, 1859, to 
his present wife, Jane M., daugiiter of the late Isaac 
Terry, Esq., of Royalton, Niag.ara Co., N. Y., who 
lias borne him two children: Ada, who died April 
1, 1865, aged four years, and Clifton T., now about 
twenty years of age. 

!f^^,^\ ELVIN T. NICKERSON. Among the 
well-to-do and thrifty farmers of Madison 
Township is the gentleman whose name is 
placed at the head of this sketch. His 
father was one of the honored pioneers of Lenawee 



i- 



■♦- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



County, coming to Michigan while it was yet in its 
infancy, and before the march of civilization harl 
given any intimation of the proud position which 
it has since attained among the States of the Union. 

Our subject comes of good old New England 
stock, his father, Lewis Nickerson, having been a 
native of Massachusetts, and his mother, Bets}' 
(Blood) Nickerson, a native of Vermont. After 
their marriage they settled near Ticonderoga, N. 
Y., but later removed to Wayne County, in the 
same State. Here the^^ resided some years, and their 
three children — Sullivan A., Melvin T. and Ira S. — 
were born. Mr. Nickerson had learned the ti'ade 
of a tanner and currier, and gave some attention 
to that business, although he devoted the major 
part of his time to agricultural pursuits. Not be- 
ing quite .satisfied with his location, nor with the 
results of his hard toil, he removed with his J'oung 
family to Michigan, in 1830, and settled in Lena- 
wee County, Madison Township, where six years 
later he died, followed by his widow in 184t!. The 
children are all living in Michigan, Sullivan A. in 
Hillsdale County, and the other two in Madison 
Township, this county. 

Our subject, Melvin T. N'ckerson, was born in 
Junius, Wayne Co., N. Y., March 19, 1819, and 
there spent the first eleven years of his life, thence 
coming with his parents to Madison Township. 
He was reared on his father's farm, and received a 
practical training in the occupation which he has 
since followed. He has been a progressive farmer, 
and the success that he has met with is attributable 
to his energy and good judgment, combined with 
the active co-operation of his excellent helpmeet. 
She is an intelligent, self-reliant woman, who looks 
well to the ways of her household, and is devoted 
to the interests of her husband. In their model 
home are to be found all the comforts and many of 
tiie luxuries of life. Mr. Nickerson owns 176 acres 
of land on sections 14 and 15, Madison Township, 
on which his dwelling is plea.santly situated, and is 
surrounded by ample and convenient farm build- 
ings. 

Mr. Nickerson was married in Madison Town- 
ship, June G, 1844, to Miss Amanda C, daughter 
of Calvin and Nancy (Post) Bradish (for parental 
history see sketch of A. W. Bradish). She M-as 
■-^^•^ 



born in Macedon, Wayne Co., N. Y., Jan. 31, 1818, 
and came with her parents to Lenawee County in 
1831. She was one of a large family of brothers 
and sisters, and received from her mother a careful 
home training in the principles of domestic econ- 
om3rto be met with in all well-managed households, 
which well fitted her to sustain the dignities and 
duties of her position as a wife. By her union with 
Mr. Nickerson she became the mother of six chil- 
dren, of vvhom three are deceased — There.sa E., 
Frances A., and one who died in infancy; the 
names of the three living children are: Norman F.i 
Helen A. and Nettie E. 

Mr. Nickerson has been a resident of Madison 
Township more than half a century, and has witnessed 
with gratification the wonderful changes that have 
taken place in the country; the vast forests have 
given way to villages and towns, and substantial resi- 
dences taken the place of the log cabins of the pio- 
neers. In all these changes he has materially as- 
sisted, and, although at present he is physically in- 
capacitated for active work, he takes pleasure in 
thinking over the past, and feels reimid for his ar- 
duous laljors. In politics he affiliates with the 
Democratic party. 

(^ BRAHAM LERCH, a retired farmer in easy 
^Ol circumstances, is now a resident of Clayton 

/FIS Village, and is spending his declining years 
1^' among, the people who have known him 

long and well, and learned to respect him for his 
sterling worth. He came to this county in the pio- 
neer days, and has been foremost in all good works 
and purposes, assisting in building up schools and 
churches, and active in those measures having for 
their object the general welfare of the people. 

In reviewing the history of men who.se lives are 
closely connected with the development of this 
county, and are therefore of interest to all good 
citizens, it is natural to revert to those from whom 
they drew their origin. The parents of our sub- 
ject, Samuel and Regina (Beyl) Lerch, were natives 
of Pennsylvania, where they remained some time 
after their marriage. Subsequently they removed 
to Seneca County, N. Y., where they spent the re- 
■» 



•►-•- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1033 



uiainder of tlieir (Ima.s. Tiieir family included 
twelve children, uf whuni Abraham was the eldest. 

Mr. Lerch w.as born in Northampton Count}', 
Pa., Jan. 15, IHU), and developed into manhood 
amid the quiet i)ursuits of farm life in the Empire 
State, where his family removed in 182;?. He was 
ambitious of acquiring a good homestead and be- 
coming a worthy citizen, as was his father before 
him. Until a youth of sixteen, in connection with 
farm labor, he assisted his father in keeping a pub- 
lic house, which afforded refreshment to the weary 
traveler from the best products of the farm. He 
continued in Seneca County, N. Y., until the spring 
of 1864, and then came to Michigan, locating on 
section 15 in Dover Township, this county, where 
he built up a line homestead from a tract of unim- 
proved land, upon which he lived comfortably for 
a period of twenty years, and then having acquired 
a competence he wisely resolved to retire from 
active labor. 

Mr. Lerch, while a resident of Seneca County, N. 
Y., met and married Miss Mary C. Singer, who was 
born in that county, Nov. 28, 1820. The wedding 
took place at the home of the bride in Fayette 
Township, Dec. 28, 1841, and the young people 
resided there until after the birth of five children. 
The eldest of these, a son, Jesse, is now Treasurer 
of the Northwestern College, at Naperville, 111. ; 
George, during the late war, enlisted in Company 
D, 148th New York Infantry, and at the battle of 
Fair Oaks was captured by the rebels and confined 
in the prison at Salisbury, N. C, where he fell a 
victim to disease in 1865, being only twenty-one 
years of age; Samuel died of typhoid fever in 
Seneca County, N. Y., when a lad twelve years of 
age ; Sarah is the wife of Lee Schaffer, of Seneca 
Township, this count}'; Linus is connected with a 
banking house in the city of Detroit. The mother 
of these children died at her home in Clayton, Jan. 
8, 1887; she was a lady greatly respected and a 
devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
Mr. Lerch was married a second time, Jan. 12, 1888, 
to Mrs. Louisa, widow of John Kesler, and daugh- 
ter of Roswell and Ann (King) Beach, natives of 
Ohio. Mrs. Lerch was born in Erie Count}', Ohio, 
July 8, 1831. Her parents are both deceased, 
having died in Hudson Township, this coimty. 



where they were pioneers, having come here in 1830. 
iMr. Lerch has for many years been prominently 
connected with the Methodist Episcopal Church, at 
Clayton, and politically is a Democrat. He has 
served as Justice of the Peace and Highway Com- 
missioner, and occupied various other positions of 
trust and responsibility. The duties of these he 
has faithfully discharged, and is one of those whose 
names will be handed down to futm-e generations. 



eYRUS GRIFFirn, a native of Churaung 
County, N. Y., was born Aug. 27, 182C, 
and came to this county when a boy seven 
years of age, where he literally grew up with the 
country. Michigan was then a Territory, and the 
parents of our subject, Lazarus and Elizabeth 
(Eliger) Griffith, pitched their tent in the wilder- 
ness of Seneca Township, where they labored in 
common with the ndvcnturous spirits around them 
to build a home and secure a competence for their 
children. 

Lazarus Griffith and his wife were natives of 
Dutchess County, N. Y'., and the mother was the 
daughter of a Revolutionary soldier. From Dutch- 
ess Comity they removed with their parents to 
Chumung County, of which they were residents 
from fifteen to twenty ye.ars, in the meantime hav- 
ing been married and become the parents of several 
children. Mr. Griffith visited this county on a 
toiu' of inspection before removing his family 
hither, and the outlook being satisfactory, he re- 
turned and brought them here a few months after- 
ward. The journey from Detroit was made over- 
land with a yoke of oxen, and Lazarus GrifHth took 
up forty acres of Government land in what is now 
Madison Township, where he settled and began to 
make improvements. He was prospered in his 
struggle with the elements of a new country, and 
three years later added to his real estate by the 
purchase of another forty acres adjoining. The 
parents lived to see the development of the country, 
and their children growing up around them with 
the prospect of future prosperity. The mother 
passed away in 1853, wheii sixty-six years of age, 



#>^h5 



4 



1034 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



while Lazarus Griffith survived his wife seven years, 
dying in I860, at the advanced age of eighty-two 
years. 

The parental household included nine children, 
five girls and four boys, of whom Cyrus was the 
youngest. His education, carried on in the pioneer 
log school-house, was quite limited, as were his op- 
portunities for ment.al advancement. He assisted 
his father in clearing the farm and reducing tlie 
soil to a state of cultivation, and later in life than 
was usual for the youth of those days, began to 
malie arrangements for the establishment of a home 
of his own. He worked with his father until the 
summer of 1855, and on the 3d of July of that 
year, was united in marriage with Miss Julia, 
daughter of Edmund and Lovisa (Van Skoy) Burch. 
Mr. and Mrs. Burch were also natives of the Em- 
pire State, and were married in Dutchess County, 
whence, like the Griffiths, they removed to Chenango 
County, and also came to Michigan before it had 
been transformed from a Territory into a State. 
They settled in Adrian Township, east of the city, 
which at that time was but a hamlet of a few cabins 
and perhaps a fra'me building or two, and there tlie 
mother died when about forty-flve years of age. 
Mr. Burch, during his early manhood, had engaged 
in teaching considerably, but in his later years gave 
his exclusive attention to farming pursuits. His 
death occurred thirty-five years ago, when lie was 
seventy-seven years of age. 

The family of Mr. and Rlrs. Burch consisted of 
eleven children, six sons and five daughters, of 
whom Julia, Mrs. Griffith, was the youngest, and 
was but ten years of age when her mother died. 
She was born .July 2, 1833, in New Jersey. Her 
education was extremely limited, and at a tender 
age she was thrown largely upon her own resources, 
and invested with graver responsibilities than usu- 
ally fall to the lot of childhood. She spent some time 
in Ohio, and had come to this county twelve yenrs 
before her marriage, and by her union with our 
subject became the mother of six children: Kthe- 
linda, who died when two years old ; and Theron, 
Esben, Elma, May and Sarah. Esben married 
Miss Ada Bright, and is farming in Nebraska; 
Elma is the wife of Charles Allen, of Dover Town- 
ship, and the mother of one child, Leslie C. ; M.ay 



follows the profession of a teacher; Sarah has not 
yet completed her studies at school. 

The farm of our subject embraces 117 acres of 
land, which has been brought to a good state of 
cultivation and provided with suitable farm build- 
ings. Mr. Griffith is a quiet and unostentatious 
citizen, who has his own views, and politically an 
earnest temperance advocate, sides with the Pro- 
hibitionists. He and his estimable wife are mem- 
bers in good standing of the Free-Will Baptist 
Church at P'airneld. 



-^ ^-^ ^ 

^( ILAS L. ALLEN is a citizen of Hudson 
Township, where he is actively engaged in 
agricultuial pursuits, owning and occupy- 
ing one of the most productive farms in 
the neighborhood. He was born in Romulus, Sen- 
ei'a Co., N. Y., July ICJ, 1828, while his father, 
Stephen Allen, was burn in Morristown, N. J., and 
his grandfather, Silas Allen, removed from New Jer-. 
sey to Seneca County, N. Y., and was an early 
settler. Silas Allen bought a tract of land, and be- 
sides clearing a farm operated an ashery, and spent 
the remainder of his life in that county. 

The father of our subject was about ten years 
old when he removed from his home in New Jersey 
with his parents to their new home in New York, 
where he grew to manhood and married Rebecca 
Sutton, a native of that State. He bought a farm 
oil the town line between Romulus and Varick, and 
continued to be a resident of Seneca County until 
the year 1836, when on the 10th of October, ac- 
companied by his wife and eight children, he started 
with two pair of horses, a wagon and a carriage for 
the Territory of Michigan. Twenty-one days later 
they arrived at Ann Arbor, and Mr. Allen going 
from there to look for a suitable location for a home, 
journeyed into Lenawee County, where he bought 
160 acres of timber land in Dover Township, con- 
taining a log house and a small barn. 

After completing this purchase Stephen Allen re- 
turned to Ann Arbor for his family, and they re- 
sided on the place until the following May, when 
Mr. Allen sold that land and bought 320 acres par- 
tially timbered, situated two miles west of the city 



•¥^m-^ 



■<^ 



Hh^ 



lexawp:e county. 



1 O.S.i 



of Adrian. Thii-t3- acres of the land had hcen partly 
cleared, and there were two log houses on the place, 
into which the faniil}' removed in the month of 
May, 1837, and there tlie father made his home un- 
til his .leath. He rleare.I al,.,ul -J.-.O aero ..f his 
land, and erected a coinmndiou- \>nrU house and a 
large frame barn ; the old homestead is now oc- 
cupied by two of his sons. He was much honored 
and respected for his integrity and force of charac- 

neer days. Uv .•nid hi> wife \verc |.,-u-cnts of nine 
childi-en, all of whom were li(irn in .New York, and 
with one exce|)tion grew to maturity. 

Silas L. Allen was the fourth i-liild lioni to his 
parents, and as he was eight ycai-s old wIk'u he 
came to this county, he has a good i-ecollcrtioii of 
their journey. For the first few years of their resi- 
dence here they were forced, in common witii the 
other pioneers of that day, to live in the most [irim- 
itive manner. Ilis niothci- prcp;ired tlicir foo<I be- 
fore the open fireplace, and from the wool of the 
sheep which his father raised, she spun and wove all 
the cloth for their (clothes. He gleaned his educa- 
tion at the pioneer schools, the first (jne that he at- 
tended being held in a Iol;- liuilding on liis father's 
farm; it was heated l>y a lire|il.-ic<' with a dirt and 
stick chimney, and had clumsy furniture of home 
manufacture. He lived with his parents until he 
was twenty-four years old, and during that time 
tiinght three terms of winter scliool. Upon leaving 
home he was engaged in railroading for a shcjrt 
time, after which he was employed in farming in 
different places until his marriage. He then bought 
fifty acres of land in Seuec^a Townshi]), and there 
he and his wife spent the first live yeai-s of their 
wedded life, after which he ilisp,,sed of tliai place 
and bought eighty-six acres in Hudson Township, 
where he has resided continuously since. He is 
energetic, i)ruilent and thrifty, and has Ijronght his 
farm into a fine condition, while hf .and liis wife 
have established a cosy ami comfortalilc houie. 

Mr. Allen was first married, Nov. lit, 18;')(i, to 
Miss Emma Davis, a native of Ohio, and the 
daughter of .loshua and .Sophia ( Williams) Davis, 
natives respectively of Xcw Vork and New En- 
gland. Mrs. Allen was much lespected and l,cl.>ved 



died Sept. 2.5, 1872, leaving four children — Emma 
L., Stanley G., Charles D. and Marion. Emma is 
the wife of J. Jerome 'rravi>, of Clinton. :Mich. ; 
Stanley is in K:iii^as City; Charlo is in Hudson, 
while Marion is at home with her parents. 

with Miss Bernice Burr, a native of Kairport, Mon- 
roe Co., N. Y., and daughter of Lousen R. Burr, a 
native of the same place. Her grandfather, Zera 
Burr, a native of Connecticut, was an early settler 
of Fairpoit. where he engaged in the uurs.'ry busi- 
ness and there spei\t his last d.-iys. The father of 
Mrs. Allen marrieil Mary Bently, a native of Rhode 
Island, an<l a daughter of Caleb Bently, who was 
born in New England, ^^r. Burr wa> n natural 
mechanic, and is a line worker both in wood and 
iron: he is now residing in Adrian. 

Two children have been born of the second mar- 
riage of Mr. Allen, namely: Walter P. and Leigh. 
Jlr. and .Mrs. Allen are hospitable, agreeable people, 
and their home is an attractive spot to friend or 



y^EORtiE II. L()CK\ 
1| (--, "mine host" of the 
%jl\ Milage, has charge 



^EORtiE II. LOCKWOOD, who otBciates ,as 
the Rollin House in Rollin 
rge of one of the most pop- 
ular hotels along the line of the C, .1. & M. R. R., 
and from his long experience has a most thorough 
knowledge of the needs of the traveling public. 
He made his waj- here from the Emi)ire State in 
18.52, and after serving as a Union soldier in the 
late vvar made his .arrangements to Iniild up a home 
here, and probably spend the remainder of his life. 
Our sidij.-ct wa> born in Herkimer founty, N. V., 
Sept. 4, IS 12, and is tin' son of .Icremiah and Caro- 
line (H;dl) Lockwood. the former a native of the 
same county as hi- s.m, and born in 1807. He 
emigrated to Michigan in IS.'il', and carried on 
farming in Rollin Township until his death, which 
occurred on the 19th of .Vpril, 187('>; he was a man 
of decided views and an earnest sup|)orter of the 
Democratic party. 

The paternal grandfather of our subject, and his 
father l)efore him, were also named Jeremiah. The 
latter served as a soldier in the Revolutionaiy W: 



=t 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



during which time he was captured by the British 
and confined in prison many months. The mother 
of our subject, who in her girlhood was Miss Caro- 
line Hall, was also a native of Herkimer County, 
and is still living, being sixty-five years of age, and 
makes her home with a daughter in this township. 
Of her marriage with Jeremiah Lockwood, Jr., 
there were born four sons and three daughters, of 
whom George H. is the eldest. He remained under 
the parental roof until the 10th of .September, 1863, 
and then enlisted in Company D, 11th Michigan 
Cavalry, in which he served two years, being de- 
tailed mostly for duty at Lexington, Ky., and 
Camp Douglas, Chicago, 111. During the last 
months of this time he was confined in the hospital, 
first at Camp Nelson, in Kentucky, and subsequently 
at Camp Douglas, in Chicago, where he remained 
until the close of the war, and received his discharge 
in September, 1865. His regiment had been em- 
ployed mostly in looking after guerrillas in Ken- 
tucky. He contracted a disease from which he 
suffered long afterward, and now draws a pension 
from the Government. 

Mr. Lockwood, after his return from the army, 
engaged in farming in Rollin Township. He was 
first married, Sept. 21, 1865, to Miss Lizzie Rolf, 
who was born near Chicago, Dec. 17, 1848, but she 
died at her home in Rollin, July 19, 1883. This 
union resulted in the birth of six children, of whom 
but four are living: Caroline was born Oct, 5, 1866, 
and continues at home with her father; Eliza was 
born Sept. 2, 1871, and is completing her studies 
at Hudson; she intends adopting the profession of 
a teacher, for which she already has a certificate. 
George H., Jr., was born July 2, 1879, and is i)ros- 
ecuting his studies in the district school; Minnie 
was born Jan. 15, 1881. 

The second marriage of BIr. Lockwood occurred 
Sept. 30, 1885, with Miss Stella Worden, who was 
born in Pittsford, Hillsdale County, Oct. I, 1855, 
and is the daughter of Dudley and Lucretia (Gillett) 
Worden, who were among the earliest settlers of 
Hudson Township. They came from New York it) 
Michigan in 1831, and Mr. Worden established the 
first store in Hudson. He died in Pittsford about 
1.S5S. His wife subsequently niai-ried, and in 1 .S87 
went to Ohio, where she is still living. Mrs. Worden 



became the mother of two sons and one daughter, 
of whom the latter only is living. 

Mr. Lockwood, politically, votes the straight 
Democratic ticket, .and belongs to the G. A. R.. 
being a member of DeGolyer Post No. 1 10. 



UDGE ANDREW HOWELL, the Judge of 



I the First Judical Circuit of Michigan, is a res- 
'dent of Adrian and one of her most honored 



(i^M' citizens. He was born in Seneca County, in 
the State of New York, on the 18th of December, 
1827. His father, Dr. Joseph Howell, was a native 
of the same State. His mother, whose maiden name 
was Lutetia Van Duyn, was born in the State of 
New Jersey. The former is of English extraction, 
while the latter was of Scotch and German ancestry. 
Dr. Joseph Howell, the father of our subject, moved 
with his family to Lenawee County, Mich., in 
the year 1831, and located upon a farm in the 
township of Macon, where he settled and began 
the improvements of the farm, and at the same time 
and for many years thereafter, [jracticed his profes- 
sion among the people of that part of the county. 
He was also one of the members representing Len- 
awee County in the convention of 1835, which 
framed the first constitution of the State of Michi- 
gan. Dr. Howell is still living, and resides with one 
of his daughters in Macon. He was born in 1803, 
and now in the eighty-fifth year of his age, is in a 
remarkable state of preservation, both ph^'sically 
and mentally. Mrs. Howell died on the 30th of 
April, 1876, in the seventy-third year of her age. 
She was the mother of eight children, two girls and 
six boys, of whom Judge Howell is the eldest. 

Judge Howell was not yet four years of age when 
his parents settled in Lenawee County, and here 
he passed his boyhood upon the farm and in the 
district school of the neighborhood, until well ad- 
vanced in young manhood. From 1847 to 1850 
he pursued his education at Tecumseh, and at the 
Wesleyan Seminary at Albion, Mich. In the fall of 
1 850 he commenced the study of his profession — 
the law — at Adrian, in the office of F. C. Beaman 
and R. R. Beecher, then tlie leading attorneys of 
Lenawee County. In 1853, he graduated from the 



•►Hh-^ 



lenaavj:?: county. 



kw department of tlie College of Cincinnati, Ohio, 
standing first in his class of thirty-tluec. After 
graduation. Judge Howell returned to Adrian, and 
commenced the practice of the law in partuersliip 
with Judge Beaman, his former precei)tor. Later, 
and in 1855, he joined in a law partnership with 
Judge R. R. Beechur. with whom he continued in 
successful practice for many years. While in 
practice he was tlircc times elected to the ofiice 
of Circuit Court Commissioner, and for tun 
terms, 18G5 and 18G7, he reproenti'il Lenawee 
County in the State Senate. 

In 1871 our subject was appointed by the (4ov- 
ernor as one of the eoramissiimers to supervise and 
certify to a new compilation of the laws of the 
State then lately ordered by the Legislature. But 
this position was soon after resigned, and there- 
upon, in pursuance of a recent act of the Legislature, 
he was immediately appointed by the Governor as 
Special Commissioner to prepare general laws for 
the incorporation of cities and villages in the State. 
Bills for that purpose were accordingly prei)ared 
and submitted by him. and wcie adopted by (he 
Legislature at its next session, and are now a (lart 
of the general statutes of the State. In 1879 the 
Legislature again ordered a new compilation of the 
general statutes of the State, and Judge Howell was 
elected compiler in joint convention of the Senate 
anil House, but the measure failing to meet with 
the approval of the Governor, no further action 
was taken under it. But soon after this he com- 
piled and published, as a work of private enterprise, 
a complete e<lition of the general statutes of the 
State, in force, with copious annotations from the 
decisions of the Su(>reme Court. This work, now 
known as " Howell's Annotated Statutes of Michi- 
gan," was subsequently approved anil adopted by 
the Legislature as the authorized compilation of the 
laws, and the same is now, liy such authority, in 
use as such throughout the State. While in prac- 
tice at the bar Judge Howell also enlarged, revised 
and published several editions of '■ Tiffany's Jus- 
tice's Guide" and "Tiffany's Criminal Law," both 
of which he has made standard works of |)ractice 
in Michigan. 

In the spring of 1881 Judge Howell was, upon 
the nomination of both [lolitical parties, dectcil U> 



his present position upon the bench of the First 
Judicial Circuit. 

In June, 1 850, Judge Howell was njairied to 
INIiss JMary Adelia Beccher Towr, of Rochester, ^■. 
Y., daughter of Rev. ^I'liilo Tower and Cynthia D. 
(Beecher) Tower. Two sons have blessed the union 
of Judge and Mrs. Howell, viz: Robert Beeeher, a 
graduate of Naval Academy, at Annapolis, Md., 
and Cliarles Arthur, now a student at the Michigan 
Lniversity at Ann Arbor. These sons are young- 
men of sterling qualities, of whom not ordy the par- 
ents but the community at large, refer to with a sense 
of pride. 

Judge Howell became a member of the Re|)ub- 
lican party at the time of its organization, and has 
ever since kept himself closely identified with all its 
interests. His religious alliliations are with the 
Presbyterian Church: in earlier j'cars lie was 
an active member of Adrian Lodge No. 1'.), K. 
& A. M. 

"^^^^Bi : 

f^;LANSON WOOLSEY. The gentleman of 
l(sO ^'hose history we give a brief synopsis is 
JrU; an enterprising and influential citizen of 
(j^ Madison Township. He is one of the 

early settlers of the i)lace, and the only man now 
living here who bought his land direct from the 
(Tovernment. Mr. Woolsey is a native of Columbia 
County, N. Y., where he first saw the light Feb. 5, 
1813. He was brought upon a farm, receiving his 
education in the common schools, and spent sixteen 
years in Colnmliia County, :uid in Monroe and On- 
tario Counties. Alans(.)ii \\'oolsey is the son of 
Richard and Mercy (Mosher) W(jolsey, who were 
the parents of thirteen children — Hannah, Lemuel, 
Henry, Ambrose, Sally, Whiting, James J., Daniel, 
Jason, Augustus, Alanson, Malinda and Alonzo. 
Five of these are still living: two in Michigan, one in 



and 



Mon: 



Chicago, 111., one in Cal 
County, N. Y. 

After arriving at manhood, Michigan seemed bj 
Mr. Woolsej' to offer greater facilities foi' i)ursuing 
his ciiosen occupation than New York, so to this 
State he came in the early fall of the year 1838. 
Doubtless he had been considering this change in 
his life for some time, and being conscious that the 



t 



■•►HH^ 



1037 



1038 



i 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



counsel and companionship of a good wife would 
he of inestimable value to a young man just start- 
ing in a new eountiy, lie was united in marriage in 
Victor, Ontario Co., N. Y., Nov. 29, 1837, to Miss 
Mahala, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Ohiey) 
Ladd, natives of Massachusetts aud Rhode Island, 
respectively. They were the parents of ten chil- 
dren as follows: Elvira; Elias E., who died when 
three months old : Mahala, Cassandana, William, 
Hiram, Calista, Adaline E., Smith and .Tennett. Of 
these seven are still living : three in Michigan, three 
in York State and one in Minnesota. 

The first three months after coming to Michigan, 
Alanson Woolsey lived in Dover Township, this 
county, where he had a tract of land, and two acres 
of this he cleared and sowed with wheat. The 
same fall he bought 1 60 acres of school land on 
section 16 of Madison Township, and having in- 
domitable perseverance and courage, he erected a 
log house in which they lived for some years, and 
set to work clearing it, and getting it ready for cul- 
tivation. By continued industry, combined with 
superior judgment, he has since been enabled to add 
to the original purchase until he is now the pos- 
sessor of two fine farms of 205 acres of valuable 
land, worth in the vicinity of $100 an acre. The 
log cabin they left long ago for their pleasant farm 
house, near which he has erected substantial farm 
buildings. 

The union of Mr. and Mrs. Woolsey has been 
blessed by the birth of five children: John W. ; 
William, who died at the age of five 3'ears: Calista, 
the wife of P. B. Cliase, residing in Madison Town- 
ship; Charles residing in Chicago, and Rudolph A., 
who married Elizabeth Douglas, and resides in 
Madison, of which place lie was elected Town Clerk 
in the spring of 1887. 

Besides being a successful agriculturist Mr. 
Woolsey has other claims to distinction. Possess- 
ing in a marked degree the mechanical ingenuity 
which characterizes so many of his countrymen, 
about the year 1870 he patented his well-known, 
serviceable invention under the name of the Wool- 
sey Road Scraper. Mr. Woolsey has done much to 
further public interests, and has served in some of 
the town offices. He was elected Justice of the 
r Peace, but declined to serve. In politics he is a 



stanch Republican. Mrs. Woolsey has proved a 
helpmeet to her husband in the broadest sense of 
the word for over half a century, as they cele- 
brated their golden wedding Nov. 29, 1887. All 
their children were present except one daughter, 
who resides in California, and the partj^ included 
also the grandchildren. It was a season of heart- 
felt joy and congratulations, as all joined in ex- 
pressing the hope that the venerable couple might 
long be spared to the society they sii well adorn. 

OATHANIEL K. BOAVEN. The subject of 
' this sketch is a retired farmer, passing the 
evening of a well-spent life on the farm on 
which he settled in 1839. Like most men at that 
day, he believed a location in or at the edge of 
a timber district an indispensable element to suc- 
cess. His first tract was one of sixty acres, situated 
on section 18, Clinton Township. He has now 
seventy acres, nearly all of which is well-improved 
land. 

The subject of this sketch first saw the light iit 
Bristol Township, Ontario Co., N. Y., Feb. 1.5, 
1810, and is the son of George Bo wen, who was 
a fai iner and carpenter. He was a patriot and a 
lover of liberty, and served in the War of 1812, 
escaping therefrom unscathed. George Bowen was 
married in Ontaria County. N. Y., to Phila M. 
Booth, who was also born and reared in that State, 
where they resided many years after their marriage 
in Bristol Township, Ontario C^ountj-. They after- 
ward went to Monroe Countj' of that State, and 
four years later, in 1836, came to Tecumseh, Mich., 
where they died full of yenvs and honor. 

The wife of our subject was Miss Sophia Phillips, 
who was born in Bristol, Ontario Co., N. Y., in 
1814, and died at her home in 1840. She became 
the mother of two children, George and Jeremiah, 
of whom the latter is deceased; George married 
Abbie M. Frost, and resides on a farm in Clinton 
Township. 

In 1842 Mr. Bowen was a second time married, 
in Clinton Township, to Miss Elizabeth Spaulding, 
who was l)orn in Seneca Township. N. Y., in 1815. 
She went with her parents to Ohio when a child, 



LENAWEE COUNTY, 



1039 ^ * 



locating near Akron, and afterward came to Michi- 
gan, settling- in Macon Township, tliis county. 
Mrs. Bowen was the mother of two children, D. 
K. and DeWittC, the former of whom took for 
his wife Mar^' Gillett. residing at Dundee. Mon- 
roe tlo., Mich. Slie liad lost her parents when a 
child of twelve years, lint was lirave and resolute 
eno\igli to eaiii hci- own livelihood at domestic 
work: she is the mother of two children — Zella I. 
and Roy E. The .son is engaged in working his 
father's farm. DeWitt C. married Miss Clyde 
Stewart, and is farming in Adrian Township; they 
have one child. Floyd 1). 

Nathaniel K. liowcii w;is .mu .-iclive farmer and 
stoek-rai.ser until ISTO. when he retired from active 
business. He and Ins son> are identilie<I with the 
Republican party. 

^ YMAN II. AI.DKR'II. Piominenl among 
I (P the I'esidents of this section of country 
jJLJ^ stands the sulgeet of this sketch, who is 
located on section 34, Seneca Township, where he 
owns sixty acres of excellent land nnder a high 
state of cultivation. He has been a resident of this 
section since 1848, and has erected on his farm a 
ne;it mid -ulistanti:d residence, with all the out- 
Iniildings necessary for the successful proseeiitifin 
of his calling as an agriculturist. 

The parents of our subject were Abner and 
Emilj' (Henderson) Aldrich, the former a native (if 
Rhode Island, and born near the <-ity of Providence. 
while the latter is supposed to ha\e lieen a native 
of New York State. When a youth of about seven- 
teen years of age, Abner Aldrich came from Rhode 
I.sland to Ontario County. N. Y., where he grew to 
manhood, and met and married Miss Emilj' Hen- 
derson. Soon after their marriage the young 
couple removed to Sandusky County, Ohio, where 
they entered a tract of Government land, and 
engaged in its improvement until their death. 
They became the parents of eleven cliildren. >even 
sons and four daughters, of whom ten li\cil to 
years of maturity. 

Our subject, who was tlie thiid son .-aid the third 
in order of birth in the family, was boiii in (ireen 



Creek Township, Sandusky Co., Ohio, Nov. 21, 
1826, where he was reared on a farm and received 
,as good an education as was obtainable in the 
common schools of those days. During his youth 
he was variously' employed in that .section of the 
country, making his home, however, with his 
parents. After his marriage he rented the old 
homestead for one year, and in 1848 came to what 
is now Royalton Township, Fulton Co., Ohio, 
wheie he bought a tract of forty .acres of land on 
the line between Ohio and Michigan. After .i 
residence in this place of two and one-half years, 
he was compelled, through no fault of his own, to 
sacrifice his farm, .-niil he was left idmost without 
means. He came to Seneca Township, this coimty. 
in the autumn of 18o0, an<l pui'chased forty acres 
of land on section 3.t, on which he built a log house 
and lived until 18(;;'i, when lie purchased eightj' 
acres on section .")4, where he has since resided; 
Mr. Aldrich Ims disposed of part of his f.-irm and 
now owns sixty acres. 

The subject of this biograi.hy was united in 
marriage in (ireen Creek Township, Sandusky Co., 
Ohio, May 1.3, 1847, with Miss Mary, daughter of 
Henry and Nancy (Wright) Lybarker, the f(jrmer 
of German ancestry, and born in Pennsylvania, 
while the latter was of English and Scotch ancestry, 
and was a native of Detroit, Jlicli. After their 
marriage they settled in Erie County. Pa., an<l sub- 
se()nently r<'iiioved to Green Creek Townshii), 
Sandusky Co.. Ohio. They afterw.ard removed to 
Isaliell.-i County. Mich., where the father passed 
.away to his final rest; the wife had previously died 
in Siningfield, Erie Co.. Pa., where she resided 
with her daughter. Their family consisted of 
eleven children, seven sons and four daughters, 
of whom nine lived to years of maturity. Mrs. 
Ahlrich, the eighth child, w.is l„,ni in S|,rin,ufleld. 
Erie Co.. Pa., A|)ril 12. I Si'.s. 

To our sidiject and his wife have been born six 
children, three of whom are living, and named as 
follows: Pvdgar D.. Henry A. and Viola; the names 
of the deceased cliildren were Nancy. Alice and 
Amelia. Edgar married Olive Hiekfonl; Henry 
took to wife Eouisa A. Dull, and N'iola is the wife 
! of Fclch Haywot)d: Nancy died in infancy; Alice 
I died in Seneca Township when eighteen years of 



•►HI-* 



« ► m <• 



HH* 



1040 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



age, and Amelia died in the same township at the 
age of twenty-three. 

In politics our subject is identified with the 
Democratic party, and has held the position of 
Highway Commissioner three years, acting alike 
with credit to himself and satisfaction to all con- 
cerned. He is not an office-seelier, preferring to 
devote his time and attention to his domestic affairs. 
He lias served in the capacity of Juryman in the 
Circuit Court of Lenawee County four times since 
he took up his residence in this county. 

— ^>v ■■o«.o.fg>Jv>v^-.o*o <^— 



persons 
Medina 



JOSIAH OSGOOD. There are few 
remaining any length of time in 
Township who have! not become familiar 
with the name of this gentleman, who has 
been one of its most prominent citizens many years. 
Besides having accumulated a good property, he 
has held the various local offices, serving as Con- 
stable, School Inspector, Drain Commissioner, Jury- 
man, and has been Justice of the Peace for the last 
six years. He and his estimable lady are among 
the pillars of the United Brethren Church, and 
politically Mr. 0. is a standi Republican and de- 
cidedly in favor of temperance. 

This branch of the Osgood family has been prom- 
inent in New England for several generations. 
Some of the later descendants finally settled in 
Connecticut, where William Osgood, the father of 
our subject, was born Oct. 3, 1770. He finally re- 
moved to Seneca County, N. Y., and was there 
married to Miss Magdalena Covert, who was born 
in New Jersey, June 12, 1779. They began life 
together in the town of Lodi, and there spent the 
remaining years of their lives, the death of the 
father taking place in 1823, while the mother sur- 
vived her husband thirty years and died at Lodi in 
1853. They were the parents of fifteen children 
who, with one exception, lived to mature years, and 
of whom our subject, Josiah, the youngest living- 
child, was born April 11, 1817, near J^odi, N. Y. 
He received a common-school education, and con- 
tinued on the farm of his fattier until reaching his 
niajorit}'. 

A few mouths after his twenty-first birthday. 



young Osgood, in the fall of 1838, arrived in this 
county, and not long afterward purchased eighty 
acres of land in Medina Township. He was not then 
prepared to enter upon its improvement and culti- 
vation, being without means, team or implements, 
and consequently employed himself at whatever he 
could find to do for two years following. In the 
latter part of 18-10 he began to clear his Land, put- 
ting in a croi) of wheat in the fall, and harvesting 
three acres the following summer. In the winter 
of 1841-42, in company with A. II. Colegrove, he 
rented the Tiffin mill, west of the young town of 
Medina, which they operated until spring, and then 
Mr. O. worked upon his land. In the fall he pro- 
ceeded as before, and thus put in his time profitably 
until his means justified giving his whole attention 
to his farm. 

One of the highest ambitions of the young men 
of those days was the establishment of a home and 
domestic ties of their own. Mr. Osgood had here- 
tofore lived with Chauncy Hollister, but in 1844 
he put up a plank house on bis land, to which he 
brought a bride in the winter of 1845, having been 
married Sept. 10, 1844, to Miss Mary C, daughter 
of John R. and Charity (Phillips) Foster, natives 
respectively of Massachusetts and Vermont. After 
marriage the parents settled in Orleans County, N. 
Y., where the father carried on farming until 1833, 
when he left the Empire State with his family, and 
cast his lot with the pioneers of Michigan Territory. 
He was among tlie first settlers of this county, and 
their son Henry was the first white child born in 
Medina Town.ship. Mr. Foster took up 200 acres 
of Government land, which was the first pur- 
chase of land in that township. Mr. and Mrs. 
Foster were the parents of eight children, namely : 
John Reed, Mary C, C'hloeP., Augustus W., Henry 
C, Martha V., George R. and Ira H. Henry, dur- 
ing the late war, enlisted in Company D, 18th 
Michigan Infantry, and was fatall}' wounded in 
battle, dying in October, 1862. P'our of the chil- 
dren are now living; the parents are deceased. 

Mr. and Mrs. Osgood worked together in their 
efforts to build up a home, and in due time their 
humble dwelling was brightened by the presence of 
five children, named respectively : Omer D., Ellen 
A., Elmer W., Willie R. and Darwin II. Omer 



A 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



D.,a manufacturer residing at Morenci, married Miss 
Harriet Stites, and tlicy have four cliildren living — 
Fredericlv E., Editli Maj^ Burt F. and Anna; one 
infant died unnamed. Miss Ellen Osgood became 
the wife of N. V. Coomor, a well-to-do farmer of 
Isabella County, this State; they have four children 
— Mary Florence, Martha Viola, Mabel L. and Eva 
L. p]lmer W. Osgood married Miss Ada Frantz, 
and is engaged .as a manufacturer and dealer in 
hardware at Britton, Mich.; they have two children 
— Frank J. and Myrtle May. Willie K. is in part- 
nership with ids brother Elmer at Britton; Dar- 
win, a promising young man of twenty-one years, 
attended the High School at Morenci two years, and 
still i-emains a member of the parental household. 



■\1>v^ANn<:L FISK, a sou of one of the earliest 
pioneers of Seneca Township, is a man who 
has made much of his opportunities in 
life, being a Iceen observer of men and 
things, and as such has watched with more than 
ordinary interest the early settlement and growth 
of Lenawee County. He recollects the time when 
the rails of the Kalamazoo Railroad were being 
laid and when the ticket agent occupied a very- 
small office in a building little better than a shanty. 
The first cars were drawn by horses, and the father 
of Daniel was a stockholder in the company. The 
enterprise had been inaugurated b^' the people of 
that section, and the road was principally built b}' 
subscription from the farmers, as it was a project 
established for their benefit. The year following 
steam was suljstituted f(.)r horse power, and the 
first locomotive would doubtless now be a great 
curiosity. 

Not only this but the various other enterprises 
of Lenawee County at tiiat time received the 
lively support of the father of our subject, who was 
a man of great force of character anil more than 
ordinary intelligence. Daniel, who was born in 
Chemung Co., N. Y., Feb. 1, 1825, came here with 
his father in 1 833 and attended the first school in 
Fairfield Township, which was conducted in an old 
log house tiiat had been vacated by some discour- 
aged settler. Jabez Fisk, the father, was one of 
-<• 



[ the men who organized one of the fust school dis- 
j tricts in Madison Township, in 1838. Our subject 
I remembers when the foundation stones of Michi- 
gan University were laid at Ann Arbor, and maiked 
the institution as it grew from infancy to one of 
the most noted colleges in the Northwest. His 
uncle, Prof. Andrew Tenbrook, was its first Presi- 
dent. 

The parents of our subject. Jabez and Catiier- 
inc (Tenbrook) Fisk, were natives respectively of 
Massachusetts and Chemung County, N. Y. The 
father served as a soldier in the War of 1812, and 
participated in the battles of Ft. Erie and Black 
Rock, where he was severely wounded in the neck. 
Jabez Fisk had left the Bay State in his youth and 
settled in Chemung County, where he was married 
and continued a resident until 1833. The house- 
hold then included several children, for whose wel- 
fare the father was extremely anxious, and on 
account of them he determined to remove to a 
locality where he could obtain land at a less price 
than in New York State, and which would increase 
in value. He accordingly gathered together his 
household effects, and with his family started for 
Lenawee County, Mich., within whose limits he 
arrived on the 3d of June, 1833. He settled in 
what is now known as Madison Township, on sec- 
tion 35, when the country \vas a wilderness for 
miles around. He built a cabin in the forest, and 
proceeded to fell the trees around it and cultivate 
the soil, each season finding a larger area devoted 
to corn and wheat. Besides his own excessive 
labor at home he kept an eye out to his far-away 
neighbors and those who were coming into the 
township, assisting the latter to m.ake their selection 
of land and build their log cabins. His latch-string 
was ever out to the traveler, who was always wel- 
come to partake of the household fare, and he fre- 
(piently piloted settlers to Morenci before there 
was a trail plain enough for them to follow. He 
w.as also instrumental in laying out the two angling 
roads to Morenci, and from Jordan's Tavern to 
Canandaigua, one of which was called the " Bean 
Creek Road," and the other started at what is now 
Sand Creek, and running to Morenci ,vns called the 
"Angling Road." 

Jabez Fisk took up lOO acres of land in Fairfield 



HHI.. 



1042 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



and Madison Townships at the Government price, 
and made his home in the latter until 1847. Thence 
he removed to a farm near the town of Dover, 
where he continued until his death, in 1867, when 
seventy-three years old. His wife, Catherine, sur- 
vived her husband but three years, and was also 
seventy-three years of age at the time of her death. 
Their family included thirteen children, ten sons 
and three daughters, of whom Daniel of our sketch 
was the fifth child. He assisted his father in build- 
ing up the homestead in the wilderness and, like the 
latter, was industrious, frugal and economical, am- ] 
bitious to make a home of his own and be a man 
among men. 

The boyhood and youth of Daniel Fisk were 
passed in a comparatively uneventful manner, and 
when twenty-seven years of age he took to himself 
a wife and helpmeet in the person of Miss Eliza- 
beth Quick, of Chemung County, N. Y., to whom 
he was married at the home of the bride in Septem- i 
ber, 18.52. Mrs. Fisk was the daughter of Lewis 
and Maria (Clapp) Quick, of Saratoga County, N. 
Y., and was born on the 6th of May, 1828; she \ 
continued with her parents until her marriage. I 
Lewis Quick died in July, 1881, at the age of 
seventy-eight years, and his wife Maria, surviving 
him three j^ears. died in 1884, when eighty-three 
years old. They were the parents of three children, j 
two sons and one daughter; Mrs. F. was the second i 
child in order of birth. 

Immediately after marriage our subject and his 
wife settled u])on land on section 1 in Seneca 
Township, commencing in a manner suitable to 
their means and surroundings, and now in their 
later years are enjoying the reward of their early 
toil and frugality. The homestead embraces 160 
acres of land, the greater part of which was cleared 
by Mr. Fisk himself, and he has spent much money 
in the erection of buildings, having a good resi- 
dence, barns and sheds, and everything for his con- j 
venience. Three children came to bless the house- 
hold and were named respectively', Fred M., Carrie 
M. and Harry J. Their eldest son, Frederick, a 
commercial traveler, makes his home in California, 
and has been highly favored in point of opportuni- \ 
ties to see the world, having alread}' circuninavi- ! 
gated the globe. He starts out on his third trip to 
-<• 



Australia, April 5, 1888. He .married Miss Lilly 
M. Blair, of Morenci, and they have one child, a 
daughter, Rena Ma}-. Miss Carrie M. Fisk is in busi- 
ness for herself at Detroit, while Harry J. con- 
tinues at home with his parents. Mr. Fisk is a 
stanch Republican, politically, and with his wife is 
a member in good standing of the Methodist 
Church. 

U(ill DAVITT, since the spring of 18.54, has 
j carried on farming continuously in Medina 
III y^ Township, and as the result of industry^ 
prudence and frugality, has secured for him- 
self an unincumbered farm, comprising one of the 
most comfortable homes in this township. It em- 
braces ninety-seven acres of land under a good 
state of cultivation, with suitable farm buildings, a 
goodly assortment of live stock, and the various 
otlier appurtenances of the model farm. Mr. 
Davitt, a native of Ireland, was born in 1810, and 
is the son of Michael and Bridget (Scanlan) Davitt, 
who were also of Irish birth and parentage, and 
spent their entire lives upon their native soil, where 
the mother died in 1838. They were hard-working, 
honest people, who provided for their children to 
the best of their ability, and taught them early in 
life to depend upon themselves. 

Our subject was married in his native count}', in 
1842, and remained there engaged in farming until 
the summer of 1847, when he determined to seek 
his fortunes in the New World, though it was not 
without regret that he bade adieu to the friends of 
his childhood and youth. Accompanied by his wife 
and one child he took passage on a sailing-vessel at 
Liverpool, and five weeks later set foot upon 
American soil in the great city of New York. 
From the metropolis they made their way to the 
town of Macedon, where Mr. Davitt was engaged in 
mason work about seven years, and whence, iu 1 854, 
he came to this county. He first purchased sixty 
acres of land in Medina Township, and went to 
work in earnest to cultivate the soil, and establish a 
permanent home. He was prospered in his labors 
and added to his real estate, putting up from time 
to time the neat and substantial buildings which the 
passing traveler now observes with interest, and 



»^i-^ 



.•►Hl-^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



adding the other emljellishineiits nliich i;(i to in;iUo 
up the complete homestead. For a man who 
landed in America with tweniy-tive cents in his 
pocket and a family on his hands, it is hardly neces- 
sary to say that he has made good use of his time. 
and spent few daj's in idleness. 

The wife of our subject, a native of County 
Mayo, Ireland, was Miss Mary, tiie daughter of 
John and Rosa (Gall.as>-her) Donnelly, wlio were the 
parents of si.x children, nnd spent Ihcii- l:ist years 
in Ireland. To our sui)jcrt and ills wife tiiere have 
been born twelve children. Their eldest son. John, 
is a native of County Mayo, Ireland, but the other 
children were born in this country, four in New- 
York State, and the rest in L.niawec Counly. .b>hn 
has developed into a capable and hitclli.ucnt yctiinu' 
man, is a builder and contractor, and lives in Da- 
kota; the eldest daughter, Rosa, married Michael 
Tierney, of Chicago; Harriet Ann is the wife of 
Walter Wright, of Hudson Towusliip; .lames is a 
practicing attorney at .Saginaw; and Lizzie A., 
Thomas, Katie H. and Clara are at home with their 
parents, Patrick died in Ireland, William in Da- 
kota, Michael at the homestead in Michigan, and 
Mary in New York. 

Mr. and Mrs. Davitt were reared in the faith of 
the Catholic Church, and are among tlie leading- 
members of the society at Hudson. Mr. D. upon 
becoming a naturalized citizen identified himself 
with the Democratic party, liut is now greatly in- 
terested in and favors Prohibition. 

^-^ ^ 



EDMUND HALL, one of tlie lionored pio. 
neers of Lenawee County, occui)ies a very 
large spot in the affections of the people of 
this section. He came here in the midst of his 
youth and strength, and bravely set to work not 
only to build up for himself a good position, so- 
cially and financially, but to assist those around 
him as he had opportunity. He is widely and fa- 
vorably known as one of the most generous men 
of this section, one who has unselfishly administered 
to the comfort and the happiness of a large num- 
ber of people, and who counts among his close 
friends and warm admirers the best residents of 



Lenawee County. A> tlic ccnlnd ligiire of .-i most 
interesting history, ills biography will be iieruseii by 
young .and old with deep and gratified interest. It 
is that of a man eminently worthy of representa- 
tion in a work whicii :iini.s to simply give a man his 
lines, and jjortray in a Irutlifiil manner the events 
of the olden times, and their marked contrast to 
the present — a present which is rich in advantages, 
the result of the labors and example of the men of 
fifty 3'ears ago. 

Mr. Hall came to this county in 1M31, and took 
up 100 acres of wild hind on section :.'5, in Raisin 
Township, of which he has since been in possession. 
He then returned to his home in New York State, 
but came l)ack to the West the following year, and 
liegan in earnest the cstablishnicnt of a permanent 
home. In common with the earlj' settlers he la- 
bored often under great diflicnlties, with imper- 
fectlj' constructed farm implements, and the market 
miles away, lie had "come to stay." however, 
proving himself equal to I'Very emergency, and the 
result of his (ilodding industry soon made itself 
apparent in a good farm with excellent improve- 
ments, and now consisting of 147 acres, he having 
added to his first purchase. He has never been very 
much devoted to style and fashion, but is a sim- 
ple, honest and reliable man, who is prompt in 
meeting his obligations and follows the Christian 
precept, aiming to do to others as he would have 
them do to liini. This purest of moral principles 
has served him well through the vicissitudes of a 
long and eventful life, and no man enjoj's in a 
larger measure the esteem and confidence of his fel- 
low-citizens. 

Mr. Hall was born in I'ompey, N. Y., Feb. 20, 
\ 1807, and is the son of Kdnumd Hall, a native 
of New York, who passed away many years ago. 
Edmund distinguished himself during his early 
years as a diligent and thoughtful youth, and gave 
early evidence of those principles of high morality 
which have been one of the distinguishing charac- 
teristics of his later life. He remained under the 
parental roof until coming to the West, and in the 
meantime had selected the lady who was to share 
his home in the future. This w.as Miss Lucretia 
Raymond, whom he hnd known in his childhood, 
and to whom he was married after coming to this 



•►HI-<^ 



1044 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



4-1 



county, on tlie 10th of February, 1836. Mrs. Hall 
is a native of the same State as her husband, and 
was born in Wheeler Township, Steuben Count}', 
April 24, 1811. Her parents, Rnfus and Ruhama 
(AuUs) Raymond, were also natives of the Empire 
State and married in Steuben County, where tiieir 
elder children were born. They came to the West in 
1834, when their daughter Liicretia was a young 
lady and the father took up a tract of unbroken 
land in Raisin Township, where they continued to 
live on a farm, and where the mother died in the 
spring of 1845. The father afterward removed 
to another part of the township, and survived his 
wife for a period of twenty years, his death taking 
place in 1 865, when he was nearly eighty years of 
age. He belonged to the Presbterian Church, while 
the mother was a devoted Methodist. 

Mr. and Mrs. Hall have lived together harmo- 
niously for a period of more than fifty years, and 
celebrated their golden wedding Feb. 10, 188G. 
This was an occasion which will long be remem- 
bered by the 115 guests who had the happiness 
of being present. This large company, includ- 
ing their children and their grandchildren, came 
on this day to congratulate them and express 
the hope that they would be found in their old 
place for many years to come and in the midst of 
the friends who have known them so long and are 
so deeply attached to them. Mrs. Hall was the 
eldest of thirteen children, and by her union with 
our subject became the mother of four children. 
Those living are Austin G., a sketch of whom will 
be found elsewhere in this volume, and Ruhama E., 
the wife of James T. Lane, who operates the home 
farm. The deceased, James H. and Rufus R., were 
married and lived in this county, occupied as 
farmers. 

Mr. Hall was in earlier years a Whig, and identified 
himself with the Republicans upon the abandon- 
ment of the old party. He has held the office of 
Justice of the Peace eight years and has also served 
as Road Commissioner. In his reflections upon the 
various changes in a life which he may justly con- 
sider well spent, he may take ample comfort in the 
thought that he has done what he could in assisting 
the enterprises which have developed one of the fin- 
est sections of country in the State of Michigan, and 
-^a — ^— — ^_^_^_— _ 



no man can point to a mean or dishonest act of 
which he is guilt_y, Mr. Hall is a member of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, while his good lady 
in her religious belief is of the Quaker faith. 



■Tr=?.i DGAR S. HAGAMAN is among the prom- 
||U] inent residents of Weston, Fairfield Town- 
Jjr-^ ship. His parents were Ira J. and Elizabeth 
(Paddock) Hagaman, the former born in Shelb}', 
Orleans Co., N. Y., and the latter in Scipio, Seneca 
County; they were of German and Irish ancestry. 
The grandfather was Joseph Hagaman, who came 
from Seneca County, N. Y., to Lenawee County, 
Mich., in June, 1832, arriving in Adrian; the grand- 
mother was Elizabeth Stout, of New Jersey. Ira 
J. came to Lenawee Count}' with his parents. His 
wife's parents were Nathan and Mary Paddock, of 
Adrian, the former of whom died in Blissfield, 
Aug. 25, 1866, and the latter March 27, 1875. 

Ira J. Hagaman was married in Adrian Town- 
ship, March 23, 1838, but removed directly after to 
Fairfield Township, where he settled on a farm on 
section 8, and remained until his death, which 
occurred Feb. 14, 1886. His wife lives with her 
children, of whom there are four — ^Mary A., Edgar 
S. and Edson B., twins, and Joseph D. Blary 
A. was born Jan. 18, 1839, and is now the 
wife of Lewis P. Mead, of Jasper County. Iowa; 
Edgar S. and Edson B. were born Jan. 25, 1 844, 
and Joseph D., Oct. 29, 1854. 

Edgar S. Hagaman was married, on the 5th of 
October, 1865, to Miss Almyra Thurber, of the 
township of Fairfield, and lived with his father 
until the 15th of January, 1867, when he removed 
to Jasper County, Iowa, on a prairie farm of 160 
acres, and lived there until March 5, 1875. He 
then returned to the township of Fairfield, and 
bought 100 acres of land adjoining his father's 
farm, and lived there until September, 1882, when 
he removed to Weston and engaged in the 
buying and handling of all kinds of grain, seed 
•and coal. In the ye.ar 1884 he bought the flouring- 
mill interest of S. W. Keene, of Weston, in what 
was known as the Weston Milling Company. They 
met with the loss of said mill April 4, 1885, after 
•> 



I 



-4*- 



^1 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



104,' 



which Mr. Ilagaman bought uiit the other partners, 
aiul rebuilt the mill, which is not excelled by anj"^ 
in Southern Michigan. It is a full roller mill 
of seventy-five-barrel cap.acity, with a good saw- 
mill, planer, matcher and nmldiiiL! ni.ichincry. He 
owns several farms in this lo\vnsln|i. nml lias been 
a prosperous farmer and business man, and of gieat 
help to the village of Weston. 

Mrs. Almyra Hagaman, his wife, was liorn in the 
year 1846, September 14, and is the daugliter of 
Robert G. and Isabella Thtirber. of Kairlield Town- 
ship. Her father was born in New Hampshire and 
her mother was born in Scotland; they were mar- 
ried in Canandaigua, N. Y., about 1835. The 
mother w.as born in the year ISIM, .and is still 
living; the father died in Krlirii.ary. 18.5'J, aged 
fifty-one jears. There were born to them James 
H., Jane A., Nancy II., Almyra li., Jennett S. and 
Harriet A. Thurber, of whom Almyra is the fourth 
one of the family. 

Mr. and Mrs. Il.agaman .are members of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church of Weston, lie helping 
to build a fine Methodist church before he became a 
member, and in the year 1887 experienced religion 
under the protracted efforts conducted liy James E. 
Withy, tlie pastor in charge. 



^^EOROEW. AYERS, attorney-at-law, Jns- 
jlj tice of the Peace and Circuit Court Com- 

^^Jj missioner of Lenawee County, at Adrian, 
is tlie offspring of a pioneer family of this county 
which migrated from the P^mpire State during the 
early settlement of Southern Michigan. They be- 
came prominently and favorably known among the 
citizens of the community struggling into existence, 
in which they did most effective service in its moral 
and financial development. 

The parents of our subject, John and Amanda 
J. (Porter) Ayers, were both natives of New York 
State, the father born in Oneida County inl8-.'2, 
and the mother in Chautauqua County, near the 
town of Westfield, Jan. 19, 1828. John Ayers 
came to Michigan with his father's family in 1834, 
and was married to Amanda J. Porter in 1852. 
They became the parents of five children, of whom 



r 



but three are living: Albert J., the eldest, residing 
on the old homestead, located by his grandfather, 
Septimus Ayers, on section .")5 in Fairfield Town- 
ship; Lyda E., the wife of Charles F. Morse, who 
is also fanning in that townshif), and George W., 
wild waslioni at Mic liomestead of his father, five 
miles soutli of tlie village of Fairfield, Dec. 7, 1854. 
Our subject spent his early years amid the peaceful 
scenes of farm life, receiving his rudimentary educa- 
tion in the district school, and later entering the 
High School at Adrian, lioni which he was graduated 
in the class of 1887. He commenced his law 
studies in the office of B. F. Graves, and complet- 
ing them under the tutelage of Judge Stacey, was 
admitted to the bar in April, 1883. Desirous, how- 
ever, of adding to his store of legal knowledge, in 
the fall of that same year Mr. Ayers entered the 
senior class in the law department of Michigan 
University, from which he was graduated on the 
26th of March following. He at once returned 
to Adrian and commenced the practice of his 
chosen profession, having his office with Judge 
Stacey until in September, 1884, when he trans- 
ferred his business to the. office of C. R. Miller, 
with whom he remained until April, 1887. 

Mr. Ayers, in 1884, wls elected to his present 
office of Circuit Court Commissioner and re-elected 
in 1886, receiving a flattering majority and one 
much in excess of the other candidates. In April, 
1887, he was elected Justice of the Peace, and in 
the three departments of his business realizes a 
handsome income. He is prominently connected 
with the I. O. O. F., Adrian Lodge No. 8, and is at 
present acting Commander of the Knights of the 
Maccabees. 



PATRICK DONNELLY. One of the most 
] noticeable pieces of farm property in 
Medina Township is that which is situated 
on section 6 and belongs to the gentleman 
whose name stands at the head of this sketch ; and 
there is scarcely a finer dwelling in this section of 
country. The barns and other out-buildings are in 
keeping with the residence, and the whole home- 
stead is a credit to the proprietor. The land is 



•► 



-4*- 



1046 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



•Mh 



under a good state of cultivation, and tlie live 
stock and farm machinery denote the labor of an 
industrious hand and the supervision of a well- 
balanced head. 

The early home of Mr. Donnelly was in County 
Ma3-o, Ireland, where he began life Feb. I.i. 1828, 
and was brought up on the farm of his father, who 
labored early and late to provide for the wants of 
his family. The latter, John Donnelly, married 
Miss Rose Gallaglier, and tliej^ became the parents 
of ten children. Thej'also were natives of County 
Mayo, and spent all their lives there, the mother 
dying in 1881, when about eighty-two years of age, 
while tlie father survived his wife one year and was 
eighty-six years old at the time of his death. The 
Donnellys were noted for longevity, the paternal 
grandfather of our subject living to the advanced 
.age of one hundred and six years. 

Mr. Donnelly was the second child of his p.irents, 
and early in life began to think about the future. 
His ambition was to attain to a better lot than had 
been that of his parents, who had labored hard and 
with small returns, and as he saw little prospect of 
bettering his condition upon his native soil he de- 
termined to seek another country. A few months 
after reaching his majority he set out, on the 7th of 
July, 1849, from the home of his childhood, and 
three days later found him on board a sailing-vessel 
bound for St. John, New Brunswick, where the land- 
ing was made on the 11th of August following. 
Thence young Donnelly proceeded by steamer to 
Boston, and from there made his way by canal to 
Macedon, N. Y., where he arrived with a few cents 
in his pocket. He secured work the next day, 
however, upon a farm, and worked thereafter as the 
emploj-e of one man for a period of four years — 
which speaks well for both master and man. In 
the meantime, with a worthy ambition to improve 
his mind, our subject attended school in the winter 
and kept himself posted as well as he could upon 
matters of general interest to the intelligent man. 

Our subject, in 186."), resolved to take the advice 
of Horace Greeley to young men and "go west." 
He found himself in this county on the 1st of De- 
cember, and not long afterward purchased sixty- 
five acres of land in Medina Township, for Which 
he paid $.500 of monoy which he had earned, be- 



sides .sending funds home to his father's family in 
Ireland. He continued working out until he had 
enough money to buy a yoke of oxen and a wagon, 
and now struck the first blow toward felling the 
heavy timber on his purchase and preparing the soil 
for cultivation. He labored early and late for many 
years, and the fertile fields which now lie about him 
with the comfortable homestead bear silent but 
forcible witness of his reward. 

Mr. Donnelly in his lal)ors has had the assistance 
of a prudent and sensible wife, one of his own 
countrywomen, who in her girlhood was Miss Ann 
Howley, and to whom he was married in Adrian 
Mich., Feb. 14, 1860. Mrs. Donnelly was born 
Dec. 25, 1839, and came to America in 18.")1. She 
is the daughter of Michael and Mary (Martin) 
Howle_y, natives of County Sligo, Ireland, where 
they spent their entire lives and where all their 
children were born. Mr. Howie}' died when his 
(laughter Ann was a child, and the mother died 
about five years ago at a very old age. The chil- 
dren born to our subject and his wife ^rere: Mary 
Ellen, now the wife of William Murray, of Medina 
Township; Rose Ann, Mrs. Ed Kelly; John and 
Henry, at home and students in the High School ; 
Patrick Henry, and two babes who died unnamed. 

The farm of our suliject includes ninety-seven 
and a half acres of land, and he has forty acres in 
Hillsdale County. In his communit}' it is hardly 
necessary to say he is held in that high I'egard 
which honesty, frugality and uprightness invariably 
command. He gives his main attention to his farm 
and his family, meddling little with politics other- 
wise than to cast a straight Democratic ticket at 
general elections. The family are members and 
regular attendants of the Catholic Church at 
Hudson. 

JOHANNES A. LeFEVER, formerly a highly 
respected resident of Blissfield Township, 
was born in Ulster County, N. Y., Oct. 2, 
1810. Hecame to this county in 1864, pur- 
chasing first a tract of land in Palmyra Township, 
where he lived about twelve years and made many , 
improvements, then rented that farm and purchased 
the homestead which is now occupied by his family. 
•^ 



^ 



F 4 




4 



^ 







X 



.^^* 




^^^ 



X" 



Hh-^ 



4^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1049 



Here his donth (locuneil on the litli ilay of May, 
1880, after he had passed hi;* seventy-fifth birthday. 
His parents were Andrew and Hannah (Dnbois) Le- 
Fever, the former of French ancestry-. They were 
man-ied Jan 8, 1808, and the father departed this 
life Jan. 18, 1818; the mother died April 30, ls26. 

Joliaunes A. LeFever was a gentleman of excel- 
lent education and possessed sound judgment and 
fine business qualities. He was remarkably enterpris- 
ing and ambitious, and accumulated a fine propcrt}"-, 
owning at the time of his death, in addition to other 
real estate, 400 acres of land in this county. He 
had been leftfatherless when a lad eight years of age 
and a few years later was eomplotely orphaned by 
the death of his mother. Afterward he made his 
home with his grandparents in Ulster County, N. 
Y. He was afflicted with liip disease, the result of 
an injur3- received when young, and was enabled to 
do very little manual labor. Fortunately, however, 
he had inherited a good property from his motiier, 
and when first beginning business for himself es- 
tablished and conducted a nursery quite successfully 
until failing health compelled him to retire from 
active labor. After coming to this count}' he 
seemed to have taken a new lease of life, and en- 
joyed better health than he had for years until a 
short time before his death. 

Mr. LeFever was married, July 5, 1.S64, to .Mrs. 
Sarah J. (Bevier) Drake, also a native of Ulster 
County, N. Y., and born Jan. 8, 1830. Mrs. Le- 
Fever was several years younger than her husband, 
and is the daughter of Jeremiah and Lydia (Van- 
Curen) Bevier, and widow of William Drake. Jere- 
miah Bevier, who was also born in Ulster County, 
N. Y., was a descendant of the French Hugue- 
nots, and a cooper by trade, which he followed his 
entire life in his native county. William Drake, 
also a native of that county, resided there until his 
marriage, and then removed with his 3'oung wife to 
Rochester, Sangamon Co., 111., where he purchased 
town property and carried on his business of wagon- 
maker until his death, in 1860. His widow after- 
ward returned to her native county, where she re- 
mained until her marriage with Mr. LeFever. The 
children of William and Sarah J. Drake were Maria 
and Benjamin F. The former became the wife of 
John Stonecker, and died in Blissfield Tt)wuship in 



March, 1883, le.iviug three children ; Benjamin F. is 
a farmer in this township. 

The three children born to Mr. and Mrs. LeF<'ver 
were John and Jennie (twins) and Andrew. Jen- 
nie died at the age of eleven years. Mrs. LeFever 
united with the Methodist Episcopal Church during 
her girlhood, in her native State, and has since been 
one of its most devoted and consistent members. She 
is a rarely intelligent lady of good education, and 
eminently fitted to be the companion of her hus- 
band. Since his death she has superintended the 
large estate in an able and creditable manner, and 
socially is the center of a large circle of warm 
friends. In connection with this sketch we are 
pleased to present on an accompanying page of this 
Album portraits of Mr. and Mrs. LeFever, as illus- 
trative of tiie wftrtiiy citizens of l.,('nawee County. 



ANIKL T. HALL, Mayor of Tecumseh, 
has all his life been closely associated with 
the growth and welfare of this State, of 
which he is a native, having been born in 
Calhoun County, May 15, 18.t2. Nature endowed 
him with more than ordinary intelligence .and busi- 
ness capacity, and for many years his name has been 
familiar in the business communities of Lenawee 
County. His parents, Alfred D. and Emily A. 
(Todd) Hall, removed from Calhoun to Lenawee 
County in 1854, when their son Daniel T. was a 
child two years old. After completing his studies 
in the district school, our subject took a full course 
in Lansing College, and for a time employed him- 
self in teaching. 

In the fall of 1874, when twenty-two years of 
age, young Hall entered the drug-store of Fisher Sr 
Baker, in Tecumseh, in the cap.acity of clerk, which 
position he occupied until the death of Dr. Fisher. 
He then purchased the interest of the deceased 
partnei, and under the firm name of Baker & Hall, 
continued the business which had been established 
years before by Horace Baker, tlie oldest continu- 
ous druggist in the town. The firm carries a full 
stock of drugs, medicines, paints and oils, and also 



«► ■ M« 



■ >» B ! <•' 



1050 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



lias a grocery department which is well patron- 
ized. 

Mr. Hail, shortly after reaching his majority, 
was united in marriage with one of the most estim- 
able young ladies of Tecumseh, namely, Miss Dora 
Doriell, who was born in August, 1853, and is the 
daughter of William and Elizabeth (Hitchens) 
Doriell, the former of whom is now deceased ; the 
mother is still living. Mr. and Mrs. Hall have spent 
all the years of their wedded life in Tecumseh, and 
the little household now includes three children — 
Alfred D. Clare 1). and Oscar S. The pleasant 
family residence is located in the eastern part of the 
town, and our subject and his wife enjo.y the society 
and friendship of its best people. 

Mr. Hall is a member of the Baptist Church, in 
which he is Secretary of the Board of Trustees, and 
one of its most liberal supporters. He is Repub- 
lican in politics, Secretar}' of the Fire Department, 
and was elected to the office of Mayor in the spring 
of 1887, the duties of which position he is fulfilling 
with credit to himself and satisfaction to all con- 
cerned. He is ranked among the reliable business 
men of Tecumseh Township, and one of whom 
more is expected in the future. He is Past Dicta- 
tor and present Reporter of Tecumseh Lodge No. 
870, Knights of Honor, and Regent of Tecumseh 
Council No. 634, Roj-al Arcanum. 



b ESTER H. SALSBURY, who occupies a 
prominent position at the Adrian bar, is a 
native of Lenawee County, and was born in 
Dover Township, June 25, 1842. He is next to the 
youngest of a family of five children born toOsmyn 
and Theodocia (Rooker) Salsbury. Deacon Osmyn 
Salsbury was born in Orleans County, N. Y., on 
the 30th of April, 1804, while his father. Levi Sals- 
l)ur3', w.asborn in Scotland, and was one of twelve 
brothers who came to this country during the last 
century, and settled in Orleans County, N. Y. In 
1830 Osmyn Salsbury married Theodocia Rooker, 
then of Adrian, but a native of Whiteh.all, N. Y., 
where she was born April 30, 1809; she died in 
Lenawee County in April, 1872. Osmyn Salsbury 
came to Michigan in 1826, and settled in Adrian, 



•►-I l-4«- 



where he remained three years, and located eighty 
acres of land just west of the village. He then lo- 
cated upon another farm in Dover Township, upon 
which he resided for many years, and then removed 
to Ann Arbor, where he died June 5, 1871). 

Lester H. Salsbury was reared on his father's 
farm in Dover Township, and attended school a few 
weeks during the winter, assisting in the work of 
the farm during the remainder of the year. He at- 
tained his manhood .about the time of the breaking 
out of the late Civil War, and in May, 1861, he 
enlisted as a private in Company B, 4th Michigan In- 
fantry, and was assigned to the Army of the Poto- 
mac. He participated in all the campaigns of that 
army, and in the battle of Gettysburg he was 
wounded in three places; one ball passed through 
his left lung, one through his arm, and one lodged in 
his right thigh. He lay in the field hospital for 
three weeks, and was then sent to Harrisburg, Pa., 
where he remained about tliree months. Upon his 
recovery- he rejoined his regiment at Bealton Sta- 
tion, Va., and soon after took part in the Mine Run 
campaign. Suffering from the effects of his wounds, 
and having served his country faithfully for three 
years, he concluded to quit the army at the expira- 
tion of his term. For meritorious service he had 
been promoted Second Lieutenant, but on ac- 
count of his wounds, and the expiration of his term 
of enlistment, the commission was never issued by 
the Government, and on the 24th of March, 1 864, he 
was mustered out of the service at Bealton Station, 
Va. 

Upon his return to Lenawee County, Mr. Sals- 
bury again engaged in farming, and in the following 
spring was elected Treasurer of Dover Township. 
In the spring of 1866, feeling the want of an edu- 
cation, he entered Oberlin College, where he pur- 
sued his studies vigorously for two years, devoting 
a portion of his time to school teaching, whereby 
he procured the means to defray his college ex- 
penses. In the fall of 1868 he entered Hillsdale 
College in the junior class. He taught school two 
terms of four months, during the time he was in 
that college, and at the same time kept up his studies 
and graduated in the class of '70. Having de- 
termined upon a professional life, soon after his 
graduation from Hillsdale he entered the law de- 



•►Hh-^^ 



■•► 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1051 



partinent of the State Uiiiversitv of .M icliiunii, at 
Ann Arbor. After leaving that inslitutiou he re- 
cuperated his financial condition by school teach- 
ing, and then entered the law oftice of Sawyer it 
Bean, at Hudson, and later taught a graded school 
.at Clayton, this county. At the conclusion of the 
term of this school lie returned to liis law stuilies, 
and was admitted to the bar on the.SOthof Novem- 
ber, 1872. 

From his first starting out in life Mv. Snishury 
had to depend wholly vipou his own rcsdurei's. At_ 
the timehebeg.au his literary career his educational 
advantages had been very meager, but he prosecuted 
his studies with such energy and vigor that his 
progress was rapid and easy, and at all times his 
grade in his cl.asses compared favorably with the 
best. In January, 187.'i, he formed a [jartnership 
with Seth Bean, of Hudson, which la.-ted for two 
years, when Mr. Bean was elected I'losecuting At- 
torney. Mr. Salsbury continued the practice in 
Hudson until 1882, when he was elected Prosecuting 
Attorney, as the nominee of the Democratic party, 
in a county strongly Republican, and two years 
later ran again for the same office, and was elected 
by a handsome majority of 1,185 votes. In 1886 
he was a candidate for Congress on the Democratic 
ticket, but was defeated by Hon. E. P. Allen, of 
Washtenaw County. Mr. Salsbury has been active 
in his law practice, and is now in the enjoyment of 
a large and lucrative business. 

On the 29th of September, ^s^^l, Mr. Salsl)ury 
was united in marriage with Miss Sue M. (.^uinn, of 
Wilmington, Clinton Co., Ohio, wheic >lii wasliorn 
and reared to womanhood. 

. ; » , ^_,j._p. i ■ 



llkM ATTHEW M. BENNETT, an enterprising 
farmer residing on section C, in Seneca 
Township, is a native of Lenawee County^ 
and was born July 25, 1838. He is the 
eldest of a familj- of three children, all boys, born 
to his parents, Moses and Prudence (Jones) Ben- 
nett, who were natives of the State of New York, 
and were members of an old pioneer family of this 
county. His father settled in Hudson Township 
among the first who broke the way for civilization 

-4« 



into the lcaf,\' wildei-uess lli.-it then covered that 
portion of this eounty. He at once located on a 
tract of Government land, and commenced to clear 
it, and after passing through all the hardships and 
privations common to the hardy pioneers of those 
days, and bringing his fields under contribution to 
the w.ants of civilized life, he settled down to the 
honest but laborious life of a western farmer. On 
this homestead he remained until 1875, when he 
was called from this world to the enjoyment of a 
better one, at the age of sixty years. His wife still 
resides on the old place. 

Matthew M. Bennett i)assed his e.arly days on his 
father's farm, enjoying excellent facilities for 
achieving a good education. He attended school 
at Oak Grove Academy-, at Medina, as a supple- 
ment to the district schools, where he first received 
the elements of knowledge, and tlien returned to 
the parental roof and employed his time in assist- 
ing his father in Mis farm labors. While calmly 
eujojing the peace and quiet of the domestic hearth, 
the sounds of war rudely awoke him from his 
dreams of the future. Matthew being one of those 
" whose faith and truth on war's red touchstone 
rang true metal," he enlisted in 1862, in Company 
I, 6th Michigan Artillery. He participated with 
the regiment in the engagements at Vicksburg, 
Port Hudson, Morganza Bend, Ft. Morgan, Ft. 
Gaines, Mobile, and several other contests in the 
Gulf Department. AVith his company, he was on 
board the steamer " Clara Bell," when it was set fire 
to by a shell from a rebel battery, but with most of 
the men he escaped, the vesel having been run 
ashore for that purpose. He was discharged at Mo- 
bile, Ala., June 20, 1865, and returned to his home. 

The ceremony which united the destinies of 
Matthew M. Bennett and Miss Sarah Greeley took 
place in Morenci. Miss Greeley was the daughter 
of Noah and Maria (Gould) Greeley, and was born 
in Seneca Township, Lenawee Co., Mich., May 14, 
1843. Her father was a native of New Hampshire 
and her mother of New York, in which latter State 
they were married and lived until 1837, when they 
removed to Michigan, and settled on a tract of 400 
acres of land in Seneca Township, which Mr. Greeley 
had bought. There he made his home until a few 
years bef<ire his de.ath, when he removed to the vil- 



u 



1052 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



lage of Movenci, where his demise oecuired in 1874, 
when he was seventy-foui- years old. He was a 
second cousin of the lllustrions Horace Greeley, the 
sage of Chappaqna, who so nearly became President 
of the United States. His wife died in Seneca 
Township on the old homestead in 1859, at the age of 
forty-nine years. They were the parents of nine chil- 
dren, three boys and six girls. Mrs. Matthew Ben- 
nett was reared under the parental roof, and after 
the death of her mother assumed all the household 
duties of her father's house. Her earlier schooling, 
on that account, was rather limited, but having an 
ambition to acquire an education, she has given 
much of her time since her marriage to repairing 
the misfortune of her younger years, and finally fin- 
ished a course in the Chautauqua Circle in 1882. 

In 1870 Mr. Bennett entered into the milling and 
lumbering business at Morenci, which he continued 
for some ten years. He then removed to Adrian, 
where he was in the employ of the Peninsular Car 
Company, as a special agent for the selection of 
lumber. He is now engaged in farming on section 
6, where he owns some forty acres of land, all of 
which is under excellent tillage. In politics he is 
a Republican, although he has no political aspira- 
tions, and simply does his duty as a citizen and 
elector. He is a member of the G. A. R. Post at 
Adrian, and of the I. O. (). F., and, with his es- 
timable wife, lias a membership in tiic Chatauqua 
Circle and in tlie Metliodist Church. 

(^ LBERT WARING, of Tecumseli Township, 
(^^[ 1 litis spent his entire life among the people 
]/ni of Lenawee County, his birth having taken 
(g|' place at the homestead which he now oc- 

cupies and which was the second purchase of his 
father after the latter had cast his lot with the pio- 
neers of Michigan Territory'. This is finely located 
on section 35, and comprises 300 acres of finely 
cultivated land with flrst-class buildings and sup- 
plied with all the machinery required for the con- 
venience of the thorough and progressive agricult- 
urist. 

Our subject was born Feb. 10, 1851, and is the 
3'oungcst son of a family of eight children, the off- 



spring of Daniel and Mary A. (Harrison) Waring, 
the father a native of Orange County, N. Y., and 
the mother of Yorkshire, England. Daniel Waring 
was born March 24, 1806, and departed this life at 
his homestead in Tecumseh Township, Ma}' 18, 
1879. The mother was born April 17, 1811, and 
is still living, making her home with her onlj' 
daughter, Sarah A.. Mrs. Eaton, who, with her 
husband, occupies a part of the old farm in Tecum- 
seh Township. Although in the seventy-seventh 
year of hei- age she is in the enjoyment of fair 
health. She is the only daughter of John and 
Sarah (Wright) Harrison, who were also of English 
birth and parentage, and came with them to Amer- 
ica when a young lady nineteen years of age, in 
1830. Three years later she became the wife of 
Daniel. Waring, and they settled on the land which 
he had purchased two years before and where he 
spent the remainder of his life. 

John Harrison, the maternal grandfather of our 
subject, located in this county in 1830, with his 
family, and together with his excellent wife labored 
to build up a homestead upon a foreign soil, meet- 
ing with fair success and spending his later years 
amid the comforts which his toil had brought him. 
He passed away in the spring of 1865; the mother 
had died in 1833. Daniel Waring, the father of 
our subject, upon coming to this county, in the 
spring of 1831, located first a quarter section of 
land in Raisin Township, but subsequently sold this 
and purchased part of the land included in the 
present homestead. The most of this was covered 
with heavy timber, and the labor involved in clear- 
ing it and preparing the soil for cultivation seemed 
truly an Herculean task. The men of those times, 
however, were fully armed for the difficulties and 
the labors which lay before them, and Daniel War- 
ing was in nowise lacking in the essential qualities. 
By working early and late, month after month and 
year after year, the forest gradually' disappeared 
and smiling wheat and corn fields took its place. 
The humble cabin in the woods in time gave place 
to a handsome brick residence, which was put up in 
the summer of 1853, and being the first of its kind 
in the neighborhood, was the object of general ad- 
miration. 

To Daniel and Marj' A. Waring there were born 
■» 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



105;? 



nine children, all of whom survived their father, and 
of whom six are now living- Mnd residents of Michi- 
gan. The father i>{ our Milijcct \v:i,> n mnn of more 
than ordinary ability, and t("ik .-i lively interest from 
the first in the (level. >inneMt and on.ulli of his 
adopted county. He served u.s .School Diicctor for 
a period of thirtj'-six years in the district in wliicli 
was erected in 1841 the second school-house in the 
township, onlj" laying dovvn his rule upon the erec- 
tion of the late new building when he felt, and 
justly too, that he had performed his whole duty in 
this respect. Upon being urged to reconsider his 
resignation he rei)lied that, "a new school-house 
should have a new Director." He was Republican 
in politics, and served a number of years as Com- 
missioner of Highways, besides occupying many 
other positions of trust and responsibility. 

The eldest child of the Waring household, Johu 
H., is now a well-to-do farmer of Van Buren 
County, Mich.; William H. is occupied in an insur- 
ance comjtany in Peoria County, 111.; Sarah is the 
wife of Horace B. Eaton, already spoken of; Alvah 
M. is farming in Ford County, Kan.; Joseph E. is 
engaged in merchandising at Tecumseh; Albert of 
our sketch was the twin brother of Abigail, who 
died when quite young, in 1877. 

Albert Waring in common with his brothers and 
sisters, received his early education in the district 
school and completed his studies in tlie village of 
Tecumseh. He continued with his [larents and af- 
ter the death of his father began farming on his 
own account on a portion of the land l)elonging to 
the estate. He brought a liri<le to ilic old home in 
the fall of 1879. being manicd on the .-.d ,.f Sep- 
tember, to Miss Julia A. Sissoii.ol' Kaisiii Town-hip. 
where she was born and reared. Her parents, 
George and Frances (Taylor ) Sissou, \\vi\- natives 
of New York, and among the early |)ionei'rs of 
Raisin Township. 

Mr. Waring raises large quantities of grain which 
he feeds mostly to the fine stock of which he makes 
a specialty. To this his land is most admirably 
adapted, both from its location and the fertility of 
its soil. He has two large baiiis besides the various 
other out-buildings required for the prosecution of 
his calling, and a fine orchard is one of the most at- 
tractive features of the premises. Mr. Waring, 



like his father before him, has been prominent in 
local affairs since reaching his majority, and uni- 
foi-mly votes the straight Republican ticket. He 
was elected Justice of the Peace in 1883, serving 
until the spring of 1<S87. when he was re-elected 
and still holds the ollice. His own property in- 
clud.'s l.'iC) acres (jf land, and his residence is not 
far from the liomc of iiis .aged mother. 



IJSAAC C. MILLS. The snug farm of eiglity 
acre> pleasantly located in the eastern part of 
_ section I) in JLicon Township, has been under 
the supervision of the subject of this sketch for the 
past thirty-five years. Here he has effected im- 
provements of which he may reasonably be proud, 
; having brought the soil to a high state of cultiva- 
'• tion, erected good buildings, gathered together a 
I choice assortment of live stock, and provided the 
1 other appliances which distinguish the modern 
country homestead. Besides this property he owns 
thirty acres of land on section 10, and forty acres 
on section 11, all of which is valuable and very fer- 
tile. Mr. Mills, in addition to general farming has 
given attention to sheep-raising, which industry 
receives comparatively little attention in South- 
ern ^Michigan, but which has been found quite prof- 
itable. His choice is the American Merino, which 
are of medium fine wool, and from which Mr. Mills 
derives annually a handsome income. 

Isaac C. Mills was born July 31, 1832, and is the 
third child of Caliriel and Ilaiuiah Mills, who came 
to Lenawee County during its early settlement. 
The father was a very capable man, and in due time 
came to be regarded as equal to a public benefactor 
on account of his genuine interest in the growth 
and progress of his adopted county. He did much 
to encourage the immigration of an industrious and 
intelligent class of jjoople, and took pride in the 
development of his farm and in adding to it those 
embellishments which would render it both v:>lua- 
ble and attractive. Me was the scion of a hardy 
and resolute class of people, who at an early day 
crossed the Atlantic and settled in New Jersey on 
Barnegat Bay, where they lived for several genera- 
tions. Gabriel Mills for some years was a resident 



=t 



-4* 



•►-lh-4* 



10o4 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



"^ 



of the town of that name, where he acted as agent 
for a gentleman who owned several thousand acres 
of pine forests, the timber of which was cut down 
in large quantities and siiipped to New York City. 
From this the owner aecuinulated a large fortune, 
and .Mr. Mills as agent of these vast interests also 
realized liberally. 

After the fathei- of our subject had accumulated 
a few thousand dollars, he concluded to invest his 
capital in the undeveloped West, and accordingly, 
making his way to Michigan, located in Macon 
Township, Lenawee County, where he succeeded in 
his undertakings as a farmer and lumberman, and 
made for himself a name of which his descendants 
have reason to be proud. Reference is made to 
his life and labors in the sketch of Granville Mills, 
found elsewhere in this volume. Without a doubt 
Mr. Mills became one of the wealthiest men in 
Lenawee County at that time, and often stood be- 
tween the settlers and starvation and loss, trusting- 
all who asked him for lumber and other necessaries 
which he possessed, while nothing seemed to give 
him more satisfaction than to help those who were 
trying to help themselves. He ovvned at one time 
1,200 acres of land in the State, 800 of which were 
in Macon Township. He donated all the material 
and built the first school-house at Macon, and was 
foremost in all the other enterprises tending to the 
progress and enlightenment of the people around 
him. After a life filled with good deeds he passed 
away amid the universal regret of the citizens of 
Lenawee County, on the 1st of February, 185L 

The mother of our subject, formerly Miss Hannah 
Collins, became the wife of Gabriel Mills in 1827. 
The household circle included eight children, and 
Isaa.c C, our subject, was the third chijd and sec- 
ond son. He was but two 3^ears old when his par- 
ents came to Michigan, and was reared to manhood 
in Macon Township, of which he has remained a 
continuous resident. While a youth he made the 
acquaintance of his future wife. Miss Kate A. Hood, 
and they were married at Pl3'mouth, ^Vayne 
County, Feb. f), 1850. Mrs. Mills was born in 
Novi Township, Oakland County, this State, Oct. 
27, 18;J."), and is the fourth daughter and sixth 
child of .lames and Catherine (iMcNelly) Hood, na- 
tives of New York State. They passed their ea,rlier 

-4« 



years in Seneca County, where the father served an 
apprenticeship at the carpenter's trade, and where 
they were married. After the birth of part of their 
family they migrated to Michigan early in the thir- 
ties, locating in Oakland County, but subsequently 
the}' removed to Livingston County, where the 
mother died about 1842, when Mrs. Mills was a 
child of seven years. The father afterward took 
up his residence in Hillsdale County, where his 
death occurred in the spring of 1867. 

Mrs. Mills, after the death of her mother became 
an inmate of the home of Mr. and Mrs. Blackwood, 
of Wayne County, with whom she remained until 
her marriage. Of the six children born to our 
subject and his wife, two are deceased, namely: 
Perris E. and James H.. who died at the ages of 
twenty-five and sixteen respectively, Robert B. 
and the two 3'ouuger children, Carl and Gabrielle, 
are at home with their parents. Frank, next to the 
eldest living, is engaged in photography in Texas. 

Mr. and Mrs. Mills have occupied the present 
homestead since their marriage. Although not con- 
nected with any church organization, they have 
reared their children carefully and conscientious!}', 
and in a manner which will constitute them reliable 
and honorable citizens. Mr. Mills is a solid Demo- 
crat, politic.all}-, and has represented his township 
in the County Board of Supervisors, besides lieing 
otherwise interested in local aff.tirs. He has labored 
industriously and is now in possession of a desir- 
able home and something to fall back upon in a 



rainy day. 



^ailt# *^^^^i^ 



1^ EUBEN SAYERS. The well-appointed farm 
\h^ of 100 acres located on section 24, Adrian 
lK\ Township, was brought to its present fertile 
*@)coudition by the subject of this sketch, who 
took possession of it in 1 883. He was born near 
the city of London, England, Oct. 10, 1834, and is 
the son of Reuben Sayers, Sr., who was also born in 
Sussex County, .Jan. 21, 1814. The father was a 
gardener by occupation, and on the 14th of Novem- 
ber, 1833, was married to Miss Jane Piekard, a 
native of Sussex, and born March 9, 1817. 

The paternal grandfather of Mr. Sayers died in 
Sussex, England, at the age of sixt^'-flve years. 



■•►HI-* 



I 



LENAAVEE COUNTY. 






Ilis wife was a lady of great beauty and of humble 
parentage. She at different times lived among the 
nobility, and was given to .-ipeiis of slc('|)iiig, vvliich 
occupied from three to nine days. It is claimed 
that she was the original of the story " Tiip Sleeping 
Beauty," which is so familiarly known to all readers 
of light literature. She came to her death by vio- 
lence, hanging herself to a bedstead during a. pe- 
riod of insanity. 

Reuben Sayers, Sr., crossed the Atlantic in isi'j, 
setting foot on American soil on the 2 1st of August, 
He h.ad determined to locate in the West, and corn- 
ployed iiimself at whatever he could hnd to do, at 
first in the city, and subsequently he followed farm- 
ing, but he died while still a young man. July 4, 
1853. in the fortieth year of his age; the mother is 
still living, and resides near Jackson, this State. 
Tliei-e were born to them eight children in England, 
four having died before they made the voyage to 
the United States; the other four are living and 
residents mostly of this county. 

Onr subject was the eldest child of his parents, 
and remained at home until after the death of his 
father, when the household was broken up and the 
mother, who was in poor health, looked to Reuben 
mainly for her support. lie iierfonncil his filial 
duties in a most |)raisewortliy manner, :ind employed 
himself at whatever he could find to do, working 
by the day or month, and from his habits of indus- 
try and his intelligence, made many friends. He 
prospered accordingly, and on the 1st of January, 
18.')7, feeling justified in forming domestic ties of 
his own, was married to Miss Adeline A. vSnedeker, 
and settled with his bride upon a rented farm, of a 
part of which he afterward became the owner, lie 
increased his land to IK) acres, an<l theii sohl out 
and purchased the farm which he now ojierates and 
which was formerly the property of a gentleman for 
whom he had worked in his less prosperous days. 
Mr. and Mrs. Sayers are the parents of one child 
only, a son, Edgar B., who was born Feb. '.'T, 1S(j1, 
in Adrian; he married Miss l,.ucy Hill, and they 
have two sons. In the absence of daughters of 
their own Mr. and Mrs. Sayers adopted a little girl, 
Mattie E. Chai)man, who is now a bright and i)roni- 



ising young miss of twelve years, having been born 
May 8, 1876. 

Mrs. Sayers is the daughtei' of .lames and the sis- 
ter of Dwight Snedeker, a sketch of whom will be 
found on another page in this Ai.iu >r. She was 
born in Adrian Township, Oct. 5, 18311, and with 
her husband is an active member (jf the Baptist 
('liur<'h at Adrian, where she has been engaged in 
Sunday-school work for some time. Our subject 
cast his first Presidential vote for Buchanan, but 
now gives his undivided support to the Republican 
party. His farming operations have Iieen carried 
on with excellent judgment, and he is considered 
above the average in point of skill and industry. 
He exhibits some excellent live >tock and has made 
a specialty of sheep-raising. 



JOHN H. WILSON. This typical, warm- 
hearted Irish citizen has been for some j-ears 
a resident of Macon Township, where most 
of the time he has occupied himself in farm- 
ing, and withsuch good success that he is now prac- 
tically retired from active labor. His home lies on 
section 25, where he has forty acres of choice land 
which he took possession of in the beginning of 
1880, and which from an inilifferently cultivated 
tract he has transformed into a valuable homestead. 
The childhood and youth of our subject were 
spent upon a small farm in County Antrim, Ireland, 
where his birth took place in 1825. Although 
his advantages wore quite limited, his natural indus- 
try and intelligence were exercised greatly to his 
advantage, and by keeping his eyes open to what 
was going on around him and reading as he had op- 
jjortiinity, he became quite well informed. At an 
early age he was taught to make himself useful, and 
for many years his chief employment was with the 
shovel and the spade. He continued in his native 
Ireland until the spring of 1863, making but little 
headway, and now determined on a change of loca- 
tion. He had in the meantime married and become 
the father of a family, and now, bidding adieu to 
ids friends, boarded a steamer at the port of Bel- 
fast, and after a safe voyage, landed at Quebec, 
Canada, twenty-four days later. He settled in the 



t 



1056 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Province of Ontario, but a year later came to this 
county and employed himself for several months at 
whatever his hands could find to do. He then took 
up a tract of land in Macon Township, where he 
openited as a tenant for eight years, then purchased 
twenty-seven acres in Ridgeway Township, which 
he occupied until 1877. He then sold this property 
and rented for three years, after which he purchased 
his present farm. This is now cultivated mainly by 
his two sons, Thomas and Robert, active and enter- 
prising young men, of whom the father may reason- 
ably be proud. 

Mr. Wilson, in early manhood, was first married 
to Miss Elizabeth Stewart, who became the mother 
of six children and died in her native countj'. Two 
of her family are now deceased. Francis, the eld- 
est son living, married Miss Sarah Wilson, and is 
engaged in bricklaying at Los Angeles, Cal. ; Will- 
iam married Miss Sarah L. Wilson, and they are 
residents of Tecumseh; James married Miss Anna 
Lane, of Macon Township, and is also a resident of 
Los Angeles, Cal., where he is engaged as a machin- 
ist; John is unmarried, and engaged as a stock- 
trader near Meadow Creek, Madison Co., Mont. 

Mr. Wilson was a second time married, in his na- 
tive county, to Miss Rose A. Craig, a daughter of 
Protestant parents and of the same religious de- 
nomination as her husband. Their two children — 
Thomas and Robert — were born in Ireland, and the 
remaining child, Maggie, a native of Macon Town- 
ship is now the wife of John Smith, of Tecum- 
seh. Mr. Wilson and his sons are uncompromising 
Democrats, politically, and the family religiously, 
adhere to the Presbyterian Church. 



C/J^ HARLES A. SMITH. Fully as 
pends upon those who are left to j 
f' the institutions brought into exi 



much de- 
perpetuate 
ight into existence by 
their forefathers as upon their projectors, and due 
credit should be given those who are bearing 
in a worthy niauiier the mantle which has de- 
scended upon them. Among these latter may be 
mentioned the subject of this sketcii. Mr. Smith 
is n native of tiiis State, and was born in 
Hillsdale County, Feb. 20, 1842. He is the son 
^ 



of Azariel and Mary (Andrews) Smith, who re- 
moved into this State from Danbury, Conn., in the 
year 1839, and settled in the township of Somerset, 
Hillsdale County, with their family of five eliildren 
— George A., Julia A., William Henry, F. Hart and 
Legrand J. 

Charles A. Smith, after completing his primary 
course in the district school, spent one year in Hills- 
dale College, and then commenced life for himself 
as a clerk in the store of his brother, George A., 
holding the position both at Somerset and Addison 
for about six years. He then bought a half in- 
terest in the firm of Smith Bros., of Addison, 
and he and his brother Legrand J. continued to- 
gether in the mercantile business ten years. Charles 
A. subsequently purchased the interest of his 
brother, the latter returning to the old homestead, 
where he has since remained, having bought out 
the interest of the other heirs in the property. Our 
subject, in connection with the mercantile business, 
has carried on farming considerably in Woodstock 
Township. 

Mr. Smith, on the 2d of July, 1867, was mar- 
ried to one of the most accomplished .young ladies 
of Jackson County, Miss Nellie D., daughter of Sal- 
mon H. and Catharine (Gordineer) Holmes. The 
Holmes family was originally from Connecticut, 
where Salmon H. was born and wiience he came to 
Michigan during his early manhood; he is still liv- 
ing and a resident of Jackson County. Mrs. Smith 
was born in Liberty Township, Jackson C^ount}', 
Jan. 30, 1846, and is a lady of great amiability of 
character and one of the comparatively few who be- 
lieve we are placed in this world not alone to seek 
our own pleasure and happiness, but to do good as 
we have opi)ortunity. Nature endowed her with 
large benevolence and fine mental capacity, and 
these talents she has sought to increase in accordance 
with the Scriptural injunction. She has been an 
active worker in the temperance cause, and was 
Corresponding Secretarj^ of the county W. C'. T. 
U. for a term of two years, and occupied the same 
position iu the Baptist Foreign Mission Society 
of Jjenawee County, seven or eight years. She 
possesses rare executive ability, and the local so- 
cieties invariably call upon her for assistance in their 
undertakings, and to fill important offices. Her 



■*^h 



•^f-^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1057 



name has long been familiar in all good works 
thi'Oughout Lenawee County. 

Mr. and Mrs Smith have four cliihlron, reeordod 
as follows: The eldest, a daughter, Shirley H., was 
b(n-n May 7, 1870, and is completing her fourth 
year at Hillsdale College; she has inherited in a 
marked degree the talents of her mother, and is 
finely advanced in those accomplishments in which 
she is ambitious to excel. Bruce was born Sept. 9, 
1873: Charles V., May 31, is7i;, and Zoe N.. Nov. 
4, 1877; they all make their home with their 
parents. 

ELI E. MUNN. Tile subject of the following 
sketch is operating one of the largest fruit 
farms in Lenawee County, pleasantly located 
on section 26, in Adrian Township. For many 
years past he has given close attention to horticult- 
ure, and seems particularly adapted to the business 
in which he has met with fine success. As a citizen 
and a business man, he possesses the desirable ele- 
ments which reflect credit upon a community, and 
is in all respects a leading light among the enter- 
prising men of this section. 

Mr. Munn, like many of tlie early settlers of Lena- 
wee County, is a product of the Empire State, and 
was born near the town of Ontario, Wayne County, 
Sept. 26, 1820. His father, Horace Munn, a na- 
tive of Massachusetts, was tlie son of Israel Munn, 
also of New England birth and parentage, who re- 
moved with his family to Ontario County, N. Y., 
during its earl}' settlement, and there with his ex- 
cellent wife spent the remainder of his days; he 
lived to be seventy-three years of age, and (iraiid- 
mother Munn was sixty-five or seventy at the time 
of her death. Israel Munn was a man of great en- 
ergy and force of character, alwa,ys busy and active, 
and had a thorough contempt for the idler. He 
carried on blacksmithing and farming, and aX one 
time conducted a hotel in New York State. 

Horace Munn, the father of our subject, learned 
the trade of a millwright, and was twenty-two years 
of age when he started out for himself. Ill-h.ealtii, 
however, prevented his following his trade, and he 
accordingly engaged in fariiiiiig in Monroe County, 
but died in middle life when forty-live years Old. 



He married Miss Rowena Gardner, the wedding tak- 
ing place at the home of the bride in Skaneateles, N. 
Y. She is now ninety-three years old, and makes 
her home at Ionia, Mich. Her father, John Gard- 
ner, of Connecticut, was a shoemaker by trade, and 
died near Syracuse, N. Y., many years ago. Grand- 
mother Gardner survived her husband, and living 
to be ninety years old, dei>arted this life at Owego. 
Tioga Co., N. V. 

Eli E. Munn remained under the home roof un- 
til twenty-five years of age, then started out for 
himself, working by the month, and, desirous of 
adding to his store of knowledge, still pursued his 
studies in his leisure hours. There were six chil- 
dren in his fatlier's family, of whom he had tlie 
iwiucipal oversight and assisted in their mainten- 
ance. He lived economically, however, managing 
to save something from his' hard eMrnings, and in 
1853 he purchased 120 acres of land in Gratiot 
County. This, however, he never occupied, and 
not long afterward traded it for a farm in Fairfield 
Township, which he also sold, and in the year 1856 
started for California, via the Isthmus. Upon ar- 
riving near the port of Aspinwall, United States of 
Columbia, the train was wrecked, and about 250 
passengers were killed and wounded. Mr. Munn 
concluded he would novv give up his California 
trip and return home, and accordingly he resumed 
farming in Dover Township, where he continued 
six years. His next venture vvas in the State of 
Pennsylvania, where he took up his residence at 
Townville, where he engaged in teaming a year, 
then returned to Michigan, and purchasing twenty 
acres of land in Madison Township, this county, 
farmed three years. He then sold out and engaged 
on the Lake Shore A Michigan Southern Railroad 
as a carpenter, and upon retiring from this position 
he purchased forty acres of land iii Dover Towu- 
shiii, which he operated four years, and tlieu en- 
gaged in trade in the city of Adrian, in the mean- 
time buying a house and lot, where he lived witli 
his family. He subsequently farmed in Deertield 
Township, and after a short experience at hotel- 
keeping, purcliased his present property. This in- 
cludes thirty acres of land, which Mr. Munn has 
carefully cultivated, and which yields bountifully 
the products to which he is now giving his atten- 



t* 



"¥^1 



ih^ 



1058 



lenawep: county. 



tion A view of Mr. Munn's residence and its sur- 
roundings is shown el.sewhere in this worlv. 

Oursubject, while a resident of Perrinton, N. Y., 
was married, March "27, 1844, to Miss Mary, daugh- 
ter of Morris Long, and a native of Dublin, Ire- 
land. Mrs. Munn was born July 2, 1827, and came 
to the United vStates with her father when a child 
four years of age. They located first in Montreal, 
Canada, thence removing to Malone, N. Y., and 
from the Empire State, in 1855, to Michigan. Here 
Mr. Long engaged in farming until resting from his 
earthly labors, his death taking place about 1857, 
when he was sixty-one years old ; his wife is still 
living in this county, making her home with her 
son John, and is about eigiity-nine years old. Mr. 
and Mrs. I^ong were the parents of twelve children, 
of whom five are living, and all engaged in farming 
pursuits. 

Mr. and Mrs. Munn commenced life together in 
a modest dwelling, and in due time became the par- 
ents of six children, as follows: Sarah S. is the wife 
of W. White, of Elkhart, Ind., and the mother of 
two children; they are living at present on the 
home place. Horace married Miss Mary Bemen- 
diflfer, and lives in Morenci ; they have two chil- 
dren. Schuyler J. married Miss Nellie LeSage, and 
is conducting a restaurant in Claj'ton, 111. ; they also 
have two children. Charles H. married Miss Ida 
Kooney, and is engaged as a telegraph line re- 
pairer at Toledo, Ohio; they have one child. Ad- 
die Delia is the wife of Ira Wilcox, a prosperous 
farmer of Rome Township, and Byron E., the 
youngest, lives with his parents and attends the dis- 
trict school. Mr. Munn, like his father before him, 
votes the straight Republican ticket. 



J'OHN SURBY. There are verj- few persons 
in the northeastern part of Lenawee County 
to whom the name of this gentleman is not 
as familiar as a household word. He is a 
native of Yorkshire, England, where he was born 
June 28, 1849, and spent the years of his boyhood 
and youth upon his native soil until July, 1870, 
when he embarked for America. After a few 
months spent in traveling through the United States 



and Canada he returned to his native land. He 
was married in this countj' to Miss Mary De- 
Greene. 

In 1872 Mr. Sorby once more crossed the Atlan- 
tic, and with his young wife took up his location in 
RoUin Township, this county, where he engaged in 
farming pursuits for a period of fourteen years. 
Then determining to retire from active labor, he 
established himself in Addison in November, 188G, 
and invested a portion of his capital in general 
merchandise. Three years later he removed into 
the fine block now occupied by his business, and 
makes a specialty of dry goods in connection with 
his store of general merchandise. He still retains 
possession of his farm, which embraces 330 acres of 
choice land under a high state of cultivation. 
Uiion it are a commodious frame dwelling, good 
barns and other out-buildings, and a choice assort- 
^ ment of live stock and machinery. 

Richard Sorb3\ the father of our subject, emi- 
grated to America when Southern Michigan was a 
wilderness. He was proprietor of a coal mine, and 
spent his last j'ears in England, dying in the spring 
of 1862 at the age of fifty-six years. He had mar- 
ried in his native country Miss Margaret DeGreene, 
who died in 1877 in England, when sixty-five years 
old. They were the parents of seven children, of 
whom five are living; our subject is the only one 
who came to this country. 

Mr. and Mrs. S. became the parents of six chil- 
dren. Their eldest son, John, was born May 25, 
1873, and is pursuing his studies in the village 
school; the next child died in infancy; Edgar A. 
was born Jan. 29, 1876; Florence M., Aug. 23, 
1881 ; Earnesteen, May 28, 1885, and Josephine E., 
Sept. 7, 188G. Mrs. Sorby is an active worker in 
the W. C. T. U., and a member of the Congrega- 
tional Church, in whose home missionary society 
she has been warmly interested for some time. 

The grandmother of Mrs. Sorby was a Gifford, 
and a portion of the Gifford family genealogy from 
the English book of Heraldry, commonly called 
"The Dooms-Day Book," is as follows: The family 
of Giffords are of great antiquity, and were seated 
at Honfleur, in Normandy, three centuries before 
the conquest of England bj' Duke William. At 
the battle of Hastings, in 1066, Leo Rudolph De- 



■*► 



; 



-^- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1059 



Giflord was one of the Conqueror's standard-bearers, 
and was rewarded by him with lands in Somerset 
shire and Cheshire, which were created into a bar- 
ony, from which his descendants had summons to 
Parliament. In the reign of King Henry II. .Sir 
Peter Gifford married Alice, daughter .ind heiress 
of Lio Grey DeCorbuohin, with whom he had the 
Lordships of Chilliugston in Cheshire, which was the 
seat of the Dukes of Buckingham, of his famiij-. 

Lio Stephen Giiiford was one of the Barons ac- 
companying Richard C(eur de Lion to the Holy 
Land, and was killed at the siege of Jerusalem, 
while his son. Sir Stephen, was wounded in the same 
engagment. This family enjoyed great distinction 
in the English Court for several centuries, and no 
fewer than five peerages existed in it at one time. 
Baron George Gifford was made Earl of Bucking- 
ham by King Henry V., but joining the House of 
Yoi-k against that of Lancaster, and being one of the 
prime favorites of King Edward V., he was created 
Duke of Buckingham, and married the Princess 
Maude Plantaganet, the King's cousin. His son 
George Gifford, Duke of Buckingham, was one of 
the favorites of the Duke of Gloucester, afterward 
King Richard III., but being detected by that 
tyrant in the act of corresponding with the Earl of 
Richmond, afterward Henrj* VII., he was accused 
of high treason, attainti'd, ami belicaded by Rich- 
ard's orders. 

The Duke of Buckingham left several infant chil- 
dren, but as the}- had been deprived of their lands 
and title that mercenary King, Henry VII., found 
it more convenient not to restore them, and Henry 
Stafford, a very powerful noble, having married 
the eldest daughter of Henry, was created 1>3' him 
Duke of Buckingham. The Staffords followed the 
fate of their maternal ancestor; the grandson of 
Humphrey was beheaded and his family deprived 
of their vast estates. 

Of the sons of the last George (iifford, Duke of 
Buckingham, George continually solicited the 
Crown and Parliament for his restoration, but 
from the opposition of his powerful lirotlicr-in- 
law, Stafford, was always defeated. Tlie Giftords, 
in the reigns of King Henry VIII. and (Queens 
Mary and Elizabetii, put their claims before the 
English Parliament, never, however, being able to 



attain judgment. In the reign of James I. Sir Am- 
brose Gifford claimed before the House of Peers 
to be Duke of Buckingham, but in the second year 
of the reign of Charles I. his claims were disallowed 
on account of his poverty. 

Walter Gifford, son of Sir Aml)rose, emigrated 
from Pingland to Massachusetts in 16;i0, and was 
the originator of the American branch of this 
ancient family. Of their descendants who have 
been noted are the celebrated Sir John Gifford, and 
Lord Gifford, the Master of Rolls who prosecuted, 
while English Attorney General, (Jueen Caroline, 
the wife of George IV., upon a charge of high 
crimes and misdemeanors. The motto of the Gif- 
ford family was "Nothing without the Divinity." 

The Sorby famil}' in England was a popular, 
prominent and wealthy one, one of the late ances- 
tors of our subject having been closely indentified 
witli the famous cutlery manufactory at Shetlield. 
and left to each of liis sons tTO,000. 

ICHAEL SMELTZER. Among tlie emi- 
grants who settled in Ireland in the reign of 
Queen Anne, induced by a colonization 
society, whose object it was to establish 
Protestantism in the South of Ireland, were the 
ancestors of our subject. As an inducement, land 
was offered to them at a nearly nominal rent on 
peipetual lease, or, as the document was worded, 
"as long as grass grows and water runs." Here, 
in County Limerick, Dec. 29, 180.3, was born Ar- 
nold Snieltzer, the fatlier of our subject. 

At the age of twenty -six, on the l.Jth of May, 
1831, Arnold Smeltzer came to America, landing 
in Quebec, Canada, with |1 in his pocket. During 
tiiat summer he worked in a shipyard at fifty cents 
per day, and in the fall of the same j'ear he went to 
Seneca County, N. Y.. where he engaged with a 
farmer for $4 per month, wiiich was increased to 
$10 for the summer moutlis. Here he remained 
until 18.i7, when he came to Michigan, and engaged 
in the same oeeupation for several years. He be- 
came possessor of a hotel in the village of Ridge- 
way, which he was obliged to take in payment for 
the money loaned to the man that built it. Soon 



■^P 



■•►Hh 



lOGO 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



I 



after he exchanged the hotel with Stephen V. Miller 
for land on section 29, in Macon Township, where 
he settled and made improvements in the way of 
building and clearing the land. During his life he 
owned several farms in Lenawee County, and made 
a good deal of money by dealing in real estate. In 
religion he was an Episcopalian, in polities a Demo- 
crat. After selling his farm in Macon Townsliip, 
he came to Raisin, where he died Dec. 2',), 1871, 
and where liis son, the subject of our sketch, now 
lives. 

Michael Smeltzer first saw the light in Macon 
Township, Lenawee Count}', in 1843, and in ISfiO 
he removed with his father to Tecumseh and lived 
there two years, during which time he pursued his 
studies, already begun in the district school, by an 
attendance at the Tecumseh High School. He 
then returned to Macon Township, remaining two 
years, when in 1864 he came to Raisin Township, 
where he lived with his father until the hitter's 
death, as above stated. Soon after his father's 
death Mr. Smeltzer purchased the interest of the 
other heirs in the farm, which he has owned and 
lived on until the present time. This fine farm 
embraces part of sections 2 and 3, Raisin Town- 
ship, and has been verj' much improved by Mr. 
Smeltzer since it came into his possession. He has 
built thereon a beautiful and commodious residence, 
and repaired and enlarged his barns until he has 
now all the conveniences in that line for the suc- 
cessful pursuit of his calling. The farm is in a high 
state of cultivation and very productive, always 
returning a good dividend fur the labor exjiended 
upon it. 

On the 14th of March, 1872, the subject of our 
narrative was united in marriage with Miss Mary 
Josephine Bangs, a resident of the township of 
Raisin. To them have been born two children : 
Luella, April 10, 1873, and Bertha Florine, March 
6, 1875; Luella died July 27, 1881. Mrs. Smeltzer 
was born in Raisin Township, Feb. 12, 18.51, where 
she lived at the homestead until her marriage, re- 
ceiving her education at the district schools and 
Tecumseh High School. She is a singularly gifted 
and intelligent lady, and is the daughter of John 
Bangs, a man prominent among the old settlers. 
Mr. Bangs was born in Stamford, Delaware Co., N. 



Y., and was married March 26, 1805. He lived 
with his father, a minister of the Methodist Church, 
until his majority, when he came to Michigan and 
located in Raisin Township, where he died March 
2.-i, 1869. 

Mr. Smeltzer has three sisters living: the eldest, 
Mrs. John McClcod, now resides in Detroit; the 
second, Mrs. Fred Landgraff, lives in Adrian, while 
the youngest resides with her mother in Detroit. 
Mr. Smeltzer's maternal ancestors lived in New 
Jersejr, and were engaged in active service in the 
Revolutionary War. 

During the autumn of 1864 Mr. .Smeltzer cast 
his first vote for George B. McClellan for President, 
and has never failed to avail himself of the right 
of franchise since, voting with the Democratic 
party. 



HILO C. MILLS. The subject of this sketch 
settled in Lenawee County in 1832, and 
for over forty years was a resident of 
Franklin Township. Mr. Mills was born 
in Mt. Morris, Livingston Co., N. Y., Aug. 16, 
1810, and is the son of Maj. Philo Mills, a native 
of Connecticut, and born in 1775. His grand- 
father. Rev. Samuel Mills, during his early life re- 
moved his family to Western New York, locating in 
Livingston County, and in that locality the sons, 
Alexander, Lewis, William and Philo, and the 
daughter, Sallj', grew to maturity'. Alexander 
Mills settled in Belfast, Allegany Co., N. Y., where 
he was a large lumber dealer and miller, then re- 
moved to Olean, that State, and subsequently to 
Ohio City, near Cleveland, where he died. Capt. 
Lewis Mills died in Mt. Morris, leaving a large 
family. Gen. William Mills was one of Mt. Mor- 
ris' most honored citizens until his death. ]\Irs.- 
Sally Whitney, the daughter, died at Fishkill, N. Y. 
Maj. Philo Mills married Mary (ireen, and re- 
sided on a farm in Livingston County until 1835, 
when he removed witli his family to Lenawee 
County, Mich., locating in Franklin near the son, 
Philo C. Mills. Here Maj. Mills became an ex- 
tensive land-owner, having at one time 1,000 acres 
in a body. He was one of the leading farmers and 
stock-raisers in the county, introducing the first 



finell- 



♦Hl-^ 



4 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



lOf.l 



cattle in this section. He wms :i lurge-lienrtod, |iiil)- 
lic-spiriterl man, and a zealous Baptist, iissistinji' in 
organizing a church and donating ground and a 
house of worship to that society. Maj. Mills was 
a lineal descendant of Samuel .J. Mills, the mission- 
ary, the name of Samuel .T. being preserved to the 
present generation. Mary (ireen, the wife of Maj. 
Mills, was the youngest child of Kbenezer Green, 
of the Mohawk Valley, N. Y., and was born .June 
9,1 783. There were ten children, five sons and 
five daughteis. The father and three brothers were 
soldiers in the Revolutionary War. Joseph, the 
youngest brother, enlisted at fifteen years of age, 
and served the last year of the war. He received a 
pension to the time of his death, in 1 s.'f2. Three biotii- 
ers were subsequently i<illed by Indians wliilc work- 
ing in a sugar camp. Their ancestry is traced to 
John Green, who was a compeer of Roger Williams, 
and expelled with him from the Massachusetts 
Bay Colony, sul)sequently forming the colony of 
Rhode Island, and the fli'st Baptist Church of 
America. Mr. and Mrs. Mills were the parents 
of fourteen children, of whom thirteen lived to 
maturity. In consecutive order they were Sam- 
uel J.; Nancy G., Mrs. Turner; John P.: Eljenezer 
G.; Mary A., Mrs. Workman: Philo C. ; Sarah A., 
Mrs. Rundell; Harriet N., Mrs. Hampton; George 
H. ;JaneM. and Henrietta M. ; Ahnira N., Mrs. 
Greene, and Edwin J. Jane and Henrietta died un- 
married at twenty-six years of age. Maj. Mills 
died in August, 1841, and Mrs. Mills, Feb. 22, 1842. 
Returning to the subject of our sketch, Philo C. 
Mills, we find that after two years' residence in 
Michigan he returned to New York, and Sept. 10, 
1834, he married Mi.ss Mary Keeney,at Le Roy, 
Genesee County. After a few months, Mr. and 
Mrs. Mills came to Michigan to make their perma- 
nent home. They located in the midst of heavy 
timber, and when the forest was cleared and the log 
house reared, tliere is a tinge of romance as well 
as heroism in the eagerness with which thej' has- 
tened to dwell under their own roof-tree, and begin 
their life of independent proprietorsliip. The grand- 
children of to-day listen as to .-i fairy tale to the 
story of those days as told by the grandfather, 
when with a half-laid floor and almost literally 
deer skin for a window, and a blanket for 



1 



a door," the brave little grandmother, who had 
been reared in comfort and refinement, cheerfully 
and resolutely did her part in the making of a home. 
Privations, hardships, hard work, many losses and 
discouragements were before them, but by united 
effort they steadily prospered until they possessed a 
well cultivated farm of 244 acres, with a commodi- 
ous hou.se and barns, and were known as among the 
most prosperous farmers of Lenawee County. JNlr. 
Mills delighted in raising fine cattle and sheep, and 
felt special pride and satisfaction in sheltering and 
tenderly caring for his stock. No enterprise for 
public good or private benevolence was inaugu- 
rated in his township without his aid and sympathy, 
while the hospitality of their home was unbounded. 

Mrs. Mary Mills was the second daughter of Jo- 
seph and Mary (Bishop) Keene^y, and was born in 
New London, Conn., June 8, 1808. When six 
years of .age, her parents removed to Le Roy, (Gen- 
esee Co., N.Y. The family consisted often childien, 
namely: Allen, Betsey, Mary, John W., Xancy, 
Bishop, Ezra, Nicholas, Joseph and Emma. . The 
brothers, Allen and Nicholas, and the sister, Mrs. 
Betsey Parsons, are prominent citizens of Le Roy, 
N. Y. Ezra died in youth, and Dr. Joseph at Leb- 
anon, III. Dr. John W., Mrs. Nancy Cadman, 
Mrs. Mary Mills. Bishop and Mrs. Emma Bixby, 
located in Lenawee County, and all reared families. 
The parents, Mr. and Mrs. Keeney, were earnest 
Baptists; we find their names among those of the 
constituent members of a church at Lj'me, Conn., 
and Mrs. Keeney was the last surviving constituent 
member of the Baptist Church of Le Roy, N. Y. She 
died at the age of ninetj'-three years and six months. 
From their jjarents the children inherited a healthy 
organization of muscle and brain, witli habits of in- 
dustry and self-reliance, which gave moral tone and 
strength, as well as physical vigor, to long and use- 
ful lives. Mrs. Mary Mills was a woman of re- 
markable energy, decided convictions, heroic hi 
hopefulness and courage, and possessed of a native 
dignity of demeanor that won and lield tiie confi- 
dence of all who knew her. 

Mr. and Mrs. Mills, in 187;!, disposed of their 
farm to their son LeRoy, and removed to Te- 
cumseh, resting from their labors and enjoying the 
fruits of their tt)il. In 1882 thev removed to 



-<*■ 



■•►-II-4* 



•►HI-<^ 



■•Mir*! 



1062 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Arlriau. On Feb. -Jo, 1S87, siiiTouiitled liy her hus- 
band and her five children, Mrs. Mills finished hei' 
earthly work and passed into the skies, calmly waft- 
ing messages of love and good-byes until she 
touched the other shore. Mr. Mills, at the ago of 
seventy -seven, retains vigor of mind and body in 
an unusual degree. His time is divided among 
hi.s children, in each of whose homes he has a warm 
welcome. With an ample income and sound health, 
he seems entitled to years of active usefulness. 
The only other remaining member of his father's 
family is his sister, Mrs. D. B. Greene, of Ypsilanti, 
Mich. 

Mr. and Mrs. Mills are the parents of seven chil- 
dren. One son died in infancy and a promising 
daughter, Hattie, died at the age of nine years. In 
consecutive order the others are Mary E., Helen L., 
Frances M., Adelbert W. and Edwin Leroy. 

Mary E. Mills was born Aug. 11,1 83.0, in Franklin, 
this county; at the age of seventeen, April 20,1852, 
she became the wife of Daniel C. Blair, a farmer by 
occupation, and now residing in Napoleon, Jackson 
County, this State. They are the parents of six 
children: two sons, Charlie, aged two, Herbert, 
aged thirty, and a daughter, Hattie, aged sixteen, 
are deceased ; three daughters, Mrs. Nellie P. Wood, 
Mi.ss Minnie and Miss Bertha, are living. Mrs. 
Blair is a woman of untiring energy and acknowl- 
edged ability, and her influence and usefulness in 
religious and social circles are felt and appreciated. 

Helen L. Mills was born in Franklin, Aug. 11, 
1837. She is the wife of David A. Dodge, of 
Adrian, an attorney by profession. He was Cap- 
tain of Company I, 18th Michigan Infantry, in the 
late war, and is at present a member of the sub- 
scription book house of Mills. Dodge & Pom- 
eroy. Tbej' were married July 20, 1865, and are 
the parents of two daughters: Mamie E., who was 
born Oct. 18, 1867, and died March 13, 1884, and 
Louise Frances, who was born March 22, 1875, and 
is still living. Mrs. Dodge was a teacher in the Te- 
cumseh schools three years, and was Principal of one 
of the ward schools in Toledo, Ohio, for seven years 
previous to her marriage. She is Vice President of 
the Chautauqua class of 1888, and holds positions of 
responsibility in the church of which she is a 
member. 



Frances M. Mills was liorii in Fninkliii, March 11, 
1840. She is the wife of Hcnrj' M. Pomeroy, of 
Adrian, successively a merchant, f.armer, and at 
present connected with the firm of Mills, Dodge & 
Pomeroy. They were married Nov. 4, 1871, and 
are the parents of two daughters : Flossie Helen, born 
Feb. 8, 1875, and M.argery Lincoln, born Oct. 12, 
1881. Mrs. Pomeroy was one of the corps of teachers 
of the Adrian schools under Prof. Franklin Hubbard, 
for several years, and later was Principal of one of the 
ward schools of Toledo, Ohio. She has held re- 
sponsible positions as private secretary of a leading 
journal in Chicago, and as equal active partner in a 
mercantile house in Denver, Col., and Atchison, 
Kan. Her business ability is well known, and in 
matters of church interest or public enterprise her 
generous and competent service can always be re- 
lied upon. Of each of the daughters of Mr. and 
Mrs. Mills it can be truthfully said that their pres- 
ent financial prosperity has been largely promoted 
b}^ their personal energy and skill. 

Adelbert AVorkman Mills was born July 20, 
1843, and attended country schools until sixteen 
years of age, when he entered the hardware store of 
his uncle, E. J. Mills, of Ypsilanti, and remained 
two years. He then completed his school educa- 
tion at Adrian College. Thirteen days after at- 
taining his majorit}^ he enlisted as a private soldier 
in the war of the Rebellion, joining a regiment al- 
ready in the field, and became a member of Com- 
pany G, 11th Michigan Cavalry. Two weeks later 
the command left Lexington, Ky., on the famous 
.Saltville raid, and from that time until he was mus- 
tered out, at the close of the war, he was never in 
camp longer than necessary to be remounted. He was 
in the battles of Saltville, Marion, Salisbury, Wyth- 
ville. Bean Station and many minor engagements. No 
regiment has a better record for bravery than the 
11th Cavalry, and robust health enabled A. W. 
Mills to be always found at the post of duty. Re- 
ceiving an honorable discharge he returned to 
Franklin Township, and rented and worked his fa- 
ther's farm for the next three years, making a finan- 
cial success. During the next three years he taught 
school and worked with a book agency in Iowa, 
when he began to employ and manage agents for 
himself, which business he has continued to the 



••^ 



u 



A 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1063 



r Ler 



l)resent daj' with marked success. P'loiii l.S73to 
1876 he was located in Toledo, Ohio, and in liSTf, 
removed to Tecuniseli, where he hocame iiernia- 
nently established as a book publisher. His public 
duties as member of and President of the ^'illage 
Council three terms, member and President of the 
School Board, Quartermaster, and Commander of 
Beers Post, G. A. R., etc., indicate the respect in 
which he is held as a citizen of Tecumseh, while the 
"Mills Block" and his attractive residence are evi- 
dence of his flnancial thrift. On the lOtli of Octo- 
ber, 1876, A. W. Mills was married to Rosa McKin- 
ney, a graduate of Tecumseh High School and a 
successful teacher. Their family consists of four 
children: Mary Alice, born Nnv. 22, 1.S77; Mabel 
Dixon, July 29, 1882; Adelbert Philo, Nov. 10, 
1883, and Truman Raymond, Feb. 19, 1887. 

Edwin Leroy Mills was born Nov. IG, 1846, in 
Franklin, being the sixth child and third son of his 
parents. He received a common-school education 
at the district school, and later attended Adrian 
College some three years, teaching winter terms of 
school in the country to obtain necessary funds to 
pursue his studies. Possessed of energy and appli- 
cation, and never shrinking from any honorable labor, 
he soon laid a good foundation for success. Upon 
leaving the old farm he engaged in the book busi- 
ness, taking orders on the road nearly twelve years, 
during which time he became general agent for a 
book firm, and handled a corps of agents. In 1873 
he purchased the old homestead, which at intervals 
he occupied and rented, and finally exchanged for 
a farm in the same township, three and one-half 
miles west from Tecumseii. In 1879, on account of 
failing health he quit the road and assumed the 
management of his farm. Mr. Mills is identified 
among the best stock-raisers of the county, having 
reared the celebrated horse "Hunter," record 2:26, 
.and other valuable animals. At this time he is pos- 
sessed of some of the best bred horses in the State. 
In 1884 he rented his farm of 132 acres, which he 
still owns, and removed to Adrian, becoming one of 
the Arm of Mills, Dodge & Pomeroy, subscription 
book publishers and agency, the business extending 
over several States. 

In 1886 Mr. Mills was elected Secretary of the 
Lenawee County Agricultural Society, and has been 



T 



twice re-elected to the same position. In the spring 
of 18S7 he wiis elected Supervisor of the Third Ward, 
city of Adrian, and re-elected in 1888. On 
Jan. 1, 187.'!, Mr. Mills married Miss Amie Hunter, 
second daughter of Andrew J. and Abial (Wimple) 
Hunter, a woman of sterling worth. They hav(> 
three sons: Hugh Hunter, liorn Feb. 10, 1874 : llar- 
rie LeRoy, Jan. s. 1877. and Herbert Wade. .Ian. 
27, 1887. 



pn'ER R. ADAMS. There crane to SouUicrn 
I Michigan, before the Teri'itory ii.-nr been 
transformed into a State, one of its bravest 
spirits, enthroned in the person of the gen- 
tleman whose name stands at the head of this 
sketch, and \v1h> prior to his lamented death built 
up a record wliich his descendants for manj' gener- 
ations hence will be proud to recall. A native of 
Pennsylvania, he was born in the town of Tioga, 
Feb. 10, 1805. and was the son of Rufus and the 
grandson of Isaac Adams, the latter a native of 
Connecticut, who emigrated to Pennsylvania and 
died in Tioga County, in 1812. 

Rufus Adams in early manhood married Miss 
Mary Roberts, a native of Livingston County, N 
Y. His early death left his son Peter R., at the 
age of seven years, obliged to depend mainly upon 
his own resources, as there was but a small property 
to serve as the support of the mother. Peter 
labored at whatever his hands could find to do, 
and at an early age evinced a desire for an educa- 
tion. Although his school advantages were rather 
limited, by devoting his leisure time to study, 
he obtained a good knowledge of the common 
branches, and when a youth of eighteen began 
teaching. Having in view the legal profession he 
repaired to Danville, N. Y., and commenced the 
study of law, and in 1825 was admitted to practice. 
He was married, in 1829. at Tioga, Pa., to Miss 
Cordelia M., daughter of Davi<l Waller, of Palmyra, 
Ohio, and in May, 1830, he came with his wife to 
Detroit, and not many weeks later they took up their 
residence at Tecumseh, this county, which remained 
their home from that time. In Tecumseh, then 
the county seat, Mr. Adams began the practice of 
law, which he continued with fair success until the 



►►-1 



•► 



1064 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



fiill of 1842, unci thou on account of impaired 
health founrl it necessary to seek more active em- 
ployment. 

During these years Mr. Adams, besides giving close 
attention to his professional duties, has interested 
himself in the affairs of his adopted county, serv- 
ing as Township Supervisor, Prosecuting Attorney, 
Judge Advocatcetc, and would have been called to 
other and higher offices could he have been pev- 
suaded to accept them. Upon giving up his prac- 
tice he retired to a farm a mile east of the village, 
and from that time until ISC I gave his attention 
principally to agricultural pursuits. He lived easily 
and comfortably, engaging very little in manual 
labor, spending his time principally in superintend- 
ing the operations of his farm. He returned to 
tlie village in 18G1, and five years later was elected 
President and one of the Directors of the National 
Bank of Tecumseh, holding these offices until the in- 
stitution closed up its business. In ISGO Mr. 
Adams commenced the publication of the Raisin 
Valley Record, and for several years tiiereaftor 
received a liberal public patronage. Its editorial 
columns, over which Mr. Adams himself presided, 
were conducted in a temperate and judicious man- 
ner, and reflected his sentiments on moral and 
financial questions which the experience of years of 
observation enabled him to discuss in a manner 
befitting their importance. He finally transferred 
his interest in this journal to other parties, and at 
the organization of the People's Bank became its 
President, retaining his position until it wa-i suc- 
ceeded by the bank of Fitzsimons & Co. 

To Peter E. Adams and his wife Cordelia there 
were born three children, as follows: Peter W. is 
married and a resident of Tecumseh; Eliza M. be- 
came the wife of Col. W. C. Fitzsimons, and died 
April 20, 1878, leaving two sons, while Mary C, 
Mrs. John D. Schull, is a resident of Tecumseh. 

Mr. Adams was a man particularly kind and 
generous in his disposition, benevolent and straight- 
forward, and impressed those around him as 
being more than ordinarily conscientious, and 
anxious to be of service to his fellowmen. In 
the channels into which his natural talents led him 
he was unostentatious in his benefactions, prefer- 
ring that his left hand should not know what his 



right had done. His name and his labors will be 
remembered j'ears hence, when men will talk to 
their sons concerning the works of the men who 
came to Lenawee County at a time when industry 
and talent were needed to develop her resources. 
While his intellect might have called him to a much 
higher position than he occupied in life, he took 
pleasure in tilling the soil and watching the handi- 
work of Nature in her various operations. He 
left behind him an influence for good which will 
be recognized unto the second and third genera- 
tion. 



<Sp?) RASMUS DARWIN ALLEN, for a long 
fe) time editor of the Morenci Observer, on 
llLsiil the 28th of February, 1885, finished a busy 
life. For some months before his death, friends 
noticed that his step was not so elastic as usual, and 
that his frame was giving way to some extent un- 
der the burden of years. Seeking by rest to recu- 
perate himself, he took a trip to his boyhood home, 
but neither there nor at the springs of St. Louis, 
Mich., could he regain his wonted health. Return- 
ing to his home at Morenci, surrounded by all the 
comforts, attention and sympathy which loving- 
friendship could give, he calmly faced the dread 
destroyer. Death. 

Erasmus Allen was born in the township of Farm- 
ington, Ontario Co., N. Y., on the 3d of Ma}', 
1823, and was one of a family of seven brothers, 
several of whom are residents of Lenawee County. 
His beloved mother was a sister of Rev. Augustus 
Eddy, a noted Methodist minister of Western 
New York, whose son, Rev. Thomas N. Edd}', was 
for so many 3"ears the distinguished editor of the 
Nortliivestern Christian Advocate. Erasmus, a 
farmer's son, was early ambitious to acquire a good 
education, and in furtherance of that object at- 
tended the Canandaigua (N. Y.) Academy, where 
he was a very apt and industrious young student, 
especially proficient in mathematics. Subsequently 
to this he attended the State Normal School at Al- 
bany, N. Y., in order to prepare himself for the 
profession of teaching. Shortly aftei' graduatiug 
•^ 



if* 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



••► 



1065 



t th< 



therefrom, he lu'caiiic I'lint-ipal of theMoiidon (N. 
Y.) Academy, where he i-eiiiiiiiied suiiie time. 

In June, 1840, Mi-. Allen was united in marriage 
with Miss Maria McOmber. and three years later, 
impelled by the emigration fever, they removed to 
Michigan and first settled in Medina, J^enawee 
County, where Mr. Allen entered into i)artnership 
with his brother in the mercantile and milling busi- 
ness. Here his integrity secured him a good stand- 
ing in the community, and his active enterprise and 
a wide acquaintance throughout the section 
brought its necessary return. He at that time 
formed friendships which remained strong and true 
until his death. Still interested in the cause of edu- 
cation, he materially assisted in the establishment 
of an academy at Medina, and was one of the 
contractors who erected the building to be used for 
that purpose. After about eight years' residence at 
that place, he emigrated to Nebr.aska, and purchas- 
ing some land, began farming operations near Browu- 
ville. About 1859 he decided to return to Michi- 
gan, and coming to this county located at Morenci, 
where, with the exception of a brief interval, he 
resided nearly a quarter of a centiuy. He at once 
assumed the Principalshipof the public schools, and 
filled that honorable position for several terms. To 
his thorough methods of teaching, many of his pu- 
pils, now respected men and women, lay whatever 
degree of prosperity or success they have had in 
the world. 

About tills time the suliject of thi> sketch en- 
tered upon his editorial career, first publishing the 
Morenci Star, a journal which prospered, until the 
late conflict between the States broke out and over- 
shadowed all interests of a local or business charac- 
ter. He then entered the dry-goods house of J. 
1'. Cawley & Co., as book-keeper, which position 
lie retained for nine years. In I 872, Morenci for the 
first time heard the sound of a locomotive whistle, 
and entered upon a very livelj' and rapid growth. 
Mr. Allen, with ready discernment characteristic of 
him, saw the opportunity to make a village newspa- 
per profitable, and at once embarked in the publica- 
tion of a journal appropriately named the New Era, 
for which, by his untiring energy and taet, he soon 
secured a large circulation, and assisted largely in 
the growth and welfare of the village. After pub- 



lishing the Neir Era for some three years, he was 
induced to sell his office and go to Detroit as pub- 
lishing agent of the Michigan Christian Advocate, 
of which he was one of the original stockholders. 
Protracted sickness in his family prevented him 
from discharging the iluties incumbent upon him in 
connection with that office satisfactorily to himself, 
and he therefore resigned it and returned to his old 
home in Morenci. In the autumn of 1875 he pur- 
chased the office of the Morenci News, which had 
been started in the meantime, and rechristened it 
the State Line Observer. This journal and the Mo- 
renci Observer he managed until his death. Unre- 
mitting toil and devotion to his business doubtless 
laid the foundation of the disease which caused his 
death. It was with the greatest possible reluctance 
that he obliged himself to cease from work, and to 
resign the entire business into other hands, even at 
the last moment. 

Politically Mr. Allen was .-i stanch Kepulilican, 
almost from the fouud.-itiou of the party, and his 
voice was often heard in County, Congressional and 
State Conventions. His political associates, m.any 
of them leading politicians, sought his counsel, and 
his judgment was trusted by all. Having no polit- 
ical asi)irations for himself, he helped his friends 
to office through the influence which he commanded. 
While a young man, a talent for ready speaking 
which he had, he developed, and he was never at a 
loss to express his views. Having strong convic- 
tions on most important questions, he was quite fre- 
quently called upon to address public meetings of 
various characters. Ever maintaining a deep in- 
terest in all educational matters, he encouraged and 
advised the teachers in their difficult labors, and 
helped them to organize institutes. For thirteen years 
he was Director of the public schools, filling that 
place when the fine school building was erected. He 
w.as also elected Township and Village Clerk for sev- 
ei-al terms, and was the first Secretary of the Morenci 
Agricultural Society, besides being chosen to other 
minor offices. For some time he filled the position 
of President of the Morenci Reform Clul), and 
throughout life was an entirely temperate and tem- 
perance man. Fearlessly advocating the cause of 
prohibition, when it was not so favorablj' received, 
as at present, he sought in every way to improve 



■•► 



•tP^f'4- 



•*-HH^i 



1066 



lenawp:e county. 



the moral status of tho community. In the jour- 
nalistic fleld, where he succeeded so well, he was 
an indefatigable newsgatherer and a facile writer. 
His idea of a local paper was one whose every col- 
umn should be filled with items of home concern, 
put into condensed, spicy paragraphs, justly think- 
ing that long and heavy editorials were out of 
place in a village paper. 

In his religious views Mr. Allen was strictly or- 
thodox, having no sympathy with the so-called lib- 
eral movement. On the 30th of June. 1867, he was 
baptised and received into full membership with 
the Methodist Episcopal Church, by Rev. J. T. Han- 
kinson. He was afterward licensed as a local 
preacher, and later still, ordained as local Deacon at 
the Detroit Conference, and was for manj' years 
active in the official councils of the church. For 
about two years before his death he worshiped at 
the Congregational Church, singing in its choir. 
By his death his friends and the community in gen- 
eral met with a sad loss, but their loss was his great 
gain. 

"There is no death; an angel form 

Walks o'er the earth with silent tread ; 

He bears our best loved things away. 
And then we call them 'dead.' 

He leaves our hearts all desolate, 

He plucks our sweetest, fairest flowers; 

Transplanted into bliss, they now 
Adorn immortal bowers." 



(^ARON K. WALDRON. The flourishing 
^Wjl little town of Tecumseii, among the other 

|/n| good things which have fallen to it, is 
^J the residence of many of those remarkable 

men who came to Southern Michigan in the pioneer 
days and rescued the land from the wilderness. 
Among these the subject of this biography has 
borne no unimportant i)art. He first set foot in 
Teeumseh Townshiji when a young man, in 1845, 
purchasing eighty acres on section 32, one mile 
west of the present village site, in Teeumseh Town- 
ship. This land had soarcel3- been touched bj' the 
hand of the husbandman, having been the property 
of speculators for years. Young Waldron at once 
turned his attention to its improvement and 



cultivation, and after the lapse of years transformed 

I it into one of the most valuable and desirable home- 
steads in this section. Here he has lived, the 

1 object of esteem and confidence by his fellow- 
citizens, and a man who has done much to eneour- 
.age the settlement of Southern Michigan by an 
intelligent class of population. 

The childhood daj^s of Mr. Waldron were spent 
in Seneca County, N. Y., where he was born near 
the town of Romulus, Oct. 23, 1823. His parents, 
William and Hester (Matthews) Waldron, were 

! natives respectively of New Jersey and New York, 
the father born in January, 1789, and the mother, 
July 2, 1795. Some years after their marriage the 
parents removed to the Empire State, locating 
there on a farm, where the death of William Wal- 

; dron occurred Nov. 14, 1833, when his son, Aaron 
K., was a lad ten years of age. He had labored 
industrious]}' to improve his farm, which had been 
cultivated but very little when he took possession, 
and his deatli was a severe blow to his devoted 
wife, as they had naturally formed many plans for 
their future happiness, and the welfare of their 
little family, which included six sons and one 
daughter. After the death of the father these were 
scattered among strangers, Aaron K. being bound 
out to a farmer for seven years. The mother 
departed this life some years after the removal of 
her son, Aaron K., to the West. 

Young Waldron received a common-school 
education, which was supplemented by an attend- 
ance at Ovid Academy for six months, after reach- 
ing his majority. In 1845 he emigrated to this 
State, being employed first as a farm laborer, and 
the year following purchasing the land already 
spoken of. He was prospered in his labors upon 
the new soil of Lenawee County, and in due time 

! became the owner of 232 acres, which he brought 
to a fine state of cultivation. His stock operations 

j were mostly confined to sheep-rai.sing, in which he 

I embarked about 1869, and in which he has been 

' unusually successful. 

On the 19th of September, 1846, Mr. Waldron 

: having laid the foundation for a competency, con- 
sidered himself justified in taking upon himself the 
responsibilities of a family and a home, and was 

i accordingly united in marriage with Miss Sarah 



■•►HH^ 



-^^ 



i 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1067 



Giindermaii, one of tlif iiiosl cstiiiiMlilc youiiu 
ladies of Seneca CuuuU. N. V. Mrs. Nuali M. 
Wnldniii was Ix.ni Feb. -.'(I. IS-.'C. and is the 
daughter of Jacob and Clarissa (J undeiinan, natives 
of New Jersey, who after their marriage removed I 
to Lodi, Seueca Co., N. Y., wliere tlie death of the 
father occurred in 184;'), and tliat of tlic niothrr in 
the spring of 1874. 

Mr. and Mrs. Waldron, after their marriage, took ; 
possession of the little house erected upon the new 
farm, and in due time became the parents of six . 
children, three sons and three daugliters: Lewis M. 
developed into a bright and studious boy, and in 
1870 was one of tlie most promising graduates of I 
the Detroit Business College; \Villiam J. is written 
of elsewhere in this work; Charles A. was gradu- | 
ated from the High School at Tecuniseh, and also ; 
holds a diploma from tlie N'eterinary College of 
Philadelphia; he is a resident of Raisin Township, 
and engaged in farming. Clara A. is teaching; Ada | 
E. is a teacher in Tecumseh, and Sarah IL is at 
home. 

Mr. Waldron, upon becoming a voter, idcntitied 
himself with the old Whig party, with which he : 
remained until the organization of the Republicans, 
and since tiiat time has cheerfully sup()orted the 
principles of the latter. Although alnK)st si.\ty- ! 
five years of age, he enjoys good liealth and a large I 
proportion of the energy which distinguished his 
young manhood. He is widely and favorably 
known throughout Tecumseh and vicinity, and no 
man is more highly respected, or deserves in a 
greater measure the confidence of his fellow-citizens. 



#-^ 



a^ LBERT 
ma vearsth. 



COLLINS. Fdv the last ten 
J subject of this biiigrnphy has held 

jjl Ifi possession of the snug farm of seventy-three 
^ acres on section 3, Macon Township, where 

he has successfully carried on general farming, and 
established himself in the confidence and e.steeiii of 
his neighbors. The land is mostly improved and 
quite fertile, and the buildings are shapely and con- 
venient, and well adapted to the genei-al puriioses 
of countrj' life. 

Our subject was born Dec. 2. 1841, at the old 



hoincstcMil of lii> fiither. Isaac Collins, on section 
■J, ill Macon 'iouiiship, wlicre the latter settled 
about 1s:j4. Isaac Collins was born in Monmouth 
County, N. J., and was the son of James Collins, 
also of New Jersey, and of New England ancestry, 
who were characterized \)y their loyal adherence 
to the <^uaker faitli. lie foHowed the occupation 
of a boatman while a resident of New Jersey, and 
came to Michigan with his son Isaac when the 
latter was a youth of eighteen years. It is supposed 
that the}' settled in the wilderness of Macon Township 
as earl3' as the fall of |.s;!l'. They took up a tract 
of land on section 'i, an<l after making some im- 
provements, Grandfather Collins returned to New 
Jersey after his wife and family. Before they had 
started on the return journe_v, however, his wife 
was seized with cholera and died very suddenly. 
Her remains w<'re laid to rest in her native soil, 
and then James Collins i)i-ocecded to carry out his 
original intention, coming to Michigan with the re- 
maining members of his family. Upon his arrival 
hei-e he went forward with the cultivation of his 
land, lint subsequently returned to his native State 
and married a second wife. His death took place 
in Macon Township, in ISIJt, when he was quite 
well advanced in years. 

Isaac L'ollins. llu' father of o\ir subject, was a 
youth of i;i-eat energy, and at once commenced 
working as a farm laborer in order to pay for the 
quarter section of Government land which he had 
located in Macon Township. He was a praiseworthy 
citizen, and possessing the essential qualities of an 
honest man, was held in high regard wherever 
known. 

The mother of our subject was in her girlhood 
Miss Mary A. Allen, of Ontario, Canada. After 
the decease of Mr. Collins she was married to An- 
drew Wilson, now a retired farmer, who is spending 
his later days comfortably at a pleasant home in the 
village of Tecumseh. Albert Collins, who was the 
eldest of the five children born to his parents, re- 
mained at home until reaching his majority, and 
was married, Jan. 9, 1868, to Miss Abbie J. Flarriott, 
who was born in Saline Townsiiip, Washtenaw 
County, Aug. 15, 1846. Mrs. Collins is the daugh- 
ter of William and Sarah J. (Sanford) Harriott, 
natives of Nevv York State, who emigrated to 
*¥ 



-♦■ 



1068 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Southern Michigan during its early settlement, and 
are still living, occupying a good farm in Saline 
Township. Mrs. Collins remained with her parents 
until her marriage, in the meantime receiving her 
education in the district school. Of her union with 
our subject there was born one child, who died in 
infancy. Mr. Collins votes the straight Republican 
ticket, and is a worthy representative of the family 
so widely known throughout this county. 

^=^EORGK O. ATWOOD, of Rome Town- 
[/[ ship, is the son of one of its earliest pio- 

^^1 neers, and has here spent the greater part 
of his life. He was born at his father's homestead, 
on section 24, Aug. 19, 1838, and still calls it home 
where he first opened his infant eyes to the light, 
having for his portion eiglity acres of the land 
which his father entered from the Government over 
fifty years ago. 

Seth Atwood, the father of our subject, was 
born in Romulus, N. Y., about 1811, and was the 
son of William Atwood, an Englishman who 
crossed the Atlantic in early manhood, and settling 
in New York State there spent the remainder of his 
days, dying at the age of seventy years. Grand- 
mother Atwood was sixty-two at the time of her 
death, which occurred some years before that of her 
husband. Seth Atwood remained in his native 
State until reaching his majority, and not long after- 
ward decided to cast his lot with the pioneers of 
Michigan Territory. Upon reaching this county, 
being possessed of limited means, he commenced 
modestly and first took up 160 acres of Govern- 
ment land. To this he afterward added, but did 
not live to carry out his plans, being cut down by 
the hand of death while still a young man but 
thirty years of age. He had, however, become of 
considerable note as a good citizen, .and was a Dea- 
con of the Presbyterian Church. 

The mother of our subject was in her girlhood 
Miss Jane A. Hood, and was horn in Seneca County, 
N. Y., in 1813. Her father, John Hood, was from 
Pennsylvania, and served as a soldier all through 
tlie Revolutionary War. He was boin on the 10th 
of June, 1762, married Miss Lueinda Moody, and 



died in the Empire' State, aged about seventy-two 
years. His wife died in Michigan .at the advanced 
age of over ninety years. After the death of her 
first husband, Mrs. Atwood was married to Isaac 
Raymond, who died in California in 1880. Of her 
first marriage there were born four children, and 
one by the second. Sophia, the eldest, is now the 
wife of Clark Raymond, of Adrian; Esther, Mrs. 
Charles F. Finch, also lives in Adrian: George G. 
was the third child; Levia R. died at the age of 
eighteen years, and Mary, Mrs. Bacome, is living 
on a farm in Rome Township. 

Our subject spent his early years about the farm, 
assisting his mother and attending the district school 
in the winter season. His school days were prac- 
tically over at the age of fifteen, and from his 
earliest recollection he has been in the habit of ex- 
ercising prudence and econom}', endeavoring to 
make the wisest use of his money and laboring 
diligently to secure a competence. At the age of 
seventeen he started out for himself by commenc- 
ing the cultivation of the land apportioned from 
his father's estate, and in 1868 he put u]) the neat 
and substantial residence occupied jointly by his 
mother and himself. 

Mr. Atwood has been quite prominent in local af- 
fairs, serving as Township Treasurer and Path- 
master, and was a member of the Masonic frater- 
nity a nujnber of years, belonging to the lodge in 
Marion. 

-^^^^ -i^^^l- *T— 

11/ ALSEY LEWIS, one of the oldest and most 
lip^ highly respected residents of Adrian Town. 
/IL^ ship, like many of the early settlers of Lena- 
^^ wee County, is a product of the Empire 
State. He was born May 9, 1811, in Tompkins 
Countj', and is the son of Martin Lewis, who was 
born in Cayuga County. They were people of 
modest means, and the father followed farming, 
spending his entire life in the vicinity of his birth. 
Young Halsey left home at the age of eleven 
years, and two years later, in company with a fam- 
ily of his own county, migrated to Michigan, locat- 
ing in Adrian Township in the fall of 1824. He 
worked as a chore boy that winter, and in the spring 
of 1825 engaged to work on a farm in Monroe 



LENA WEE COUKTY. 



1009 



County for his hoard and clothes one year. At 
the close of this contract he returned to New 
York with the family who acec^nipanied him liere, 
and remained a resident of his native State five 
years. He then retiinieil l<i MiclLio.-in, :uid engaged 
to work on the l';ii-iii of (Jen. liruun, of Tecnniseh, 
and the year following he was employed liy Col. 
Anderson, receiving $100 for twelve months' labor. 
He had now a small amount of money, wiiieli lie 
invested in eight3' acres of land in Tecumseh 
Township, and moving info a frame liouse, whieli 
he had put u\), he kept bachelor's hall for a year, 
and then employed a family to keei) house for him. 
After five or six years he sold out, and purchased 
IGO acres of laud near Eaton Rapids, which, liow- 
ever, lie never occupied. Subscfiucntl^' he maile 
his home with a neighlxir, and rented his farm for 
ten or twelve years, lie then pinchasrd a fai-m at 
Monroe Junction, wliicii he rented until l.sf.s. 
That same year he took possession of IGO acies of 
land owned by Mr. George L. Shurts, the father of 
Mrs. Lewis, and who died that year. He proceeded 
with the cHltivati(jn of this land, and the following 
year, in the nmnth of .Tliiic, he was married to Miss 
Mary E. Shurts. This land afterward l)ecame the 
property of Mrs. Lcwi>, .-nid since that time Jlr. and 
Mrs; L. have occupied it and effected the improve- 
ments which have now rendered it quite valuabh'. 

Mrs. Lewis was born Nov. 4, 1H28, in Seneca 
County, N. Y., while her paternal grandfather, 
Jacob Shurts, was of German birth and iiaienlagi'. 
He crossed the Atlantic when a young man, and 
located in Penns^dvania, where he was mairie(l and 
where his son, George L., was born. The latter 
married a Miss Margaret Jlettler, and came to 
Michigan about 1833. He spent his last days in 
Adrian Township, dying at the age of forty-eight 
years, while his wife, Margaret, was but thirty-niin' 
years old at the time of her death. The maternal 
grandfather of .Mrs. Lewis. Daniel Mettirr by uamr, 
was also a native of lierinany. and a miller by 
trade. 

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Lewis arc re- 
corded as follows: (ieorge II. was born .June 20, 
1849, and has always remaine.l at the homestead ; 
Margaret E. was born Oct. '.). l.s."iU, and is the wife 
of Charles Hill, a prosperous farmer of this town- 



ship; Winfield S. was born May 17, 1852, and died 
in June, 1886; he was married and left a wife and 
four children. Martin was born Aug. 15, 1854, and 
died July 3, 185i); Mary J. was born June 2, 1855, 
and is the wife of William Snook, a mason by trade, 
and they are residents of liaisin; iMuiiiaJ. was born 
Sept. 22, 1857; Charles J., June 17, 1859, and Will- 
iam E., Aug. 1, 18G1 ; these three are at home with 
their parents. Eva A. was born Nov. 13, 1863, 
and is l\\>' wife of John llandgen, who is occupied 
at farming, an.l livo in 1 )ov,a- Townshiji. 



yU.LIAM H. AVIGGINS. The snug home- 
stead of this gentleman lies on section 21, 
Adrian Township, and comprises eighty 
acres of land with good im[)rovements, which 
have been made principally by the present pro- 
prietor, and are in all respects indicative of in- 
ilustry and good taste. There is a fair assortment 
of live stock, and the farm machinery is of the 
most improved pattern, and embraces everything 
required for the successful prosecution of agricult- 
nre. Mr. Wiiiuins has been a resident of this 
lowiiship .-iiice 1S73, and lias acquitted himself as 
;in honest man and a good citizen. 

Onr subject, like many others of his neighbors, 
is a native of the Empire State, having been born 
in the town of Fh)yd, Oneida County, April 8, 
l.s:;:). His parents, Annin and Sarah (Tennent) 

■espectively of New York 
toriner born Oct. '.), 1S(I5, 

I. so 7. They are living in 
v.. which has been their 

•ars; their family included 

tcrs. William H. Wiggins 
.|ieiil hi> childhood and youth under the parental 
roof, working on the farm .and learning what he could 
diiriim the winter at the district school, taking also 
one icrin at Middlebury Academy. Upon leaving 
home he worked for a time with his brother-in-law, 
and in 1861 started for the young State of Michi- 
uan, where he located in Washtenaw County, and 
cuiiageil in peddling patent medicines in Bridge- 
water and NJcinitv; six mouths of this employment 
satished him, and he resolved to again try farming. 



w 


Waru 


vcre 1 

ick. i; 


atives 
. L. th 


am 


1 the 


alter 


h-t. V, 


^v 


•.>ming 


CoUl 


ly. X 



,1 six daugl 



'^^ ^* 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



'^ 



He was not supplied with sufficient capital to pur- 
chase to good advantage, and accordingly rented 
320 acres of land near Manchester, upon which he 
operated three years, after which he removed to a 
quarter section near Bridgewater, which he occupied 
about the same length of time. He rented laud 
one more year, and had now saved sufficient from 
his income to purciiase a moderate -sized farm in 
the same neighborhood. Upon this he worked 
diligently for six years, with such good results that 
he sold out at a net profit of over $2,000, and then 
purchased his present farm. Upon this there was 
much to be done in order to make it what Mr. 
Wiggins desired, and he persevered tbrough many 
obstacles until he has succeeded iu building up one 
of the most attractive homesteads in Adrian Town- 
ship. His skill as an agriculturist, and his useful- 
ness as a member of the community, long ago 
secured him the entire respect of his neighbors. 
He was elected Town Clerk the second year of his 
residence here, and has since held the position. He 
has served as School Director in his district, and 
has several times been called upon in the settle- 
ment of estates. His duties as administrator have 
been discharged in a faithful and conscientious 
manner, and helms been fortunate in giving general 
satisfaction. In 188.5 he was^elected to the House 
of Representatives, State Legislature, and served 
one term. 

The marriage of William H. Wiggins and Miss 
Ellen M. Shipman took place at tlie home of the 
bride in Warsaw, N. Y., Jan. 3, 1865. Mrs. W. is 
the daughter of Stephen and Mary Shipman, and 
was born in Wyoming County. N. Y.,Oct. 29, 184L 
Her father was one of the most highly respected 
farmers of that region, and Mrs. Wiggins had been 
carefully trained by her excellent mother. She 
was a devoted member of the Baptist Church, and 
a lady who possessed many womanly' virtues. After 
becoming the mother of two children, Mary O. 
and William S., she departed this life at her home 
in Manchester, Nov. 9, 1.S70. 

The second wife of our subject, to whom he was 
ni.arried Aug. l(i, 1.S71, was formerly Miss Clarissa 
A. Russ, a native of Cambridge, Mich., and was 
born Feb. li). ist.o. Her father, Silas H. Russ, 
came t<.) this State during its early settlement, locat- 

-4* 



ing in Cambridge and engaging in farming and 
dairying. Mrs. Clarissa A. Wiggins died at the 
homestead, Dec. 29. 1885. She was a most worthj^ 
and excellent wife and a consistent member of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church. By the death of this 
lady two little daughters were left motherless- 
Minnie B., now twelve years of age, and Laverna 
M., aged six. Minnie is especially bright and 
])romising. with a decided talent for music, in which 
art slie has made good progress, and bids fair to 
excel. The present wife of William H. Wiggins 
is Sarah A., daughter of Alfred D. and Emily A. 
(Todd) Hall, natives respectively of New York and 
New Hampshire. Mrs. Wiggins was born in Te- 
cunsseh, Mich., Dec. 27, 1854, and iiad taught 
seven terms of school prior to her marriage, Sept. 
21, 1887. She is a member of the Presl^yterian 
Church. Mr. Wiggins is a Democrat politically, 
and a member of the Masonic fraternity. 



AMES W. ASH, who for the last twenty- 
five years has been one of the familiar fig- 
ures in the agricultural districts of Raisin 
Township, was born on the homestead which 
he now occupies, July 28. 1857. The farm is beau- 
tiful!}' located and highly cultivated, and comprises 
167 acres, occupying the northeast quarter of sec- 
tion 34, and a part of section 27. It lias about it 
the air of permanency and solidity which is espec- 
ially pleasing to the eye, and a place which involun- 
tarily suggests all of the comforts and many of the 
luxuries of life. 

The father of our subject, William Ash, was born 
in Yi>rkshire, England, in 1810, and was of pure 
English ancestry. He continued on his native soil 
until a young man twenty years of age, then crossed 
the Atlantic July 3, 1831, and for a year thereafter 
was employed as a farm laborer in New York State. 
He was ambitious and adventurous, however, and 
finally set out for the Western country, coming to 
Michigan when a large part of the counti'y was still 
in its primitive condition. He located first in Mon- 
loe County, whence he shortly afterward removed 
to Washtenaw County, being in his travels inde- 
pendent of horses or steam cars, making his way 



■•► 



LENAWKK COUNTY. 



I 



1071 



mostly on foot, and thus having a good chance to 
look over the country. 

The father of our M.lijccl, linally .Icci.lcd that 
■there was no locality iiioi-c <lcsiralile than Lenawee 
County, and after a short time spent at the house 
of Sylvanus Westgate, he selected a tract of eight}' 
acres, and walked to Monroe, Mich., to make the 
proper entry, Oct. (J, is:i,"). lie then conimcnced 
in earnest the irnproveujent and cultivation of his 
purchase, laboring like his brother pioneers, nndei- 
man}" didiculties, tilling the .soil vvith rude machin- 
ery and transi)orting his crops hiboriously to market 
by means of lioi-e ov ox teams. He had come to 
stay, howi'Ver, ami whatever emergency arose, 
never thought of giving up (jr retreating from his 
standpoint. His land patent was signed by Presi- 
dent Jackson, and our suliject still holds the deed 
of the ground which was transferred from I'ncie 
Sam to the Ash family, .-ind has been owned sole)}' 
by these two. 

William Ash found it rather a lonesonie business 
working by himself, and decided to bring a com- 
panion to his cabin home. The lady of his choice. 
Miss Esther Westgate, was the daughter of the gen- 
tleman before spoken of, Sylvanus Westgate, Esq., 
who was one of the earliest settlers of Lenawee 
County. The young peo|)le began life together in 
a manner suitable to their means and station, and 
the little household in due time incluiled foui- chil- 
dren, of whom two are living and residents, one oi 
this township, and one of Allegan County, this 
State. The mother only lived to be middle-aged, 
her death taking place at the homestead Dec. 7, 
1844. She was a good woman in the broadest 
sense of the term, and greatly mourned by her fam- 
ily and friends. 

William Ash, some time after the death of his 
first wife, was married in Michigan, on the Maunu'c 
River, not far from the city of that n:i!ne. to Miss 
Harriet Houghtby, a native of Lincolnshire, ivi- 
gland, who came to the United States with her par- 
ents when a young woman. They settled in South- 
ern Michigan an<l she remained under the home 
roof until her marriage. William Asli continued 
his residence on the iu.>me farm, adding improve- 
ments year by year, and there he Anally looked his 
last upon the scenes of earth, his death taking place 



at seventy years of age after a brief illness, July 
1.3, 1880, and resulting from rheumatism of the 
heart. His career had been marked liy honesty and 
n()rightness, and by his industry and economy he 
had acquired a good propert}', at one time owning 
a large area of land, and at the time of his death 
still had 200 acres. Mrs. Harriet Ash preceded her 
husband to the silent lan<l. her doiith occurring Oct. 
L'G, 1.S74. The seven children boni of this union 
were named respectively : Adaline, Emeline, Clara 
A., Harriet C, James W., Chhje J. and Sophia E. 

Our subject was the only son of the second mar- 
riage of his father, and in common with the rest of 
the family his services were utilized at an earl}' age 
around the farm. During the time the district 
schools were in session he employed his time with 
his books, but aside from this he gained a good in- 
sight into the general methods of doing business, 
and being a bright and ambitious youth, early in 
life began to lay his plans for the future. Like his 
father before him, he at an early age possessed the 
knowledge required by a skillful and thorough 
farmer and was well fitted to assume the manage- 
ment of the homestead after his father had retired 
from active labor. 

Our subject had already formed the acquaintance 
of the lady whom lie intended to make his future 
wife, namely, Miss Emma Aniler.son, to whom 
he was m.-irried in Kent County, Mich., Feh. 10, 
18SI.' Mrs. Ash is the daughter of Goram and 
Maria E. (Earl) Anderson, natives of Sweden and 
New York respectively. The mother passed away 
Aug. 2G, 1873, when her daughter Emma was but 
a child ; the father is still living and makes his home 
in Sjiarta, Kent Co., Mich. He had operated suc- 
cessfully as a farmer, and is now enjoying the ease 
and C(jmft)rt which he justly earned by years of in- 
dustry and frugal living. Tliey were the parents of 
four children— William IL, Ida C, Emma J. and 
Lizzie V. 

Mr, Ash, soon after Ills marriage, conducted his 
bride to the old homestead where they have since 
lived, and to which each year he adds those im- 
provements which steadily contribute to its beauty 
and value. The household circle includes three 
children: Ernest W., who was born March 18, 
1882; Clyde J., March 22, 1884, and Pearl (J., Feb. 



^ 



•^»- 



•► 



■^•- 



107-2 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



26, 1886. Mr. Ash. politicallj', uniformly supports 
the principles of the Democratic party, and with his 
estimable wife, is a member in good standing of the 
Palmyra Grange, au association called into exist- 
ence for the [irotcction of farmers. 



c?>^15)- 



r^ OSWELL BENNETT, an <n-dain. 
|L# of the Protestant Methodist Chi 



a gen- 



/ii \\\ tieraan of deep piety, and one who has been 
^^ active a,nd earnest in religious work for a 
period of forty years, took up his abode in liollin 
Township in the spring of 1863. He was reared to 
farming pursuits, of which he is naturally fond, 
and, in connection witli iiis other duties in life, has 
given considerable attention to agriculture. 

Mr. Bennett was born in Ontario County, N. Y., 
Sept. 14, 1815, and is the son of Moses Bennett, a 
native of New Jersey, where he was born Oct. 18, 
1795, and married Miss Edith Collins, a native of 
his own State, and born March 30, 1797. They re- 
moved to the Empire State after their marriage, 
and the father served in the War of 1812. The pa- 
ternal grandfather of our subject, Jeremiah Ben- 
nett, was a soldier in the Revolutionarj' War, and 
at the close of the struggle took up his residence on 
a farm in Ontario County, N. Y., whence he re- 
moved to Orleans County, and there died when 
seventy-live years of age. He married Miss'Nauey 
Randolph, who survived him six years and was 
sixty-eight years of age at the time of her death. 
Moses Bennett removed from New York State to 
Michigan in 1868, locating in Hillsdale County, 
where his death took place when he was eighty-eight 
years old ; the mother had died in 1 872, aged seventy- 
five years. The parental household included ten 
children, one i>{ whom died in childhood. 

Our subject continued with his parents until a 
youth of eighteen years, in the meantime receiving 
his education in the district school. When starting- 
out for himself he engaged as a farm laborer by the 
day or immth, and siuct.' tliat time lias made his 
own way unaided, lie located in Palmyra Town- 
ship, this county, in 1856, and eight years later 
purchased his present farm in Rollin Township. 
About one-quarter of his land had been cultivated, 



and in due time he had tilled the remainder, put up 
the necessary buildings and made manj- other im- 
provements, as may be seen by examining the view of 
the homestead shown elsewhere in this volume. He 
was elected Justice of the Peace in 1867 or 1868, 
on the Republican ticket, which office he occupied 
ten years. He has always been interested in the 
estalilishment of educational and religious institu- 
tions, .and has expounded the Word through vari- 
ous paits of Southern Michigan for a period of 
twenty years. Although now having passed his 
threescore years and ten, he retains his old-time 
ambition and intelligence, and is still warmh" inter- 
ested in Sunday-school work, and is a great temper- 
ance advocate. He is decided in his views, fear- 
less in the maintenance of his principles, and a man 
wh(j at once commands respect. 

Mr. Bennett was united in marriage, Dec. 31, 
1854, with Miss Mar^- J. Hodges, a native of Wyo- 
ming County, N. Y.. and born Feb. 20, 1833. She 
is the sixth child of Rodman and Nancy (Pool) 
Hodges, also natives of Wyoming County, where 
they carried on farming and became the parents of 
eleven children. They removed to Michigan about 
1859, and died in Kent Countj^ at a very advanced 
,age. There were born to Mr. and Mrs. Bennett 
eight children, of whom the record is as follows: 
Edwin O., Ellen M. and Lydia G. are deceased; 
those living are: Florence M., who married Henry 
Kemberling, and lives in Detroit; Mary E., vvho 
married John Darling, and lives in Woodstock; 
Dora A., the wife of Martin Ball, of this township, 
and Edith C. and Edwin R., at home with their 
parents. By a former marriage Mr. Bennett had 
three children — Benjamin R., who lives in this 
county, and George S. and Lewis, deceased. 



HARLES B. STOVTELL. Among the en- 
terprising and intelligent agriculturists of 
dson Township the gentleman whose name 
stands at the head c.f this sketch is One of the best 
known, and (iiic of the most prominent. He is a 
native of New England, his birth having taken 
place in Londonderry, Windham Co., Vt., Aug. 25, 
1843. Luther Stowell, his urandfather, was born in 



\ 



■•► 



m-M^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1073 'f 



Massachusetts, in 1772, and of English descent. He 
was a farmer, and removed to Vermont previous to 
1800, the journey being performed Nv hh^mis of ;iii 
ox-team. He first located in Windiiaiu. Imt two i.r 
three years later he moved to Londonderry, wheie 
he bought a partially improved farm, and there he 
and his wife died, each at the age of eighty-four 
years. He was a Deacon in the Congregational 
Church, and served as Justice of the Peace for over 
forty years, and then resigned. His farm is now 
owned and occupied by one of his sons. 

Gen. Josiah Stowell,the father of our subject, w.is 
born in Petersham, Worcester Co.. Mass., April -"lO. 
1797, and was an infant when his parents removed 
to Vermont, where he was reared on the farm, and 
remained at home until, at the age of twenty years, 
he bought his time, and went to Albany, but after 
spending one winter there he went to Manchester, 
N. H., where he assisted in buying the land and 
water power before the city was chartered. He 
was a prominent member of the Congregational So- 
ciety, and assisted in building the P'lrst Congrega- 
tional Church of that city. He was early inclined 
to military life, and at the age of sixteen was Cap- 
tain of a company of boys in J^ondonderrj', Vt. 
He joined the New Hampshire State Militia in 
Manchester, and was first appointed Ensign, and 
subsequently promoted through the different grades 
to the rank of Brigadier General. He was appointed 
by the Governor of New Hampshire to review the 
troops at the time of Lafayette's visit to America, 
and was present at the laying of the corner stone 
of Bunker Hill monument. About 1S41 he re- 
turned to Londonderry, Vt.,and there built a iKjtel 
which he managed f(n- a time, managing also the 
Mountain House, a famous summer resort near by. 
In 1854 he came to Hudson, and resided here for a 
time, engaged in mercantile business, but two or 
three years later failing eyesight compelled him to 
retire to the homestead, whicli our subject now 
owns and occupies, and iiei-e his death occurred 
Dec. 11, 187;!. He was a man vi' great energy and 
superior ability, and occupied a inoiiiiiieiit place 
among his fellow-citizens wherevei- he made liis 
home. Gen. Stowell was three times marrieil, and 
liad one child by each marriage. His third wife, 
the mother of our subject, whose maiden name was 



Charlotte Barr, was born in Bedford, N. H., Jan. 8, 
1810, and is a daughter of Samuel Barr; she now 
resides with her son, our subject. 

Charles B. Stowell was in his twelfth year wlien 
he came to this county with iiis parents, lie had 
attended the district scliool- :ind the academy in 
Londonderry, and after coining to Hudson entered 

; the district school, . and subsequently pursued his 
studies for five terms in Hillsdale College. During 
tiiat time he taught school one term, but after his 
fathei- became blind returned home and took charge 
of the farm, wliieh he has since managed. He was 
married, Oct. -JT, iscs, to Miss Ellen C. Olds, a 
native of Fayette. Hillsdale Co., Mich. 

.Mrs. Stowell's grandfather, James Olds, was a 
native of Massachusetts, and became a pioneer of 
Aslitabula County, Ohio, and also of Jonesville, 

I HilLsdale Co., Mich., where he settled in 18;]0. He 

j bought a large tract of land in the township, on 
wiiich he erected a, sawmill, and also pin-chased 
village property, ami wlu-n the post-oftice was 
established he was the fust Postmaster appointed in 
Jonesville. For a time he managed a hotel and 

I kept a grocery, and having liecome familiar with 
the language of the Indians he carried on quite a 
trade with them. He was elected the first Register 

I of Deeds of Hillsdale Countjr, and was chosen as 
Moderator of the first town meeting, and w.as also 
first Assessor of Fayette Townshi)). He remained 

t a resident of Hillsdale County until his death. 

Harley J. OMn the father of Mrs. Stowell. was 

! born in Painesville, Ohio, in l.Sl(;,and was fourteen 
vcars old when he cnme to Hillsdale foiintv with 



is parents. He 



lUv 



town, but after completing his education at the 

, academy where he was graduated he returned to 

1 Michigan and engaged in business in Jonesville. 

He bought quite a tract of land heavily timbered, 

( and su[)erintended the improvement of a farm 

while carrying on his business. He held various 

offices of trust in Scipio Township, including that 

of Supervis(jr, and also served as Justice of the 

Peace for several years; his d.vith occurred Jan. 4, 

' 188.5. His wife, whose maiden name was Diantha 

Bowman, was born near Cl.nvmonl. X. 11., July .".l, 

1817, and is now a resident of .(onesvillf. 

I Mr. Stowell did not dr.>p his studies .m leaving 



•►HI- 



•^iV^ 



1074 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



college in his youth, but has always been a student, 
and is an intelligent man well versed in the natural 
sciences. He has a special taste for geology and 
mineralogy, as his large collection of specimens in- 
dicates; and, undoubtedly, his knowledge of the 
chemical and mineral constituents of the soil has 
been of use to him in agricultural pursuits. His 
valuable library contains many works of the best 
authors, and he is also well informed in the general 
literature of the day. 

Our subject takes an active interest in the wel- 
fare of the township, having served as (Jhairman of 
the Board of School Inspectors, and is now a mem- 
ber of the City Council. Both Mr. and Mrs. 
Stowell are esteemed members of the Congrega- 
tional Church, of which he is a Deacon. He has 
been an active worker in the Sunday-school, in 
which he has served as Superintendent. Jlr. 
Stowell in politics is a stanch Republican. 



-^ '^ ^' '^ 

"SpOHN BRYANT is among the many success- 
jl ful and intelligent farmers who make up the 
l{ population of Seneca Township. He owns 
l^/y and occupies a beautiful farm of 165 acres 
on section 5, in Seneca, and 120 acres in Dover 
Township. He is the son of John and Margaret 
(Watson) Bryant, and was born in Monroe County, 
N. Y., Sept. 18, 1835. 

John Bryant, Sr., was a native of Leeds, England, 
and was born in 1801. After growing to manhood 
he followed the business of farming in his native 
isle until he had reached the age of thirty j'ears, 
when growing dissatisfied with his lot in life, he 
determined to seek his fortune on this side of the 
ocean, and accordingly setting out, after a tedious 
voyage, he landed in New York City. For seven 
years thereafter he was engaged in laboring in a 
plaster-mill, during which time he was married to 
Margaret Watson, a native of Scotland, who had 
come to America witii her parents when she was yet 
a girl. Four years after his marriage John Bryant 
came to Michigan with the laudable purpose of es- 
tablishing a home. He had made a trip in 1 835, and 
taken up 200 acres of land lying in what is now 
Dover Township, in this county, and had erected a 



•^-^tr^ 



log cabin of the usual type. It was neither elegant 
in its architecture nor spacious as to accommoda- 
tion, but it was warm and comfortable, and bore a 
strong family resemblance to all the houses in the 
locality. Retiu-uing to New Y'ork State for his 
family-, which then consisted of his wife and three 
children — Samuel, William, and John, the subject of 
this sketch — he the following year brought them 
with him, and made a permanent settlement. In 
this place he remained the rest of his life, rearing a 
family of nine. children, and diiug in 1856, having 
completed his tifty-fifth year. His wife, who was 
born at Perth, Scotland, in 1807, is still living on the 
old homestead. 

John Bryant, the subject of this sketch, passed 
his early days upon his father's farm, and received 
his education in the old log cabin school-houses of 
the day. He was early familiarized with hard work, 
as were most of the boys in the days of the pioneer, 
but the stern experience through which he passed 
in his youth developed in him a noble manhood 
and an energy that has placed him in his present 
independent circumstances. For several years suc- 
ceeding his father's death he worked on his mother's 
farm in Dover Township, but on attaining his ma- 
jority he purchased 205 acres of wild land in Seneca 
Township, and while engaged in clearing it up and 
in making a farm out of what was a leafy desert, he 
still continued to manage the homestead for his 
mother. Having succeeded in fully reclaiming 
from ■" Nature in her wildest mood " the place where 
he now lives, he erected a neat and comfortable 
dwelling-house, to which, on the 12th of November, 
1«63, he led his chosen bride. She was Miss So- 
phronia, a daughter of Harman and Ann (Bordiue) 
Vcdder, and was born in Lenawee County, Mich., 
April 25, 1841. Her father, Harman Vedder, was 
born Jan. 15, 1806, in the State of New York, 
and coming to Michigan in 1836 he took up a farm 
in Dover Township, and continued to cultivate the 
soil until his deafh, which occurred Sept. 23, 1885, 
alter having attained almost eighty years of age. 
Mrs. Bryant's mother was born in Montgomery 
County, N. Y., and was married to Harman Vedder 
in Orleans County, N. Y. Mrs. Vedder, a most 
estimable old lady of threescore and ten, is now 
making her home with Mr. and Mrs. Bryant. 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



107 



-t 



Mr. and Mrs. Bryant are the parents of four chil- 
dren, namely: Helen M., who wns Ixirn July 19, 
1865; Frank E., Sept. 10. iscr,; |,l,-i M.. .[uik- 20, 
1871: and Ralph .1.. Dec l' 1 . IsT'.l: all of uiiom 
remain at home. 

Mr. Bryant is a niciulier of the Rcpulilican party, 
believing that in that direction lies the best hope for 
the perpetuation ol Uic •• best government the world 
has ever seen." lie has no political aspirations, 
however, considering his duties to his family a> 
paramount to all others. In all the affairs <>f life 
Mr. Bryant has been eminently successful. Ih' is .a 
shrewd and close observer, a man of most undenia- 
ble integritj', and bis position in the comnuinily is 
a very |)romin('nt one. 



i^/ MOS OPDYKE, leading lumber dealer of 
'<^U. the village of Hudson, is a native of Hnn- 

jfr% terdon County, N. J., and w.as born June 
imj !), 1819. His g-r.andfathor, Luther Opdyke, 

was a farmer residing in the same section of the 
State, and also owned a gristmill. He was an ex- 
tensive slave-owner, slavery then existing in his 
native State, and a prominent and influential citizen 
of that locality. He passed his last years on his 
farn, which was situated about a mile and ;i half 
east of the village of Everittstown. 

The father of the .subject of this sketch, Luther 
Updyke, was reared in his native county, and 
after attaining his manhood conuneuced work on 
a farm, in the neighborhood of his father's [ilacc. 
which had been presented to him by his i)ai'cuts. 
In I.S31 lie sold .lut and remove.! to Xcu Voik 
State, and settled down on a farm in Layette 
Township, Seneca County. At the time of this 
removal he was the ownei- of ;i slave, to whom he 
gave his fi'eedom, but the faithful servant, not- 
withstanding this, followed his master into New- 
York and remained with him until his death. The 
place purchased by tlie senior Mr. Opdyke was 
but partially improved, as the country was quite 
new at that time. There were no railroads in those 
d.iys, and the Erie Canal furnished the only mode 

travel other than that by team or on foot. In 



fact the subject of this personal sketch relates in an 
amusing manner the account of the first time he 
ever saw a railroad train ; he was at tliat time about 
seventeen years of age, and was much surprised at 
its appearance. The track only extended from 
Schenectady to All.iany. and the cars lesembled 
old-tashioned stage coaches, while the engine was 
quite different from those of the present time. The 
locomotive w.-is not allowed to enter the city of 
Albany, and the cars were drawn in and out of that 
place Ijy a number of horses or mules hitched one 
before the other. Luther Opdyke remained upon 
!us farm for a number of years, but after the death 
of his wife he removed to the town of Waterloo, 
and retiring from the active cares of life, remained 
there until his death. 

The subject of this biography received his edu- 
cation in the district schools of New Jersey and 
New York, than which there are no better, assist- 
ing his father in the work on the farm in the mean- 
time. On his nineteenth birthday his father gave 
him the rest of his time, and he immediately com- 
menced work for himself, renting land and farming 
it on siiares. He was energetic and industrious, and 
being entirely free from an}' vices or bad habits, 
such as using tobacco or liquor, was eminently suc- 
cessful in all his undertakings. Being desirous of 
securing a home of his own, in 1853 he came to 
Michigan and located in Lenawee County, where he 
pu'chased a farm on section 31, Hudson Township, 
l)nt after two years' residence upon that place, he 
sold it and purchase<l a tract of land on section 29, 
where he lived until I8(;9, and then rciiioved to the 
village of Hudson. In the meantime he had pur- 
chased another farm east of the town, and a few 
years after removing to Hudson, managed its culti- 
vation. In 1874 he engaged in the luuilier busi- 
ness, ill wiiicli he has since remained and is meeting 
with a great deal of success. 

Mr. Opdyke was united in marriage with Miss 
Laviua Lowe, a natixe of 1 Ister County, N. V..an.l 
daughter of Jonathan and Jane Lowe. They have 
become the i)arents of live children, as follows; 
<jeorge, Jane, Charles, Frances and Delia Aiay. Po- 
litically, Mr. Opdyke is a Democrat of prohibition 
proclivities. He is not in favoi- of a third party, 
however, as he considers it unnecessary and un- 



»► ■ ^ ^« 



1076 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



wise at the present time. Both he aud his wife are 
sincere and consistent members of tlie Methodist 
Episcopal Cliurch, aud are quite active in all relig- 
ious work. 



■^•«##H- 



i. INCREA.SE S. HAMILTON, for long- 
years one of the most popular physicians 
of Tecumseh, is now retired from the 
active duties of his profession, and in a 
pleasant home, surrounded by hosts of friends, is 
sjoendiug his declining days. He has now almost 
reached his fourscore years, and over forty years ago 
left his New England home to seek his fortune in the 
West. Fate has dealt kindly with him, giving him 
a good measure of success, aud investing him with 
those qualities which have secured him the esteem 
and confidence of his fellowmen. He has been 
prominent in the building up of the town where he 
has made his home so many yeais, and is ranked 
among the most liberal-minded and whole-hearted 
citizens. 

Dr. Hamilton, a native of .Massachusetts, w.as 
born Jan. .'), 1809, near the home of the poet, VV^ill- 
iam CuUen Bryant. The father of our subject, 
Obediah Hamilton, Esq., was a native of Salem, 
Mass., and a saddler and harness-maker in early 
years, but he afterward settled upon a farm and 
engaged in agricultural pursuits. He married in 
early life a Miss Richardson, who was born in 
Cummington, Mass., where she was reared, and 
where the young peoiile settled after their mar- 
riage, and lived until after their .son. Increase, was 
eight years of age. Thence they removed to 
Northampton, and a few years later to Fairport. ' 
N. Y., whence they removed and settled in Orleans 
County, that State, where the father died in Sep- 
tember, 1829, leaving his vvife with seven children. 
Increase S. Hamilton was the youngest child of 
his parents, and received his early education in Or- 
leans County, N. Y., after which he entered Monroe 
Academy, where he acquired a knowledge of the 
higher branches, including Latin and Greek, under 
tlie tutelage of private teacliers. When about 
twenty-one years of age he couimeuced the study 



of medicine in the office of Dr. James Willard, of 
Geauga County, Ohio, and later entered the West- 
ern Branch of the New York University, at Fair- 
field, from which he was graduated in 1835. Young 
Hamilton, in casting about for his future location, 
decided to seek a place in the Territory of Michigan, 
and in the month of May, 1835, first set" foot in 
Lenawee County, stopping near Canandaigua, on 
Bean Creek, where he commenced the practice of 
his profession, and remained in that vicinity for the 
following nine years. In the spring of 1844 he 
took up his residence in Tecumseh, where he fol- 
lowed his profession continuously until the spring 
of 1887, when failing health admonished him that 
it would be vvise to retire. 

Dr. Hamilton was first married, in 1834, to Miss 
Sarah B. Wheeler, by whom he became the father 
of two children, Ann F. and Sarah B., who died at 
aljout the ages of twenty and thirty -four years re- 
spectively. The mother passed away at her home 
in Medina, Mich., Oct. 17, 1841, and the year fol- 
lowing Dr. Hamilton was again married, to Miss 
Harriet R. Daniels, who also became the mother of 
two children, Elizabeth A. and Harriet L., both now 
deceased. Harriet L. became the wife of A. L. 
Brewer, and died while young, leaving one child- 
Mrs. Harriet R. Hamilton departed this life at her 
home in Tecumseh, in July, 1872. 

The present wife of our subject, to whom he was 
married in September, 1873, was formerly Miss Ann 
E. White, a native of New York, and the daughter 
of Thomas and Sophrina White. The Doctor has 
devoted his entire life to the duties of his profes- 
sion, looking upon it in its true light, as a solemn 
responsibility, and one in which it behooved him to 
gain all the knowledge possible. He has conse- 
quently been a close student, and availed himself of 
tiie instruction of the eminent men of the profession 
who have gone before and left to posterity their 
written experiences and opinions. He has watched 
with interest the development of Michigan from a 
'I'erritory to its present proud position as one of the 
most important States of -the Union, and has con- 
tributed his full quota toward the interests of 
Lenawee County. The establishment of schools 
aud churches has always been warmly supported 
and encouraged by him, and during the Rebellion 

•►- 



Hh-4« 



-H^B-^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



107 



)f till 



there was no warmer arlvocnto of the 
Union throughout the land. 

Di'. Hamilton, as a man of niDrc llian iuiiin:n-y 
intelligence, was at an early ilnic reccmnizcd :i> a 
valuable addition to the conuniniilv of 'rcciiiii~cli, 
and was called to the variou> local ollicc-. In l,s|2 
he was the candidate of tlu; Repiililican |i:n1,v in 
this county as their representative in llu- State 
Legislature, luit was defeated witli tlie re-t of his 
ticket. In the various enterprises set on foot for 
the cause of education he has iield a ])roininent 
position, and for a period of thirty-five years was 
a member of the Board of Trustees of Kalamazoo 
College, resigning the jiosition in tlie spring of 
1S87. He has a line pidperty in Tcciunseli, in- 
cluding a handsome and commodious residence, an<l 
for a number of years was the owner of a valu.-dile 
farm in Medina Township. 

^ -*-qN- -r— 



t 



^Ir^iENJAMIN D. OSBORN, one of the solid 
Jl^V\ '"^" ^^ JNIedina Township, at an early age 
(j^)jll took upon himself the cares and responsibil- 
^^^==^ ities of life, and from a thoughtful and in- 
dustrious boy, grew up to an earnest and reliable 
man, who has taken his rightful place, socially and 
financially, among the leading citizens of Lenawee 
County. In 183G he came to Southern Michigan 
from Dutchess County. N. Y., bringing with him 
his father's family, for whom he paid the whole fare 
from Poughkeepsie to Medina Township, and which 
involved an expense of ^11^. It must be reraeui- 
bered that there were no pal.ace cars or hotels ahnig 
the route, the pilgrims making their way Iiy 
the aid of caual, lake, and te.ams overhand. Mr. 
Osborn first purchased eighty acres of laud in 
Wright Township, Hillsdale Country, from which he 
removed to Medina in 1844. His father, about 
five years later, also purchased eighty acres at that 
place, where he built up a comfortable home and 
died in 1857, nine j-ears after the death of the 
mother. The property there had been willed to 
the daughter Elizabeth, upon condition that she 
should take care of her father during his lifetime. 
The parents of our subject, William and Cath- 
erine Osborn, were natives of Dutchess County, N. 
<4«- 



Y., the former born in 1791, and the latter in 1797. 
They were there reared and m.arried, and subse- 
fiuently removed to Orange Count}'. Two years 
later, however, they returned to the vicinity of 
tlieir childhood's home, where the}' lived nineteen 
years before their removal to Michigan. Tliey were 
the parents of eleven children. 

The educational advantages of our siiliject were 
exceedingly limited, and vvhen a lad twelve years 
of age he began the career of continuous industry 
which he followed afterward for thirty years. He 
found employment in the vicinity of his birthplace, 
and his intelligent face and willing hands resulted 
in making friends for him wherever he cast his lot. 
He continued in Dutchess County until reaching his 
majority, when he was married, Aug. 25, 1841, to 
Miss Mary Baker, and they became the parents of 
twelve children, of whom but two, John B. and 
(ieorge, are now living, and are residents respect- 
ively of Medina Township, this county, and Broad- 
land, Dak. John married Miss Martha Consaules. 
The present wife of Benjamin D. Osborn was form- 
erly Mrs. Mary L. Edwards, the daughter of 
Thomas and Charlotte (Terrell) Williams, who were 
among the earliest pioneers of Lenawee County. 
They were natives of Genesee County, N. Y., and 
lived in the town of Bennington, that State, eleven 
years, after which they came to this county and 
settled in Medina Township. They were the i)ar- 
ents of five children, four of whom are living, 
namely: "William W.. residing in Canada; Mary, 
Mrs. Osborn; Jane, Mrs. Allen., of Seneca Township, 
and Thomas C, Principal of a High .School, and a 
resident of Oakland County, Mich. The wife of 
our subject was born April 3, 1831, in Beanington, 
N. J., and received a good education, becoming 
an etlicient teacher, which vocation she followed 
two years liefore her marriage with David Edwards, 
which took place Feb. 14, 1852. Mr. E., during 
the late war, enlisted as a Union soldier, and met 
death on the liattle-field at Chattanooga, Tenn. Of 
that marriage there were bora two children: Ellen 
J., the wife of E. C. Palmer, of Hudson Township, 
and the mother of one child, a daughter, Eva May, 
and Ida, deceased. Mrs. Osborn became connected 
with the Baptist Church in Medina, with which de- 
1 nomination she has since continued, transferring 



•►Hl^-O^ 



107S 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



her memlieisliip in 18i57, to the church at Morenei. 
She contributed liberally to the erection of the 
church edifice in the latter place, and is a lady 
greatly respected and active in all good works. 
Mr. Osborn, politically, votes the straight Repub- 
lican ticket. He has held the school offices of liis 
township for the last ten years, and while a resi- 
dent of Wright Township, Hillsdale County, was a 
member of the Board of Supervisors. 

Mr. Osborn, on the 5th of March, 1873, was mar- 
ried to his present wife, formerly Mary Edwards, 
the daughter of Thomas Williams. They were 
among the early settlers of Medina Township, and 
were prominent in religious matters, assisting in the 
organization of the first Baptist Church, to which 
they ever gave their liberal and cheerful support. 
They established a good home in Medina Town- 
ship, where the father died in the fall of 1807, and 
the mother five years later, in 1872. Mr. Osborn 
himself has been no unimportant factor in assisting 
to maintain the churches of Medina Township, hav- 
ing contributed to the erection of three houses of 
worship, and otherwise giving of his means for the 
promotion of the institutions calculated to insure 
the morality and well-being of the people around 
him. 

Two sons of our subject served in the Union 
army during the late war. John B. enlisted in the 
4th Michigan Infantry, and fought at South Mount- 
ain and Antietam, besides meeting the rebels in 
^'arious minor engagements. He was promoter! 
Corporal. Horace died in the hospital at Miner's 
Hill, and was buried there on the banks of the 
Potomac. 

In noting the history of a man who has made his 
mark in the world and l)een a useful member of 
his community, nothing is more natural than the 
wish to know something of his antecedents. Rieh- 
.ard H. Osborn, the paternal grandfather of our 
subject, was born on Long Island, N. Y., and was 
the son of a wealthy farmer. Through the instru- 
mentalit3' of his uncle he was placed on shipboard 
when a boy twelve years of age, and followed the 
sea until reaching manhood. His uncle then pre- 
sented him with a ship, and he circumnavigated the 
globe three times, and thrice viewed from terra firma 
the ruins of Pompeii. His grandfather, William 



t 



Fritz Osborn, was a native of Glasgow, Scotland, 
and'closely allied to royal blood. Richard H. at 
one time was shipwrecked and cast away on an 
island, where he was obliged to stay for seven 
years, iiis i-elatives in the meantime giving him up 
for lost. He served as a soldier in the Revolution- 
ary War and participated in the battle at Harlem 
Heights, also meeting the enemy in various other 
engagements. He endured great hardsliips and was 
wounded three times. He was a finely educated 
man and master of five languages. 



ILLIAM ASHLEY was a worthy and es- 
ij teemed resident of Dover Township, where 
he spent the latter part of his life. He was 
a native of New York, where he was born in Utica, 
Jan. 2, 1828. His parents were John and Sarah 
(Rawson) Ashley, natives of England, who emi- 
grated to America and settled in the State of New 
York, where they spenttheir remaining years. They 
were the parents of eight children. 

William Ashley was the fifth child in order of 
birth in the parental family, and spent his early life 
in the place of his nativity, remaining a citizen of 
New Yoi'k until he came to Michigan and settled in 
Dover Township. Here he purchased a tract of 
land on which he erected ample and convenient 
buildings, and at the time of his death left a farm of 
eighty acres under a good state of cultivation. He 
held high rank in the communit3' as an honest man 
and a good citizen, and was always interested in 
general and local affaii's, using his influence to pro- 
mote the welfare of the township; several of the 
minor offices of the town he satisfactorilj' filled. 
While yet in the prime of life he was called from 
his eartiily home "to a house not made with hands," 
passing away Sept. 29, 1879, and leaving a widow 
and six children to mourn their loss. 

Mr. Ashley was married in Hudson, Mich., Sept., 
13, 1860, to Margaret, daughter of John and Mar- 
garet (Watson) Bryant. (For parental history see 
Samuel Bryant's sketch.) Mrs. Ashley was born 
in Dover Township, Aug. 28, 1838, and was reared 
in that township, where she has always lived. She 
became the mother of seven children, six of whom 
•>. 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



107!) 



•►Hh-^ 



are living, namely: Mary, who is the wife of A.G. 
Hartle. and resides in New.iygo County, Mich.; 
Jesse A., who married Altha V. Smith, and resides 
in Dover Township; Charles B., Myrtle M., Edna 
M. and Ira W. Mr. Ashley was a member of the 
Free Methodist Church, and Mrs. Ashley is also a 
member of the same denomination. 

Mrs. Ashley is a capaljle, energetic woman, of ex- 
cellent business capacity, .as is shown by her suc- 
cessful management of her farm, of which she has 
had charge since the dcatii of her husband. In her 
widowhood she shows rare qualities of courage and 
endurance, which have enabled her to cope with the 
difficulties of life, and in her strict devotion toduty 
she has won the respect and good-will of all who 
know her. 

;ILLIAM E. .lEWETT, M. 1).. who has 
been a practicing |)liysiciau in the city of 
Adrian since 1872, and has largely identi- 
fied himself with the social and material interests 
of the city, is a native of the State of New York, 
and was born in Sangerfield. Oneida County, on llie 
8th of December, 1842. His parents were Eri and 
Harriet (AYinchell) Jewett, also natives of the 
Empire State, of which his paternal grandfather, 
Jonathan Jewett, was an early pioneer. Jonathan 
Jewett lived for eighty-two ye.ars on the same farm, 
which was land taken up by his f.ather, and died at 
the age of ninety, June 1 1. 1872, at the same hour 
that the Doctor's youngest child was born. The 
maternal grandparents, William F. and Submit 
Winehell, were natives of Connecticut, and removed 
from Goshen, that State, to the vicinity of Sanger- 
field, N. Y., during the early settlement of Oneida 
County. 

Eri Jewett, in 18.5.5, removed with his farailj- to 
Ohio and settled on a farm near Austinburg, in 
Ashtabula County, where they remained until 18G8. 
Thence they removed to Constantine, St. Joseph 
Co., Mich., and to Vistula, Ind., in 1871, where tiie 
parents passed the remainder of their d.ays. Our 
subject, until 1857, attended the district school 
and assisted his parents in their work on the farm. 
During that 3'ear he entered Grand River Institute, 



in Austinburg. a noted seat of learning in those 
days, which was founded in 18;;2.and is still nour- 
ishing. He worked (m a farm and taught school 
during vacations until after the outbreak of the 
Civil ^Var, and in .May. 1 ■'^<12, enlisted as a private 
in Company K. .S7th Ohin Infantry, serving in 
\'irginia in the Army of the Potomac. 

Young Jewett w-.as taken prisoner at the surren- 
der of Harper's Ferr_y, Sept. 15, 1862, but not long 
afterward was paroled and exchanged. At the 
expiration of his term of service in October follow- 
ing, he w.as mustered out, and re-enlisted in June, 
\W.i. This time he w.as rejected by the examining 
surgeon, and now determined to turn his attention 
to the study of medicine. In 1864 he entered the 
office of Dr. E. A. .Munger. of Watervillc. N. Y., 
and the yeai- following attended the medical college 
at Cleveland, Ohio. From there he went to the 
Homeopathic Medical College in New York City, 
from which he was graduated on the 1st of March, 
1«G7. He spent the winter of 1867-68 in the col- 
leges and hospitals of New York City, and made 
the best use possible of his lime and opijortunities 
for gaining a full knowledge of the profession which 
he intended to follow. 

Dr. Jewett, in M.ay, 1868, opened his lirst office 
in Constantine, Mich., and on the 24th of Novem- 
ber following, was united in marriage with Miss 
Clara A., the .accomplished daughter of Henry E. 
and Lucinda. Koot, of Constantine. This union 
has been blessed by the birth of two chihlren— 
Henry K., who was born Oct. 24. 1870, and William 
E., June 11, 1.S72. 

In February, 1872, Dr. .lewctt took up his resi- 
dence in Adrian, and is now in the enjoyment of a 
large and lucrative practice. In July of that same 
year, he identified himself with the Masonic frater- 
nity, and is a member of Adrian Lodge No. 19, F. & 
A. M. He has attained to a high |)ositiou. having 
taken the degrees of the Cli.ii.tcr mid C.uiicil. mid 
the orders of the Conunnndci y of Kni-hts Templar. 
In these bodies he has l)een honored with the 
highest offices in their gift, having been .Mastei- of 
Lodge. High Priest of Cha|)ter, Thrice Illustrious 
of Council, and Einincul, Commander of C<nn- 
mandiT. He is also :ui otliccr of the Gr.and 
Commaudry of Michig.an and a member of Michi- 
^ ■ » 



gaii Sovereign Consistory, Ancient and Accepted 
Scottish Kite, Valley of Detroit. He is also a mem- 
ber of Woodbury Post No. 45, G. A. R. He cast 
his first Presidential vote for Lincoln, and has since 
continued an active supporter of the Republican 
party. In 1877 and the following year he served 
as Alderman of the First Ward. He is physician 
to the State Industrial Home for Girls, located 
near the city, and in I'eligious matters belongs to 
the Presbyt'srian Ciuirch. Possessing considerable 
musical talent. Dr. Jewett several years ago became 
proficient as an organist, which office he has filled 
in several churches. 

Dr. Jewett is a successful physician and a public- 
spirited citizen, ever active in promoting the wel- 
fare and prosperity of Adrian and vicinity. Kindly 
and generous in his relations with other physicians, 
and benevolent to the poor in his large clientele, 
he enjoys the confidence of the community to a 
marked degree, and his best friends are those wiio 
know hini the most intiniatelv. 



/^^ HARLES M. LEWIS is a leading farmer of 
fl( Hudson Township, where he owns and oc- 

^^7 eupies one of the best farms in this vicinity. 
Both himself and his wife are representatives of 
pioneer families, and are themselves native-born 
citizens of Michigan. When their parents came 
here this State was yet a Territory, and but little was 
known of it; Indians still inhabited its vast forests, 
and where are now situated the most beautiful farms 
wild beasts were roaming at will through trackless 
swamps. 

Mr. Lewis was boi-n in Superior Township, 
Washtenaw County, May G, lb41. His grand- 
father, Samuel Lewis, was a farmer, and spent his 
last years in the State of New Tork, where his son 
Russell, the father of our subject, was born in 
Cayuga County, and there grew to manhood, I'e- 
maining a resident of the county until 1828, in 
which year he came to Michigan, and located in 
Washtenaw County, in what is now Superior Town- 
ship. Not many years before, surveyors employed 
by the Government had pronounced the interior of 
Michigan as composed mostly of sand barrens and 



swamps, and incapable of supporting much of a 
population. Therefore prospects were not of the 
brightest to this courageous pioneer, but he set 
bravel}' to work, built a log cabin, and then com- 
menced to fell the trees to clear his land for tillage, 
and there made his home until his death, in December, 
1878. He had in the meantime overcome every 
obstacle in the way of the successful pursuit of his 
calling as a farmer, clearing and draining his farm, 
and bringing it to a high state of culture, and 
erecting a good set of farm building.s. He wit- 
nessed the rapid growth of Washtenaw County, 
which was almost entirely developed from the wil- 
derness to its present advanced state during his 
residence there of half a century. He was twice 
married. His first wife, the mother of our subject, 
whose maiden name was Emilj' Freeman, died in 
June, 1846, leaving six children. His second mar- 
riage was with .Susan (Joselyn) Chapman, who be- 
came the mother of two children, and died in May, 
1 883. 

The subject of this sketch received his educa- 
tion in the public schools of Washtenaw County, 
and as he grew to manhood in the pioneer home of 
his birth, and developed strength and muscle, he 
became of great assistance to his father in the farm 
work, and continued to reside on the homestead 
until his marriage, when he established a home of 
his own. On the 2d of November, 1864, he was 
married to Miss Mary E. Mott, a native of Canton, 
Wayne County, this State. The pleasant wedded 
life of Mr. and Mrs. Lewis has been blessed by 
the birth of three children, namely : Otis Burton, 
Charles Leonard and Grace Eloise. 

Mrs. Lewis is of Quaker ancestr3% her paternal 
grandfather, Thomas Mott, being a member of 
the Society of Friends. He owned a farm in Co- 
lumbia Count3', N. Y., and there spent the last 
years of a useful life. His son Adam, the father of 
Mrs. Lewis, was born near New Bedford, Mass., 
but was reared on his father's farm. He married 
Miss Betsy Patrick, likewise a native of Columbia 
County, and after marriage they made their home 
in Western New York for a year. Then, about 
1829, they came to the Territory of Michigan, and 
made their home in Canton, Wayne Country, where 
they continued to reside until death ; his wife died 




r^ 



^(7r6^K7 




ar^^^ 



u 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1083 



Nov. 4, 18(30. leavinjr .six cliildren. Mr. Mutt 
afterward marrifd Isabella (Roliiiisoii) Fraucisea,; 
she was the mother of one child. During the resi- 
dence of Mr. Jlott of nearly sixty ye.ars in Wayne 
County, he h.id reclaimed a fine farm of 11)0 acres 
from the wildernes.s, and had erected snb.stantial 
buildings; he died in Marcli, ISHC. 

In 1866 our subject and his wife came to tlii.s 
county, and located on their pi-esi-nt place of resi- 
dence in Hudson Township. By industry, energy 
and good management, Mr. Lewis has developed a 
fine farm of 174 acres, noted for its fertility and 
productiveness; IGO acres are improved, and some 
of it is devoted to pastur.age. He has substantial 
farm buildings well a<lapted to agricultural pur- 

Our subject and his wife are members of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church. an<l take a prominent 
part in its affairs, Mr. L. having been Trustee, 
Steward and Class-Leader. He conscientiously and 
honorably discharges the duties incumbent on him 
as a man and a citizen. He always stands up for 
ihe right and in anj' good cause is foremost. In 
politics he is an earnest believer in and advocate of 
the Prohibition party. 



ILLIAM C. MORAN, Treasuier of Lena- 
wee County and a gentleman now in the 
prime of life, was born near Hudson, this 
county, on the 23d of November, !.S4S. He h.as 
since been a resident of this section, and the peoi)le 
among whom he has lived so long and before whom 
acquitted himself so creditably, have learned to 
respect him for his excellent traits of character, 
which combine uprightness and integrity with good 
business capacities. He was elected to his present 
office in 1880, and is discharging its duties in an 
efficient and pi-aiseworthy manner. 

Michael Moran, the father of our subject, was a 
native of Ireland, where he w.as born in l.si3. 
.Staplestown Parish, county of Kildare, was the 
place of his nativity, and from there he immigrated 
to this country when a young man nineteen years 
of age. He first located in New York where he re- 



►^h^- 



mained until 1835. when he cast his lot with the 
pioneers of Michigan, locating upon the tr.act of 
Land where he continued to live until called hence. 
His death occurred on the 9th of May. 1881, when 
sixty-eight years of age. 

The father of our subject was a man wjio had 
traveled extensively, and had been keenly observ- 
ant of what he had seen during his wanderings. 
He visited California in 1 8.50, remaining upon the 
Pacific Coast two years, and upon his return traveled 
over many of the new .States and Territories of the 
West. As a father, husband and citizen, he was 
held in the highest regard, and found to be uni- 
formly upright and straightforward in his business 
.affairs. He was a great sufferer during his last 
brief illness, having typhoid-pneumonia, but bore 
his affliction with great patience and retained 
full consciousness until quietly breathing his last. 
His death was the occasion of universal regret in 
the community which had known him so long and 
learned to respect him for his personal worth. 

The mother of our subject, formerly Miss Lucy 
Andrews, was married to Michael Moran, in Toledo, 
Ohio, in 1844. .She accompanied her husband to 
this county, sharing with him the trials and difficul- 
ties of life in a pioneer settlement. They became 
the parents of six children, of whom William C, our 
subject, was the eldest son; Matthew E. is a resi- 
dent of Warsaw, Ind.; .Julia E.. the eldest daughter 
and child, married B. F. Richardson ; Mary F. and 
Addison B., all reside in Warsaw, Ind. The mother 
of our subject is now a resident of Hudson, and has 
reached the age of sixty-four years. 

The subject of this biography received his edu- 
cation in the common schools of his n.ative town- 
ship, which was supplemented upon his appro.aching 
manhood by attendance at Oak Grove Seminary. 
He then returned to the farm and contimied act- 
ively engaged in agricultural pursuits. In the 
meantime his warm interest in public affairs and a 
more than ordinary intelligence, had attracted the 
attention of his fellow-citizens and commended him 
to them as one worthy of preferment. He was ac- 
cordingly elected County Treasurer, and assumed 
the duties of his office on the 1st of January, 1887. 
As the conservator of important interests he is 
looked upon with confidence and esteem, and is 



1084 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



proving himself \vortli.y of tliese in a marlced de- 
gree. 

Mr. Moran, Marcli 18. 1874, was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Rachel McCartj\ one of his child- 
hood associates, and who was born in his own town, 
Feb. 2G, 1850. She was also reared to woman- 
hood there and remained with her parents, H. N. 
and Regina (Unangst) McCarty, until becoming 
the wife of our subject. Mr. and Mrs. McCarty 
were natives of Pennsylvania. Our subject and his 
wife became the parents of six children, four sons 
and two daughters, namely: Gertie C, Bertha E., 
Charles Frederick, Jerome N., William M. and 
Benjamin R. 

During his residence on the farm Mr. Moran 
served five years as Commissioner of Drainage. 
Politically he has always voted the straight Repub- 
lican ticket. Socially, he belongs to the Masonic 
fraternity, being a member of Clayton Lodge No. 
278. He is genial in his manner and popular as a 
citizen, and occupies a snug home in Adrian, which 
is the resort of the cultivated people of his ac- 
quaintance. 

Prominent among the well-known ami highly 
respected citizens of Lenawee County, who enjoys 
the confidence of its best citizens, stands Mr. Moran, 
and as such we gladly present his portrait in this 



•^r 



JOHN IVESON is one of the able and pro- 
gressive citizens of the township of Ridge- 
way, where he has been engaged in farming 
and carpentering since he came to the town- 
ship. He was born in Queens County, Long Island, 
N. Y., Dec. 1, 1822, and is the son of John and 
Anna (Beardwood) Iveson, natives of England, 
where they wei-e married. After the birth of three 
children they set sail for the United States, where 
they hoped to secui-e better conditions for their 
growing family. When tliey reached these shores 
they landed on Long Island, and there made their 
home until 1 838, when they removed to Lenawee 
County, and Mr. Iveson took up some land in 
Woodstock Township. He made many improve- 
ments on this land, and had a part of it under a 
good state of cultivation at the tune of his death, 



which occurred June 23, 1864: his wife's death oc- 
curred in January, 1881. 

The j'outh of our subject was passed in his na- 
tive place, acquiring, besides an education in the dis- 
trict school, those habits of thrift and usefulness 
which so greatly conduced to his success in after 
life. At the age of sixteen he came to Woodstock 
Township, and assisted his father in the arduons task 
of clearing the land for cultivation. At the age of 
twenty years he left the parental home, and going 
forth to .'seek work elsewhere, secured employment 
with Stephen Titus, of Raisin Township, in whose 
employ he remained for two years. In payment 
for these two years of labor Mr. Iveson received 
five horses, which he sold for a good sum of money, 
and this formed the nucleus of the competency 
which he has since acquired. 

Feeling that he could well afford to establish a 
home of his own, John Iveson was married, Dec. 
27, 1845, in Woodstock Township, to Miss Miranda, 
youngest child of David and Comfort (Oilman) 
Chandler, natives respectively of Vermont and 
New Hampshire. They were most likely married 
in New England, and early in their married life 
settled in Niagara County, N. Y., within six miles 
of Lockport, and there the father engaged in farm- 
ing until his death in 1 827, at the age of forty-eight. 
He left a widow and nine children, seven of whom 
are living. The mother spent her declining years 
in the home of her daughter, Mrs. Iveson, and died 
in April, 1866, at the ad vanced age of eighty-four 
years. Mrs. Iveson was born in Pendleton, Niagara 
Co., N. Y., March 4, 1825, and was thirteen years 
old when she came to Michigan. She here com- 
pleted her education, and was engaged in school 
teaching for some years prior to her marriage. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Iveson have been born four 
children, whose record is as follows : Mary J. died 
at the age of thirteen months ; Angle is the wife of 
Oliver Darlington, a merchant of Wheeler, Gratiot 
Co., Mich. ; William married Priscilla Tompkins, and 
they reside on a farm in Blissfield Township, and 
Libbie is the wife of Herman Atwell, a farmer of 
Ridge way Township. 

Mr. and Mrs. Iveson have a pleasant home on 
section 19, Ridgeway Township. The farm con- 
tains eighty acres of laud, showing in its carefully 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1085 



I. 



cultivated fieifis and ample and well-keiM farm huild- 
ings, evident marks of a thrifty, energetic owner. 
Mr. Iveson, besides superintending the cultivation 
of his farm has been extensively engaged in car- 
pentering. In politics he is a stanch adherent of 
the Democratic party and has ably fulfilled the du- 
ties of some of the town offices. For eight years 
he has satisfactorily held tlie ollice of Justice of 
the Peace. 

?E,SLEY REYNOLDS, a native of New York 
State, was brought by his parents to this 
county when a young child, and has since 
made Rome Township his abiding-place. He con- 
tinued on the farm of his father until reacliing his 
majority, receiving his education in the district 
school, and soon after his twenty-first birthday lie 
was married and rented a farm, which he occupied 
three years. His next residence was in Ionia, 
where he engaged in the meat antl grocery trade 
for one year, at the end of which time his house and 
its contents were destroyed by fire. Returning to 
Rome Township, he worked a year on the farm of 
his father-in-law, and then purchased sixty acres of 
his present farm, to which he subsequently adfled 
until it embraces 200 acres. On this he has effected 
fine improvements, putting up nearly all the build- 
ings which are upon it. He has engaged consider- 
ably in stock-raising, keeping good grades of cattle, 
sheep and horses, and of the two former feeding 
and selling a large number each year. As a farmer 
he is thorough and skillful, and as a neighbor and 
business man he ranks among the represent.'itive 
men of the community. 

The parents of our subject, Leonard and Betsey 
(Halsted) Reynolds, were natives of Greene County, 
N. Y., the former born in August, 1800, and the 
latter in August, 1804. They were married in the 
Empire State, and soon afterward emigrated to the 
Territory of Michigan; the father died March 27, 
1882, and the mother Oct. 3, 1880. Samuel Rey- 
nolds, the paternal grandfather of our subject, was 
also a native of Greene County, N. Y., whence he 
removed, first to Yates County, then to Allegany 
County, and from there to Michigan, after which 



he made his home with his son William, in Adrian 
Township, and died at the age of seventy -six years. 
Grandmother Rej'nolds, whose maiden name was 
Abigail Belding, survived her husband sevei'al 
years, and died when seventy-five years old. 
Grandfather Re3'nolds served, when a young man, 
in the War of 1812, and politically was a stanch 
Democrat. He was the father of seven children. 

Wesley Reynolds, on the 20th of November, 
1860, was united in marriage vvith Miss Clarissa, 
daughter of Charles L. and Sally F. Thomas, and 
the eldest of their seven children. She was born in 
Adrian Township, June 14, 1838, while her father 
was a native of Penfield, N. Y., and continued a 
resident of the Empire State until a youth of nine- 
teen years. With him came his father. Ransom 
Thomas, and thej' settled in Adrian Township, 
where the latter died in 18.50. His wife was Miss 
Katie Cure, and they wei'e the parents of nine 
children, of whom Charles L. was the third. The 
latter lived with his parents until twenty-three 
years of age, picking up what learning he could in 
the country schools in the winter session. In 1837 
he purchased a tract of unimproved land in Adrian 
Township, and there, in the midst of the forest, he 
and his young wife commenced in earnest the battle 
of life. His first business was to clear a spot upon 
which to erect a log cabin, and the next to clear 
the ground and prepare it for cultivation ; but he 
was thrifty and enterprising, and a careful calcu- 
lator, and in due time was rewarded for his industry 
in a valuable and fertile farm of 160 acres, he 
having added to his first purchase. He was known 
far and wide as an honest man and a good citizen, 
professing no creed, but recognizing a marked dis- 
tinction between right and wrong, and aiming to 
act justly under all circumstances. He suffered 
greatly with neuralgia during the last years of his 
life, and entered upon his final rest upon the 14th 
of June, 1876, dying wiiile sitting at the breakfast 
table. 

The mother of Mrs. Reynolds was in her girl- 
hood Miss Sally F., daughter of Joseph and Sally 
Baker, of Rome Township, and twin sister of Joseph 
F. Baker, of Adri£,n. She was born in Manchester, 
Ontario Co., N. Y., June 18, 1819, and came to 
Michigan with her parents in 1833. She and her 



r- 



•►HI- 



•»*-ll^-^- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



husband became the parents of seven children : 
Clarissa A., the wife of our subject; Marcelline R., 
who died when Ave years old; Statira E., who also 
died in early childhood ; Amanda S., many years a 
teacher in the Adrian public school ; Jefferson R.. 
a well-to-do farmer of Adrian Township; Xara F. 
and Frederick. 

Jefferson R. Thomas, the brother of Mrs. Rey- 
nolds, was born May 15, 1S48, in Rome Township, 
and remained at home until his marriage, which 
occurred Dec. 9, 1877. His wife was Miss Ida M., 
daughter of George W. and Jane Spear, of Rome 
Township, where she was also born Oct. 26, 18.t6. 
After marriage Mr. Thomas worked his father's 
farm on shares for a time, then purchased ninety-six 
aci'es which he operated six years, when disposing 
of this property, he, in 1884, purchased forty acres, 
where he has since lived and effected excellent im- 
provements. He is the father of four children: 
Bruce, who was born Jan. 12, 1881; Charles L., 
Sept. 15, 1882; Grover C, July 1, 1885; and Gene- 
vieve, Jan. 26, 1887. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds there were l)orn two 
children: Luella, Oct. 30, 1802, and Cliarles L., 
May 21, 1865. The Latter is well educated, and 
spent several montlis in the P^vanston Business 
College. Tlie brothers and sisters of Mr. Reynolds 
are — Reuben, Norman, Mary Ann, Emily, John, 
Melissa, Jerome, Abijah, Lucinda and Elizabeth 
Jane. Mr. Reynolds, politically, is considered one 
of the mo.st reliable members of the Democratic 
party in Rome Township. 



|p^AANCELn<:R MILLS. 'I'hough dead, Mr. 

\[J^ Mills yet lives in the memory of all who 
knew him for the good deeds tliat marked his 
?arthly life. His memory is a sweet savor to 
those who knew him best, and an inspiration to all 
who knew him at all to a nobler life and higher 
purposes, as friends of truth and lovers of their 
fellowmen. He made his home in Franklin and 
Clinton Townships, this county, though residing 
principally in Franklin. Here he settled in 1837, 
and by the continued efforts of himself and most 
estimable wife managed to secure possession of 240 



acres of "God's footstool" in their own right and 
title. He mastered nature's obstacles, overcame 
society's barriers, and made a successful record as a 
farmer, stock-raiser, and buyer and seller of the 
stock of surrounding farmers. His family, its com- 
forts, its best interests were, as they should have 
been, his first care, but his work of love extended 
also to the improvement of the condition of those 
around him. His kindly sentiment and unselfish 
spirit are a splendid heritage to those who in life 
were nearer and dearer to him than life itself. 

Mr. Mills was born in Niles Township, Cayuga 
Co., N. Y., July 13, 1806, and spent his early life 
on the farm, unmarked by any event differing from 
that of other boj's of similar environments. Mr. 
Mills' first mai-riage occurred in his native county 
with Miss Elizabeth Duyree. whose home was in the 
same locality. Here they remained until after the 
birth of three children, when he sold out in the 
Empire State, and with his family came direct to 
the thrifty township of Franklin, where lie pitched 
his tent in 1837, as stated above. He went to work 
with a will to build up a home in the new country, 
but met with a sad misfortune so many of the 
pioneer settlers sustained, that of losing a dear 
wife. Four of her children survived her, and two 
are still living: George, who is in business at 
Huron, Dak.; and Lansen, wdio is engaged in trade 
at Dallas, Tex. 

Mr. Mills found a second wife in the person of 
Mrs. Sallie A. (Wright) Booth, with whom he was 
united in marriage in 1842. Mrs. Mills was born 
in Barrington Township, Yates Co., N. Y., and was 
the only child of Elijah and Polly (Sunderlin) 
Wright, who were born and reared in that State, 
where Mr. Wright followed the occupation of a 
farmer. Some years after their daughter's birth 
they came in 1830 to the wilds of Michigan, bring- 
ing with them, as was customary, their earthly 
effects, and located near what is now the village of 
Clinton, on section 4, Clinton Township. This was 
when the Chicago turnpike was being built, when 
the country was a boundless forest with scarcely 
the necessaries for the life of a pioneer. Mr. and 
Mrs. Wright were among the most active of the 
pioneers of that promising country, and were ener- 
getic, intelligent and progressive people. Mr. 



•^■-^ 



-•► 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



'^ 



AVriglit came into possession of a large tract of land 
from the Government, which he improved to a 
good degree, and on which he and his wife spent 
most of their remaining days. Some time before 
their death they went to live with their daughter, 
one of the principals of this sketch, in Franklin 
Township, where their death occurred, Dec. 4. 
18C.3. and April "28, 1857. respectively; the father 
was born Jan. 26, 1793, the mother Se[)t. 25, 1796. 
They were worthy members of the P.a|)tist Church 
for many years, and Mr. Wright t(»ik the usual in- 
terest in local politics. 

Mrs. Wright grew to v\H)nuuiIi(Miil stirroundc'd 
with Christian influences, and was united in mar- 
riage with Belden Booth, a gentleman from York 
State. About one year after their marriage Jlr. 
Booth sickened and died, leaving a loving wife to 
mourn her loss alone in the world. The marriage 
of Mrs. Booth with our subject was a union of pur- 
pose and eit'ort as well as of hand and heart, and 
they gathered together man}' of the comforts of 
life to use while they might live, and to leave as a 
heritage to those who came after. 'I'hoy added to 
their earthly possessions some land in Clinton 
Township, where Mr. Mills' death occurred Sept. 8, 
187G. He was said b}' those who knew liim best to 
have been an exemplary man in nearly every feat- 
ure of his life, and in religious convictions he stood 
identified with the Congregational Church. The 
Democratic organization voiced the sentiments he 
entertained, but he was no aspirant for office or 
preferment. 

Mrs. Mills survives hcj- Im-liand. and is identified 
with the Baptist Chuich, where she enjoys the con- 
fidence and love of those wliose ideal is worth, and 
good works as a test of fellowship, and also as an 
index of the tree that bears such fruits. Since the 
death of ^Ir. Mills >|,e has held pmperty iu her 
own right. By hci' m.-irriai^e with her last husljaud 
she had six children, tlu-ee of whom have passed 
over the sea of death. The survivors are as fol- 
lows: Wright r:., R. B. and A. S. Wright E. 
lives on a farm in Allegiin County. Mieh. : he mar- 
ried an intelligent and worthy lady. Clar;i Englisli, 
and they have now two sons, VVilley and lid ward. 
R. B.,a representative man, owns a farm iu Clinton 
Township, and has for his vvife an accomplislied 



lady^ Miss Maggie, daughter of David Brooks, an 
old and venerated pioneer of Cliuton Township. 
The mother makes her home with her youngest son, 
A. S., who found favor in the eyes of Miss Alice 
J. Ellis, and they became united in life's work. 
'J'hey are the parents of twin children — Ina and 
Rena. The deceased children of Mrs. Sallie J. 
JMills were named JIary J., Charles W. and Ida. 
The love of a worthy ancestry is very strong in 
Mrs. Mills, and is indicative of a loving heart and 
an unselfish spirit. She has been a worthy daugh- 
ter, a faithful wife and a loving mother. 

RLANDO H. ALCEK, of the firm of O. II. 
Alger & Sons, established as a dr^'-goods 
merchant at Fairfield in the spring of 1865. 
He conducted his business alone until 1869, then 
formed a partnership with John E. Higgins, and 
under the firm name of Alger & Higgins they con- 
tinued together until 1879. A few months later 
Mr. Alger admitted to the business his sons, Emery 
1'. and Herliert O.. anil they are now probably 
taking the lead in general merchandising in Fairfield. 

Like many other leading business men of this 
section of country. Mr. Alger is a native of the 
Empire State, and was born in Lewis County, Dee. 
23, 1S24. His parents, Kzra and Harriet (Coles) 
Alger, were natives of Connecticut, whence, soon 
after their marriage, they removed first to Lewis 
County and thence, in 1832, to Rochester. Four 
years later they migrated to Illinois, locating in 
Cook County, where the fattier engaged in farming 
and where the mother died in 1842. Ezra Alger, 
iu 1854, left Illinois for Wisconsin, residing in Wal- 
worth County two years, and then returned to Cook 
County. 111., and from there, in 1 808, he came to 
l-'airheld. uliere lie eonlinue<l a resident at intervals 
nntil his death, April t. 1877. His decease was 
almost instantaneous, occurring just as he had passed 
out of his own house in the morning. The parental 
lionseliold inetuded three ihuighters and two sons, 
of whom Orlando H. was the second. 

Our suljject was a lad of about thirteen years 
when his parents removed from the Empire State 
to Cook County, 111. He continued with his father 



» ■» ll ^ ^> 



f 



•►-lh-4* 



^i^h 



1088 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



until about twenty-three years of age, engaged 
mostly in farming pursuits, thougli lie taught school 
during the winter season for a period of ten 
years. He also perfected himself in the science of 
surveying, and eventually became Deputy Surveyor 
of Cook County, which office he held two terms. 

Mr. Alger was married while a resident of Cook 
County, 111 . March 17, 1852, to Miss Sally Higgins, 
a native of his own State and born in Tioga County, 
Jan. 25, 1827. The parents of Mrs. Alger, Isaac 
and Nancy (Arthur) Higgins, natives of New York, 
settled after their marriage in Tioga County, 
whence they subsequently removed, in 1836, to 
Cook County, 111., where the father engaged in 
farming pursuits, and died in the spring of 1853. 
Mrs. Higgins then removed to Fairfield, where her 
death took place in October, I87(). Mr. and Mrs. 
Higgins were the parents of eleven children, seven 
daughters and four sons, of whom Sally, Mrs. Alger, 
was the sixth child and is the imly surviving daugh- 
ter of the family. 

To our subject and his wife there were born eight 
children, as follows : Adelbert died when about 
three years of age ; Emery P. married Miss Mary 
Furman, and is engaged with iiis father at Fairfield ; 
Augustine C. died when about three years old ; 
Herbert O. married Miss Alida White, and resides 
in Fairfield, engaged in business with his father; 
they have two children — Harley C. and Fern R. 
R. Beatrice is at home with her parents; Lafa}'ette 
and Pearl died in early childhood, and Clarence A., 
who was the firstborn, died Ang. 20, 1855. 

Mr. Alger represented Fairfield Township in the 
County Board of Supervisors one term, served as 
Assessor ten 3'ears, and Postmaster twenty-one and 
one-half years. He was elected Justice of the 
Peace in 1887, which office he still holds, and 
politically is a solid Republican. 



j^^ ILAS MARSHALL is now pleasantly lo- 

^^^^ cated on section 34, Seneca Township, 

Iv'^-ip where he lias resided since 1855. Mr. 

Marshall's first purchase consisted of forty 

a(;res of laud, to which he has since added until he 

now owns a tract of 100 acres. He has erected 



thereon commodious and substantial buildings, and 
has provided himself with the modern appliances in 
use in his occupation, and has brought his farm to a 
high state of cultivation. Here he expects to spend 
his declining years in the enjoyment of that 'ease 
and prosperity to which he is so justly entitled. 

The subject of our sketch was born in Geauga 
County, Ohio, Jan. 3, 1828, and was reared on a 
farm until about twenty years of age, attending the 
common schools, where he acquired such a taste for 
study that he subsequently entered Geauga Semin- 
ary, where he spent about three years. Soon after- 
ward, in 1851, our subject was seized with the 
gold fever and started for California to seek his 
fortune. Unfortunately, however, he was severelj' 
poisoned by what is known in that country as the 
poison oak, which resembles our poison ivy. This 
so interfered with his work in that country that 
after a few months he returned to his old home and 
engageil in peddling notions at which he had been 
emploj'ed previous to his departure for the Pacific 
Coast. His field of operatioiis was the city of 
Cleveland, in which he followed this business about 
fifteen years, meeting with quite good success. In 
the early part of 1855 Mr. Marshall came to this 
county and settled in Seneca Township, where he 
purchased forty acres of land on section 34, where 
he has since resided and to which he has since 
added until he now owns 100 acres. 

In June, 1853, Mr. Marshall was united in mar- 
riage, in Hillsdale County, Mich., with Miss Phebe 
.1.. daughter of Peter and Hannah (Havens) Ha- 
vens, who was born in Pultney, N. Y., Oct. 17, 
1833. To Mr. and Mrs. Marshall have been born 
two children— Ella B. and Emma E. Ella is the 
wife of Marion Hart, of Seneca Township, and has 
two children — Arthur 0. and Stella. 

William O. Marshall, the father of our subject, 
was born in New Hampshire and was twice married. 
His first wife died in Ohio, and he was a second 
time married, to Miss Polly Ryder, a native of 
Massachusetts. After marriage the young couple 
settled in Chardon, Geauga Co., Ohio, where they 
reared a family of five children, named as follows: 
Betsey, George, Seth, Nathan and Sihis. Two of 
these children are deceased. On their removal 
from Geauga County, Ohio, llie parents resided in 



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■?^»-<* 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1089 






different places, fiiialh' settling in Wisconsin, where - 
the father died in 18G0:tlie widow died in Pewanio, 
Mich., about 1870. 

The parents of Mrs. Marshall were l.oni in I'ult- 
ney, N. Y., and first settled in that State, whence 
they removed to Hillsdale County, Mich., at an 
early day, being among the pioneers of that county. ' 
and settled in Somerset Township in the year 1S.3S. 
They became the parents of six children, who are 
all living in Michigan — Andrew J., Horace A., 
Benjamin F., Phebe J., Eliza C. and Hannah D. 

Mr. Marsiiall relates many interesting incidents ] 
connected with his trip to California, altiiough his , 
sickness prevented his appreciation of the experi- ^ 
ences of the latter part of his stay there and his re- 
turn home. He is a gentleman of intelligence and I 
is well informed on current topics. Mr. Marshall 
is a member of the Methodist Church, in whicli he , 
is at present Class-Leader. In politics he is iden- 
tified witii the Prohibitionists. 



^LBEllT C. IIUNTINtrroN, Snperintcnd- 
001 ent of the Clinton Woolen Mill, assumed 

jfr% his present position in April, 1886, and h.as 
(^ since that time ably represented the inter- 

ests of one of the most important industries of the 
village. He had held this position some twelve 
years before, and has had a thorough experience in 
this business, being at one time superintendent in 
the mills of the Hanover INLanufactnring Com|)any 
at Hanover, 111. He possesses considerable mechan- 
ical genius, which developed at an early age, and 
took naturally to machinery, being keenly observant 
of its workings whenever opportunity afforded. 

Mr. Huntington, a New Englander by birth and 
parentage, was born in the town of Middlebury, 
Vt., Jan. 3, 1834. His father. Jonathan Huutiug- 
ton, was a blacksmith by trade and a skilled meclianic, 
but only lived eight years after the birth of his son 
Albert. Our subject three years later entered the 
mills of his native town, where lie continued until 
reaching manhood, and at the age of twenty-one 
years he repaired to Burlington, in his native State, 
and served a thorough apprenticeship as a machinist. 
He was occupied three years at this business, after 



which he returned to Middlebury and took the 
position of foreman in the mills of the Middleburj' 
Woolen Company, which he held five years. Later 
he engaged in the well-known manufactor}' of 
George H. Gilbert, of Gilbertville, Mass. 

Mr. Huntington, in 1864, left New England and 
came west as far as Hanover, 111., where he estab- 
lished the Hanover Mills ami operated these eight 
years. He then I'eturned to Massachusetts, and 
engaging once more in the (filbert Mills, remained 
East until 1872. when he returned to Illinois, be- 
came once more connected with the Hanover Mills, 
and resided in that section until his advent into 
this county. Besides being Superintendent here 
he owns valuable shares in the enterprise, and has 
been a Director since Ai)ril, 18S7. 

Mr. Huntington was married in his n.ative town 
in Vermont to one of his childhood associates. Miss 
Sarah E. Stearns, who was also born and reared in 
the town of Middlebury. Her parents, Ansel D. 
and Frances Stearns, were also natives of the Green 
Mountain State, and the father was a mechanic. 
Ml. anil Mis. Huntington became the parents of 
three childieii — Carrie, .Sadie, and Laura, deceased. 
'riiey Dfiiipy :i snug home, and number their friends 
by 111'' M-uir in Clinton and vicinity, while Mr. 
Huntington is very popular among the business 
men of Clinton and greatly liked by his employes. 
He is a gentleujan bom and bred, intelligent, well- 
read, and pleasing to converse with. Both are 
members in good standing of the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church. 



•«-4S^^ 



^P5-?i. 



y^jEOROE W. BALEY, whose history is here 
;// briefly sketched, is .•hi honored resident of 

^^4! Dover Township, and is the son of Joseph 
;md Olive (Burgess) Baley, natives of New York 
.Slate. After their marriage they settled in Seneca 
County, N. Y., and there Mrs. Baley died in 1836. 
They were the parents of six children, of wliom the 
leeord is as follows: George \V. : Louisa P. is 
the wife of M. P. Stockville, of Dover Township; 
Cinderella is the wife of N. P. Ellis, and resides in 
Iowa; William P. died in New York when quite 
young; Henry when last heard of was in \\iscon- 



■?^»- 



•►-Ih-^ 



♦Hh 



1090 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



sin; A. Jurlson died in Dover Township when a 
lad of eight or nine years. In the spring of 1836 
Mr. Baley came to Lenawee County, and being 
pleased with the country, he sent the next year for 
his children, having decided to make this his perma- 
nent home. He purchased 330 acres of land in Do- 
ver Township, on sections 1 and 12, and lived there 
until his death, which occurred in November, 1884. 

George W. Baley was born in Romulus. Seneca 
Co.. N. Y., Oct. 13, 1821, and coming to Lenawee 
County in the summer of 1837, remained with his 
father, assisting him in his farm labors until he at- 
tained his majority. The succeeding four years he 
spent in travel, during which time he visited sev- 
eral States, and became familiar with the topogra- 
phy of a large part of the country. Finding no 
place that suited him better as a permanent abiding- 
place than Michigan, he returned to Dover Town- 
ship, where he settled. In 1847 he erected a saw- 
mill and operated that almost exclusively until 1864, 
when he turned his attention to farming, and car- 
ried on both vocations until the spring of 1887. 
Since that time his attention has been given en- 
tirely to agricultural pursuits, and his large farm of 
upward of 100 acres, with its substantial and com- 
modious buildings, is indicative of the good man- 
agement of its possessor. 

Mr. Baley was married, in 1847, in Dover Town- 
ship, to Miss Mary K. Bradford, who was a native 
of Wayue County, Mich. She bore him one child, 
Joseph, wlio died in infancy, but her married life 
was of brief duration, her death occurring July 2, 
1 848. Mr. Baley's second marriage occurred July 
7, 1804, in Adrian, Mich., when he was united to 
Miss Mar}' C. Pontius, who was born in Seneca 
County, N. Y., Nov. 11, 1837. She was the 
daughter of Henry and Mary (Smith) Pontius, na- 
tives of Pennsylvania, who after marriage first 
settled in Seneca County, N. Y., but subsequently 
removed to Lenawee County, this State, where the}' 
died, his death occurring Oct. 28, 1869, and hers 
in October, 1877. They had nine children, of 
whom the record is a.-. fuUuws: Anna i.s the widow 
of David Ireland, wLo died in Barry County, this 
State, in September, 1 886 ; Eliza became the wife 
of Lewis Ireland, and died in Plainville, Allegan 
County, in September, 1882; Sarah is the wife of 



John Gambee, of Dover Township; William mar- 
ried Rosanna Goodman, and died in Dover Town- 
shij), Feb. 22, 18.50; David resides in Clayton; Car- 
oline is the widow of Henry Spoon; Margaret is the 
wife of William B. Downe, of Cold water; Emma is 
the wife of Charles Gambee, of Dover Township; 
and Mary C. is the wife of our subject. 

Mr. and Mrs. Baley have one child. Johnnie C. 
Mr. Baley is a public-spirited man, and takes an in- 
telligent interest in all matters pertaining to his com- 
munity and the country at large. He has been Su- 
pervisor one year, and for several years was School 
Inspector, and for more than two years he has 
served as Justice of the Peace. Socially he is a 
member of the Clayton Lodge. A. F. & A. M. ; of 
Adrian Chapter No. 10, R. A. M., an(i of Adrian 
Commandery No. 4, K. T. He and his wife 
joined the Presbyterian Church at Clayton, in 1880. 



fj^^ AMUEL K. KINNEY, of Seneca Township, 
^^^ who has now reached his threescore years 
(^£^1 and ten, came to this county in the summer 
of 182.S, when a lad ten years of age, ac- 
companying his brother Amos from the vicinity 
of Canandaigua, N. Y. They m.ade their way from 
Detroit overland with a team, and Amos Kinney 
located a tract of land and erected a log cabin, into 
whicli he removed with his family. Samuel Kinney 
made his home with his brother, and was joined by 
his parents and the rest of the family in July fol- 
lowing. 

Elias Kinney, the father of our subject, pur- 
chased eighty acres of Government land iu Seneca 
Township, and all ''the children who were old 
enough assisted in clearing it .and building up the 
homestead. Samuel attended the first school in the 
township, whicii w.as conducted in a log house 
twenty feet square, and was called the Kinney 
school-house on account of being projected by the 
father. It boasted but one window, while a blanket 
hung up at the opening served as a door, and in 
this rude structure our subject commenced his edu- 
cation when fourteen years of age. and which con- 
tinued but a brief tune afterward, being carried on 
about three months in the winter. 

The early life of our subject was thus spent amid 



-U 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Hh-#. 



the scenes of pioneer life, and he developed into 
manhood stont of heart and strong of muscle, ad- 
mirably fitted for the duties whicli lay l)efore him. 
lie made his home with his parents until after he 
was twenty-eight years of age, and then completed 
his preparations for a home of his own by his mar- 
riage, Nov. 2!), 1846, with Miss Jlary, daughter of 
Benjamin and Sarah Secor. of Seneca Township. 
The parents of Mrs. ivinuey were natives of New 
York State, the father born in Rockland County, 
and the mother in Orange County. They settled 
first in Rockland County, whence they afterward 
removed to Orange County. w\w\v the nu_)ther died 
when fifty years of age. Mr. Sc'cir. in 184;), eanu' 
to Michigan with his children and located in Seneca 
Township, where his death took place in 1848, when 
he was fifty -five years of age. The parental family 
included twelve children, six sons and six daughters, 
of whom Mary, Mrs. Kinney, was the third, and was 
born in New York City March 1!». isi'l, Ijut was 
reared and educated in Orange Coiuity. She was 
nineteen years of age when she caniu tu Michigan 
with her father, and continued with him until her 
marriage. The Secor family are of Scotcli descent, 
and the first representatives in this country crossed 
the Atlantic during the Colonial days. 

Mr. and Jlrs. Kinney have one child only, a 
daughter, Hannah Elizabeth, who is the wife of 
Benjamin F. Graves, a leading law3-er of the city of 
Adrian. The farm of Mr. Kinney includes 190 
acres of land, with one of the finest dwellings in the 
county. The barns and other outhouses are neat 
and substantial structures, and the live stock and 
machinery first-class in every respect. The laud is 
exceedingly fertile, and the farm in all its ap[K)int- 
ments indicates the su|)ervision of excellent judg- 
ment and cultivated tastes. Mr. Kinney, i)oliti- 
cally, votes with the Demi.icratic party, and has 
occupied some of the minor oHices in connection 
with schools. 



I raising, being principally interested in Short-iiorn 
cattle, of which he has a fine herd of twenty head. 
In a life that has been comparatively uneventful, 
he has pursued the even tenor of his way, true to 
his early training in the first i)rinciples of success, 
namely, industry and economy. Whatever he does 

' is done well, and his success has been brought about 
by his even, ui)right method of procedure, which has 
not only given him standing as a reliable man in his 
community, but has led him to make wise ir.vest- 
meuts, together with a gixid use of his time. 

Our subject is the son of the well-known pio- 
neers, Augustus B. and Luci-etia (Packard) Wiley, 
natives of New York State, who came to this 

j county before their marriage. The grandmother 

t of our subject. Submit Bagley, wasacousin of Gov. 

j Bagley, of Michigan. After marriage, Augustus 

; Wiley and his young wife locited in Seneca Town- 
ship, where they spent the remainder of their lives. 

j em[)loyed in building np a home from the unculti- 
vated soil, and in which they succeeded well. The 
fatlier died on the 2()th of March, 1 S.io, at the age 

j of fifty -four years. The mother survived iier hus- 
band twenty -six 3'ears, dying in l.ssi. 

The father of our subject by his own efforts had 
acquired a fair education, and was particularly in- 
terested in the establishment of schools in his 
a.dni)ted cciiaity. Here he tilliciated as a teacher 
several terms, and was a Director in his district for 
u>any years. His first farm consisted of 11 "2 acres 
in Seneca Township, and he then purchased the 
farm known as the " Five Points," which he occu- 
pied until his decea.><e. The parentid housi'liohl in- 
cluded six children, three soi.s and three daughters, 
of whom William M. was the third in order of 
liirth. He came to the household of his parents 
after their removal to this county, and was born in 
Seneca Township, April .".(), l,s,")(l. His eilucation 
was conducted in theconumiu schools, and he cou- 
tinue<l with his mother until twenty-four years of 



' /rILLIAM M. WILEY, a gentleman who has 
|L# scarcely reache<I middle life, has made a,u 
V^^ excellent start toward a competency, be- 
ig the owner of 140 acres of good land on section 



In 1874, our suLiject having in view the estab- 
lishment of a home of his (iwn, was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Ellie .1., daughter of Alicaj.HJi and 
Phila (Sanger) Hayward, and commenced house- 
keeping in Seneca, but the year following they took 



14, in Seneca Township. 



Here he cairies on stock- I possession of their present 



To the littk 



•►-ll--«4«- 



1092 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



HH* 



household in due time there caine two children, 
Floyd A., who was born Oct. 22, 1882, and David 
Ray, Sept. 13, 1885. Tliey are at home with their 
parents. 

Mr. Wiley, like his father before him, has been 
prominent in the school affairs of his district, and 
has officiated as Director for the past four years. 
He is an independent voter, and sociall3' belongs to 
the Masonic fraternity of Morenci. 

.<,. ^^. .yj^ <s_ 

GlEORGE W. WILT, a resident of Ogden 
-, Center, actively engaged in farming, was 
, born in Preston County, W. ^'a., or, more 

properly speaking, Virginia, as West Virginia 
was not then separated from the Old Dominion. 
His great-grandfather, Michael ^V^ilt, was born in 
Bedford, Pa., of German parentage, and was one of 
the earliest settlers of West Virginia. He located 
in that part of Randolph County now included in 
Preston County, four miles from the present site of 
the village of Aurora, where he bought quite a 
large tract of land, engaged in farming, and spent 
his last years there. 

The grandfatlier of our subject, Michael Wilt, 
was born either in Pennsylvania, or soon after his 
parents settled in Virginia; however he grew to 
manhood in the latter State. After his marriage 
with Lydia Waltz he settled on a tract of laud 
which his father had bought, and cleared his farm 
from the wilderness. The father of our subject 
was born on that homestead, and there reared to 
manhood. He married in his native place Maria 
Martin, a native of Germany, and the daughter uf 
Peter Martin, who was born, reared and married in 
that country. Sometime after his marriage he emi-" 
grated with his family to America, and settled in 
that part of Alleghany County now included in Gar- 
rett Count}', Md., where he improved a farm, and 
there died. After his marriage, Mr. Wilt settled on 
a tract of land vvhich his father had given him, and 
which he improved into a tine farm. He now lives 
in retirement in the village of Ellkins, Garrett Co., 
Md., but his good wife, the inotlier of our subject, 
departed tliis life in 18i;;j. 

Our subject, vvLo was the second child in the 
-^» 



parental family, was reared on his father's farm, 
and remained with his parents until he was nineteen 
years old. He then enlisted, in February-, 1863, 
in Company I, 3d Maryland Infantry, and immedi- 
ately marching to the front did valiant service for 
his country in the Army of the Potomac until the 
close of the war. He was in the battles of AVin- 
chester. South Mountain and many minor engage- 
ments. He was discharged with his regiment in 
June, 186.5, and returned home, where he resumed 
his f.arming occupations until 1868. He then left 
Pieston County, and coming to Michigan obtained 
employment in Ogden Township, where he worked 
by the month for three years. He then made his 
first purchase of a tract of forty acres of timber 
land on section 23 of Ogden Township, and later 
he bought sixty acres adjoining his first purchase. 
He cleared about forty acres of his land, and' 
drained and cultivated it, but in 1882 he sold out, 
and bought the farm on which he now resides, con- 
taining 100 acres of land, seventy acres of which 
are cleared and very productive. There is a fair 
set of farm buildings on the place, and Mr. Wilt 
has made many important improvements in the few 
years the property has been in his possession. He 
is a practical, energetic man, paying careful atten- 
tion to all the details of farming, and bids fair to 
have a very fine farm in the course of a few years. 
Mr. Wilt did not begin farming for himself with- 
out first securing the aid of a good wife, to whom 
; he was married Dec. 21. 1871. Her maiden name 
i was Sarah Robertson, and she was born in Medina 
County, Ohio, May 3, 1851, the daughter of James 
and Elizabeth Robertson, the former the second 
child of George P. Robertson. Mr. Wilt is a 
member of David Becker Post No. 25, G. A. R. 
He is a faithful and patriotic citizen, and actively 
' advocates the interests of the Republican party. 



ffT^ ILAS ALDRICH came to Southern Michi- 
^^^^ gan with his father in 1835, when a lad 
|l\/j| eleven years of age. They made the jour- 
nej' to Buffalo by team from Rutland 
County, Vt., and then boarded the '"Daniel Web- 
ster," by nicans of which they proceeded to Detroit, 



•►HI- 



•► 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1093 ', ^ 



r 



wlience the father drove throuoh to Adrian, arriv- 
ing on the "iOth of June, witii |!25 in money. Ail 
but $2 of this he paid out soon afterward for a bar- 
rel of pork, which proved to be half made up of 
heads. He rented a tract of land on Wolf Creek, 
where he lived until March following, then traded 
his team and wagon for eigiit}' acres of land on sec- 
tion .'30, in Rome, and section 25, in Rollin Township. 
After building a log house lie commenced clearing 
the land around lui]i, and that spring belaid low 
three acres nf linihri-. cleared the gr()un<l, and 
planted it with corn and potatoes. The fall pre- 
viously he had purchased a cow, whicli was clioiied 
to death by getting a potato in il.s throat, and he 
was unable to buy another for nearly two years. 

In the fall of 1836 the father of our subject har- 
vested nine acres of wiieat, which had yielded plen- 
. tifully, but after it was in the shock, rain com- 
menced to fall, and continiu'd until the whole crop 
was ruined by sprouting. This was a great blow 
to the family, for they had been much elated with 
the prospect, and were therefore compelled to deny 
themselves of the comforts they had expected. In 
the winter of 1837-38 ftlr. Aldrich ran in debt for 
a yoke of oxen, and labored thereafter as cheerfully 
as he could under the circumstances. In due time 
he found himself upon a more solid footing, and 
succeeded in building up a comfortable home. Ilis 
experience was like that of many others who came 
into the wilderness without means, but his resolute 
spirit enabled him to persevere where others failed, 
and abandoning what little they had accomplished, 
left the country. He died (Sept. 13, l«,s;!, at the 
old homestead in Rome Township. 

Silas Aldrich was born in Wallingford, Rutland 
Co., Vt., May 12, 1824, and is the son of Welcome 
Aldrich, a native of New Hampshire, where he was 
born in Richmond, Dec. 28, 1790. The father was 
the son of .Silas and Mehitable Aldiich, who re- 
moved from the Old Granite State in 1806, and 
purchased a farm in Rutland County, Vt. VV^el- 
conie continued in his native State until the spring 
of 1835, and then came to this section of country 
as we have already related. He was married in liis 
native State, when nineteen years old, Feb. 15, 
1816, to Miss Fhebe, daughter of Isaac and Lu- 
cinda Doty, of Wallingford, and they became the 
4* 



parents of six children, of whom Silas of our sketch 
was the fourth child and eldest son. Mrs. Pliebe 
Aldrich was born in Wallingford, Vt., .Sept. 30 
1798, and died at the homestead in Rome Town- 
ship, this county, July 3, 1876. 

IMr. Aldrich continued with his [r.irents in Rome 
Township until he was twenty years of age, and 
was then married, Sept. 24, 1844, to Miss Lucy, 
daughter of Phillip and Phebe (Moon) Roberts, of 
Chatham, Columbia Co., N. Y. The young people 
commenced life together on a farm adjoining the 
old homestead, and still occupy the laud which 
Mr. A. purchased nearly forty-four years ago. 
Ui)on this he has made nearly all the improvements 
which we see to-day, erected all the buildings, and 
by his careful cultivation of the soil has one of the • 
most valuable homesteads in this section. He is 
intimately acquainted with all the phases of pioneer 
life, attending school in the log school-hou.se, with 
seats made of slabs through which the legs pro- 
truded, and which he asserts were quite uncomfort- 
able to sit uijon. He has often been hungry, when 
his mother was unable to give him anything to eat, 
and labored long and incessantlj' in attaining his 
present position in life. 

Philip W. Aldrich, the eldest son of our siiliject, 
was born Oct. 16, 1845, and married when twenty- 
one years of age, Miss Ciaris.sa Hutchins, the wed- 
ding taking place at the home of the bride, Dec. 25, 
1866; he is now farming in Rome Township. 
Phebe R. was born Aug. 19, 1847, and is the wife 
of A. P. Keith, a prosperous farmer of Adrian 
Townshii); they have one child, a daughtei' Lina, 
born April I, 1874. Silas L. was born Jan. 24, 
lS40,and married Miss Saddle McKay; he is farm- 
ing in Burlington, Coffey Co., Kan., and is the 
father of two children — Clarence, born in March, 
1882, and Ada. in 1884. Melissa C. was born M.-iy 
31, 1851, and die.l Nov. 20, 1858. The mother (if 
these children was born in Chatham, Colniidiia Co., 
N. Y., July 9, 1821, and died in Rome Township, 
this county, March 6, 1855. 

Ml'. Aldrich took for his second wife a sister of 
the lirst. Miss Charity Roberts, to whom he was 
married on the 8tli of .May, 1856. Mrs. Charity 
(Roberts) Aldrich was born in Chatham, N. Y., 
Jan. 2, 1816, and is the daughter of Phillip Rob- 



n 



•^-Ih-^- 



1094 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



; 



-i= 



erts, a native of Putnam County, N. Y., where 
he was bovn March 4, 1768. He removed to 
Cohiinbia Couutj' with his parents in 1777, and 
lived there until liis decease, Nov. 1, 1S55. He 
married in early manliood Miss Phebe, daughter 
of John and Ruth Moon, the wedding being cele- 
brated in Stepiientown, Rensselaer County, Nov- 
26, 1704. Phillip Roberts came of a long-lived 
race; one of his brothers was a physician, and 
another a minister. 

Philip Aldrich, the eldest son of our subject, 
with whom he now lives a retired life, has a fam- 
ily of four children, as follows: Edith M. was Ijorn 
July 22, 1869, and is the wife of Cassius Miles, 
a telegraph operator, of Arbor Springs ; they have 
one child, Vere, born Dec. 26. 1887. Luc}- E. 
was born Feb. 28, 1872; George L., April 8, 
1874, and Elmer A., April 18, 1878. This son is 
Republieau in i)olitics, differing somewhat from 
his father, who casts the weight of his influence 
with the Prohibitionists. 



ik^ ORRIS SELLECK, an intelligent, farmer 
/// \\\ residing on section 2. IIuilsou Township, 
has met with more than ordinary- success in 
his chosen vocation. Commencing at the 
lower rung of fortune's ladder he has steadily 
climbed upward until now he holds an a.ssured po- 
sition among the prosperous citizens of Lenawee 
County. The grandfather of our subject, Peter 
Selleek, moved from Connecticut to New York, 
and was one of the early settlers of Oneida County, 
where he bought land in Paris Township, and lived 
there until his death about 1838. He served in the 
Revolutionar}' War, and became a pensioner. 

The father of our subject, Ebenezer L. Selleek, 
was born in Stafford, Conn., Sept. 16, 170G, and 
accompanied his parents to Oneida County. On 
the 3d of April, 1822, he was married to Nancy 
Wetmorc, iu Oneida County, N. Y., the place of 
her nativity. Her parents, Elisha and Cynthia 
Wetmore, were natives of New England, and pio- 
neers of Oneida County, where they spent their 
last years. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Sel- 
leek settled on his father's homestead, and resided 



there until the spring of 1836, when they started 
for the Territory of Michigan with their six chil- 
dren, coming via the Erie Canal to Syracuse, thence 
by the Oswego Canal, Lake Ontario, Welland Canal 
and Lake Erie to Toledo, whence they came t(j Len- 
awee County by means of an ox-team, arriving in 
Woodstock on the 8th of June. The father of our 
subject had in a i)revious visit to this county 
bought a tract of land in what is now Woodstock, 
a few acres of which were cleared, and the frame 
for a barn, and a plank house had been erected. 
The family moved into the house, and he at once 
commenced clearing a farm, and later bought more 
land, but in the fall of 1839 he disposed of his prop- 
erty there, and removed to Adrian Township, where 
he bought 160 acres of land on the plank road two 
miles from the village. Quite a tract of laud had 
been improved, and besides a barn there was on it 
a log house, which the family occupied until 1841, 
and then built a substantial frame house. They re- 
sided there a number of years, and improved the 
greater part of the land, but subsequently Mr. Sel- 
leek sold out, and with his family removed into the 
city of Adrian, where he lived retired until his 
death, in February, 1881 ; his wife had died three 
years previously. 

Morris Selleek, the subject of this sketch, was 
eleven years old when he came with his parents to 
Michigan, which was then under Territorial Gov- 
ernment. The trip from New York was an enjoy- 
able one for him, and the various incidents of the 
journey made an ineffaceable impression on his 
young mind. The almost trackless wilderness in 
which the family settled contained deer, turkeys, 
and wild ^animals of all kinds, which, with the few 
remaining Indians, were the principal inhabitants. 
His early education was obtained in the pioneei' 
schools, and the school-house which he first at- 
tended was constructed of logs, and furnished with 
iiome-inade seats, and the bench used l)y the pupils 
when writing was made of a rough board supported 
b^- poles that were inserted in holes bored in the 
logs. When out of school he assisted his father in 
clearing the land, often being called on to drive the 
oxen, which his father used entirely at first for farm- 
ing, milling, marketing and church going. He re- 
mained at home until twenty-one years of age, then 



•►^1- 



^•►Hh-^^ 



■•► 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



commencerl working out by the inontli, and con- 
tinued thus employed until his niarriago in \XVJ, 
whe.n Olive Ai'obello Shaw became his wife, No- 
vember 14. She was born at Saratoga Springs, N. Y., 
Aug. 29, 18o4, and is the daughter of Nathan and Es- 
ther (C'onklin) Shaw, the former l)orn near Saratoga 
Springs, and the latter in Foughkeepsie, N. Y. 
After their marriage her parents continued to reside 
in Saratoga County until I80.O, when they removed 
to Castile, in the same State, where they |nirchased 
a farm of fifty acres from the Wadsworth estate, 
and four years later they stalled with a team for 
Michigan. Arriving at Buffalo they embarked, team 
and all, in a steamer for Toledo, thence proceeded 
with the team to Hanover, Jackson County, where 
Mr. Shaw purchased IGO acres of land, on which he 
erected a log house; the family in the meantime 
occupied a log house with another family. lie 
cleared a farm from the wilderness, and remained 
there until the death of his wife, Sept. 1.0, 1877, 
after which he purchased a house in the \illag(' of 
Hanover, where his death occurred Fel>. 22, 1884. 
His father, Thomas Shaw, was of English ancestry- 
and his last years were spent in Chautauqua County. 
Mrs. Selleck's maternal grandfather was born in 
France, and, coming to America in the eighteenth 
century, he took part in the Revolutionary War, 
and was made a pensioner; he was a merchant by 
occupation, and the last years of his life were spent 
in Norwalk. Ohio; his wife was a native of Ger- 
many. 

After their marriage our subject and his bride 
settled on the place which they now own and oc- 
cupy, which was then heavily timbered land, .•ind 
not a tree of it had been marred by tlie ax. They 
occupied a log house with another f.-miily until Mr. 
Selleck could build a frame house on his own laud, 
and in the course of time, as money grew more 
plentiful with him, he purchased more land, and 
now is the proprietor of 206 acres, 150 of which are 
under cultivation. In 1868 he erected a large 
frame house, and the barn which was built prior to 
that time has since been remodeled and enlarged, 
so that now his improvements compare favorably 
with any in the county. Besides his farm our sub- 
ject owns a steam gristmill in Clayton, which he is 
now refitting with the latest improved machinery. 



Our subject has traveled quite extensively in the 
United States. In 1876, accompanied by his wife, 
he visited the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, 
and his old home in New York State, and later he 
made an extended toiu- to the Pacific Slope, visiting 
on the way Nebraska and Colorado, where he as- 
cended Pike's Peak, and explored the gold mines. 
In Utah lie visited Salt Lake Cit3', where he at- 
tended the Mormon Church, and bathed in Salt 
Lake; then, crossing the Rockies, he st(i|ipi'd at 
Sacramento and S.an Francisco, and from there he 
went via steamer to Oregon, and thence to the head 
of navigation on the Columbia River. Returning 
to San Francisco he started on his retin-n trip via the 
Santa Fe Railway, visiting the priucip:il point.- uf 
interest in Southern California, New Mexico and 
Arizona. During the journey he wrote many inter- 
esting letters, describing the principal scenic fea- 
tures and the people whom he met on his travels. 

Mr. and :\lrs. Selleck have an adopted son, .lames 
r.. Mrs. Selieek is .-ui active member of the Jletli- 
odist Episcopal Church, of RoUin Center, and is 
held in high estim.-ition for her amiable character. 
In i)olitics Mr. Selleck is a Republican, having atlili- 
ated with that party, and warmly ailvocaled its 
princi|)lcs since its (irganization. 



G)EO] 



P^EORGE N. TORREY took possession of his 
;asant homestead on section 25, in Rome 
Township, in the spring of 1869, having re- 
moved from a fiirm a half mile west. He has here 
eighty acres of good land with suitable buildings, 
and r.-niks among the thrifty ami well-to-do men of 
tlu^ section (.f rounlry. He lias known no other 
home than this county, having been born here April 
1, 180,"). and hei'e has thus far passed his life. 

Noah Torrcy. the father t)f our subject, was a 
native of Herkimer County, N. Y., where he spent 

a blacksmith, which had been the occupation (jf his 
lather of the same name. Noah, Jr., in the sjiring 
of 18;50 left his native State for the West, and up<.n 
reaching Adrian, engaged at his trade, and in time 
put u|i a shop. In 1844 he removed to Rome 
Township, and seven years later crossed the Missis- 

»► 



•►Hh-^^ 



A 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



^\- 



sippi and spent seveviil years in Colorado, after 
which he went in 1851 to California, and remained 
until 1 855. Upon returning to this county, he staid 
here uiitd fall, then went to Colorado and lived 
until 1880. Returning, he took up his residence 
with his son, where he spent the last six years of 
his life, .and died on the 3d of January, 1887, at the 
age of seventy-eight. The mother of our subject 
was formerly Miss Thankful Howes, and was born 
in New York; her father, Ezra Howes, was a ship 
carpenter by trade, and spent his last years in 
Adrian. 

Mr. Torrey, of our sketch, started out for himself 
at the age of sixteen years, and engaged to work by 
the month. His education was acquired in the dis- 
trict school and the High School at Adrian, and he 
was married at the age of twenty -seven, Oct. 15, 
1862, to Miss Harriet I., daughter of E. L. and 
Nancy Selleck, and sister of Charles W. Selleck. of 
Adrian. Upon becoming a voter, he identified him- 
self with the Democratic party, of whose principles 
he has since been a stanch defender. 

Mrs. Torrey was born Oct. 28, 1840, and con- 
tinued with her parents until her marriage. The 
onl3' child of Mr. and Mrs. Torrey, Ethel I., was 
born Aug. 31, 1882. Our subject has been a mem- 
ber of the Masonic fraternity for a period of twen- 
ty-four years, and belongs at present to Adrian 
Lodge No. 19. 



,^^ ARVIN HOWARD came from the Mohawk 
Valley during the early settlement of this 
county, and after some years spent in 
Manchester, he located near its northern 
line, first in Cambridge Town.ship, and afterward in 
Tecumseh Township, of which he is now a resident. 
His birth took place in Herkimer County, N. Y., 
Feb. 12, 1809, and he is the son of .Joseph and j 
Nancy (Smith) Howard, the former a native of 
New York State, and the latter of Scipio, in the j 
sAme State. Joseph Howard was killed while serv- 
ing in the War of 1812. leaving his widow with 
four small children. After the death of her hus- ' 
band Mrs. Howard continued in Herkimer County, ; 
and was married again to a Mr. West. The chil- , 



dren were subsequently scattered among strangers, 
and our subject, Marvin, was reared by Asa Smith, 
of Herkimer County, with wlioni he remained until 
reaching manhood. 

The foster father of young Howard died when 
the latter was twenty years of age, and then, the 
farm being sold, our subject was compelled to start 
out on his own account. He was emplo_yed as a 
farm laborer by the mouth in his native State until 
January. 1833, when he found his way to the Ter- 
ritory of Michigan, making his first stop in the 
unpretending hamlet of Manchester, where he con- 
tinued engaged in agricultural pursuits, and located 
a quarter section of land. This he sold two years 
later, and purchased another tract four miles west 
of Manchester, and which consisted of eighty 
acres. Upon this he effected good improvements, 
planting an orchard, putting up a set of comforta- 
ble farm buildings, and making a snug and pleasant 
home for his little family. After a residence here 
of twenty years he sold out, and purchased a fine 
tract of 200 acres near Springville, in Cambridge 
Township, which he occupied until his removal to 
his present farm, which contains sixty acres, and is 
located about one mile west of the village of Te- 
cumseh. Here also Mr. Howard has built up a 
good home, and in the enjoyment of a competence 
will spend his declining years in ease and comfort. 

After his removal to the West, there occurred in 
the life of our subject perhaps one of its most in- 
teresting and important events, and which had 
much to do in shaping his future course. This was 
his marriage, in December, 1835, with Miss Lavina 
Reed, of Manchester, who was born in Niagara 
County, N. Y., and became the mother of two chil- 
dren. Their elder son, Albeit R., died when two 
and one-half years old, and the other, Orlando P., 
after reaching manhood, was married to Miss Eliza 
Weadhead, and died in 1870, leaving one son, 
Albert 0. The mother followed her children to 
the better land in the summer of 1871. 

Mr. Howard, now in the seventy-ninth year of 
his age, is hale and hearty, and bids fair to shed tlie 
light of his countenance upon the people of his 
community for many years to come. He has been 
quite prominent in local affairs, representing Cam- 
bridge Township in the County Board of Supervisors 



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•►HJ-* 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



■•► 



1097 



0-ih 



and serving as Township Clerk and Commissioner 
of Highways, holding the latter office twelve years. 
He cast his first Presidential vote for Andrew 
Jackson, and continued a Democrat for a niiniljer 
of years. Later he wheeled into the Republican 
ranks, hut the past few 3'ears his warm interest in 
the temperance movement has caused him to take 
sides with the Prohibitionists. He was one of the 
eleven who effected the organization of the Baptist 
Church at Manchester, and soon afterward was ap- 
pointed Deacon, which office he held until his 
removal to Cambridge. He subsequently identified 
himself with the Baptist Church in Tecumseli, of 
which he still remains a member. 



\|;OSIAH METCALF, a respected resident, and 
11 Justice of the Peace, located on section 35, 
^,^1 Seneca Township, owns forty acres of finely 
^^^ improved land, well cultivated and provided 
with bnildings suitable for agricultural operations. 
Coming to this county in 1852, Mr. Metcalf lias 
made this township his home with scarcely any in- 
terruption since that time. 

The parents of our subject were \Villiani and 
Mary (Newell) Metcalf, the former born in Wash- 
ington County, Pa., and the latter in Ashland Coun- 
ty, Ohio. When but six weeks old William Metcalf 
left the Keystone State with his parents, who settled 
near Ashland, Ohio, whence they removed in 1852, 
and coming to Lenawee County settled in Seneca 
Township. They engaged with characteristic energy 
in the work of building up a home and educating 
their family, and lived to see the desire of their 
hearts accomplished. Mr. Metcalf passed away to 
the silent land in 1869, while his widow still sur- 
vives. Their family comprised seven children, five 
sons and two daughters, of whom our subject was 
the eldest. Josiah Metcalf was born in Ashland 
County, Ohio, on the 7th of February', 1837, and 
was reared to farm life, receiving such educational 
the common schools of that time as could be ob- 
tained. He remained in Ohio until he had reached 
his fifteenth year, when he accompanied his parents 
to Lenawee County. 

On the 29th of March, 1859, in Osseo, Hillsdale 



Co.. Mich., our subject was united in marriage with 
Miss Mary H., daughter of James and Sarah A. 
(Harper) .Seeley, natives of New York, whence 
tiiey migrated, in 1854, to this county, settling in 
Dover Township. They subsequent!}' removed to 
Seneca Township, and are now residents of Morenci. 
Their family included five children, three sons and 
two daughters — William E., Mary H., Ellen M., 
Isaac (deceased) and Hamlin. Mrs. Metcalf was 
the second child in order of birth in the parental 
family, and was born in Seneca County, N. Y., 
Sept. 2G, 1841. In iier early days she had the ad- 
vantage of a l)etter class of schools in that State, 
and being bright and intelligent received a good 
education before coming to this county. She and 
her husband have become the parents of six chil- 
dren, whom they named as follows: Lozelle C, 
Rosa, Lilly, Otho, Stella and Ole. Rosa is the wife 
of Walter Plummer, and resides in Chesterfield, 
Ohio; the remainder of the children are at home. 

Mr. Metcalf has been Justice of the Peace for a 
period of twelve years, and in order to better 
further the cause of education he has accepted the 
office of School Director. He took the census of 
his township for the current decade. In politics he 
is an uncompromising Democrat, fearlessly advo- 
cating what he believes to be the right, not only in 
politics but in all his business relations. This 
course has naturally won for him the confidence and 
esteem of those with wiiom lie lias been brought 
into contact, socially or in business. 

j jMl-q^^i^ Q : 

(jpsA OLOMON WOLF. The subject of this 
^^4 sketch came to tiiis county in 1848, and 
(11/^ not long afterward felled the first tree upon 
the land which constitutes his present 
homestead. Although the face of the country- at 
that time was considerably changed from its primi- 
tive condition, still the pioneer days had not gone 
by. and Mr. Wolf, with his young family, had their 
full share of privation and hardship. Our subject 
toileil industriously upon the eighty acres of unim- 
proved land which he had purchased, and has now 
all but twenty acres cleared, with five acres of choice 
sugar maples. These trees lie utilizes in the manu- 



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4 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



factiire uf syrup and sugar, which each year yield 
him handsome returns. 

The Wolf family is of German ancestry, pos- 
sessing all the sturdy and reliable traits of their 
forefathers. George and Nancy (Gerwell) Wolf, 
the parents of our subject, were natives of Cum- 
berland Count)', Pa., and Virginia, respectively, 
and removed with their parents to Ohio before their 
marriage. After uniting their lives and fortunes 
they settled in Ashland County, where the father 
died June 11, 18G4, when sixty-nine years of age. 
The mother is still living, making her home in Ash- 
land County, Ohio, and has now reached her eighty- 
third year. They were the parents of ten children, 
six sons and four daughters, of whom eight are 
living, and residents of Iowa, Missouri, Ohio and 
Michigan. Grandfather Gerwell was a witness of 
the massacre at Ft. Jleigs, but he was fortunate 
enougii to escape. 

Solomon Wolf was the eldest child of his parents, 
and was born in Wayne (now Ashl.and) County, 
Ohio, on the 12th of Janu.ary, 1826. He spent his 
boyhood and youth after the manner of most 
farmers' sons, acquiring a limited education in the 
district school and working with his father until 
after reaching his majority. Tlie next important 
event of his life was his marriage with Miss Sophia 
Van Sickle, which occurred Nov. 1,1849. Mrs. 
Wolf was the daughter of Andrew and Mary 
(Straight) Van Sickle, natives of New .Jersey, but 
who were married in New York State, and from 
there removed first to Ohio and then to this county. 
Mr. Van Sickle built up a good homestead, where 
he spent many long and useful years' and died in 
May, 1885. when eighty-four j-ears old; the mother 
is still living at the old homestead, and is in the 
eighty -second year of her age. 

Mrs. Wolf was the eldest cliild in a family of 
two sons and five daughters, and was born in De- 
cember, 1827. Slie was reared to womanhood in 
Chemung County, N. Y., having the common eilu- 
cational advantages and being trained by an excel- 
lent mother to the various duties pertaining to the 
good housewife. She continued under the parental 
roof until her marriage, and soon afterward Mr. 
and Mrs. Wolf took possession of their farm, which 
it is hardly necessary to say bore at that time little 1 



resemblance to its present condition. They labored 
together many years, and the wife and mother 
passed away at the homestead on the 5th of June, 
1885. Their eldest son, George, married Miss 
Estella Camburn, and is a painter in Seneca Town- 
ship: Nancy is the wife of Jesse Tuttle, and has one 
child, a son, Floyd; William married Miss Ida Van 
Sickle, and they reside on the homestead. 

Mr. Wolf takes life easily and sensibly, and has 
given into the hands of his son the principal care 
and responsibility of the farm operations. He is a 
life-long Democrat and an earnest supporter of the 
principles of his party, although never making him- 
self conspicuous in political matters. 

yip^,ATHANIEL LANE, a machinist living at 
Ij jjj Hudson, became a resident of the township 
^Mi in 1834. He was born in Enfield, Hamp- 
shire Co., Mass., July 1, 1830, and is a son of 
Bereah H. and Phebe (Parkmau) Lane, both natives 
of the same place. His grandfather, Nathaniel Lane, 
also a native of Massachusetts, was a farmer and cat- 
tle-dealer, and resided in Enfield until 1834, when 
he came to this county with his family, and located 
on the present site of the village of Hudson. He 
erected a small frame house on the land now occupied 
by the Comstock House, where he remained en- 
gaged in farming until his death. 

The father of our subject was born in 1800, and 
was reared in his native town, where he learned the 
trade of a carpenter and joiner, which he pursued 
until the spring of 1834, when he came to this 
county, and entered a tract of land from the Gov- 
ernment one mile south of the present village of 
Hudson. He soon exchanged 160 acres of it for 
eighty acres now included in the village, lying 
north of Main street. On it was a log cabin, which 
was then the only dwelling where the city of Hud- 
son now stands. After erecting a sawmill, the first 
in the vicinity, he returned to Massachusetts for his 
family, coming back with his wife and two children 
in the fall of the same year. On their way they 
staid for ashort time at Elyria, Ohio, and from there 
journej'ed to this town with an ox-team, and at once 
took possession of the log cabin, and commenced 
•► 



r 



HI-4* 



lenawp:e county. 



t- 



clearing the land. In (hie course of time nther set- 
tlers moved in and took up sections, or parts of 
sections, of land near his; the forests were elimi- 
nated, verdant and smiling fields taking their places : 
the log houses which were the first habitations of 
the new-comers were replaced Ijy frame houses 
neatly and tastily constructed, and chnrches, schools, 
warehouses and manufactories spranii up .is if Iw 
raagic. 

The father of this town, as Bereah II. Lane may be 
justly termed, witnessed during his half century's 
residence here its development from a wilderness, 
with his rude log house as a nucleus, to a thriving 
city of 3,000 inhabitants. In this wondrous change 
he took a prominent part, always aiding financially, 
or otherwise, anything that would add to its ad- 
vancement. The first election in Hudson was held 
in his house, and at that time he was elected Justice 
of the Peace. When a post-office was established 
here, it was named Lanes ville in his honor, and he 
was appointed Postmaster, an oltice which he held a 
number of years. He died here in November, 1 887. 
mourned not only by his family, but by the entire 
community, who held him in the highest respect and 
esteem, and who have always a kindly word to 
speak in praise of his memory. He was a member 
of Hudson Lodge No. 26, I. (). O. F., in which he 
served as Noble Grand. His first wife died leaving 
three children — Anna Maria, Nathaniel and Edward 
P.; the eldest died at the age of eighteen years, 
and the youngest when two years old. He was mar- 
ried a second time, to Julia Anderson, a native of 
New York State; she is now living in Adrian. 
Four children were born of this marriage, only one 
of whom is now living, Theresa, the wife of ('. W. 
Rose, of Adrian. 

Nathaniel Lane, the subject of this sketch, was 
four years old when he came to this county. The 
Indians, who had not yet fors.aken their original 
haunts, were occasional visitors at the caliin, while 
wild game was plentiful, and held a prominent place 
in their daily fare. Our subject was a pupil of the 
first school ever taught in the village, and wliich 
was held in au unfinished frame house that was be- 
ing built for a residence on the west side of the 
river. As soon as large enough he .assisted his 
father on the farm, remaining at home until eighteen 



1099 



years of age. when, n farmer's life having no attrac- 
tion fur him, and in order that his natural aptitude 
foj- mechanics might be developed, he went to 
Newark. Ohio, to learn the m.ichinist's trade. Af- 
ter spending a year there, he went to Urbana, a few 
miles away, where he pursued the same vocation 
for a year, and the succeeding six months he spent 
in Dayton, Ohio. Then journeying westward across 
the Mississippi River, he located in St. Louis, whence 
after a brief stay he removed to Chicago, 111., then 
a straggling village, where he remained two years. 
At the expiration of that time he returned to Hud- 
son, and formed a partnership with Franklin .Smith, 
who was already established in a machine-shop here. 
Their partnership extended over a period of a little 
more than two years, when Mr. Lane bought out 
his partner's interest. In 1863 he went to Nash- 
ville, Tenn., as an expert machinist in the employ 
of the Government, and continued there in its serv- 
ice until the close of the war, then returned to 
Ilud.son and re-opened his machine-shop, and has 
since carried on here a lucrative business. 

The subject of our sketch was married in May, 
1858, to Martha Fuller, a native of Calhoun County, 
Mich. Nathaniel Fuller, her grandfather, spent his 
last years in Dutchess County, N. Y., and in that 
county her father, Lewis Fuller, was born and grew 
to manhood. When twenty -four years old he re- 
moved to Monroe County, N. Y., and there mar- 
ried the daughter of Judge Williams, who died two 
years after her marriage. His second wife, the 
mother of Mrs. Lane, was Chloe Lee, a native of 
Batavia, N. Y.,:ind daughter of Thomas and Mehit- 
able (Ilenniker) Lee. William Henniker, the great- 
grandfather of Mrs. Lane, was a native of New En- 
gland, and a ((ioneer settler of Batavia, and her 
grandparents spent their last j'ears in Greece, Mon- 
roe Co., N. Y. Her parents came to Michigan Ter- 
ritory in 1835, and first located in Calhoun County, 
being pioneers there. Her father bought timbered 
land and resided there until I851,vvhen he removed 
to Hillsdale County, and in 1857 came to this 
county and resided here some years, then returned 
to Hillsdale County, where he died June 27, 1887. 
Mrs. Fuller now resides with her daughter, Mrs. 
Lane. Our subject and his wife have two children 
— Annie and Gracie May. 



r 



Hh-^ 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY. 



As one of the representative business inen of the 
county, as well as one of its most estimable citizens, 
Mr. Lane occupies a prominent place in the com- 
munity, where he is well sustaining the reputation 
of his fatlier for integrity, public-spiriterlness and 
open-hearterl hospitality. Mrs. Lane is belrl in 
equal estimation with her husband, and is a valued 
member of the Congregational Church. 



'^^it-e*. 



fl^i ERRITT M. IIIGliY, a manufacturer of all 
kinds of hard and soft wood lumber, whose 



mills are located near the tracks of the Lake 
Shore & Michigan Southern and Wabash 
Railroads, in Adrian, is a gentleman who has been 
and is a prominent figure in the commercial circles 
of this city. He is a native of the State of New 
York, and was born in AVayue County, Jan. 23, 
1844. His parents, Hiram M. and Polly H. (Harris) 
Higb%', were natives of the same .State, where the 
former was born June 8, 1820; he died Jan. 12, 
1886. After their marriage the parents settled 
permanently in Wayne County, N. Y., where they 
remained until 1844, in which year they removed 
to Lenawee County, aud located on a farm in 
Madison Township, south of the city of Adrian. On 
this farm they passed the remainder of their days, 
the father being one of the successful and sub- 
stantial farmers of the county, widely known and 
universally esteemed. 

Merritt H. Higby. the subject of our sketch, was 
but an infant when brought by his parents to this 
county. His boyhood was passed upon hisfathei's 
farm, and he attended the district schools, after 
which he became a student in Hillsdale College, 
where he pursued his studies for a time, and then 
returned to the farm. In 1870 Mr. Higby em- 
barked in the purchase and sale of walnut lumber 
and logs, dealing largely at Michigan, Ohio and 
Indiana, and shipping to Eastern points. In 1881 
he established a sawmill at Ogden Station, which he 
operated until 1887, when he erected his present 
mill in Adri.an. This sawmill, located in East 
Adrian, is one of the finest in the county, the 
boilers being of the best manufacture, and the 
engine a double cylinder, which was built after 
-^ 



plans drawn by Mr. Higbj\ The mill throughout 
is supplied with the latest machinery, and is of 
most wonderful capacity. The engine was planned 
by Mr. Higby, and built by George Hoxie, of 
Holloway, and is the first of the kind used in the 
State. The engine and planing-mill machinery are 
on the ground floor, and all the sawing of lumber 
is done on the second floor of the mill. The carriage 
foi' handling the logs is the best used in this section 
of the country, and the mill throughout is furnished 
with the most approved labor-saving machinery. 

Mr. High}' in connection with his other business 
carries on an ashery on his farm, w^hich has a 
capacity of one ton per week; this part of the 
business is under the supervision of A. W. Pollock, 
who has had charge of it for fifteen years. The 
potash produced is shipped to Philadelphia, New 
York and Boston. In his various business enter- 
prises Mr. Higby employs from forty to 100 men. 
The success he has attained is largely due to the 
skill and judgment used in his work, and in hand- 
ling his men. He has now one of the best improved 
farms in Madison Township, on which are a mag- 
nificent residence, a substantial and commodious 
barn, and numerous other out-buildings. The farm 
is well stocked and every feature denotes thrift and 
systematic care. 

On the 1st of January, 1868, Mr. Higby was 
married to Miss Saraii H. Davis, a native of this 
county, who was born in November, 1843, and is the 
daughter of Isaac and Amelia (Van Ostrand) Davis. 
They have one daughter, Emilj' E., living at home. 
Mr. and Mrs. Higby have known each other almost 
from infancy, and in their youth were school- 
mates. 



EWIS P. ONSTED, one of the most prosper- 
ous farmers and stock-raisers of Cambridge 
Township, is pleasantly located on section 
32, where he has eighty acres of finely cultivated 
land, and makes a specialty of raising graded ani- 
mals, including thoroughbred sheep. He located 
upon his present farm in 1882, and has eighty acres 
besides on section 29. 

Mr. Onsted has spent the greater part of liis life 
in Cambridge Township, where he was born at his 



■•► 



u 



le>jawp:e county. 



1101 -k 



father's homestead, on section ^S, April 18, 1847. 
His father, Peter Onsted.a native of -Sussex Coiiiitj'. 
N. .T.. was born March 10, 1.S08, ami was the son 
of .John Onsted, who married Miss Nancy Ann 
Himes, of Sparta, by whom he had thirteen children, 
Peter being the eldest son and third child. The 
latter continned in his native State until twenty-two 
years old, then went to Y'ates County, N. Y., and 
six years later, in the spring- of I8;3(l, came to this 
countj^ and settled on section 33, in Cambridge 
Township. He had already visited the Territory 
and selected his location, after which be returned to 
New York, and made his preparations for removal. 

The father of our subject first located 1 60 acres, 
and added to his real estate from time to time until 
he finally had a farm of 51.3 acres, of which he 
cleared and improved 140 acres, and jjut up a lai-ge 
frame house with b.irns and slieds. Ik- was among 
the earliest settlers, when Indian trails and blazed 
trees were the only guides to the traveler through 
the wilderness. At times no provisions could be 
had for any amount of money, and many new-comers 
suffered from hunger as well as discouragement. 
The market at Adrian involved a two days' journey, 
and from twenty to twenty-five bushels of wheat 
was a full load for a yoke of oxen over the terrible 
roads and the hills which were almost impassable. 
Peter Onsted left Cambridge Township in the 
spring of 1871, and removed to the city of Adrian, 
where he retired from active life. 

The mother of our subject was Elizabeth, the 
daughter of Isaac and Jane Conklin, of Sparta, N. J., 
and she became the wife of Peter Onsted on the 21st 
of March, 182i). To them there were born ten chil- 
dren, recorded as follows: Ann is the wife of Will- 
iam Pulver, of Hillsdale, and Mary Jane, of Rich- 
ard Moore, of St. John's: John died when eighteen 
years of age; Lafayette is a resident of Iowa; 
Charlotte is the wife of J. O. Maxwell, of Cambridge ; 
George H. served in the Union army during the 
Rebellion and died at New Bladrid, Miss.; Sarah is 
the wife of Edwin A. Taylor, of Cambridge, and De- 
lilah, of Isaac Russell, of the same place; Lewis is a 
farmer, and Melissa E. is the wife of Andrew Riley, 
of Cambridge, airs. Elizabeth Onsted was born in 
New Jersey, Sept. 30, 1809, and died at the old 
homestead in Cambridge Township, Feb. 3, 1852. 



Peter Onsted was subsequentlj- married to Miss 
Martha, daughter of William Aldrich, of Cambridge, 
j bj' whom he had eight children. This lad_y died in 
; Cambridge Township, Nov. 26, 1870. Jlr. O. was 
afterward married to Mrs. Charlotte (Houghton) 
Treat, who came to Michigan from Orleans County, 
N. Y'., in 1831), with her parents, who were natives 
resi)cctively of X'ermont and New Jersey. 

Our subject was reared to the occupation of a 
farmer, receiving his education in the district school, 
and upon reaching manhood he was married at the 
home of the bride in Cambridge Township, March 
19, 1869, to Miss Edna, daughter of Henry and 
Esther (Maxwell) Powell, natives respectively of 
New Y^ork and New Jersej^ They came to Michigan 
with their parents when young, and after marriage 
located upon a farm in Cambridge Township, 
where thej' are now living, the father being sixty- 
seven years of age, and the mother sixty-two. 
They became connected with the Methodist Episco- 
pal Church many years ago. Mr. Powell has been 
a Republican in politics since the organization of 
that party, and is in all respects a worthy and relia- 
ble citizen. Mrs. Onsted is the youngest of three 
daughters born to her parents ; one sister, Mrs. Phebe 
Smith, is the wife of a well-to-do farmer of this town- 
ship. They were educated in the district school 
and Mrs. Onsted followed teaching for some time 
before her marriage. 

]\lr. and Mrs. Onsted are the parents of two chil- 
dren, of whom one daughter, Mabel, died at the age 
of eight mouths. Peter H. continues at home with 
his parents. Mr. Onsted has lived in Cambridge 
Township since his marriage, with the exception of 
three years spent in Adrian Township. He votes 
the straight Democratic ticket, and is a man of de- 
cided views and opinions wht» universally commands 
respect. 



APT. CHARLES H. DEWEY comes from 
New England stock, in which conscience 
~^^ seems to have been as hereditary as intelli- 
gence, and in which the fine accumulative results 
of the moral struggles and triumphs of many gen- 
erations of honest lives appear to have been trans- 



•►HH**- 



•»-HI- 



•tf^f--^- 



^^ 



1102 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



niitted, in which originalitj' and practicability are 
combined with an ambitious and energetic support 
of action. These qualities, which have been no- 
ticed in Capt. Dewey's individuality, are easily 
traced. Perhaps there is no one of the old pioneers 
of this county more widely known or more highly 
appreciated than the subject of this notice. 

Capt. Dewey was born in Concord, N. H., July 
25, 1823, and is the son of Simeon Dewey, a native 
of Hanover, in the same State, who was born Oct. 
7, 1784. Until 182(5 the family of the elder Mr. 
Dewey remained in the Old Granite State, and then 
removed to Buffalo, N. Y., and made their home 
until 1829. Among the little band of pioneers who 
about that year came to Michigan, and made 
a settlement in Tecumseh, was this family. The 
father purchased some 480 acres of land about 
a mile west of the village on sections 29 and 32, 
and resided in Tecumseh until his death, which took 
place in Monroe County, April 1, 1863. In 
1806 he was united in marriage with Miss Betsey, 
the daughter of William and Susanna N. Bigelow, 
of Hanover, N. H., and they had a family of seven 
children, Charles H. being the third son and sev- 
enth child. 

Mrs. Betsey Dewey was a native of Waltham, 
Mass., where she was born April 28, 17«3, and died 
in this county. May 3, 1868. Charles resided with 
his parents until lie had attained the age of twenty 
years, attending the district school at Hanover, N. 
H., a select school at Buffalo, and Perley Bill's 
Academic School in Tecumseh, from which he was 
graduated in the winter of 1838-39. About that 
time he commenced to read law with the Hon. C. A. 
Stacey, of Tecumseh, which he followed for about 
two years, but never made application to be admitted 
to the bar. In the spring of 1840 he made a trip 
to Virgil, Cortland Co., N. Y., where lie spent a 
year in looking after property belonging to his 
father, .and then returning to Tecnmseh, in 1841, 
he made that his home for two years. In 1843 he 
purchased a farm on section 7, in Cambridge 
Township, where he resided for eighteen years, 
when, in 1861. he sold out and purchased 
another farm at Cambridge Junction, where he 
now resides. In the year 1869 he opened a 
store for the sale of general merchandise at Cam- 



bridge Junction, and is still engaged there in 
that line. He has been one of the largest buyers 
and shippers of wool in this locality for the past 
j twent}' years. 

In politics Capt. Dewey is known as an ardent 
! Democrat, and has been more or less connected 
: with the politics of the county since reaching his 
' majority. In 1844 he was elected to the office of 
I School Inspector of Cambridge, which position he 
held continuously for some nineteen years. In 
1864 he was the candidate of the Democratic 
party for the State Senate, and subsequently was 
candidate for Representative in the Legislature, but 
owing to his party being largely in the minority he 
was not successful. He has represented his town- 
ship as Supervisor for more than twenty years, four- 
teen of which were consecutive. For many j'ears 
he has been connected with the Lenawee County 
Agricultural Society, of which he was President 
during the years 1864 and 1865, and subsequently 
was a Director in the State Agricultural Society. 

During the summer of 1861, when the dark cloud 
of vvar overshadowed our fair land, Mr. Dewey with 
commendable patriotism offered his services to 
Gov. Austin Blair, the great war Governor of 
Michigan, who commissioned him Lieutenant, and 
ordering him on detached dutj', made him general 
recruiting officer for the army. For three years and 
a half he continued in this business, during which 
time he enlisted 101 men for the United States 
army, all of whom went to the front and partici- 
pated in the .active engagements. He had his head- 
quarters at Detroit, but spent much of his time in 
scouring the State, and discharged the onerous duties 
placed upon him much to the credit of himself. 
He traveled more than 8,000 miles in procuring 
these men, who were obtained at a cost of about 
$21,475. At the close of the war he received his 
discharge and I'eturned to Cambridge Township. 

Charles H. Dewey and Miss Elvira Moulton were 
united in marriage, in Cambridge Township, March 
30, 1843. Mrs. Dewey is a daughter of Dr. Arba N. 
and Patience Moulton, of Cambridge Township, 
who were married Feb. 16, 1816. She was born in 
Union, Broome Co., N. Y., Oct. 1, 1820, and came 
to Michigan with her parents in 1835. For one 
year the family made their home at Manhatton, on 



-II-4*- 



♦^h 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Maumee Bay, but owing to sickness incurred there 
removed to this county and township, settling on 
section 7. Her father was a native of Greene 
County, N. Y.. where he was born July 2, 1793, 
•■iiid was the son of Nathaniel and Elizabeth (Grant) 
Moulton. natives of Massachusetts and Scotland 
resjiectively. Dr. Moulton died in South Haven, 
Mich., June 8, 1869. Mrs. Moulton, formerly Pa- 
tience Virgil, was a native of Greene County, N. 
Y., and was liorn Jan. S, 1 SOO. 

The CapUiiii ■■ind Mrs. Dewey are l)arents of five 
children — Malinda P.. Ander S., A\arren C, Eliza 
M. and Charles A. Warren C. is an attorney, prac- 
ticing in New Y'ork Citj', while the rest of the chil- 
dren are residents of this county. Capt. Dewey 
has alwaj^s been ver\' active in everything that 
tended to the benefit of the community, both in 
social and political affairs. Both he and his esti- 
mable wife are active and consistent members of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church. In monetary and 
mercantile fields he is well known to lie a man of un- 
doubted integrity and substantial business ability. 
In his social and public life, he is one who is 
capable of forming his own opinions and resolutely 
adhering to them. Genial and kind in nil iiis in- 
tercourse with his neighbors, his number of friends 
is legion. 



-0= 



^=f=7=E>- 



lOLLIN ROBINSON, one of the oldest set- 
tlers of Palmyra, came to this section of 
country from Wayne County, N. Y., where 
he was born .lune .'3, 1810. His father, 
Gain Robinson, a native (if Massachusetts, was 
fairly educated, and early in life learned the trade 
of a carpenter. He was more than ordinarily in- 
telligent, :ind subsequently took ui) the study of 
medicine, and after his removal to New York State, 
practiced successfully in connection with farming. 
He became a prominent and lii,;;hl_\- respected 
citizen of Wayne Count}-, where his death took 
place in 1828, in the sixty-third year of his age. 

The mother of our subject, before marriage, was 
Miss Chloe Bradish. also a native of Massaciiusetts, 
born in the town of Hard wick, April 1, 177a. She 
survived her husband many years, and after his 



death returned to her native State and spent her 
last years at the home of her daughter in North- 
ampton, where she passed away in the ninety- 
third year of her age. She was the mother of ten 
children, of wliom Kollin, our subject, was the 
seventh. He continued on tlie farm of liis parents 
until fifteen years old, then removed with them to 
Palmyra, where he continued his studies in the 
schools of the village, and carried the Wa^yne Weekly 
Sentinel to the subscribers in the town. He also 
learned to set type in the office, wliiuh he entered 
when seventeen jears of age as a regular apprentice, 
and was thus occupied two years, and in the mean- 
time assisted in the printing of tlie first edition of 
the "Book of Mormon," or Gold Bible, for the 
Ijrophet, Joseph Smith, with whom young Robinson 
became well acquainted, and who w.as a neighbor 
of his father. 

Y'oung Rollin, in 1827, wishing to see something 
of the world, started out by himself, and making a 
tour of the New England Slates, returned home and 
engaged in clerking until the fall of 1832, when he 
migrated to the'Territory of Michigan. He em- 
ployed himself at whatever he could find to do in 
the new country, chopiiing wood and assisting in 
clearing land at $20 per month, and assisted in 
the erection of the first gristmill at Palmyra. In 
1835 he purchased a tract of timber land on sec- 
tion 22 in Palmyra Township, which lay on the 
west side of the Raisin River. He put up a good 
house on the place, which, however, he never occu- 
pied, but returning to New Y^ork State, engaged as 
a clerk in the city of Buffalo one summer, then re- 
turning to Michigan, commenced operating as a 
grain dealer in Adrian. In 1843 be was appointed 
Station Agent of th.c Michigan Southern Railroad 
at Adrian, which [josition he occupied five years, 
when the State sold the railroad, and young Robin- 
son retnrnitig to Buffalo, purchased a line of canal- 
boats, and engaged in freighting on the Erie Canal 
until 1854. He afterward proceeded to Chicago 
and became agent for the American Transportation 
Company, but in the spring of 18G0 he returned to 
Michigan and resided in the village of Palmyra two 
years, then repaired to the farm which he now 
owns and occupies. 

Mr. Robinson was the first Constable and Col- 



H^I-«. 



=1HH 



1104 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



lector of Palmyra after its organization as a town- 
ship, and represented tlie township several terms in 
the County Board of Supervisors; he also served as 
Justice of the Peace for a period of eight )'ears. He 
cast his first Presidential voce for Andrew Jackson 
in the fall of 1832. He was directly opposed to 
the extension of slavery, and for a time was a Re- 
publican, but of late years he has voted the Demo- 
cratic ticket. 

Our subject was married, on the 12th of Febru- 
ary, 1835, to Miss Celestia Ann, daughter of Ziba 
and Emma Corbett, of Palmyra, and they became 
the parents of one child only, a daughter, Margaret 
S., who died in Adrian at the age of five years. 
Mrs. Robinson was born in Villanova, Chautauqua 
Co., N. Y., April 3, 1814. while her father, Ziba 
Corbett, was also a native of New York State, born 
in 1785, and spent his entire life in his native 
county. Ziba Corbett, in 1830, emigrated to 
Michigan at a time vvhen it took a schooner a week 

10 make the voyage from Buffalo to Detroit, and 
thence removed his family to Adrian with ox-teams, 
and located on eighty acres of land near the present 
site of tiiat city. It is hardl}^ necessary to say that 
it was then but a mere hamlet of a few rudely con- 
constructed houses. Mr. Corbett afterward located 
at Palmyra, where his death occurred April 28, 
185'J. He was a Captajn in the War of 1812, and 
by his marriage with Miss Emma Noble became 
the father of eleven children. 

Mrs. Robinson died Maj- 17. 1885, and is buried 
in the cemetery at Palmyra. Mr. Robinson is still 
residing at the old home place on his farm at Pal- 
myra, enjoying good health; by his early industry 
and economy he succeeded in accunnilating a com- 
petency. 

^^jEORGE F. WOTRING, of the firm of Wot- 

11 (^-^ ring dr McKiinniy, manufacturers of tile and 
^^ijj brick, (Jgden Township, was born in Preston 
County. Va., Aug. 13. 1860. He is the son of 
Fiederick Wotring, and grandson of Jacob and 
Sarah (Harsh) Wotring (for history see sketch of 
Nicholas Wotring.) 

Frederick Wotring, the father of our subject, was 
born in Preston County, Ya.., iu 1808, and was bred 
■<• 



a farmer in his native county, where he married 
Catherine Rhinehart, who was also a native of Pres- 
ton County. Soon after marriage he bought a 
tract of land near Aurora, in the same county, and 
was there engaged in agricultural pursuits until 
1874, when he sold a portion of his land, and came 
to Lenawee County, arriving here in February of 
that year. Later iu the spring he bought a tract of 
land on section 27 of Ogden Township, which was 
only partially cleared. There was a log house on 
the [dace, into which he moved with his family, and 
there spent the remaining months of his life, dying 
in April, 1875; his wife survives him, still living on 
the homestead. They were the parents of ten chil- 
dren, nine of whom lived to maturity. Our sub- 
ject was the j'oungest child of the family, and was in 
his fourteenth year when he came with his parents 
to this county. His life while in "Virginia had been 
largely spent at school, and after coming here he 
continued his education in the district school, mean- 
while assisting his father on the farm. After his 
father's death, our subject lived with his mother 
until sixteen years of age, then, with the courage and 
ambition of youth, he determined to become a self- 
supporting member of society, and accordingly se- 
curing a position as farm laborer, continued work- 
ing by the month until 1874. He then purchased 
twenty acres of land ou section 36 of Ogden Town- 
ship, and later bought two more tracts of twenty 
acres each. In 1886, having an opportunity to sell 
at an advantage, he did so, and invested in J40 
acres on section 25 of the same township, but soon 
after sold sixty acres of this, and bought a one-half 
interest in the brick and tile works, since which time 
he has devoted his entire time lo brick and tile 
manufacturing. Mr. Wotring's marriage was cele- 
I brated Oct. 17, 1886, with Miss Eva Cheney, a na- 
I tive of Lucas County, Ohio, her birth occurring 
I there June 9, 1867. Her father, Alpheus Cheney, 
was born in Lenawee County, and his father, John 
j Cheney, was a native of Vermont, and removing to 
Lenawee County in 1832, has been a continuous 
{ resident here ever since. The father of iMrs. Wot- 
ring was reared in Lenawee County, and removed to 
Lucas County, Ohio, where he was married to Miss 
Eugenia DeMott, a native of that county, and 
daughter of lillison DeMott, who vvas a native of 



■•►HH* 



•► 



I 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



New York, and an early pioneer of Lucas County ; 
he is now living in Toledo. Wlien only fourteen 
years of age, Mrs. Wotring liad the misfortune to 
lose her mother, from whom she had received a c.Tre- 
ful training. AIi-. ;iud Mrs. Wotring arc the par- 
ents of one child, ;i son. Clark Otis. 

Mr. Wotring, though a young man, has the reii- 
uisite energj' and ambition to make him a success- 
ful husinpss man, and a valued resident of the 
township. In politics he is a Democrat. 



J-IOHN C. HOGABOAM, a worthy and re 
1 spected citizen of Hudson, vvas Ijorn in Ilar- 
1 ford, N. Y., March 17, 1807. His father, 
' Jacob Hogaboam, was born in Dutchess 
County, that State, while his grandfather, of Dutch 
ancestry, married a lad3' of English extraction, 
and as far as known spent his entire life in Dutchess 
County, following the occupation of a farmer. 

Jacob Hogaboam was roared and married in 
Dutchess County, then went to Saratoga County 
previous to the beginning of this century, and was 
an early settler in Harford, where he bought a tract 
of land and improved a farm, on wliicli he con- 
tinued to reside until his death in 182i'. His wife, 
whose maiden name was Marian Spraguc was a na- 
tive of Saratoga County, and daughter of David 
Spragne, a Presbyterian preacher, who came from 
Scotland and settled in that county, where he iield 
the" pastorate of a Presbyterian Church for the long 
period of fifty-two year>. He was twice married 
and reared twenty-one chiiihcn. The mother of 
our subject spent her last (Uys in Saratoga County, 
where she died in 1810. She was the motiier of 
ten children, of whom onr subject vvas the youngest. 
He vvas but three years old wiien his mother died, 
and he was then cared for by an elder sister. He 
was reared on a farm and after his father's death 
he was apprenticed to learn the carpenter and 
joiner's trade. At the close of his three and one- 
half years' apprenticeship he did journey work, and 
when he vvas twenty-one he went to Canada and lo- 
cated in Cornwall, Ontario, where he bought vill.age 
property and built a house. 

Previous to going to Canada to settle our sub- 



-I 



110.5 



ject was married, Sept. 14, 1826, to Miss Betsey 
Brounell, of Osnabruck, Stormont County. Ontario, 
wliere she was born July 2, 1806. Her parents, 
John and Hannah (Backus) Brounell, were natives 
of New York State, and the former was of Pinglish 
descent. He removed from New York to Canada 
in 1783 and located in Osn.abruck. He vvas a mill- 
wright by trade, but after removing to Canada he 
bought a large tract of land and engaged in farm- 
ing. He took quite an active part in public affairs, 
and died vvhile a member of the Can.adian Parlia- 
ment; his wife died on the homestead in Canada. 

Onr suljject and his wife continued to reside in 
Canada until 18;56, he in the meantime industri- 
ously prosecuting his trade, but in that year he sold 
hjs property in Cornwall and came to Michigan, 
then a Territory. He first settled in Monroe and 
worked as a carpenter until 1840, when he removed 
with his family near Hudson. He had traded prop- 
erty in Monroe for land located on the Hillsdale 
side of the county line, one mile from Hudson, aud 
he now turned his attention to farming. Ten acres 
of his land were improved and the rest in timber. 
He erected a temporary house and located on his 
land but hired the most of it cleared, while he was 
more [jrofitably carrying on iiis trade of carpenter 
and builder in the town of Hudson. He occupied 
tliat farm for twenty-one years, and then sold it 
and removed to the village -of Hudson, and h.as re- 
sided here continuously ever since. He has always 
been a tireless worker and has secured a compe- 
tency. Mr. Hogaboam has witnessed with interest 
the growth of Hudson from a little hamlet with a 
few straggling log cabins and small frame hou.ses to 
a beautifid city with a popiiiatioii of -J. 000 people. 
When he came to the coiinly tliere wa^ no railway 
west of Adrian. 

Tlie wedded life of Mr. and Mrs. Hogaboam has 
been ble»ed l)y the liirth of three children, namely: 
Ruth C, tlie wife of P. H. Stroud, of Hudson 
Township; .Lames Ira, who lives in Chicago, and 
Harriet L., vvho lives at home with her parents. 
James is a lawyer b}' pi-ofession ami a man of much 
literary ability; he is the author of a very interest- 
ins work entitled '^Tiie History of Bean Creek A^al- 



Mi>. lIoi;abe 



•^•■ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



^r 



the Methodist Episcopal Church of Hudson, for 
wliicli they have done much to establish it on a 
firm foundation. Mr. Hogaboara became interested 
in Methodism and joined a church of that denom- 
ination when a young man, and has ever since held 
steadfastly to that faith and been an ardent worlter 
for tlie church. There was no church of that sect 
in the part of Canada where he lived, although 
tliere was quite a congregation, so he started a sub- 
scription paper and secured money enough to build 
a place of worship. Since coming to this State he 
has assisted in building a church at Monroe and 
also one at Hudson. In politics our subject was in 
early days a Democi-at and cast his first vote for 
Andrew Jackson, but since the formation of the 
Republican party he has given his allegiance to that 
body. Our subject and his wife, as the shadows of 
life are rapidly lengthening in their near approach 
to the last milestone that marks the end of an 
earthly pilgrimage, can peacefully await that great 
end in the happy consciousness that they have led 
blameless lives and have been of use to those around 
them. 

^ILLIAM H. FOWLER. As one of the 
honored citizens of Lenawee County, and 
as a fine rei)resentative of the agricultural 
interests of Ridge vva3' Township, we are glad to 
present to his friends a brief sketch of the life of 
William H. Fowler. He was born in Cohocton, 
Steuben Co., N. Y., March 17, 1824, and is a de- 
scendant of a long line of woithy ancestry, charac- 
terized by much vigor of intellect and physique. 

Notable among the descendants of this family is 
the celebrated Prof. O. S. Fowler, who, though of a 
former generation, still holds sway in the scientiQc 
world as an eminent phrenologist and the author of 
advanced ideas on the cranial struture of the hu- 
man race. His father, Horace Fowler, was a brother 
of Levi Fowler, father of our subject, and his 
mother, Susan Fowler, was a sister to the mother 
of our subject, tlius making them doubly con- 
nected; and we may here remark that JNIr. Fow- 
ler's resemblance to his .noted kinsman is very 
striking, especially about the forehead. The 
parents of Mr. Fowler were Levi and Anna 



(Howe) Fowler, both natives of New York, the 
former of whom was born .Tune 16. 1774. After 
their marriage they settled on a farm in Steuben 
County. N. Y.. and there the following-named chil- 
dren were born to them : Temperance, Electa, Eme- 
line, Caroline, Delia, Martha, James, John, William 
! H., Abigail C, Thankful, Mary J. and Salome Ann. 
In 1837 the parents of our subject remoxed with 
I tlieir family to Michigan, and settled on an un- 
i broken tract of land in the forest near the town of 
Liberty, Jackson County, and built for their shelter 
I a log cabin with a chimney made of sticks and mud. 
I Although that was the year in which Miciiigan was 
I admitted as a State into the Union, and the interior 
j of the State had for several years been opened to 
j settlement, and settlers had been steadily pouring 
i in from the Eastern States, yet the population was 
I scattered, and pioneer conditions still obtained. The 
settlers who sought these new fields had, in the words 
; of a recent writer, '-to battle for everything with 
nature and the savage," for large tracts of forest 
were still uncleared, and remnants of the Indian 
tribes who had been removed beyond the Mississippi 
still lurked in their old haunts. Four j'^ears after 
their settlement in Liberty Township the father 
died, in February, 1842, at the age of sixty-seven. 
I After the death of her husband, Mrs. Fowler went 
1 to live with her daughter, Mrs. Martha Andrews, 
finally removing with her to Jonesville, Hillsdale 
County, and there died at an advanced age. Mr. 
and Mrs. Fowler were worthy members of the Con- 
gregational Church, and were much respected for 
their sterling integrity. 

Our subject was the seventh child of his parents, 
and in their busy household he was early trained to 
ways of usefulness, nor was his mental educa- 
tion neglected, and being naturally an observing 
I and intelligent lad, he made good use of the time 
[ spent in the district school. He was thirteen years 
I of age when he accompanied his parents to Michi- 
1 gan, and in the township of Liberty he grew to man- 
j hood, and there was married, Nov. 20, 1 848, to Miss 
I Mary J., daughter of Chauncey and Susan (Hitch- 
cox) Root, natives of New York. She was born 
in Orleans County, N. Y., Sept. 18, 1830, and came 
j with her parents to Liberty Township, Jackson Co., 
i Mich., in 1840. Her father died on the farm at 



^►^'^--^ 



-^- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1107 ', i 



about threescore years of age, while her mother 
died in Lenawee County, near the city of Adrian, 
at the .age of s^ixty-fivc. Mrs. Fowler received a 
careful home training, and a good education, which 
well fitted her for the duties of scjiool teaching, 
which profession she pursued some years before her 
mari'i.ige. 

After tiieir niarri;i,i;c Mr. .■iiid Mrs. Fowler set- 
tled in Liberty Township, ;nid lived foi nine years, 
after which they removed to Madison Township. 
Since the year 18(;i Mr. Fowler has confined his at- 
tention exclusivel}' to agricultural pursuits, and in 
1.S6G he purchased the farm he now owns on sec- 
tion 1 9 of Ridgeway Township. The farm contains 
sixt3'-six acres of good land, which by wise man- 
agement, and an intelligent application of the prin- 
ciples which govern the tillage of the soil, Mr. 
Fowler has brought to a high state of cultivation. 
He has a fine residence, beautifully located, and 
commodious farm buildings. 

Mr. and Mrs. Fowler became the parents of three 
children: Ida A., who is deceased; Charles L., who 
assists his father on the farm, and Eva E., who is 
attending school at Toledo, Ohio, from which she 
will be graduated tliis year (1888). Mr. and Mrs. 
Fowler are connected with the Presbyterian Church. 
Mr. Fowler is Republican in politics, and advocates 
the principles of tlie party witli Zealand intelligence. 



^-^-^^^I^^^^- 



6 APT. je: 
, of the foi: 
' siding in 



•► 



APT. .JEHU F. \VOTRl^T;. the subject 
following biography, is a farmer re- 
Ogden Township. He was Iiorn 
in Preston County. \V. Va., March 18, 1834, and 
bis father, Abraham S. Wotring, was a native of 
the same county, while his grandfather, also Abra- 
ham Wotring, it is thought was i)orn in Maryland, 
and resided for many years in Frederick County, 
that State, but removed from there to Virginia and 
settled in Preston County, where he bought quite 
a large tract of heavily timbered land. He was a 
tanner b}' trade and established a tannery on his 
farm, and suijerintended the work of that, besides 
attending to his farm, until his death. The maiden 
n.'ime of his wife, the grandmother of our subject, 
was Mary Smith. She was born near the boundary 

"» 



line of Maryland and Virginia, and died on the 
homestead in Preston County. Abraham S. Wot- 
ring, the father of our subject, was reared and mar- 
ried in his native town, after which he bought a 
tract of partially improved land, and resided there 
until 18-16, when he sold out and removed to Mar- 
ion County, afterward named Taylor County, W. 
Va., and bought a farm four miles from Grafton, 
where he still resides. The maiden name of his 
wife was Ruth Hood, who was also a n.ative of 
Preston County, and is still living. Tiiey were the 
parents of nine children, six of whom lived to ma- 
turity. 

Our sublet, Jehu F. Wotring, was the eldest child 
of his parents, and as soon as old enough had to 
assist his father in the blacksmith-shop. He worked 
diligently at the anvil, and when he had mastered 
the details of the trade, started in business on 
his own account. In 1854 he secured employment 
in the shops of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Com- 
pany, in Grafton, Va., .and continued working there 
until the shops were captured by the rel)els during 
the early part of the late Rebellion. He then in- 
vested a part of his accumulated capital in a farm 
within nine miles of Terra Alta, Preston County, 
and there erecting a smith}', was soon engaged in the 
two branches of industry, farming and blacksmith- 
ing. He continued thus emi)loyed until the spring 
of 1864, when at the request of Gen. Pierpont, he 
assisted Capt. J. S. Hyde in recruiting a company, 
and then enlisted in the United States service. 
This company was designated as Company L, and 
was attached to the 6th West Virginia Cavalry, and 
after the consolidation of the .oth and 6th Cavalrj-, 
it became Company E. Mr. Wotring was mustered 
in as a private, but in a few days w.as made First 
Lieutenant, and ere long received a second well 
merited promotion, and became C^apt. Wotring. 
He was captured at New Creek, W. V.a., Nov. 27, 
1864, and was confined in the rebel prisons of Libby 
and Danville until Feli. 22, 1865, when he was ex- 
changed. After that he served with his regiment 
until June, 1865, and was present at the "grand 
review" in Washington. 

After his discharge our subject returned home 
and resumed his former occup.ation until 1866, then 
sold his farm in Preston County and rem(jved to 



1108 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Morgan County, the same State, where he bought 
another farm, and after building a blacksmith-shop, 
pursued his former vocation for a few months, and 
then selling out returned to Terra Altaand engaged 
in mercantile business until 1870. At this time he 
came to Lenawee Count}' and followed his trade 
of a blaclvsmith for one year in Ogden Center, after 
which he purcha.sed a farm one mile east of town 
and lived there four years. At this time having 
ail opportunity to sell at an advantage, he did so, 
and bought the farm where he now resides on sec- 
tion 19. 

During all these years of which we have been 
writing, Mr. Wotring had not been alone. His life 
had been blessed by the companionship of a vvife 
and children, who had shared his troubles and in- 
creased his joys. July 1, 1855, he had married 
Mary A. Crane, a native of Preston County, W. 
Va., where she was born April 3, 1836. To them 
have been born nine children: Alice Belle, the 
wife of William McComb, living in Ogden Township ; 
Arthur C, married and living in Ogden Township; 
Artenis O., a physician in Palmyra; Dora, who 
died at the age of four years; Ida M., who died at 
the age of two .nnd one-half years; Rutii O., Bruce 
B., Mary E. and JLiud. 

Mrs. Wotring's father, Calvin Crane, was a na- 
tive of Preston County, W. Va., and her grand- 
father owned and operated a farm and grist- 
mill in Preston County. He was a soldier in the 
War of 1812 and spent his last years on a farm in 
Preston County. The father of Mrs. Wotring 
grew to manhood and married in his native county, 
and there he bought a tract of land a few miles 
from the old homestead on Roaring Creek. There 
was a .saw and grist mill on the place, which la- 
operated besides carrying on the farm. He added 
to his land until he owned 300 or 400 acres, and 
lived there until his death, June 28, 1886. His 
wife, whose maiden name was Jane Elliot, was also 
a native of Preston County, and died on the home- 
stead, Feb. 25, 1886. 

Mr. Wotring is a cluirter meml)er of tiie David 
Becker Post No. 25, G. A. R., and was the first 
Commander of the post. He was on the staff of 
the Commander of the Grand Army of Michigan, 
and was also !Sect>nd Vice President of tlie Michigan 



Prisoners of War Association. In politics he is a 
strong Republican. Mr. and Mrs. Wotring, though 
not among the early settlers of Ogden Township, 
have won a secure position among the esteemed 
citizens of the community, and their home is an at- 
tractive place to their large circle of friends. They 
are both valued members of the Methodist Episco- 
pal Church, and of Grange No. 660, Ogden Center. 
Mr. Wotring is serving his second term as Justice of 
the Peace of Ogden Township. 

-»— -^ a) ' g: o — i-qf -1 — o-5s«ts^-— *- 

AVID B. HECKERT, a much respected 
farmer residing in Ogden Township, was 
born Sept. 8, 1833, in Preston County, W_ 
Va., which had not then been separated 
from Virginia. Peter Heckert, his grandfather, a 
native it is thought of Pennsylvania, and of Ger- 
man parentage, was an early settler of Preston 
County, where he improved a farm two and one- 
half miles southeast of the present village of Aurora, 
and there passed his last days. 

John G. Heckert, the father of our subject, was 
born on that homestead, and growing to manhood 
in his native county, married, and settled on a farm 
on which he continued to reside until the year 1862, 
when he sold out, and followed his son David to 
this county, where he bought a farm on the south- 
west quarter of section 29 of Ogden Township, and 
there lived until his death, Nov. 1, 1886. Thus the 
pioneer spirit descended from sire to son for many 
generations, as far back as we can trace them, from 
the hardy Teuton, who long ago left his home 
acrcjss the seas to found a new home in America, to 
those of the present generation who have assisted 
in tlie settlement of this State. The father of our 
suliject was three times married. His first wife, 
whose maiden name was Mary Bishoff, was a native 
of Preston County, and the daughter of Christian 
Bishoff, also a native of Pennsylvania, and of Ger- 
man ancestry. She bore her husband six children, 
and her death occurred in 1842. Mr. Heckert's 

I second marriage was to Julia Wagner, who bore 

j him five children, and died in Preston County. Mr. 

] Heckert's third marriage was to Lucy A. Hile ; she 
died ill Ogden Township, leaving one child. 

I David B. Heckert was the fourth child of his 



r 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1109 



; 



father's first inarriiige, and grew to manhoorl in his 
native county, attending school as opportunity of- 
fered, and assisting his fattier on tlie farm. In IH^)5 
he decided to engage in farming for liimself, and 
came to Micliigan as a State affording many advan- 
tages over his native State for tlie snceessfiil enlt- 
uie "f tlie mjII. He liought land heavily timbered 
in the nnrUica.-l (jiiailer of the northeast qnarter of 
section 1(1 nf this township, pa_ying 15.25 per acre. 
He was yet unmarried, and did not locate there, 
hut worked out by the month for two years, when 
he bought sixty-four .-icrfs where lie now resides, at 
$5.25 i)er acre, to whicli in I s."i!) he added forty 
acres near by, and while working out by the mouth 
put in his spare time impniviug his laml. 

Mr. Ileekert was married. Nov. 12, l.s.-,,s, to Mar- 
garet E. Ilile, who was born in Rockingham County, 
Va.,Jan. 10, 1839, and is the daughter of Peter and 
Lucy (Pense) Ilile (for parental history see sketch 
of N. V. Ilile). After his marriage he located on 
his land, having previously built a log house 14x20 
feet, but he has since erected a more commodious 
and convenient frame house, and a good set of 
farm buildings, and has sixt}- acres of his land 
cleared, and under a good state of cultivation. To 
Mr. and Mrs. Heckert two children have been born : 
Dora A., who was m.-iiri.'d, ( )ct. ;!0, 1887, to Howard 
E. Lour, of this township, nud Esther M.ay, who 
lives at home, 

Mr. Heckert is a faithful and zealous member of 
the Church of the Seventh-Day Adventists, and his 
dealings with his fellowmen are characterized bj' 
honesty and justice. His vvise management and in- 
dustrious habits formed the basis of his |)rosperity. 

J";OHN MONAllAN is one of the largest land- 
owners in Lenawee_Coimty, the greater por- 
I tion of his real estate lying in jMediua Town- 
_ ' ship, and comprising 735 acres. One of the 
peculiarities of his make-up is that he has always 
had a fashion of attending strictly Ui his own con- 
cerns, and the consequence is he has accumulated a 
snug fortune and is resiiected by the [leople of this 
county, who have known him for over forty years. 
The Monalian family history takes us back a 



hundred years or more, to the North of Ireland, 
w-here it originated, and where the paternal grand- 
father of our subject, who was also called John, was 
born, reared, married, and became the father of a 
large family. The name of John was given to a son 
of each successive family. John, Jr., the father of 
our subject, married Miss Margaret, daughter of 
Peter Hoy, of Drogheda, Comity Louth, and like his 
f.-itlier before him, w.as a weaver by trade, at which 
he served a regular apprenticeship and which he 
followed all his life. They continued to make their 
home amid the beautiful scenery of County Louth, 
where their son, our subject, was born in 1827. 
He spent his boyhood days near the birthplace of 
bis father and mother, and came to America in 
I8.i7, preceding them to this country some months. 
He was the eldest of their thvee children, of whom 
the other two were Mary and Bridget. The father 
emigrated to the United States, and when he had 
selected his location he sent for his family. They 
lived in New York State until the fall of 1840, the 
fatiier in the meantime having abandoned his trade, 
and engaged in the more active labor of .assisting 
to Iniild canals and railroads. 

The father of our subject, upon coming to this 
county in October, 1840, purchased forty acres of 
land on section 4, in Medina Township, put u\) a 
log house and commenced the building of a home- 
stead. Being a man frugal and industrious in his 
habits, he was welcomed bj- the struggling commu- 
nity as a useful addition to their midst, and here 
continued to live until 1859. Thereafter he made 
his home with his daughter, Mrs. John Coleman, in 
Toledo, Ohio, where his death took place Dec. 31, 
1875. The mother had [).asse<l to her long home 
some years before, dying on Easter Siind.ay, in 
April, 1859, at the old homestead. 

Our subject completed his education in the pub- 
lic schools of Medina Fownship, and when starting 
out in life for himself was variously engaged, some- 
times in farming and sometimes in chopping and 
splitting rails. In the summer of 185G he resolved 
to join the caravan making its way to the Pacific 
Sloi)e, and started via the Isthmus on board the sail- 
ing-vessel "Orris Abba," embarking on the 8th of 
March, 1856, and reaching Nicaragua in safety. 
The Nicaraguans were at war with the Costa Ricas, 

9^ 



a 



1110 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



and in view of the imminent rlanger, the purser of 
tlie "Orris Abba" offered to take the crew back to 
New York at reduced rates. Mr. Monahan, how- 
ever, declined to return. After being detained at 
Grenada thirty-three days, they sailed up Lake 
Nicaragua and thence proceeded across the mount- 
ains to San Juan del Sur, where they took passage 
on the Pacific steamer "Golden Gate," and landed in 
San Francisco three days later, on the 6th of June. 
Heye the vigilance committee had possession of 
the city, but our hero escaped their espionage and 
three days later started for Sacramento. 

Not long afterward Mr. Monahan made his way 
down the Sacramento Valley, where he engaged in 
harvesting on the ranch of Rooney & Riley, who 
owned a tract of .500 acres. Mr. M. received for 
his services $50 per month, and six weeks later en- 
gaged in gardening at $10 less, but was seized with 
bilious fever and obliged to escape to the mount- 
ains. He found an asylvm at Rock Canyon, and 
upon his recovery engaged in hauling lumber with 
a six-mule team, his load sometimes being varied 
with provisions. Later he went into the mines in 
companj' with two other men, but this venture did 
not prove very successful, and going to the valley 
again he engaged as a wood-chopper. On account 
of the flood he was soon led to abandon this, but in 
the meantime he had gained an enviable reputation 
at this work, having had a rich experience pre- 
viously in the forests of Michigan. In competition 
with other men in the valley, he invariably' came 
out ahead, and received therefore better pay than 
his fellow laborers. 

There being great opposition to river navigation, 
and Mr. Monahan liaving satisfied himself with Cal- 
ifornia and its glories, he returned to San Francisco, 
and boarded the "Golden Gate" for Panama, 
whence he crossed the Isthmus and embarked at 
Aspinwall for New York City, where he arrived 
in March, and set foot uijon his old tramping 
ground in this county on the last day of that month. 
He at once went to work with his father on the 
farm, and the year following, on the 7th of Jan- 
uary, was married to Miss Eliza, daughter of Will- 
iam and Mary (Russell) Haley, natives of Kildare, 
Ireland. She was born in Hudson Township, this 
county, in May, 1842, and departed this life at her 



home in Medina Township on the 3d of March, 
1878. The four children born of their union were 
named respectively: John W., IMary, Louisa and 
Eva. The eldest son, John W., married Miss Deb- 
orah O'Neil, and is numbered among the success- 
ful farmers of Medina Township. He is the father 
of three children — Daniel, Don and John J. The 
three youngest children of our subject remain at 
home with their father. 

Th_" present wife of our subject, to whom he was 
married Nov. 11, 1878, was formerly Miss Mary, 
daughter of Daniel and Margaret (O'Connor) 
O'Neil, natives of County Kerry, Ireland. They 
came to America in 1848, locating first in Cayuga 
County, N. Y., where the father was engaged upon 
a railroad until about 1850. They then came to 
this county, purchasing a tract of land in Medina 
Township, where Mr. O'Neil opened up a good 
farm and spent the remainder of his life, passing 
awaj' on the 23d of October, 1877. Mrs. O'Neills 
still living and occupies the old homestead. Their 
family included two sons and five daughters, most 
of whom remain with their mother. Of this mar- 
riage of our subject there were born four children 
— Daniel, Blanche, Charlotte and Mabel C. all still 
at home with their parents. 

Mr. and Mrs. M. belong to the Catholic Church 

of Hudson, with which they have been connected 

j since its organization, and have greatly assisted in 

i sustaining and keeping the society together. Mr. 

i Monahan about the time of his first marriage pur- 

! chased forty acres of land of his father, and from that 

modest beginning has grown up one of the most 

j valuable estates in Lenawee County. His propertj' 

i lies mostly in Medina Township, occupying a part 

of six sections. He has recently given his son 

John eighty acres, thus providing the young man 

with a y;ood start in life. 



'^-^ 



li? 0MP:R L. STEWART, the famous "celery 
Ir^^l grower" of Southern Michigan, has 100 
/IVj^ acres of fine land, three miles southwest of 
(^j) the village of Tecumseh, twentj' acres of 
which have for some time been devoted to the cul- 
tivation of tliis luscious salad, and which in the 



¥^l-^ 



A 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1 111 



H^K 



future he expects to increase to thirty -six acres. To 
this he has given much time and attention, making 
repeated experiments, by which he lias discovered a 
new method of treating celery, which causes it to 
develop rapidly and to ))e of superfine quality. 
He receives the highest price, shipping to different 
cities in the East, and commands the bulk of the 
orders from the famous Delmonico restaurant of 
New York City. He also furnishes the Gilsey 
House and otlier public places of entertainment 
and fashionable resort, and it is hardly necessary to 
s-ay, receives from this source a handsome income 
annually. In consequence of this Mr. Stewart has 
seeded his other land mc^stly to timothy and clover, 
and thus carries on his farm in the most profitable 
manner and with comparatively little laboi-. 

Our subject is a native of this county, and was 
born at the homestead of his father, near the town 
of Macon, Jan. 3, 1835. The father, Ira Stewart, 
Esq., was a native of Massachusetts, whence he re- 
moved with his parents when a child to the vicinity 
of Utica. N. Y., where he developed into manhood 
and married a lady of that region. Miss Elizabeth 
Canfield. Not long afterward the young c()U[)le 
made their way to Wayne County, Mich., locating 
first near the little hamlet of Plymouth, whence in 
1833 they removed to this county. Here the 
father took up a tract of land in Macon Tovvnsliii). 
which he converted into a good farm, and where ho 
spent the remainder of his days; the mother had died 
early in life, in 1838. They were ])arents of five 
children, four sons and one daughter, recorded as 
follows: Charles D. is a farmer in I,ivingston 
County, Mich. ; Oliver sought the Pacific Slope and 
is now in Nevada County, Cal. : Lucian is a resi- 
dent of Calhoun County, this State; Helen M. is 
the wife of I. Scoles, and resides in Washington 
County, Ark.; Homer L., the youngest child, at- 
tended school in his neighborhood during his 
younger years and completed his education in the 
High School at Tecumseh. In 1856 he crossed the 
plains to California, and for a period of eight years 
was successfully engaged digging for the yellow ore 
in the Placer mines, after which he returned to Michi- 
gan and took up the practice of dentistry, which he 
followed sixteen years. In the meantime he had 
accumulated a snug amount of capital, which he 



now invested in the farm, which has proved to him 
a source of both pleasure and profit. 

One of the most important events in the life of 
our subject, and which doubtless had its effect in 
insuring his success in life, was his marriage with 
one of the most estimable young ladies of Tecum- 
seh, Miss Fannie F. Brewer, who became his wife in 
the spring of 18G4. Mrs. Stewart was born in 
Livingston County, N. Y., and came to Michigan 
when a child with her father, .biseph Brewer, a na- 
tive of Hartford, Conn. The three children born 
to Mr. and Mrs. Stewart were named respectively: 
Zelma B., Uena M. and Frank K. 

Mr. Stewart has been a resident of the village of 
Tecumseh since 1 s7-2. He identified himself with the 
Masonic fraternity aliout IsTO. and has been deeply, 
interested in the success of the temperance work 
for the last forty years. He is conservative in 
politics, and it is hardly necessary to sa}' a Prohi- 
bitionist. Both he and his estimable lady are mem- 
bers in good standing of the First Presbyterian 
Church in Tecumseh, and are looked upon as leaders 
in the sot'ial circles of its refined and cultivated 
people. 



IIO.MAS J. HILLEK, attorney -at-law, prac- 
li'iiiL; in the village of Hudson, was born in 
_ .Moiirue County, N. Y., Nov. 28, 1830, .and 
is the son of Rev. Isaac and Pamelia (Pliclps) lliller. 
Isaac Hiller was born in Herkimer County. N- 
Y.. July 21, 1770, and was the son of John Hiller, 
a native of Germ.any, who on coming to America 
settled in Herkimer County, and after a residence 
there removed to Monroe County in the same State. 
He lived in the latter place until a few years before 
his death, when he came to Michigan, and spent his 
declining days with a sou who lived near Pontiac. 
He married a Miss Frank, and they became the 
parents of ten children, 

Isaac Hiller, the father of the subject ..f this 
sketch, was quite a yf)ung cliild when his_ parents 
removed to Mumm' CountJ^ N. Y., where he was 
reared to uianlioocl on his father's farm. He was 
converted in his 3"outh, and at an early age became 
a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of 
which denomination he was later ordained a miii- 



■•► 



■^►^,^4*i 



12 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



^h 



ister. lie made his home in Monroe Coiuity until 
1832, at which time he came to Michigan by way 
of the Erie Canal and Lake Erie to Detroit. Hiring 
a team at the latter city he went to Oakland County, 
and entered a tr.act of Government land in what is 
now West Bloonifield Township. It was what vvas 
popularly termed oak openings, and on it he built 
a log cabin of the crudest description, roofed with 
shakes, which were held in place by poles, for want 
of nails, while the chimney was built of clay and 
sticks. The family had no stove, and the mother 
of our subject did her cooking for years at an open 
fireplace. She spun aud wove the cloth witii which 
the family was clothed, and did many other things 
that pioneer families were called upon to do, which 
would astonish the present young generation. In 
1840 Mr. Isaac Hiller traded his property for a 
farm in Macon Township, Lenawee County, where 
he removed. He continued to preach the Gospel of 
his Master, and minister to the spiritual wants of 
the people of the community, while he superin- 
tended the improvement of his farm until 18.55, 
when he passed to his heavenly home. His wife, 
Mrs. Pamelia Hiller, was a native of Phelps, On- 
tario Co., N. Y., and was born April 8, 1804; she 
died in Hudson in March, 1865. Her father, Silas 
Phelps, claimed the State of Connecticut as the 
place of his birth, and gave his name to the village 
of Phelps, of which he wac z.ie of the pioneers. 
At the age of sixteen years he enlisted in the Con- 
tinental army, and served until the battle of AVhite 
Plains, Long Island, when he was captured by the 
British, and confined on a prison ship for three 
montiis. On his exchange he returned to his home, 
where he was attacked by the smallpox. His 
father, a surgeon in the Merchant Marine, took care 
of his son, but in doing so caught the disease him- 
self, and died. Silas Phelps, however, recovered, 
and again entered the service of tlie Colonial Gov- 
ernment, and served under Gen. Washington. He 
was one of the army which crossed the Delaware 
River, and captured the Hessians at Trenton, in 
December, 1776. He also participated in the battles 
of Brandy wine, German town, and many others in 
that locality, and in the siege of Lord Cornwallis' 
troops at Yorktown. While scaling the walls of an 
English fortification at the latter place his belt was 



cut in two by a ball. After the war he returned to 
Phelps, where he died, after having lived nearly a 
century. 

Thomas .J. Hiller was about two years of age 
jvhen he was brought by his parents to what was 
then the Territory of Michigan, where he received 
Ills earlier education in the pioneer schools of Oak- 
land and Lenawee Counties, finishing with a course 
at Tecumseh. In the year 1856 he commenced the 
study of law in the office of Balden & Draper, at 
Pontiac, and was admitted to the bar in 1859. He 
at once opened an office at Constantine, St. Joseph 
County, and entered upon the practice of his chosen 
profession, but after a short time he came to Hud- 
son, and opening an office has been in active prac- 
tice in this village ever since. About the time that 
he settled here he bought his present home, a fine 
farm, located two miles from the village. 

The marriage ceremony which united the lives of 
Mr. Hiller and Miss Clara Nichols took place Sept. 1, 
1859. The lady is a native of London, Monroe 
Co., Mich., and was born May 20, 1834. Her 
father, Samuel Nichols, was born in Antrim, Hills- 
boro Co., N. H., in 1 789, and was the son of Thomas 
and Hannah (Clarke) Nichols, the former a native 
of Scotland, and a sailor bj' profession. He was in 
command of a vessel for many years, and fin,ally 
settled in Antrim, N. II., where he died. Samuel 
Nichols was quite j'oung when his mother removed 
with the family to New York State, and after a 
short residence, spent in the Black River Country, 
removed to Bloom field, Ontario County. He was 
reared in the latter place, and after attaining to 
years of manhood for some time operated a flouring- 
mill, but his health failing him in 1831 he came to 
Michigan, and remained for a time in Monroe 
C'ount3'. By breathing in the pure free air of 
the native forest he became physically much better, 
and being pleased with the countrj- entered some 
300 acres of Government land with the intention 
of settling. He at once erected a sawmill, and was 
engaged in the manufacture and sale of lumber for 
some years. He built the first frame house in 
London Township, of black walnut lumber, and was 
the first Postmaster of that settlement. He taught 
the district and singing schools, and in the absence 
of the preacher led the services at the religious 
■ . . ♦►- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



meetings and read the sermon. He served as Tovn 
Clerk and as School Inspector for a number of 
years, and died in (he township in 184(;. Nov. 18, 
1831, Samuel Nichols was married to his second wife, 
EvcliiiM Sej'mour, who became the mother of Mrs. 
llilicr, Siie was a native of Victor, Ontario Co.. N. 
Y.. born in 1 80 1 , and was the daughter of Ira and 
Betsey (Moorehonse) Seymour, who had come to 
Michigan in 1826, among the pioneers of Webster 
Township, Washtenaw County. Mr. Seymoui- im- 
proved a fine farm in the latter county, wliere death 
took from him his good wife in 1845, and he then 
sold the farm and removed to Lansing, wliere he 
lived a retired life until 1861, when his demise 
occurred. Mrs. Miller has two sisters: Alice E., the 
wife of Jacob Korn, who lives in Kansas, and Cor- 
nelia S., the wife of H. G. Humphrey, a resident of 
Lansing, this State. 

Mr. and Mrs. Hiller are tlie parents of three 
children — Alexander IL, Charles C. P. and Francis 
L. L. In politics Mr. Hiller is a stanch adherent to 
the principles and party of Jeffersonian democ- 
racy. 



ellARLES W. SHEFFIELD. Many of the 
pioneers of Southern Michigan were natives 
of the P^mpire .State, representing its thrift, 
its intelligence, and the qualities of resolution and 
perseverance which were so essential in bringing 
about the development of a new section of country. 
The subject of this biography, a native of Oneida 
County, first opened his e3fes to the light JJec. IS. 
1824, and cast his lot among the people of Michi- 
gan Territory in 1835. His father, William Shef- 
field, and his patern.al grandfather, were natives of 
Rhode Island, in which State the latter spent his 
entire life and died at an advanced age. William 
Sheffield, in early life learned the trade of a car- 
penter and joiner, and when tweuty-tliree years of 
age was married to Miss Mary E. Carpenter, of 
Long Island. Soon afterward the young people 
took up their abode in Utica, N. Y., where they 
spent the remainder of their lives. 

Our subject remained in his native county until 
a lad eleven years of age, and being of a highly in- 
dependent and adventurous disposition, then set 
out by himself for the Territory of Michigan. He 



I made liis n-;\y via the canal and lakes to what is 
j now Monroe City, and thence overland to Adrian. 
He made his home with an uncle for the following 
five or six years, then empIo3'ed himself as a farm 
hil)(>rer, and hiter learned tiie carpenter's tr.ade. He 
possessed mucii niecluinical skill naturally-, and did 
not have to serve a long apprenticeship before he 
became expert at tlie business. He continued in 
Adrian Township until the breaking out of the 
Mexican War, when lie enlisted as a soldier on the 
'Jth of February, 184.S, and st.nrted for the scene of 
conflict. 

Mr. Sheffield was married, iM.ay 5, 1S53, t(, Miss 
Mary E. Skinner, a native of New York, and 
daughter of Cal\ in 1). Skinner, who was one of the 
early settlers of Wayne ( ounty, that State. Mrs. 
Sheffield was born there Ma3' 25, 1829, and came 
! witli her parents to Michigan in 1831. Her father 
j at that time was comp.aratively a young man, hav- 
: iiig iiceu liiiin in 1801. He took up a trsict of wild 
I l.-niil ii|icin which he ojicrated eight years, then re- 
turned to his native State to settle up some debts 
which he had been forced to contract before com- 
ing West. He spent four years in New York State, 
then returned to his property in this county, where 
lie 1:i1hii-c<1 unlil 1 K.')*"*, when in Mai'ch of that year 
he set out for California, but was taken ill with 
mountain fever, and died in Salt Lake City -Tuly 
following at the age of forty-nine years. 

Tlie Skinner family was quite prominent in 
Wayne County, N. Y. Solomon Skinner, the 
grandfather, having been a farmer of considerable 
means, and his boys, like Calvin D., all natural me- 
chanics, they operated grist and saw mills, and were 
generally industrious and well-to-do. Calvin Skin- 
ner put up the first frame house in Adrian, and was 
afterward concerned in the erection of many other 
buildings in the township. Politically he was an 
old-line Whig. He was married when twenty-five 
years of age to Miss Betsey H.. daiiiihtiT of Lemuel 
Scott, a native of Warren Coinity. \'t. She was 
deprived of her mother in early infancy, l)Ut found 
a good home in the familj' of Russell Fletcher, of 
Wayne County. N. Y. When eighteen years old 
she commenced working in a woolen factory, and 
three j-ears later was married to Mr. Skinner. She 
remained in New Y^ork while her husband was pre- 



■•► 



t 



paring a home for them in the West, being then 
the mother of one daughter, the wife of our sub- 
ject. The^- made the jouruey most of the way 
overland, and subsequent!}' endured all the priva- 
tions and hardships of pioneer life. Mr. Skinner 
was a remarkably kind-hearted man, always willing 
to lend a willing hand to those who were struggling 
for a foothold upon the uncultivated soilof the new 
Territory, and was instrumental in upholding the 
hands of many an emigrant who, had it not been 
for his assistance, would have returned discouraged 
to his Eastern home. 

Mrs. Sheffield was a child of two years when her 
parents settled in this county, and remembers to 
this day the efforts which her father subsequently 
made to have a school-house erected in Adrian 
Township. In this first building, which was lo- 
cated on section 22, she pursued her first studies, 
and also attended school afterward in her native 
State for a period of four years. She was a bright 
and apt scholar, and when eighteen years of age be- 
gan teaching, which she followed six years, and un- 
til her marriage with-our subject. This union re- 
sulted in the birth of seven children, as follows: 
Leonora H., an accomplished lady, has, like her 
mother, developed into a teacher, and is following 
her chosen profession in Shawneetown, 111. ; William 
C. died when two years of age ; Ward B. is in the 
employ of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Rail- 
road; Clara W., also a teacher, is in Illinois with 
her sister; Mary A. is teaching in Adrian Town- 
ship; Viola B. is the wife of C. C. Fisher, of 
Adrian, and the mother of one child, while Laura 
F. is completing her studies in Raisin Valley Serai- 
nary. These children comprise a bright and intel- 
ligent family group, in whom the parents may 
justly take pride. Mrs. Sheffield, during the finan- 
cial embarrassment of her mother, assisted her 
greatly in relieving herself from debt, and she was 
enabled at her death to leave an unincumbered 
farm. 

Jiv^ R. ALEXANDER W. SEGER, a physician 
jj) of most excellent standing in Adrian, lias 
^ been especiall}' successful in his under- 
takings, both as physician and farmer, he 
being fond of agricultural pursuits and having a 



Dover Township, which is equipped 

j with all the appliances required in modern farming. 

He came to this section of countrj' in the summer 

of 1847, after having been graduated from Worces- 

' ter (Mass.) Medical College, and at about the time 

j of engaging in practice secured a tract of land on 

section 22 in Rome Township. Of this he is still 

owner, and realizes from the products of the soil, 

in addition to his practice, a handsome income. 

Dr Seger is a native of Chittenden, Rutland Co., 
Vt., where his birth took place Oct. 15, 1822, and 
is the son of Aaron Seger, a native of the same 
place, and born April~2S, 1794. Upon reaching 
his majority Aaron Seger went to the State of New 
York, and engaged at work in the nail factories of 
Lansingburg and Troy for several years, but in 
1821 he returned to his native county where he 
purchased a farm, and settling down upon it spent 
the remainder of his days, and passed away on the 
9th of October, 1863. He was a m.an of much 
force of character and great!}- respected in his 
community, where he was intrusted witli various 
town offices, and followed tiie teachings of his father, 
Elijah Seger, who was a Puritan, a patriot, and a 
soldier in the Revolutionary War. 

The mother of our subject, Miss Rebecca Harri- 
son, was a native of the same town as her husband 
and son, and was born April 8, 1792. She became 
the wife of Aaron Seger Jan. 1, 1822, and died at 
the old homestead in Rutland County, July 10, 
1876. Her parents were of English birth and an- 
cestry, and emigrated from London to Vermont 
early in life. Her father upon coming to America 
took part in the struggle of the Colonists for their 
independence. His wife was Miss Rebecca Keeler. 
Grandfather Harrison had been well educated in 
England, and taught school there during his early 
manhood. 

The subject of this biograph}- remained with his 
parents on the farm in Rutland County, Vt., until 
reaching his majority. He was a lad of classic 
tastes, and at an early age determined to enter one 
of the professions. He became interested in medi- 
cine, and entered the office of Dr. J. G. Ross at 
Middlebury, under whose instructions he studied 
four years and commenced practice. Later he at- 
tended lectures at Woodstock Medical College, and 



n 



M* 



r 




<^ 



^^V-i-^- 



•►Hl-^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



completed his studies at Worcester, as we have 
ah'eady mentioned. Dv. Seger, in the spring of 
1848, removed from liis farm to Rome Center, 
where he engaged in the practice of his profession, 
which he continued then- mitll 1.S70. [u the s|iring 
of that year he sold his prupiTty In Uomc. and le- 
moved to the city of Adrian, piircliasing a line 
residence on the corner of Michigan avenue and 
Madison street. During the eighteen years in 
whicii his career has been silently niited by the 
people who have learned to vieu- him with respect 
and contidence. he has established himself as a 
first-class physician, and a valued member of the 
community. He was for a time interested in the 
drug trade, but since 1880 has given his entire at- 
tention to his practice. He is a close student, and 
keeps himself well posted upon the most a[)proved 
and modern methods of treatment. 

Our subject was married, Sept. .'SO, 1847, to Miss 
PhiluKi M. Stoekweil. the wed(b'ng taking place at 
the home of the bride, In Monroe. Mrs. .Seger is 
the daughter of Curtice \V. ami 'I'lierina, (FIslier) 
(Stoekweil, natives of New Voik. Slie was born 
March ■^:>. 1827), in Yates. Orleans Co., N. Y., .•uid 

by iier union with ..ur .subject beean.e the tlier 

of live eblMreii, .-is follows: Kllen .). w.-is boiii 
July -M, 1848, and l.s now llie wife of W. A. Lord, 
of St. Joseph, Mo.; Lucy V. "a.^ boin.linie '.^6, 
187)0, .and died Sept. 17. I s.M ; \iola, .M. was lH>rn 
April 20. 18.i3, and is the wife of James .Sehaffer, 
Of Adrian; Ida Adell wa> born Mareli ;l(), I S.-,6, 
and died July 28 following: Aaron W. was born 
Slay 5, 1858. and died in infanc}'. The mother 
came to Michigan with her parents about the year 
183o, and departed this life Jan. 20, l,s."il). 

The second wife of Dr. Seger, to whom he w.as 
married Oct. 11, 1859, was Miss Olive L., dangliter 
of James and Lj'dia Eggleston, and a native of 
Pittsfleld, Rutland Co., Vt. Her father, who was 
a native of the same county, and liorn J.-m. I, 171)8, 
spent his entire life in the Green .Mountain St.ite, 
dying not far from the place of lil> birth. In Sep- 
tember, 18G3. The motlier ua> born in Ware, 
March 14, 1805, and died In 1S7(;. Dr. Ale.'camkn- 
and iSIrs. Olive L. Seger became the parents of 
three children, as follows: Frank G. was born Jan. 
y, 18G1, and died Aug. 30, 1886; Fred R. was born 



Feb. 3, 1863, and is jiracticing medicine in connec- 
tion with his father; and Rlattle R. was l.)orn J^ec. 
19, 1867, .and is the wife of Charles R. Burr, and 
lives in Adrian. 

Dr. Seger has always been a strictly tem[)erate 
man, having iwvvv tasted a drop of intoxicating 
liquor or used toljacco in any form. He has always 
taken an intelligent interest in the welfare of his 
ado|)ted city, and Is numbered among its substan- 
tial and reliable Jiien. lie has Very little to do with 
iHilltles, but upon occasion of Important elections 
votes the Democratic ticket. 

~AMKS W. BRADNER, a successful farmer 
a\!d stock-raiser now living in Clinton, this 

J count}', owns a good farm on sections 5 and 
6, Clinton Township, consisting of 160 
aci-es of well-improved, well-drained land, supplied 
with a set of substantial and commodious faiin 
buildings. Mr. Bradner located on this farm June 
10, 1859, and h>as lived here almost constantly since, 
except the few ye.ars which he spent at Clinton, 
wlK're he owns a line jii-operty. He h.as developed 
Ills larni from a partially wild condition. He has 
lieen a successful man m l)usiness, antl has been 
Supervisor of the township from 1877 to 1883, and 
has also held other important township offices. 
He was Vice President and one of the Directors and 
[)rincipal stockholders of the Clinton Woolen Mills 
for nine j'ears. In politics he has always been a 
solid Democrat since 1856. 

Tlie snfiject of this sketch was born on the 4th 
of October, 1821, in (.)range County, N. Y'., and is 
the son of Benjamin 15radner, a tanner and currier 
for some 3'ears, but afterward a farmer. He mar- 
ried Charity Mills. The Bradners came from 
Scotland, while the Mills are of New York de- 
scent. Benjamin Bradner and his wife were natives 
ot Orange County, wheie he followed liis occupation 
( )f a tanner and afterward that of a farmer. Here they 
both died, the mother in 1837. The father was a 
second time married, to Mary Sly, and he afterward 
married Elizabeth Demorest. 

Our subject was reared at home, receiving a 
common-school education, and sustained the loss of 
■» 



1 



4 



-4— 

1118 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



,a 



his mother when he was fifteen years of age. Mr. 
Bradner was married in Blooming Grove, Orange 
Co., N. Y., to Jane A. Thorn, who was reared 
in Orange County. She came to Michigan with 
her husband, and died at her home in Clinton Town- 
ship, Sept. 28, 1863, leaving six children, one of 
whom is now deceased. The living are : Albert, a 
teacher living in Steuben County, Ind.; Henry, 
now in Washington Territory with his brothers, 
Coe G. and Edgar; Coe G. is a merchant, and the 
other two are farmers. The daughter is Ilattie, 
wife of C. N. Greene, a farmer of Bridgewater. 

Mr. Bradner was again married, in Clinton Town- 
ship, July 28, 1864, to Miss Mary E. Plumb, who 
was born in Middletown, Conn., April 18, 1835, and 
early in life went to Monroe County, N. Y., with 
her parents, who were natives of Connecticut. The 
father, Seth G. Plumb, was a farmer, and in 1861 
came with his family to Clinton, where he was 
Postmaster for some years, during the Johnson 
administration, and died in this State. Mrs. Brad- 
ner was educated in Rochester and became a teacher 
early in life, following that profession here for some 
years. She is the mother of two children — Seth B., 
at present in business in Texas, and Mary P., an 
intelligent girl. Mrs. Bradner is a Congregation- 
alist in religion. 

At the time of the terrible accident at Adrian 
fair grounds, when the heavily loaded amphitiieater 
of that place fell with a crash, Mr. Bradner hap- 
pened to be in it, and sustained very severe wounds 
about the body and head, from which he has never 
entirely Recovered. As a representative citizen of 
this section of country, we are pleased to present in 
connection with this sketch a portrait of Mr. 
Bradner. 

■ t > :@: ^ 1 ' 

R. EDWIN P. ANDREWS. The subject 
of our sketch, who is one of the oldest and 
most successful practicing physicians of 
the city of Adrian, has been for many 
years greatly devoted to his profession, and has 
achieved much more than the aver.age success of 
physicians. While making the practice of medi- 
cine his calling, and an answer to the summons of 
his patients a duty, he has found time and op- 



portunity also to make judicious investments and 
exercise his ability as a financier. He is the owner 
of a very excellent farni, and as a matter of recrea- 
tion from the cares of his profession, he indulges 
to a considerable extent in raising fine blooded 
horses, and in this business, as in his profession, suc- 
cess has crowned his efforts. Dr. Andrews and 
family live in an elegant brick residence, in a pleas- 
ant part of the city, surrounded by all the comforts 
which a liberal provider can secure with money. 

Dr. Andrews is a native of Michigan, and was 
born in the village of Plymouth, Wayne County, 
on the 26th of August, 1826. His father was Jus- 
tice Andrews, who was born in Stillwater, Saratoga 
Co., N. Y., on the 26th of September, 1801, where 
he lived until he was five years of age, at which 
time his father, .John J. Andrews, moved to West- 
ern New York and lived in Steuben, Orleans County, 
until 1825, when he came to Michigan. On his 
journey hither he came west as far as Cleveland, 
Ohio, with an ox -team, where he worked on a ves- 
sel, and after it was completed he put his team and 
goods aboard and went to Detroit. On his arrival 
he located Government land in Plymouth Town- 
ship, Wayne County, and in the following spring 
with his family he settled on this land, and there 
lived until 1847. In that year he sold out and 
came to Lenawee County, and purchased a farm in 
Fairfield Township, where he resided until 1862, in 
which year he removed to Adrian and there resided 
until his death, which occurred on the 14th of Sep- 
tember, 1878. He and his brother-in-law built the 
first gristmill in Plymouth Township, Wayne 
County, manufacturing the mill stones from rocks 
found near home. On the 21st of August, 1826, 
Justice Andrews, the father of our subject, mar- 
ried Mrs. Deborah Lard, whose maiden name was 
Deborah Butterfield, by whom he had three sons, 
Edwin P. being the eldest. Mrs. Andrews was 
born in Amherst, N. H., Nov. 26, 1801, and came 
to Michigan with her husband in 1826. She died 
in Adrian, March 11, 1878. 

Dr. Edwin P. Andrews remained at the home of 
his parents and assisted in the work upon the farm, in- 
cluding the clearing of the timber from the land, until 
he was twenty-one years of age. Early in his boy- 
hood he developed a taste for a professional life, and 



^l-^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



•► 



i 



at the age of twenty-one began the study of medi- 
cine with Drs. Graham and Decider, prominent and 
successful physicians of Adrian. He remained under 
their careful instructions until the fall of 1848, when 
he was so far advanced as to become a student in 
the Starling Medical College, of Columbus, Ohio. 
During the prosecution of his medical studies in 
college he was obliged to work during the vacation 
in order to procure money to defray his expenses. 
He was graduated from this college with credit to 
himself in the spring of 1850, and in that year be- 
gan the practice of medicine in Adrian, where he 
has continued in the profession ever since. Be- 
sides attaining great popularity as a skillful physi- 
cian among the people, he has on several occasions 
been chosen to discharge not only professional, l)ut 
public trusts. In 1801 he was appointed by Presi- 
dent Lincoln as Examining Surgeon for Lenawee 
County, to examine all candidates for the service of 
the Government during the war of the Rebellion. 
He was also, for a number of years, the examining 
surgeon for soldiers' pensions, but resigned both po- 
sitions l:)ecause of their encroachment upon the 
time he was required to devote to his professional 
business, lie has served four years as Alderman 
of the Fourth Ward of Adrian, and during that 
time was a liberal advocate of ail proi)ei- improve- 
ments in the city. 

On the 14th of May, l.Sol, Dr. Andrews was 
married to Miss Sarah M., daughter of Rev. Will- 
iam G. and Elizabeth Wisner, of Manchester, 
Washtenaw Co., Mich. Mrs. Andrews was born in 
Castile. Wyoming Co.. N. Y., on the 7th of Au- 
gust, 1832, and came with her parents to Michigan 
in 1841, when her father was installed pastor of a 
church at Jonesville, Hillsdale County. Her father 
was born in Aurelius, Cayuga Co., N. Y., Dec. it, 
1802, and at the age of twenty-nine he was in- 
stalled as a Baptist minister, remaining in the min- 
istry until his death, Feb. 'J, 1888. The maiden 
name of Mrs. Andrews' mother was Elizabeth Hud- 
nutt, and she was the daughter of Nathaniel 
Hudnutt; she died in November, 1881. 

To Dr. and Mrs. Andrews have been born five 
sons: Edwin H., F'eb. 22, 1853; Frank E., Jan. 
25, 1857; Clarence B., Jan. 14, 1860; Fred B., 
April 20, 1862, and Harry W., March 27, 1871. 



Adrian was the birthplace of all these children. 
Frank E. is a practicing physician at Adrian, Mich. 
Dr. Andrews has been liberal in affording edu- 
cational advantages to these children. What- 
ever part our subject takes in political matters is to 
the advantage of the Republican party, of which he 
has been a zealous and earnest member for many 
years. He has never indulged in politics with a view 
to becoming a seeker after the spoils of office, and 
whatever of activity he has displayed has been 
through purely patriotic motives. He is a broad 
and liberal-minded citizen, and w.Trmly endorses all 
projects that will promote the welfare of the city 
of his residence. 

\jt_^^ENRY G. C0LE(;R0VE. The man who 
||fjV came to Lenawee County forty-live years 
JW^ ago, and contributed his share toward bring- 
(^} ing about those marvelous changes which it 
has since undergone, redeeming the land from the 
forest primeval, and making it to bring forth in 
abundance the choicest crops of this section, is 
worthy of a place in the annals of his country. 
Such a man is the subject of our sketch, now a re- 
tired farmer, spending his declining years in ease 
and retirement in the quiet village of Morenci. 

Henry Colegrove was born in Norwich Town- 
ship, McKean Co., P.a., on the 30th of April, 1810. 
He was reared on the farm, receiving a common- 
school education, and remained there until twenty 
years of age. He has all his life been engaged in 
agricultural pursuits, first for a short time in New 
I'ork State, and afterward in this county. He first 
came to this county in 1843, and worked one sum- 
mer in Medina Township, then returning to Penn- 
sylvania, he was married, .and bringing his young 
bride, he settled on a farm in Medina Township, 
where he remained until he removed lo Morenci, 
in December, 1874. His farm in Medina Town- 
ship consists of 200 acres of excellent land, which 
he has brought to a high state of cultivation, and 
he has also a valuable residence in Morenci. 

Believing that it is not good for man to be alone, 
our subject took to himself a wife in the person of 
Miss Harriet Coleman, to whom he was married in 



•►^Jl-^ 



a 



1120 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



what was then Clearfield County, Pa., May 22, 1844. 
Mrs. Colegrove was born in that county on the 18th 
of November, 1819. She and our subject have be- 
come the parents of two children : Herman L., who 
married Gette Van Wort, and resides in Medina 
Township, and Coleman, who is deceased. 

Mrs. Colegrove is a ladj' of much force of char- 
acter, who has ably assisted her husband in all his 
undertakings, and is a kind and generous neighbor 
and friend. She and her husband are attendants of 
the Congregational Church, to which they give their 
hearty support. In politics Mr. Colegrove is a 
Republican. 



ETER V. SMITH, a farmer residing on 
section 16 of Hudson Township, is a self- 
made man in every respect implied by the 
term, the success with which he has met 
and conquered all difficulties In life's battles being 
due entirely to his own industry, economy, perse- 
verance and good judgment. He is a native of New 
York, and was born in Ira, Cayuga County, June 
14, 1822. 

Nathaniel Smith, the grandfather of our subject, 
was a uative of Massachusetts, where he was reared 
and married, but afterward he removed to New 
York, and was one of the original settlers of Am- 
sterdam, where he improved a farm,"and died at the 
home of his son Nathaniel in Cayuga County. His 
wife, whose maiden name was Annie Ford, was a 
native of England, and her father, the great-grand- 
father of our subject, was a Baptist preacher, who 
came to the United States from England, and died 
in Massachusetts. 

Nathaniel Smith, Jr., the father of our subject, 
was born in Amsterdam, Montgomery Co., N. Y., 
where he grew to manhood and married, and be- 
came a pioneer of Ira Township, where he improved 
a farm and resided sixty years; he died in Hud- 
son when nearly ninety years of age. His wife, 
whose maiden name was Mary Voorhees, was 
born in Schoharie County, N. Y., while her parents, 
John I. and Martha (Teeple) Voorhees, were born, 
it is thought, in New Jersey, and were pioneers of 

4i 



Schoharie County. Mi-. Voorhees, a miller by 
trade, spent his last years in Adrian. 

Peter V. Smith was reared in his native town, 
where he received a good common-school educa- 
tion, and practical lessons in farming from his 
father, with wliom he lived until grown to man- 
hood. In 1842 he visited an uncle residing in 
Michigan, and was much pleased with the appear- 
ance of the country, but did not then locate here. 
He returned to New York, and the following j'ear 
carried on his father's farm on shares, clearing $50, 
and with this sum as his sole capital, he again 
started for Michigan, coming by the Erie Canal to 
Buffalo, thence on the steamer "Governor Harrison" 
to Monroe, and on by rail to Adrian. That winter 
he worked on a farm, receiving $10 per month, and 
the following spring was employed for a short time 
on the railway between Adrian and Tecumseh. In 
the fall of 1845 he came to Hudson, and engaged 
as foreman of a section on the Lake Shore & Michi- 
gan Southern Railway, a position which he held ten 
years. Meanwhile he had been anticipating the 
time when he might have a home of his own, and 
feel himself settled in life. With this end in view 
he labored assiduously, and saving his money, he 
bought eighty acres of timber land on section 16 
of Hudson Township, and hired a man to clear and 
break up a part of it. 

October 27, 1850, Mr. Smith and Lucia Bright- 
man became man and wife, and settled on the home- 
stead referred to, and six years later our subject 
gave up railro.tding, and turned his entire attention 
to agriculture. He now has sixty-five acres of his 
laud under cultivation, and has erected a largo 
frame barn and other necessary farm buildings, be- 
sides a spacious brick house, which he built in 1871. 

Mrs. Smith was born in Bloomfleld, Ontario Co., 
N. Y., Oct. 8, 1832, and is tlie daughter of Samuel 
Brightraan, who was born Nov. 8, 1 794, in Massa- 
chusetts, near Fall River. His father, Benjamin 
Brightman, was born Sept. 29, 1763, and was also 
a native of Massachusetts, which, as far as known, 
he made his home his entire life, being engaged as 
a sailor. We are told that the Brightmans were orig- 
inally from the Isle of Wight, and were early set- 
tlers of Massachusetts. Mrs. Smith's father was a 
sailor in his boyhood, and at the age of twenty 



^^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



■•► 



1121 



years became mate, and after one voj'age in tliat 
capacity' was made captain of a trading- vessel. 
During his seafaring life he visited the principal 
ports of the United States, West Indies and Fai- 
rope, but during his last voyage he w.as taken sick 
at New Orleans, and remained there, his brother 
Henry taking charge of the vessel the remainder 
of the voy.age. The vessel was captured by pirates 
off the coast of Matanziis, and his brother and all 
the crew but one were murdered. After that he 
retired from sea service, and removing to New 
York, settled in Ontario County, where he worked 
as a carpenter. In 1844 he came to Michigan, 
and locating in Hu<lson Township, bought tim- 
ber hand on section i), where, with the assistance of 
his sons, he cleared a farm, and resided there un- 
til his death,. Ian. 2G, 184'.). His wife, who.-ic maiden 
name was Phebe Marble, w.as born in Taunton, 
Mass., Aug. 2G, 1794, while her father, Charles 
Marble, was a n.ative of Massachusetts, and a shoe- 
maker l)y trade. He removed to New York, prob- 
ably as early .as 1820, and settled near Canandai- 
gua, Ontario County, where he bought land, and 
engaged in farming beside working at his trade. 
He resided there until 184;5, when ho came to Mich- 
igan, and spent his last ye.ars in Oakland County. 
Tiie mother of Mrs. Smith spent her last ^'car.s witli 
her children, dying at the home of her daughter, 
Mrs. Uri Blodgett, in Coldwater, Mich. 

Our subject Mud his wife have two children- 
George Harvey ■•iiiil \\'iilis .s. < ieorge was l)orn in 
Hudson, June 24, 18o2, and married Ida Lamb, of 
Clayton; they now reside on .section 9 of Hudson 
Township, and have one child, Floyd L. Willis 
was born Nov. 22, 1857,. and married Anna C. Teel- 
ing; thcj reside in Marshalltown, Iowa, and have 
one child, Mabel L. Mr. Smith was formerly a 
Whig, but since the formation of the Republican 
party has uniformly endorsed its principles at the 
polls. 

i]if^^OS\VELL H. HICKS, a leading agriculturist 
jmr of Rome Townshiii, and a scion of one of 
/L>\\\ the pioneer families, deserves i)articular 
^P) notice in a work of this character, as to him 
is due in a large measure the growth and develop- 
ment of at least a portion of the Territory. His 



birthplace was in Rensselaer County, N. Y.,and he 
was born Nov. 28, 1834. He is the son of .John 
Hicks, and a grandson of Jose|ih Hicks, both of 
whom were born in Rensselaer County, X. Y., 
where the latter followed the profession of school 
teacher, and at one time lilled the responsible posi- 
tion of Sheriff of his native county. He died while 
a young man, lamented by all. His wife, Ruth 
Hubbard, a native of Connecticut, was born in 1776, 
and died in this county in her eightieth year. Most 
of her ancestry wcic sailors, although there were a 
few merchants, meclianics and farmers among them. 

John Hicks, the father of the subject of this 
sketch, Srst saw the light in Rensselaer County, N. 
Y., March 22. isos.aiid after the death of his father 
he was taken by an uncle, Mordica Hicks, who reared 
him. Oct. 2;"i, 18.>:!, he married JSliss .Jane, daugh- 
ter of Ulric.and Elizabeth (Wiemans) Winegar, who 
was born in the State of New Y'ork, Dec. 22, 1811. 
Her father and mother were both natives of the 
same State, where they folh.iwed farming. John 
Hicks and his family came to Lenawee County 
from New Y^ork in 183G, and located in Rome 
Township, on the place where Roswell now resides. 
Ileie lie liv<Ml for uiniiy years, p.assing a life of use- 
fulness both for hiiiiself and the connnunity, until 
his death, March 18, 1881. For some time before 
his death he was a eripi)le, which incapacitated him 
for active life. His estimable wife passed to her 
rest Nov. 22, 1S79. 

Roswell II. Hicks r.'maiiied at home with his par- 
ents, assisting his father in carrying on the farm, un- 
til he had reached years of manhood. On at- 
taining his majority he started for Kansas to look 
over the country, but after spending eighteen 
months there, he returned to this county, and took 
charge of his father's farm. He did this, although 
possibly to his disadvantage, that his two brothers 
might avail themselves of a collegiate education. 
He has had his reward for what self-denial he suffered, 
as both of the brothers now occupy prominent posi- 
tions in the world, Joseph Hicks being a banker, 
and S. P., a rising lawyer. 

Roswell Hicks was married, Dec. .'iO, 1868, to Miss 
Charlotte Marks, a native of W.ayne County, N. Y^.. 
and daughter of Hollen and Betsey (Knapp) Marks. 
She became the mother of two children, Myron and 



'^ 1122 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Nellie, both of whom are deceased, and died April 
9, 1864. In Rome Township Roswell Hicks was a 
second time married, to Sarah Smith, a native of 
England, where she was born near Dover, but she 
died Nov. 8, 1.S79. leaving one child, Arthur P., 
who was born Sept. 3, 1876. On the 10th of 
Marcli, 1881, Mr. Hicks again entered into a matri- 
monial alliance, this time with Mrs. Sarah Blanchard, 
a daughter of George and Amarilla Thompson, the 
former of whom was a native of Connecticut. Mrs. 
Hicks was twice married before she married our 
subject; first to Gilbert M. Pettys, and afterward 
to Marshall Blanchard. When the hand of traitors 
struck at the life of our Union, Gilbert Pettys, im- 
bued with intense patriotism, enlisted in Company 
A, 101st Oliio Infantry, but after six months' en- 
durance of the hardships of the campaign, was taken 
sick, and offered up his life a sacrifice on the altar 
of his country. Mrs. Hicks was born in New York, 
Feb. 7, 1842, and was one of a family of six children. 
By her first marriage she became the mother of two 
children : Emma, the wife of Frank Poucher, born 
July 10, 1860. and Clemie R., the wife of F. M. 
Harlow, who is professor in one of the schools of 
Jackson County, Mich. 



-»-». --x/vxj: 



f( ON. CHARLES E. MICKLEY, a resident 
jlf^l of Lenawee County for a period of fifty- 
l^^ four years, is most properly classed among 

^a) its earliest pioneers. He was a youth of 
fifteen years when coming here, and in company 
with his motlier and brother, his father being de- 
ceased, had made tiie journey from Buffalo to 
Detroit, spending six days on Lake P]rie. From the 
City of Straits they reached Adrian by ox-team 
when the town was in its infancy, and the country 
around composed of forests and uncultivated land. 
He commenced working by the month clearing land, 
and in the fall of 1836, three years later, began 
operations on his own purchase. Of this he has been 
in possession since that time, his only removal be- 
ing from the old log house to the new frame one. 
The changes which he has witnessed, and the scenes 
through which he has passed, if properly written 
up would comprise a large volume. Even in the I 



early days he became prominent in the affairs of 
his township and has since been largely identified 
with those of his State and Nation. He has been 
foremost in all good works and benevolent enter- 
prises, and deserves the plaudit of "Well done, good 
and faithful servant." 

Mr. Mickley was born in Northumberland County, 
Pa., Aug. 26, 1818, and is the son of Daniel Mick- 
lej', a tailor by trade, though during part of his 
life he had been engaged in mercantile pursuits. 
Aside from the fact that he was of excellent Ger- 
man ancestry, very little is known of his history. 
About 1799 he was married to Miss Tamar Eliza- 
beth Evans, of Northumberland Countj', Pa., and 
settling there they became the parents of seven 
children, Charles E. of our sketch being the young- 
est of the family. Mrs. Mickley was Ijorn near 
Philadelphia, Dec. 5, 1779, and was the daughter of 
a millwright, who settled in the Quaker City at an 
early day. The Evans family were of Welsh ances- 
try and Quakers in religon. Young Mickley con- 
tinued with his mother as long as she needed his 
filial ottices, and she spent her last years at his home, 
passing away May 23. 1865. 

Charles Mickley, after becoming a property 
owner, worked quietly on his farm for several 
years, and in the meantime had identified himself 
with the Democratic party. In 1850, when the 
anti-slavery movement was inaugurated in Adrian, 
he espoused the cause of liberty for tiie oppressed, 
and became an active woi-ker for the freedom of the 
colored race. The anti-slavery people at that time 
were looked upon with derision and suspicion, but 
Mr. Mickley took a bold stand for the right, and 
opened his house to all who sympathised with the 
cause of those who were held in bondage. The 
Boston Liberator was then being published by Will- 
iam Lloyd Garrison, and to this Mr. Mickley was a 
frequent contributor, while he was also frequently 
called upon as a public speaker in defense of the 
cause to whose members there were now daily ac- 
cessions. Upon the organization of the Repub- 
lican party, Mr. Mickley at once wheeled into its 
ranks, and as time passed on his public services 
were rewarded by his election to the House of Rep- 
resentatives of the Michigan Legislature. From 
this he was advanced to the Senate and served on 



^U-^ 



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I 



d^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



various important committees. He was the first to 
introduce the measure in the Legislature for the ad- 
mission of ladies to the Michigan University, and 
by almost superhuman efforts succeeded in bring- 
ing it to a successful issue. 

In 1871 Hon. Charles Mickley was appointed by 
Gov. Baldwin one of the commissioners for selecting 
the site for the State public school, and was Chair- 
man of the board until disabled from further duty 
b}' illness. This period he regards as one of the 
most arduous and responsible of his public life, 
and one in which he took great satisfaction notwith- 
standing, as having been connected with one of the 
greatest public charities in the State. This institu- 
tion has reached grand proportions and has been 
the means of incalculable good. Mr. Mickley, how- 
ever, did not cease his good work, and in the midst 
of many other public duties, identified himself 
with the temperance movement, working and 
speaking for the cause to the best of his ability, 
and being enabled by his excellent judgment and 
forethought to accomplish great good. 

Mr. Mickley was married early in life to Miss 
Adeline J. Hayward, the wedding taking place on 
the 12th of February, 1837. Mrs. Mickley was 
born in Farmington, Ontario Co., N. Y., Sept. 
17, 1817, and came to Michigan with her parents 
in 1834. The latter were natives respectively of 
Massachusetts and Connecticut. The father died 
in Royalton, Ohio, May 15, 1872, and the mother 
died in Dover, this county, April 1, 1869. Mr. and 
Mrs. Mickley became the parents of two children 
only, both daughters: Eliza M., who was born in 
Fairfield, July 1, 1838, and is now Mrs. L. P. Rus- 
sell, and Mary J., who was boni Dec. 10, 1842, and 
resides in Adrian. 

B. GILLf^SPIE is the present Supervisor of 
the township of Clinton, where he is success- 
fully engaged in general agriculture on his 
ine, well-improved farm of 160 acres on 
section 16. The Gillespie family, of which our sub- 
ject is a representative, originated in Ireland, or at 
least had their home in the northern part of that 
island for many years. The first member of the 



family of whom we hear as leaving the land of his 
nativity and coming to America, was Brown Gilles- 
pie, the grandfather of our subject. He came here 
when a young man, accompanied by his family, and 
settled in Steuben County, N. Y., where he after- 
ward died. 

R. B. Gillespie, Sr., the father of our subject, 
was born in Steuben Count}' in 1790, and there 
grew to manhood. From that home he went forth 
to take part in the War of 1812, in the hard strug- 
gle of our country with Great Britain, and at its 
close he returned home uninjured, and with the 
title of Major which he had won by his valor. After 
the war Maj. Gillespie married for his first wife 
Margaret Gray. They made their home in Living- 
ston County, where, after the birth of two daugh- 
ters, Maria and Jane, Mrs. Gillespie died. The 
Major's second marriage was with Miss Clarinda 
Roberts, who was born in 1802, and after the birth 
of two children, Maj. Gillespie, in the fall of 1832, 
came with his family to Michigan, via Lake Erie to 
Detroit, and thence over a muddy road to what is 
now the township of Clinton, where he took up 
some Government land, the southeast quarter of 
section 15. He first built a log cabin, with two 
windows, a shake roof, and a puncheon floor, whose 
only door for the first two j'ears was a quilt sus- 
pended at the entrance. They cheerfully experi- 
enced all the hardships and trials that the early set- 
tlers had to undergo. Thej' had to go to Monroe 
County to the mill, requiring a journey of six or 
seven days to make the round trip. By energy and 
perseverance they succeeded in making a home in 
the wilds of this county as it was fifty-five years 
.ago. Maj. Gillespie died on the farm he took u\> 
from the Government in the early days of the coun- 
try, his death occurring June 16, 1870. He was a 
life-long Democrat, and an honest and useful citi- 
zen. His wife survived him until July 1, 1880, 
and was then seventy years old; they were both 
Episcopalians. 

Our subject was born on the old homestead of 
his parents Dec. 29, 1835, and was the fourth child 
of a family of six, two daughters and four sons, all 
living and married. He was educated in this town- 
ship, where he grew to manhood and where the 
most of his life has been spent ; and here he was 



♦Hl-^- 



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124 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



married to his first wife, whose maiden name was 
Martha Biddle. Dee. -23, 1864. lihe was born in 
Macon Townsliip in IS 11. and grew to womanhood 
in the home tif hw liirlh. She died at the home of 
her husband in Clinton Township, Oct. 10. 1868, 
her only child having died previously. Mr. Gil- 
lespie's second marriage, March 1, 1871, was with 
Miss Lucy A., daughter of John I. and Pamela 
(Raymond) Rector, the former a native of the 
State of Nevv York. Shortly after marriage her 
parents went to Fulton County, Ohio, and as early 
settlers of that county suffered all the hardships sus- 
tained 113- the pioneers. I'n tiieir pioneer home in 
the townshiiiof Yorii their daughter, Mrs. Gillespie, 
was born Dee. 14, 184'), and in 18.t8 John Rector 
came with his family to Raisin Township in this 
county. They afterward removed to Tecumseh 
and lived near the village, where the father died at 
the age of seventy -seven, Dec. ;50, 1887, and the 
mother at the age of seventy-three still survives. 

Mrs. Gillespie received a fair education and a 
good practical training from her mother in the care 
of a household. Her marriage has been blessed by 
the liirth of five children — Garland R., Grace E., 
Ora B., Jennie P. and Ralph R. After marriage 
Mr. and Mrs. Gillespie lived two 3'ears in Raisin 
Township and then removed to their present home, 
where they have since lived in the enjoyment of 
the comforts and luxuries of life, having the re- 
spect and confidence of their neighbors. 

Mr. Gillespie takes an active part in local affairs, 
and is at present Town.ship Supervisi^r, wiiile lie has 
held the office of Drain Commissioner, and has been 
Justice of the Peace. He is much interested in 
political affairs, and uses his influence in behalf of 
the Democratic party. Mr. and Mrs. Gillespie are 
attendants of the Presbyterian Church. 



(^p-'EBULON WATSON. The hands on the 
^ dial of time have covered more than half 
//^--^ a century since the first little band of hardy 
pioneers broke their way into the prestiue wilds of 
Lenawee County. Bold, active men, women and 
children — for there were heroes as well as heroines — 
they had left their homes 'neath Eastern skies to 



liew out resting-places for themselves in the then 
untrodden wilderness. Among this comi)any was 
the family of which our subject was a member. 

Zebulon Watson was born in Erie County, N. 
Y., near the town of Batavia, Feb. 16, 1827, 
and is the son of William and Electa (Cole) Wat- 
son, both natives of the same State. His father 
dying when Zebulon was but a small child, his 
mother remarried, and the little family, hoping to 
better their fortune, emigrated to the West, and 
in the fall of 18.'?5 settled in Rome Township on 
section 11, where they purchased about 160 acres 
of land, then covei'ed with the "forest primeval." 
Here they settled down to the hard life of pioneers, 
with but few neighbors to keep them company. 
All the trials and tribulations attendant on a new 
settlement were endured by them nearly always 
with remarkable patience. The family remained 
here until about the year 1841, when they removed 
to Hillsdale County, Mich., where they resided for 
some time. Not feeling satisfied with their new 
locality they returned to this county, which the}^ 
made their residence thereafter. 

Zebulon Watson remained with his mother until 
he had reached his maturity, when he started out 
to battle for an existence in this world on his own 
account. After working for a little time on shares 
for Mr. Bates, his father-in-law, he removed to 
Branch County, in this State, wliere he worked in 
the same manner for two years, when he purchased 
forty acres of land on which he made hi.s residence 
another two years. At that time he returned to 
this township and purchasing some farm propertj^ 
settled thereon, where he lived about twenty-two 
years. About 1874 he sold out and purchased the 
place where he now resides, as nice a piece of laud as 
lies within tlie boundaries of the township, and all 
under a high state of tillage. 

Zebulon Watson and Miss Phebe D. Bates were 
united in the holy bonds of matrimony on the 31st 
of October, 1847. Mrs. Watson was born in Erie 
County, N. Y., Dec. 29, 1828, and is the daughter 
of Daniel Bates, of Rome Township. Notwith- 
standing the disadvantages of procuring an educa- 
tion in those early days, and in spite of her being 
compelled to attend the district school only at even- 
ing sessions, with a strong will Mrs. Watson managed 



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f 



Hh-^^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1125 



to acquire a fine education. She is a woman of ex- 
ceptional intelligence, and Iveeps well posted on all 
current events. She and her husband are attend- 
.ants of the Baptist Church and try to live Chris- 
tian lives. In politics Mr. Watson is now a Repub- 
lican, having been formerly one of tht' great Whig 
party. 

Young men of Lenawee County can find in tlic 
career of Mr. Watson a most excellent example. 
Here is seen wiiat may be accomplished by a man 
lieginning at the lowest step of the ladder, but 
with liiincsty, prudence, energy and industry, grad- 
ually climbing up until his later years are passed in 
comparative afHuence. I'osscssing but few advan- 
tages in early life, with liis schooling limited to a 
great extent, without wealth or position, he has 
been compelled from very early years to dei)end 
upon his own exertions, 'rhriiiighnut a busy life, 
however, he has never ch'viatcd hmn the strict 
path of rectitude, and is esteemed one of the most 
reliable men of Lenawee County. 



J'OHN F. LKWIS, :i prominent and leading 
young merchant of the viilnge of Addison, 
isanativeof \V Istock Tounshi[). Lenawee 
County, and tirstsaw the light Aug. I, l.stio. 
He is the son of (ieorge M. Lewis, the pioneer 
mcu'chant of Addison, and Elizabeth B. (Tower) 
Lewis, his wife. The great-great-grandfather of 
our subject. .Tohn Lewis, lived on a farm near 
Walpole, Mass. About 1740 ho inari-ied a Miss 
Fisher, and to them were born seven children — John, 
David, Joseph, Oliver, and three daughters. Of 
these children one of the daughters married a Mr. 
Morse and another a Mr. Bacon ; David was a farmer, 
Joseph a hotel-keeper, Oliver went to sea and never 
returned, and John was our subject's great-graud- 
father. In his j'ounger years he enlisted in the 
Continental army, and after serving about seven 
years he settled in Rensselaer County, N. Y. He 
was twice married, his first wife being Anna Pratt, 
l)y whom he had six children, namely : John, 
Deborah, Polly, Abigail, Betsey and Anna. His 



second marriage was with Mrs. (Sweeting) Danby. 
Of the children of his first marriage Deborah mar- 
ried Oliver Rogers, Polly became the wife of Jonas 
White, Abbie died unmarried, Betsey became the 
wife of Simon Rogers, Anna married Samuel 
j Andrews, and .John married Miss Rizpah Smith. 
I John r^ewis, last named, was our subject's graniL 
I father. He was born Feb. 10, 178:'), and his good 
wife, Rizpah Lewis, first saw light Nov. 21, 1786. 
To them were born a large family of children, most 
of whom are deceased. George M. Lewis, one of 
these children, made his appearance upon the stage 
of life Aug. 28, 1825, in Whitestown, Oneida Co., 
Is'. Y. At the age of fourteen he quit the p.arental 
roof in order to hew out for himself a p.ath in life, 
and to better his worldly |)osition. He at once 
entered upon the duties of a fireman on board one 
of the palatial slcamcrs that plied on the Hudson 
River, of which abr<j|lK'r was the engineer. After 
three years labor in that capacity he went to Kinowlos- 
ville, Orleans Co., N. Y., and- for about a ye.ar was 
in the employ of another brother in that locality 
on a farm. Being seized with the western fever, 
in 1 843 he came to Michigan, and at first located 
in Brooklyn, Jackson County, and worked as a farm 
laborer in the vicinity of that village for about 
two years. lie came to Addison in the fall of 
IS I.-,, and in the following spring started in the 
mercantile business in tliat place, in a building 
which he rented at the time that he [turchased the 
stock. The next year he cleared the land and com- 
menced the erection of the building where his son 
is at present located, ami in which lie was eufaced 
in e;irrying on trade at the time of his death. 
During the course of his busine.ss life he had two 
partners. The first was Charles Carmicli.ael, Jr., 
who remained with him about three years, and the 
other, Lyman Haydeu, w.as a meml)er of the firm 
for about twelve months. He continued in trade 
in this store until 1876, when, owing to failing 
health, he removed to a farm which he owned north 
of Addison. There, enjoying the free air and 
laboring in the fields, he somewhat restored his de- 
clining health, and in 1881 he removed to the vil- 
lage of Kelly's Corners, purchasing the store of 
Orson Kelly, who bought his farm. He remained 
in the last-named place until 1 883, when he returned 



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1126 



4- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



to Addison, and in the building which he had erected 
nearly forty years before again entered into the 
mercantile life of the community. Here, in the 
active pursuits of his business, he was called to his 
heavenly home early in the morning of .Sunday, 
Feb. 6, 1887. 

On the 26th of November, 184(1, George M. 
Lewis was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth 
B., daughter of Joseph P. and Cynthia (Pullen) 
Tower, who was born in Phelps, Ontario Co.,N. Y., 
Feb. 22, 1827. She was the mother of ten chil- 
dren, five of whom are living, as follows: Imogene, 
Mrs. George Bowen, was born Oct. 21, 1847, and 
is the mother of four children ; they reside on a 
farm in Woodstock Township. Casporetta, Mrs. 
John Kelsey, was born May 26, 1 850, and is the 
mother of one child by her first husband, J. M. 
Wyand; Bertha L., Mrs. Eugene Woodward, was 
born Nov. 26, 1851, and resides in Clayton, where 
her husband is an attorney; they have one son. 
B'rankie R., Mrs. George E. Lewis, was born July 4, 
1858, and is a resident of Jackson, Mich., where 
her husband carries on the grocery business, and 
she is the mother of one daughter; John F., the 
subject of this sketch ; five children died in infancy. 
John was born Feb. 20, 1854, and died August 27 of 
the same year; Byron was born Feb. 3, 1856, and 
died when fourteen days old; Alice was born Jan. 1, 
1860, and died Aug. 15, 1860; Charles and George 
M. (twins) were born Oct. 15, 1861; George M. 
died October 28 of the same year, and Charles two 
days later. 

George M. Lewis was the oldest merchant in the 
village of Addison, and his circle of friends and 
acquaintances, both in social and business spheres, 
was naturally very extensive. He was a man of 
most excellent judgment, a keen thinker, with a kind 
and loving heart, and no worthy object failed to 
elicit from him a tangible assistance. In all public 
improvements, and in the educational advancement 
of the community, he vvas ever prominent, taking a 
leading part, both with his own exertions and a 
liberal outlay of money. As one of the pioneers 
of Lenawee County he saw the aboriginal wilder- 
ness give place to highly cultivated farms; the 
squalid village of the native Indian replaced by 
neat and busy towns, and all the hardships and 



privations of the earlier settler succeeded by all the 
comforts and advantages of civilization. In the 
family circle he was a loving husband and a kind 
and indulgent father, ever ready to enhance, by any 
means in his power, the pleasure and enjoyment of 
his loved ones. 

In politics Mr. Lewis always affiliated with the 
Democratic party, and filled many positions of 
honor and trust in the village and township with 
most excellent results; he was Justice of the Peace 
for some five terras. His business experience was 
both varied and successful, as besides dealing ex- 
tensively in general merchandise, his purchases and 
sales of real estate were considerable, and at vari- 
ous times he conducted a number of manufacturing 
industries, while he also fulfilled contracts for build- 
ing to some extent. When be passed away the 
entire community were in gloom, fully realizing 
the extent of their loss. His funeral took place on 
the 8th of February, 1887, from the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, on which occasion the Rev. K. H. 
Crane, the pastor of the Congregational Church, 
preached a very eloquent sermon from the text: 
"David slept with his fathers and was buried in the 
city of David." I. Kings, 2:10. Rev. O. F. Win- 
ton, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, assisted in 
the ceremony, which was attended by almost the 
entire population of the village. 

On the 10th of February, 1887, afa meeting of 
the Trustees of the Addison public schools, the 
following resolutions of respect were adopted by a 
unanimous vote: 

Whereas, It has pleased Divine Providence, the 
dispenser of all events, suddenly to remove from 
this life the Hon. George M. Lewis, who has for 
many years been a member of this board ; and 

Whereas, He has been untiring in his efforts to 
preserve good order and promote the interests of 
popular education in our midst; therefore 

Resolved, That in the death of G. M. Lewis this 
community has lost a most judicious and eflicient 
member and our village a worthy citizen. 

Resolved, That we tender to the family of the 
deceased our heartfelt sympathy and condolence in 
this, their most afflicted bereavement. 

Resolved, That a copj' of these resolutions be 
tendered to the family of the deceased, that a copy 
be spread on our school records, and published in 
the Addison Courier. 

S. C. Lombard, A. J. Kempton, O. B. Bovten 



^ 



^2- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1127 



Mrs. Nellie H. Smith, J. C. Morley, Trustees. 
John F. Lewis, the subject of this sketch, has 
always remained at home. He was educated in the 
schools of his native village, wherein he attained 
extreme excellence. He is a young man of great 
natural ability and most excellent cliaracteristics. 
Endowed with high moral qualities, a generous heart 
and noble principles, he is loolied upon by the com- 
munity as a model young man. Although but twenty- 
three years of age he has been called upon by the 
death of his estimable father to take a place at the 
head of the business life of the village, and bids 
fair to jjrove no lunvurthy bearer of the inaiille of 
his sire. 



L«^^'1I0MAS V. HOAGLAND is known as one 
l(j(^ji\ of the representative men of the township of 
^^^y Ridgewaj', and is pleasantly located on sec- 
tion 34, in the fractional part of the township, and 
owns another tract on section 3 in the township 
proper, having in the combined property eighty 
acres of land, nearly all of which is under a high state 
of cultivation, and containing good improvements. 
The place occupied by our subject is the property 
taken up by his father, Henry Hoagland. in 1832, 
at which time it was an unbroken wilderness, with 
nothing to attract the attention of a person seeking 
a home, yet so great was his desire to make a 
home in one of the best parts of the great State of 
Michigan that he located here. 

The subject of this sketch was born on this farm 
on the 7th of March, 1838. Henry Hoagland, his 
father, was a native of New Jersey, having been 
born there near Perth Aniboy, in 1800, of English 
parentage, originally of Holland and Scotch descent. 
Henry was but a boy when he went to New York 
State with his father, John Hoagland, and they took 
up their abode in .Seneca County, near Cayuga 
Lake, in the township of Romulus. There John 
Hoagland died, and Henry Hoagland met and mar- 
ried Mary Van Tyle, who came of Dutch ancestry, 
and whose parents were natives of New Jersey. 
She was born in Seneca County, where she devel- 
oped into womanhood, and became tlie wife of 
Henry Hoagland in the year 1824. Henry Hoag- 
land and his father-in-law, Thomas Van Tyle, 



together with their families, determined to try their 
fortunes in the West, and after several weeks' 
travel on the canal and Lake Erie, they arrived at 
Monroe, Mich., and then came through the almost 
unbroken wilderness to Ridgeway Township. Henry 
Hoagland settled on section 31, and Thomas Van 
Tyle on a part now covered by the village of Brit- 
ton, where he resided for some time and improved 
the place, but he subsequently went to Ridgeway, 
where he died at the age of seventy-three years. 
The father of the subject of this sketch died at his 
home in this township in 1852. He was a member 
of the Metliodist Episcopal Church and a good citi- 
zen, while in politics he was an old-line Whig. His 
wife died on the old homestead in 1839, when lier 
son, Thomas V., was one year old. He afterward 
was reared under the care of his grandmother and 
a sister until he arrived at manhood. 

Thomas V. Hoagland was married in Ridgeway 
Township, on the (ith of November, 1866, to Miss 
Harriet E. Smith (for parental history of family see 
sketch of George W. Smith). Mrs. Hoagland was 
born in this township on her father's old farm, in 
1849, where she was reared, and attended the dis- 
trict school until she arrived at womanhood. She 
is now the mother of three (children — ^Lamount C, 
Lettah M., and one deceased ; the former are bright 
and intelligent, and will be given a good edu- 
cation. Mr. and iMrs. Hoagland are consistent and 
active members of the Christian Church. In pol- 
itics Mr. Hoagland has alw.aysbeen a stanch Repub- . 
lican, and the probabilities are that he will so 
remain. 

Mr. Hoagland has a creditable military record, 
having enlisted in the army on the 16th of M.ay, 
1861, in the 4th Michigan Infantry, in which he 
was assigned to Company G, commanded by Capt. 
D. D. Marshall, of Tecuraseh. The regiment went 
to the front on the 20th of June, 1861, and partici- 
pated in nineteen general engagements. The 4th 
Regiment suffered severely during this term of 
service, and of the 1,040 men who enlisted in 1861, 
but 170 lived to return to their homes. Among 
the battles in which Mr. Hoagland participated are 
the following: Chancellorsville, Gaines' Mill, Mal- 
vern Hill, Yorktown, New Bridge and South 
Mountain. He was also in the second battle of 



•►■ 



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LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Bull Run, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, and many 
minor engagements. He escaped unhurt by tiie 
enem^f's missiles, and was honorably discharged at 
Detroit, Mich., in 18G4, at the expiration of his 
term of service. He now lives in the knowledge of 
having done his duty to his country in its hour of 
peril, and is thankful that he went through the 



s^RTHUR C. MANCHESTER. It lias been 
^lM well said that "Agriculture is the basis of a 

/Fli nation's strength, and from this springs its 
(^ prosperity." This is eminently true as re- 

gards the source of the strength and prosperity of 
Lenawee County, and among her intelligent agri- 
culturists is the man whose name stands at the head 
of this sketch, and who is a respected resident of 
Seneca Townsbip. 

Mr. Manchester is a native of Madison, Madison 
Co., N. Y., where his birth occurred Dec. 1, 1845, 
and is the son of James D. and Deborah (Church) 
Manchester, who were also natives of Madison. 
James D. Manchester was born May 14, 1806, and 
Mrs. Manchester Oct. 4, 1810. They first began 
their wedded life in their native county, where Mr. 
Manchester was a clothier by trade, and lived in 
different places in his native State engaged in that 
business. He first came to Michigan with his family 
in the year 1836, and settled in Seneca Township, 
where he took up 160 acres of land. After living 
here a year they returned to New York, and re- 
sided there for many years, but in 1866 Mr. Man- 
chester retired from his business, and returning 
with his family to Seneca Township settled on the 
land he had taken up thirty years before, and turned 
his attention to farming. Mr. and Mrs. Manchester 
continued to live in the pleasant home that they had 
built up by their thrift and industry until their 
death. Mrs. Manchester died Feb. 27, 1879, and 
Mr. Manchester Sept. 18, 1886. They were true 
and faithful citizens, and their death was a loss 
to the communit3\ They were the parents of two 
children: Julia C, who is the wife of P. F. Rich- 
mond, of Madison Township; and Artlnir C. 

The subject of this sketch grew to manhood in 



his native .State, where he was bred on a farm, and 
naturally turned his attention to agricultural pur- 
suits as his vocation in life. Li the spring of 1866 
he came to Lenawee County with his father, and 
engaged with him in farming on his land in Seneca 
Township until his death, when Arthur became the 
possessor of the farm which he had helped to im- 
improve. It is pleasantly located, and still consists 
of the 160 acres intact which his father took up 
over flftj' years ago. 

Mr. Manchester was Tnarried in 3Iodina Town- 
ship, Nov. 4, 1866, to Miss Emily, daughter of 
Aaron Jones. She was born in Dover Township, 
July 25, 1846, and is a lady of much culture, who 
before her marriage was engaged in teaching school. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Manchester have been born three 
children — Helen D., Frank and Julia. Helen is the 
wife of Fred Lewis, and the mother of one child, 
Arthur. 

iMr. and Mrs. Manchester are warmly regarded in 
social circles for their geniality and kindliness, and 
are members of Medina Grange. Mr. Manchester 
is a member of Evening Star Lodge No. 173, F. 
& A. M., of Medina, and in politics he is a Repub- 
lican. 

^'p^ORTON H. BAILEY, M. D., is a practicing 
I J/J P'^J''*'"^*^" "^ t''® city of Morenci, and, 
[1\,^) though only a young man, has already ac- 
quired an extensive practice, and is nmnbered 
among the substantial and respected citizens of this 
county. Dr. Bailey was born in Saline, Mich., April 
11, 1857, and settled in Morenci in January, 
1883. 

The parents of our subject were Peter H. and 
Jane A. (VVeatherwax) Bailey, who were natives of 
New York State. They were born in the Mohawk 
Valley, and there brought up their family of four 
children — three sons and one daughter — of whom 
Norton H. was the second in order of birth. He 
attended the common schools until ten years of age, 
and afterward entered school at Spring Harbor, 
Mich. Thence he went to Hillsdale College, and 
after some time spent in study in that institution he 
studied medicine with S. P. Town, M. D., of Jack- 
son, Mich., and remained with him about two and 



■•►-•--^ 



•p^m-M^- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



onc-h;ilf years. He then attendeil a course of 
lectures at Pulta Medical College, Cincinnati, Ohio, 
and at the end of eighteen months he established 
himself in the practice of his profession at Red 
Cloud, Neb., where he remained about one year. 
He then returned to the college at Cincinnati, and 
completing his course of study was graduated in 
the winter of 1879-S(I. lie thi'u engaged in the 
.practice of medicine at Concord, .Mich., where he 
remained about three years, and then aftci- spending 
a year in traveling he settled in .Moren.'i as above 
stated, where he has a large and growing practice. 

Our subject sustained the loss of his mother 
when he was but nine years of age, and was thus 
left without licr guiding (■.-ire during that period of 
life when a child is so susceptililc tn the tender in- 
fluences of a motlier's teaching. He was married 
in Jackson, Mich., Aug. 29, 1877, to Miss Ida Hard- 
ing, who was born in Ypsilanti. Mich. Xo Dr. 
and Mrs. Bailey have been liorn tun children: 
Florence and Bonella, the latter of vvlioni died wlien 
an interesting chikl three years old. 

Though only a young man Dr. Bailey, liy his ex- 
tensive course of study and travel, has lieconie well 
acquainted with the duties of his profession, and 
keeps well abreast of the .age in its inventions and 
discoveries relating to the healing art. In politics 
he gives his support to the Deniocratit- pai'ty. 



m' 



J'~] UDGK LEWIS SANFOKD, of Woodstock 
Township, is an old settler, one of the men 
I who have been instrumental in the develo[)- 
' ment of the township, a man of wealth and 
.'tauding, and concerned in most of its worthy en- 
terprises. He has served as Justice of the I'eace 
for a period of twenty-six years, during which time 
he has discharged the duties of the office with rare 
good judgment, and pursued the even tenor of his 
way with the earnest desire to dispense justice in an 
impartial manner, according to the best of his abil- 
ity.' His long residence in this section, and his 
qualities as a man and a citizen, have caused him to 
be regarded both with esteem and affection, and 
there have been few enterprises of note which have 
not enlisted his interest and his services in their 



development. He represented the township in the 
County Board of Supervisors four or five years, 
and in storm and sunshine has preserved his faith 
in Democracy, and given to it his hearty support 
now for over forty-seven years. He owns over GOO 
acres of some of the finest land in Southern Michi- 

Judge Siuifc.rd i-. a native of Erie County, N. Y., 
and was born near the town of Wales, April 14, 
1820. His father, Ezekiel Sanfoi'd, was born in 
Lebanon County, Pa., and died in Erie County, N. 
Y., in 1828, aged sixty-two years. The mother, 
Mrs. Susannah (Badger) Sanford, was a native of 
Connecticut, and after the death of her husband 
she came to this county with her .son Le«as. and 
died at his home in Woodstock Township, in June, 
1844, when sixty-six years old. Ezekiel Sanford 
was a cooper by trade, but also carried on farming. 
The family is of English descent, and of good old 
(Quaker stock. The paternal grandparents of our 
subject came from England, and spent the last years 
of their lives in New York. Ezekiel and Susannah 
Sanford were the parents of eight children, six sons 
and two daughters, of whom Lewis was the j^oung- 
est, and is the only survivor. 

Young Snnford continued in his native county 
with his mother until sixteen years of age, in the 
meantime receiving his education in the district 
school. In the spring of 1835 he set out for the 
Territory of Michigan, and worked out by the 
month for three years following. His first purchase 
t)f real estate was a half acre of ground which he 
secured in exchange for a gun. The early habits 
of industry and economy to which he had been 
carefuU}- reared .sei'vccl him well now, and about 
lh40 he was enabled to [lui-cliase with the money 
he had saved eighty- acres of wild land, from 
which he cleared ten acres tlie tirst year. The sec- 
ond year he had forty-five acres cleared, and now 
finding himself on the road to prosperity, he decided 
to share his lot with some good woman. His affec- 
tions were finally captured by Miss Delilah Wheaton, 
who was then a resident of Raisin Township, but 
who was born in Cayuga County, N. Y., Feb. 21, 
1824. Her parents, Egbert and Catherine (Jack- 
sou) Wheaton, were natives of Connecticut, whence 
they emigrated to Michigan in 1836. The father 

•► 



<^ 



1130 



HH* 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



took up eighty acres of Government land in Branch 
County, but never lived there. He settled first in 
Raisin Township, this county, whence he removed 
later to Adrian, and there spent the remainder of his 
days, his death taking place in August, 1840, at the 
age of fifty-seven years. The mother followed her 
husband in less than a month, dying also in August, 
and was fifty-three years old. Of their six children 
but three are now living: Betsey, who married C. 
Wheaton, a farmer of Franklin Township; Lydia 
R., the vvife of 11. Reed, a farmer of Lapeer County, 
this State, and Delilah. 

The household of our subject and his wife was 
brightened by the birth of nine children, all natives 
of Woodstock Township, and of whom we give the 
record as follows: The eldest, Adelaide A., was 
born June 28, 1844, and is the wife of Frank Pear- 
son, of Woodstock Township, and the mother of 
three sons; Lewis was born Oct. 15, 1847, and died 
Aug. 12, 1850; Adeline D. was born Sept. 15, 1851, 
and married George Lewis, who is operating a farm 
of his father-in-law; they have one child, a daugh- 
ter. Charles Wesley was born Sept. 27, 1853, and 
works with his father at home; he married Miss 
Agnes Bakewell, and they have two sons and one 
daughter; Mr. Bakewell is of English birth and 
descent, and is still living, a resident of Ingham 
County, and a minister of the Church of England. 
Elsie was born May 28, 1855, and is the wife of 
Charles D. Binns, who is working another farm of 
the Judge; they have a daughter. Ella A. was born 
Oct. 31, 1859, and is the wife of .James Lamb, and 
the mother of a son; they occupy a part of the 
Judge's land. Horace was born March 31, 1850, 
and died Sept. 22, 1850, when six months old; 
Lero3' was born July 1, 1866, and died March 25, 
1870, when four years of age; Ida M. was born 
Oct. 26, 1868, and died Nov. 3, 1885. 

The land owned by Judge Sanford is almost all 
imder good cultivation, with numerous houses and 
other buildings necessary for the successful prose- 
cution of general farming and stock-raising. To 
the latter industry he has given close attention, and 
is particularly fond of fine horses. Amid the ex- 
tensive private interests which have necessarily in- 
volved the outlay of much time and labor, Judge 
Sanford has interested himself in schools and 
■<^ 



churches, and for forty years has offlcated fre- 
quently in the puljiit, having been an ordained 
minister of the Congregational Church thirteen 
years. His children have been given a sensible 
and practical education, finishing at the High School 
in Addison, while Charles W. took a course in the 
commercial school at Adrian, and have already 
taken their position in life .is honored and respected 
members of the community. The works of such a 
man as Judge Sanford will remain a monument to 
his credit long after he shall have gone the way of 
all the earth. 



-^ ^-^ ^ 

11? ON. ALFRED D. HALL. There are few 
iT^y men in Lenawee County whose names will 
'^\Jy be held in more grateful remembrance than 
(^) that of the subject of this sketch. Mr. 
Hall came to this section of country shortly after 
reaching his majority, and since that time has been 
closely identified with its business and agricultural 
interests for over a period of thirty-four years. 
The main points in a life history unusually inter- 
esting are as follows: Mr. Hall was born in the 
town of Byron, Genesee Co., N. Y., Jan. 6, 1824, 
and is the son of Capt. Stephen P. Hall, a farmer 
by occupation, and a native of New London, Conn., 
where he was born Dec. 15, 1797. The paternal 
grandfather, Benjamin Hall, followed the sea in the 
West India trade during the winter, and in sum- 
mer superintended the operations of his farm in 
Connecticut. Later in life he removed with his 
family to Cooperstown, N. Y., and thence to 
Genesee County, of which he was one of the pio- 
neers, and where he spent his last days. 

Stephen P. Hall, the father of our subject, spent 
the early years of his life with his parents in Genesee 
County, N. Y., and was married June 1, 1822. In 
1845, with his family, he made his way to the 
young State of Michigan, settling on a tract of land 
near Albion, Calhoun County, where he built up a 
good homestead, and lived until his death, which 
occurred March 4, 1861. His wife, the mother of 
our subject, was in her girlhood Miss Clarissa, 
daughter of Andrew Dibble, of Genesee County, 
N. Y., and by her marriage with Stephen Hall 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



r 



there were born four sons and four daughters, all 
of whom lived to become men and women, Alfred 
D. being the eldest in the family. Mrs. Clarissa 
Hall was born May 4, 1801, in Delaware County, 
N. v., and is still living, malting her home with her 
daughter, Mrs. Frances J. Dean, in Reed City, 
Osceola County, this State. Mr. Hall's father served 
for many years as Justice of the Peace, and was for 
some time a Captain in the State militia. Me took 
a lively intcrot 1.1 cducati.iiKil :.ud icligi,.us mat- 
ters, and f..r ni.-uiy yc-irs before lii> dcnih was a 
Deacon in the Baptist Church. 

Our subject came with his father to this State, 
and purchased a tract of land adjoining that of his 
father in Calhoun County. Tiiis ho cleared from 
the heavy timber and occupied it until the winter 
of 1 Sr);)-.'>4, when he sold out and [inrchased his pres- 
ent homestead in Teeuiiiseh Township. Thisfarm is 
pleasantly located one and one-half miles northeast 
of the village, and the little family took possession 
in the spring of 1854. Mr. Hall early in life be- 
came a leading citizen, and filled various offices of 
trust and responsibility in Tecumseh Township. He 
had served as Justice of the Peace in Calhoun 
County, and after his removal to Tecumseh Towu- 
shi[) he was elected President and Treasurer of the 
Farmers' Mutual Fire Insurance Company, of which 
he was one of the original incorporators, and held 
the position for ten or twelve years. Subsequently 
he served as Secretary, and until a few years ago 
continued on the Board of Directors. He was Presi- 
dent of the Lenawee Agricultural Society five 
years, .and held the office of Supervisor six years, 
during one year of which he was Chairman of the 
board. 

Mr. Hallh.ad now .amiily distinguished himself as 
a man of more than ordiu.ary ability, and in the fall 
of 1876 he was elected a representative to the 
Michigan Legislature, and re-elected in 1878. Dur- 
ing his services at the capitol he served on various 
important committees, and introduced various 
measures which had a perceptible effect upon the 
matters under consideration. He did not aspire, 
however, to be a politician, and as soon as relieved 
from the cares of office, gladly returned to his farm- 
ing pursuits, and resolved to give to them his entire 
attention. He has now for a period of thirty-five 



years occupied the charming homestead which in- 
variable' attracts the eye of the jjassing traveler, as 
one of the most finely appointed farms in the north- 
eastern p.art of Lenawee County. The Hall home- 
stead includes 1.30 .acres of highly cultiv.ated land 
with handsome and substantial buildings, situated 
upon a slight elevation, and commanding an exten- 
sive view of the surrounding country. The soil is 
p.articularly adapted to the growing of grain, and 
the proprietor gives special attention to the breed- 
ing of high-grade cattle, while his horses and other 
live stock are of aqu.ality calculated to reflect credit 
upon the proprietor. The farm machinery is of the 
latest .and most approved pattern, and everything 
about the premises denotes the thorough and skilled 
agriculturist, in love with his calling and ambitious 
of the best results. 

Mr. Hall, while a resident of Calhoun County, 
this^State, was^^united in marriage, .Se|it. 'J, 18.)1, 
vvTth Miss Emily A. Todd, of Byron, N. Y., and 
they became the p.arents of two children: Daniel 
T., who w.as born^Miiy 15, 1852, and is now junior 
member of the firm of B.aker & Hall, of Tecumseh; 
and Sarah A., who w.as born Dec. 27, 1854, and 
married E. J. Stevenson, a prominent business man 
of Adrian, who died in 188.1, leaving his widow 
and two sons, George and Al red. Mrs. Stevenson 
afterward married Hon. William H. Wiggins, and 
continues her residence at Adrian. Mrs. Emily A. 
Hall dep.arted this life at her home in Tecumseh 
Township, Feb. 21, 18G2. 

The present wife of our subject, to whom he was 
married Feb. 15, 1865, was formerly Miss Engelina, 
daughter of Rudolph and Petronella Heesen, of 
Cleveland, Ohio, who were born in 1801. Of this 
union there were five children, the record being as 
follows: Frank H. was born July 22, 1866, and is 
completing his education in the Agricultural Col- 
lege at Lansing; George E. was born June 16, 1868, 
and died April 20, 1800; William K. was born M.ay 
15, 1870; Rachel N. M., Dec. 5, 1872,. and Emily E., 
P"eb. 15, 1875. The three youngest are at home 
with their parents. Mrs. Engelina Hall was born 
in Dinxperlo, Holland, April 19, 1838. Her parents 
were also natives of that country, whence they 
emigrated to America in 1844. and located in 
Cleveland, Ohio, where the mother died July 4, 



•►HP 



' ' 1132 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



^Ih 



1860. The father continued in Cleveland until a 
short time before his death, which occurred at the 
home of his daughter in Tecumseh, April 17, 1861. 
Our subject has been one of the most useful 
members of his community, and one interested in 
the various enterprises having for their object the 
general welfare of the people. No man has more 
warmly encouraged the establishment of religious 
and educational institutions, or lent, according to 
his means, more substantial aid. He has ofHciated 
as a Ruling Elder in the First Presbyterian Church 
of Tecumseh for a period of nearly twenty' j'ears, 
and is one of its chief pillars. He cast his first 
Presidential vote in 1847, and continued with the 
old Whig party until the organization of the Eepub- 
lican party, since which time he lias given his sup- 
port to Republican principles. 

(^RCHIBALD M. SICKLY was born in Mor- 
i ,#/| j ris County, N. J., Dec. 7, 1829. His par- 

jfr% ents were William and Sarah A. (Sutfin) 
1^ Sickly, also natives of New Jersey, and both 
born near Ilackettstown. The former was born in 
1801, and the latter in 1808. The father of our 
subject followed farming during his earl^' manhood 
in liis native State, removing in 1833 to Living- 
ston County, N. Y., where he purchased a farm and 
remained until 18.")0. During tiiat year he came to 
Michigan, the journey being made by team to 
Buffalo, thence bj' water to Monroe, and from there 
by team to his farm of 120 acres of land in Wood- 
stock Township, this county. This land has re- 
mained in the family since, and is now occupied by 
Archibald, of our sketch. Here William Sickly 
finished life's labor, passing away at the age of six- 
ty-six years. His estimable wife died in Somerset, 
Mich., June 5, 1887, aged seventy-nine. They 
were the parents of eleven children, three of whom 
died in childhood. The eldest, .John W., is now 
living in East Grovelaud, Livingston Co., N. Y. 
The next is Archibald, our subject, and the third 
Mary J., now Mrs. Turrell, of Somerset, Mich.; the 
fourth, Sarah A. Chapman, of Chico, Cal. ; then in 
the order are : Martin V., of Macon, this county ; 
Louisa Maria Babcock, of Leslie, Ingham Co., Mich. ; 



Lydia W. Lamb, of Blissfleld, Mich., and James 
Augustus, of Somerset. 

The Sickly family was originally from Holland, 
whence the grandfather of our subject emigrated 
during the Colonial days, and served as a soldier 
in the Revolutionary War. He had a brother 
who came with him, and served by his side during 
the struggle for American freedom. William Sickly 
was a life-long Democrat, and his son, our subject, 
is an active worker in the same party. 

Archibald M. Sickly after leaving the district 
school attended Temple Hill Seminary, at Genesoo, 
N. Y., and also at Lima Seminary, and at the age 
of twenty-one commenced teaching. In the fall 
of 1850 he went to New York City, where he re- 
mained during the winter, purchasing a lot and 
erecting a house thereon. He then sold out and re- 
turned to New Jersey, his native State, and took 
charge of the Milburn Academy, which he con- 
ducted for two years. He then came West on a 
visit to his father in Woodstock Township, remain- 
ing during the year. He decided to make this his 
permanent residence, and the year following pur- 
chased a tract of land in the same township. 

On the 31st of May, 1856, occurred one of the 
most important events in the life of our subject, 
namely, his marriage, which took place in this town- 
ship, his bride being Miss Sarah M. Clark, who was 
born in Detroit, May 14, 1833. Mrs. Sickly is the 
daughter of George W. and Mary (Osborn) Clark, 
who were of New England parentage. Mr. Clark 
came to Michigan in its pioneer days, about 1830, 
and died while a young man twenty-eight years 
old. July 3, 1836, leaving a wife and two children, 
Mrs. Sickly and a brother. The latter died in 
Woodstock Township at the age of thirty-one years. 
The mother of Mrs. Sickly was three times married. 
The second marriage was to Stephen Turrell, to 
whom she bore one child. Noble C, who is now 
deceased. Her third marriage was to Hiram 
Johnson, and to them there was born one child, Au- 
gusta D., who was graduated .at Ypsilanti, and is 
married to Prof. George Barnes ; they at present 
reside at Howell, Livingston Count}', where he has 
charge of the school. Mrs. Clark died in Wood- 
stock Township, on the 20th of May, 1872, at the 
age of fifty-six years. Both the maternal and 



■•►HI-* 



i 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1135 



patermil grandparents of Mrs. Sickly died when 
she was quite young. The latter were Zachariah 
B. and Lefa Clark, who spent their last years in 
one of the New England States. 

Mrs. Sickly was educated in the district school 
in Woodstock, and like her husband, developed 
into a teacher, following this profession some 
time before her marriage. They became the [mrents 
of ten children, but have been called to mourn 
the loss of three of these. Their eldest daughter, 
Nevada M., was born April 4, 1857, and married 
J. E. Phillips, of Ionia, this State; they have had 
two children, one of whom is deceased. John W. 
was born Nov. 29, 1858, and died Feb. 15, 1861; 
Mary E. was born Feb. 22, 1862, and is the 
wife of M. F. Turrell, of Sjiringville, where he 
is teacliing; they have one child, a daugh- 
ter. Charlotte E. was born Aug. 17, 1864, and 
died March 17 following; Fred. L. was born 
June 16, 1866, and after completing his studies 
at Brookljni, engaged as clerk in a store at Som- 
erset and is Postmaster at tliat place; Catherine 
M. was born Nov. 27, 1867. and makes her home 
with her parents; Bessie W. was born Se[)t. 22, 
1869, and has been a student of the IlighScliool in 
Brooklyn; Ernest was born April 15, 1.S72, and is 
at home with his parents; like his In'otiicrs and sis- 
ters he will receive a good education. Archibald 
M. was born Sept. 20, 1873, and died Ai)ril 2 1, 
1876; Theo was born June 2;i. 1875, and is a 
bright girl thirteen years old. 

Mr. and Mrs. Sickly after their marriage occu- 
pied a rented farm for two years, and Mr. Sickly 
employed his time during winter as a teacher. He 
then [turchased a farm in this township, which lie 
lived upon fourteen years, and then selling out pur- 
chased the interest of the heirs in the liome.stead, 
and added to it until he has now 135 acres of land, 
all fertile and well cultivated. The improvements 
are the result of the united labors of his honored 
father and himself. During his younger years Mr. 
Sickly traveled quite extensively .as agent for vari- 
ous business firms, and for eight years was agent of 
the Fairbanks Scale Company. He was also for 
some time connected with an insurance company. 
During tiie construction of the railroad running 
from Hillsdale to tiie city of Y[)silanti he was tie and 



bridge contractor for the distance of twelve miles. 
Mr. Sickly uniformly votes the Democratic ticket, 
.and has served as Supervisor, Township Clerk and 
Treasurer, and has also been School Inspector for a 
period of seventeen years. He was chosen as a can- 
didate for the Legislature in 1878, but defeated with 
the others of his ticket. He believes in temperance, 
but does not consider the prohibition policy the 
wisest measure to be adopted at present. 



AMUEL P. WHITMARSH, a prominent 
druggist and grocer of Palmyra, was born 
on the 8th of July, 1831, in Si)ringBeld. 
Mass. His father, De.acon Alvah Whit- 
m.arsh, was born in Cummington, Hampshire Co.. 
M.ass., in 1796, .and the grandfather was a farmer 
who spent the last years of his life in Cumming- 
ton. 

Deacdu Alvali Whituiarsh was reared to man. 
hood in his native town, and when a young man 
learned the trade of a carpenter and joiner, and 
worked in Springfield as a contractor and builder 
until 1834, when he removed to Brooklyn, N. Y., 
and carried on that business for two years. He 
then became a resident of Newbury, and while 
there built tiie Kef.irnied Church. In 1839 he 
removed to Ciild Springs, N. Y., and engaged at 
his trade until the fall of 1841, when he came 
west bj' the way of the Erie Canal and the Lakes to 
Chicago. There were no railro.ads running into 
Chicago at that time, liut he met a man from 
Bureau County, III., who was going back with a 
team, and acconqmnying him to Princeton, he soon 
afterward made a contriict for the erection of a 
court-house. This man was one of the original 
members of the Hampshire Cdlouy that settled 
Princeton about 1831. Alvah Wliitninrsh remained 
in Princeton eng.aged in the business of building, 
until his death in 1862, at the age of sixty -six years. 
During his life he w.as an Abolitionist, and his 
hatred of slavery w.as as deep seated as any con- 



a 



1136 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



scientious conviction he ever had. He was an 
associate and contemporary of Owen Lovejoy, the 
great Illinois Abolition leader, and was a Deacon 
in the church of wliich Mr. Lovejoy was the pastor. 
During the years which preceded the war that 
resulted in the extermination of slavery in this 
country, Deacon Whitmarsh's house was a depot on 
the underground railroad which carried many 
slaves to freedom. The mother of the subject of 
this sketch, whose maiden name was Naomi M. 
Clark, was born in Hampshire County, Mass., and 
she still lives in Princeton in the eighty-flfth year 
of her age. Deacon Whitmarsh was twice married, 
his first wife being Lyili;i Chuk, sister of his second 
wife. There were fiiiir chililicn as the result of 
each marriage. 

Samuel P. Whitmarsh was the eldest of the 
cliildren of the second family, and was ten years of 
age when his parents removed to Illinois; lie at- 
tended the school established at Princeton by the 
Hampshire Colony, and when a young man learned 
the trade of carpenter. In 1848 he paid liis first 
visit to Lenawee County, where during the winter 
of 1848-49 lie taught school, and tlien returned to 
Princeton, where he remained until 1852, when he 
started to California by the overland route. In 
making this trip with teams six months were con- 
sumed, and upon his arrival in California he worked 
at his trade of carpenter and millwright, and also 
mining and prospecting for gold. Eleven years of 
his life were spent in California and two years in 
the Mexican possessions and Lower California. 
Upon his return in 1865 he settled in Ohio, where 
he lived for two years, and then located in Palmyra 
Township, this county, where he now resides. Upon 
reaching Palmyra, he engaged at carpentering 
which he continued until 1871, vvlien he entered 
the drug and grocery business, in which he has 
since continued. 

In October, 1,S05, Samuel P. Wliitiiiarsli wag 
married to Mary Steele, who was born in Cayuga 
County, and was the daughter of Sohjmon and 
Laura (Downey) Steele. To them two children 
have been born — Rollin 11. and Olive. Being the 
son of a man who was thorouglily imbued with the 
ideas of liberty, and the equalit}' of man before the 
aw, it is little wonder that Mr. Whitmarsh was 

--<• : 



ripe to join a party which formulated the declara- 
tion of the principles on which Gen. John C. Free- 
mont was nominated as the candidate for the Presi- 
dency in 1 856, the year our subject cast his first 
vote. His loyalty to the Republican party has 
been constant ever since. 



bEVl B. FORD, one <if the substanti.il farmers 
) of Riga Township, has been very successful 
, , in life, and since starting out iu the world 

with a capital that did not e.xceed $200, has acquired 
wealth by his own indefatigable and well-directed 
toil. He was born amid tlie pleasant scenes of the 
old town of Cummington, Mass.. on the 19tli of 
March, 1836, and is the eldest son of Charles and 
Fidelia (Bates) P'ord. Tlie genealogy of the family, 
which has been most widely preserved tlirough sev- 
eral generations, is as follows : 

Hezekiah Ford (1st) was born in the year 1688 
in Abington, Plymouth Co., Mass., and was of 
Scotch parentage. He was married to Ruth Whit- 
marsh in the year 1712, and in the following year 
a son was born to them who was given the name 
of his father. The latter was one of tlie Selectmen 
of the town in 1720, and died in 1721. 

Hezekiah Ford (2d) was born in tlie year 1713 
in Abington, Mass., and was married to Deborah 
Beals in 1734. A son w.as born to them in 1735, 
who also received the name of his father. Part of 
the life of the latter was spent as a Lieutenant in 
the army. He removed from Abington to Cum- 
mington, Hampshire County, .lune 20, 1774, and 
died in 1775. 

Hezekiah Ford (3d) was born iu Abington, Mass.. 
in 1735, and was married iu 1759 to a Miss Fisher, 
They became the parents of four children, namely: 
Ilezeiviah (4th), who was born Dec. 29, 1759 ; Amos, 
who died childless, and two daughters, one of whom 
married late in life, and the other remained 
married ; they all lived to be very old. Hezekiah 



ah fi 



•► i ■^ - 



4^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1137 



(3(1) removed to Ciimmington, was in the French 
and Indian War, also in the war of the Revohition, 
participating in the battle of Ticonderoga. He 
made nails by hand from old hoop iron that he himself 
hauled from Albany, N. Y. He removed to Ciim- 
mington, June 20, 1774, and there his death oc- 
curred Fell. S, 18-2«. 

Hczekiah (4th) was born Dec. 29, l7r>U, in Al)iug- 
ton, Mass., and went with his father and grand- 
father to Cummiiigton. He also took some part in 
the Revolutionary' War. He was married to Hiilda 
Cobb Jan. 23, 1787, and the children born to this 
couple are recorded as follows: Ansel was born 
June 27, 1788, and died Dec. 21, 1858;Darius and 
Cyrus (twins) were born May 16, 1790; the former 
died April C, 1859, and the latter April 13, 1864. 
Otis was born March 22, 1703, and died Oct. 2, 
1795; Hannal was born Nov. 2, 1796, and lived less 
than a day; Delia was born Feb. 22, 1798, and died 
July 3 following; Otis was born April 26, 1799, 
and died Aug. 28, 1801; Itoxy was born Oct 9, 
1802, and died Augfist 18, year not known: Lewis 
was born Feb. 20, 1806. The father lived in Ciim- 
mington until Oct. 3, 1842, at which time he re- 
moved to Cleveland, Ohio, to live with his son 
Cyrus, who supported him during the remainder of 
his life. He was a man of limited education, but 
good common sense enabled him to make good use 
of what he knew; he died at East Cleveland, Dec. 
19, 1848. 

Ansel Ford, the lirst son of Hezekiah (4th) was 
born June 27, 1788, in Cumniington, Mass., and 
lived with his father until his marriage with Deborah 
Tower, June 7, 1807. Having nothing for the sup- 
port of a family but his own earnings, he worked 
mostly at carpentering and was handy at almost 
anything that offered itself. He soon had a large 
family to support, and his efforts to save anything 
from his daily labors were discouraging. The chil- 
dren born to him are recorded as follows: Deborah 
was born Aug. 15, 1807, and lived only until the 
following day; Charles was born Jan. 22, 1809, and 
is still living; Hosea was born April 4, 1810, and 
died Oct. 27,1 .S67; Otis was born Jan. 5, 1812, and 
died J:ui. 2, 1S.S6; Amos was burn Dec. 6, 1813, 
and died July 28, 1.S77; Lucius was born Nov. 9, 
1815, and is still living; Almina was born March 



-ll-t.- 



II, 1817, and died Sept. 1, 1846; Franklin was born 
March 7, 1819, and died in August, 1821; Cyrus 
w.as born March 18, I.slM. and died Aug. 24, 1868; 
Anna was born Nov. 27, 1824, and died Feb. 27, 
1886; Delia was born April 29, 1827, and is still 
living; Darius was born in May, 1829, and died upon 
the same day; Franklin was born Dec. 4, 1831, and is 
still living. Ansel Ford resided most of the time 
during his 3'ounger manhood at Williamstown and 
Cumniington, but observing the tide of time was 
carrying many energetic people westward to build 
up new homes in a cduntiv uliiih had heretofore 
been uninhabited by white men, he started west 
with his wife and younger children in the hope of 
gaining the independence which nature and well- 
being demands. Coming first to where Toledo 
now stands, and thence to Gorham Township, Ful- 
ton Co., Ohio, he arrived theie in the spring of 
1841 with only $6 in money. He purchased 120 
acres of land, from which he soon began to realize 
the hopes of his ambition, and before his death, 
Dec. 21, 1858, he had his farm in good shape for cul- 
tivation, and had erected convenient and substantial 
buildings. He was a believer in Spiritualism, and 
the last few years of his life possessed the power 
of a medium. His wife was born July 16, 1786, and 
lived a number of years after his decease. She 
departed this life Aug. 1, 1869. 

Charles Ford, first son of Ansel Ford, w.as born 
Jan. 22, 1809, in Cummiugton, Mass., and as soon 
as old enough he began working out by the day and 
month. One season he labored at $10 per month, 
and worked at quarrying stone at Ft. Lee, to build 
the Delaware breakwater near New York City, for 
fifty cents per day. He thus continued until his 
marriage to Fidelia Bates, a lady of his own town, 
their wedding occurring on the 20th of May, 1835. 
Their children were : Levi B., who was born March 
19, 1836; George F., March 2, 1838; Eugene F., 
April 5, 1841; Lucius L., Oct. 24, 1843; Lovina 
B., Oct. 31, 1848; Charles D. was born July 24, 
1853, and died May 23, 1854, and Ellen M. was 
born May 8, 1858. The father supported his 
family by farming and making scythe snaths. His 
father having removed to the West, Charles sold 
his property, and with his family and $2,600 in 
money, joined his parent in Ohio in the fall of 



1138 



LIVINGSTON COUNTY. 



1850. Toward the following spring he purchased 
310 acres of land in Richfield Township, Lucas 
County, which has since been his home; he has im- 
proved a good farm and always superintended its 
operations. He charged his wife after they were 
married to be saving and economical in her man- 
agement, saying that he would rather do without 
some things than to be compelled always to work 
by the day to support his family. He cared very 
little about line clothes and his personal appearance, 
being better satisfied to have the money in liis 
pocket with which he could buy a horse, than to 
have a horse for which he was owing. These prin- 
ciples followed out by himself and his estimable 
partner resulted in the accumulation of a fine 
property, upon which he pays the largest tax of 
any man in his township. He is hale and active, 
and in the enjoyment of a vigorous old age. The 
mother, who was born July 4, 1813, died on the 
21st of May, 1879. 

There are certain principles consecrated by the 
family, and among these are industry, economy, and 
the practice of immediately paying for what they 
buy, thus Iveeping their expenses within their in- 
come. There is always an endeavor to impress 
upon the minds of the younger members of the 
family the importance of these principles to a suc- 
cessful life, 

Levi B. Ford, the subject of this biography, at- 
tended the district school quite regularly in his 
native town, until the removal in 1849 of his 
parents to Windsor, Vt., where his father was em- 
ployed as Superintendent of the State Prison. In 
the following year they removed to Lucas County, 
Ohio, going via Krie Canal and lake to Toledo. 
Before settling down the family paid a visit 
to the grandparents of our subject, going by rail- 
way to Adrian, and thence to Fulton; at that time 
wooden rails were used, and the trains moved very 
slowly. Our subject grew to manhood in the home 
of his parents in Lucas County, remaining with 
them until he was twenty-two years old. He first 
started out in life as a farm hand, working by the 
month, and was employed in that capacity by his 
uncle, Lucius Ford, now living in Fulton County. 
At the end of three years he returned to Lucas 
County and worked for his father the next year. 



On the 12th of April, 18G3, occurred the marriage 
of our subject to Nancy Lenardson, who was born 
in Lucas County, Ohio, June 17, 1834. Her 
paternal grandfather was a pioneer of Montgomery 
County, N. Y., where he was occupied in farming 
until his removal to Lucas County, Ohio, where he 
bought a farm near Sylvania, on which he lived un- 
til his death. The father of Mrs. Ford, James 
Lenardson, grew to manhood in New York, and 
when a young man went to Ohio, where he was 
married in Whiteford Township, Lucas County, to 
Hannah Dean, also a native of New Y'ork State; 
they were the first couple ever married in that 
township. Her father, James Dean, was a native 
of Ireland; he was impressed into the British serv- 
ice, but succeeded in making his escape to Amer- 
ica, and first settled in New Y'ork State, where 
he lived for a time, and then removed to Monroe 
County, Mich., where he died. 

After mai-riage Mr. and Mrs. Lenardson returned 
tu their native State, and resided there for a time, 
and then returned to Lucas County, Ohio, where 
they lived until about 1843. Mr. Lenardson then 
traded forty acres of land in Lucas County for IGO 
acres, heavily timbered, in Bridgewater Township, 
Williams Countjs where he built a log house and 
commenced the improvement of his farm. In 1852 
he sold out and returned to Lucas County, where 
he bought a farm in Richfield Township, and there 
spent the remainder of his life; his wife also died in 
that county. 

In 18G3 Mr. and Mrs. Ford settled on their farm 
in Riga Township, whicli has ever since been their 
place of residence, and here their united industry, 
wise economy and judicious expenditure, have re- 
sulted in a beautiful home, replete with the con- 
veniences of modern life. When Mr. Ford purchased 
his farm it was heavily timbered, and he first had 
to cut away the trees to make room for the roomy 
log house that he soon after erected. He then 
entered upon the labor of clearing the land and 
preparing it for cultivation. The area of his pres- 
ent farm is 220 acres, eighty acres of which are in 
timber, and the remainder improved and highly 
productive. He has three commodious barns, con- 
veniently arranged, and his farm is well stocked ; he 
also has all the modern farm implements. In 1877 



I 



:-^H 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1139 



he erected a large and substantial brick bouse of 
modern style of architecture, and has it well fur- 
nished. 

To iSIr. and Mrs. Ford liave been born four 
children, as follows: Dorranee was born Jan. 23, 
ISSti-l:; James B. was born March 16, 1867, and died 
Aug. 25, 1870; Jay L. was born June 4, 1871, and 
Ivey L.. Dec. l'2, l.s7.s. Mr. and Mrs. F. occupy a 
high soci:il |"isiii(,]i in the community'. Our sub- 
ject is a man of more tlian ordinary ability, one 
among these to whom the present position of Len- 
awee County is largely due. In politics he has 
always been a Rejjublic.Tu. Throe i>f liis brothers — 
George, Eugene and Lucius — and three brothers of 
Mrs. Ford — Hezekiah, Levi and John — served in 
the Union army during the late Rebellion. The 
I^'ord homestead, as will be seen bj' the view pre- 
sented, combines one of the most finely improved 
farms in the southern part of the county, and Levi 
r.. foi- ninny years has been the largest tax-payer 
in L'iga Township. 



RA IIOLLOWAY, formerly ;i resident of Og- 
den Township, was born in the town of Covert, 
Seneca Co., N. Y., Sept. 15, I. si 2. His father, 
Benjamin tlolloway, was a resident of St. Lawrence 
County, N. Y., and removed from there to Seneca 
County during its early settlement. He bought 
laud and cleared a farm, on which he lived until 
1834, when, accompanied by his family, he removed 
to Ohio, traveling thither via tiie Erie Canal and 
lake. He located in Peru Township, Huron 
County, where he bought a tract of land, and im- 
proving a farm spent the last da3's of his life in 
that county with his children. 

The subject of this sketch was reared in his na- 
tive county, receiving a good education in the 
public schools, and at the early age of sixteen he 
commenced teaching, continuing the vocation in 
winter after removing to Ohio with his parents, 
but turning his attention to farming during sum- 
mer. He engaged in teaching and farming alter- 
nately for a number of years and was very .suc- 
cessful .as an instructor. After his marriage he 
bought a farm in Norwich Township, Huron County, 



m-4» 



and then became engaged exclusively in agricult- 
ural pursuits. At the end of six years he disposed 
(if his property there and bought his father's farm 
in Peru Township, on which he lived until 1882, 
when he came toOgden Township and resided on his 
farm on section 5 until his death, Sept. 3, 1887. He 
had been the owner of this farm a number of years 
prior to his settlement, and had spent part of his 
time here superintending its improvement. He was 
a man of well-known ability, and was a good citi- 
zen in every sense of the word. During his long 
term of residence in Peru Township, Ohio, he held 
many utlices of trust in the township and was influ- 
ential in town affairs. He had agood knowledge of 
law, and though never admitted to the bar he was 
considered a wise and safe counselor. His mar- 
riage with Miss Achsah Boughton occurred Oct. 15, 
1837. 

Mrs. Ira Hollow.ay was born in Grafton, Lorain 
Co., Ohio, Feb. 10,1820, and now occupies the 
homestead in Ogden Township. To her unceasing- 
care and helpfulness her husband was much in- 
debted for the success that he attained. She is the 
mother of ten children, recorded as follows: Louisa 
Adams and Emeline McFarland live in Buffalo 
County, Neb. ; Caroline Gribbin lives in Appanoose 
County, Iowa : James lives in Fairfield Township, this 
county; Chester lives in Buffalo County, Neb.; Al- 
mena Tilson lives in Eaton Countj-, Mich.; Horace 
lives on the hometead with his mother, in Ogden 
Township; Cal C. lives in Buffalo County, Neb.; 
Hattie Hambrook lives in Palmyra Township, and 
Elmer E. lives in San Luis, Obispo Co., Cal. 

Mrs. HoUoway's father, Guy C. Boughton, was 
born in Stockbridge, Berkshire Co., Mass., and his 
father, Nathan Boughton, removed from Massa- 
chusetts to Ohio about the year 1818, the entire 
journey being made with ox-teams. He was forty 
days on the road through the wilderness of West- 
ern New York and settled in Lorain Count}', Ohio, 
buying a large tract of land which he afterward 
gave to his children, with whom he spent his last 
days. Guy C'. Boughton grew to manhood in Mas- 
sachusetts, and acccompanying his parents to Ohio, 
.soon after married Harriet Sprague, a native of 
Vermont, and daughter of David and Mary (Jones) 
Sprague. After his marriage Mr. Boughton set- 



1140 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



tied on a tract of timber land and built a log 
house, in which Mrs. Holloway was afterward 
born. He lived there uutil 1854, then sold that 
farm and bought a farm in Norwich Township, where 
he died in 1854. His wife survived him many 
years, dying in Huron County in 1885. 

Horace Holloway, who carries on tiie homestead 
farm, was born in Peru Township, Huron Co., Ohio, 
Feb. 27, 1850, and attended the district school 
during his boyhood, in the meantime assisting in 
the farm work. He had a great desire to be- 
come a soldier, but was too J'oung during the war, 
though finally, at the age of sixteen, he was en- 
rolled as a member of the regular army of the 
United States, March 26, 1866. He served tiiree 
years as a member of Conijiany H, 22d Regular 
United States Infantry, the greater part of tiie time 
in the Territories of Dakota and Wyoming. After 
his discharge from the army, he resumed his farm 
labors in Ohio for two years, and then bought land 
in the northern part of this State, and lived on it 
three years, after which he came to Ogden Town- 
ship and has been a resident here ever since. 

Horace Holloway was married, July 12, 1876, to 
Miss Maria Maloney, a native of Palmyra Town- 
ship, in this county, and the daughter of Edward 
and Sarah Maloney, natives of New York, and 
pioneers of Lenawee County. To Mi-, and Mrs. 
Holloway have been born five children — Bertha, 
Bessie, Urban, Irvin and Blanchie. Mr. Holloway 
is a man of the same ability and industrious habits 
that characterized his parents, and he has been 
quite successful in his chosen career as a farmer. 



JOHN T. MEAD. In the decade that fol- 
lowed the year 1 830 there was a large exodus 
of the people of York State to Michigan, 
attracted hither by the reports of the great 
agricultural resources of the country. Among 
these emigrants were .John and Anna (Tenbrook) 
Mead, with their children, who came to Lenawee 
County in June, 1836, and in the fall of that year 
located on land in Fairfield Township, thus being 
among its early settlers. They were worthy people 
of industrious and frugal habits, making them 



-4•- 



valued citizens in the young settlement. In the 
life of toil and struggle that succeeded this early 
settlement on unbroken land, they received the 
cheerful assistance of their children, whom they had 
early trained to habits of usefulness; nor did they 
neglect their mental improvement, but contrived to 
give them such an education as was afforded by the 
common schools. There were seven of these chil- 
dren, all born before their removal from New York, 
and all lived to maturity : Elizabeth, Allie, Peter, 
Ezra, John T., Garrett T. and Lewis. Mr. and 
Mrs. Mead resided in Fairfield Township until their 
death, his occurring in 1872 and hei's in 1851. 

John T. Mead was the fifth in order of birth of 
the children born to his parents, his birth occurring 
Oct. 22, 1827, in Tioga County, N. Y., and he was 
cousequently about nine years old when he came 
with his parents to Lenawee County. He received 
the same good training that was accorded to his 
brothers and sisters, and being reared on a farm he 
acquired a taste .and aptitude for farming, which 
vocation he chose for his life-work. He married, 
April 22, 1852, in Fairfield Township, Miss Eliza- 
beth H., daughter of Davis D. and Melinda (Haga- 
man) Bennett. Mrs. Mead was the eldest of ten 
children, and was born in Adrian, Lenawee County, 
Oct. 27, 1830. She was well educated, and before 
her marriage successfully engaged in teaching for 
several terms. 

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Mead lived 
in Ohio for nine years, until 1861, and then re- 
turned to Fairfield, where they have since resided. 
Here Mr. Mead owns a fine farm of 120 acres on 
section 6, whose productive soil has well repaid his 
careful culture. He has erected convenient farm 
buildings, and has ample means for carrying on 
farming successfully. Three children have been 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Mead, namely: Frances E., 
Carrie E. and Charles S. Frances died when she 
was about two years old ; Carrie is the widow of 
Francis E. Quick, who was a son of Cornelius 
Quick, and died in Fairfield Township in June, 
1883; she has two children — Mabel J. and Frances 
H. Charles married Miss Belle Holden, and they 
reside in Kansas. 

Mr, and Mrs. Mead are much honored in the 
community in which they live for their many good 



^ 



Ih-^^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1141 ') 



qualities. Mr. Mead is a man of much tact and 
ability, and has served in some of tiie minor offices 
of the township. Political!'' he is a Democrat, 
voting with the members of that party and advo- 
cating its principles as time and (jccasiun offer. 

/ypv>Ll\'KU C. .M(LOrTll, prominent in church 
11 jj and temperance worli, and all other euter- 
^^7 prises having foi' their object the general 
welfare of the people, was born in Rollin Township, 
Lenawee County, Jan. 20, 1847, and grew to man's 
estate at his father's homestead. John McLouth, 
the father of our suliject, a native of Wayne 
County, N. Y., came to Michigan before it had 
been admitted into the Union .as a State. He took 
u|) a tract of land in Hillsdale Count}', of which 
he has since continued a resident, and occni)ies the 
farm which he redeemed from the wilderness. 

Oliver C. McLonth took kindly to his books and 
made tlii' ni().>l of his opportunities when a boy at 
school, becoming a teacher at an early age, and con- 
tinning the profession si.v terms before his marriage. 
This latter interesting event occurred in October, 
1<S72, the maiden of his choice being Miss Mary 
C, daughter of William and Rachel Beal. Mrs. 
McLouth was born in this county, Oct. 27, 1848, 
to which her father h.ad come in 1831, being one of 
its earliest settlers. The young people commenced 
life together in a small house in Rollin Township, 
and in 1873 onr subject purchased his present home- 
stead. This comprises seventy acres of land upon 
which he has effected good improvements, and put 
up the present house in 1882. Their oldest child, 
DeWitt, was born at the homestead, Nov. 24, 187o, 
and is now a bright lad of twelve years attending 
school at Addison; Florence was born Dec. (5, 1884. 

The wife of our subject attended Raisin Yalley 
Seminary in 18G1, and subsequently engaged in 
teaching. She is a lady of more than ordinary in- 
telligence and considerable literary ability, having 
been correspondent of the Rural Nerv Yorker for 
some time. Like her husband, she is warmly inter- 
ested in the success of the temperance movement, 
and for some time has lieen an officer of the 
Women's Christian Temperance Union. Mr. Mc- 



Louth politically is a strong Republican, although 
at the local elections he votes for tlie best man, 
irrespective of party. 

The Beal family was represented in this county 
at an early day, when Indians were plentiful and 
often made friendly calls, asking for something to 
eat ; they seemed to relish bread more than any- 
other kind of food. Joseph Beal, an uncle of 
Mrs. McLouth, is the oldest resident in the town of 
Rollin, where he took up his abode over fifty years 
ago. He was active and enterprising, and foremost 
in the establishment of schools and churches, con- 
ti'ibnting of his [irivate means liberally to those 
enter|)rises tending to the best intcrcst> of the 
community. 



J^ ACOli MITCIIKLL, of the lirm of Mitchell 
i^' Son, paper manufacturers of Palmyra, is 
one of the most diligent, as well as success- 
ful, business men of Lenawee County, and 
has done much to build up the manufacturing in- 
terests of the town in which he resides. He has 
also contributed largely to beautifying Palmyra, by 
the erection of a splendid residence, which is pat- 
terned after the most modern style of architecture, 
and its appointments include all the conveniences 
necessary for comfort and sanitary purposes. 

Mr. Mitchell w.as born on the banks of the River 

Moselle, in the Province of Rhenish Prussia, on 

the 20th of November, 1836, and his father, Franz 

Joseph Mitchell, was born in the same locality, and 

is of Frencii ancestry. He learned the trade of a 

tailor, and carried on that business until 1845, when 

he set sail from Antwerp for America, accompanied 

b}' his wife and five children, and after a tedious 

voyage of twelve weeks they landed safely at New 

York City. He went directly to Milwaukee, and 

] there worked at his trade until the breaking out of 

I the war, when his sons enlisted in the army and he 

i went to Peoria, at which place his daughter resided, 

and died there in 1866, at the age of sixty -six 

1 years. Our subject's mother lived in Peoria, in 

] comparatively good health, at the age of eighty- 

! eight years. To the parents were born seven 

1 children, as follows : Anna Maria married Charles 



■?►::*•-"* 



4- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



T 



Fox, and lives in Peoria; Jacob Is our subject; Kale 
married Prof. William Walter, and lives in Mil- 
waukee; Mary married Henry Moenighoff, and 
lives in Peoria; Leonard lives in Monroe, Mich., 
where he is interested in a paper-mill; Eliza married 
AVilliam Faber, and lives in Peoria; Andrew lives 
in Monroe, and is interested in a paper-mill there. 

Our subject is the eldest of the children, and was 
nine j'ears of .age when he came to America with 
his parents. He attended the public schools in the 
city of IMilwaukee, and resided at home with his 
parents until he was sixteen years of age, at which 
time he began learning his trade of paper-making 
in a mill near Milwaukee. When he was seventeen 
years of .nge he left Milwaukee, and going to Illi- 
nois worked in paper-mills at various places, and 
among others, in the first mill built in Illinois, at 
St. Charles. After remaining in Illinois for three 
years he went to Appleton, Wis., where he engaged 
one year in the mill business, and then returned to 
Illinois and continued the business at Geneva, St. 
Charles and Clintonville. From there he returned 
to Appleton, Wis., and thence to Milwaukee, where 
he remained until 18C2, and then removed to 
Monroe, Mich. He bought a mill iu the latter 
place one year later, which he sold to his son, who 
now operates it. In 1871 ho went to Tecumsehand 
purchased an interest in the paper-mill there, which 
he disposed of at the end of one and one-half years, 
and then went to Adrian and had charge of the build- 
ing of a paper-mill there. In 1874 he began building 
the mill which he now owns and operates, and which 
was completed and in running order within a year 
from its commencement. His brother Leon.ard was 
interested with him at that time, but in 1880 he pur- 
chased his brother's interest, and in 1883 he ad- 
mitted his son Leonard E. as a partner. In 1 882 
he erected a commodious frame house as a place of 
residence, which is built after the modern style of 
architecture, and elegantly as well as comfortably 
furnished throughout, and is pleasantly surrounded. 

In October, 1856, Mr. Mitchell was married to 
Miss Anna Maria Lite, who was born in Erie County 
Ohio, on the 1st of February, 1838, and is the 
daughter of Peter and Christine Lite, who were 
natives of Bavaria, Germany. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Mitchell seven children have been boru, whose 



names are: Charles, who lives in Monroe; Albert, 
who lives in Adrian; Leonard and Henry, living 
in Palmyra; Jacob and Ella, students in Adrian, 
and Clara, who is at home. Mrs. Mitchell is a 
member in good standing of the Methodist Episco- 
pal Church, to which she is much devoted. Mr. 
Mitchell, believing in the progressive principles of 
the Republican party, early attached himself to that 
organization and has since remained witli it. In 
his social intercourse with men he is pleasant and 
affable, and iu his business relations prompt and 
reliable. The business in which he is engaged is 
one of the most important industries of the country, 
as the products of the iiaper-mill enter so largely 
into the consumption of the country. In this he 
has been signally successful, as might have been 
expected, for besides a natural aptness for business 
he practically understands all the details of j^aper- 
making. He was Postmaster four years while 
living in Monroe County, holding oflice under part 
of the administration of Mr. Lincoln. 



J' OSEPH B. ROBINSON, who has spent his 
entire life in this county, is the son of one of 
its earliest and most honored pioneers. His 
father, Richard Robinson, a native of York- 
shire, England, was reared to agricultural pursuits 
in his native county. In 1834 he came to the 
United States and located first in Ogden, N. Y., 
where he carried on butchering and farming, but 
the following year removed to the vicinity of 
Springville, this State, and took up foity acres of 
Government land. After making some improve- 
ments he sold out and purchased eighty acres in 
Rome Township, upon which his son, our subject, 
now resides. 

Richard Robinson was a man of more than or- 
dinary ability, and became prominent in the affairs 
of his township, which he largelj- assisted in build- 
ing up, and gave his uniform encouragement to those 
enterprises tending to result in the best good to the 
people. His wife, Susanna, the mother of our sub- 
ject, was the daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth 
Smith, and was born in East Kent, near Dover, En- 
gland, July 25, 1817. She came with her parents 



■•► 



^ 




'^. fS^ 



u 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1145 



-i 



to America in 1S:37. and they at once located in 
this comity, her father following the trade of a 
shoemaker, which he had learned in his native land. 
They spent their last years in Cambridge Township, 
and both died at abont the age of seventj'-flve 
years. Richard Robinson departed this life at his 
home in Rome Township, May 30, 1869. He was 
a good man in tlie broadest sense of the term. He 
was a Democrat, politically, and in politics, as in 
the other relations of life, pursued the course which 
commended itself to his judgment as the nearest ap- 
proach to the right. He is remembered by bis family 
as a considerate husband and father, and by his 
neighbors and fellow-townsmen as an exemplary 
member of the community. The mother is still liv- 
ing, and occupies the homestead left her by her hus- 
band, and which is to bo under her control during 

The Miolhcr of our suliject was one of a family of 
nine children, three lioys and six girls, and her 
union with Mr. Robinson resulted in the birth 
of si.x children, as follows: Agnes Matilda was born 
May 1, 1841, and acquiring a good education, en- 
gaged as a teacher in the district school; she be- 
came the wife of Charles K. Potter, and the mother 
of a son and daughter, when her death took place 
at her home in Rollin Townsliip, .Inly 10, 1885. 
William H. was born Oct. 17, 1842, and mru'ried 
Miss Caroline Baker; they are the parents of two 
sons and two daughters, and reside in Rollin Town- 
ship. Richard A. was born July 9, 1844, and dur- 
ing the late war enlisted in the 11th Michigan 
Cavalry: bodied in the hos[)ital at Mt. Sterling, 
Jan. 21, 18115. Susannah E. was born Dec. 25, 
1850, and died Aug. 8, 1852; Joseph B., of our 
sketch, was the next in order of birth; Dora B. was 
born Aug. 5, 1860, and remains at home with her 
mother. The children were .all given the advan- 
tages of a good education, and the Ijoys were 
engaged in farming. 

The marriage of Joseph 1!. Roliinson and Miss 
Nellie Kane was celebrated at tlie home of the bride 
in Woodstock Township, Nov. 5, 1 885. Mrs. R. is 
the daughter of Wilson H. and Betsey (Wilsey) 
Kane, who were natives of New York and Ohio re- 
spectively, and are now in Woodstock Township; 
Mrs. Robinson was born in October, 1865. The 
-^ 



Robinson family are regular attendants of the Bap- 
j tist Church, and Joseph B. for many years has been 
warmly interested in temperance work, and votes 
with the Prohibitionists. 



I 



dLLIAM PlLliEAM. The well-spent life 
if this valued citizen of Ridgeway Town- 
ihii) has boon passed mostly in this county, 
to which he came when a young man. having trav- 
ersed many miles in order to secure a permanent 
abiding-place and a section of country' where he 
would receive a satisfactory reward for his labors. 
Mr. Pilbeam is now comfortably located in a pleas- 
ant home in Ridgeway Township, where he has a 
small tract of land with a group of neat buildings, 
while across the line in Macon Township he h.as a 
fine farm of 200 acres, well improved, with a taste- 
ful and substantial farm dwelling and all otht'r con- 
veniences required in the management of a country 
estate. 

Our subject, like many of the early pioneers of 
Southern Michigan, is a. native of England, and 
was born in the counly of Kont. May 11, I SI 2. 
He grew In umuUnn,] upon his u.mUvo scil. and 
when twenty- years of ago In; set sail for the United 
States, landing in New York City and proceeding 
directly westward to this county. lie took up his 
abode in Ridgeway Township, where he has since 
resided, and in 1852 purchased the property in Ma- 
con Township, which he re<leemed from a wild state. 

Mr. Pilbeam started out in life dependent upon 
his own resources, being the recipient of no legacy, 
and earning his bread by the sweat of his brow. 
His earlj' years of jjcrsevering labor were in due 
time amply rewarded, as he has now a fine property 
and a snug bank account. He came to Michigan 
with a cash capital of twenty-five cents, and consid- 
ering his present condition financially, it is hardly 
necessary to sa}' that he has improved his time and 
opportunities to good advantage. Mr. Pilbeam was 
married in December, 1842, in Ridgeway Township, 
to Miss Hannah Hause, who was born near the city 
of Rochester, N. Y., in 1826, and came to Michi- 
gan with her father. Sanford Hause, wlieu a young- 
woman. Of her union with our subject there were 



j^ M ^j 



•►Hl-^ 



1146 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



born sixteen children, of whom four are deceased. 
Mrs. Hannah Pilbeam departed this life at the 
homestead in Macon Township, in the spring of 
1860. 

Mr. Pilbeam contracted a second marriage, with 
Mrs. Betsey (Hitchings) Doriell, one of his own 
countrywomen, who was born April 16, 1828, and 
came to America with her father, Joseph Hitchings, 
when fourteen years of age. They located in Milan 
Township, Monroe County, this State, where the 
father died about 1857, aged sixty-eight years. The 
mother, whose maiden name was Mary A. Rogers, 
died in Macon Township at the age of fifty-two 
years. They were of pure English ancestry who 
principally followed agriculture. Mr. Hitchings, 
during the early years of his life, was engaged as a 
silver plater. 

Mrs. Pilbeam was first married, in Milan Town- 
ship, to William Doriell. He was born in Milan 
Township, Monroe Co., Mich., in 1822, and died 
there in 1859, leaving his widow with four chil- 
dren. The mother kept her little ones together, 
rearing them at home and giving them a good cdu- 
cati<m. They are all living and making their liome 
in this State. By his later marriage Mr. Pilbeam 
became the father of four children, one of whcnn 
is deceased, and one, Minnie, is at home with her 
parents. 

Mr. and Mrs. Pill)eam were formerly members of 
the Christian Church. Our subject is warmly in- 
terested in the temperance movement and in 1884 
allied himself with the Prohibitionists. He has 
held some of tiie minor oflices of his township, and 
in all the relations of life he has acquitted himself 
in a creditable manner, being now one of the most 
highly esteemed citizens in his community. As a 
good representative pioneer who has "borne the 
burden and hoat of the day," we are pleased to place 
in connection with this sketch a portrair, of Mr. 
Pilbeam. 



(11 l»;ILLIAM WOOD, of Rome Township, is ac- 

mJ/i '"■''^''^'^'^ "''^'' •'-'^^''"s '''"i't »P »"e of the 

W^ finest homes in this part of the county. His 

farm embraces a quarter section of land, and upon 

it he has erected handsome and substantial modern 



buildings, including a fine residence and the other 
structures required by the progressive and intelli- 
gent agriculturist. In addition to the cultivation 
of the soil, Mr. Wood is giving considerable atten- 
tion to stock-raising, making a specialty of thor- 
oughbred sheep, principally Spanish Merino. 

Mr. Wood was born in Onondaga County, N. Y., 
June 21, 1826, and came to this section of countrj' 
when he was eight years of age. In the month of 
October, 1847, he was married, and shortly after- 
ward the young couple settled upon forty acres 
of land in Rome Township, which had been pre- 
sented to William by his father. This he cultivated 
with care, and like the man in Scripture who made 
good use of his talent an<l added to it, young Wood 
in time was enabled to add to his estate by the pur- 
chase of 120 acres. He occupied with his family a 
log house until about 1870, and then |)ut up the 
l)resent fine residence at a cost of over 13,000. 
There is a good orchard on the place, and this, with 
the fine fruit and shade trees, and the farm stock 
and machinery, adds to the general air of thrift and 
comfort which pervades the premises. Mr. Wood's 
flock of sheep includes 200 head, a number of them 
registered animals. This industry is the source of 
a halidsome income, as he sells quite a number each 
year, and is in the habit of carrying off the blue 
ribbons at the State and county fairs. He contem- 
plates in the near future the breeding of fine horses. 

Mr. Wood was united in marriage with Sally A., 
daughter of Uriah Decker, Oct. 14, 1847. This 
lady was born in Manchester, Ontario Co., N. Y., 
April 12, 1830. Her father, Uriah Decker, was a 
prominent and highly respected pioneer of Lenawee 
Count}'. His demise occurred Dec. 10, 1886. 

The Wood household was brightened by the 
birth of five children, of whom one died at the age 
of one year. Elizabeth J. was liorii March 15, 
184'J, and is now the wife of William II. Smith, of 
Adrian Township; thej' have a son and daughter, 
aged ten and nine years respectively. Albert H. 
was born Sept. 27, 1850, and died when twelve 
months old; William II. was born Sept. 25, 1854, 
and married Miss Mary, daughter of Adolphus 
Lewis, of Adrian Township; slie was born in Ot- 
sego Count}', N. Y., Feb. 8, I860, and came with 
her father's family to Michigan in 1873; the father 



r 



-•► 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1U7 



^ 



died in Adrian. William H. was the father of three 
boys: Edward L., who was born Dec. 11, 1877; 
Edwin A.. Oct. G, 187!), and Emnjctt H., .Jan. 14, 
1881. Clark L. was Iwrn June 30, 18(54, and works 
On shares with his father. 

Our subject and his boys all vote the Democratic 
ticket, and being men of decided views, are no un- 
imi)ortant factors in the interests of the part}' in this 
section. Mr. Wood, religiously, attends the Uui- 
vcrsalisl Church at Wolf Creek. 

LINY VAN FLEET. The subject of this 
sketch owns and occui)ies a snug homestead 
in Palmyra Township, where he has 100 
acres of finely cultivated land with all suit- 
al)le farm buildings. Althougii not, perlmps, Ihe 
hero of any very thrilling events he has, by his 
straightforward and persistent ett'orts at tilling the 
soil and building up a comfortable home, become 
one of the valued factors of an intelligent and 
thrifty couiiiiiinity. He lias given his attention t() 
general fanning, [jroduciug good crops and a fair 
assortment of the domestic animals. His home 
circle includes his amiable and intelligent wife with 
their five children^M. L., Blanche, William T., 
Ralph an<l Kdnn. 

Mr. \an Fleet was liorn in Wcstervillc, Ohio, 
April ^.s, 1845, while his father, Cornelius Van 
Fleet, was a native of Pennsylvimia, and the son of 
Col. Mathias Van Fleet, a native of the same State, 
whose ancestors came from Holland. They emi- 
grated to this country proli.ilily ill the seventeenth 
century, and the male descendants of the family 
have almost uniformly been eng.aged in agricultural 
pursuits. The grandfather of our subject removed 
first from his native State to Dayton, Ohio, and 
thence to Lucas County, in 18;32, of which he was 
one of the earliest pioneers. He purchased 500 
acres of timber land, and opened up a good farm 
in the wilderness, where he reared his family, and 
spent the remainder of his days. He was quite 
prominent as a citizen in that hicalily, and a Colonel 
of the State Militia. His son Cornelius was quite 
young when his parents removed to Ohio, and he 
developed into manhood in Lucas County, where he 



subsequently purchased eighty acres of land, and was 
married. He afterward rented his farm and re- 
moved to Maumee City, where he resided seven 
years, and was employed as an engineer in the con- 
struction of the Wab.ash et Erie C^anal. SuliSe- 
quently he purchased another farm, on which he 
resided until his decease. 

The mother of our subject was in her giilhood 
Miss Hannah Runyan, a native of Pennsylvania, 
and the daughter of William Runyan. Of her 
marriage with Cornelius ^'an Fleet there were born 
eight children, Pliny of our sketch being the third 
in order of birlli. He commenced his education in 
the district school at Maumee, where he was reared 
to manhood. During the Rebellion our subject 
enlisted in February, 1864, in the "iSd New York 
Lidependent Battery, serving under (Jen. Foster, 
in North Carolina and ^'il■ginia, until his discharge 
in July, 1 8G."). He then returned home, and con- 
tinued with his parents until his marriage in No- 
vember, 1871, with the lady of his choice, Miss 
Lucretia Taylor. The young people commenced 
life together on a [lart of the old homestead in 
Ohio, forty acres ni' which Mr. \':in Fleet had pur- 
chased, and resided thereuntil 1882. He then sold 
out his interest in the Buckeye State, and came to 
this county, locating at Palmyra, where he has 
since resided. Our subject confines his attention 
mostly to his farming operations, and meddles little 
with politics or public affairs. 

Socially l\Ir. Van Fleet is a member of Corlett 
Post No. 3G0, G. A. R.. and also belongs to Pal- 
myra Grange. In the sketch of Miner Cole, found 
elsewhere in this volume, is given briefly the narra- 
tive of William Taylor, the father of .Mrs. Van 

^^ — €-*-l^ — ^- 



OATHAN H. BASSIOTT, the subject of this 
I sketch, was born in Cheshire County, N_ 
) H.. March 3, 1812, and is the son of Arte- 

mas Bassett, who in earlj' life was a tanner and cur- 
rier, but after his marriage followed agriculture. 
He was a native of Massachusetts, being born at 
Oxbridge, June li), 1782, and went to New Hamp- 
shire with his parents, AVilliam and Margery Bassett, 
when a child. His wife was, before her marriage, 



■•► 



1148 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Miss Karah Ilarkness, daughter of Nathan and Su- 
sannah Harkness, of Richmond, N. H., and they 
were married March 28, 1805. Of this union there 
were born two sons and four daughters. All the 
members of his family belong to the Society of 
P'riends, and possess the conscientious and upright 
traits of character for which that religious sect is 
noted. 

Our subject was the second son and fourth child 
of his parents, with whom he removed in 1823 to 
Starksboro, Vt., where he lived until he was twenty- 
one years of age. He attended the district school 
until eleven years old, after which he assisted in the 
labors of the farm, going to school only in winter. 
When twenty-one years of age he sought his fort- 
unes in the West, migrating to Michigan, where 
he arrived in the spring of 1833. For three years 
after coming to Lenawee County he worked as a 
farm hand, then in 1836 he established the woolen 
factory and carding-machine at Medina, this 
county, which was the second establishment of the 
kind in the county, and did the business of the 
farmers for forty miles south and west. This he 
operated successfully for about fourteen years, and 
in 1 855 sold it to Hotchkiss & Daniels and purchased 
a farm in Adrian Township, about halfway be- 
tween Adrian and Tecumseh, which he has greatly 
unproved, fitted up with comfortable buildings and 
brought to a high state of cultivation, where he 
now resides in the enjoyment of comfort and plenty, 
and that freedom from anxiety and care which his 
long and active life lias so richl}' earned. 

Mr. Bassett was married, Sept. 15, 1 830, to Miss 
Adelia Webb, a native of Hackensack, N. .T. ; her 
parents were early settlers of Raisin Township, this 
county. Of this union there were four children, as 
follows: William .J. was born in September, 1837, 
and died in the Indian Territory Aug. 16, 1869; 
Albert H. was born Sept. 15, 1842, and married Miss 
Hallic, daughter of Asa James, of New York, and is 
farming in Illijiois; he has two sons. Edgar A. 
was born Aug. 29, 1844, and married Miss Drum, 
whose people were from Illinois; he resides in Ash- 
land. Dak., and is engaged in the hardware busi- 
ness. Francis M. was born Nov. 21, 1849, and died 
Aug. 10, 1855, on the old home. Our subject as- 
sisted Lis sons, Albert and Edgar A., giving them 

■<• 



both an excellent start in life. The mother of these 
children was born in Hackensack, N. J., Nov. 4, 
1812, and came to Michigan with her parents in 
1825. She died on the present homestead in 1880, 
at the age of sixty-eight years. 

In 1803 Mr. Bassett turned his attention to stock- 
raising, and ever since that time has taken life 
easy, giving his attention mainly to the raising of 
fine stock. His sheep are of the highest grades, his 
horses are of very fine quality, and in fact all his 
stock may be classed as thoroughbred, and he has 
taken many premiums at the county and State 
fairs. About half of his farm lies in Raisin Town- 
ship, and the other in Adrian Township, and he has 
resided upon it thirty-two years. The father and 
mother of our subject died on the homestead here 
at the ages of seventy -seven and eighty-five years 
respectively. 

In politics Mr. Bassett is a solid Republican, and 
exerts himself strenuously for the success of that 
party. On the temperance question he believes in 
the theory of high license. He is an earnest, con- 
scientious and upright citizen, interesting himself 
in every movement that looks to the improvement 
of society. His honesty and upright course in life 
have won for him a large circle of friends, whose 
society he now enjoys, retired from the turmoil of 
active life. 



EDWARD CLARK. In reviewing the indus- 
trial resources of any community it become* 
, necessary to mention those establishments 

which are the best representatives of the different 
lines of trade, and in this connection attention is 
called to the popular and reliable institution con- 
ducted by Mr. Clark in the village of Morenci. 
Mr. Clark established his brick and tile yard in 
1858, and has since conducted quite an extensive 
business, manufacturing as many as 1,000,000- 
bricks in a single year, and about 500,000 feet of 
tile. 

The parents of our subject were Thomas and 
Rhoda (Kinney) Clark, natives of New England, 
the former born in Vermont, and the latter in New 
Hampshire. They became the parents of nine 



•► 



■^■-4« 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



ehiklreii, five boys and two girls of whom grew to 
maturity. Our subject was l)orn in Homer, Cort- 
land Co., N. Y., March 22, I.SIH, and passed his 
early life there where he learned the trade of a 
mason. At fifteen years of age he went to Hamil- 
ton, Madison Co., N. Y., where he remained about 
five years, and then removed to Syracuse, where he 
worked at his trade during two summers. 

On the 4th of January, 1841, the subject of this 
biography was united in marriage with Miss Louisa 
Forncrook, who was born in Lysander, Onondaga 
Co., N. Y., on the 1st of October, 1«21. She is the 
daughter of Christopher and Mary (Baird) Forn- 
crook, who were natives of Montgomery County, 
N. Y. The parental household included nine chil- 
dren, six sons and three daughters, of whom Mrs. 
Clark was the third in order of birth. Mr. and 
Mrs. Clark are the parents of five children — James 
F., Mary M., Edward R., who died at the age of two 
years, AVillis E. and Kate L. James F. married 
Miss Margaret Andrews, who is now deceased; he 
was subsequently united in marriage with Miss P^lla 
Sinclair. Mary M. is the wife of Dudley C. Henion; 
Willis ni!irri(Ml Miss Elizabeth Mason, and Kate is 
the wife of .lohn M. Hurk. After their marriage 
Mr. and Mrs. Clark settled in Skaneateles, N. Y., 
where they resided about two years, and then going 
to Fulton County, Ohio, they remained until com- 
ing to Morenci, where tiiey liave resided |irincipally 
since 18o8. 

Mr. Clark has a small farm, which he carries on 
in connection with his manufacturing business. In 
the s|iring of 1887 he sustained quite a heavy loss 
in the destruction bj' fire of his engine and drying- 
house, which, however, he soon replaced with suit- 
able buildings. In politics Mr. Clark gives his sup- 
port to the I'rohiliilion luirty, while he and Mrs. 
Clark are nienihers of the Baptist Church. 



y 



ILLIAM W. CRABBS is the proprietor of 
one of the most attractive and fashionaljle 
dry -goods stores in Morenci. In 1883 he 
purchased the stock of C. D. Fuller, and has since 
that time conducted quite an extensive business. 
Mr. Crabbs thoroughly understands the wants of 



his patrons, and selects his goods with great care. 
He enjoys the respect and confidence of the entire 
community to the fullest extent, and the popularity 
of his business is ecpialed only by its prosperity. 

The suliject of this narrative was born in Savan- 
nah, Ashland Co., Ohio, on the 2;)th of October, 
1848, and was educated in the common schools 
until he reached his fifteenth year, at which time he 
engaged as clerk. After about six years in this 
employment he was taken into partnership with 
Joseph Hagaman, and remained with him two 
years. At the end of that time they sold out, and 
Mr. Crabbs engaged with a Toledo dry -goods house 
as commercial traveler, following that occupation 
nine years. He then came to Morenci, and pur- 
chased his present business. 

On the 29th of April, 188G, Mr. Crabbs was 
united in marriage with Miss Georgia M. Perkins, 
who was born in Kalamazoo, Mich., Dec. .5, 18G3, 
and one bright-eyed child, Hazel, has come to 
gladden their home. 

In 188() our subject ei-ected one of the finest 
residences in the city, beautiful in design and com- 
modious in all its appointments. Mi'. Crabbs is a 
member of the Masonic fraternity, while in politics 
he stands identified with the ReimMiian |iai I y. 



Jl'OllN C. LAMBIE is the senior nieniher of 
the tirm of Lamhie .V Corbiii. in-oprielors of 
the Adrian Packing Company, which busi- 
' ness was established upon a small scale by 
Mr. Laiubie in 1874. As the demands increastnl 
for his products, he enlarged the capacity of his 
works, and continued this business until 1881, when 
the building and the plant known as the Adrian 
Paper Mill Company was purchased by Mr. Lam- 
bie, and he removed his business to the above- 
named place. The dimensions of the main build- 
ings are 40x100 feet, three stories in height, 
with an addition of t;0x80 feet, one story high, the 
whole structure being composed of brick and stone. 
They use two thirty-horse and one ten-horse power 
engine, and employ from 150 to 200 persons dur- 
ing the packing season. Ill 1887 Williani Corliiii 
was taken into the firm as a partner, and the style 
.^ 



•► 



4 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



of the Ann name was changed to Lambie & Corbin. 
Tlie business of the firm is the canning of fruits 
and vegetables, the principal product of the house 
being apples and tomatoes. They find their prin- 
cipal market in Chicago, but have a good local 
trade, besides shipping goods to many of the larger 
cities in the .State of Michigan. 

Mr. Lambie is a native of the State of New 
York, and was born in Oneida County in July, 1848. 
His parents were John and James (Richmond) Lam- 
bie, both of whom were natives of Scotland, and 
emigrated to the United States, settling in Oneida 
County, N. Y., where the father of our subject con- 
ducted a store and mill for many years. Mr. Lam- 
bie remained with his parents until he arrived at 
manhood, and during that time received a good 
common-school education. He now undertook to 
steer his own way through the world, and obtain- 
ing employment with the New York Meat Pressing 
Company, he went to Texas, to take charge of a 
large concern, which was owned by the company in 
that State. Not long after arriving there he be- 
came the sole manager of the business, and con- 
tinued in that capacity until 1874, in which year he 
came to Adrian, and established his present business. 

Th'is enterprise in which Mr. Lambie is engaged 
is one of the most valuable conducted in the city 
of Adrian. It not only gives employment to a 
large number of people during certain seasons of 
the year, but it furnishes an ample home market 
for the surplus of the gardeil and orchards of the 
farmers and horticulturists of the county, and as 
the products of tlie establishment are necessarily 
shipped abro.ad, the monej' which pays for them is 
brought to Adrian, and enters into the volume of 
circulation in the city and surrounding country. 



-Vi^l 



m>^^^^ 



.^^ IMON SHULTIS. A successful general 
^^^^ farmer and stock-raiser is this gentleman, 
(^^ who owns and occupies a fine farm, part of 
it on section 15, in Cambridge Township, 
where he has resided since 1859. Many of the 
most thrifty and intelligent agriculturists of this 
section of the State were born and reared on the 
other side of the Atlantic, and to Germany espec- 
^» 



ially is Lenawee County indebted for some of her 
most enterprising and prosperous citizens. Among 
this number is Mr. Shultis, who was born in Baden, 
Germany, Oct. 21, 1826. 

Simon Shultis is the son of Christian and Barbara 
(^Yagner) Shultis, natives also of Baden, who lived 
and died in their native country. Simon was the 
eldest of a family of four sons and one daughter, 
and is the only one wiio ever came to the United 
States. He received the rudiments of a most ex- 
cellent education in the fine schools of Germany, 
and like all the Teutonic youth, served his appren- 
ticeship in the army of his country, and for six 
years did duty .as a private soldier. Soon after 
receiving his honorable discharge he concluded to 
emigrate to America and seek in the wilds of a new 
country the fortune denied to him in the land of 
his birth. In 1854, after a stormy voyage lasting 
some forty-six days, he landed in the city of New 
York with only $1 in his pocket. Fortunatel.y for 
him a friend loaned him enough money to take him 
to Detroit, Mich., and from that point he came to 
Lenawee County with a cattle drover. For about 
three years he was engaged in working for other 
parties, when he concluded to settle down, and con- 
sequently on the Cth of March, 1859, he married 
Miss Catherine M. Boolier, a native of this county, 
having been born on her father's old homestead, 
April 19, 1835. She is the daughter of Jacob and 
Margaret (Snyder) Booher, who were natives of 
Switzerl.and and Wurtemberg, Germany, respect- 
ively. Both of the old people had come to the 
United States when quite young and were united in 
marriage while residents of Washtenaw County, 
this State, but soon after located on a farm on sec- 
tion 14, in Cambridge Township, quite early in the 
thirties. Both have since passed away, the father 
dying Oct. 1, 1870, and the mother July IG of the 
same year. 

Mrs. Shultis is the eldest of four children, all 
daughters, three of whom are yet living. She 
lived at home with her parents until her marriage, 
receiving her education in the district schools of 
that day. She is the mother of three children : 
William J., who married Dora Taylor and now lives 
in Springville. and Simon J. and Charlie, who are at 
home assisting their father in managing the farm. 
•►- 



i-H 



■^•- 



•►-■-^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



115] 



•^b 



On their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Sliultis purchased 
tlie farm where the}' now live, and on this they have 
passed all theii- years uf married life. Industry 
and energy, coupled with the known frugality of 
the race from which he sprang, have lifted him and 
his from a state of comparative poverty to affluence 
and comfort. In jiolitics Mr. Shulti> is a Demo- 
crat, and enjoys the confidence of his fclKiw-citizens, 
who have several times honored him Iiy liestowing 
upon hiui lh(- posili,,ii of Touiislii|, Treasurer. 

« [flLLlAU HENRY COLYER, son of one of 
\&J// '''"^ early pioneers uf Lenawee County, is 
wW operating a good farm <jn section 28, in 
Blissfield Township, of which ho has been a resident 
since his birth, on the 6tli of May. 1843. He was 
educated in the pioneer schools, and in his boyhood 
days, when not occupied with his books, assisted 
his father in clearing the land and prcp.aring the 
soil for cultivation. 

The subject of this notice remained uudci- the 
parental roof until liis lunrriagc, and then located 
on forty acres of lnml on >cction 27, about flfteen 
acres of which were undei- the plow. His first house 
was a small frame one, which he occupied with his 
family about three years, then sold out and pur- 
chased the land which constitutes his present farm. 
Upon this he has brought about fine improvements, 
including a commodious frame residence, has en- 
larged the barn and put up other necessarj' build- 
ings. His property now includes ninety-nine acres 
of good land, a choice assortment of live stock, and 
tlie farm machinery requisite for the carrying on of 
agriculture after the most approved methods. As 
a man and a citizen, Mr. Colyer is held in high 
respect, and bids fair to build up a record of which 
his descendants may be proud. 

The parents of our subject, ^\'illianl and Olive E. 
Colyer, were natives of England and New York, 
respectively, and came to this county when the 
land was mostly covered with timber and peopled 
largely by wild animals. They endured all the 
privations which were the inevitable lot (jf the early 
settlers, and after rearing a family and liuildiuj; up 
the record of a well-spent life, the father departed 



hence in 1884, when ripe in years; tlie mother is 
still living. William II. C^olyer, after the outbreak of 
the late war, crdisted in the old Michigan Infantry, 
entering the ranks in August, 1804, and participat- 
ing in the engagement at Chattanooga, Tenn. He 
was afterward engaged with his comrades in guard- 
ing captured prisoners, and in April following his 
regiment was consolidated with the 11th Michigan 
Infantry, and our subject was assigned to Company 
B. and detailed to duty, being stationed mostly 
around McDonald in East Tennessee. The war 
was then nearing its close, and in June, 18(i5, Mr. 
Colyer, with his comrades, was mustered out and 
returned home. 

Prior to his army experience Mr. Colyer was 
united in marriage with Miss Mary E. Vandyne, the 
wedding taking pl.ace at the home of the bride in 
Blissfield Township, Oct. 2;'), 186.'!. Mrs. C. w.as 
born in Ontario County, N. Y., and is the daughter 
of George and Catharine (Miller) Vandyne. who 
were residents of the same county. Her paternal 
grandfather, Peter Vand3'ne, was of German an- 
cestry, and spent his last years in Ontario County. 
George Vandyne followed farming, and in 18.54 
removed from his native county to Lenawee County, 
Mich., locating in Blissfield Township, where the 
mothci-'s dentil took place at the home of her 

Mr. and Mrs. t;olyer -aw the parents of five chil- 
dren, as follows: George Otis, Ada Blanche, 
Clarence William, Cassins M. and Clifford Henrj'. 
Mr, Coly.-r h:is lived quietly and unobtrusively, 
med.llinu little with piil.lir attaii>, but upon occa- 
sions (,f iuqiortaut clcrtiuns votes the straight 
Republican lieket. 

ijp^.ICHOLAS VALENTINE HILE, a progres- 
I J/J *'^'^ frti'mer representing the agricultural 
li\^ interests of Ogden Township, is the .son of 
Peter Hile, who was born in Germany, and at the 
age of twenty-one came tw America and settled in 
Rockingham County, in the valley of Virginia, 
where he bought land, and engaged in farming until 
his death, which took pl.ace Dec. 17, 1887. He mar- 
ried in his adopted home, Lucy A. Pense, a native 



■♦►-II- 



•► 



■•►HI-4* 



1152 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



of Rockino-ham County, and her death occurred 
here in Ogden Township, .Tune 30, 1881. Her fa- 
ther, Valentine Pense, was a native of the same 
county, and his father, George Pense, removed from 
Pennsylvania or Maryland to Virginia, and l)ought 
some unimproved land in Rockingliara County, 
which he cleared and cultivated until his death. 
The grandfather of our subject served in the War 
of 1812. After his marriage with Miss Margaret 
Miller, a native of Roekhigham County, and daugh- 
ter of Peter Miller, he bought a farm one mile from 
his father's homestead, and eight miles from Harris- 
burg, and there he and his wife passed the years of 
their married life. 

Nicholas Valentine Hile, of whom we write, was 
born on the homestead of his parents in that Vir- 
ginia valley, July 21, 1840, and there passed his 
boyhood. He attended school in his youthful days 
as opportunity offered, and as soon as he was large 
enough helped his father in tilling the soil. The 
latter was a very active, industrious man, and from 
him Nicholas learned lessons which have been useful 
to him in later life. He made his home with his 
parents luitil he was sixteen years of age, then started 
out in life for himself, his only capital being good 
health and willing hands. He came to Michigan, 
hoping for better opportunities to make his way in 
the world, and soon engaged to work by the month, 
except in the winter, when he chopped wood and 
split rails. Wages vvere low then, but he stuck to 
bis work, and having no bad habits, saved his earn- 
ings, and in is.ilt had inoney enough to buy forty 
acres of tinitier land. He was then a single man, 
and did not locate on his land, but industriously 
kept at work by the month. In 18G3 he had been 
so successful that he was enabled to buy forty acres 
more land joining his first purchase. There were 
about five acres from which the trees had been 
felled, and the stumps had not been removed from 
the ground, while the rest of the land was heavily 
timbered. 

Mr. Hile was now in a position to establish a 
home, and in 1865 he married Caroline, a daugh- 
ter of James and Elizabeth Robertson (for whose 
history see sketch of George P. Robertson), and a 
native of Medina County, Ohio. After his mar- 
riage Mr. llile settled on his land, and has lived 



-^■ 



here continuously ever since, erecting good build- 
ings and making many other improvements. From 
time to time he has added to his original purchase 
of land, in 1 875 buying thirty acres, which increased 
the area of his farm to 130 acres, ninety of which 
are cleared, fenced and cross-fenced. He has his 
farm under good tillage, and well provided with 
good stock. 

Mr. and Mrs. Hile have a pleasant home, in which 
four children have been born to them — James R., 
George P., Alpheus J. and Jessie Maud. They well 
deserve the respect of their neighbors as people 
whose good character and habits make them valued 
citizens of this community. 

c^ BRAHAM CRAMER, one of the oldestset- 
^/lII tiers and most extensive land-owners of 

IjllSi Lenawee County, is a descendant of sub- 
^ stantial German ancestry, and possesses in a 

marked degree the sturdy industry and persistence 
of those from whom he drew his origin. His boy- 
hood years were spent in New York, in which State 
the first representatives of the Cramer fainilj' set- 
tled in this country soon after the Revolutionary 
War. 

Conrad and Elizabeth Cramer, the parents of our 
subject, were residents of New York for a period of 
more than forty years, during which time the former 
was greatly prospered in his labors and business 
transactions, and at his death left a valuable estate. 
He spent his last years at the home of his daughter, 
Mrs. Nancy Wilder, of Perryville, where his death 
took place in 1872. The mother was a victim of 
the cholera scourge in New York, where she was 
stricken down in middle life, aged about forty-Sve 
years. 

Abraham Ci-amercame to the Territory of Michi- 
gan in 1836, and purchased eighty acres of land in 
Rome Township. Two years later, however, he 
traded his first purchase for a quarter section of 
laud in Medina Township, into which he brought the 
first yoke of oxen, and by the aid of these com- 
menced clearing his land. He had been married, 
Nov. 28, 1835, before his removal from the Empire 
State, to Miss Sarah Ann Sterling, who accompanied 




9n 99t 



^U.y^T^-^l^"-^ 



•►Hl-^ 



^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY, 



1155 



him to the West, and died in Medina Township, 
Oct. 28, 1 849. They became the parents of five chil- 
dren, as follows: The eldest, Edwin C, married 
Miss Jane Ann Wilcox, and is farming in Medina 
Township; Mary Ann is the wife of William Charles, 
who owns and operates a farm near Bangor, and 
also deals largely in wheat and hay; George mar- 
ried Miss Jane DeLong, and lives in Hillsdale 
County ; Wellington S. is married and resides on a 
farm in Medina Township, and Lorenzo L., also a 
farmer, is married and a resident of Hillsdale 
Coiintj% this State. 

Mr. Cramer was a second time married, in Hills- 
dale County, to Miss ]\Lary A. Harris, who was a 
native of Ohio, and came to Michigan when a young 
woman; she died at her home in Medina Township, 
May 6, 1887. Mr. Cramer is a Democrat, politi- 
cally, and has served in the various minor offices of 
his township. His life has been one of active in- 
dustry, and his property includes 600 acres in Me- 
dina Township, lying mostly in one body, and 
largely devoted to the raising of grain. The resi- 
dence and farm buildings are commodious, and kept 
in good repair, while the stock and machinery are of 
the best description. 



» ^-^ — 

ARVIN M. MAXSON, a leading druggist 
of Hudson, lias been a resident of Michi- 
gan since 1837, coming with his parents 
from New York State to Pittsford, Hills- 
dale County, in that year. He was born in Centre- 
ville, Allegany Co., N. Y., Oct. 20, 1831, while his 
father, Jesse Masson, was a native of Stephentown, 
Rensselaer County, in the same State. His paternal 
grandfather was named Joseph. 

The Maxsons are of English ancestry, and the 
first representative in this country crossed the At- 
lantic in 1638 as one of a colony, which was the 
first to make the attempt at settlement on the 
shores of Connecticut. They landed and com- 
menced trading with the Indians, who for a time 
appeared friendly, but soon disclosed treachery and 
made an attack upon the whites, driving them to 
their shallop. Some of them returned the next day 
to get provisions and produce from their gardens. 



but met with another attack, in which Mr. Maxson 
and his son Richard were killed. His wife escaped, 
and with the rest of the survivors landed on the 
island then called Aqnidneck, but now Rhode 
Island, where shortly afterward her son, John Max- 
son, was born, March 24, 1638, and was undoubtedly 
the first white child born there. In 1661 this John 
Maxson joined the colony that was formed at New- 
port to purchase and settle a part of the Narragan- 
sett country, and removed thither. In his religious 
belief he was a Seventh-Day Baptist and was or- 
dained as an Elder in that church on the 20th of 
May, 1668. He died Dec. 17, 1720, in his sixty- 
second year, and a blue slatestone m.arkshis resting- 
place in the Clark burying-ground in sight of the 
Hopkinton meeting-house. The maiden name of 
his wife was Mary Mosher, and it is recorded in the 
Rhode Island Historical Society's collection. Their 
son John (2d), the next in line, was born in 
1666, and in 1687 married Judith, daughter of 
Joseph Clark, and niece of John Clark, founder of 
the first Baptist Church at Newport. He became 
an extensive land-owner, and died in 1747 in his 
eighty-first year. John Maxson (3d) was born 
in 1701 and died about 1785. Although known to 
have been a relative of the grandfather of our sub- 
ject, the connection is not definitelj' traced. One 
of the sons of Grandfather Joseph Maxson, also 
named Joseph, uncle of our subject, was one of the 
pioneers of Allegany County, and the first settler 
on the present site of Centreville, where he went 
when a young man and secured a tract of land. 
He was very poor in this world's goods at that time 
and was obliged to sell his shoes in order to pay for 
an ax which was to be used in felling the first tree 
on the ground now occupied by the village of 
Centreville. His father afterward removed there 
and remained until his death. 

In a short time the father of our subject also re- 
moved to Centreville and bought a tract of land 
from the Holland Purchase Company, on which he 
built a log house and commenced the improvement 
of a farm. There were no railways at the time and 
few means of transportation, and the consequently 
slow sale for farm produce made it hard to pay for 
a home. Accordingly in 1834 he visited the Ter- 
ritory of Michigan and entered 160 acres of Gov- 



•►Hh-^- 



•►HI 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



eminent land in Pittsford Township. After enter- 
ing the land he returned east, and two years later 
made another visit, bringing with hiin a nursery 
stock. Part of the trees lie planted on his own 
laud, on space which he had hired a man to clear, 
and the others he sold. Having disposed of his 
stock he went back to New York, and after settling 
his affairs there he bade farewell to his friends and 
neighbors, and accompanied by his wife and chil- 
dren, started for his future home in Michigan. They 
journeyed with a term to Lake Erie, then via the 
lake to Toledo, thence by way of the Cottonwood 
Swamp and Adrian to Pittsford Township. Tlie 
family occupied a house with a neighbor until one 
on their own land could be completed. This was 
soon done, and Mr. Maxson at once commenced the 
arduous task of evolving a farm from the wilder- 
ness. He labored hard and perseverance and in- 
dustry brought their reward. He remained there, 
contented and successful, until his death, June 21, 
1878. His wife, whose maiden name was Marietta 
Dayton, was also a native of Rensselaer County, N. 
Y., and she died at'the homestead in 1844. They 
were the parents of four children; three of whom 
are now living, namely : Marietta Matilda Beach, re- 
siding in Livingston County, Mich.; Marvin M. 
and Manley M., who live on the old homestead. 

The subject of this sketch was six j'ears old wlien 
he came with his parents to this State, and during 
his residence here of fifty and more years he has 
witnessed the wonderful transformation of the 
country, changing in an incredibly short space of 
time, from a forest-covered land, whose inhabitants 
were wild beasts and a few untutored savages, to a 
rich and fertile agricultural region, dotted here and 
there with pleasant hamlets, smiling villages, and 
busy cities teeming with life. The now wide-awake 
and enterprising city of Adrian, then a village, was 
at that time, and for manj^ years after, the western 
terminus of the railway. The house in which the 
boyhood of our subject was passed was built of 
logs, and in the style of architecture common to 
that day. Bricks were scarce, and in consequence 
mud and sticks were the component parts of the 
chimney. Stoves were unknown here then, and his 
mother cooked bj' the fireplace. He attended the 
pioneer schools, and assisted his father in the labors 

4 * 



of the farm, remaining at home until he had grown 
to manhood. 

In April, 1 865, Mr. Maxson took a most important 
step tovvard his successful establishment in life, 
being at that time united in marriage with Miss 
Delia Chipman, who was born in Malone, Franklin 
Co., N. Y., and was the daughter of Elan and Re- 
becca Chipman. After marriage our subject 
engaged in various employments and enterprises 
until he established himself in his present business. 
He inherited great musical talent and became quite 
proficient as a musician, and for many years the 
people in this section of the country depended on 
him to furnish the music at their social gatherings. 
It was in 1867 that he opened his drug-store in 
Hudson, and since then he has met with unusually 
good success, his undoubtedly honest word and 
deed, and his genial and courteous manner, winning 
a large patronage. 

To him and his wife has been born one child, 
Guj% who is associated with his father in business. 
Mr. Maxson and his family are leading factors in 
the social life of Hudson, and at their attractive 
home their numerous friends are often warmly and 
hospitably entertained. The portrait of Mr. Max- 
son is welcomed to the collection of faces in this 
Album, which forms one of the most attractive 
features of its embellishment. 



'^M BR AM WING, time-keeper and store-keeper 
(@//J| in the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern 

|f 14 Railway shops, in Adrian, is numbered 
1^ among the oldest railroad men of Southern 

Michigan, and .has held his present position for a 
period of twenty-two years. This fact is also 
further remarkable because he has during this time 
continued unremittingly at his labors without a 
single month's intermission, having been remark- 
ably strong and healthy, physically, and otherwise 
fortunate. 

Mr. Wing is a native of this State, and was born 
in the city of Ypsilanti, July 28, 1836, at the time 
when the young town was struggling for existence. 
His father, William Wing, was a native of New 
York State, and his ancestry as far back as is known 



•►HI- 



4^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1157 



were Quakers in religious belief, and possessed all 
the simple and honest elements of characler peculiar 
to that sect, whose integrity was never questioned, 
and whose lives before the world havie been re- 
markable for purity and the love of peace. The 
mother was in her girlhood Miss Marie Soop, a 
descendant of one of the excellent old Dutch fami- 
lies who settled in the Mohawk Valley' during the 
pioneer days of the Empire State. 

The parents of our subject came to Jlichigan in 
their youth, and were married in Yp.silanti, where 
they continued until the death of the father, which 
occurred in 1857. The mother was left with two 
daughters and one son, and surviving her husband, 
died at the home where she had lived so many 
years in Ypsilanti. The brother and sister of Abram 
died in their infanc}^ and he was reared to man- 
hood in his native count}' of Washtenaw, where he 
acquired his education, attending school, however, 
only during the brief period of his boyhood. In 
1848 he was taken to the home of his uncle in 
Rockford, III, where he remained two years, and 
from there went to Madison County, Wis., making 
his home with his uncle, David Gardner, until after 
the death of the latter. He afterward returned to 
Ypsilanti, where he was variously occupied until 
February, 1857, when he made his lirst entrance 
into Adrian, and entered the drug-store of Samuel 
E. Hartnett as clerk, with whom he rcmahied until 
after the outbreak of the late Rebellion. Soon after 
the flrsteall for Union troops, he enlisted in Company 
B, 17th Ohio Infantry, and on account of his active 
labors in the organization of the company, and his 
manifest patriotism, was elected Second Lieute}iant. 
The regiment remained at Camp Dennison a few 
weeks, and were then ordered to the front, their first 
operations being in West Virginia under command 
of Gen. Rosecrans. Lieut. Green was the greater 
part of the time on detached service, and was finallj' 
appointed Quartermaster of his regiment, but com- 
l)elled to resign a few months later on account of 
failing health. 

Lieut. Wing, upon returning to Adrian,'made ar- 
rangements to re-engage in the drug business, and 
to establish a home and domestic ties. He was mar- 
ried, in 1863, to Miss Alice E. Sizer, of Adrian, who 
became the mother of two children — Henry A. and 



Adelia A. For two ye.ars following his marriage, 
Mr. Wing was engaged as clerk in the drug-store of 
Remington & Bennett. In 18ti5 he entered the 
employ of the Michigan & Northern Indiana Rail- 
road Company as time-keeper and store-keeper in 
the carshops at Adrian, which position he held un- 
til the consolidation of the two roads, and through 
the various changes which had occurred in the mean- 
time. 

Mr. Wing has officiated as School Trustee in 
Adrian four years,'aud is President of the Working- 
men's Mutual Aid Association, which was organized 
in 1882, and incorporated in 1885. 

JAJIES K. JEFFERY is a resident of Rome 
Townsliip, Lenawee County, where he came 
in 1836, and bought 160 acres of wild laud 
from the Government. He first cleared 
eighty acres on which he built a log house, and 
removed his family onto this farm in 1836. Our 
subject was born in the county of Kent, England, 
Jan. 29, 1803, and came to New York July 4, 1830, 
settling in Oneida County, where he bought a farm 
and lived until the spring of 1836, when he sold 
out and came to this county. Mr. Jeffery was 
married in 1826, to Miss Harriet Marsh, who was 
also l)orn in Kent County, England, Aug. 11, 1800, 
and was the daughter of Edward Marsh, a carpen- 
ter, who died in Dover, England, at the age of 
forty years. His wife's death occurred at the same 
place, at the advanced age of ninety-five years. 
The family of Mrs. Jeffery came of a long line of 
English ancestry. 

The father of our subject, James Jefferj', was a 
native of Kent Count}', England, where he followed 
the occupation of a farmer, and died in his native 
county in the flft3'-eightli year of his age. His 
wife, Rebecca Sanford, also a native of that county, 
died at sixty years of age, while her father, Mark 
Sanford, a farmer and sailor, reached the advanced 
ago of ninety-nine years. The grandfather of our 
subject. Hunt Jeffery, followed a seafaring life in 
his j'outh, and afterward owned and farmed several 
tracts of land. At the time of his death, when 
seventy-two years of age, he left each of his two 






n^^ll-^* 



4^ 



1168 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



sons £40,000. A sister of our subject was i-eared 
by an uncle and aunt and was left considerable 
property. 

The wife of our subject died at her home in this 
county, Dec. 13, 1883, and left seven children, 
named as follows : Harriet, Margaret, Eliza, Nancy, 
Eleanor, Edward J. and Susannah. One daughter, 
Rebecca, died at the age of seventeen years ; Har- 
riet is the wife of Cornelius Knapp (see sketch) ; 
Margaret married D. O'Dell, of Stockton, Cal., and 
they have one son ; these three were born in England. 
Eliza is the wife of William Willit, a farmer of 
Ingham County, Mich.; Nancy married J. Ryder, 
also a farmer of Ingham County ; Eleanor was first 
married to J. Johnson, and was subsequently mar- 
ried to John Hart, now of Stockton, Cal., and has 
two children, one by each husband ; Edward J. 
married Miss King, and is engaged in general mer- 
chandising in Portland, Ore. ; they have a family 
of six children. Susannah is the wife of G. W. 
Garland, a farmer of this county, and has three 
children. Mr. and Mrs. Jeffery have also four or 
five great-grandchildren. 

Our subject is a Democrat in politics, recording 
his first vote for Andrew Jackson. He was one of 
the pioneers of this county, assisting in building 
churches and schools, and has since been activelj' 
engaged in all enterprises which have for their ob- 
ject the promotion of the cause of morality and the 
advancement of his community. He has been High- 
way Commissioner and Pathmaster, and while in 
England he was a member of the I. O. O. P., hold- 
ing almost every office. The old gentleman is still 
hale .and hearty and retains all his mental faculties. 



»-©^<:®- 



(T OMER BICKFORD. This gentleman, who 
Wyi\ is a natural mechanic and an expert machin- 
lM\y^ ist, for twenty-two years of his early life 
^^ gave his attention to the manufacture of the 
celebrated grain drill of Macedon, N. Y., a part of 
which was his own invention and the manufacture 
of which he carried on extensively in the Empire 
State. This drill has a world-wide reputation and 
was awarded the fu-st prize at the Centennial Exposi- 

< • 



tion in Philadelphia, in 1876. Mr. Bickford in 
1886, desiring a change of location and occupation, 
separated his interests from the forge and anvil, and 
coming to the wide West, located upon a farm 
where he has since enjoyed the free and independ- 
ent life of an agriculturist. His property is situated 
on section 17, in Raisin Township, where he is oper- 
ating successfully as a farmer and stock-raiser, and 
where the result of his labors bears fair comparison 
with those of the intelligent men around him. 

The boyhood and youth of our subject were spent 
in the township of East Bloomfield, Ontario Co., N. 
Y., where he was born at his father's homestead, 
Dec. 20, 1834. He is the son of Azariah Bickford, 
a farmer in easy circumstances, who in the early 
days migrated from his native State of Maine to 
New York, and there met and married Miss Plulena 
Perkins, who was born in Ontario Countj' in the 
latter State. They became the parents of nine chil- 
dren, and spent tlie remainder of their lives in On- 
tario County. Of their five sons and four daughters 
there are now living four sous and one daughter, 
all married: Lyman lives in New York; Marcus in 
Iowa; Delia in New York, and Harlow in Iowa. 

Mr. Bickford was the seventh child of his parents, 
and after becoming of suitable age to leave the 
parental roof, he served an apprenticeship at the 
macliinist's trade, mostly in Wayne County, where 
he subsequently established a manufactory in the 
town of Newark. He carried on business there 
five years for himself, and subsequently took 
the forenianship of the Bickford & Huffman shops, 
with which he was connected until coming to this 
county. 

In April, 1886, Mr. Bickford took possession of 
his present farm, comprising eighty acres of finely 
improved land, which yields in abundance the 
choicest crops of Michigan. Although his farming 
experience has been somewhat limited, he possesses 
a fund of general information and the good judg- 
ment which has already insured his success. He 
has inaugurated various improvements since taking 
possession of his present propertj', and is bound to 
make his mark in the agricultural community of 
this section. His straightforward method of doing 
business and his industry and enterprise at once 
commended him to the people around him as a man 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



n59 ^^1 



who would prove a valued accession to their num- 
bers. His family includes, in the immediate house- 
hold, only himself and his wife, as the three chil- 
dren which were born to them were taken away at 
an early age. Carry P. was born March 5, 1860, 
while her parents were residents of Newark, and died 
Oct. 9, 1864; Willard C. was born July 28, 1862, 
in Newark, and also died Oct. 9, 1864; Fanny E., 
the youngest, was born .Tuly 27, 18C.'), and passed 
away Nov. 3, 1866. 

Before coming to the West Mr. Bickford was 
united in marriage with a ladj^ (if his own county, 
namely. Miss Emily Watkins, a native of Victor 
Township, where she was born and reared, and where 
her wedding was celebrated at the home of her par- 
ents, Marshall and Caroline (Ingersoll) Watkins, who 
were natives of New York. The father in early 
life learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed 
until departing from the scenes of his earthly labors. 
Both parents passed away in middle life, the mother 
preceding her husband a few months to the silent 
land. They spent their lives in their native State, 
and their remains were laid to rest side by side, not 
far from their birthplace. Of the six children 
born to them one son and three daughters are now 
living: Emil}', Mrs. Bickford, was born Nov. 24, 
1835, and continued under the parental roof until 
her mari-iage with our subject. Mr. and Mrs. Bick- 
ford located on a farm in Ontario County, N. Y., 
and there our subject operated three years before 
going into business on his own account in Newark, 
where he formed the nucleus of his present prop- 
erty. 

OSCAR P. BILLS, an extensive land-owner of 
Lenawee County, and member of the banking 
firm of O. P. Bills & Co., at Tecumseh, is a 
son of one of the earliest pioneers of Southern 
Michigan who contributed largely to the develop- 
ment of its resources and the building up of Lena- 
wee County. The family for generations has been 
distinguished for the capability of its men and the 
virtue and intelligence of its women. The life his- 
tory of the father of our subject being closely iden- 
tified with the early settlement of this county, is 
given as a matter which will be of interest to all. 



♦-11-^ 



Perley Bills, a native of the Green Mountain 
State, was born far up among its eastern hills near 
the town of Wilmington, June 5, 1810. His par- 
ents, Hiram and Virtue Bills, were natives of Con- 
necticut, whence they removed soon after their mar- 
riage to the mountainous regions of Vermont. 
There Hiram Bills engaged in lumbering principally, 
although carrying on farming to some extent, and 
with his excellent wife passed from the scenes of 
his earthly labors in 1840. Amid these wild and 
simple scenes Perley Bills spent his childhood and 
youth, and possessing more than ordinary ability, at 
the early age of nineteen made arrangements to 
embark in trade at Honesdale, Pa. He had asso- 
ciated himself with a Mr. Whiting, but before 
they had fairly commenced, the illness of the 
latter compelled them to abandon the undertaking. 
Young Bills then went to work as a house carpen- 
ter, which occupation he followed during the sum- 
mer and in winter engaged in teaching school. He 
finally returned to his native State and spent the 
summer in Vermont at the mountain farm of his 
father. 

Perley Bills, upon leaving New England, mi- 
grated to Ohio and first engaged in teaching in Me- 
dina County. He was of studious habits, desirous 
of obtaining a good education, and in the spring 
following joined the preparatory class at the West- 
ern Reserve College, where he studied two years, 
paying his expenses by labor when not in school. 
He finally returned to Bennington, Vt., spending 
two years in the seminary there as pupil and tjitor, 
and m 1835 retraced his steps to Ohio, becom- 
ing a student of Oberlin College. The two years 
following were spent partly in teaching in an acad- 
emy at Strongsville, whence he came to Michigan 
and located at Tecumseh in the spring of 1837. 
Here he established and conducted primary and ad- 
vanced classes for young men who designed to enter 
college. He was foremost in encouraging the es- 
tablishment of schools, and by his own unaided ef- 
forts and constant application to his books, obtained 
a thorougn Knowledge of common law, and in 1842 
was admitteu to practice in the courts of this State. 
He had in tlie rrteantime been prominent in politi- 
cal affairs, and in 1837 was a delegate to the Young 
Men's State Convention at Marshall, having in view 






•►-lh-4* 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1^ 



the organization of a branch of the Whig party. 
In 1854 he was elected to the State Senate, re- 
elected in 1857, and chosen by the Senate as their 
Speaker pro fern. In 1867 he was elected a mem- 
ber of the State Constitutional Convention. Mr. 
Bills organized the first primary school district in 
the village of Tecumseh, and was a member of the 
School Board for nearly forty years. In 1861 he 
instituted the savings bank of P. Bills & Co., and 
four years later became a Director and Vice Presi- 
dent of the National Bank of Tecumseh. After the 
close of this institution, in 1874, he at once organ- 
ized a bank under the firm name of Bills, Lilly & 
Co., of which he was made President. 

The marriage of Perley Bills and Miss Caroline 
Brown was celebrated on the 8th of November, 
1838. While residents of Tecumseh there were 
born to them three sons and three daughters, 
namelj': Frederick H., deceased; Oscar P., our sub- 
ject; Caroline M., the wife of Gen. Lemuel Saviers, 
of St. Louis, Mich.; Mary H., the wife of Lieut. 
Col. Nathan Church, of Ithaca, this State ; Harriet 
v., a graduate of Howland College, Cayuga Co., 
N. Y., and of the medical department of the Michi- 
gan Universitj', and now practicing physician at 
East Saginaw, Mich., and Chandler D., of Tecum- 
seh. Mrs. Bills is the daughter of Isaac and Re- 
becca Brown, natives of New England, who came to 
Michigan in 1837; she was born in Chai'lemont, 
Mass., April 17, 1817, and after coming to Michi- 
gan taught school in Tecumseh one yeai-, then re- 
moved to Illinois with her parents and resided until 
her marriage. 

Oscar P. Bills continued with his parents until 
reaching his majority, being reared as a farmer's 
boy and attending the district school. He was 
bright and ambitious, however, and fond of study, 
in which laudable labor iie was always assisted and 
encouraged by his father, and in 1861 entered the 
Michigan Univei'sity, taking a full literary course 
and being graduated four years later. He then 
went into the bank with his father, but subsequently 
crossed the Mississippi into the Indian Territory, 
where he engaged as a trader with the Indians and 
operated a cattle ranch and warehouse until 1873. 
He subsequently migrated to Missouri and engaged 
in mining for some time, after which he returned to 



<^ 



Michigan, and going into the bankat Ithaca, which 
was conducted by the well-known firm of Church, 
Bills & Co., he remained until 1882. Then on ac- 
count of the death of his father the bank was re- 
organized, and Mr Bills came to Tecumseh and has 
since been largely interested in this institution, be- 
sides looking after extensive tracts of land of which 
he has become owner. 

((1 ^;ILLIAM H. KURTZ, a young and enter- 
\^//' prising capitalist of Blissfield, is a native 
V\V of this commonwealth, his birth occurring 
in Riga Township, April 11, 1849. His father, 
Jacob Kurtz, was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, 
Dec. 18, 1814, the son of David and Catherine 
Kurtz. He was educated in the excellent schools 
of his native land, which he attended from the age 
of six to fourteen. He then served two years to 
learn the butcher's trade. He afterward bou'^ht a 
farm of his father in his native place, and carried 
on farming for some yeai's, at the same time con- 
ducting his business of a butcher. During these 
j'ears he was married to Frederica Swaderrer, Avho 
was born in Wurtemberg May 4, 1819. 

In the year 1847, one of the years of great polit- 
ical disturbances in Germany and other European 
countries, public affairs being in an unsettled con- 
dition, Mr. Kurtz decided to leave the Fatherland 
and seek a home on American soil. After selling 
his farm and other property, he embarked with his 
wife and children. May 25, from Wurtemberg, Ger- 
many. They were two months on the ocean, land- 
ing in New York City July 25. They went from 
there up the Hudson River to Albany, and went 
thence to Detroit, Mich., via Erie Canal, Lake Erie 
and Detroit River. 

Mr. Kurtz left his family in Detroit, and went to 
search for a suitable place to establish his home. 
He came by the way of Lake Erie to Monroe 
County, and from there to Blissfield. He was a 
stranger in a strange land, almost totally unac- 
quainted with the language. In Blissfield he was 
so fortunate as to fall in with a man, a Pennsylva- 
nia German, with whom he could converse. The 
Penusylvanian after ascertaining his wants, directed 
1^ 



•-4»- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1161 



'\ 



him to a friend of liis, one Gottlieb Krapp, living 
two and one-half miles from Blissfleld. Me was not 
long with Mr. Krapp boftjre he concluded to settle 
in that vicinity, and returned for his family, whom 
he left with Mr. Krapp while he looked about for 
land that would meet his requirements. On the 
2-ith of August he bought a farm on section ;> of 
Riga Township. Fifty acres of the land were 
cleared, and there was a log cabin on the place into 
wiiich he and his family removed. He continued 
to live on that farm until 188(5, having cleared 
twenty-five more acres of land, and erected good 
farm buildings and a more commodious dwelling. 
In that year his buildings were burned, and he re- 
moved to the home of his daughter, Mrs. Snyder, 
in Blissfleld, with whom he continues to reside. 
His good wife, who came with him from the Father- 
land and so faithfully shared his labors in this 
home, departed this life Oct. 7, 1878. To her and 
her husband had been born twelve children, wliose 
record is as follows: Mathew, born Jan. is, 1840, 
lives in Riga Township; Frederick, born iMarcii !), 
1842, lives in Mattoon, 111.; Charles G., born Nov. 
3, 1843, at Oedernhardt, Wurtemberg, (lermany, 
died in Deerfield Township, May 6, 1882; John 
L., born June l(i, 1843. died July IG, 1843; Lud- 
wig, born July 17, 184G, died Oct. 21, 1847; 
William IL, our subject; Louisa, born Aug. 28, 
1851, married Jacob Ingold, of Blissfleld; John D., 
born July 28, 1853, died Feb. 12, 187G, in Riga 
Township; Paulina, born May 21, 1855, married 
John Wagenlauder, and died in Riga Village June 1 5, 
1877; Carrie, born Jan. 10, 1858, died Nov. 10, 
1883; Helen, born April 3, 1860, died Nov. 3, 
1862; Jennie, born April 11, 18(53, married Henry 
R. Snyder, of Blissfleld. 

William Kurtz, of whom we write, received the 
rudiments of his education in the Blissfleld school, 
which he commenced attending when he was eight 
years old. At the age of fourteen he left school to 
assist his father in getting out lumber for a railway 
company. This hard labor proved too much for 
the active, growing lad, and his health began to fail 
when he was sixteen years of age, and his father 
wisely decided to withdraw him from work and 
send him to school again to complete his education ; 
accordingly he entered the district schools. He 



studied so diligentl_y that in the short space of three 
months he wa.s fltted for college, and a short time 
afterward was enrolled as a student of Adrian Col- 
lege : he remained there three terms, making rapid 
[progress an<l taking a high stand in his various 
studies. .Vflcr leaving college he worked for a 
year on his father's farm. He then became a clerk 
in a dry-goods store in Adrian, where he remained 
for two 3ears and seven months. Then, after a 
short interval of work on the farm, he entered Ober- 
lin Business Institute, at Oberlin, Ohio, where he 
was thoroughl}' grounded in all the principles of 
lousiness, and was graduated from there in 1871. 
From June until Octolier of that year he remained 
on his father's farm, and then engaged to clerk for 
the firm of Eaton & Backus, of Toledo, Ohio, re- 
maining with them until the spring of 1872, when, 
business becoming dull, he was discharged. He 
then went to otiier parts of the country for employ- 
ment, but not succeeding returned home to the 
farm, and nnnained a few wx'eks. lie was then 
employed at Adrian, Mich., in a branch store of 
Eaton & Co., successors to Eaton & Backus, of 
Toledo, Ohio. The name of this firm was James 
Eaton & Co. He remained with them, selling dry 
goads, for abijut three months. He became dissatis- 
fied, but was prevailed upon by Messrs. Eaton <fe 
Co. to take charge of a branch store at Blissfield, 
which they were going to estaljlish. Not thinking 
that a branch store would pay them very well, he 
finally reluctantly accepted the situation. After 
conducting the store awhile for Messrs. Eaton <fe 
Co., he was greatly disappointed as to the amount 
of goods he was selling. Mr. Eaton only thought of 
continuing the store for a few months, but as busi- 
ness became much better, he decided to keep Mr. 
Kurtz for a. whole year, and would have continued 
the store longer, but through the misfortune in 
burning out at Toledo, Ohio, the firm was com- 
pelled to close the branch store out at Blissfleld. 
They wanted Mr. Kurtz to buy the stock, but hav- 
ing only §450, the amount they owed him, he could 
not think seriously of buying the stock of gooils 
that invoiced !&1,988, and in order to sort up would 
require *500 more. Messrs. Eaton & Co., however, 
having the greatest confldence in Mr. W. H. Kurtz, 
said to him, " You nevermind; we will trust you 



•►-■-♦i 



•^^^ 



1162 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



for the balance and goods too." He therefore pur- 
chased the stock, paying down the $550 they owed 
him. The}' trusted hira for the balance, never even 
so much as taking a scratch of a pen as security on 
the balance nor for future purchases, accepting his 
word and honor as a man, and be it said, to Messrs. 
Eaton ife Co. he owes his everlasting gratitude for 
his fortune. Said firm was run under the name and 
firm of W. H. Kurtz & Co. while he was running it 
for Eaton & Co., and was so continued after Mr. 
Kurtz had purchased it, for nearly fourteen years, 
or until March 11, 1886. Mr. Kurtz' health com- 
pelled him to discontinue business, and at above 
date he sold out to Messrs. F. H. Brown & Co., of 
the same place. Mr. Kurtz then turned his atten- 
tion to the real-estate business, and formed one of 
the company that boomed real estate in Chattanooga 
and Kuoxville, Tenn. He is still interested in 
realty in both cities, and is a prominent member 
of the Kuoxville Real Estate Company. 

Mr. Kurtz was married, Feb. 4, 1875, to Miss 
Mary Crouse. She was born in Brownhelm, Lorain 
Co., Ohio, May 18, 1850. Her parents were Casper 
and Catherina (Schwab) Crouse, natives of Ger- 
many. Her grandfather, Adam Crouse, was a 
soldier in Napoleon's army, and was one of his 
mighty host of 600,000 men, who, in the month of 
September, in the year 1812, invaded Moscow. He 
witnessed the destruction of the great city by the 
conflagration which the patriotic Russians had 
themselves kindled so as to more surely destroy the 
French army. In that ever memorable, terrible 
retreat of Napoleon and his forces from Moscow in 
the early winter of 1812, he suffered with his com- 
rades in arms all the horrors of hunger and of the 
bitter cold, to which were added the continual 
harassments of a vindictive foe. Not one-twentieth 
part of that great army led into Russia returned in 
safety. After that dreadful experience of the 
horrors of war, Adam Crouse retired from the army 
and emigrated with his family to America, and 
spent his last years in Birmingham, Ohio. The 
father of Mrs. Kurtz was seventeen years of age 
when he came to America with his parents. He is 
now a prosperous farmer, residing with his wife on 
his farm one mile from Birmingham, Ohio. 

Mr. and Mrs. Kurtz are people of culture, whose 

4 * 



pleasant and attr.active home it is a pleasure for 
their many friends to visit. The}' are members of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church. They have one 
child, Ella M., who vvas born in Birmingham, Erie 
Co., Ohio. 

In politics Mr. Kurtz is a Thomas Jefferson 
Democrat. He is a man of sound judgment and 
unimpeachable honor in all business transactions, 
and already holds an assured position among the 
financiers of the county. 

(^LFRED A. MILLER. The name of this 
W/LM gentleman, who is United States Pension 

jfr% Attorney and Notary, is widely and favor- 
(3|' ably known throughout Blissfield and 

vicinity. He located here in 1873, and since 
that time has devoted his entire attention to the 
prosecution of soldiers' claims in the v.arious de- 
partments at Washington, in which he has been ex- 
ceedingl}' successful, commanding a business now 
extending all over the United States. This success 
is not attributable to advertising, of which he has 
done very little, but to the conscientious manner in 
which he has discharged the trusts placed in his 
hands by his clients. 

Our subject was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on the 
14th of April, 1844, and on account of the death of 
his father, Alfred McKniglit, was adopted when 
three years of age by the family of Tobias Miller, 
whose name he assumed, and with whom he lived in 
AVestfield, Medina County, until 1853. During this 
year the family came to Michigan, locating in Cam- 
bridge, this county, and later locating in Palmyra, 
same county. While in Ohio young Miller attended 
the common schools, and after coming to this State 
pursued his studies in Cambridge and Palmyra, 
mostly in the winter terms, till 1 859. In the seasons 
of sowing and reaping he assisted in the work of his 
foster father's farm until in January, 1862, after 
the Rebellion had been in progress nearly a year. 
Then, although not eighteen years of age, he ten- 
dered his services to the Government, and was ac- 
cepted as a member of Company H, 15th Michigan 
Infantry, with which he served until he was dis- 
charged on account of disability, the result of 



ll-i. 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



165 1 



exposure, hardship, improper food and the attend- 
ant ills of a sol(]ier's life. The nature of his ail- 
ment can be inferred from the f;ict that, although 
his stuture was six feet and two inches at the 
time of his disch.arge, he weighed but ninety pounds. 

For a consider.able time after leaving the service, 
Mr. Miller was wholly unfit for any kind of labor, 
and has never recovered his health and is now draw- 
ing a pension for disability. In 1864, finding him- 
self not sufHcientl}' robust for manual labor, he 
decided to fortify his intellect for other duties, and 
accordingly entered Evans' Commercial College at 
Adrian, and after a season of study there, took a 
course of commercial instruction and telegraphing 
at Hillsdale College. 'I'his completed, from that 
time until 1873 Mr. Miller was variou.sl_y engaged 
at cheese-making, book-kee|)ing, photography and 
telegi'aphing. 

The Sd of April, 1873, witnessed the marriage of 
Alfred A. Miller and Miss Harriet PI Fitch, who 
was born in Rome, this county, and is the daughter 
of James and Pamelia Fitch, who were among its 
earliest pioneers. Of this union there have been 
born the following children : Alfred D., Gr.ice E., 
Clifford J., Galen M., and one girl who died Oct. 5, 
1883. The first residence of Mr. and Mrs. Miller 
in Blissfield was a small frame house on the west 
side of Lane street. In July, 1 882, Mr. M. pur- 
ch.ased the house which he now occupies. The 
dwelling is a commodious and handsome brick 
structure, built in modern style of architecture and 
located on the east side of Lane street. Here, sur- 
rounded by an interesting family, he is enjoying an 
ample share of the good things of life, together 
with the society and friendship of the people 
around him. 

Alfred McKnight, the father of Mr. Miller, was 
a native of Scotland, whence he emigrated to 
America when a young man and settled in Cleve- 
land, Ohio. He was a well-educated gentleman, 
and possessed of considerable wealth. For a long 
time preceding his death he was a confirmed invalid, 
and during this period of affliction lost his property, 
necessitating thus the seeking of a home by his son 
Alfred with strangers. Mary McKnight, the mother 
of Mr. Miller, was a native of Ireland, and is now 
living and resides in Cleveland, Ohio, where also 



reside a brother and two sisters. From the date of 
his adoption and removal from Cleveland, Ohio, 
twenty-eight years elapsed before he heard of or 
saw his mother, brother and sisters. Our subject, 
however, fell into good hands, as Mr. and Mrs. Miller 
cared for him as tenderly .is if he had been their own 
child, encouraging his natural taste for study and 
assisting him in developing the talents with which 
nature had endowed him. He now keeps himself well 
posted upon matters of general interest affecting 
the progress and welfare of his town. In politics 
Mr. Miller is a pronounced Republican, and boldly 
speaks his convictions in all places and to all men. 
He is exceedingly industrious, careful and shrewd 
in the man.agement of business; genial, manly and 
kind in his intercourse with his friends and society, 
a hail fellow well met; gentlemanly, vivacious and 
agreeable. He has enough Scotch blood in his 
veins to make him hate and despise the "small potato" 
class of men, and he can strike back with great force 
when he considers himself imposed upon. Socially lie 
is a member of Greenly Lodge No. 1 03, A. F. ife A. M. ; 
he is also a comrade of Scott Post No. 43, G. A. R. 
The portrait list of the leading men of Blissfield 
and vicinity would scarcely be complete without 
the [)ictured features of the subject of this 
biography, and we accordingly, as is fitting, thus 
present them to our readers. 



^ SAAC A. BARTLETT is a respected and re- 
liable citizen of Ogden Township, where he has 
large landed possessions. He was born in Au- 
gusta. Oneida Co., N. Y., June 12, 1809, while his 
grandfather, Abraham Bartlett, was a native of En- 
gland, and came to America in Colonial times, set- 
tling in Connecticut, where he married Submit 
Evits, a native of that State. After spending sev- 
eral years in Connecticut, he removed with his 
famil3' to West Stockbridge, Mass., where he bought 
a farm, on which he and his wife spent the remain- 
der of their lives. 

The father of our subject, Isaac A. Bartlett, 

was ten years of age when he left his native State 

I and accompanied his parents to Massachusetts. He 



■•► 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



grew to manhood in West Stockbridge, and when 
in his teens did good service to his country as a 
valiant soldier in the Revolutionary War. He mar- 
ried in Stockbridge, Melinda Camp, who was born 
in Durham, Conn., and was the daughter of John 
and Eunice (Coe) Camp. After their marriage 
they settled down in West Stockbridge, where nine 
children were born to them. In 1806 the pioneer 
ispirit, which seems to have been strong in the 
family', possessed Mr. Bartlett, and he resolved to 
remove with his family to the wilderness of Central 
New York, where land was cheap and very pro- 
ductive when once cleared; accordingly he, his 
wife, and their numerous progeny, left their home 
in Massachusetts for a new home amid the forests 
of New York. In those days of poor roads and 
slow modes of traveling, this was a great undertak- 
ing, and their means of conveyance was rather 
novel. As Mr. Bartlett had several cows that he 
wished to take with him he made them work their 
passage by yoking them in pairs and making them 
assist the oxen in drawing the wagons that conveyed 
the family and household goods to tiieir destina- 
tion. They finally arrived at their journey's end in 
Augusta, Oneida Co., N. Y., where Mr. Bartlett 
bought a farm, on which there were a log house and 
a frame barn. The family lived on that place until 
1833, actively engaged in clearing and cultivating 
the land, and then removed to Madison County, 
whence after a short residence, the parents went to 
Pompey Hill, Onondaga County, and lived with a 
daughter until 1844, when they took up their resi- 
dence with their son, the subject of this sketch, in 
Peterboro, Madison County, and spent the remain- 
der of their lives nnder his roof, the father dying 
in March, 1847, and the mother in November, 1848. 
They were the parents of ten children, whose record 
is as follows: John C. spent his last years in La- 
grange County, Ind.; Eunice married Isaac Jack- 
son, and died in Augusta, Oneida Co., N. Y., 
Melinda married Luther Howe, and died in 
Ft. Wayne, Ind., the home of her daughter; 
Ruth was married to J. G. Curtis, of Peterboro, 
N. Y., and died at the home of her daughter in 
Canastota, N. Y. ; Sarah married Charles Crane, and 
after his death she married William Bradley, M. D., 
of Greece, Monroe Co., N. Y., where she died ; Abra- 
M» 



ham died in Syracuse, N. Y. ; Achsah and Elizabeth 
never married, and now live with their brother, our 
subject; Phebe married William J. Curtis, and now 
lives at Pompey Hill, N. Y. ; Isaac A., of whom we 
write. 

The subject of this biographical sketch was the 
youngest of his parents' children, and was the only 
child born to them after their removal to New 
York. In his youth he attended school and assisted 
his father on the farm, and when he was twenty-one 
years of age he visited the Territory of Michigan- 
This part of the Territory was then one vast, al- 
most unbroken wilderness, with but few settlements, 
as the borders were settled many years before the 
interior. The Territory could not at that time 
have given much indication of its present high rank 
among the States of the Union as a great and pros- 
perous commonwealth. Mr. Bartlett did not then 
locate in Michigan, but returned to Augusta and 
worked by the month on a farm for one j'ear, then 
became clerk in a store in Seneca Falls, where he re- 
mained two years. He then became a clerk in his 
brother Abraham's store in Oriskany Falls for one 
se.ison, after which he revisited Michigan, and 
spent the winter in Monroe County. He then re- 
turned to New York and bought a half interest in 
his brother's store, but two years later he disposed 
of that interest and became a clerk In Peterboro, 
Madison Co., N. Y., for two years. In the mean- 
time he bought a farm near that village, and set- 
tling on it, superintended its cultivation until the 
year 1863. During the time he lived on his Peter- 
boro farm he visited Lenawee County, this State, 
and bought eighty acres of land on section 1-7, Og- 
den Township, and in 1862 became here for the 
purpose of disposing of it. He was offered only 
$700 for the whole eighty acres, which he thought 
was too little for the land, which by careful culture 
and drainage would ultimately become valuable. 
He concluded that instead of selling the land at a 
sacrifice, he would buy more land and locate here ; 
accordingly he bought the farm on which he now 
resides on section 20 of this township, and after ar- 
ranging his affairs in New York, he returned and set- 
tled here in 1863, and has since been a valued 
resident of this community. His foresight and good 
judgment have been amply justified by the success 



»^^i 



4- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



which his wise management has since brought about. 
He now owns 398 acres of valuable land, which in 
these Liter years is under the care of good tenants. 
Jlr. Bartlett has a comfortable home, where, in 
the pleasant companionship of his sisters Achsah 
and Elizabeth, he is quietly passing the last years of 
a long and useful life. His sisters, though older 
than himself, still retain to a remarkable degree 
that intelligence and force of character which in 
earlier life made them successful teachers in New 
York State, where they taught for many years. 
This household composed of elderly people is at- 
tractive to those of a younger generation by the 
geniality of its inmates, who still have warm hearts 
alw.nys open to their friends. 



^^LANSON B. TREAT, the representative of 
(@/<-l | an old and prominent family, established 
a li in the drug business at Adrian in the spring 
1^ of 1873, and is numbered among its most 
valuable and reliable citizens. Not having yet 
reached the forty-first year of his age, he is conse- 
quently in the prime of life, well equipped for its 
further struggles and duties, both by his natural 
business capacities and financial standing. 

Mr. Treat, a native of this county, was born on a 
farm in Adrian Township, Jan. 20, 1847. His 
father, Butler Treat, Esq., was born in Holland 
Patent, N. Y., May 15, 1818, and was first married 
April 15, 1840, to Miss Nancy Tingley, who was a 
native of the snme State as her husband, and was 
the mother of our subject. This lady died at the 
homestead in Adrian Township in 1847. Samuel 
and Rebecca Tingley, the maternal grandparents of 
Alanson Treat, emigrated to Michig.an during the 
early settlement of this county, locating, like the 
Treat family, on a tract of land in Adri.an Town- 
ship. 

Butler Treat built up a good hduiestead from the 
uncultivated land, where he spent the remainder of 
his days, his death taking place Nov. 30, 187S). He 
had been married three times, and became the head 
of a family including twelve children, three by the 
first wife, four by the second and five by the third, 
the whole including three daughters and nine sons, 



who present the remarkable spectacle of a group 
still unbroken by the hand of death. The most of 
them are married and located principally in this 
•State. 

The subject of this history was a cliild of the 
first marriage of his father, and was reared to man- 
hood at the homestead where he was born. His 
early studies were conducted in the district schools, 
and later he attended Raisin Valley Seminary. 
Upon completing his studies, he returned to the 
farm where he remained until twent3'-three years of 
age, then took up his residence in the town and en- 
gaged as a clerk for the drug firm of Stephenson 
Bros. The next year he commenced in business 
for himself at his present location at No. IG Main 
street, where he keeps a large and finel}' assorted 
.stock of drugs, medicines, oils, paints, etc. He 
ranks among the leading business men of the town, 
and has followed those methods by which he has 
gained an lionest foothold among his compeers. 
Politically, he is a stanch adherent of the Demo- 
cratic partj'. He cast his first Presidential vote for 
Horatio Seymour, and is a warm admirer of the 
present National Executive. Socally, he belongs 
to the 1. O. O. F., being a member in good standing 
of Adrian Lodge No. 8. 

One of the most important events in the life of 
our subject was his marriage with Miss Clara M. 
Lincoln, of Jackson County, this State, which took 
place at Napoleon, in that county, in the fall of 
1871. Mrs. Treat was born there April 2l', 1S4'J, 
and is the daughter of Richard and Matilda Lincoln. 
Her union with our subject resulted in the birth of 
six children, three only of whom are living, namely : 
Grace N., born Dec. 27, 1875; Butler, Nov. 25, 
1880, and Horace, June 12, 188U. The family resi- 
dence, pleasantly located on Allis street, is a neat 
and substantial structure, and both within and 
without gives evidence of refined tastes and an 
abode replete with all the comforts of life. We 
subjoin the genealogy of this brant^h of the Treat 
family, which is a most important record, and the 
preservation of which is one of the most forcible 
illustrations of the intelligence and forethought of 
the progenitors of our subject. 

Richard Treat, born about 1590, in England, died 
in 1669, in Wethersfield, Conn.; he was a very 



•►-11-4^ 



IK 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



wealthy and influential man, and one of the pat- 
entees of Connecticut in 1662. He had three sons 
and five daughters ; two of the latter married pat- 
entees. His son, Robert Treat, was born about 1622, 
in England, and died July 12, 1710, in Milford, 
Conn. : he -was the greatest of our Colonial Gov- 
ernors, being Governor and Lieutenant Governor 
of Connecticut for a period of thirty years, and was 
the founder of Newax'k, N. J. He had four sons 
and three daughters. One son, Capt. Joseph Treat, 
■was born Sept. 17, 1662, in Milford, Conn., and 
died there Aug. 9, 1721. He was the father of 
seven sons and five daughters. His son .Stephen 
was born Oct. 10, 1715, in Milford, and died Nov. 
1.3, 1794, in Bliddletown, Conn.; his family con- 
sisted of three sons and six daughters. His son, 
Stephen Treat, Jr., was born May 26, 1747, in 
Middletown, and became the father of eight sons 
and seven daughters. The record of his death is 
lost. His son, Hosea Treat, was born June 8, 1781, 
in Middletown, Conn., and died Sept. 17, 1818, in 
Holland Patent. He was married, April 4, 1802, 
to Hannah Bonfoey, who after his death became 
the wife of Obediah Piatt. Among the eight chil- 
dren was his son, Butler Treat, Sr., and the father 
of our subject. He was married to his second wife, 
Anna Euritt, June 14, 1849, and to the third. Mari- 
etta Vedder, March 6, 1861. 



POBP2RT M. BAILEY, a prominent business 
man and farmer of Adrian Townsliip, was 
lK\ born at Newbur}^ Vt.. on the 12th of De- 
^jcember, 1826. He is the son of T. H. Bai- 
le3', whose father was also a native of the same 
place. The father of our subject was an itinerant 
preacher and his son gained his education by at- 
tending the various country schools in his father's 
circuits and also a select school in Grahamtown. 
Robert M. Bailey continued to live at home with 
his parents until his marriage, which important 
event in his "life occurred March 6, 1850, when he 
was united to Susan, a daughter of John Pierce, 
who was a pioneer of Madison Township. Her fa- 
ther came to Michigan at an earh- day, and engaged 
in agricultural pursuits, but finally went to Ohio 



and died at a very advanced age; his people lived 
in New England. 

Some time after his marriage our subject em- 
barked in the grocery and provision trade in the 
town of Adrian, in which he continued for twelve 
years, when he sold out his business and settled 
upon the property which his father had left and 
which was involved in debt. By careful business 
management our subject had succeeded in accum- 
ulating some capital, which he now used in rescu- 
ing the home property, consisting of 130 acres of 
fine land, and which he has brought under a good 
state of cultivation and equipped with excellent 
farm buildings. The barn was destroyed by fire in 
1879, and in the following year Mr. Bailey built 
the present substantial and commodious structure ; 
the house was built many years ago. Our subject 
had two children b}' his first wife: Amelia, who ig 
at home, and Marcus M., who married Miss Dun- 
reath Thompson, and has four children; he also 
lives on the homestead, and two of his children are 
attending the district school. 

Our subject's first wife having died, he afterward 
married Jane, daughter of Seldon Strong, of Mas- 
sachusetts, where he followed his trade of a black- 
smith. Mrs. Bailey departed this life at the home 
place in 1878, and Mr. Bailey was married a third 
time, to Laura M. Strong, a cousin of his second 
wife. 

Mrs. Bailey is a member of the Presbyterian 
Church, and Mr. Bailey, politically, is a strong Pro- 
hibitionist. Since taking possession of the home- 
stead Mr. Bailej' has stocked the farm with an ex- 
cellent grade of horses and cattle, some of which 
are among the finest in the township. He is a wide- 
awake, progressive citizen, and has won a large cir- 
cle of friends by his upright conduct and straight- 
forward business methods 

\^ R. GEORGE HOWELL. On his father's 
l| \ side Mr. Howell's ancestors ai-e of Welsh 
,fi]U^ descent. Charles Howell came from 
— Wales and settled in New Jersey about 

1735, and his son David was born while on the 
voyage, two days before they landed in New York. 



^ 



•► 



■•► 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1169 



David was a friend and an acquaintance of George 
Washington, whom he frequently entertained at his 
home in New Jersey during the Revolutionary' 
War. David's son .Joseph, the grandfather of Dr. 
Howell, was born at Bound Brook, N. Y., Nov. 8, 
1766. He married Catherine Scabring, Dee. 7, 
1788, and about the year 1800 he left New Jersey 
and settled in Seneca County, N. Y., between Lodi 
and Ovid. At this place Dr. Joseph Howell, the 
father of the subject of this sketch, was born May .">, 
1803. 

Lutitia Howell, the mother of the subject of this 
sketch, was a daughter of Dennis Vanduyn and 
Anna Covert, and was of Holland descent. Siie was 
born in New Jersey Oct. 19, 1803. When six months 
old, her parents removed from New Jersej- to 
Seneca County, N. Y., where she and Joseph Howell 
grew up schoolmates and playfellows. They were 
married Nov. 5, 1826, and in August, 1831, they 
removed from Seneca County, N. Y., to the Terri- 
tory of Michigan, and settled in what afterward 
came to be the township of Macon, Lenawee 
County. 

At Macon, in a little log cabin, George Howell 
was born Nov. 4, 183G, and grew up amidst the 
scenes and incidents of pioneer life. Although en- 
gaged in all kinds of farm work, yet not being very 
strong physically, be was permitted to attend the 
summer terms of the district school until fifteen 
years of age, and the winter terms until nineteen. 
While at work on the farm and attending the dis- 
trict school he became the possessor of Comstock's 
Botany, Flint's Surveying, and an old compass and 
chain. With these he became quite proficient in 
the Sinnsean System of Botany, and so skilled in 
the use of the compass as to do surveying for the 
neighborhood. There ran through the township 
and across his father's farm a creek called the Ma- 
con, and as much of its course lay through wood- 
lands abounding in game, it gave an opportunity for 
hunting and trapping. With his gun and traps, his 
compass and chain, and his botany and wild flowers, 
in the quiet stillness of the woods George Howell 
found greater enjoyment than in society. When 
nineteen j^ears of age his father gave him his time 
and permitted him to work the farm on shares. At 
the end of two years he entered Hillsdale College 



.and attended five terras, and then .attended one 
term at the Tecumseh High School. In 1860 he 
entered the medical department of the University 
of Michigan, and was gr.aduated in March, 1863. 
He at once commenced the practice of medicine in 
his native township, and to it closely applied him- 
self for nineteen ye.ars. 

Among Dr. Howell's early sehoolnmtes was Aim 
Amelia Remington, a quiet, modest, barefoot girl, 
with hair .always neatly combed and tied with a 
ribbon, her pleasant face shaded by a calico sun- 
bonnet, and her neatly fitting dress covered by an 
apron with sleeves and with long wide apron strings 
tied in a double bow knot. She was born Feb. 8, 
1844, and was married to Dr. Howell Jan. 7, 
1864. There have been born to them three chil- 
dren — Edith, Veva and Gertrude. 

Many are the little ofHces his townsmen have 
given the Doctor. In 1881 he was elected Super- 
visor, and re-elected in 1883. Among the measures 
he introduced and advocated while on the board 
was one to build the new court-house. In 1 882 
he and J.ames Cook, of Raisin, were candidates for 
nomination in the first representative district of 
Lenawee County to the State Legislature. Mr. Cook 
was a very competent man, and the contest was an 
exciting one. Dr. Howell received the nomination, 
and at the November election ran against James 
Bradner, Democrat, and W. II. More, Prohibition- 
ist, and was elected by a small majority. In 1884 
he was re-elected to the House, running against Hor- 
ace Holdridge, Democrat, and George Humphrey, 
Prohibitionist. In 1886, Hon. M. Carpenter not 
desiring a renominatiou to the State Senate, the 
nomination was given to Dr. Howell by acclama- 
tion. His opponents were Henry C. Hall, Fusion- 
ist, and Cornelius (Juick, Prohibitiunist; his major- 
ity was 466. 

One among the measures Dr. Howell introduced 
while in the Legisl.ature and which became law, was 
a medical bill, the intent of which was to prevent 
the further admission of incompetent persons to 
practice in the State. Its provisions were that only 
those could pr.actice who had practiced within the 
State for five years, those who were graduates of 
some reputable college, and those who were stu- 
dents practicing under a preceptor. But the good 



•^^1f^<*^ 



A 



]'.' 1170 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



intent of Dr. Howell's bill has been nearly or quite 
defeated. The courts decided, in the first instance, 
that a medical society authorized to grant diplomas 
was a medical college. Then the medical colleges 
and the practitioners of medicine permitted incom- 
petent persons to register as students practicing 
under them as preceptor, and these students have 
gone out and practiced anywhere in the State, thus 
evading the intent of the law. 

In September, 1886, Dr. Howell removed from 
his native township to Tecumseh, where he now re- 
sides and practices his profession. 

^^EORGE R. COCHRANE, ex-County Treas- 
jll g— , urer and formerlj^ Supervisor of Blissfield 
^^11 Township, is now numbered among the 
most esteemed citizens of Palmyra, where he owns 
a handsome home and a good property besides. He 
first opened his eyes to the light on the other side 
of the Atlantic in County Cavan, Ireland, Feb. 18, 
1841, and as his parents emigrated to the United 
States five years later he knows no other home than 
his adopted country. 

The father of our subject, David Cochrane, also 
born in County Cavan, Ireland, was of Scotch an- 
cestry and remained a resident of his native county 
until 1845. He had been principally engaged since 
seventeen years of age in the constabulary of Ire- 
land, but his continued labor and self-sacrifice 
found little to encourage him upon his native soil. 
He determined to try his fortunes in the New 
World, and accordingly in the year mentioned em- 
barked on a sailing-vessel with his wife and two 
children, and after a tedious voyage landed in New 
York City. Thence he proceeded directly to 
Brockf)ort, where he worked at shoemaking until 
1861, when he removed to Rochester, and continu- 
ing at his trade, spent the remainder of his days 
there, his death occurring in 1869. 

The mother of our subject, in her girlhood Miss 
Lydia Young, was a native of the same co\inty as 
her husband and son. She died in Brockport in 
18.57, before the removal of the family to Roches- 
ter, leaving two children, Lydia A. and our sub- 
ject. The sister married William Unger, a chemist 



1 and perfume manufacturer of New York City, 
j George R. received his early education at Brock- 
port, and after the death of his mother made his 
home with an uncle in Genesee County, and com- 
pleted his studies at Pembroke Academy. Upon 
the outbreak of the Rebellion he enlisted in 18G3, 
in Company G, 8th New York Artillery, and was 
on garrison duty at Baltimore until the spring of 
1 864. His regiment was then assigned to the Army 
of;the Potomac, and 3'oung Cochrane afterward 
took part in the important battles of the Wilder- 
ness, Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor and Petersburg, 
at which latter place the conflict raged from the 
16th to the 22d of June. He was then wounded 
in the left arm, and soon after its amputation, dur- 
ing which time he h.ad been in the hospital at Troy, 
N. Y., he received his honorable discharge in De- 
cember, 1864. 

Mr. Cochrane upon returning to New York State 
located upon a farm near Batavia, and at the next 
election was chosen Township Treasurer. He 
served his term, and the following year sold off his 
propert}' at Batavia, and repairing to Rochester en- 
gaged in the sale of millinery and fancy goods. 
This business, however, did not quite meet his re- 
quirements, and in 1868 he sold out, and coming to 
this county engaged at farming in Palmyra Town- 
ship. Three years later he disposed of this prop- 
erty also, and removed upon a farm near Blissfield, 
where he continued until 1878. Afterward his 
residence for four years was in the citj' of Adrian, 
and he then purchased another farm near Blissfield, 
the operations of which he superintended and upon 
which he lived until 1885. From there he removed 
to his present farm on section 23, Palmyra Town- 
ship. Although not able to do much manual labor 
he has possessed in a marked manner the ability to 
superintend, and his operations have been uniformly 
successful. He has a neat set of frame buildings 
and the premises are supplied with all the improved 
machinery required by the modern agriculturist. 

The marriage of our subject with Miss Bessie M. 
Chittenden was celebrated at the home of the bride 
in Bethany, N. Y., Nov. 29, 1865. Mrs. Cochrane 
was born at Bethany, Genesee County, Aug. 3, 
1839, and is the daughter of Jesse B. and Mary 
(Eastland) Chittenden, natives of Ca3'uga County, 



■•► 



1 



•►^^^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1171 



N. Y., and Mrs. Chittenden i.s residing in Palmyra 
but her husband died in 1875. Mr. and Mrs. Coch- 
rane after their marriage commenced life together 
at Batavia, N. Y., and in due time became the par- 
ents of three children : Lilly, who was born in 
1869; William, in 1871, and George, in 1877; they 
all reside at home with their parents. Our subject 
politically is an active Republican, and he and his 
estimable lady are members in good standing of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church. 

Mr. Cochrane served six consecutive years as 
Treasurer of Blissfield Township, and then the law 
was changed so that no County or Township Treas- 
urer should hold office more than two terms. He was 
then, in 1878, elected County Treasurer, and served 
the two terms allowed, and upon his return to Bliss- 
field, at the next election he was chosen Supervisor. 
These procedures on the part of his fellow-towns- 
men are sufficient evidence of the estimation in 
which he is held by the people of his community. 
He is a gentleman of excellent business capacity, 
self-educated, and a keen observer of what is going 
on around him in the world. Although quiet and 
unostentatious in his manner, his influence has been 
of no small moment in the furtherance of those en- 
terprises calculated for the general welfare of the 
people and the establishment and maintenance of 
the institutions calculated to build up this part of 
the county. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., 
of the G. A. R., and also a member of the Grange, 
at Palmyra. 



\T7 ORENTUS S. CALKINS, one of the pio- 

I (@) neers of the Territory of Michigan, planted 
/l^^ his stakes in Palmyra Township as early as 
1841. This fact at once indicates him as a man of 
courage and enterprise, and he has been distin- 
guished for these traits of character for a period of 
over fifty years. He is quiet and unassuming in 
demeanor, but stored up in hisactive brain is a large 
fund of useful information, which, coupled with a 
long experience, has assisted to perfect his judgment 
and make his life one worthy of imitation. He has 
been largelj' identified with the development of the 
resources of Southern Michigan, and is justly de- 
serving of the credit which attaches to his name as 



•^h 



one of its most valued citizens. His early advan- 
tages were somewhat limited but he has made the 
most of his opportunities in life, and has learned 
from experience that which could scarcely have 
been taught him ina school whose rules were laid 
down by others. 

Our subject was born in Cayuga County, N. Y., 
Aug. 23, 1812, and is the son of Jared and Sus- 
anna (Austin) Calkins, natives of Rutland, Vt. 
The early life of Jared Calkins was spent under 
adverse circumstances, he having been deprived of 
the affectionatercare of his mother when a lad five 
years of age, and was afterward bound out to learn 
the trades'of ft tanner, currier and shoemaker. After 
becoming master of these he ran away from his 
stern employer, and going to Sackett's Harbor, on a 
baj' of Lake Ontario, in Jefferson County, N., Y., 
pursued his trade until reaching his majority. 
Time, which smoothes down all rugged places and 
influences, had changed his feelings somewhat 
toward his former employer, and he now returned 
to his old haunts and resumed his labors with the 
gentleman from whom he had learned his trade. 
He continued there and in Cayuga County until 
about 1814, then removed to Wayne County, N. Y., 
and in the town of Macedou pursued his chosen 
vocation and formed the acquaintance of the lady 
who afterward shared his fortunes in life. 

Subsequently Mr. Calkins became a resident of 
Genesee County, N. Y., whence he emigrated in 
July, 1836, to the Territory of Michigan, resolved 
on making it his permanent home. He entered a 
quarter section of laud in Rives Township, Jackson 
Count}', and then returned to New York State for 
his family. Circumstances afterward induced him, 
upon his re-entrance into Michigan, to rent a tract 
of land in Raisin Township, this count}', and he 
afterward invested his suri)lus cash in a tract of 
timber land on section 10, in Palmyra Township. 
Here he put up a log house into which he removed 
his family and began to fell the trees around it and 
propare the soil for cultivation. This continued his 
home until he retired from active labor and took up 
his abode with his son, A. B., near Petersburg, where 
his death took place at the age of eighty-one years. 
The mother sur.vived her husband six years, and 
died in Monroe County. The maternal grand- 
•>^ 



^l-^ 



• ^m <• 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



father of our subject, William Austin by name, 
served with two of his sons in the War of 1812, and 
spent his last years in Genesee County, N. Y. 

Our subject was reared in his native State and 
was quite young when his father secured fifty acres 
of timber land in Genesee County, which was a 
part of the Holland Purchase. Loreiitus made 
himself useful at an early age, being but twelve 
years old when he commenced felling the trees and 
otherwise assisting his father in clearing the farm, 
and he was thus employed until reaching his majority. 
He started out for himself in life without other cap- 
ital than his courageous spirit and willing hands, 
and engaged as a farm laborer at $12 per month. 
The following year he received $1 additional, 
and was thus occupied in New York State until 
1836. In the meantime he had been married and 
now, in the fall of that year, accompanied by his 
wife, emigrated to the Territory of Michigan and 
located in Jackson County, where he worked as a 
carpenter for Ave years, in the meantime making it 
a point to live within his income and save what he 
could of his slender earnings. His first purchase in 
this county was seven acres of land on section 10, 
of Palmyra Township, at $7. .50 per acre. He hired 
men to clear his land while he continued at his trade, 
and in due time increased the amount of his real- 
estate by the purchase of fourteen acres more on the 
same section. He erected a modest frame dwelling 
which constituted a shelter for his family until the 
advent of the Michigan Southern Railroad induced 
him to sell out, and he purchased the land included 
in his present farm, consisting of eighty acres, only 
ten of which were cleared. He has now cleared the 
entire tract and erected a good set of frame build- 
ings. He worked at his trade two years after tak- 
ing possession of his property, and then gave his 
attention mostly to his farm until he retired from 
active life. 

The wife of our subject, who became the sharer 
of his fortunes in April, 1836, was formerly Miss 
Sophia Hollister, a native of P^lba, Genesee Co., 
N. Y., and the daughter of Amazi and Mollie Hol- 
lister, natives respectively of England and Hol- 
land. Mrs. Calkins was born in 181 6, and after be- 
coming the mother of ten children, died at her home 
in Palmyra Township, Oct. 13, 1882. Of their chil- 



dren the record is as follows: Ann is the wife of 
George Jones, and a resident of Palmyra, Lenawee 
County ; Eliza married W. D. Archer, and lives on a 
farm in Palmyra Township; Harrison married Phebe 
Walters ; Harriet, the wife of Clarence E. Judson, 
and Willard, are also residents of Palmyra Town- 
ship, while Filura remains at home with her father. 
Those deceased were named respectively, George 
L., David, Samuel L. and Nancy J. 

Mr. Calkins and his wife were reared in the Soci- 
ety of Friends, with which the wife remained con- 
nected until her death, and to which faith our sub- 
ject still adheres. He cast his first Presidential vote 
for Martin Van Buren and voted for Lincoln in 
1860, and clings stoutly to the principles of the 
Republican party. 



0'~- HARLES G. BIRD is one of the ol 
zens of Lenawee County, as he cam 
1831 with his parents when a child, i 



HARLES G. BIRD is one of the oldest citi- 

came here in 

and lived 

with them in Adrian Township. He is a native of 
Windsor, Broome Co., N. Y., and the 30th of August, 
1820, was the date of his birth. His father, Ben- 
jamin Bird, it is thought was also a native of that 
county and there resided, engaging in his occupa- 
tion of a farmer until his death, which occurred in 
the prime of his life in 1825. His father, the 
grandfather of our subject, was a farmer, and spent 
his last years in that count3'. The maiden name 
of the mother of our subject was Maria Merchant. 
She married her second husband, William Moore, 
in 1830. 

In October, 1831, the family started for the Ter- 
ritory of Michigan, via the Erie Canal, Lake Erie 
and Detroit River, to Detroit, where Mr. Moore 
hired two teams to take the family to Adrian. That 
city was then in the first stages of its existence, 
containing only three frame buildings and about a 
dozen log houses, and the county seat was then at 
Tecuraseh. Mr. Moore had previously visited the 
county and had purchased a tract of timber land four 
miles west of the court-house, and one-half mile 
north of the plank road. There were no buildings 
on his land, and the family lived in the house of a 
neighbor until Mr. Moore had cut away the trees, 

9^ 



•►HI-4^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1173 



and built a log house on the cleared space for their 
shelter, iuto which they moved in the fall of the 
year. Mr. Moore cleared and improved a good 
farm, on which he made his home for half a cen- 
tury, and then sold out in 1881 or 1882, and 
moved into the city of Adrian, where he is still 
living at a good old age, being in his ninety-first 
year. The mother of our subject died March 10, 
1874; she was a woman endowed with much vigor 
of character, and with her husband occupied a con- 
spicuous place among the pioneers of this county. 

Our subject was a lad of eleven years when he 
came with his parents to this county, and received 
his education in the primitive pioneer school of the 
time. The first school he attended was three miles 
west of Adrian, in a log cabin built for that pur- 
pose, with a chimney of earth and sticks and a 
large fireplace to heat the room. Many a time on 
his way to that humble institution of learning has 
a deer or some other wild animal crossed his path. 
His father was an expert hunter, and kept their 
table supplied with venison, wild turkey and other 
game, which the mother cooked before the old- 
fashioned fireplace. His father raised flax and 
wo<j1, from which his thrifty mother spun and wove 
the cloth out of which she fashioned his garments. 
Our subject assisted in the management of the home 
farm until he was twenty-four years old, when he 
went to Binghamton, N. Y., and learned the trade 
of a house painter, living there a year and a half. 
He then returned to Michigan and worked at his 
trade in Adrian until 1846, at which time he came 
to Hudson, and has here pursued his calling very 
successfully ever since. In 1848 he bought a house 
lot, pleasantly located on the corner of Church and 
Pleasant streets, and has since built his present neat 
and comfortable residence. 

December 30, 1847, Mr. Bird married Miss Mary 
A. Hood, who was born in Waterford, Erie Co., 
Pa., May 28, 1825, and was the daughter of John 
Hood, who was born in 1789, in Seneca Count}', 
N. Y. His father, John Hood, Sr., was a native of 
one of the Eastern States, who became a pioneer of 
Seneca County, where he bought a tract of land 
and cleared a farm. He was, however, unfortunate 
and lost his farm, after which he made his home with 
his children. Mrs. Hood's father was reared in his 



native county, and when twenty-two years of age 
he went to Erie County, Pa., and there married 
Olive Hall, who was the daughter of Harvey and 
Sarah (Hull) Hall, and was born in Connecticut, 
Dec. 29, 1803. Mr. Hood bought a farm and fol- 
lowed the occupation of a farmer in Erie County 
until 1833, when he sold out and came with his 
family to the Territory of Michigan, where he 
bought a tract of wild land in what is now Rome 
Township, containing a log barn and also a house, 
in which the family lived for a year. Mr. Hood 
then removed with his wife and children to Adrian 
Township, and bought a partially improved farm, on 
which they lived for a number of years, until his 
removal to Hudson, where his death occurred in 
1878, in the month of April. His widow now 
resides with her daughter, Mrs. Bird. 

Mr. and Mrs. Bird have three children — Martin 
A., Charles H. and Johu H. — and are held in high 
estimation by all who know them as genial, whole- 
souled people, whose daily lives are guided by 
the highest principles of rectitude. Mr. Bird takes 
an intelligent and active interest in public afflars. 
In early life he was a Democrat, and later became a 
member of the Free-Soil party, but on the forma- 
tion of the Republican party he joined its ranks, 
and has since been a faithful follower, sustaining- 
its measures at the polls whenever opportunity 
offers. In religious views Mr. Bird is extremely 
liberal, holding to good deeds ratlier than mean- 
ingless creeds for his salvation. 



.•-Ih 



(^ss^MITHBRIGGS. This gentleman, widely 
^^^ and favorably known throughout Lenawee 
M^M Count}', is one of the earliest pioneers of 
Michigan, coming here with his parents in 
1833, when a lad eight years of age. He was born 
in Sempronius, now Moravia, Cayuga Co., N. Y., 
Dec. 22, 1825. The family settled in Hillsdale 
County, where the father, John Briggs, took up a 
tract of Government land and resided a fevv years, 
then sold out, and taking up his residence in Wood- 
stock, this county, here passed the remainder (^f his 
days. 

John Briggs was a native of the Empire State, 



•►Hh-^ 



n^K 



•► 



Ih-N 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



and was born near the town of Easton, Washing- 
ton County, in 1782. In early life he learned the 
hatter's trade, which he followed until after his mar- 
riage, and then engaged in the more congenial pur- 
suits of farm life. He was wedded in Stillwater, 
N. Y., to Miss Triphena St John, and they became 
the parents of eight children, five sons and three 
daughters. Mrs. Triphena Briggs was born in Still- 
water, and died in Woodstock Townslilp, this 
county. 

Our subject left the parental roof when eleven 
years of age, and going to Tecumseh engaged with 
Gen. J. W. Brown, as a stage-driver. His first 
route was between Tecumseh and Adrian, the stage 
being a two-horse conveyance, of which the boy 
had sole charge, and delivered the mail safely for 
about six months. He was then promoted to four- 
horse coachman, his route now lying along the road 
from Tecumseh to Springville, and he was thus oc- 
cupied about four years. Mr. Briggs being in 
favor with Gen. Brown, during the Toledo War ac- 
companied him through the entire campaign, being 
furnished with a good horse, and otherwise well 
provided for. In the spring of 1839 he abandoned 
stage driving and going to Auburn, N. Y., learned 
the iron molder's trade and how to forge scythes 
and hoes, which he followed for about three years. 
After being in charge of an iron foundry at Seneca 
for a year, he subsequently, in company with a 
partner, purchased a plant and engaged largely in 
the manufacture of pumps. From there, in 1 84.5, he 
removed to Burlington, Vt., and the following spring 
became connected with the Champlaiu Transporta- 
tion Company, then operating a line of steamers 
from Whitehall to St. John's, Canada. His next 
location was at Albany, N. Y., where he was m.ide 
general agent for the Hudson River Eailroad Com- 
pany, and in 1866 became connected with the 
Swift-Sure line of steamboats and barges between 
Albany and New York City. This was one of the 
most important transportation lines on the river, 
and had at its head Erastus Corning, Samiiei 
Schuyler and Smith Briggs. 

Mr. Briggs remained with this company until 

1873, and was identified with the Albany Car 

^ Wheel Company until 1877, when he came to 

Michigan and located in Jackson. In the mean- 



time, while connected with the Transportation. Com- 
pany, he had been .largely interested in the build- 
ing of several fine vessels which plied upon the 
Great Lakes. 

Mr. Briggs was one of the original stockholders 
of _ the Watervliet Turnpike and Railroad Company, 
operating between Albany and Troy, and was for 
several years its President, resigning in 1877, to 
come to the West. He still owns his original stock 
in the road besides valuable property in Albany. 
His transactions in this county have mostly em- 
braced agricultural pursuits, especially stock-farm- 
ing, in which he has gained an enviable reputation. 
He has 360 acres of valuable land, on which he 
makes a specialty of raising thoroughbred Hamble- 
tonian horses for breeding purposes, and exhibits 
some of the finest animals in Southern Michigan. 
His fame in this line has spread throughout the 
Northwest, and his operations extend through both 
the Eastern and ^Vestern States. He also raises ex- 
cellent grades of Short-horn cattle and sheep, and 
for the care and comfort of these has all the build- 
ings and conveniences necessary. 

The fact that Mr. Briggs has attained to his pres- 
ent position by his own unaided efforts tends to 
make his career more than ordinarily interesting. 
His early education was extremely limited, being 
confined to a few daj's' schooling, but his intelli- 
gence and forethought enabled him to make the 
most of his opportunites, and there are few men 
better read or better informed. In all the essen- 
tials of the self-made man he has proved himself 
equal to the best. He takes no part in politics, and 
has been no office-seeker, simply consenting to 
serve as School Director in his district. He has his 
own views, however, upon political matters, and 
is an earnest supporter of the Republican party. 

Mr. Briggs was united in marriage with the lady 
of his early choice. Miss Laura Jones, in April, 
1842, the wedding taking place at the home of the 
bride at Seneca Falls, N. Y. Mrs. Briggs was born 
in Onondaga, that State, May 8, 1829, and was the 
daughter of Thomas and Lucy (Gunn) Jones. 
Thomas Jones, a native of the Empire State, was 
born Nov. 15, 1776, and was a well-educated man, 
following the profession of a teacher the greater 
part of his life, and dying on the 17th of March. 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1175 



1800. His wife, Lucy, was a native of the same 
State as her husband, and was born Dec. 25, 1776, 
the same year of his birth. She survived her hus- 
band some years, and died at the home of our sub- 
ject in Albanj', in March, 1864. They were tlie 
parents of ten children, of whom four are still living. 
Thomas Jones was of English descent, the family 
being first represented in this country at an early 
period in its history. They settled in New En- 
gland and from there probably scattered south and 
west. The}' were characterized for their piety, and 
many of them were active and prominent in church 
work. 

To Smith and Laura Briggs there were born four 
children, of whom but three are living: Laura Jose- 
phine was born in New York, Oct. 2!, 1844, and 
is now the wife of Charles A. Hoyt, of Butte City, 
Blont., where he is engaged as a mining engi- 
neer; they have two boys. Francis E. was born 
in Burlington, Vt., March 14, 1847, and makes his 
home with his father; Mary W. was born in Albany, 
N. Y., Aug. 12, 1859, and died April 12 following; 
Orace E was born in Albany, Jan. II, 1866, and is 
at home. The children all enjoy the advantages of 
a first-class education, and Miss Grace is a musician 
of rare merit, being an expert as a performer on 
the violin, while there are few instruments which 
she does not hanrlle readily. Mrs. Laura Briggs, 
the mother of these children, departed this life in 
Jackson, this State, Aug. 14, 1880. 

The paternal grandparents of our subject, Thomas 
and Mary Briggs, were both born in April, 1706. 
They belonged to the Society of Friends and 
inherited the reliable and substantial traits of an 
excellent ancestry ; they passed avvay at a ripe old 



-<*1t1:>*- 



y"^ ILLIAM H. BROOKS, an intelligent farmer 
of Woodstock Township, is a native of 
„ ^ New York, having been born in Delaware 
County, April 14, 1832, and is the son of Merchant 
and Mary (Every) Brooks, a sketch of whom is 
given elsewhere in this volume. William Brooks 
remained at home with his parents attending the 
district school, and assisting in the necessary 
farm labor until his marriage. On the 4th day of 



July, 1856, he led to the altar Miss Deborah Dean, 
who was born in Delawai-e County, N. Y., June 
26, 1837. 

Mrs. Brooks is the d:uighterof Harvey and Polly 
(Every) Dean, the former a native of the Empire 
State, where he was born in Delaware County, in 
1804. In 1848 became to Lenawee County, Mich., 
locating in Woodstock Township, where he pur- 
chased eighty acres of school land, which he cleared 
and brought to a fine state of tillage. There he made 
his residence until 1869, when he was comi)elledby 
ill-health to dispose of his property, and found a 
purchaser in his son-in-law, Mr. 'Brooks. Mr. 
Dean then removed to the village and took up his 
abode. lie was a man of more than average abil- 
ity, and of considerable literary attainments, a 
great reader, a shrewd analj'zer and a deep thinker. 
He was an encyclopedia of all useful knowledge to 
the people among whom he lived; the history of 
the country he knew by heart, and his memory for 
dates and events was prodigious. Kind and gentle 
in his manner, and smooth in speech, he was greatly- 
beloved by all his neighbors. In politics he affili- 
ated with the Republican party, but it is said of 
him that his opponents were often his warmest 
friends. Being the son of a Revolutionary sire, his 
patriotism was part of his nature. His demise 
occurred in Woodstock Township in 1878, when he 
had reached the ripe age of seventy-four years. His 
loss to the community was deeply felt, and the 
bereaved family had the hearty sympathy of the 
entire neighborhood. His wife, who was a native 
of Putnam County, N. Y., was born in 1808, and 
was the mother of five children, all of whom are 
living and residents of the gi-eat State of Michigan. 

Mr. and Mrs. William Brooks are the parents of 
four children, as follows: Merchant D. was born' 
March 27, 1856, and was united in marriage with 
Miss Emma Nicholson, by whom he has two chil- 
dren; he is a farmer in this State. Stella I. was 
born Oct. 4, 1858, and is now the wife of Percy 
Kelley, a farmer in Woodstock Townshij), and the 
parent of one child ; Hopkins was born .Tune 2, 
1863, married Clara Kelley, and is farming in this 
township. Shirley was born July 29, 1872, and 
died Dec. 11, 1879, at the age of seven years and 
four months. The last-named little girl was re- 



A 



1176 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



markable for her musical talent, which even at so 
young an age had commenced to develop, and her 
friends are persuaded from her having picked up 
without any assistance the rudiments of the art, that 
she would liave made a record of considerable note 
had slie been spared. 

Mr. Brooks has always closely applied himself to 
the cultivation of his farm, having no time to spare, 
nor inclination for the responsibilities of political 
ofBce. He is a Democrat of the Jackson school, 
and is always prepared to fulfill his duties as a 
patriotic citizen. His wife, a most estimable 
woman, inherits the taste and ability of her father, 
and occupies a very prominent position in the social 
circles of the township of Woodstock. She was ap- 
pointed Postmistress under the present administra- 
tion Jan. 1, 1887, and has continued to fulfill the 
duties of that office to the eminent satisfaction of 
all concerned. She is a member of the Baptist 
Church, a warm-hearted and consistent Christian 
woman, and an active worker in church and Sunday- 
school work, and has been so for a number of years. 



' SAAC B. KELLOGG was born in Lucas County, 
Ohio, July 26, 1847, and inherited from a 
sturdy New England ancestry that independ- 
ent and self-reliable character to which his success 
is mainly attributable. His ancestors had their 
home in the beautiful valley of the Housatonic 
River, in the State of Connecticut, not far from the 
Massachusetts line. His grandfather, Joseph Kel- 
logg, was a farmer, who married Martha Bebee, and 
they passed their entire lives in Canaan, Litchfield 
County, where, on the old Kellogg homestead, their 
son Harvey, the father of Isaac B., was born. In 
that New England home,, as he grew to a vigorous 
manhood, he was trained to all the labors of a 
farmer, and in the year 1836 he married Miss Bet- 
sey Kellog, also a native of Canaan. 

After their marriage Harvey and Betsey Kellogg 
tarried awhile longer in the town of their birth, 
but in the j^ear 1 838 thej' set forth to make for 
themselves a new home in what was to them the 
"great West." They settled in Adams Township, 
Lucas Co., Ohio, where Mr. Kellogg bought a 

"^ • 



tract of timber land, and first built a log house 
for their home, which subsequently gave place to a 
more commodious frame house. He now has a 
fine farm of 160 acres, well improved, containing 
a substantial brick house, a frame barn, .ind other 
buildings. He and his good wife still reside on 
this farm, which their toil has reclaimed from the 
wilderness, and now, as the shadows of life are 
lengthening, they can spend their declining years in 
comfort and plentj'. Five children were born to 
them, of whom but two are living: Joseph G., the 
eldest, who resides on the homestead, and Isaac B., 
the subject of our sketch; the other children died 
young. 

Our subject passed the years of his boyhood in 
the home of his birth, assisting in the labors of the 
farm. His parents, true to their New England 
origin and principles, gave their sons the benefits 
of a good education, and our subject, after he had 
gained the rudiments of an education at the dis- 
trict school, learning all that could be taught there, 
was sent, when he was eighteen years old, to the 
Central Ohio Conference Seminary. When his edu- 
cation was completed by a coui-se of study at that 
excellent institution, he returned home, and act- 
ively engaged in farm labor for his father until 
his marriage, which took place on the 28th of 
February, 1872, to Miss Adelma Hill. Adelma 
Hill, a native of Adams Township, obtained a 
thorough education at the Central Ohio Confer- 
ence Seminary, and for a number of years was a 
successful teacher in the district schools of Lucas 
County. Mrs. Kellogg personally superintends the 
education of her children, depending but little on 
the ever-changing teachers of our district schools 
of to-day, and her greatest regret of the past is 
that she didn't spend more time and money 
on her own education, thus better fitting her- 
self as a mother and teacher of her children. 
Grandfather Hill, a native of England, was one of 
the pioneers of Wood County, Ohio, and there died. 
In 1846 Mrs. K.'s father, James Willison Hill,married 
Martlia Lewis, a native of New York, and daughter 
of Ephraim Lewis. Soon after their marriage they 
removed to Lucas County, and settled in the woods, 
in what is now Adams Township, where Adelma 
Hill was born, and lived till her marriage with 
-•► 



-^h 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



I. B. Kellogg. Her father, James Willison Hill, 
died July 14, 1858. Her mother is still living on 
the homestead. 

After his marriage Isaac B. and his brother 
rented their father's farm on shares until the year 
1875, when our subject came to this State and set- 
tled in Riga Township, on the farm he still occu- 
pies, his fatlier having bought the land several 
years previously. There were four acres of the 
land cleared, but there were no buildings on it, 
and he at once set about erecting the needed shel- 
ter, and actively engaged in clearing and tilling his 
soil. He now has forty acres of his land cleared 
and well tilled, and has a comfortable dwelling, a 
good barn and other necessary frame buildings. 
Mr. Kellogg pays much attention to the cultivation 
of grain, to which his soil is well adapted, while he • 
is also much interested in the rearing of stock, and 
has had much success in that line. 

The wedded life of Mi-, and Mrs. Kellogg has 
been blessed by the birth of six children — Eugene, 
Howard D., Bessie, Waldo B., Charles and Hazel 
Dell. With the joys of parentage, they have suf- 
fered its sorrows in the death of their first-born, 
Eugene, at tlie age of four months; and Charles, 
their fifth child, at the age of one year. 

Mr. and Mrs. Kellogg are highly respected in this 
community as people whose daily lives are guided 
by high moral principles, and are esteemed members 
of the Methodist Protestant Church. Mr. Kellogg, 
believing in the divine right of everyone to his 
own opinions, is an Independent in politics, and 
works for the good of his country, rather than for 
the interests of party. He is much interested in 
wh.atever promotes the welfare of the town, and is 
doing efficient service during his second term as 
Drain Commissioner. 

f^t OBERT L. ROtiERS. One of the most act- 
ive and successful general farmers of Cam- 
bridge Township is the gentleman whose 
|(gjname heads this article. On section 24 he 
has a fine farm of 280 acres, all in one tract, and 
well under cultivation, and he has erected liiereon 



a fine residence and neat farm buildings. Mr. Rogers 
is a native of the township of Pultney, Steuben 
Co., N. Y., and was born Feb. 3, 1831. He is the 
son of Ira Rogers, a native of Onondaga County, 
N. Y., who was a blacksmith bj' trade, following 
that calling for about fifteen years of his life. In 
early life he was united in marriage with Nancy 
Tomer, a native of the same State, and of German 
ancestry. Ira Rogers' parents were of New En- 
gland birth, his father, Clark Rogers, having been 
born in that division of the United States, as was 
also Rebecca (Babcock) Rogers, his wife, who came 
of English parentage; both of these died in New 
York. 

After Ira Rogers had grown to manhood he pur- 
sued his trade in Steuben County for a short time, 
when he came to Michigan with his wife and four 
children — Rebecca, Robert L., Adelsa and William 
C. They came across the lake to Toledo, and 
thence by team across the country to Cambridge 
Township, where he located on a farm on section 
35, in May, 1837. Here he made his home, im- 
proving the laud which was in a comparatively wild 
state when it came into his hands, until he brought 
it to a high state of cultivation. In 1869 he re- 
moved to Rome Township, where he purchased 110 
acres of land, upon which he resided until called 
from this world by death, Oct. 23, 1886. He was 
one of those men, so rarely found, who were reared 
under the beneficent influence of schools and relig- 
ious institutions, and were equipped to go forth and 
open up new empires without loss of self-respect. 
He enjoyed the esteem of all who knew him, and 
was accounted one of the best citizens of the 
county, while his honesty and reliability were al- 
most proverbial. In politics he was a Republican, 
and held nearly all the offices of the township, from 
that of Supervisor down. His wife died in 1847, at 
the age of thirty-nine years, leaving four children 
in addition to those named, viz. : John A., who was 
Captain of Company K, 12th Tennessee Infantry, 
during the late war, and was killed by the guer- 
rillas, June 14, 1864; and Wesley, Emily and Joel. 
After his wife's death Mr. Rogers married her sis- 
ter, Mrs. Clarissa Ross, wlio had a family of eight 
children by a former marriage, but who died some 
time subsequently. For a third time Mr. Rogers 



4 



"^•■ 



1178 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



entered the married state, this time with Delilah 
(Gullick) Hathaway, who still survives. 

Robert L. Rogers was reared at home, receiving 
his education in the public schools which at that 
time were sparsely planted in this country. Ap- 
proaching the age of manliood he took up the trade 
of a blaclfsniith, which lie followed for some fifteen 
years, two of which, 1856 and 1857, were spent in 
Marshall County, Iowa. While engaged in that 
trade in this county, he established his business in 
Springville, but in 1867 he took up the business of 
farming, which he has since followed. Following 
the footsteps of his noble father, he is continuing 
to add to the improvement of his place, and has it 
now in fine condition and well stocked with numer- 
ous high-grade animals. 

Robert L. Rogers and Miss Susan Rogers were 
married, Sept. 28, 1853, in Erie County, Pa. 
She was the daughter of Jacob and Susanna (Brown) 
Rogers, natives of New York and Massachusetts re- 
spectively, who had been married while residents of 
the Empire State, but shortly after removed to Erie 
County, Pa., and located on Government laud, 
in 1832, in Elk Creek Township. There they died, 
the father March 19, 1865, at the age of sixty-nifle 
years, and the mother, Feb. 19, 1876, at the age of 
eighty-three. 

Mrs. Robert Rogers was the youngest of five chil- 
dren, the other four of whom are recorded as fol- 
lows: Nathan C. married Sylvia Davis, and now re- 
sides in Albion, Erie Co., Pa. ; Lucy died in in- 
fancy; Ira is also deceased, while Reuben married 
Polly Spaulding, and is now a resident of Venango 
(Jounty, Pa. Mrs. Rogers was born in Erie County, 
Pa., Sept. 1, 1833, and was reared at home, receiving 
her education in the district schools of her native 
State. She is the mother of five children, as fol- 
lows: Mary F. is the wife of Joseph H. Smith, the 
popular cashier of O. P. Bills' Bank, at Tecumseh, 
and has two children — William Laverne and Lena F. ; 
J. Ira married Miss Carrie E. Lee, and is now oper- 
ating part of the homestead, and is the father of 
two children (twins), Lelia Fay and Leda May; 
Burt E. married Cora Van Sickles, and is a resident 
of one of his father's farms in this township ; Win- 
nie 1. is the wife of Herbert S. Werring, a resident 
of Tecumseh, while Cecil E. is at home. 

•<• 



In politics Mr. Rogers owes fealty to the Demo- 
cratic party, and is quite an influential factor in 
local circles. He has held almost all the otfices In the 
township, and enjoys the esteem of all his neigh- 
bors. He is favored with a good phj'sical constitu- 
tion, and combines strictness of moral principles 
with energy and decision of character. Orthodox 
in religious views, benevolent and kind, a good 
neighbor, a kind father and husband, he is entitled 
to, and possesses the confidence of his neighbors and 
a large circle of friends. 

■ t > :©: <V 

^ felLLIAM M. CORBET, one of the most 
\^// popular men of Blissfield Township, as has 

V^ been evidenced upon several occasions, par- 
ticularly in his election to the office of Supervisor 
by the people, notwithstanding the fact that the 
party to which he belonged was in the minority in 
the township by at least 100 votes, was born in Villa- 
nova, Chautauqua Co., N. Y., on the 22d of May, 
1826. His father, Zibra Corbet, was born in New 
York, in 1785, where he was brought up a farmer, 
and lived in Chautauqua Countj' until 1830, when 
he emigrated to Michigan, and arrived at Detroit 
on the 4th of July, on a schooner after a week's sail 
from Buffalo. At Detroit he secured ox-teams and 
removed his family' to Adrian, arriving there about 
the middle of the month. He at once located 
eighty acres of laud near the village of Adrian, 
and did some work on it, during which time another 
settler had gone to Monroe and entered the same 
land, and Mr. Corbet was obliged to vacate, but he 
afterward took up eighty acres on section 26 in 
Palmyra Township, where he lived most of the 
time until his death, April 28, 1859. He was a 
soldier in the War of 1812, was promoted to the 
rank of Captain, and participated in the battle of 
Sackett's Harbor, which was under the command of 
Gen. Jacob Brown. About 1810 he married Miss 
Emma Noble, and they had eleven children, of 
whom William was the fourth son and tenth child. 
Mrs. Emma Corbet died in Palmyra, on the 16th of 
April. 1840. 

William M. Corbet lived at home until the death 
of his mother, when he went to Monroe, and lived 



-•►Hl-^ 



•►11-^^ 



-=)(- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1179 



with W. G. Powers for several years, spending a 
part of three or four years in school during this 
time. On the 9th of January, 1843, when he 
was seventeen years old, he commenced as a loco- 
motive fireman on the Michigan Southern Railroad, 
on a locomotive called the " Hillsdale," of which 
Edwin Reese was engineer. He acted as Sreman 
about two years, when Thomas G. Cole, then 
Superintendent, promoted him, and he at once be- 
came a full-fledged engineer of the old locomotive 
" Ypsilanti," the first that ever ran on the Michigan 
Southern Road ; it had previously been used on the 
Michigan Central, but was shipped to Detroit from 
Monroe by vessel. He ran on tiie Michigan South- 
ern for about six j-ears, then went into the employ 
of the Michigan Central, and remained nearly a 
}'ear, after which he returned to tlie Michigan 
Southern, and ran a locomotive until ISa^, since 
which time he has run but little. During the ten 
years of his services as fireman and engineer he 
was in several accidents, including two coMisions. 
The most important event, and the one most vivid 
in his mind, was a collision near Lenawee Junction, 
in 1851. He was bringing a freight train from 
Monroe to Adrian, and Leonard Neufer was taking 
a similar train from Adrian to Monroe, both trains 
being " under orders," and having the " right of 
way " until they met at the curve just west of the 
junction. No lives were lost, but both locomotives 
and a large number of cars were destroyed. After 
the collision it was noticed that the telegraph wire 
was under the boiler of one of the locomotives, 
showing that the great crash had sent it into the air 
at least fifteen feet. Some idea of the wonderful 
force of a train of cars under full motion may be ob- 
tained from the fact that from the point where tiie 
engines went together to the point where the}' landed 
after going into the air was seventy-five feet parallel 
with the track to the east, while at the point where 
the collision occurred the track and road bed were 
depressed at least one foot. Li 185;5 Mr. Corbet 
went to Toledo, and there clerked for W. G. Powers 
until 1854, when he purchased the Pratt farm near 
the village of Blissfield, which he sold to W. G. 
Powers in 1860, and purchased the Fitch Dewey 
farm about two miles northeast of Blissfield, where 
they now reside. 

•4» 



Mr. Corbet is a Democrat in politics, and was first 
elected to the ofHce of Supervisor in 1883. Dur- 
ing that year he served as a member of the com- 
mittee which superintended the building of the 
court-house, and was again elected in 1885, 
and has been re-elected every year since. At 
one time he was the candidate of his party for a 
seat in the Legislature, but party lines Vere so 
closely drawn that he was defeated by a small ma- 
jority. In the Board of Supervisors he has served 
upon several small committees, the most important 
of which was upon equalization. At one time he 
was the candidate of his party for Chairm£,n of the 
Board of Supervisors. 

On the 25th of June, 1 860, Mr. Corbet was mar- 
ried to Miss Susan C, daughter of Obediah and 
Clotilda Spalding, of Monroe, Mich. The father 
was a native of Pennsylvania, where he was born in 
Sheshequin, on the 11th of August, 1790, and was 
reared on a farm until old enough to learn the trade 
of a blacksmith, at which he worked until he came 
to Michigan in 1833, and settled at Monroe. Here 
he engaged in the hardware business until his 
death, which occurred on the 3d of December, 
1847. Mrs. Corbet's mother, Clotilda Hoyt, was 
born in Sheshequin, Pa., on the 1st of July, 1795, 
and (lied on the 3d of September, 1834. There 
were nine children born to them, eight of whom 
grew to maturity; Jane Kendall died in Monroe, 
Lamira Rodney in Buffalo, N. Y., and Ellen Kelly, 
at Monroe, Eliza died at the age of eighteen; Julius 
lives in Dundee; Ulysses died in Monroe; David P, 
lives in Tecumseh; Obediah G. died in California, 
and Clotilda is the wife of Mr. Corbet. Mr. Cor- 
bet's brothers and sisters were as follows : Clark E. 
died at Palmyra, Clarissa A. Chapin at Osseo, Hills- 
dale County, Celestia A. Robinson and Emery P. at 
Palmyra, Maria Hubbard in Ogden, Mary E. Pow- 
ers in Cleveland, Wayne A. at Bay City, Mich.; 
Martha E. Brigham lives in Chicago. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Corbet have been born ten 
children, recorded as follows: Rollin S. was born 
April 28, 1851, and died Sept. 30. 1862; William P. 
was born March 27, 1853, and lives in Riga, Mich. ; 
Mary E. w.as born Nov. 4, 1854, and died Sept. 17, 
1862; Lizzie M. was born April 23, 1856, and is 
the wife of Hudson Orr; Frank B. was born April 



•►Hl-^ 



-4^ 



1180 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



T 



4, 1858, and lives in Toledo; Addie L. was born 
May 17, 1862, and died March 24, 1864; Burton 
O. was born Feb. 25, 1866; Mattie B., Aug. 4, 
1867 ; Susan M., Jan. 26, 1871 ; and Anna C, April 
3, 1872. The first two were born in Monroe, and 
the others in Blissfleld Township. Mrs. Susan C. 
Corbet, the wife of the subject of this sketch, was 
born at Athens, Bradford Co., Pa., March 13, 1831, 
and was brought to Michigan by her p.irents in 
1883, settling in Monroe City. 



JU:)HN PETER IIECKERT was born four 
miles southeast of the present village of 
Aurora, Preston Co., W. Va., Feb. 20, 1828. 
^__^ He came to Ogden Township, this county, in 
1865, and since that time h.<is been a continuous 
resident here and closely identified with the inter- 
ests of the community around him. His family is 
of German ancestry, his grandfather being Peter 
Heckert, who was one of the pioneers of Preston 
County, W. Va. He took up a tract of land about 
three miles southeast of the present site of Aurora, 
where he built up a comfortable homestead, and 
spent the remainder of his d.nys engaged in agricult- 
ural pursuits. 

Solomon Heckert, the father of our subject, was 
born in Preston County, ^V. Va., where he was 
reared to farming pursuits, and at the time of his 
marriage purchased 100 acres of land about a' mile 
from the old homestead. He continued to live 
upon this until abont 1869, then sold out, and com- 
ing to this county, purchased land in Ogden Town- 
ship, on section 4, the cultivation and improvement 
of which he carried on until resting from his earthly 
labors. He had married in the Old Dominion, Miss 
Maria Nines, a native of his own county, and the 
daughter of Christian Nines, a pioneer of that 
region. The mother of our subject came to this 
county with her husband and also died on the old 
homestead in Ogden Township. 

The subject of this biography availed himself of 
the limited opportunities afforded for an education, 
but in his youth the free schools of Virginia had 
not yet been established. His first studies were 
carried on as were those of the children of that day. 



on the subscription plan. Being fond of his 
books, however, he obtained a useful fund of inform- 
ation by a continued course of reading, obtaining 
all the literature he possiblj' could, choosing this 
rather than the amusements common to most young 
people. 

Our subject continued under the parental roof 
until reaching manhood, when his father presented 
him with a tract of land four miles south of the old 
homestead, where he settled upon his marriage, and 
commenced housekeeping in a dwelling of hewn 
logs. He cleared forty acres and lived there until 
1865, then sold out, and coming to this county pur- 
chased the land which he now occupies. From this 
five acres of the trees had been chopped, but the 
stumps were still remaining. Mr. Heckert put up 
a log house and now has forty acres cleared and the 
first dwelling replaced by a good brick residence 
and other buildings to correspond. 

The wife of our subject, to whom he was married 
Dec. 30, 1856, was formerly Miss Martha Ellen. 
Porter, who was born near Frostburg in Maryland, 
Aug. 7, 1837, and died July 29, 1879. They were 
the parents of seven children: Mary E., Albert 
W., Hannah V., John S., William F., Edward W., 
and one who died in infancy. 

(|7 ON. JOHN M. OSBORN was born in Per- 
i|^i] rinton, Monroe Co., N. Y., March 9, 1819, 
/|L^ and is the scion of an excellent old family 
[1^ which came to this country from England 
during the Colonial days. His paternal great-grand- 
father was loyal to the Ci-own during the Revolu- 
tionary War and afterward returned to England. 
Tradition reports that his estate was confiscated as 
the result of Colonial success and the absence of 
claimants. The paternal grandfather of our subject 
was, it is supposed, a native of Connecticut, where 
he was married and where his son John, the father 
of our subject, was born. The latter was quite 
young at the time of his father's decease, and soon 
afterward became a member of the family of one 
Mr. Kellogg, of Eastern New York, with whom he 
lived until able to support himself. 

John Osborn, the father, learned the trade of 

«► 




^^^,A£u(P?^^ ^^^--- 



A -A 



»P^ll-M- 



Hh^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1183 



cabinet-maker and subsequently that of carpenter 
anfl joiner. Upon the outbreak of the War of 1812, 
he enlisted, and was among those who crossed the 
river at the storming of Queenston Heights. After 
a severe engagement, for \rant of support and be- 
ing confronted l\y British reinforcements, the Fed- 
erals wei:e ordered by tiie officer in command to 
lay down their arras, which they did by throwing 
tliem with their utmost strength into the Niagara 
River. John Osborn was soon afterward paroled, 
but did service quietly in aiding the transport.ition 
of supplies for soldiers on duty during the war. 
After peace was declared he settled in Perrinton, 
N. Y., among its earliest pioneers. 

The father of our subject now resumed his trade 
as carpenter and joiner, and at one time took a con- 
tract for excavation on the Erie Canal, then in 
process of construction. In 18.38 he visited Michi- 
gan Territory, and purchased a tract of land on sec- 
tion 17 in Pittsford Township, this county. He 
then returned to New York State, where he remained 
a resident until 1840, then made his way westward 
again and worked at his trade in the village of 
Lanesville, as the present Hudson was then called. 
In the fall of that 3'ear he went back East, iukI on 
the 20th of October started with his family for 
their new home in Michigan. The3' proceeded via 
the Erie Canal to Buffalo, and thence by lake to 
Toledo, where they took cars for Adrian on the Erie 
& Kalamazoo Railroad. The remainder of their 
journey was made by team. 

Mr. John Osborn located in the village of Hud- 
son and followed his trade until 1847, when an ex- 
change was made of a residence which John M. had 
obtained in Hudson, for eighty acres of the land in 
Pittsford, the place which his son, our subject, now 
occupies. He followed his trade but little after this 
removal, but gave most of his attention to the im- 
provement of the home, which by the joint efforts 
of father and son, was transformed into a most de- 
sirable piece of property, both attractive and valu- 
able. Here the father resided until his death, which 
occurred April 28, 18C7. His wife, formerly Mrs. 
Mercy Ann Eaton, was a native of Duanesburg, N. 
Y., and there were born to them three children : 
Eliza Ann, who lived to be only about six years of 
age; John M., the subject of this sketch, and Delora 



0., who is now Mrs. William Baker. As the birth- 
days of the two latter occur on the same day of 
the same month, namely, March 9, they since 1821 
have alwaj's visited together on its recurrence and 
usually with some extra '"lay out" befitting the oc- 
casion. 

Our subject acquired his education in the com- 
mon schools and mainly prior to fourteen j'ears of 
age, after which time he commenced to earn his own 
living, working on a farm at $6 per month, with the 
exception of the winter season, during which he 
continued his studies at school. That early exper- 
ience which taught him self-reliance, proved of in- 
estimable value in after years. As time progressed 
and his usefulness increased, his wages as a farm 
hand were raised, and when sixteen years old he 
commanded $1.3 per month. All this time he had 
not suffered his mind to rust, but had availed him- 
self of every opportunity to peruse instructive 
books, acquire a knowledge of business principles, 
and keep himself posted upon current events. When 
nineteen years old he commenced teaching school 
near Fairport, N. Y., and two 3'ears later found him 
a resident of the new State of Michigan and a 
teacher in the young town of Hudson. He first 
presided over one of the pioneer schools which was 
located on the e.ast side of the river. The session 
was commenced in the rear part of a building, the 
front of which was utilized as a grocery. In the 
meantime a school-house was in process of con- 
.struction and the term was finished in the new 
building. 

Y'oung Osborn followed teaching in the winter 
season several terms in that locality, and during the 
summer seasons worked first on the Michigan South- 
ern Railroad, then operated by the State, and in 
process of construction from Monroe, Mich., west- 
erly across the State. As the result of his reading 
and study, he jiroved an efficient assistant to the 
civil engineer who was establishing and perfecting 
the grade, estimating quantit}' and value of excava- 
tion of embankment, also for material furnished, or 
for special labor done. Mr. O. subsequently aided 
as laborer in construction, and afterward in keep- 
ing the road in repair in the locality. When not 
thus employed he confined himself to general farm 
work until 1846. During that year, in company 



■•► 



A 



i> 1184 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



with William Baker, he engaged in mercantile busi- 
ness, the firm name being J. M. Osborn & Co. Their 
stock consisted of almost everything required in the 
household and about the farm, which they parted 
from in exchange for all kinds of farm produce, 
termed "dicker," which had a broad meaning in 
those early days of pioneer life. 

Mr. Osborn continued merchandising with some 
change of partners until 1851, and for seven years 
was engaged in buying and shipping black walnut 
lumber eastward. In 1858 he opened up as a dry- 
goods dealer in company with Mr. S. A. Eaton, un- 
der the firm name of Osborn & Eaton, and they con- 
ducted business successfully until 1 86.3 ; they then 
sold out, dissolving the copartnership. Subsequently 
Mr. Osborn engaged in a like enterprise three years, 
during which time occurred the death of the mother, 
wife and father. All this tended to lessen tempo- 
rarily his life of activity. 

Finally, being strong!}- importuned, Mr. Osborn 
lent his aid in organizing a private bank, under the 
firm name of Osborn, Perkins & Co., and which for 
several 3'^ears was conducted under the personal 
supervision of the senior partner, and continued 
until his retirement from the firm. The institution 
is now perpetuated by Thompson Bros. About 
1883 Mr. Osborn was a member of the company 
which purchased the Hudson Woodenware Manu- 
factory, which up to this time had never been a suc- 
cess. He was chosen to conduct the business, and 
under his judicious management the enterprise be- 
came a paying institution. His business capabilities 
and his growing experience were now contributing 
to make of him one of the leading men in mercan- 
tile circles, and his cool and temperate judgment in 
all his dealings seldom led him to do anything in 
haste or that which was uuadvisable. 

Mr. Osborn was a Democrat, politically, in his 
early manhood, and until the Free-Soil movement, 
but as he was conscientiously opposed to slavery, he 
identified himself with the Republican party at its 
organization. He has always taken a lively inter- 
est in National affairs, and in his township has been 
honored with the various offices within the gift of 
his fellow-citizens. He was Clerk of Hudson Town- 
ship in early years, and represented Pittsford Town- 
, siiip in the County Board of Supervisors three terms. 

4* 



In 1869 he was elected a member of the Michigan 
Legislature, and succeeded himself in 1871. In 
1875 he was selected to represent his county as 
State Senator, and thus has come honestly by his 
title of Honorable. Among the social orders he is 
an affiliant with the Masons, and has knowledge 
of the Blue Lodge, Chapter and Commandery de- 
grees; also of thirty -two degrees of Scottish Rite 
Masonry, and ninety-six degrees of Rite of Memphis. 
He claims to general Christian theology, and favors 
the Methodist Episcopal Church. 

Mr. Osborn has been twice married, being first 
wedded in 1851, to Miss Elizabeth Daniels, a na- 
tive of Wayne County, this State. This lady re- 
mained his companion fifteen years, her death tak- 
ing place in 1866. Our subject was subsequentlj- 
married, April 5, 1870, to Mrs. Harriet A. W. Rob- 
inson, of Jacksonville, Tompkins Co., N. Y., and 
who was born May 28, 1832. Her father. Rev. 
William White, was of Quaker parentage, and born 
in Rensselaerville, Albany County. He, however, 
became connected with the Baptist Church when 
quite young, and was a lad fond of reading and 
study. He commenced teaching at an early age, 
and thus earned money which enabled him to secure 
a college education. His ministerial duties began 
in the Baptist Church at Trumansburg, N. Y., and 
he afterward preached at Ithaca. He left the 
Empire State for Ohio in the year 1842, and 
preached in the cities of Monroeville, Cbardon, 
Clarksfield and Fairfield. In 1852, deciding upon 
another change of location, and also of occupation, 
he came to this county and purchased a farm in 
Wright Township, which he occupied a few years, 
then sold out and purchased in Linden Township, 
Genesee County, where he spent the rest of his 
days. He had married, in early manhood, Miss 
Prudent Wickes, who was born at the head of 
Cayuga Lake, N. Y. Her father, Israel P. Wickes, 
was a carpenter by trade, and owned a fine farm, 
which through his manipulation became one of the 
most beautiful homesteads of that section. His 
wife, the mother of Mrs. O., is still living, being now 
in her eightieth year, and makes her home with a 
son and daughter in the village of Linden, Genesee 
County, this State. 

Mr. Osborn was one of the inauguratorsand stock- 



•►Hl-^ 



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LENAWEE COUNTY. 



118.5 



holders of the Cincinnati, Jaciison & Mackinaw 
Railroad which runs througli Hudson, and which 
was constructed in 1887. He worlted earnestly and 
successfull}' in behalf of this i-oad, giving to it the 
same zeal and conscientious support which has 
marked his career as a helper in tlie various otlier 
enterprises which have tended to the welfare of the 
people at large. After this half century or more of 
an active and busj' life, it is pleasant to note that 
in all the vicissitudes of business Mr. Osborn has 
invariably paid full value for every obligation in- 
curred. He is now in the seventieth year of his 
age, and has lost little bj' the accumulation of years, 
lieing still active and vigorous, and possessing in a 
marked degree the energies and capabilities of his 
younger years. His pictured features in the fine 
lithographic portrait accompanying this sketch will 
be looked upon with interest by the people to whom 
his name has been familiar for such a length of time, 
and to whom his business t;ilcnts have proved of 
such effective service. 



"vw^^no 



^r=^EORGE ROIUiiiACK. .Many of the hon- 
llf <^ "'^^' citizens of Lenawee County are among 
^^U! the so-called self-made men, prominent in 
all the walks of life throughout the LTnited States, 
and in these brief records of their lives, wherein 
we read of their early struggles with povert}- and 
other ills of life before thej' attained independence, 
we may learn many a lesson of courage, endurance 
and perseverance. The man wliose name stands at 
the head of this sivetch may be classed among the 
self-made men of this county', as when he landed 
on American soil he was without monej'^ and with- 
out a home, or any immediate prospect of obtain- 
ing either. He is to-day a prosperous farmer and 
honored citizen, residing in Ogden Township. 

Mr. Rohrback was born in Germany, Oct. 2.5, 
1823, and is the son of Henry and Martha Rohr- 
back, who spent their entire lives in that country. 
George attended school quite steadily until he was 
fourteen years old, acquiring an excellent educa- 
tion, and at that youthful age he began life in earn- 
est, working to support himself and also assisting 
in the support of the rest of the family. The first 



two years he received for his work $10 a year, two 
pounds of wool, and cloth to make a pair of panta- 
loons. He afterward received $26 a year for his 
services. In 1853 he started out to try his fortune 
in America. Here he lioped to be better paid for 
his labor, and finally be enabled to purchase land. 
After a tedious voyage of ten long weeks he landed 
in Texas. The expenses incidental to the voyage 
had used up all his little stock of money, but with 
good courage and a willingness to work at what his 
hands found to do he faced the dilKculties of his 
new life in a strange country. He married Eliza- 
beth Kline, a native of his own country, and they 
engaged in work on a farm, where they received 
$U) a month for their united labors; after the first 
six months tlieir wages were increased to $12. 

In 1854, iiaving saved $125 of their united earn- 
ings, Mr. Rohrback concluded that they could do 
belter in Ohio, so they left Texas and proceeding 
to that State, settled in Lorain County. The ex- 
penses of their journey left them but $36. Mr. 
Rohrback then, found employment on a farm, and 
three years afterward, having saved his earnings, 
he bought eleven acres of land near Elyria, and 
also bougiit a horse and a cow. There was a log 
house already built on the place into which he and 
his family moved. In that humble waj' he com- 
menced farming for himself, still working out a 
part of the time to add to his means. In 1860 he 
sold his place in El^'ria and removed to this State, 
where he bought thirty acres of land in Ogden 
Township, which still forms a part of his present 
farm. He moved his family into the log house 
which stood on the jJace, and immediately com- 
menced clearing his land, from three acres of which 
the trees had been already felled. 

Mr. Rohrback's work of clearing and improving 
his farm was soon interrupted, as the next year the 
war between the North and South broke out, and 
was not suppressed, as so many had hoped, at the 
end of a few months. More men were needed by 
the Government, and in the fall of 1861 Mr. Rohr- 
back left his work and enlisted in Company F, 67th 
Ohio Infautr^', and went to the front to fight for 
the countr3' which had become his own. Among 
the important battles in which he participated we 
mention the following: Blooming Gap, Winchester, 

■ •►H 



M. 



1186 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Mt. Jackson, Harrison Landing, Morris Island, first 
attack on Ft. Wagner, and later at its capture, Ches- 
ter Station, Drury Bluff, Edinburg, and in the bat- 
tles before Richmond and Petersburg. He was 
severely wounded in the left arm at the battle of 
Cross Roads, Va., May 24, 1864. The surgeons 
wished to amputate the arm, but he protested, and 
it was saved to him in a crippled condition. He 
veteranized in 1864, but on account of his wounded 
arm he was honorably disciiarged in January, 1865. 
He returned to his little farm in Michigan, and as 
soon as his health would permit he resumed the 
work he had left to go to the front. He has since 
bought other land, and has now seventy acres in a 
good state of cultivation. He has erected a com- 
modious brick house, and many other improvements 
which have greatly increased the vahie of his home- 
stead, a view of which may be seen on another 
page of this work. 

Mr. and Mrs. Rohrback are respected by all for 
their worth and true nobility of char.acter. We 
cannot conclude this sketch without a good word 
for the wife and mother, who, in all the trials and 
discouragements which they encountered in settling 
in a strange country, was over ready to cheer her 
husband, and it is by her constant help that he has 
become so successful. They and their children, 
Laberas, George, Annie and Martha, are members 
of the German Methodist Episcopal Church, and 
Mr. Rohrback is a member of David Becker Post 
No. 25, G. A. R. 

-^ ^-^ ^ 



^« IfelLLIAM HOUGHTBY is a self-made man, 
\^/l and one of tbe most enterprising and lib- 
's^ eral-minded citizens of Ogden Township; a 
man who is always ready and willing to assist any 
enterprise which is intended to promote the public 
good; an earnest worker in the church, and a de- 
voted friend of all educational interests. He is a 
constant reader and a student of the times, thor- 
oughly posted on all public affairs, and able to dis- 
cuss intelligently all matters which engage the at- 
tention of the American people. Such are among 
the characteristics of the subject of this sketch, who 
resides on section 34, Ogden Township, in the set- 



tlement of wiiich township he is a pioneer of 1848. 

Mr. Houghtby was born in Lincolnshire, England, 
on the 2d of January', 1822, and his father, John 
Houghtby, was born, reared and married in the 
same shire, and remained there until 1844. In the 
spring of that year, accompanied by his wife and 
nine children, a son-in-law and four grandchildren, 
he landed at New York and went directly to Ohio, 
traveling by way of the Hudson River and over- 
land, and by the lakes to Toledo. He settled in that 
part of Lucas County, Ohio, now known as Fulton 
Countj', where he rented land and worked at clear- 
ing other land, by which he earned money to pay 
his rent. After four years he came to Ogden 
Township, this county, and bought twenty acres of 
land which had been entered by Elisha Benton, in 
the southeast corner of section 28. Of this land 
there were but a few acres cleared, on which he 
built a log house and immediately began the work 
of clearing. On this farm he resided until he died, 
in February, 1872. John Houghtby was three 
times married. His first wife, the mother of the 
subject of this sketch, was Elizabeth Godfrey, a na- 
tive of Lincolnshire, England, and she died a few 
years after settling in Ogden Township. She had 
twelve children, two of whom died young, one son 
died at ten years of age, nine grew to maturity and 
came to America. 

The subject of this sketch was the second child 
and the eldest son of the parental family, and as 
soou as he was old enough he began to earn his own 
living. When he was nine years of age he under- 
took work in a brickyard at ninepence per day and 
board himself. At the age of twelve he commenced 
work by the year on a farm at three pounds and 
his board for a year's labor. As his services be- 
came more valuable, his wages were increased until 
he received fourteen pounds per year. He came to 
America with his parents in 1844, but was sick 
with fever when he landed at Staten Island, and was 
compelled to lie in a hospital for a few weeks. 
During this time his mother and one sister remained 
with him, and when he was able to travel, they 
joined the father and he worked with him in Ohio 
until 1848, when he came to Ogden Township and 
bought forty acres of land, fifteen of which were 
improved, and constitute part of his present home. 



•►rlH 



M^ 



^L 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1187 



The land was originally entered by Elisha Benton, 
from whom Mv. Houghtby bought it, and has in 
possession the original title issued b^- tlie Govern- 
ment. In 1855 he bought the south half of the 
same quarter section, and now has 120 acres, eighty 
acres of which are under cultivation, and contains a 
set of good frame buildings. For the first forty 
acres he paid $300, and for the eighty which was 
all timber land, he paid but $200. 

In February, 1849, William Houghtby was mar- 
ried to Meliuda Ritchey, wlio was born in Cambria 
County, Pa., and was a daughter of .loseph and Re- 
becca (Young) Ritchey, natives of Pennsylvania. 
They have had seven children, as follows: Amanda 
A., the wife of D. D. Baluss, lives in Ogden Town- 
ship; Hattie married Luther Harsli, and also lives in 
Ogden Township; Henr}'; John; Libbie married M. 
H. Rubey, lives in Randolph County, Ind.; Esther 
and Albert. Albert had the misfortune to stick the 
point of a knife in his eye, whicli totally destroyed 
the sight; his other ej^e became affected and he also 
lost the sight of that, and for three years was totally 
blind. During this time he attended the school for 
the blind at Lansing, and learned to write upon the 
caligr.aph, and do many other things which are 
taught the blind. In the fall of 1886 he went to 
Detroit and had two operations performed by Dr. 
Lundy, which partially restored his sight. 

Mr. and Mrs. Houghtby and the members of their 
family belong to the United Brethren Church. Mr. 
H. has filled various offices of trust and honor in 
Ogden Township. He was Justice of the Peace for 
fifteen j'ears, and three terms was Commissioner of 
Highways, while for many years he was School Di- 
rector, and a Trustee in his church, in all of which 
positions lie displayed unusual judicial and execu- 
tive ability. 

a^ EY. CASIMIR ROHOWSKI, Priest of St. 
'ILsi>^ Joseph's German Catholic Church, Adrian, 
/iP\\ was born in Prussia, Dec. 11, 1843. He is 
«j@>the son of Peter and Victoria Roiiowski, 
natives of the same Province as their son, and now 
deceased. His early years were spent in the place 
of his birth, where he first attended the elementary 



schools, and later the seminary, in which he studied 
four years, and began fitting himself for the duties of 
the sacred office to which he was ordained Feb. 24, 
IS71. He was now twenty-eight years of age, and 
was given charge of a mission house in Alsace, 
where he continued three years. He then deter- 
mined to pursue his pious labors on another 
hemisphere, and accordingly, on the 18th of De- 
cember, 1875, repaired to Liverpool, and set sail 
for the LTnited States. 

Father Rohowski first set foot on American soil 
in New I'ork City, whence he jjroceeded not long- 
afterward to Detroit, Mich. He there met Bishop 
Burgess, and was admitted to the diocese of Detroit 
and iissigued, as assistant of St. Boniface, to a charge 
in that city. Thence, soon afterward, he was sent 
to Bay City, Mich., from which place, in 1876, he 
came to Adrian, and connected himself with his 
present congregation. This includes about sixty- 
eight families, and they have a neat church edifice. 

Father Rohowski has exhibited the qualities nec- 
essary to the building up of a young parish, and is 
not only held in warm regard by his own people, 
but by all who have the pleasure of his acquaintance. 
He is laboring conscientiously for the good of his 
people as individuals and as a society, and his 
ministrations cannot result otherwise than in great 
good. 



(^ARON M. PHILLIPS. The gentleman 
(^Wjl whose name heads this brief notice is an 

jink early settler of Dover Township, where his 
^ fine and productive farm lies on sections 19 

and 20, and embraces 160 acres of valuable land. 
His parents were Aaron aud Lavina (Burroughs) 
Phillips, who were natives of Hunterdon County, 
N. J. The father was born Aug. 6, 1791, and the 
mother Aug. 19, 1797. They were there married 
and settled. Later they moved to Seneca County, 
N. Y., where the mother died May 8, 1836, when 
thirty-eight years old. The father of our subject 
came to Michigan in October, 1837, and lived until 
the following spring in VYayue County, and thence 
came to Lenawee County, locating in Madison 
Township. In the fall of 1838 he removed to Do- 
ver Township, where he lived until his death, which 



•►Hh-^* 



A^ 



1188 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



l-^h 



occurred March 16, 1877. in the eighty -sixth yeiir 
of his age. Mr. and Mrs. Phillips were the parents 
of six children, of whom the record is as follows: 
Titus died in Wisconsin, April 14, 1877; Aaron M. 
is our subject; Phebe died in Seueca County, N. 
y., Nov. 7, 1822; Phebe M. is the widow of Gil- 
bert Gage, and resides in Dover Township; Susanna 
A. is the wife of Henry S. Miller, and resides in 
Romulus, Seneca Co., N. Y.; Martha died in the 
latter-named county, Oct. ;^0, 1833, when four 
months old. 

Aaron M. Phillips, our subject, was born in Seu- 
eca County, N. Y., May 15, 1819. He remained 
at home during his earlier years, attending the 
common schools and assisting his father in the 
lighter duties of the farm. In the f.all of 1837 he 
came to Michigan with his father, and remained a 
member of his family until after their settlement in 
Dover Township. Mr. Phillips was married in 
Adrian Township, Nov. 1, 1840, to Miss Catherine 
E. Stockwell, a native of Ira, Cayuga Co., N. Y., 
where she was born March 1, 1821. She is -the 
daughter of Eliathah and Esther (Perkins) Stock- 
well. (For parental history see sketch of M. P. 
Stockwell.) After marriage Mr. Phillips bought a 
tract of timber land on which he settled. He 
has since added to his original purchase until he 
has increased the acreage of his farm fourfold. He 
has erected ample and commodious buildings, and 
has all facilities for carrying on agricultural pursuits. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Phillips have been born five 
children, of whom the following is the record : 
Saron P. was a carpenter in Dover Township, and 
married Eleanor A. Raymond, by whom he had one 
child, Helen A., who died in Dover Township, 
March 2, 1869, when one year old; his death oc- 
curred in the same township, Feb. 22, 1869, when 
twenty-seven j'ears old. Celestia A. died in Dover 
Township, July 25, 1846. at the age of two years; 
Charles W. married Miss Sarah Lozier, and resides 
in the above-named township; they have five chil. 
dren— Elmer A., Ethel C, Robb V., Lena M. and 
Seward M. Helen died in Dover Township, Feb. 
12, 1864, at the age of twelve: George C. resides 
at home. 

Mr. and Mrs. Phillips have not attained their 
present prosperous condition without some strug- 



gles, and encountering and overcoming many ob- 
stacles. Mr. Phillips' first purchase of land consisted 
of forty acres, situated in a dense forest, for which 
he agreed to pay $160. He possessed $10 which 
he paid down. He chopped wood, and worked 
with unceasing ardor and courage, and in time, 
assisted by the frugality and excellent judgment of 
his wife, had saved sufficient money to pay $100 of 
his indebtedness. Meanwhile he had sown a field 
of wheat on shares, from which he realized $50, 
which enabled him to make his final payment. In 
this manner he became possessor of his first forty 
acres of laud. Adrian was the nearest market for 
farm produce, and he often walked there carrying 
butter and eggs on his ai'm. For the first fifteen 
years after the railway was built to Adrian, Mr. 
Phillips did not feel that he could afford to pay the 
fare, and so continued his pedestrian trips to mar- 
ket. He and his good wife are now reaping the 
reward of their early toils, and, though enjoying 
their present life of comfort, can recall with satis- 
faction many happy incidents connected with their 
early pioneer life. 

Mr. Phillips has always been prominently identi- 
fied with the interests of his adopted town, and 
during his long residence of fifty years has been 
present at every town meeting and election held in 
the township. For six years he has acceptably 
filled the office of Highway Commissioner. Politic- 
ally he is a Republican, the principles of which 
party he endorses and maintains with characteristic 
firmness and decision. Mrs. Phillips is a consistent 
and valued member of the Free- Will Baptist Church. 



— ^*<^Je£/©i®« 



3>'f77r^T^^^'\/v^..■ 



//p*A ETH B. SAYRES, of Seneca Township, 
^^^ presents an admirable illustration of the 
|ll/^ self-made man, who, thrown upon his own 
resources early in life, was enabled to make 
good use of his time and opportunities. From a 
humble position in life, he has arisen without other 
aid than his own industrious hands and stout heart, 
until now he is ranked among the representative 
men of one of the most intelligent communities of 
the West. He has always chosen his home in the 
rural districts, and on section 9 of the above town- 



■•►-■i-4* 



•► 



-^^ 



■•► 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



\" 



•► 



ship has a good farm of 130 acres, which he trans- 
formed from the forest into a series of cultivated 
fields. 

Our subject is the offspring of a good family, his 
parents having been Squire and Eunice (Meech) 
Sayres, the former a native of New Jersey and the 
latter of Connecticut. They were of New England 
ancestry and Squire Sayres served as a Lieutenant 
in the War of 1812. .Seth B. still remembers his 
father's military cap, upon which was inscribed in 
gilt letters the title of the regiment, "Amsterdam 
Volunteers," with the motto, "We defend and pro- 
tect." After the war Lieut. Sayres settled with his 
family in Galway Township, Saratoga Co., N. Y., 
where they lived until Seth B. was about six years 
of age. Thence they removed to Auburn and four 
years later to Genesee County, whence after a ten 
years' residence they joined their son, our subject, 
in this county. They remained with him in Seneca 
Township a year and then removed to Wayne 
County, where the mother died about 185.5, when 
about sixty years of age. Squire Sayres survived 
his wife until 18G0, and quietly passed away after 
he had reached his fourscore years. Their family 
consisted of ten children, seven sons and three 
daughters, of whom nine lived to mature years and 
two are still surviving. 

The subject of this biography was the fifth child 
of his parents, and was born in Saratoga Countj', N. 
Y., Aug. 21, 1817. He assisted in the lighter labors 
on the farm and attended school as much as possible 
during his boyhood, and subsequently carried on 
his education by his own efforts, working to pay his 
tuition, for a number of terms. Before this was 
finished, however, his father had hired him out at 
$3 per month. The latter was without means 
and could do very little for his children. Seth B 
remembers attending school barefoot in the winter 
when it was good sleighing. Those early experi- 
ences contributed to his self-reliance and courage, 
and no doubt had much to do with his success in 
life. His motto lias always been "A shilling a day 
and board rather than a chance for a greater amount 
or nothing." 

Mr. Sayres when twenty-two 3'ears of age was 
united in marriage, Feb. 12, 1 840, with Miss Hannah 
Laycock, who was a native of New Jersey and 



came to Michigan with her [)arents about 1836. I\Ir. 
Laycock died in 1858, and the mother subsequently 
took up her residence at the home of our subject, 
where her death took place in 1865. Mrs. Hannah 
Sayres departed this life at her home in Seneca 
Township on the 18th of August, 1865. IMi'. 
Sayres was again married, Oct. 22, 1866, to Mrs. 
Eliza (F()ot)White, widow of Warren White. She 
was born in New York Stati;, and died in Seneca 
Township, Aug. 20, 18S0. 

Mr. Sayres was a third time married, Oct. 25, 
1883, to Mrs. Catherine, widow of Robert Sloan, 
and daughter of Tyson and Sarah (Bell) Bagerly, 
natives of Maryland, whence they removed to the 
Empire State in their youth and were there mar- 
ried. Mr. Bagerly died when his daughter, Cather- 
ine, was but two years old, while the mother came 
to Michigan in 1857, and died in Seneca Township 
in 1876, at the advanced age of eighty-six years. 
She was the mother of six children, two sons and 
four daughters, of whom Mrs. Sayres was the fifth 
child and was born in Wayne County, N. Y., Jul}^ 
12,1820. She attended a common school and a 
select school, and received careful home training 
from a wise and judicious mother. She became the 
wife of Robert Sloan in 1838, and by him became 
the mother of two children, Mary Ann and Spen- 
cer. The former is the wife of Jacob N. Borick, of 
Seneca Township, and the mother of five children — 
Delia, Willie, Katie, Eraina (deceased) and Lulu. 
Spencer married Miss Allie -Bemaudeifer, and they 
have one child, Robert. 

The eldest brother of Mr. Sayres, Samuel by 
name, died in Kalamazoo County, Mich., in 1 848, and 
left two children, Julia and Edmund, who were 
reai-ed by our subject. Edmund, a bright and 
promising youth, took kindly to his books and 
turned his attention to the legal profession. He was 
admitted to the bar in 1868, and has since served 
as Prosecuting Attorney for Lenawee County ; Julia 
is at home. Mr. Sayres also adopted a child of his 
first wife's sister, a baby boy ten months old, who 
was named Ervin Eugene Sayres, and became his 
legal son. This young man, upon reaching his ma- 
jority, married Miss Julia Bates, and is farming in 
Rome Township; he is the father of two children, 
Arthur and Halsey. 
■► 



4 



1190 



LENAWEE. COUNTY. 



! 



Mr. Sayres takes little part in political matters, 
althougli voting the straight Democratic ticket. Ho 
has steadily declined becoming an office-holder of 
any kind. He is a member of the Protestant Meth- 
odist Church, and Mrs. Sayres belongs to the Pio- 
neer Club, devoted to the interests of the Pioneer 
Society of Seneca Township and of which she is 
President. 

(F ENRY W. HO WD, a son of one of the early 
'ffyi] pioneers of Rollin Township, has spent the 
l^^ greater part of his life in this section of the 
((^ country, and is recognized as one of its 
most energetic and enterprising men. Of late years 
he has been dealing in fine horses, principall}' trot- 
ters, and has also given much attention to sheep- 
raising, having at one time about 900 head. This 
latter industry, however, has been superseded by his 
operations in horses, his extensive dealings injwool 
and his loan business. It is safe to say that he 
handles the best breeds of horses to be found in 
Lenawee County, and is in the habit of carrying 
off the blue ribbon at county fairs. At the head 
of his stables is a valuable flve-year-old, "Don 
Rothschild," which is valued at $900, and trotted 
his mile in 2 :43 when four years old. Mr. Howd 
is located on a fine farm, the property of his mother, 
with whom be lives, on section 33 in Rollin Town- 
ship. It is a fine illustration of the model country 
home; the residence is attractive in its surroundings, 
and the barns and other out-buildings are admira- 
bly adapted to the purposes of stock-raising after 
the most approved methods. 

Mr. Howd is the scion of an excellent old family, 
and was born in Rollin Township on the 8th of 
May, 1848. His parents, Harvey B. and Betsey E. 
(Pitcher) Howd, were natives of New York State. 
His father was born in Cazenovia. June 11, 1816, 
and the parents were married Feb. 19, 1844. Two 
years previously, in 1842, Harvey Howd came to 
Michigan, settling in Rollin, this countj', and was 
at once recognized as a liberal-minded and public- 
spirited citizen, willing to do his part toward the j 
building up of the county, and sustaining those 
enterprises set on foot for the advancement of the 
people. For one year he occupied himself as a 
carpenter and joiner, and in 1846 he built the 



Rollin sawmill in partnership with Eli Marvin. In 
1850 he traded the mill for the farm of A. J. Com- 
stock, which is now owned by his widow. He 
worked at his trade and farmed subsequently until 
his death, which took place at the homestead on the 
28th of March, 1875, when he was about fifty-nine 
years of age. 

The father of our subject held the various town- 
ship offices and was Postmaster of Rollin for eight 
or ten years before the late war. He also served 
as Justice of the Peace, and in his public as well as 
his private life, labored faithfully and conscien- 
tiously as one building up a record which would in 
all probability be given to the future, and of which 
he desired his children should never be ashamed. 
In the family circle he was kind and indulgent as a 
husband and father, and lives in the memory of his 
children as a model of manly integrity and worth. 

The paternal great-grandparents of our subject 
were Samuel and Amy (Baldin) Howd, the former 
born Dec. 1, 1712, and the latter Oct. 12, 1724. 
They were married Feb. 14, 1754, and became the 
parents of six children, who were born as follows : 
Amy, Dec. 2, 1754; Abigail, July 3, 1757; Samuel, 
April 26, 1759; Althera, Feb. 6, 1763; Hannah, 
Oct. 24, 1764, and Anthony, July 6, 1768. Their 
youngest son, Anthony, was the grandfather of our 
subject, and died June 16, 1841. March 11, 1797, 
he married Martha Harrington, who was born 
March 12, 1777, and died Dec. 2, 1857. Their 
children are recorded as follows: Hannah was 
born June 9, 1798, and lived to be quite aged; 
Laura was born July 21, 1800, and died Aug. 22, 
1887; Elsna was born Sept. 30, 1802, and died 
Dec. 29, 1842; Harriet was born Feb. 11, 1805, and 
died Oct. 13, 1885; Samuel B. was born Sept. 17, 
1807, and died Sept. 25, 1881; Amy was born 
March 14, 1810, and died June 22, 1883; John AY. 
was born May 8, 1812, and died May 6, 1886; Har- 
vey B. was born June 11, 1816, and died March 
28, 1875 ; Eli S. was born Nov. 22, 1818, and is the 
only one now living; he was married Feb. 4, 1844, 
to Phebe A. Renyan, who died Aug. 1, 1875. 
Their family included five children, namely : Charles 
A., Orin A., Delos, Harvey J. and Jennie M. 

The maternal grandparents, Henry and Maria 
(Scott) Pitcher, were born respectively in 1787 



■•►Hh 



4 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



and 1788, in Johnstown, N. Y., and were married 
in 1812, the year of the war with Great Britain, in 
which Grandfather Pitcher served six months. In 
1835 he removed to Ohio, purchasing' a farm near 
Painesville in 1 836. He died on the 7th of Decem- 
ber of the following year, leaving a wife and eight 
children, the latter bearing the names of Sally, 
William, Catherine, Betsy E. (Mrs. Howd), John, 
Rhoda, Andrew and Abrara. In the spring of 1838 
the widow and her family came to this county and 
purchased eighty acres of land in Rome Towaiship. 
Mrs. Pitcher, with the assistance of her children 
cleared the land and built up a good homestead. 
She pas.»ed from earth on the 28th of September, 
1880, her deatii being the result of a fall. She was 
a member of the Presbyterian Church. She drew 
a pension from the Government, receiving in 1879 
the sum of $824..50. 

The mother of our subject was born in Arcadia, 
Wayne Co., N. Y., Jan. 2(i, 1821. She came with 
her parents to tiie West, and by her marriage with 
Harvey Howd became the mother of four children, 
who are named as follows: Amelia, Henry W., 
Helen I. and Harvey. 

Henry W. Howd continued under the home roof 
until reaching his majority, at an early age evinc- 
ing uncommon business talent, and then starting 
out for himself in the spring of 1870, he engaged as 
a dealer in live stocli, buying cattle and sheep which 
he at first drove to Toledo. A year later he com- 
menced selling to parties who shipped stock to 
Buffalo, and added to his transactions the purchase 
and sale of fine horses. To these latter he gave his 
entire attention after a few years, and no man takes 
more pride in his stables or seeks more industriously 
to keep himself informed upon all matters regard- 
ing this noble industry. Although comparatively 
young in years, he has already attained an enviable 
reputation as a breeder, and the future will probably 
develop still greater results from his laboi's. 



ON. MARSHALL REED was elected, in 
r4, on the Republican ticket, to represent 
this district in the State Legislature. He 
was one of the early settlers of this county, 
with whose interests he identified himself from the 



time of his coming here, and was considered emi- 
nently fitted for his responsible duties. He was 
appointed on various important committees, and 
endeavored by all honorable means to promote the 
interests of his constituents. He had for a number 
of years been prominent in local affairs, and after 
his term in the Legislature had expired, he returned 
to his home, feeling tliat he had done his duty as 
far as his judgment guided him and with the good- 
will of those who had thus honored him. 

Mr. Reed owns a fine farm of eighty acres on 
section 34 in Cambridge Township, and has em- 
ployed himself largely in stock-raising, especially 
for the last few years. He was born in Richmond, 
Ontario Co., N. Y., Aug. 21, 1833, and came to 
this county in 1854. His father, Wheeler Reed, 
was a native of Vermont and of New England an- 
cestry. He was born in 1788, and went with his 
parents when a small boy to Ontario County, N. 
Y., where his father, Philip Reed, was one of the 
earliest settlers, taking up his abode there in 1795. 
Philip Reed opened up a large farm, built a costly 
mansion and accumulated a fortune. Before his 
death he divided a portion of his property among 
his sons, and had the satisfaction of seeing tliem 
settled comfortably about him. 

Philip Reed was the son of Jacob Reed, of Say- 
brook, Conn., a seafarer, and was born in 1756. 
When a boy he was bound out to learn the weav- 
er's trade. At the age of sixteen he went to Ver- 
mont, where he was employed by one William 
Fitch to teach his girls the art of weaving. He 
seems to have combined pleasure with business, as 
he courted and married the second daughter. In 
1795 he with iiis wife and three children, of whom 
Wheeler, the father of our subject, was the young- 
est, left Paulet, Vt., and emigrated with ox-teams 
to Richmond, Ontario Co.,N. Y., where three more 
children were born to them. As soon as they could 
procure lumber, they built a shant}% in which they 
lived three weeks, performing their culinary work 
by the side of a log in the meantime, then moved 
into a new log house. In that primitive day Philip 
Reed was considered a "Cra?sus," bringing with him 
«i3,000. He purchased two lots of land, paying fif- 
teen shillings per acre, and continued to add to his 
real estate until he owned 1,500 acres. In 1804 lie 



•►HI 



•»»-ll^-4 



Hh-^t 



19-2 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



-t- 



built a. large brick mansion, which yet stands and 
is inhabited by one of the descendants. He also 
built a grist or flouring mill, and a wool carding 
and cloth manufactory, which, for many years were 
known as "Reed's Mills." The first township meet- 
ing in Eichmond was held April 5, 1796, when he 
was elected Assessor, Commissioner of Schools, and 
one of the Overseers of the Poor. During the Rev- 
olutionary War Mr. Reed was a member of the 
militia, and fought under Gen. Stark at Bennington, 
Vt. 

The grandmother of our subject, whose maiden 
name was Margaret Fitch, was the second daughter 
of William and Altie (Wheeler) Fitch, who were 
married Oct. 9, 1760. She w-is born Nov. 7, 1763, 
and died at Richmond, N. Y., in 1833. 

Wheeler Reed, the father of our subject, as soon 
as old enough to be of service, occupied himself in 
assisting to clear his father's farm, and remained 
under the parental roof until reaching his majority. 
He then set out on his own account, and in due time 
had accumulated about 1,000 acres of good land, 
and like his honored father, lived to see his sons 
settled in comfortable homes upon the land which 
he had given them. He married in early manhood 
Miss Margaret Risdon, who was born and reared in 
Ontario County, and died leaving three children. 
Mr. Reed then married Hannah Risdon, the sister 
of his first wife, and she became the mother of our 
subject. Of the two marriages of Mr. Reed there 
were born sixteen children and all but one lived to 
years of maturity. Eleven yet survive and are 
residents mostly of Michigan. Wheeler Reed de- 
parted this life in 1868, at the advanced age of 
eighty years, while the mother died at the same age 
in 1878. They were honest, hard-working people, 
active and intelligent, devoted to the interests of 
their family and kind and obliging neighbors. Mr. 
Reed in early manhood identified himself with the 
Whig party and upon its abandonment became a 
Republican. He and his aged partner were beloved 
by a large circle of friends, who hold their names 
in kindly remembrance. 

Marshall Reed was the ek enth child in his 
father's family and the twin of a sister who died 
when four years of age. He continued'on the farm, 
becoming thoroughly familiar with its various em- 



ployments, and remained with his parents until 
reaching his majority. Soon afterward he came to 
Michigan, and locating in Rome Township, pur- 
chased fifty-seven acres of land and prepared to es- 
tablish a home. His next important step was his 
marriage, which occurred Nov. 22, 1855, the lady 
of his choice being Miss Julia, daughter of William 
and Mary A. (Allen) Barrus, and a native of Rome 
Township, where she was born Aug. 22, 1839. Her 
parents were natives of Vermont and New York, 
respectively, and coming to Michigan during their 
youth were married in Rome Township, of which 
they were among the early pioneers. William Bar- 
rus was the son of Rev. William Barrus, Sr., who 
came to this county during its first settlement and 
devoted himself to the ministry in the Wesleyan 
Church the remainder of his days, dying at the age 
of seventy-five years in Dane Count}', Wis. He 
had removed there in 1840 without means, and tak- 
ing up a tract of land succeeded in accumulating 
a comfortable property. His wife also died there 
previous to his decease. The father of Mrs. Reed 
is still living at seventy-five years of age and makes 
his home in the city of Adrian, retired from active 
labor, while the mother is also living and is two 
years older than her husband. Both enjoy very 
good health and are quite active. Mrs. Reed was 
the younger of the two children born to her par- 
ents and is the only survivor. She was remarkably 
fond of books when a child and learned about all 
that could be taught in the district school. Since 
th.it time, by a thorough course of reading, she has 
kept herself well informed and is a remarkably in- 
telligent lady. 

Our subject and his wife became the parents of 
three children, as follows: Frederick P. married 
Miss Elsie Russell, and is farming in Cambridge 
Township; Alice C. is the wife of J. B. Daniels, a 
thi'iving farmer of Rome Township; these two 
taught in the public schools before their marriage. 
Byron L. mari-ried Miss C. Maude Willits, and is a 
resident of Wilmington, N. C, being connected 
with the United States Marine Service as Lieuten- 
ent of a revenue cutter. He has been holding a 
Government position for the last eight years, offici- 
ating for a time as Pension Clerk. After accept- 
ing a eadetship Mr. Reed entered the marine serv- 



f 



-♦- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1193 



ice, to whicli he seems mdst :t(liiiiial)ly adapted. 
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Reed labored 
together in their efforts to build up a home for 
themselves and their phildren, in which they suc- 
ceeded admirably. Tliey have been members of 
the Free- Will Baptist Church from nearly the time 
of its organization in Cambridge Township, and Mr. 
Reed is accounted one of the chief pillars. He is a 
decided Republican, politically, and has held the 
olflce of Justice of the Peace for a period uf eleven 
years. 



I' 



i^M. ARK A. CANNON. Thi^ old and iion- 
I ored resident of DeerQeld Township, pos- 
sesses a history which will be perused with 
more than ordinary interest. The daj's of 
his boyhood and earlj' youth were spent at the 
modest home of his father in Buckinghamshire, 
England, where he first opened his eyes to the light 
Oct. 11, 1821. The Cannon famil3' had been resi- 
dents of that part of England for several genera- 
tions, and Joseph Cannon, the grandfather of our 
subject, spent his life there from the time of his 
birth until resting from his earthly labors. He 
married a lady of that county, and his son George, 
the father of our subject, learned the trade of a car- 
penter and joiner, and was married near the old 
home, continuing upon his native soil until the 
spring of 1837. 

At the date mentioned George Cannon, accom- 
panied by his wife and nine children, embarked on 
a sailing-vessel at London bonnd for America, and 
set foot upon the soil of the New World nine weeks 
later in New York City. They did not tarry at the 
metropolis, but at once proceeded westward via the 
Hudson River to Albany, and thence by the Erie 
Canal to Buffalo. At that point they took a lake 
steamer for Toledo, and from that then unimportant 
town proceeded by rail until reaching Blissfleld in 
this county. Their first stopping-place was at 
Kedzie's Grove, now Deerfield, where the father 
rented a log house, into which the family removed 
and lived there until the following spring. 

George Cannon, in the spring of 1838, purchased 
^ eighty acres of timber land on section 10, Deer- 
field Township, for which he paid the sum of $200- 
*-N ■■ ■ 



During the winter preceding, he nud his sons had 
sawed lumber enough with a whip-saw to build a 
small frame house, which they now erected upon 
their land. This latter was heavy timber as was aU 
the country surrounding, but they cleared a small 
area around the dwelling, and not having any team, 
put in with a spade their first crop of corn. At 
this time deer, squirrels, turkeys, coons and other 
wild game were plentiful. These not having been 
frightened by the inroads of civilization, were quite 
tame, and the coons especially were far too familiar 
in the vicinity of the corn crop, which, if not 
watched very closely, thej' would entirely destroy. 

The second year of their residence here Mr. 
Cannon contracted to clear ten acres of land for 
another^party, for which he was to receive a yoke 
of oxen. Hitherto he had done his farming and 
marketing in a very laborious manner, without any 
team, working with the hoe and spade and carrying 
his produce on his back from Kedzie's Grove two 
miles through the woods, while the family provis- 
ions which they were obliged to purchase were 
transported in the same manner. A few years of 
resolute and continuous labor, however, effected a 
material change in their condition and their hard- 
ships were greatly lessened. George Cannon lived 
to accumulate a good property, and witness the 
development of the country around him from a 
wilderness into fertile fields and valuable home- 
steads. In 1864 he sold his farm, and retiring from 
active Ittbor, took up his residence in Blissfleld, 
where he died in 1871, at the age of seventy-five 
years. He had married near his childhood home 
in Buckinghamshire, England, Miss Ann Saunders, 
who was also of English birth and ancestry, and 
who departed this life at her home in Blissfleld in 
the year 1883. 

The parental family of our subject included 
twelve children, of whom seven are living and resi- 
dents of BlissSeld. Mark A. was in the sixteenth 
year of his age when he crossed the Atlantic with 
his father's family. He remembers well the old 
home in Buckinghamshire and the incidents con- 
nected with the preparations for the long voyage to 
America. He assisted his father in clearing the 
land around their cabin home, and delighted in 
hunting, by this means keeping the family well sup- 



1194 



••►Hh 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



plied with the choicest of wild meat. Wheu twenty- 
four j^eavs old, desirous of a change of scene and 
occupation, he engaged to work on the Lake Shore 
Railroad, but a year later met with an accident in 
the breakiug of his leg, which incapacitated him for 
active labor for nearly two years thereafter. In 
the meantime he occupied his time in school and 
when able to work again went to Adrian and 
learned cabinet-making. He worked there three 
years, then repaired to Blissiield, and was occupied 
at his trade until 1862. He was now in possession 
of some me.ans, and in company with a cousin, Ed- 
win Cannon, he bought a steam sawmill which had 
been built on his father's farm, to which he removed 
and engaged in the manufacture of lumber; a few 
years later he purchased the interest of his cousin 
and became sole proprietor. In 1870 he purchased 
land adjacent to the homestead anil built his 
house. 

At this time Mr. Cannon had been married 
twenty years, Miss Susan Camp having become the 
sharer of his fortunes on the 17th of November, 
1850. Mrs. Cannon was born in Port Bay, Wayne 
Co., N. Y., Aug. 19, 1827, and is the daughter of 
Daniel Camp, a native of Connecticut. Her paternal 
grandfather, Isaac Camp, a physician and surgeon 
of good repute, was a Scotchman by birth and a 
soldier in the Revolutionarj' War. During tlie dark 
days of that struggle he was a warm friend and ad- 
visor of Gen. Washington, who frequently extended 
to him his confidence. He met with many narrow 
escapes during his seven years of army life, and 
fought in the ranks with the common soldiers, and 
at the close of eacli engagement applied himself to 
the care of the wounded. He was under fire in 
three of the hardest fought battles of the Revolu- 
tion, and was always at his post with his weapons of 
defense when his self-imposed duties to the 
wounded would permit. After the war he settled 
in Connecticut, where he spent the remainder of 
his life. 

Daniel Camp migrated to Canada when a young 
man and learned the cooper's trade, establishing a 
shop and becoming very successful. He purchased 
two farms in the Dominion, and in 1812 was 
drafted into British army. He could not, however, 
take up arms against those with whom his father 
-^« 



had fought, and refusing to serve, was confined in 
prison upon a diet of bread and water. Upon the 
first opportunity he deserted and came over into 
the States. H's large landed property was confis- 
cated and he settled at Syracuse, N. Y., where he 
became owner of a part of the land now included 
within the public square of that city, and engaged 
in the manufacture of s.ilt. Upon leaving thatsec- 
tion of the country he purchased a farm at Port 
Bay, in Wayne County, where he resided until June 
1837, then set out for the Territory of Michigan. 

The father of Mrs. Cannon assisted in building 
the first railroad from Toledo to Adrian, upon 
which ran the first steam cars within the State limits. 
His first venture into this section had been made 
alone, but the year fallowing he returned to the 
Empire State after his family. He rented a farm in 
Deerfleld Township, this county, two years, then 
purchased forty acres of timber land on section 10. 
Like most of the pioneers, his first business was to 
put up a log house and his next was the commence- 
ment at clearing the land, which process was carried 
on in the most laborious manner. Daniel Camp 
was permitted to live until building up a good 
homestead, and accumulated real estate until he 
became owner of 200 acres in Deerfield Township 
besides eighty acres in Barry County. He spent 
his last days at the homestead, his death taking 
place Nov. 11, 1848, when he was sixty-four years 
of age. 

The mother of Mrs. Cannon, formerly Miss Polly 
Bailey, of Bridgewater, Mass., was the daughter of 
Ebenezer Baile^^ and the fourth in descent from 
.Jolui Bailey, an Englishman by birth and ancestry. 
In the early history of New England he came to 
this country with his two brothers and settled in 
Scituate, Mass. On her mother's side, Mrs. Can- 
non is the fifth in descent from John Howard, her 
maternal grandmother having been Sylvia Howard. 
John Howard also came to this country from England 
and Mrs. Polly Camp was also related to Gen. 
Howard by a Bailey on his mother's side. The 
Baileys and Howards intermarried freeh' and were 
both a very superior class of people. They filled 
many places of trust, and furnished to the country 
ministers, lawyers and doctors, while they also suc- 
cessfully engaged in munufacturing and agricultural 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



pursuits. The}- funneil.y owned slaves, but volun- 
tarily freed them before the question of emancipa- 
tion was agitated to any extent. They were strictly 
temperate and upright in their habits, and as a con- 
.sequence, were long-lived, many of them reaching 
eighty and even ninety years, while the grand- 
mother of Mrs. Cannon reached the almost unprec- 
edented age of one hundred and eight years. Mrs. 
Polly Camp died at her home in Deerfleld, this 
county, when about seventy -eight years of age. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Cannon there were born five 
ciiiklren, of whom but three are living, namely: 
George, a resident of the ]5ominion of Canada; 
Delia, the wife of Allen McKee, of Danville, Ky., 
and Frank E.j who is engaged in house-building at 
Louisville, that State. Winfield, who was born 
Nov. 22, 18.')4, died on the 13th of May, 1878, and 
Earl L., who was born April 11), 18G3, died September 
7 of the following j-ear. 

In the early part of 1888 the dwelling of Mr. 
Cannon, which he and his estimable wife had occu- 
pied so many years, and to which they had grown 
so strongly attached by the associations which 
lingered around it, was destro^yed by fire with much 
of its contents. Neighbors and friends from far 
and near rallied in the endeavor to save the noble 
old structure, but it slowly dissolved before their eyes, 
the flames resisting all efforts to subdue them. There 
was upon it a reasonable amount of insurance and 
manj' of the valuable personal effects of the family 
were saved. The origin of the fire is still a mystery, 
as the Cannons, with the forethougiit which is a 
characteristic of their race, have alw-ays used the 
greatest precaution in regard to fire. They are 
making preparations to rebuild, and the new resi- 
dence will be put up under the supervision of their 
son Frank, of Louisville. 



iNji ATTHEW B. McCONNEL, of Adrian 
I l\\ '^'^^'^^''^'P' came to this county over fifty 
I % years ago, when a youth of nineteen years. 
»J He looked upon the face of tiie country in 

this section when very little of the sod had been 
turned by the plowshare, and there were few evi- 



dences of civilization. He is consequently one of 
those privileged characters who were permitted to 
note the wonderful changes passing like a panorama 
before the eye, and the result of which could only be 
a source of the deepest gratification to any man at all 
interested in the spot where he purposed making 
his home. 

The father of our subject, Amsey L. McConnel, 
a native of Orleans County, N. Y., spent his child- 
hood and youth in the Empire State, and became 
the owner of 100 acres of land. He operated upon 
this until 18.31, then sold out and cultivated rented 
land until the spring of 1833. Upon coming to 
Michigan he took up a claim of eighty acres of the 
land which our subject now occupies, and first put- 
ting up a log house for the accommodation of his 
family, proceeded with the improvement of his pur- 
chase. He was fairly prospered, and the following 
year added a large barn to the group of primitive 
buildings, while as time passed on he was enabled 
to surround himself and family with the comforts 
of life, and here passed his last days, his death tak- 
ing place about 1836, when he was fort3'-five years 
of age. 

The paternal grandfather of our subject, Matthew 
McConnel by name, settled in New York State at 
an early day, and purchased 600 acres of land for 
an old coat. He brought a portion of this to a fair 
state of cultivation, and spent his last days near the 
city of Elmira, at which place his death occurred 
when he had arrived at an advanced age. Grand- 
mother Ludlam was aged seventy-four at the time 
of her death. They became the parents of a large 
family of children, and after the death of his first 
wife, Matthew McConnel was a second time mar- 
ried. 

The mother of our subject before her marriage 
was Miss Catherine, daughter of Henry Beers, of 
New Jersey, where she was born and reared to 
womanhood. Of her union with Amsey McConnel 
there were born eight children, seven of whom grew 
to mature years. Matthew B. remained under the 
home roof with the exception of one year until 
reaching his majority, and after the death of his 
father he assumed charge of the property, which 
he still retains, and for which he has the affection quite 
natural under the circumstances. To this old home 



' ' 1196 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



'^ 



he brought a bride in the spring of 1838, being 
married to Miss Hannah Soop, who was born in 
New Yorli, and became the mother of seven chil- 
dren, of whom but five are now living, namely: 
Maria, the wife of Henry Brazee ; David, a resident 
of Wayne Count}', Mich.; Madison, a resident of 
this county; Hattie, Mrs. Eugene Westfall, of 
Wayne County, Mich., and Dora, Mrs. Joseph 
Marsh, of Springville. Those deceased were 
Rachel, who died young, and Matthew, the twin 
brother of Madison. Mrs. Hannah McConnel de- 
parted this life at her home at Adrian Township, in 
February, 1862, at forty years of age. 

Mr. McConnel, for his second wife, married Mrs. 
W. R. Moody, the sister of the fli-st wife, but she 
lived only about two months after her wedding. 
The third wife of our subject, to whom he was mar- 
ried Jan. G, 1864, was Miss Harriet, who was born 
in Tecumseh, and is the daughter of Peter McCol- 
lura, a native of New Jersey, and the son of Moses 
McCoUum, of that State, both farmers by occupa- 
tion. Moses McCollum married a Miss Burke, and 
Peter married Miss Mary Nesbit, a native of New 
Jersey. The wedding of the latter took place in 
LeRoy, N. Y.,and they came to Michigan in 1828. 
Peter McCollum took up a tract of land of large 
extent from a Mr. Woodworth, who sold very rea- 
sonably in order to encourage emigration, and the 
cultivation of the soil. It contained a log cabin, 
and in this humble dwelling Mrs. McConnel was 
born Oct. 12, 1829. Afterward Mr. McCollum 
erected another home, and under its roof he 
breathed his last at the age of seventy-eight years. 
The mother survived fifteen years, her death taking 
place at Franklin when she was eighty-six years of 
age. The McCollum household included ten chil- 
dren, of whom six are now living and residents of 
Michigan. 

The children of Mr. and Mrs. McConnel are re- 
corded as follows: Susan J. was born March 14^ 
1865, and is now the wife of Nathan W. Simons, a 
flourishing grocer of Adrian ; Joseph was born Jan. 
12, 1867, and died Jan. 10, 1873; Eugene K 
was born June 24, 1869, and continues at home with 
his parents, working on the farm and completing his 
studies. David and Matthew McConnel, during 
the late war, served as Union soldiers, the former 



in the 7th Michigan Cavalry, the latter in the 11th. 
Mr. McConnel having S[)ent his entire life upon 
the farm has a thorough knowledge of agriculture 
in all its details, and has aimed to keep up the repu- 
tation of the estate in accordance with the plans of 
his honored father. The latter, in early days a 
Whig, later identified himself with the Republican 
]Dartj% of which the son is also one of the stanchest 
supporters. The love of freedom, and the belief 
that it is the natural inheritance of man, was born 
and reared in him, and nothing but a miracle could 
bring about a change in his political views. He 

I has never, however, aspired tu office, but has been 
content in exerting- a silent influence in the little 
circle of his own neighborhood, and doing good in 
all directions as he has opportunity. He possesses 

I in a marked degree the confidence and esteem of 
his neighbors, who regard him as an old landmark, 

I whose place, when he has departed hence, it will be 

I difficult to fill. 



^^ llARLES BURRIDGE, Justice of the Peace 
(ll ~-^ and attorney-at-law at Tecumseh, was born 
^^fJ in the city of London, England, Jan. 5, 
1837. His father, William Burridge, a native of 
the same place, married Miss Louisa Steele, and 
they became the parents of ten children, of whom 
our subject was the youngest. The familj' emi- 
grated to the United States in 1852, when Charles 
was a lad of fifteen years. They settled first in 
Richland County, Ohio, and not long afterward 
came to Michigan, and after a brief stay at White 
Pigeon and Constantine, came to this county. 

Our subject not long afterward went on a pleas- 
ure trip to Kentucky, by way of the Mississippi 
River, and upon his return to this county attended 
school and finally developed into a teacher. This 
occupation he pursued three winters, and then 
entered the State University, where he took a two- 
years course. This considerably depleted his purse, 
and he became the employe of William Hayden^ 
taking charge of his warehouse in Tecumseh, and 
dealing in flour, mill feed and lumber. Two years 
later he entered the law office of C. B. Wood as 
clerk, and continued with him, finally as partner, 



a 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1197 



r 



until 1879. He servefl as Justice of the Peace for 
a period of eiglit years, and as Village Reeordei- 
nine years in succession. Mr. Burridge has been 
Justice of the Peace and Village Trustee contin- 
uously many years, and otheruise been prominent 
in public affairs. 

Our subject w.as married, in July, 18C7, to Miss 
Harriet M. Blinn, of Tecumseh, who was born in 
New York and was brought to Michigan by her 
parents when an infant of six months. Of this 
union there have been born three children — Walter 
C, Mary L. and Charles. Mr. and Mrs. B. are 
members of the Presbyterian Churcli. Our subject 
was admitted to the bar after being graduated 
from the State University, and still gives his atten- 
tion to the practice of law in connection with his 
duties as Justice. 



J-^'OHN WOODFORD, a well-to-do faruier of 
Madison Township, is pleas.-iiitly locatiMl on 
section i, where he is industriously cnuaged 
' in the prosecution of his iiiik'|n'ii(k'nt calling. 
I-iris a son of Noah N. and Charlotte \Voodford, 
both of vvhom were natives of New York. The 
parents removed to Lenawee County prior to their 
marriage, and both settled in Adrian. There the 
father was engaged in the grocery business, and also 
occupied in keeping a boarding-house and running 
a brickyard. He subsequently settled in Hillsdale, 
where he continued to act in the capacity of ''mine 
host" for a time, and thence removed to Madison 
Township, where he engaged in farming and lived 
until fifty-three. During that year he went over- 
land to California, and was absent about a year and 
again returned to this county. In 1859 he again 
crossed the plains to California, and was absent in 
the land of gold for about three years. Returning 
to this county, he remained here until 1864, when 
he made a third trip to California, remaining there 
about two years. During the period in which he 
was in the latter .State, he was occupied for three 
years in keeping a hotel. In 1866, Noah Wood- 
ford came to this county and located again in Madi- 
son Township, and energetically engaged in the 
prosecution of his chosen vocation until his lU'atli, 



which event occurred April 14, 1881. His good 
wife died Feb. 20. 1859. Six children were born 
of their union, five sons and one daughter. 

John Woodford was the fifth in order of birth of 
his parents' children, and first saw light in Hillsdale, 
Mich., May 18, 1846. He was reared mostly on a 
farm, "and after attaining the age of manhood, he 
was for about four years employed as a section hand 
on a railroad. He accompanied his father twice 
across the plains of California in 1859 and 1864, 
and assisted him for three years in running his 
hotel in that State. Mr. Woodford is the owner of 
forty acres of the old homestead in Madison Town- 
ship, and is meeting with success in his vocation, 
lie w.as married in Lansing, Mich., Sept. 22, 1868, 
to Miss Mary L. Thurber, who was born in Wash- 
tenaw County, Mich., Dec. 22, 1852. Her parents 
were Caleb and Louisa (Houghton) Thurber, and 
both are deceased. Six children were born to 
them, all of whom lived to attain the age of ma- 
turity, and Mrs. Woodford was the fourth in order 
of birth. The union of our subject w^ith Miss 
Thurber has been blessed by the birth of two chil- 
dren, and their household saddened by the death of 
one, Charlie C, who died when sixteen years old. 
Frankie H. lives at home. In politics, Mr. Wood- 
ford is a Democrat. 



(Jl^iREDERICK G. BEAGLE, late of Blissfield 
|>=^ Townsliip, was a native of Baden, Germany, 
ill, "" and born Feb. 11, 1834. His parents, 
George and Barbara Beagle, were natives of the 
same Grand Duchy, and emigrated to America in 
1847. They came immediately to Michigan, where 
their son, Frederick G., grew to manhood and 
learned the carpenter's trade, at which he worked 
for a time, was afterward employed as a clerk, and 
finally opened a store of general mei'chandise. By 
the exercise of economy and prudence he made 
very good headway, and during the war conducted 
a flourishing grocery trade. 

He finally developed into a prominent dealer in 
wheat, wool and fruit, and is said to have done 
more business and worked harder than any man in 
the eastern part of the county. On the 12th of 



^ 



f 



•►-II-4*- 



1198 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



'^ 



November, 1852, he was married to Miss Catherine 

C, daugliter of Christopher Beagle, of Adrian, by 
whom he became the father of seven children. 
Mrs. Beagle was born in Baltimore, Md., Dec. 28, 
1833, and came to Blissfleld with her parents in 
1836, her father being one of the first German 
settlers of this part of the country. He was one 
of the founders of the Evangelical Church of 
Adrian, and also of Blissfield. The parental farailj' 
included four children : Justina married John 
Brooker, and died at South Bend, Ind.; Caroline is 
the wife of Charles Myers, of Adrian; Mary died 
in Blissfleld some years ago. The mother departed 
this life at Adrian on the 24th of January, 1849, 
and Mr. Beagle married the second time and be- 
came the father of seven more children. Politic- 
all3' he was always a Republican. Of the seven 
children born to Mr. and Mrs. Frederick G. Beagle, 
the record is as follows : Catherine is the wife of 

D. P. Wheeler, of East Saginaw; Charles L. is a 
resident of Detroit; Ella died on the 3d of May, 
1876, at the age of eighteen years; Ida, Mrs. Dr. 
G. G. Mosher, lives in Kansas City; Mary is at 
home ; Frederick is a resident of Jackson, and Bur- 
ton H., of Kalamazoo, this State. Mr. Beagle 
departed this life oii the 22d of February, 1888, 
and his widow oeciipies a comfortable home, the 
result of his forethought and industry. 

JTJOIIN W. ALLEN. Vvw passing through 
I Rollin Township on the main road leading 
I from Quaker fail to observe the valuable and 
f) well-apppointed homestead which is pleas- 
antly located on section 20, and denotes on all 
sides the hand of thrift and prosperity. The Allen 
farm, by a process of careful cultivation and the 
exercise of cultivated tastes and ample means, is 
one of the most desirable in that section of country. 
The fields are conveniently laid off and enclosed 
with neat fences, and the farm buildings, erected in 
modern style, are all that could be reasonably re- 
quired by the progressive agriculturist. The pro- 
prietor came to Southern Michigan fifty-four years 
ago, and the greater part of the time since then 
h.as bent his energies to the establishment of a good 
4» 



home, while he has not been unmindful of the 
welfare of the people around him, and has aided 
in all good works and purposes to the best of his 
ability. He possesses excellent judgment, and a good 
Ijractical education, and has been uniformly fortu- 
nate in his labors and investments. 

The Allen family traces its ancestry to Scotland. 
The first representatives in this country of whom 
the record is preserved settled in New York State, 
where .Joseph S., tlie father of our subject, was 
born in Washington County, Aug. 5, 1805, and was 
reared to manhood. He married Miss Lucinda 
Robbins, and came to Michigan in 1834, taking a 
quarter section of land in Rollin Township, upon 
which he lived and labored until his death, which 
occurred on the 25th of April, 1883. The grand- 
father of our subject, John Allen, Jr., was born 
in one of the New England States Oct. 20, 1774, 
and died on a farm in White Creek, N. Y., when 
eighty-four years of age. He was of Scotch-Irish 
ancestry, and the family was connected with the 
ancestors of Horace Greeley. John Allen, Jr., 
married Miss Rosanna Stewart, who was born July 
1, 1782, and who died at the age of thirty-five 
years. 

Mrs. Lucinda Allen, tl\e mother of our sul)ject, 
was born in Shaftsbury, Vt., May 31, 1806, and 
died at the homestead in Rollin Township, April 
28, 1870. Of her marriage with Joseph S. Allen 
there were born five children, two of whom died 
in infancy. Hassan D. during the late war served 
as a soldier in the Union army, enlisting toward 
its close, in 1864, and died in the Joe Holt hos- 
pital, at Jeffersonville, Ind., on the 2d of Feb- 
ruary, 1865. David H. resides in Rollin Town- 
ship. 

John Allen continued a member of the parental 
household until twenty-two years of age, and then 
purchasing a tract of wild land of his grandfather 
immediately set about its improvement and culti- 
vation. He wisely refrained from taking upon 
himself the responsibilities of a family until he had 
laid the foundations for a good home, and after 
diligently laboring five years upon his little farm, 
was united in marriage on the 15th day of 
Marcii, I860, to one of the most amiable young- 
ladies of Prairie du Sac, Wis., Miss Mary J., 



4h^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1109 '. ' 



daughter of Bethuel and Hannah (Robinson) New- 
comb, who were natives of Vermont, and Quebec, 
Canada, respectively. The father was born Feb. 
11, 1810. and the mother June 28, 1818. They 
were married at .St.anstead, Canada, June 5, 1838, 
and became the parents of four children, as fol- 
lows: Laura died in infancy; Mary N. is the wife 
of our subject; Laura Ann married George Rob- 
bins, and resides in Omalia, Neb.; and John I. 
married Delia Chrisler, and is a manufacturer, of 
Lodi, Wis. Mrs. Hannah (Robinson) Newcomb 
died at her home in AVest Point, Wis., March '22, 
1 870, aged fifty-two years; while the father, Bethuel 
Newcomb, is at present making his home with 
his son John I., in Lodi, AVis., aged seventy-eight 
years, and is a remarkably well-preserved man. 

Bethuel Newcomb traces his lineage back to Capt. 
Andrew Newcomb, who emigrated from the west 
of England, probably Devonshire, to Massachusetts. 
The date of his arrival in this country is not defi- 
nitely known, but it is quite probable that he was 
among the earliest settlers of New England. First 
mention of him is made in 166.3, in Boston, where 
he and his wife Grace resided. In the " Genealogy 
of the Newcomb Family," a compiled work by 
John B. Newcomb, of Elgin, 111., is found the direct 
aiicesti'al line, along which Mary Newcomb Allen is 
of the eighth generation. Hannah C, daughter of 
John and Mary (Metcalfe) Robinson, w.as of English 
parentage. Her father was born in London, Aug. 
13, 1787, .and died in Stanstead, Quebec, Aug. 13, 
1869. just eighty-two years old. Mrs. Neweomb's 
mother, Mary (Metcalfe) Robinson, was born in 
Middleham, Yorkshire, Sept. 14, 1793, and was the 
daughter of John Metcalfe, Rector of St. John's, 
Middleham, and a descendant of the old famil^^ of 
Metcalfe, of Metcalfe Towers, in Wensleydale. 
Sir Tliomas Metcalfe, the founder of this family, 
was one of the Knights of Richard the Third. Dr. 
Nicholas Metcalfe, Third Master of St. .John's Col- 
l(^ge, Cambridge, and Lord Metcalfe, at one time 
Governor of Canada, were also descendants of this 
house. Metcalfe Towers are .among the finest views 
in Engl.Tud, and their study gives much interest in 
connection with feudal times. The crest and motto 
of this family are now in the possession of Sir Ralph 
Metcalfe Canfield, of Stanstead, Quebec. 



To Mr. and Mrs. Allen there were liorn five 
children, four of whom are now living. Stella A- 
was born Oct. 10, 1861, and married C. C. Fuller, 
of Rollin Township; she has one child, a daughter, 
Roxie M. Grace R. was born May 5, 1865, and 
completed her education at Raisin Vallej' Seminary, 
she is at present in Herkimer, N. Y., on a visit. 
Bertha H. was born Feb. 18, 1868, and like her 
sisters took a course in Raisin Vallej^ Seminary, and 
is now occupied as a teacher in Medina Township; 
Maude E. was born March 4, 1870, and died Aug. 
24, 1872. Lizzie L. was born May 17, 1876, and 
is still attending the district school. 

1 Noble lineage has clone mucli for Mary (New- 
comb) Allen, but "good family" and worthy pres- 
tige does not always prove a blessing. The subject 
of our sketch has rightfully engaged every oppor- 
tunity for doing good, has lirightened the talents 

i with which she was endowed, and shows conclu- 
sively that one can be " [nire, womanly," and yet 

! in the van in all questions of importance. She 
never misses an opportunity for expressing her 
opinion on the all impoitant subject of temperance, 
and both she and her husband are straight out-and- 

1 out party Prohibitionists. Her words give no un- 
certain sound, since whatever she says on this theme, 

I whether in newspapers, social clubs, or neighbor- 
hood circles, is easily- understood. Indeed, every 
question of reform, every topic having the uplift- 

I ing of humanity for its object, has for Mrs. Allen a 

I lively interest. The farmer's clubs are freqnentlj' 
enlivened by her sprightly, timely articles, which 

j she reads in excellent taste ; the newspapers of 

I Lenawee County know full well the value of articles 

' signed '• M. N. A." and a larger circle of readers 
for years have been interested in the pithj' stories 
and lively sketches of "Aunt Mary," who, whether 
she " lisps in numbers," or writes in prose, has always 
something worth saying, and says it well. And 
after the verse or theme is finished Mrs. Allen, the 
neighbor, the friend, the humane sympathizer, is 
ready with the kind word, the timel^y advice, or the 
helpful hint so oftentimes needed. And through it 
all, under it all, and over it all, this busy little 

I woman has for hev kindred the liveliest assistance. 

, No project of her daughters regarding self-improve- 

I ment that does not find a responsive echo in the 



■•►Hl-^ 



1200 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



mother's heart, no word of cheer, or syllable of en- 
couragement, is withheld from her husband in plans 
for their mutual weal. She is also >Secretary of the 
Western Lenawee and Eastern Hillsdale Horticult- 
ural Society. Both Mr. and Mrs. Allen are mem- 
bers, together with their children, of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, in which Mr. Allen has officiated 
as Class-Leader, and is one of the chief pillars. 

The homestead of our subject is familiarly known 
as the " Hillsdale Farm," of Eollin Township, on 
account of its peculiarly pleasant and desirable 
location. Mr. Allen has taken much interest in 
fruit-growing, and has a flourishing peach orchard 
of 1,.500 ti-ees, which usually produce abundantly 
of this rich fruit. 



ENOS CANNIFF, a pioneer of Hudson Town- 
ship, was born in Knowlesville, Orleans Co., 
? N. Y.. Feb. 11, 1822, being the son of 
John Canniff, one of the fiist settlers there, and one 
of the first to buy land from the Holland Purchase 
Company. He superintended the excavation of the 
Erie Canal through that section, and met his death 
by drowning at Ashtabula, Ohio, about 1830. The 
mother of our subject was Lydia (Morse) Canniff, 
a native of Massachusetts, and the daughter of one 
of the first settlers of Monroe County, Mich. 

After the death of her husband, the mother of 
our subject resided with her sisters in Orleans and 
Monroe Counties until 1839. In the meantime she 
visited the Territory of Michigan and purchased 
land in what is now Wheatland, Hillsdale County. 
She located in Pittsford in 1839, and resided with 
her son Stephen until her second marriage, with 
John Bird, and thereafter lived in Claj'ton until her 
death. 

Our subject was eight years of age at the time of 
his father's death. He lived with an uncle a yenv 
and then with Alpheus Phelps near Knowlesville, 
and acquired his education in the common schools, 
mostly during the winter season. In the fall of 
1839. he came with his mother to Michigan, but 
subsequently returned to New Yoi'k State, spend- 
ing part of the time there and a part of the time in 
Michigan until locating in Richfield, where he en- 



gaged in the manufacture of brooms two j^ears. At 
the expiration of this time he took up his residence 
in Hudson, where he has since continued. He was 
an Abolitionist from his earliest recollection and 
one of the founders of the Republican party in this 
State. Early in 1864 he purchased the Sentinel. 
the first journal ever published in Hudson, which 
he conducted until after the election of Gov. Bing- 
ham, then sold out. 

Mr. Canniff has officiated as Supervisor of Hud- 
son Township, was the first Street Commissioner 
and the first Marshal of the village, and in 1883 
was appointed Postal Clerk from Granger, Wyo., to 
Huntington, Ore. He ran the first mail train 
passing over the route, and after his service of two 
years in this cap.acitj', was made Deputy Postmaster 
of Weiser, Idaho, when, after serving satisfactorily, 
he returned East. 

Hudson was but a hamlet when Mr. Canniff first 
came to this vicinitj'. Here he has invested a large 
share of his capital, erecting several dwellings and 
being generally interested in its progress. He was 
married, on the 1 5th of May, 1 842, to Miss Lucy B. 
Estes, a native of Massachusetts, and the daughter 
of Sylvanus and Ruth (Ramsdell) Estes, pioneers of 
Lenawee and Hillsdale Counties. This union re- 
sulted in the birth of four children : Emma, the 
wife of W. W. Carter, of Hudson ; Ida, Mrs. W. H. 
Tower, of Union City; Alena, the School Inspector 
of Hudson, and Rosa, a teacher at Union City. The 
latter was Census Enumerator of Hudson in 1880. 

JCHOLAS AMOS PAGE was born in the 
city of New York, June 23, 1817. His 
grandfather, Jeremiah Page, came to this 
country a mere boy, having been born in England, 
and settled in New London, Conn., about the year 
1765. But little is known of his ancestors; it is 
clear, however, that he was in possession of large 
wealth which has been the means of much specula- 
tion among his descendants. 

This properly consisted of land lying in and near 
the city of London, England. Schooled for a 
physician, but not liking the profession, he upon 
reaching manhood constructed a home from a large 



■<• 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1201 



tract of land, but in his later years lost the whole of 
it on at'count of sn imperfect title. He married a 
lady by the name of Ames, who was said to be a 
descendant of one of the families who came to 
this country in the Mayflower that landed the 
Pilgrim Fathers on Plymouth Rock in 1620. Jere- 
miaii Page followed the sea as Captain of one of 
tlic vessels which sailed between the Colonies and 
tlitt mother country. 

On the New London farm Dobson Page was 
born in the year 1780, and removed with his father 
and family when seventeen years of age to the 
town of Columbus, Chenango Co., N. Y., where, he 
resided until reaching his majority. He then left 
those frosty hills where the pioneer had to struggle 
so hard to secure sufficient food to make life enjoy- 
able, and went to New York City, and engaged in 
boating on the Hudson River, between New Y'ork 
and AlbanJ^ In 1814 he was married to Evelina 
S. Hall, who was born in St. Albans, Vt., on the 
7th of June, 1707. Her i)arents, Prince Bryant 
and Abigail Hall, were from Massachusetts, and 
settled in St. Albans at an early day. Prince B. 
Hall was a graduate of Harvard College, an able 
scholar and business man. 

Dobson Pag€ removed to the West in the fall of 
182;J and after locating on several farms in the 
western part of New York State, he made up his 
mind to migrate to the Territor}^ of Michigan, a 
bold move, but one that proved a success. On the 
7lh of June, 1834, with his wife and two sons, 
N. A., aged seventeen years, and John Olson, 
aged fifteen, they started for their new home. 
Three weeks later found them in the far West, 
and after a short time spent in locating land, the 
east half of the northeast quarter of section 20 was 
selected, on which a house was built, and the family 
moved into it while it was yet without roof, floor, 
doors or windows. This remained the habitation 
of the Pages until October, 1835, when they re- 
moved to Rolliu Township and located the west 
half of the northeast quarter of section 28, where 
the father died on the 5th of June, 1847. His 
widow survived him many years, and died at her 
old home in Rolliu, Sept. 25, 1874. 

N. A. Page lived with his parents until t\\ent3'- 
, 'liree years of age, and commenced for himself on 

-4* 



the day he was twent3'-oue, but only worked one 
day at that time as he could not be spared from the 
old home. On the 4tb of July. 1841, he was 
married to Ch.arity, daughter of John Marlatt, 
formerly of Ridgeway, Orleans Co., N. Y., but sub- 
sequently of Rollin, where he came in 1840. 

Charity Page was born in Yates Township, Or- 
leans Co., N. Y.,on the 10th day of March, 1823. 
A woman of sterling merit, ever ready to minister 
to the wants of the poor and needy, though not 
strong in health, she gave great attention to her 
large family. She did not belong to any Chi-istiun 
order, but enjoyed the heartfelt blessings of her 
Redeemer and Lord. Her children rise up and 
call her blessed. Charity Page died the 7th ilay of 
May, 1882, and all mourned the loss of a true and 
noble woman. 

N. A. Page settled on the west half of the south- 
east quarter of section 28. After he had cleared 
the greater part of this eighty acres, he purch.ased 
the east half of the northeast quarter of section 3, 
also the northwest quarter of the nortlieast quarter 
of section 33, making a farm of 200 acres, mostlj' 
cleared and with good buildings, one of the finest 
homes in the town of Rollin, and showing what a 
man can do who possesses energy and a will to act 
well his part. 

]\Ir. Page never held ollice, though considered 
competent to do so. He is classed as one of the in- 
telligent men of the town, and one well acquainted 
with the history of the times. Eight children were 
given to the family: Melissa A., born March 5, 
1842, was married, Dec. 20, 18C5, to David H. 
Allen, born Ma.y 30, 1838; George 8. was born 
Aug. 6, 1844, and was married, Nov. 1."), 1882, to 
Anna J. Coppins, born Nov. 15, 1853; Orion C. was 
born Jan. 15, 1847, .and died August 5 following; 
Frank A. was born July 28, 1854, and was married, 
Dec. 12, 1877, to Ida Roys, who was born Oct. 27. 
1855; Carter I., son of Frank and Ida Page, was 
born Nov. 30, 1882; Eva A. was born Feb. 15, 
1857, and was married, Nov. 27, 1878, to George S. 
Roys, who was born Feb. 13, 1851 : their son, 
Hervey N., was born Nov. 16, 1879. Harrison W. 
was born Nov. 24, 1858, and died Dec. 25, 1871; 
Stephen A., born Sept. 13, 1860, was married, Dec. 
5, 1883, to Lottie Raymond, who was born Feb. 2, 



■•► 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



18G4; John T., who was born Nov. 13,1862, died 
Aug. 25, 1864. The children of the family all live 
in tlie town of Rollin, excepting Frank, who is a 
resident of Wheatland. All are farmers by occupa- 
tion, active and well-to-do good citizens, support- 
ing the principles of temperance and religion. 

W^ ON JOEL CARPENTER. There is prob- 
r''^') abl}' in Lenawee County no name which is 
^^\Jy' more familiarly lvnown,or held in higher re- 
\^\ spect than that of the subject of this biog- 
raphy, over whose head the snows of sixty-nine 
winters have passed. 

In the year of 1563 a coat of arms was granted 
to William Carpenter of the town of Cobham, Sur- 
rey, England. William Carpenter, his son, came to 
America in 1633, and was a representative from Wej'- 
mouth, Mass., in 1641, and again in 1643. In 1644 
he removed to Rehoboth, in the same State, and 
died in 1658. His son, William (3d), was born in 
1631, and came with his father to America when 
two years old. He lived in Rehoboth, and mar- 
ried the second time in 1663. His second son by 
this marriage was Nathaniel Carpenter, who was 
born about the year 1666, and died in 1754, at 
Attleboro, Mass. His son. Rev. Ezra Carpenter, 
was born at Rehoboth, in 1698, and graduated at 
Cambridge College in 1723. He was stationed at 
Hull, near Boston, till 1752, and removed to Swan- 
zey in Cheshire County, N. H., and preached at that 
place and at Keeue for many years. He died at 
Walpole, N. II., in 1785. His wife's maiden name 
was Elizabeth Greenwood, daughter of Rev. 
Thomas Greenwood, of Rehoboth, Mass. His son. 
Greenwood Carpenter, was born about 1730, and 
about the year 1750 went to live on Bunlser Hill, 
in Charleston, now in Boston, where he married, 
and lived several years, but finally sold out and 
went to Swanzey, N. H., and died in 1814. He was 
High Sheriff of Cheshire County, N. H., many 
years. 

Greenwood Carpenter's son Willi.ain was born on 
Bunker Hill in 1752. and came with liis father to 
Swanzey, where in 1780 he married a daughter of 
the Rev. Clement Sumner. He served in the Rev- 



olutionary War, and was in the battle of Benning- 
ton, Aug. 16, 1777. In 1808 he removed to Pots- 
dam, St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., where he died in 
1843 at the age of ninety -one. His eldest son, 
Clement Carpenter, the father of the subject of this 
sketch, was born at Swanzey, N. H., Oct. 10, 1781, 
and at the age of twenty-one he married Elizjibeth, 
daughter of Robert Gilmore, formerly of London- 
derry, N. H. He and his young wife in 1808 
removed to Potsdam, St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., 
where he reared a large family and died May 1, 
1860; his wife died March 20, 1863. They were a 
kind, honest, hard-working, well-read and intelli- 
gent couple, and were loved and respected by all. 
The eldest son, Guy Carpenter, came to this county 
in 1830, and died Jan. 18, 1849, at the age of forty. 
He was a man of great force of character, and w.'is 
for man}' years Supervisor of Blissfield. He was 
County Commissioner for one term, and Represent- 
ative in the Legislature for 1843-44. He was 
loved and respected by .all, and his death was more 
lamented perhaps, than that of any man who ever 
died in the township. The second son of Clement 
and Elizabeth Cari)enter is David Carpenter, now 
of I\It. Dora, Fla., a sketch of whose busy life is 
given on another page of this volume. 

Joel Carpenter, third son of Clement Carpenter, 
and the subject of this sketch, was born at Potsdam, 
St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., Sept. 3, 1818. He at- 
tended the common schools until he was seventeen 
3'ears old, and then attended St. Lawrence Academy, 
after which he taught school two terms, and then 
started for the West Sept. 15, 1838, arriving in this 
county September 23. He taught school during the 
winter of 1838-39 at Deerfield, and then began 
the study of law at Adrian with Halsey and 
Greenly, June 10, 1839; taught school in the win- 
ter of 1839-40 in Monroe County, and again in 
1^41-42 near Adrian, and was admitted to the bar 
April 9, 1842. 

Joel Carpenter married his first wife, Theodocia 
A. Carpenter, at Potsdam, N. Y., Oct. 12, 1842, and 
coming West taught school in Blissfield Village 
during the cold winter of 1842-43. In the spring 
of 1843 he opened the first law office in Blissfield, 
and began work. His wife died of consumption 
Dec. 7, 1843, and Dec. 25, 1844, he m.arried his 
•^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1203 



second wife, Minerva L., dangliter of the Hon. 
Darius Mead, by whom he had throe children, as 
follows: Clement was born March 23, 1848, is a law- 
graduate of the State University, and is a lawyer in 
good practice in Toledo. Ohio; he has been quite 
active in political .affairs, is a scholarly young man 
of good habits, and acceptably represented his 
country as Secretary of Legation .it Chili. Carrie 
F. was born Aug. 6, 1850, and lives with her father 
at his beautiful home .at Blissfield Village, his loving 
sympathiser and the solace of his declining years. 
His d.aughter, Minerva K., died in infancy, follow- 
ing in a few days the dear, gentle mother, the sec- 
ond wife, who died March 12, 18,52, at the early age 
of twenty-eight years. Sept. 1, 1859, Mr. Carpen- 
ter married Lucy M., daughter of Asa Gilmore, of 
Tecemseh, Mich., by whom he had a son, Guy D., 
who was born Sept. 2a, 1861, and died JLarch 4, 
1864. His young mother died, greatlj' beloved, 
Oct. 3, 1861, at the early age of twenty-three years. 
The present wife, to whom Mr. Carpenter was m.ir- 
ried Jan. 14, 1864, was formerly Miss Esther C, 
daughter of E. Newton, of Blissfield, and was born 
May 24, 1833. Robert B. Carpenter, the youngest 
brother of Joel, lives on the old homestead in 
Potsdam, has a fine jDroperty and has reared a fine 
familj';he is a strong, well-posted, intelligent 
farmer. 

In 1850 Mr. Carpenter went into the mercantile 
business with his brother David, but in 1852 he 
bought out his brother and formed a partnership 
with his brother-in-law, the late M. S. Stone, and 
after Stone's death, in 1854, continued in the busi- 
ness until 1858, when he again look up his law busi- 
ness. In polities Mr. Carpenter was originally a 
Whig and cast his first Presidential vote for Harri- 
son, but as early as 1842 he joined the "Liberty 
Party," and cast one of the sixteen first distinctly 
Abolition votes ever cast in the county. He voted 
for Birney in 1844, and attended the great Free- 
Soil National Convention held at Buffalo, Aug. !), 
1848, which nominated Van Buren and Adams, and 
defeated Gen. Cass for the Presidencj'. He at- 
tended the Great State Convention "under the 
oaks" at Jackson, which first named the Republican 
party. He has been one of the best loc.il party 
^ ' managers in Southern Michigan; prompt, sharp,. and 



ready; a generous backer of his friends tan enthusi- 
astic and determined supporter of the war of the 
Union; a hater of drunkenness, extortion and 
crime, and a lover of justice and fair dealing. He 
has a cheerful habit of looking at the bright side of 
life, and can be counted on to .always tsike the part 
of the "under dog" in the fight. 

Hon. Joel Carpenter has held many places of trust 
at the hands of the people. He has been Super- 
visoi-, and for several years Postmaster at Blissfield ; 
has served two years as State Senator: was enroll- 
ing officer during the war, and afterward Deputy 
United States Assessor. He was LTnited States 
Enumerating Officer for this township in 1880, and 
w.is elected one of the delegates at large to the 
Nation.al Convention at Chicago in 1880, which 
nominated President Garfield. In 1859 he intro- 
duced the first general insurance law ever passed 
in the .State, and in conjunction with the late Royal 
Barnum, of Adrian, organized under it the State 
Insurance Com[)an3'. 

Mr. Carpenter is still in the vig(jr of health and life, 
and promptly attends, in his office, to the crowds 
who come to seek his assistance and advice in all the 
busy concerns of life. 



Ijt^ ARTIN LUTHER ROBERTSON, .an ex- 
Jl' \\\ tensive farmer of Ogden Township, resid- 
I IK ing on section 22, w.as born in Preston 
« County, Va., M.arch 15, 1840, and is the 

fourth son of James and Elizabeth Robertson. The 
parents, when Martin L. was a child four years of 
age, removed to Ohio and fourteen years later came 
to this county. 

Our sul)ject continued under the home roof until 
reaching his m.ajority, and then going to Palmyra 
Township, commenced working by the month on 
his own account. Eight months later his father in- 
duced him to return home, proposing to give him a 
share of the profits of the farm. To this he ac- 
ceded, and a year later purchased forty acres of 
land on section 22, which is included in his present 
farm. It was then covered with brush, stumps and 
timber, but the young man while at the same time 
continuing with his f.ather, put in his leisure hours 



-•► 



•►Hh-* 



1204 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



•►Hh-^- 



upon his own land, and at the time of his marriage 
had brought it to such condition that he was enabled 
to settle upon it. Bj' the exercise of great industry - 
and economy he was enabled not only to cultivate 
his first purchase, but to add to it, and is now the 
owner of 200 acres, half of which is under good 
cultivation, thoroughly drained and supplied with 
a good set of buildings. 

Mr. Robertson also owns eighty acres in Marion 
County, Fla. In the fall of 1886 he rented his 
farm and went to that State, where he spent the 
winter. In the spring, however, he returned Norlh, 
considering this locality as good as he could find. 
The wife of our subject, to whom he was married 
in 1870, was formerly Miss Rachel Richardson, 
who was born in Lorain County, Ohio, and is the 
daughter of John Richardson, a native of New 
York State, who rem(jved to Ohio and was there 
married to Miss Lucy, daughter of Peter Wright. 
A few years later they emigrated to Michigan, set- 
tling in Ogden Township, this county, where the 
father died in February, 1 887. Mrs. Richardson is 
still living, making her home in Ogden. Our sub- 
ject and his wife are the parents of two children — 
George Manfred and John Hiram. Mr. Robertson 
is a member in good standing of Blisslield Lodge 
No. 114, A. F. & A. M. 

T]AMES K. CRANE, a soldier of the Union 
1, and a resident of 
ild three years of 
Vj^^ age, came to Micliigan with his parents in 
the latter part of the summer of 1837. His infant 
eyes were opened in Sodus, Wayne Co., N. Y., on 
the 8th of March, 1834. He has had a ripe ex- 
perience of life in a new settlement, and during his 
residence of over fifty years in Southern Michigan 
has been an interested witness of the wonderful 
changes which have transformed the wilderness 
into a civilized commonwealth. He returned from 
the army greatly broken down in health, and since 
that time has been a resident of Deerfield, where 
in a comfortable home he enjoys all the good things 
of life and the friendship of a large circle of. ac- 
quaintances. 



JrAMKS K. CKA^'K, a soUlie 
in the great Rebellion, an 
I Lenawee County since a chi 
^^J/ age, came to Michigan witi 



The Crane family is of German descent, and it is 
j supposed that the great-grandfather of our subject 
removed from New England to New York State 
during its early settlement. Edwin D. Crane, the 
father of our subject, was born in Onondaga 
County, May 14, 1812, and was the son of Archer 
and Vilitia (Cornish) Crane, who in 1829 took up 
their residence in Wayne County. Here Edwin 
lived until starting for Michigan in August, 1837, 
and upon entering the Territory he located in Free- 
dom Township, Washtenaw County. While in New 
York State, Mr. Crane upon the recommendation 
of another party, had purchased a tract of land in 
Washtenaw County, but when he came to take 
possession, he found that all but four acres of it 
was the bottom of. a lake. Having thus virtually 
no land of his own to work upon, he took a job of 
clearing and fencing for another man, receiving his 
pay in forty acres of land. This work he did with 
his own hands, and sold rails to live upon, saving 
also enough to purchase a yoke of oxen and a cow. 
After securing forty acres more he sold out, and in 
1839 purchased a farm in Genesee County which 
had some improvements upon it. He resided there 
until the fall of 1842, then secured a tract of land 
in Blissfield Township, this county, which he occu- 
pied until 1864, going thence to Adrian Township, 
where he lived on a farm until 1866. His last days 
were passed in the city, where his death took place 
Feb. 14, 1867. 

During his residence in Blissfield Edwin D. Crane 
served as Assessor and Justice of the Peace, and 
was one of the three Drain Commissioners first ap- 
pointed under the present ditch law. He was a man 
of remarkable physical strength and endurance, 
and his excellent judgment was called into requis- 
ition concerning all matters of public interest. He 
opened up a farm from a heavily timbered tract of 
land in Blissfield Township, put up good buildings, 
and created a desirable home. He was a kind, 
genial neigiiborand friend, a thoughtful and indul- 
gent husband and father, and possessed all the 
qualities of an honest man and a good citizen. 

Edwin D. Crane, on the 22d of May, 1831, took 
for his wife Miss Sarah B., daughter of James and 
Abigail Keyes, of Sodus, Wayne Co., N. Y., and 
they became the parents of four children: Mahlon 
— •>- 



■•► 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1205 



D., a resident of Dakota; James K., of our sketch; 
Charles E., who was a prosperous farmer of Knox 
County, hid., and died June Ki, 1887; and Helen 
M., who became the wife of John D. Smead, of 
Blissfield Township, and died Dec. 20, 1882. Mrs. 
Sarah B. Crane was born in Townsend, Mass., Feb. 
12, 181.3, and removed with her parents to Wayne 
County, N. Y., when a cliild four ^-ears of mijc. 
Her father, James Keyes, was born in Newburyport, 
Mass., Nov. 28, 1789, and died in Lyons, N. Y., 
Jan. 22, 1819. Her mother was Abigail Davis, a 
native of New Hampshire, and boin Feb. 13, 1789. 
She came to this county with her husband, and 
died in Blissfield, Dec. 2(J, 18:>-i. 

The mother of our subject endured bravely with 
her husband all the trials of pioneer life, which, 
however, were by no means unmixed with pleasure. 
At first they lived in a shanty without door or win- 
dow; without stove, fireplace or chimney, and the 
mother did the cooking in a kettle hung on three 
poles out of doors, gypsy fashion. She exi)erienced 
all the anxiety of a mother when her children were 
in the woods after dark, when she heard the wolves 
howling, and imagined they might be making merry 
over the mangled corpse of her boy. In later years 
she was wont to recount in an interesting manner 
the many incidents of pioneer life, the dangers and 
hardships, the hopes and the later successes which 
crowned the labors of herself and her family. She 
was a good woman in the broadest sense of the 
term, and the object of the warmest regard by all 
who knew her; she died June 20, 1884. 

James K. Crane was a lad eight years of age when 
his parents removed from Washtenaw to Lenawee 
County, and here he developed into manhood, at- 
tending the pioneer schools during the winter season 
and working around the homestead in summer. 
His first studies were carried on in a log cabin on 
section 2 1 of what was then a part of Blissfield 
Township. The chimney of the " temple of learn- 
ing" was built of sticks, and the fireplace occupied 
nearly the entire end of the building. The seats 
were constructed of slabs, and the only desk was a 
board fastened against the wall. What the teacher 
lacked in erudition was made up by a healthy ap- 
plication of the smaller limb of a tree. The boy- 
hood of young Crane was passed in a comparatively 



uneventful manner, interspersed with pleasurable 
meetings of the young people of the settlement, 
during which tunc he made his selection of the 
future partner of his joys and sorrows, and after 
his marriage settled upon the land which constitutes 
his present homestead. But a few acres were 
cleared when he took possession of it, and the only 
alLompt ;it irai)rovement was a log cabin. Under 
this humble roof Mr. Crane and his bride com- 
menced life together, with a very limited supply of 
furniture, with an equal amount of crockery and a 
dry-goods box for a cupboard. It was a great 
event in the family when Mr. Crane brought home 
a regulai cupboard for the earthenware, and when 
it did come the wife laughingly inquired what she 
should put into it. Their wedding day was March 
27, 185G, and the bride was Miss Cynthia A., 
daughter of Enoch and Lucretia Sperry, of Ogden 
Township. On the 2d of December following 
the^- took possession of their cabin home, which 
they occupied twenty-two years, and then in 1878 
put up a good frame home. In due time there 
were erected a barn, sheds, and all the other out- 
houses required for the ccmvenience of the pro- 
gressive farmer. The land was mostly covered 
with heavy timber which Mr. Crane succeeded in 
clearing, and brought the soil to a good state of 
cultivation. The little houselxjld was completed 
by the birth of six children, the three eldest natives 
of Deerfield Township. D wight H. was born April 
1, 1857, and is now connected with street railways 
in San Francisco: Cynthia A. was born Alay 2, 
1859; Myra A., March 18, 1801; J. Alfred, Aug. 
16, 1863; Edmund B. was born in Palmyra Town- 
ship, July 19, 1866; and Helen A., Jan. 20, 1870. 
Mrs. Cynthia A. Crane was born in Hudson, 
I Summit Co., Ohio, Aug. 30, 1828, and came to 
Michigan in October, 1854. Her father, Enoch 
Sperry, was born in New Haven, Conn., Ma}' 2, 
1801, and was the son of Joseph and Sarah 
(Beeeher) Sperry, the latter being a cousin of Rev. 
Lyman, the father of Henry Ward Beeeher. Joseph 
Sperry spent his entire life in his native State of 
Connecticut. Grandmother Sperr\' reared a large 
family of thirteen children, whom she never saw all 
together. She was a widow forty years, and died 
at the home of one of her sons in Parkman, Ohio. 



•►-II-4*- 



1206 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



t 



Enoch Spei'i-y, the fatlier of Mrs. Crane, started 
when a young man from Connecticut ^to Ohio with 
a horse and wagon accompanied by a friend, but it 
was late in the fall and the roads were so bad they 
were obliged to walli much of the way. After his 
arrival in the Buckeye State Enoch Sperry, on the 
4th of August, 1827, was married to Miss Lucretia 
Jones, and in May, 1854, they emigrated to Michi- 
gan. Mrs. Lucretia Sperry was born in Connec- 
ticut, May 28, 1808, and removed with her parents 
to Cleveland, Ohio, in 1817, at a time when that 
now important city was composed of only a few 
log houses. Her father, Daniel Jones, was born in 
Connecticut, whence he removed to New York 
State in 1810, and from there to Ohio; the winter 
of 1816 he spent in the barracks at Buffalo. He 
was a ))lacksmith by trade, and carried on his busi- 
ness in Cleveland, where he spent his last years. 
He had married in early manhood Miss Lucretia 
Young, a native of his own State, who accompanied 
him in his removals, and also died at Cleveland, 
Ohio. 

Enoch Sperry purchased a farm near Hudson, 
Ohio, after his arrival there, but he soon sold it and 
rented land until starting for Michigan, in 1854. 
Here he settled in Ogden Township, and eventually 
became possessor of a good farm which he had 
cleared from the wilderness and provided with good 
buildings. Upon this he spent the last years of his 
life, his death taking place Nov. 7, 1882, while the 
mother had preceded her husband to the silent land 
in May, 1881. Mrs. Crane made good use of her 
time at school during her youthful days, and de- 
veloped into an efficient teacher, following this 
profession, first in the Buckeye State, and in Bliss- 
field and Summerfleld, Monroe County, after the 
removal of the family to Michigan. 

Mr. Crane continued the improvement and culti- 
vation of his farm until the outbreak of the late vvar. 
He watched the coming struggle with deep interest, 
and when it became apparent that it was to be 
prolonged, he enlisted in August, 1862, in Company 
F, 26th Michigan Lifantry, with which he served 
three years, in the meantime being promoted Cor- 
poral, Sergeant and First Lieutenant. The greater 
part of the last year of his service he was engaged 
in picket duty on Washington's old plantation, 



near Mt. Vernon. He experienced many hardships 
and privations by which his constitution was under- 
mined, and upon returning home in 1865, he found 
himself unable to resume the active duties of farm 
life. He then sold the farm and removed to Pal- 
myra, but two years later, however, he purchased 
back the old place, and taking up his residence 
there, has since remained. In 1878 he put up a 
commodious frame dwelling, and the barn and 
other buildings rank with the best in the township. 
He is a Republican in politics. 

_v ^^ ^ 



eHARLES M. CROSWELL, City Editor of 
the Adrian Times, is a native of this city 
, . and was born on the 30th of May, 1861. He 

is the son of the well-known Governor, Charles M. 
Croswell, Sr., who was born at Newburg, Orange 
Co., N. Y., Oct. 31, 1825, and was the son of a 
paper-maker who carried on business in New York 
City. 

The father of our subject came with an uncle to 
Adrian when a boy eleven years of age, arriving 
here in July, 1837. He had spent some time in 
the common schools of New York City, but after 
coming to Michigan commenced learning the car- 
penter's trade at which he worked until nearly 
reaching his majority. He was a young man who 
attracted much attention on account of his intelli- 
gence, was more than usually well-informed, and in 
1846 received the appointment of Deputy Clerk of 
this county and commenced the study of law. He 
was subsequently elected Register of Deeds, and in 
1854 was member and Secretary of the State Con- 
vention at Jackson, which organized the Repub- 
lican party. He was the law partner of Judge T. 
M. Cooley from 1855 until 1859, and was subse- 
quently City Attorney and Mayor of Adrian. In 
the fall of 1862 he was chosen State Senator, in all 
serving three terms, and during this whole period 
w.as President jwo tempore and Chairman of the Ju- 
dicial Committee. He subsequently served as a 
member of the Constitutional Convention, and after 
filling various other offices, was elected Governor 
of Michigan in 1876, by a majority of 23,434 over 
his Democratic competitor. His wife was Miss 



-i-^ 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1207 , i 



Lucy M., daughter of Morton and AVealthy Eddy, 
pioneers of Adrian. Their children were Charles 
Morton of our sketch, Hattie and Lucy P^lizabeth. 

The subject of this biography, after leaving the 
primary schools entered the military school at 
Latimer Hall at Fenton, this State, wliere he spent 
one and one-half years, and was afterward a student 
ill Raisin Valley Seminary and Oberlin, Ohio. Upon 
returning home and after his father's election as 
Governor, he officiated as clerk in the office of the 
latter and continued in that position under Gov. 
Jerome. Upon returning to Adrian he became 
manager of the Opera House, with which he con- 
tinued four years, and thereafter was City Editor of 
the Record until the 1st of January, 1887, when he 
transferred his services to the Times. In politics 
he is a Re]nililican. 



lENJAMI^' CONVERSE is a much honored 
citizen of Medina Township, where he has 
(•S))))f| been engaged in farming for many years. 
Mr. Converse is a descendant of respectable 
d well connected families of Massachusetts, of 
lich State he is himself a native. The grandpar- 
ents of our subject were James and Phebe (Perkins) 
Converse, the former of whom was l)orn in Brook- 
field, Mass., May 11, 1750, and the latter in Bridge- 
water, Mass., Jan. 25, 1753. The3' lived and died 
ill Massachusetts, where he followed the time-hon- 
ored occupation of a farmer. 

The parents of our subject were Ephraira and 
Lucy (Pratt) Converse, the former of whom was 
born in Brookfield, Dec. 1, 17711, and the latter in 
Belchertown, Mass., July 11, 177.S. They settled 
in Western Massachusetts, probably in Belcher- 
town, where the husband engaged in farming and 
shoeniaking. They continued to live in their na- 
tive State until 1851, when they came to this State 
and made their home in Medina Township, where 
they spent the closing years of their lives. Though 
they were already well advanced in life, they lived 
for several years after coming to Michigan, his 
death occurring Nov. 7, 18t57, and hers Oct. 13, 
1876; thus their honorable and useful lives were 
prolonged to an extreme old age, Mrs. Converse, 



indeed, nearly rounding out a century of existence. 
They had a family of eight children who grew to 
maturity, six sons and two daughters. 

Benjamin Converse was the fifth child born to his 
parents, and his birth occurred in Belchertown, 
Mass., Oct. 29, 1813. He was bred on a farm to 
! the calling which his forefathers had pursued for 
many years on Massachusetts soil. When he was 
about six years of age his p.arents removed to North- 
' ampton. and in that beautiful New England town our 
subject grew to manhood, remaining on the home 
farm and assisting his father until the fall of 1834, 
when he came to Michigan to take up some Gov- 
\ ernment land. He selected a tract of eighty acres 
' of land in Medina Township, which was fertile and 
1 favorably situated for culture, and had it entered in 
' his brother's name, for in those days money was 
h scarce, and the pioneers had to resort to various ex- 
pedients to save expense. As soon as the land had 
been entered, he and his brother Amasa returned 
to Massachusetts, and Benjamin remained in his na- 
tive State for one and one-half years. In 1836 he 
returned to Michigan and began the improvement 
of the tract of land which he had taken up on his 
previous visit, but after spending two years in 
clearing his land, he returned to his old home. In 
j 1840 he again came to Michigan, and perma- 
nently located on his land in Medina Township, 
j and has since lived on it, with the exception of two 
years, when he rented it and lived in Massachusetts. 
He has added eighty acres to his original purchase, 
I and by vigorous and thrifty management he has 
brought his land into a well-cultivated condition, 
j has erected good buildings, and has made many 
I other substantial improvements. Besides accom- 
plishing all this, he has engaged fn the manufacture 
of brooms for several years, which |)ursu it has .added 
greatly to his income. 

Mr. Converse was not married when he first made 
his home here, but in 1845 he returned to the East 
and was married in Brattleboro, Vt., on the 9th of 
September, to Miss Elizabeth Plumlej', who was like 
himself a native of Massachusetts. Their union re- 
sulted in the birth of one son, Lewis H., who was 
born Sept. 12, 1846, and before the second anniver- 
sary of their marriage the young wife and mother 
was stricken by death, that sad event occurring on 



r 



^ 



1208 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



the 1st of August, 1847. Lewis H., the son, has 
always made his home in Medina Township, and 
was married here, Dec. 18, 1 867, to Harriet I., dangh- 
ter of John L. and Caroline (Crane) Hall^ She was 
born in Medina Townsliip, April 14, 1849, and 
three children have been born to lier and her hus- 
band — Charles L., Carrie E. and Lena E. Mr. Con- 
verse was again married, Sept. .5, 1848, in Enfield, 
Mass., to Miss Mary Tyler, a native of that State, 
and to them has been born one son, Herbert S., 
who married Miss Delia Cleveland, and lives in 
Ionia. 

Mr. and Mrs. Converse are valued members of 
the Congregational Church, and are held in high re- 
gard in the community for their true worth, which 
is illustrated in their daily lives. Mr. Converse is 
a man of cautious discrimination and far-seeing in- 
telligence. In his political beliefs he is a thorough 
Republican; his high character and standing in this 
community have made him an acceptable office- 
holder, and he has been honored by his fellow-towns- 
men by election ■ to tlie offices of Treasurer, Col- 
lector, and Highway Commissioner, in which office 
he served for one term, and he has also held the 
various offices of the School Board. 



JAMES L. BROWN. This highly favored 
resident of Adrian Township owns and oc- 
cupies the old homestead of his father, which 
the latter built up from the wilderness dur- 
ing the early settlement of Lenawee County. Since 
he .assumed the management of this property he has 
succeeded admirably in Iveeping up its reputation 
as one of the best appointed farms in Adrian Town- 
ship. The aged father is still living, making his 
home with his son, and is still in good health al- 
though eighty-two years of age. 

Mr. Brown was born in Orleans County, N. Y., 
Sept. 7, 183J, and his father was the son of Abner 
Brown, who was born in Connecticut, Aug. 27, 
1781. The great-grandfather of our subject, Jona- 
than Brown, was born in 1741, and enlisted as a 
Revolutionary soldier during the struggle of the 
Colonists for their independence. He was a shoe- 
maker by trade and was detailed to return to his 



shop and manufacture brogans for the Continental 
soldiers. Abner Brown passed his boyhood and 
youth in his native county and left the Nutmeg 
State for the Territory of Michigan in 1836. He 
took up a tract of land in 1845, upon which he la- 
bored until his death, at the age of eighty-five 
years. He had married in early manhood Miss 
Hannah Cook, a native of his own State, and born 
May 20, 1780; she came to the West with her hus- 

j band and died at the homestead when seventy-one 

: years of age. 

The father of our subject was born .Sept. 2, 1805, 

I in Otsego County, N. Y., and was over thirty years 

! of age when coming to Michigan with his father. 

j They first located in Washtenaw County, and in 
1845 traded their property there for the present 
Brown homestead in Adrian Township. He was 
married, Nov. 5, 1828, to Jliss Sallie, who was the 
daughter of Lewis Stone, and was born Oct. 14, 
1 802. Her father was a native of Saratoga County, 
N. Y., where he continued all his life, following 
mostly the trade of carpenter, though he became an 
extensive land-owner. Mr. Brown continued in 
Orleans County a short time after his marriage, en- 
gaged in farming. His excellent wife accompanied 
him to the West, and after becoming the[mother of 
one child only, James L., of our sketch, passed 
away at the old homestead, Jan. 13, 1870, at the 
age of sixty-seven years. 

Our subject received his education in the district 
schools and in early life became familiar with the 
various employments of the farm. His first plans 
were naturally closely connected with the homestead 
to which he was sole heir and upon which he has 
been content to labor all his life. After his mar- 
riage he commenced working it on shares and the 
father has since retired from active labor, although 
never abandoning his old habits of industry. 

Mr. Brown was married, May 26, 1853, to Miss 
Maria Mattis, who was born in New Jersey, March 
10, 1837, and was the daughter of Garrett Mattis, a 
carpenter by trade, who came to Michigan in 1836 
and cultivated a tract of land on shares for many 
years. His death took place in Franklin County 
when he was seventj'-five years old. When a young 
man he had married Miss Catharine Bailey, who 
survived her husband several years and died at the 



-♦^h-* 



-♦- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1209 



I' ' fin 



advanced age of eiglrt^'-two. Mrs. Brown departed 
this life at the homestead, March 30, 1881. 

The eldest son of our subject, Charles L. Brown, 
was born March 31, 1854, and married Miss Barbara 
Zaler; he is working the old homestead with his 
father on shares. Mar3- L. was born Oct. 23, 1 855, 
and was married to W. Lewis; they became the 
parents of four children. Edward H. was liorn 
Aug. 19, 1857, and is farming in Adrian Township; 
his wife was formerly Miss Mary G. Mapes, and 
thej' have one child. George D. was born Nov. 
29, 1860, married Miss Ella Mapes, and is farming 
in Adrian Township; Alice E. was born Dec. 3, 
1864, and married George Stewart, a thrifty young 
farmer of Adrian Township; Burt was born Feb. 
8, 1867, and is farming in the northern part of this 
State; Nellie M. was born April 14, 1869 ; Blanche E. 
was born Aug. 30, 1875, and died when about 
eleven months old ; Alvord M. was born Aug. 6, 
1877, and is at home with his father. 

Mr. Brown was married a second time, May 20, 
1885, to Miss Elle M. Brown, who was born in 
Lucas County, N. Y., Sept. 5, 1838, and is the 
daughter of Orlando and Maria (Allen) Brown, of 
New York State, where the father was engaged in 
agricultural pursuits, and the parents spent their 
entire lives. The paternal grandfather of Mrs. 
Brown was a Justice of the Peace for many years. 

The father of our subject was an old-line Whig 
until the abandonment of that part}-, when he iden- 
tified himself with the Republicans. James L., 
politically, follows in the footsteps of his father, but 
this branch of the Brown family has little to do 
with political affairs, the sons preferring to give at- 
tention to their own private interests. They make 
it a point to vote upon occasions of general elec- 
tions, and nnifurmly abide liy tlie party platform. 



J'^'OIIN S. MARKS, in the spring of 1844, 
when a j'oung man not quite twenty' j'ears of 
age, set out frOm his native State of New 
York to seek a permanent location in the 
West. The face of the country in Southern Michi- 
gan pleased him well, and he returned to make his 
final preparations for a removal. Two years later, 



accompanied by his father, he took up his abode in 
Adrian, where he followed his trade of a carpenter 
and joiner for a period of twelve years. Subse- 
quently he became an employe of the Michigan 
Southern Railroad Company, and afterward of the 
Chicago, Alton & St. Louis. 

In 1847 Mr. Marks made his first purchase of 
land, comprising forty acres, in Rome Township, 
of which he has since retained possession, and which 
constitutes his present homestead. This was a wild 
and unculti<rated tract when he took possession of 
it, and' the improvements which we behold to-day 
are the result of his industry' and enterprise. In 
addition to farming and carpentering Mr. Marks 
has been quite prominent in county and township 
affairs, serving as Deputy Sheriff nine terms, and as 
Constable for a period of twelve or fourteen years. 
He has also been Township Collector, and during 
the Civil War was Deputy Provost Marshal, being 
ever faithful and energetic in the discharge of his 
dutits. He has made good use of his opportunities 
in life, acquiring an excellent understanding of 
general business methods, and becoming well ac- 
quainted with the details of common law. 

Our subject was born in the town of Nassau, 
Rensselaer Co., N. Y., July 3, 1824, and is the son 
of Howland and Elizabeth B. (Knapp) Marks, also 
natives of that count}'. The father learned the 
trade of a shoemaker during his early manhood, 
which he followed in connection with agriculture 
for some years in his native State. When John S. 
was a lad of five years, the parents with himself 
and a younger brother removed to the town of 
Galen, Wayne County, and there seven more chil- 
dren, four bojs and three girls, were added to the 
household. Our subject remained on the farm with 
his father until nineteen years old, and then learned 
carpentering, at which he worked about two years 
longer in New York State. 

In the fall of 1 844 young Marks came to this 
county, where he remained until the last of June 
following, then returned to his father's in New 
York State, and continued there two years. He 
had not, however, by any means given up his plans 
in connection with the West, and now persuaded 
his father to sell out and come to Michigan, the 
removal being effected about 1846. Howland 



1210 



HMi. 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Marks, upon arriving in Rorae Township, purchased 
of Uncle John Wilber 1 60 acres of land on sections 
18 and 20, the only improvements upon it being an 
old log house and a barn. Upon this the father of 
our subject by yea:rs of industrious labor put up 
good buildings, brought the soil to a fine state of 
cultivation, and here spent the remainder of his 
days. He passed away on the 17th of October, 
1873, at the advanced age of seventy-three years, 
six months and six days. The mother survived 
her husband nearly five years, her death taking- 
place on the 7th of April, 1878, her age being 
eighty years, eight months and twenty-six days. 
Five children besides the father and mother died 
at the homestead which Rowland Marks had pur- 
chased when he first came to this State. The four 
children living are, with one exception, engaged in 
farming pursuits. Jeremiah, during the late Rebel- 
lion, went from Hudson and enlisted in De Golyer's 
Battery, and served all through the war, receiving 
his honorable discharge at its close. The paternal 
grandfather of our subject, Jeremiah Marks, and 
the great-grandfather, Joseph Marks, were also 
natives of the Empire State, and lived to an ad- 
vanced age, the former being ninety-three years old 
at the time of his death. A great-uncle of our 
subject served in the Revolutionary War, and the 
male members of the family generally have been 
notable for their correct habits in life and good 
business capacities. Joseph Marks, the great- 
grandfather of our subject, was born Jan. 28, 1748^ 
and on the 11th of March, 1771, he was united in 
marriage with Hannah Witlesy, who was born Feb. 
14, 1750. They became the parents of six chil- 
dren, born as follows: Hannah, Sept. 27, 1772; 
Jeremiah, Nov. 29, 1776; Mary, Nov. 25,1781; 
Benoni, Sept. 7, 1782; Sarah, Sept. 9, 1787; and 
Polly, Oct. 25, 1790. Jeremiah Marks, the grand- 
father of our subject, married Elizabeth Souls, who 
was born Dec. 4, 1775, and there were born to 
them eleven children, as follows: Malinda was 
born March 11, 1796; Joseph, April 28, 1798; 
Howland, April 11, 1800; Hannah, April 6, 1802; 
Cornelius, ApriUG, 1804; Sally Mariah, June 18 
1806; Deborah, March 22, 1808; Judith, April 5^ 
1810; Mai Vina, May 3, 1812; Martin, June lo] 
1814; and Delia, Dec. 30, 1824. 
■^m~ 



John S. Marks was married in Jackson, Mich., 
April 14, 1858, to Miss Julia A., daughter of Cur- 
tis and Therina (Fisher) Stockwell, and who was 
born in Orleans County, N. Y., July 3, 1829. Mr. 
Stockwell emigrated to Southern Michigan about 
1852. taking up his abode in Rome Township, 
where his death occurred in 1858, when he was 
about sixty-three years of age. Mrs. Therina 
Stockwell was born July 27, 1799, and survived 
her husband many years, her death taking place 
March 13, 1879. They were the parents of seven 
children, five of whom are living, residents of this 
State, and mostly engaged in farming pursuits. 



■ ,^^EORGE A. WILCOX, of the firm of Wilcox, 
III __, Brother & Co., dealers in hardware, in 
^^IJ Adrian, was born in this city on the 12th 
of October, 1848, and is the second son of William 
S. and Sarah F. (Clay) Wilcox. He was educated 
in the schools of his native city, but supplemented 
his studies b}' a scientific course in Chicago Uni- 
versity. His mercantile experience began when he 
was a youth of seventeen in the hardware store of 
his father, and he became a member of the present 
firm in 1873, which started out under favorable 
auspices and has met with continued success. 

In July, 1874, Mr. Wilcox was married to Miss 
Susette R., daugliter of James Berry, Esq., an old 
settler and wealthy resident of Adrian. Mrs. Wil- 
cox, like her husband, is a native of this city. They 
are the parents of two children — S. Fanny and 
William Seward. 

Hon. William Seward Wilcox, the father of our 
subject, was born in the town of Riga, Monroe Co., 
N. Y., April 25, 1819. He was reared to farm' 
pursuits, and assisted his father in conducting a 
hotel until 1836, when he migrated west to Milan, 
Ohio, where for a few months he was engaged as 
clerk in a dry-goods store, after which he came to 
the Territor}' of Michigan and took up his resi- 
dence in Adrian on the 18tli of September, that 
year. His former employer accompanied him with 
his goods, and young Wilcox remained with him, 
finally becoming his partner. In a few years he 
disposed of his interest in the business and com- 



'\ 



-*HK-* 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1211 



menced for himself with an entirely new stock of 
goods, continuing his mercantile pursuits until 1 855. 

In the meantime Air. Wilcox had become promi- 
nent in township affairs, being elected as Village 
Treasurer in 1848. After selling his dry-goods 
stock he invested in hardware with a partner, but 
eighteen months later he purchased the interest of tiie 
latter and continued the business alone until about 
1867, when the firm of Wilcox & Brother came 
into existence. As his family became grown George, 
of our sketch, was admitted to the firm, the name 
then being changed to Wilco.x, Brother & Co., 
which continues its name to the present time. 

In 1864 the father of our subject was elected to 
the State Legislature, and the spring following he 
became Mayor of Adrian; in the fall of 1870 he 
was chosen State Senator. The year previously he 
was appointed State Prison Inspector, and during 
most of the years of his residence here he has been 
prominent among the people as the conservator of 
important interests. His excellent wife died on 
the 12th of February, 1852, and he was subse- 
quently married to Miss .Josephine Southworth, 
daughter of Dr. William Southworth, of Avon 
Springs, N. Y. 

j^EV. JOHN CRABBS, a resident of Morenci 
ILsir is the son of Abraham and Priscilla Crabbs 
and is the eldest of their family of five 
ijchildren. He settled in Morenci in the 
autumn of 1855, since which time he has been a 
resident of this place. Our subject was born in 
Springfield, Jefferson Co., Ohio, Oct. 22, 1823. The 
earlj' years of his life were spent in different parts 
of Ohio, where he was variously employed, and at 
the age of twent3'-one he began his preparation for 
his present noble calling. Prior to this he had 
learned the trade of a tailor, which also he followed 
for some years. 

The marriage of our subject took place in Ash- 
land, Ohio, with Miss Susan Ilger, who was a native 
of Pennsylvania. Of this union there were born 
four children, whom they named as follows : Wat- 
son C, William W., John C. and .Jennie M. Watson 
married Miss Ainia Conley, .-md resides in 'I'oledo ; 



John C. married Miss Minerva Packer, and Jennie 
is the wife of Lewis M. Rorick, of Morenci. The 
parents of Mrs. Crabbs were Jacob and Catherine 
Ilger, who were natives of Pennsylvania. 

As might be expected, the subject of this sketch 
is an uncompromising Prohibitionist, and engages 
heart and hand in any movement tending to pro- 
mote the cause of temperance and suppress the 
manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors. Mr. 
Crabbs is a minister in the Universalist Church, in 
fellowship with the Universalist State Convention 
of the State of Michigan, of which he has been a 
member since 1 879. He withdrew from the Method- 
ist Episcopal Church, after having been a minister 
in that denomination upward of thirty years. 

lEORGE SCOTT, one of the old settlers, and 
a prominent farmer of Adrian Township, is 
of English descent, having been bornlMarch 
12, 1803, in Cumberland. County, England. Not 
satisfied with his prospects in that country ,^and be- 
lieving that better opportunities awaited him in the 
New World, he emigrated to America in 1824, land- 
ing in New York City. From there he went to 
Henrietta, N. Y., where he spent one or two years 
engaged in such employments as he could find. 
He had learned the trade of a baker in his native 
land, but did not follow it in this country. 

In 1826 our subject determined to seek his 
fortune in the far West, and coming to Michigan 
with his j'oung wife, located near Adrian, where he 
took up 160 acres of timber land, on which he built 
a log cabin, and lived there until 1857, experienc- 
ing all the hardships and drawbacks of pioneer life. 
By dint of industry and continuous hard labor, he 
succeeded in clearing his laud of timber, and 
brought it under cultivation, after which he sold it 
and bought his present home, consisting of eighty- 
acres of improved land. Our subject had been in 
the United States but one year when his heart was 
captivated by an American lass, and he was united 
in marriage, in 1825, with Aliss Mary, daughter of 
.Joseph Pratt, a farmer, and a native of New York 
State. 

The father of our subject, Thomas Scott, was a 



••-Ih 



-4^ 



-*-^h 



' » 1212 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



native of England, where his whole life was spent, 
and where both he and his wife died at a good old 
age. The wife of our subject died in 1874, after a 
happy married life of nearh' fifty years. She was 
alwjiys the faithful helpmeet, counselor and en- 
courager of her husband, and an affectionate and 
careful mother to her children, of whom the record 
is as follows: Lydia is now Mrs. B. Laur; Re- 
becca, IMrs. Aleck Brown, resides in Monroe Town- 
ship, Mich.; Melissa is the wife of Benjamin Bevel- 
hammer; George M. D. and James K. V. were 
twins; the latter was killed in a runaway accident at 
the age of sixteen; George married Miss D. Wimple, 
daughter of John F. and Cornelia (Bradley) 
Wimple, and died Aug. 15, 1880, leaving a widow 
and two children, John F. and Lena May. Thomas 
H. married Abbie Miller. Mrs. Scott, the widow 
of George, was married the second time, in 1882, to 
Frank Chaffee, the son of Oscar Cliaffee, an old 
resident of this county. By her second husband 
she has had one child, whose name is Clyde. Mrs. 
Chaffee owns the farm on which they now live, and 
which descended from her former husband's estate. 
Our subject, politically, is a Democrat, being 
thoroughly persuaded of the soundness of the prin- 
ciples advocated by that party, and to it all his sons 
also belonged, except Thomas H. His wife is a 
member of the Quaker Church. 



IlL^ wi 



Vf^DMUND LAPHAM has a fine farm of 118 
'^ acres on section 28 of Rome Township, 
here he has made his home almost con- 
stantly for over fifty years. He is a native of 
Dutchess County. N. Y.,aud first saw the light Feb. 
6, 1815. He is the son of Jacob and Mary (Case) 
Lapham, both of whom were pioneers of this region. 
■ Jacob Lapham was born Nov. 27, 1792, and was 
a son of Reuben and Betsey (Finch) Lapham. 
Reuben Lapham was a great politician in his time 
and filled several important offices of honor and 
trust. He was of considerable literary notoriety, 
and was the composer of many campaign songs of 
1828, and in 1832, when Andrew Jackson was the 
popular Presidential candidate. He died in Colum- 
bia County, N. Y., at the age of seventy-eight 

-^ 



years. His son Jacob, the father of our subject, 
was a farmer in the Empire State, and Dec. 27, 1813, 
lie married Mary Case, anativeof Dutchess County, 
that State, who was born May 18, 1790. lu 1836 
Mr. Lapham came to Michigan with his wife and 
three sons and an adopted daughter. They settled 
on coming to this State in Rome Township, where 
the parents died, the father Jan. 7. 1876, and the 
mother April 27, 18^6. Mrs. Jacob Lapham was a 
daughter of Ephraim Case, of Dutchess County, N. 
Y., who followed farmingin that part of the country 
and died there at the advanced age of ninety-five 
years. 

Edmund Lapham was the eldest of the parental 
family and was reared beneath the parental roof- 
tree, assisting his father with the farm work in sum- 
mer and attending the district school during the 
winter. At the age of seventeen he apprenticed 
himself to a cooper to learn the trade, and worked 
at it until he had attained his majority. When the 
gold excitement broke out in 1849, and so many 
were flocking to the shores of California, he made a 
trip to that golden land, whose sunset glories were 
so alluring, but after a year spent there, in which 
he had been quite successful, he returned to his old 
home in this county. June 3, 1861, he was united 
in raarri.'ige with Miss Alviia W.aggoner, who was 
born in the township of Roriie, this county, Jan. 18, 
1839. She is the daughter of Nicholas and Abi- 
gail (Taylor) Waggoner, the former a native of 
Vermont, born among its granite hills July I 2, 1803. 
Jn early youth the family of which he was a mem- 
ber removed to New York, where he was reared 
and educated. In 1837 he came to Michigan and 
located in Rome Township, where he is still living. 
His wife, formerly Miss Abigail Taylor, was a na- 
tive of New York, and was born Nov. 7, 1821 ; she 
died in this county, Dec. 14, 1845. Nicholas Wag- 
goner's father, of the same name, was a native of 
Montreal, Canada, where he died at the age of six- 
ty-five. His father was a native of Germany, who 
had settled in Canada at a very early day. 

Mr. and Mrs. Pldmund Lapham are the parents of 
six children, recorded as follows: Walter was born 
Nov. 24, 1864, and married Jennette Ryder, Dec. 
10, 1884; Flora, Mrs. Llewellyn Raymond, was born 
March 2, 1866, and married Feb. 9, 1887. Adell, 



■*► 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1213 



Mrs. George Ousted, was born Feb. 20, 1869, and 
her marriage took place Feb. 22, 188G; liosanna, 
born Jan. 1 2,1872 ; Alfarata I., April 24, 1878, Bessie 
I., Aug. 25, 1881. Mrs. Lapham and her family 
are attendants of the Baptist Churcli. Mr. Lapbam 
is in politics a Democrat. The whole family enjoy 
the respect and esteem of the entire community, 
and by their neighbors they are regarded as among 
the most reliable citizens of the township. 



*OHN TEN BROOK, late of Fairfield Town- 
|l ship located on section 'J about 1848, and 
11 continued a resident there until his death, 
(^m which occurred Jan. 10, 18G5. In the 
meantime he was engaged continuously in agricult- 
ural pursuits, and brought the eighty acres of land 
which he purchased at the time of his arrival to a 
good state of cultivation, erecting upon it an ex- 
cellent set of frame buildings and adding all the 
conveniences and comforts of a country home. 
He was a peaceable and law-abiding citizen, and ful- 
filled his duties in life in a creditable and praise- I 
worthy manner. 

Mr. Ten Brook was burn Nov. 21, 1804, in Che- j 
raung County, N. Y., while his father, John Ten j 
Brook, was a native of Somerset County, N. J., and \ 
was born Aug. 5, 17G7. The mother was in her 
girlhood Miss Allie Lowe, of New Jersey, and died 
in 18:32, while the fathersurvived until 1843. They 
passed their entire lives engaged in agricultural 
pursuits. Their son John, of our sketch, remained 
with his parents upon the homestead until reaching | 
manhood, and continued in his native State until I 
after his marriage and the birth of three children. 
In 1847 he emigrated with his family to this county, [ 
locating first in Dover Township, but in less than I 
a year removed to Fairfield, where he spent the re- [ 
mainder of his life. 

Mr. Ten Brook was married in Ypsilanti. Mich., I 
June 7, 1838, to Miss Sarah J. Allison, who was 
born in Orange County, N. Y., June 22, 1815. 
This union resulted in the liirth of five children, j 
recorded as follows : The eldest, William L., dur- 1 
Ing the late war served as Captain of Company A, | 
4th Michigan Infantry, in which he had enlisted as ^ 



*t 



^^ 



a musician before receiving his commission of Cap- 
tain. He was wounded at the battle of the Wilder- 
ness while bearing the colors, but succeeded in 
escaping with his precious charge to a place of 
safety. He served in the army about four years 
and returned home unharmed ; he married Miss 
Jane Cole, of Fairfield Tovvnship, and resides in 
Missouri. Miss Susan S. Ten Brook, the second child 
of our subject, is the wife of Walker G. Porter, a well- 
to-do farmer of Fairfield Township. Helen married 
John P. Tunison, and died while on a visit to friends 
in Ohio, Sept. 23, 1882; Thomas died at the home 
of his father in F'airfield Township, Jan. 27, 1805, 
w'hen a promising youth of seventeen years, and 
Judson remains with his mother ou the farm. 

Mrs. Ten Brook is a lady greatly respected in 
her community'. She and her husband united with 
the Baptist Church during the e.arly years of their 
married life. Mr. T. continued his membership 
until his decease, and his widow has loyally adhered 
to the religious faith of her youth. 

-^ ^#- ^ 



(^ NSON BACKUS, one of the early settlers 
^|OI of Lenawee County, w.as born in the .town 

jITIm of Winfield, Herkimer Co., N. Y.,July 25, 
^jl 1W18. He is of English and Scotch ances- 
try, and his father, Anson Backus, Sr., was born in 
the town of Lee, Mass., where he grew to manhood 
and married Miss Hannah, daughter of Robert 
Town, and who was also born in New England. 

Soon after their marriage, the parents of our sub- 
ject took up their residence in Herkimer County, 
N. Y., where they spent the most of their after life. 
Anson Backus, Sr., was a blacksmith by trade, 
which he followed in connection with farming, and 
accumulated a good property. Late in life he re- 
moved to Orleans County, where his death took 
place in 1865, in the eighty-third year of his age. 
The mother had passed away a year or two pre- 
viously in 'her seventy-eighth year. They reared a 
family of nine children, all of whom lived to ma- 
turity, and the parents had the satisfaction of seeing 
them settled in life. 

The subject of this sketch was the third son and 
sixth cliild of his parents, and was about eighteen 

f 



1214 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



r 



years of age when his father moverl from Herkimer 
to Orleans County. Me receivefl his education 
near the home of his early childhood, completing 
his studies in Cedarville Academj'. His first vent- 
ure for himself was as clerk in a dry-goods store, 
which position he held about three years. Subse- 
quently he clerked elsewhere in Orleans County, 
where he continued until coming to this State. 
Here he taught school in Adrian, and later officiated 
as instructor among the Wyandotte Indians in San- 
dusky County, Ohio. 

Our subject now returned to New York, and had 
charge of his father's farm two j'cars. While a 
resident of Ohio he had formed the acquaintance 
of a most estimable lady, Mrs. Letitia (Wilson) 
Thorns, who became his wife in 1 842. When next 
leaving New York he returned to this county, and 
locating in Adrian, became the employe of George 
Bidwell in the capacity of clerk, and with whom he 
remained for a period of eight years. His next 
residence was in Hillsdale Countj', where he pur- 
chased a farm and engaged in agricultural pursuits 
twenty-five years thereafter. Then returning to 
Adrian he was placed in charge of the E. L. Clark 
estate, which involved propert3- estimated at 
1500,000, and which our subject succeeded in 
settling up satisfactorily. He is now assisting Prof. 
J. W. Crocker, who ni.irried the only daughter of Mr. 
Clark, in the fiirtlier adjustment of property. 

The wife of our subject departed this life in 
March, 1886, leaving one daughter, Mary J., who 
is now the wife of Capt. J. H. Fee, of Adrian. 
Mr. Backus waged war on slavery during the exis- 
tence of the peculiar institution, and was one of 
the organizers of the Republican party in this 
county. He is now a strong Prohibitionist. He 
has served as Justice of the Peace and holds a good 
position among the leading men of his community. 



^HILIP S.DePUY, the subject of this sketch, 
born Nov. 21, 1817, in Owasco, Cayuga 
Co., N. Y., he being the youngest but one 
of a family of ten children. His father, 
Philip UePuy, was born April 24, 1774, and was 
married, Jan. 18, 1798, to Sally Comfort. During 
thfiir earlj' married life, Mr. and Mrs. DcPuy lived 




on a farm in Orange County. N. Y., but in after 
years they sold out and removed to Owasco, Cayuga 
County, where they subsequently accumulated a 
large property. As the years advanced and his 
property increased. Mr. DePuy began to look about 
him for new investments. His shrewd eye soon 
measured the value of that beautiful stretch of 
country lying between Mt. Morris and the Nunda 
Valley, in Livingston County, N. Y., and in 1831 
he bought a farm in the township of Mt. Morris, re- 
moved thereon and spent the remainder of liis days 
in that delightful section of country. He and his 
wife were members of the Presbyterian Church. 
Mrs. Sally DePuy died Oct. 5, 1837. and two years 
later, Oct. 8, 1839, the husband followed. Active, 
thrifty, industrions, possessed of that peculiar tact 
which some men have of making money, the father 
was enabled at his death to leave a comfortable 
fortune to each one of his nine heirs tlien living. 

Philip S. DePuy, the subject of this sketch, in- 
herited the homestead. He was married, Dec. 31, 
1837, to Maria J. Smith, and of this marriage two 
children were born: Harriet Eliza, Oct. 11, 1842, 
and Harrison Smith, May 9, 1844. The mother 
died June 29, 1844, leaving her bab3r boy of seven 
weeks, and a little two-year old daughter to the care 
of a widowed fatiier. 

In 1845, on the 2(;th of Febru.iry, Mr. DePuy 
was again married, to Miss Milancy Chandler, of 
Nunda, Livingston Co., N. Y. Miss Cliandler was 
the daughter of Henry and Sally Chandler, and was 

! born in Coventry, Chenango Co., N. Y., Jan. 29, 
1820. Her ancestors were of a long line of New 
England Puritans, reaching back to Anns and Will- 
iam Chandler, who settled in Roxbury, Mass., in 

[ 1637. The Chandlers as a family throughout, are 
people of rare intellect, and it is Mrs. DePuy's 

■ pleasure to record among her relatives, Hon. Zach 

I Chandler, Michigan's famous Senator, Louise Chand- 
ler Moulton, the authoress, and Bancroft, the His- 

I torian. During their, residence in Mt. Morris, N. 
Y., there were born to Philip S. and Milancy DePuy 

[ five children: Josephine M., Dec. 13, 1845; Fay- 

' ette W., Nov. 21, 1847; Wellington, Aug. 20, 
1849; E. Cor.a, Aug. 11, 1851, and Roselle, Sept. 

I 25,1853. 

I In 1854 Mr. DePuy sold his farm in Mt. Morris, 



•►H l^4»- 



■•►Hh-4* 



II-^.. 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



1215 



Hh^ 



and bought a farm of eighty acres in what was then 
the township of Tecumseh, upon which lie has 
since lived. He has made improvements, and added 
to his land until the farm now comprises 185 acres, 
under excellent cultivation, and bearing all the im- 
proved methods of the d.ay and age. Here one child, 
the youngest, Emma C, was born, Aug. 1. 1858. 

In 1861, May 9, occurred the first marriage in 
the family, Josephine M., the second daughter, be- 
ing married to John M. Hendershott, of Tecumseh, 
where they now reside. It was this year loo that 
the Civil War broke out in America, and the cry for 
volunteers was rung throughout the land. Mr. De- 
Puy's eldest son, Harrison S., a mere lad of seven- 
teen, was among the first eager to respond. Obtain- 
ing his father's consent, he enlisted in Company 
I), 3d Michigan Cavalry, under Capt. Kellog, in 
October, 18G1. His division was stationed at St. 
Louis, Mo., through the winter of 1861-02, and in 
the spring it was ordered to Island No. 10. lint 
the hardships and privations of war were unsuitcd 
to one of so frail a constitution, and on the ;3d of 
June, 1862, he died in the hospital at Louisville, 
Ky., of fever contracted in Southern lands. He is 
buried in the beautiful "Cave Hill Cemetery," of 
Louisville, where 4,000 Union soldiers sleep b^' his 
side. 

On the 28th of January, 1864, Mr. Del'iiy's old- 
est daughter, Eliza, was married to William Buth'r, 
of Mason, Ingham County, and Nov. 22, 1867, 
Fayette W., the second son, was married to Carrie 
G. Updyke, of Tecumseh. This son possesses the 
peculiar tact required to financier successfully, and 
has acquired a comfortable fortune. His wife died 
Jan. 5, 1888, leaving him childless. 

In 1869 the township of Tecumseh was divided, 
and Mr. DePuy by this division became a resident 
of the township of Clinton. He has held several 
offices of the town, being three times Justice of the 
Peace, seven years Highway Commissioner, and has 
held many other positions of trust and confidence. 
The youngest son, Wellington, entered Oberlin Col- 
lege, Oberlin, Ohio, in 1870, and took a commercial 
course, graduating in 1871. From there he entered 
Hillsdale College, where he took a classical course, 
and was graduated in 1 878. Having decided to en- 
ter the ministry, he went to Bates College, Lewis- 



ton, Me., and took a theological course, graduating 
in 1 882, and has accomplished some noble work in 
the fields where he has labored. He was married, 
Oct. 7, 1885, to Miss Ella A. Reynolds, of Ornnd 
Ledge, Mich. 

The three youngest daugiiters — E. Cora, Rose and 
Emma — were educated at the Tecumseh Union 
School, Raisin Valley Seminary and Hillsdale Col- 
lege. E. Cora has devoted her life to literary pur- 
suits. Under the ikdii de plume of "Pearl Dia- 
mond" she was known to Western readers for sev- 
eral yeaus before hei- identity was revealed. In 
1882 she received a cmsIi prize for a short story en- 
titled "The Little Girl Who Picked up Coal," which 
established her reputation as a short story writer. 
Her literary articles, correspondence and miscella- 
neous works have appeared in various newspapers 
and magazines throughout tiie country. A short 
story from her pen which appeared in the Detroit 
Free Press, March 20, 1887, entitleii, "Room attlie 
Top," attracted universal attention, the editors re- 
ceiving letters from several different States inquir- 
ing of the author. Miss DePuy inherits her literary 
tastes and talent from her gifted -mothei'. She was 
named "Coraliuo," for the heroine of a novel which 
the mother read when a young ladj^ and has well 
fulfilled the mother's dream, so far as nunanee and 
the printed page can define. 

After leaving college. Rose became a teacher in 
the public schools. She was an accomplished teacher 
and followed the vocation until her marriage, June 
13, 1883, with Tliomas Tal.er, of New Bedford, 
Mass. 

Emma was a nntsician of rare talent, antl also be- 
came a teacher. It is Mrs. DePuy's pi'oud -boast 
that she has had four school-teachers among her 
children. Emma was married to Ozcn Keith, Dec. 
25, 1878, and three years later Mr. and Mrs. De- 
Puy went through the hardest trial their married 
life had ever known, the death of their two daugh- 
ters, the eldest and youngest, within three days of 
each other. Eliza, the eldest daughter, and wife of 
William Butler, died of apoplexy, March 22, 1882. 
and Elmma, the youngest, and wife of Ozen Keith, 
died March 25, 1882, the two deaths occurring on 
Wednesday and Saturday of the same week. 

Mr. and Mrs. DePuy have been members of the 



■♦HH* 



1216 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



Free-Will Baptist Church nearly all their lives. 
Charitable and generous, their home has sheltered 
many a weary traveler from a night's storm, and 
has relieved many a heart from the pangs of hunger. 
In politics Mr. DePuy is a stanch Democrat. He 
has served several times as delegate to the district 
convention, and in 1 884 was a delegate to the Demo- 
cratic State Convention held at Whitney's Opera 
House, Detroit, in .June of that year. 

kIBNI KELLEY. This aged and veuer.ated 
citizen of Raisin Township east his lot with 
the pioneers of Lenawee Connty over fifty 
years ago, and has by a long careei- of virtue and 
usefulness endeared himself to them in a thousand 
ways which they will remember long after he shall 
have been gathered to his fathers. He still occu- 
pies the home on section 23, the land which he se- 
cured from the Government iu the fall of 1836. He 
purchased at that time sixty acres, to which he sul)- 
sequently added by degrees until he became the 
owner of 580 acres in Raisin and Palmyra Town- 
ships. A large proportion of this he has bequeathed 
to his children, who are uovy following in his foot- 
steps as worthy members of the community, and 
doing honor to the training of wise and judicious 
parents. 

The Kelley family came originally from Ireland, 
bnt Mr. Kelley is a New Englander by birth and 
parentage, and first opened his eyes to the light 
on the 27th of January in the year 1799. His father, 
John W. Kelley, was a native of Cape Cod, Mass., 
and the family were among the early settlers of that 
part of the Bay State, having located there in the 
Colonial days, and were prominently identified witlr 
the peaceable friends. Th'2 religion of this quiet 
and unostentatious sect has been held sacred in the 
family for generations, and from which its later 
members have never departed. 

John W. Kelley was a natural mechanic, and also 
followed farming. He married Miss Content 
Hoxsie, a Massachusetts lady, also of the old 
Quaker stock, and of pure English ancestry'. After 
the birth of tluee daughters and one son, our sub- 



ject, they left their home in Cape Cod, and 
removed to Kennebec, Me., where they lived 
upon a farm some years, during which there were 
born to them six more children. Of these ten chil- 
dren one son died in infancy, and the uemaining 
nine lived to lie married and have families of 
their own, though Libni and his brother, Zeno, are 
now the only survivors of that once blooming 
family. The latter was the youngest, and, like his 
father, inherited remarkable mechanical genius. 
He is now a resident of Oakland, Cal., having 
spent his life at the two extremes of the continent. 
In 1 839 John W. Kelley and his wife, although 
considerably advanced in years, detemined upon 
another removal, and set out from tiieir home in 
Kennebec on the long journey to the Territory of 
Michigan. They had been preceded to this sec- 
tion by their son Libni, and located near him, in 
Raisin Township, where they spent the remainder 
of their lives. John W. Kelley was born Nov. 23, 
1768, and departed this life Aug. 14, 1841, while 
his wife was born Nov. 7, 1771, and died Feb. 3, 
1850. Both were prominent in the Society of 
Friends, and most estimable people who passed their 
lives devoted to each other and to their family. 
The paternal grandfather of our subject, Wayne 
Kelley, was the son of John Kelley, Sr., who emi- 
grated from Ireland, and was also imbued with 
tiie Quaker faith. He was a man of fine intel- 
ligence and good education, and carried on a small 
farm in Massachusetts, where he reared his family 
! and spent his last days. 

Libni Kelley grew to manhood in Kennebec, 
Me., to which his parents removed when he was 
I one year old, and was there married, the maiden of 
i his choice being Miss Deborah Estes, a native of 
i Maine, and the daughter of Benjamin and Sarah 
I (Kirby) Estes, natives of Massachusetts, and also 
of the Quaker faith. Upon their removal from 
Kennebec they took up their residence in Wheat- 
land Township, Monroe Co., N. Y., where they 
: spent their last years and died at an advaiiced age. 
They lived worthily, and were among the most 
highly respected residents of that part of the 
country. They reared their children to habits of 
industry and principles of honor, also instilling 
I into their minds the virtuous precepts of the Quaker 



;- 



LENAWEE COUNTY. 



-•Hh 



1217 



faith. After tlieir marriage Mr. and Mrs. Kelley 
removed from Kennebec to Western New Yorki 
where our subject followed blacksmithing;, which 
he had learned when a young man under the in- 
struction of his father. In 1836 Mr. Kelley de- 
termined upon another removal westward, and 
gathering togetlier his personal effects, started with 
his family for tlie wilds of Michigan. Their jour- 
ney was made by teams, and twenty -one days from 
the time they started they landed in Raisin Town- 
ship, this county. Mr. Kelley selected a portion of 
section 23, where he built up a home from tiie 
wilderness, in the meantime watching with intense 
satisfaction the development of the country around 
him. 

The wife of our subject departed this life in the 
spring of 1839, at the age of thirty-six years. She 
was greatly mourned by her husband and friends, 
being a lady of refined Christian chracter, a de- 
voted wife, and a tender mother. On the 6th of 
May, 1840, Mr. Kelley contracted a second mar- 
riage, in Palmyra Township, with L3'dia Hossie, 
who was born in Galloway Township, Saratoga Co., 
N. Y., Aug. 12, 1810. Her p.areuts, John and 
Phebe (Slade) Hoxsic, were natives respectively of 
Dutchess County, N. Y., and Fall River, Mass. 
They were married in Saratoga County, N. Y., 
Nov. 4, 1804, and in 1833, after the birth of seven 
children, came to Michigan and settled in the un- 
broken woods of PalmjM-a Township. Mr. Hoxsie 
put up a log cabin and felled the trees around it 
over a large extent of territory, being prosperous 
in the cultivation of the soil, and in time, with his 
sons, became the owner of 800 acres of land. Here 



the parents spent the remainder of their lives. The 
mother was born April 8, 1786, and died on the 8th 
of August, 1842, at fifty-six years of age, while 
the father survived his wife for a [jeriod of thirty- 
one years, and died at the home of his daughter, 
Mrs. Benjamin KoUey, in Raisin Township, this 
county, Jan. 24, 1873. He was born Feb. 13, 1783, 
and lived to the advanced age of nearly ninety 
years. They also were of the (^laker faith, and 
led blameless and correct lives. 

Libni and Mrs. Lydia Kelley liecame the parents 
of three children, recorded as follows: Kdwiu C. 
married Miss Eda Potter, and is living on a farm in 
Ellis County. Kan.; Allen H. married Miss Eliza- 
beth Price, and (iceii[>ies the old homestead, of 
which he is now the owner, while Betsey M. is the 
wife of Garrison Moore, a well-to-do fanner and 
stock-dealer of Battle Creek, j\licli. Mr. Kelley 
takes a lively interest in State and National affairs, 
is a strong advocate of temperance principles and 
votes the Prohibition ticket. Both he and his 
estimable wife belong to the Friends' Church. The 
paternal grandfather of Mrs. Kelley, Josciih Hoxsie 
by name, was a native of Massachusetts, and married 
Miss Elizabeth Benson, who died in Dutchess 
County, N. Y. Grandfather Hoxsie subsequently 
removed to Saratoga, where he passed his last days. 
They were likewise (Quakers in religion, and spent 
their lives in the farming community. Upon her 
mother's side her grandfather, Buft'en Slade, was 
the son of Samuel Slade, who was of New England 
birth and parentage, and spent his entire life near 
Fall River, Mass., where both father and son died 
and were liuried. 




■^^ 



• ^m ^« 




BIOGI^fI©l7l(9pLi. 



Abbott, H. B 354 

Abbott, Oscar ^40 

Adam,C.H =9= 

Adam, John J 46s 

Adams, John =3 

Adams, J.Q 3g 

Adams, Peter R '°<>i 

Aldrich. L. H i°39 

Alexander, Frank 973 

Alger.O.H -087 

Alger, Russell A '73 

Allen, B.S 831 

Allen, Erasmus V 1064 

Allen, G.W ''30 

Allen,;. W 1198 

Allen. J. W 1018 

Allen, Oliver 22= 

Allen, Silas I "034 

Allen, Stephen 33^ 

Allis, E. P 3^9 

Ames, Bishop H 536 

Ames, Charles H 58= 

Ames, E. W 986 

Ames, Ezra 'o'5 

Anderson, William 1023 

Andrews, E. P.. M. D 1118 

Andrews, W.J =77 

Angell, H. A 393 

Applegate, T. S. 335 

Archer, W. D 542 

Arnold, H.D 583 

Arthur, Chester A 99 

Ash, Aziah 2't 

Ash, James W 1070 

Ashley, William 1078 

Atwood, George G . 1068 

Ayers, George W 1045 



Back, George H 768 

Backus, Anson 1213 

Baer, J. A S41 



Bagley,John J 757 

Bailey, N. A 1019 

Bailey, N. H., M. D 1128 

Bailey, Robert M 1168 

Bailey, Stephen P.... 822 

Bailey, W. A 985 

Baker, Delos M 294 

Baker, EdwinA 632 

Baker, George A 767 

Baker, Hon. Wm 93> 

Baker, J. F 303 

Baker, L. C 957 

Baker, Levi W 927 

Baker, R. P 54' 

Baldwin, Harvey 1 628 

Baldwin, Henry P 153 

Baley, George W 10S9 

Ball, Nathaniel 59t 

Bahiss, D. D 773 

Bancroft, Cornelius 738 

Bangs, A.B 910 

Bangs, Alanson ^og 

Barnes. B. S 429 

Barrett, S 584 

Bar.y, John S 113 

Bartholomew, S. J 286 

Bartlett, Isaac A '...1165 

Bassett, N. H 1147 

Bateman, .Abraham 747 

Bates, Caleb 551 

Bates, P. M 554 

Dates, Winslow 567 

Bay, Frederick 755 

Beagle, F. G 1197 

Beals, KellyS 214 

Beaman, Fernando C 201 

Beck, Leonard 44" 

Beckley, John 325 

Bedell, A 753 

Bedell, AlvaE 60. 

BedelLDr. L. H 604 

Begole, Josiah W.: 169 

Bcland, John 658 

Belcher, -Mfred 969 

Bell, J. R ...976 

Benedict, John W 300 

Bennett, G. B .-649 

Bennett. Hon. S. W 5,5 

Bennett, John A 758 

Bennett, J. R 9S1 



Bennett, N. C 503 

Bennett, Roswell 1072 

Bickford, Homer 1158 

Bidwell, B.J 825 

Bills, C). P 1159 

Bingham, Kinsley S 137 

Bird,C.G 1172 

Bitely, John B 991 

niain,J.H 275 

Blair, Austin 147 

Blair, D- M 849 

Blair, James 850 

Blanchard,C 789 

Bliven, CSeorge W 785 

Bliven, Samuel 789 

Blood, Ezra F 819 

Boody, R. P 1007 

Bowen, H, C 514 

Bowen, N. K 1038 

Bower man, Moses 322 

Bowerman, William 965 

Boyce, James T 704 

Boyd, A. R 416 

Boyd, John 685 

Boyd, R. M 526 

Boyd, Robert ..934 

Boyd, Thomas 301 

Bradish,A.W 3'0 

Bradish, C. C 395 

Bradish,M.W 493 

Bradish, N. F 975 

Bradner,J.W,' 1117 

Bramble, C. H 725 

Bramble, J. H 676 

IJtazee, Henry 908 

Bresie, William 799 

Brewer, Horace 313 

l',ns;gs. JaI.ez 824 

Britf.n, John 9°2 

Brockway, Erastus 757 

Brooks, George H 629 

Brooks, Wm. H 1175 



Brown, James L .1208 

Brown, J. W 989 

Brown.Prof. L. S 327 

Brown, Solomon 328 

Brown, Dr. William 964 

Bryan, Samuel 296 

Bryant, John ,... 1074 

Bryant, Samuel 766 

Bryant, W 817 

Buchanan, James 75 

Bugbee, Stephen 974 

Bump, A. H 940 

Burke, Henry W 813 

Burleson, Charles 815 

Burnett, John McClelland. . .642 

Burnett, Robert E 603 

Burr, T. L 230 

Burridge, Charles 1196 



Cadmus, Richard. 



Cain, John 



Cann^ 
Carlti 
Carle 



H.J. 
, J.H 



Carpenter, Hon. Joel 1202 

Carpenter, Manson 6iz 

Carpenter, Stephen 357 

Carson, A. M 832 

Carter, G.W 8.2 

Cafy, JohnM... 191 

Case, A. J ....911 



f 



•►HK-^ 



Chaloncr, Charles A. 
Chandler, George F. , 
Chandler, T. G 



Cheney, William H 

Clark, Edward.... 
Clark, George W. . 

Clark, JohuR 

Clark, JohnS 

•Clarkson, R 

Clay, Frank W.... 
Clement, J. B.. .. 
Cleveland, S. Gro% 
Cleveland, White. 
Cochrane, G. R... 
Coddington,.\.P.. 

Colbath, S. A 

Cole, A. R 

Cole,EIvin D 

Cole, Hon. M. T.. 

Cole, Ogden 

Colegrove, B 

Colegrove, H. G.. 
Colegrove, J. T... 
Collins, Albert.... 

Collins, Allen 

Collins, C. E 

Collins, J. A 

Colvin, J.B 

Colvin,John 

Colwell, Calvin C. 
Colwell, Olivers.. 
Colyer, William H. 
Combs, Dr. H. P.. 
Comstock, Horace 
Conger, George... 

Conklin, M. K 

Conkling, Hudson ' 

Cook, Edwin 

Cooley, Justus 

Corbet, William M 
Corbett, Chester J 
Corbin, Hon. Willi; 
Cornelius, Mrs. E. 
Corwin, F. H.... 

Coryell, E. C 

Cowen, Demmon.. 
Crabbs, Rev. John 

Crabbs, W. W 

Cramer, Abraham. 
Cran=, Calvin .... 

Crane, C. H 

Crane. George L. . 

Crapo, Henry H. , 

Crockett, John 

Crockett, Willard.. 

Cross, Edwin 

Croswell, Charles 1 
Croswell, CM.. . 

Cure, Asel 

Curtis, G.H 



Davis, Mrs. Hi 



Da 



Wil 



rd F 



Davitt, Hugh 

Day, W 
Decker, C. W 
DeGralT, P. C 



DeLand, Martin 
DeMott, Willian 
DePuy, Benj.F 
DePuy, P. S.... 



Der 



Dewey, L. H 

Donnelly, Patrick 
Doty, William E. 
Dowling, J.B... 
Downs, H. P. .. 
Driggs, Edwin. .. 
Du Bois, Charles 
Dubois, John,... 
Dunham, Charles 



Edwin, M. D, 



Eddy.Crov 
Eddy.Elisl 
Eddy, Levi 
Eddy, Tho 
Eldredge, 
Elliott. L. I 
Ellis, A.W 



:elby, Gi 
elby, Jo 
elby, Jo: 



Finger, Jacob.. 
Fisher, John... 
Fisher, Wm.C. 



Franklin, B. C. 



,D.O 

Griswold, George 



G ah agan, Thomas 90.1 

Gallaway, Stephen q!0 

Gambee.John 726 

Gander, David 457 

Ganun, Nathan .321 

GarHeUI, James A 95 

Garling. (ieorge 1026 

Geddes, Judge Norman 1030 

Gilbert, Warren 5«;3 

Gilbert, Warren 694 

Gillespie, R. B iisj 

Gillett, A 486 

Gilliland. Robert 242 

Gilmore.J.F 896 

Gilson, Cornelius 723 

Glascr, August 959 

Goff, L. T 934 

Goheen.E. W 287 

Goheen,J.V 64 

Goodsell, Ira 9 

■Goodwin, Lewis i 

Grandy, Dr. F 

Grant, Ulysses S.. .. 
Graves, A. 1' ... 
Graves, Capt. B. 
Gray, Elliot. 
Green. Hon 
Green, J a 
Green, J 


















■h 1 


4a 


r 






INDEX. 








\ 
1 


" jldridge. Eleazer 


..3, 


K 

Karcher. Michael 

Kehoe, Philip 

Kelley, Benjamin 

Kelley.Libui 

Kellogg, Isaac B 

Kclls, P. H 

Kemp.Sylvester 

Kendrick, Charles H... 

Kent, Burton 

Kent Richard 


1 

....462 

76. 

...1.76 
... .265 

.. .654 


Lewis, T. J. 

LiddeI,T. A 

Liddle,J. R 

LiUey, Lucius 

Lincoln, Abraham 

Lockwood, G. H 

Lombard, S. C 

Long,M. P 

Louden, Jefferson 

Love.D. W 

Lowe.C.L. 

Lowe, Isaiah 

Lowe, Justus 

Loyster, Abram 

Luce,C. G 

Luce.G. W 

Luck,W. W 

Luther, Lucinda 

M 

Mabee,JohnC 

Macham, A. D 


1 
...396 

;::r i 
....822 
79 

..1016 
....791 1 
.. 993 
-..•=5= j 
.. 291 ' 

....88. 
••■■383 
. . 704 

....717 
....587 

....570 
....893 


Monahan,John 

Monroe, James 


35 




Holdriiiffc, W.J 


..670 


Montague, William 


■ '90 




HoUoway, 1 ra 


.Moore, John H., M.D... 

Moore, ThomasF 

Moran, William C 

Mcreland, James 

Moriarty,John 

MorrelLF. F, 

Morse, C.F.& C. C 


■■•70s 
•■9'5 
..,083 
...363 

..1006 . 
. .231 
..•580 
...368 

;.':589 
.■..816 
..1057 
....510 

•■•■573 
■■■■358 
....771 
....232 

• ••557 
....422 
...1031 
....633 

• ••736 
....264 

...629 
...394 




Hood, A. J 


..455 




Hood, J. B 

Hood, William 

Hopkins, Samuel 

Hornbeck, Benjamin 

Horton.F. V 

'orton,G. B 

oughtby, William 

oward, M 

Howd, H. W 

Howell, Dr. George 

Howell, Judge A 


..76Z 

..096 

.1168 
.■036 


1 


Morton, Miles P 

Muir,E. F 

Mulzer,M 

Munger,JamesF 

Munger,J. V 

Munn,Eli E 

Murphy, Thomas 

N 

Negus, Charles 

Newell, J. C 

Newton, S.M 

Nichols, Henry 

Nicholson, James 

Nickerson, Ira S 

Nickerson,Melvin T.... 

Niedhammer,G. G 

Niles, Rial 

Nufer, Andrew 

Nyland.John H 



Odell, J. B 




Kerr, M. H 

Ketchum. Daniel 


359 




'"^'^ ' „ 






Kies,J. S 

Kilbury, E. R 

Kimball, Dr. N. H 


.... 337 
••■ 935 
...693 




Ho^sie, l.leorge L 

H.^ter, H. W 

riull, H. 1J.,M.D 

H ine, .Mrs. Ann P 

Ini.hiey, Charles 


..219 
..487 
..470 

..3)1 
.■089. 
..416 
..633 

..588 




King, Capt. H.N 

King, Mrs. Ann 

King, Samuel 

KinR,W. F 

Kinney, A. A 

Kiuney,J. S 

Kinney, R. H 


59=! 

977 

... 987 
... .364 

5" 

386 

53= 




, mi,l.,ej. Gen. William. 

1 umgton.A. C 

1 rlbut, H. L 


Manchester, Arthur C . 
Manwaring, Henry 


...1128 
....922 




1 rlbut, John 


,.^'^ u',, C^l 


88 




Marshall, W, H 

Martin, M, J 

Mason,J.G 

Mason, Stephen T 

Mather, William H 

Matlhes, C. F 

Matthes, John L 

Mawdsley, John 

Maxson,M. M 

Maxwell, J. 

Maynard,H.W 

McCarbery, Henry 


....970 

....10s 
•■■•495 
....467 
.■■■943 
■■■■479 
•■■"55 
....971 
...•764 
....732 




/ 






1 ',, 


Kishpaugh, Peter 

Knapp, Hon. Cornelius 

Knapp, JohnL 

Kniffen, Samuel 

Knight, William 

Knowles, Albert W 

Knowles, Edwin A. ... 

Kno., James 

Knox, William H 

Kuney, Christian.... 
Kurtz, W. H 

L 


377 

433 

955 

.... 426 

.'.'.. 855 

. ...1160 






••539 

■..74S 
..084 






McClenahan,John 

McConnell.L. H 

McConneKM. B 

McCormick, Lemuel 

McCormick, Manuel.... 

McDowell, W.H 

McLouth,0. C 

McMalh, Fleming 

McRobert, Luther 


....790 
....958 
..."95 

3^7 

376 

^89 

■ ■■■4°9 
....884 






Oliver, George L 

Ousted, LewisP 

Opdyke, Amos 

Oram, George H 

Ormsby, L '. . 

Osborn, Albert D 

Osborn, Benjamin D .. . 


....309 

...1075 
....645 
....306 






Ladd, M. A 

Lagore, William 

Lambie, John C 

Lancaster, F. n 

',andon,John 

ane, George 

-ie, Nathaniel 

Edmund 


731 

834 

662 

367 

962 

763 

9 7 






0.sborn,J.M 


..,.180 






Mead, Leroy 


469 






Mead,S. M 


541 


Osborn, Richard H 

Osborn,V. R. J 

Osborne, Wm. H 

Osgood, George V 

Osgood, H. H 

Osgood, J 

Osgood, Lester 

Osterhout, David B 

Owen, Henry C 

P 

Packard, M. A 

Packer, Isaac D 


...530 
....713 

....58. 

...1040 
....405 
■••374 
....496 

890 , 

... 671 






Mickley, Hon. Charles F 


■-"- 






Miller.C. J 

Miller, C.R 

Miller,!. C 

Miller.J. G 

Miller, Van R 

Milliken, Edward A.... 
Mills, Granville 


.... 716 
....,1003 

722 

938 

655 

899 

473 
















1046 

....1032 
•••■559 
..1080 
-1068 

399 






Mills, PhiloC 


....1060 
,086 






Mitchell, Alonzo 


284 


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